Remarkable as much for the insight into our earliest ancestors as the controversies it has engendered, the concept of evolution has garnered much attention since Charles Darwin first published his theory of natural selection. Notwithstanding its detractors, evolutionary science has anticipated modern genetic research and continued to illuminate mysteries about our past and our connectedness to the species around us. Detailing the evolutionary process and speciation as well as the continuing debates about evolutions inherent validity, this engrossing volume considers all aspects of this exciting field of study.