Book Description
This book tells the story of human evolution, the epic of Homo sapiens and its colorful precursors and relatives. The story begins in Africa, six to seven million years ago, and encompasses twenty known human species, of which Homo sapiens is the sole survivor. Illustrated with spectacular, three-dimensional scientific reconstructions portrayed in their natural habitat developed by a team of physical anthropologists at the American Museum of Natural History and in concert with experts from around the world, the book is both a guide to extinct human species and an astonishing hominid family photo album.
The Last Human presents a comprehensive account of each species with information on its emergence, chronology, geographic range, classification, physiology, lifestyle, habitat, environment, cultural achievements, co-existing species, and possible reasons for extinction. Also included are summaries of fossil discoveries, controversies, and publications. What emerges from the fossil story is a new understanding of Homo sapiens. No longer credible is the notion that our species is the end product of a single lineage, improved over generations by natural selection. Rather, the fossil record shows, we are a species with widely varied precursors, and our family tree is characterized by many branchings and repeated extinctions.
Exhibition information:
Photographs of most of the reconstructions that appear in this book will be featured in exhibits appearing in the new Hall of Human Origins at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The opening of the Hall is planned for November 2006.
Customer Reviews:
Brilliant and beautiful.......2007-09-06
Brilliant and beautiful, this book may help those who still don't grasp human evolution.
The artwork is spectacular and succeeds at bringing long-extinct hominids back from the dead.
A catalogue of cousins.......2007-08-02
There's a great deal of information available to the interested seeker of human origins. What has been lacking is a good descriptive overview and logical arrangement of the fossils found. Sawyer and Deak have responded to that need with this volume. Arranged in order of the oldest to the youngest of fossil specimens, the authors summarise which parts have been uncovered. In addition, they further descriptions of the likelihood of bipedalism, the known locations with assumed roaming areas, the associated wildlife and climate information. A special feature presents the way the "man-ape" probably appeared in its natural habitat.
The oldest fossils are very fragmentary and lead more to suggestions as to how they fit in the human lineage. Some clearly were successful creatures in their own right, but likely lie in a line that died out in time. Those aged pieces need further finds to establish their place - the chief reason the authors describe the probable range they inhabited. Later, more complete, fossils offer more information. The authors begin depicting fossil pieces in a restored placement with Australopithicus afarensis, the now-famous "Lucy" revealed by Don Johanson and his team in 1973. The authors provide an almost startling image of this hominid searching the savannah for her "lost daughter" - a very human characteristic. Laetoli's preserved footprints are described with the implications for how close to modern humans A. afarensis could stride.
After "Lucy's" time, about 3.5 million years ago, hominids developed into many and varied types. Lucy's fossils were found in Ethiopia, but a million years later a new species, with robust jaws and bearing a crested cranium appeared. Paranthropus aethiopicus had nutcracker jaws and was more sturdily built than Lucy. Yet, in the same time frame, Lucy's likely direct successors also emerged. One of these may have been the first to apply tools to aid food processing. Far away in what is now South Africa, other branches of Lucy's clan may have evolved as a result of earlier forebears migrating. Within another half-million years, examples of hominids in the direct lineage to today's humans appear, only a short distance from the supposed range of Lucy's wanderings. Their descendents launched new migrations traced by finds to the east of their original homelands.
The recent find near Dmanisi in Georgia provides a look at hominid life nearly 2 million years ago. Flaked stone, likely used for meat cutting, although no bones with cut marks have yet been revealed. A contemporary of the Georgian hominid wandered yet further east, typified by the skull and thigh bone excavated by Eugene Dubois in 1891. Homo habilis has been found in other sites, demonstrating its wandering habits. The most astonishing find outside our African origins is the small hominid, H. floresienses, discovered in a cave in Indonesia.
Ultimately, of course, the sole survivor of hominid evolution, Homo sapiens, outlasted its many competitors. The last major contender alongside our species was Home neanderthalis, ranging from today's Middle East into Western Europe. The authors' coverage of this species is thorough, but not extravagant. Moving to our species, Sawyer and Deak provide a good overview of the factors used in classifying the fossils without greatly extending their coverage in comparison to the other topics. To conclude the book, they describe the techniques used in making the representative images of the various hominid species discussed in the text. The key point is how they developed the faces in the images. These stand in stark contrast to some of the historical illustrations of "early man" done earlier.
This book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in our ancestral past. Written in a straightforward manner, the authors give the available data, describing various speculations with care. They avoid dwelling on the many controversial questions that have plagued palaeoanthropology, and have no particular positions of their own to forward or defend. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Beautiful Pictorial Guide To Human Evolution For Those Who Aren't Scientists.......2007-07-05
"The Last Human: A Guide to Twenty-Two Species of Extinct Humans" is a beautiful, illustrated guide to human evolution that's aimed for a scientifically literate general audience, without much of the terminology associated with paleoanthropology and other relevant aspects of physical anthropology. The principal authors, physical anthropologist Gary P. Sawyer and artist Viktor Deak, are the co-leaders of the Fossil Hominid Reconstruction and Research Team based at the American Museum of Natural History's Department of Anthropology, which has used the techniques of forensic anthropology to recreate these vivid illustrations of these extinct hominid species, often relying on the latest paleoanthropologic research (though, in a couple of instances, the authors observe that some artistic license was taken with the final appearance of several individuals). This book is essentially a visual companion to the dioramas and other related displays featured in the recently opened Spitzer Hall of Human Origins at the American Museum of Natural History, in which the reconstructions made by Sawyer and Deak have taken their rigntful prominent places as among the most intriguing in this elegant hall devoted to human evolution. If nothing else, both this book and this new permanent exhibition, demonstrate more convincingly than ever, that human evolution has been an increasingly "tangled web" of species diversity, of which Homo Sapiens - humanity - is the sole surviving species. In addition to Sawyer's and Deak's contributions, there is eloquent writing too from Richard Milner, an anthropologist and writer who is affiliated with both the museum's anthropology department and Natural History Magazine. The book's text does an admirable job covering not only the paleontology of each species (e. g. geological and paleobiogeographic range, palecological reconstruction), but also delves into the probable cultural attributes of each of the twenty-two hominid species. Without question, this book is artistically - and scientifically - the latest word on human evolution aimed for a general audience; I strongly commend Yale University Press for trying to keep its production costs to a minimum to ensure a potentially large audience for it.
The Ultimate Extended Family Photo Album.......2007-07-03
"The Last Human: A Guide to Twenty-Two Species of Extinct Humans" is a numinous, scientifically accurate, and artistically inspired depiction of human evolution - the ultimate extended family photo album and history - that follows the emergence of 22 human species from our primordial cradle in Africa six to seven million years ago to the dawn of Homo sapiens.
Unlike overly popularized accounts, "The Last Human" unflinchingly notes that Homo sapiens was not an inevitable outcome. Environment and contingency generated, and the fossil record documents, a hominid family tree sprouting many branches including forerunners, relatives, and extinctions. Photorealistic three-dimensional reconstructions portray hominids such as Australopithecus afarensis, Homo rhodesiensis, Homo erectus, and Homo neanderthalensis (among others) with startling and emotionally evocative intensity.
The accompanying text provides a comprehensive account of each species with information on its emergence, chronology, geographic range, classification, physiology, lifestyle, habitat, environment, cultural achievements, co-existing species, and possible reasons for extinction.
By masterfully merging scientific insight and artistic interpretation into a coherent and compelling whole "The Last Human" eloquently articulates how family history is everyone's heritage. This is a category-defining book that deserves to be widely read. It has my highest recommendation.
Also try Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors by Nicholas Wade, The First Human: The Race to Discover Our Earliest Ancestors by Ann Gibbons, From Lucy to Language: Revised, Updated, and Expanded by Donald Johansen, or the Smithsonian Intimate Guide to Human Origins by Carl Zimmer.
A Hominid Family Photo Album.......2007-06-12
This book is the work of the artists and scientists of the Fossil Hominid Reconstruction and Research Team. Sawyer is the physical anthropologist and Deak is the paleoartist. They take all that is known about each species within the genera Australopithicus, Ardipithicus, and Homo, and synthesize that data into stunning, beautiful, and somewhat disturbing likenesses of individuals. Whether in forecasting the future or in reconstructing the past, the further you get from the present day, the more uncertainty is introduced. The authors admit to a blending of science and art, and they admit that the more flimsy the fossil record, the greater their artistic license. It is said that all of the known fossils of proto-humans would fit in the bed of a pickup truck, and it is with this implicit caveat in mind that you must evaluate the accuracy of the reconstructions. Also, only bone fossilizes, and this is a book about soft tissue, so there is considerable inductive logic implicit in the reconstructions. But, hey, it's a good start, and it's more than we had before Sawyer and Deak had their inspiration. My guess is that any future corrections to their work will likely appear immaterial to the scientifically literate general reader which is their target audience.
All of the paleoanthropological discoveries in the text of this elegant photo album of proto-humans have been published before, and the authors do not claim offer new theories or interpretations of hominid evolution. The reason you will want to read this book is to meet your family in the flesh, to see what your ancestors looked like. Take each reconstruction as a hypothesis; this is what they most likely looked like, based on our current interpretation of the fossil record.
This book's stunning illustrations will be certain to attract a fresh audience of paleoanthropological novices, and they will find, after their initial shock, that the authors present a rather comprehensive introductory course in the topic. It is a welcome addition to a bibliography of recent books aimed at the general reader, including "The Dawn of Human Culture", by Richard Klein, "From Lucy to Language," by Donald Johansen, "Extinct Humans," by Ian Tattersall and Jeffrey Schwartz, and "Becoming Human," by Ian Tattersal (see my Amazon reviews). This book doesn't require a vocabulary in craniodental morphology, and for the most part scientific terms are avoided. For instance, Sawyer uses the term "man-ape" instead of the term "hominid."
What emerges from these pages is the slow, but accelerating evolution of proto-humans, by a process of brutal natural selection, including many failed "branches" in the evolutionary tree, all but one ultimately leading to extinction, leaving only ourselves.
Book Description
In 1974 in a remote region of Ethiopia, Donald Johanson, then one of America's most promising young paleoanthropologists, discovered "Lucy", the oldest, best preserved skeleton of any erect-walking human ever found. This discovery prompted a complete reevaluation of previous evidence for human origins.
In the years since this dramatic discovery Johanson has continued to scour East Africa's Great rift Valley for the earliest evidence of human origins. In 1975 this team unearthed the "First Family", an unparalleled fossil assemblage of 13 individuals dating back to 3.2 million years ago; and in 1986 at the Rift's most famous location, Olduvai Gorge, this same team discovered a 1.8 million-year-old partial adult skeleton that necessitated a reassessment of the earliest members of our own genus Homo.
Johanson's fieldwork continues unabated and recently more fossil members of Lucy's family have been found, including the 1992 discovery of the oldest, most complete skull of her species, with future research now planned for 1996 in the virtually unexplored regions of the most northern extension of the Rift Valley in Eritrea.
From Lucy to Language is a summing up of this remarkable career and a stunning documentary of human life through time on Earth. It is a combination of the vital experience of field work and the intellectual rigor of primary research. It is the fusion of two great writing talents: Johanson and Blake Edgar, an accomplished science writer, editor of the California Academy of Sciences' Pacific Discovery, and co-author of Johanson's last book, Ancestors.
From Lucy to Language is one of the greatest stories ever told, bracketing the timeline between bipedalism and human language. Part I addresses the central issues facing anyone seeking to decipher the mystery of human origins. In this section the authors provide answers to the basics -- "What are our closest living relatives?" -- tackle the controversial -- "What is race?" -- and contemplate the imponderables -- "Why did consciousness evolve?"
From Lucy to Language is an encounter with the evidence. Early human fossils are hunted, discovered, identified, excavated, collected, preserved, labeled, cleaned, reconstructed, drawn, fondled, photographed, cast, compared, measured, revered, pondered, published, and argued over endlessly. Fossils like Lucy have become a talisman of sorts, promising to reveal the deepest secrets of our existence. In Part II the authors profile over fifty of the most significant early human fossils ever found. Each specimen is displayed in color and at actual size, most of them in multiple views. With them the authors present the cultural accoutrements associated with the fossils: stone tools which evidence increasing sophistication over time, the earliest stone, clay, and ivory art objects, and the culminating achievement of the dawn of human consciousness -- the magnificent rock and cave paintings of Europe, Africa, Australia, and the Americas.
In the end From Lucy to Language is a reminder and a challenge. Like no species before us, we now seem poised to control vast parts of the planet and its life. We possess the power to influence, if not govern, evolution. For that reason, we must not forget our link to the natural world and our debt to natural selection. We need to "think deep", to add a dose of geologic time and evolutionary history to our perspective of who we are, where we came from, and where we are headed. This is the most poignant lesson this book has to offer.
Customer Reviews:
From Lucy to Langauge.......2007-03-19
This is an excellent text for those interested in paleoanthropology and human evolution in general. It is superbly illustrated and the activities of the paleontologist explained in terms that are understandable to the informed layman and provide a fascinating insight into this field.
Beautiful Book on How We Came to Be.......2007-02-08
The title of this book is at the same time both informative and misleading.
It's misleading because it actually goes back millions of years before Lucy walked the earth. And its discussion on language is quite minimal. So if you are looking for a book on language or Lucy, you might want to look elsewhere.
On the other hand, if you're not being quite this picky, this is an excellent overview of the development of humankind. Dr. Johanson was on the team that discovered Lucy, and since this is the second edition of the book which now goes back further than Lucy changing the name might not have made sense.
The book goes back further because new findings in the fossil record now go back to some 7 million years (Lucy is 3.5 millian years old).
The problems with printing any book like this are clearly illustrated by the 'Kennewick Man.' The previous edition of this book was published in 1996. A very short while later, the 'Kennewick Man' was discovered in Washington State that may completely alter the way we think the Americas were populated. This individual died about 9,400 years ago and reconstruction of his appearance from the skull remains has him looking a lot like Star Trek actor Patrick Stewart. Perhaps this lends credulence to European travellers also reaching the Americas as well as Asians coming over the Siberian Land Bridge.
This is a fascinating book, profusely illustrated with excellent photographs of fossils and commentary explaining what these fossils show.
Great.......2007-01-26
I am very pleased with my results. My package came quickly and was exactly what I was expecting.
Excellent overview.......2007-01-16
I just bought the revised edition and also had the earlier edition so the updates were well needed since there's been a lot more discoveries since the first edition. The photographs are the best I have come across in a long time it's like being at the site and looking at them in there actual size. Great book overall and very informative.
Fascinating & Illuminating.......2007-01-12
The explanation of the evolution of humankind in East Africa is a great message and here the photographs of the fossils are fascinating and illuminating.
Book Description
This new edition explains how recent advances in radiometric dating, functional morphology, molecular biology, and archaeological inference have changed our modern interpretations of how hominins lived and dispersed across the globe during the last five million years or more. The updating includes ample discussion of the most recent fossil finds.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent. Another masterpiece. A must have........2005-03-26
I have just finished to read the book in a first reading. This second edition of the book is another masterpiece of the Prof. Conroy. The book is updated and it includes all the aspects of the human evolution, from the plio-pleistocene world to our modern origins. Notable the number of figures, schemes, diagrams and tables present in the book. The book is so updated that it includes the recent dwarf species Homo floresiensis.
Any sort of australopithecus and any sort of homo are included. This is a serious book for the one that really wants to learn the human evolution. I currently think it it is the best. If you purchase it you won't repent of it.
See my previous review of the first edition of this book.
A big thanks to Prof. Conroy.
Book Description
This book is a unique compendium and synthesis of the cumulative knowledge of more than 100 years of discovery and study of North American tertiary mammals. The potentially most valuable contribution of this book is the detailed information of the distribution in time and space of each species at fossil localities, recorded in a uniform scheme, so that each chapter provides the same level of information. Thirty six chapters are devoted to a particular family or order, written by leading North American authorities, including discussion of anatomical features, systematics, and paleobiology. Three introductory chapters summarize information on the geological time scale, Tertiary vegetation, and Pleistocene events, and four summary chapters integrate systematic and biogeographic information for higher taxa. This book will serve as a unique data base for continuing studies in faunal diversification and change, and for questions such as how changing biogeography and climates influenced the evolution of mammalian communities. It will be an invaluable addition to the libraries of paleontologists and zoologists.
Customer Reviews:
very good but very overpriced.......2004-07-21
A very useful book for essentially all the genera of mammals in the groups listed in the title. The two things that kept me from giving it 5 stars are; it is VERY overpriced, aside from libraries, few can afford it, also the listings of localities are done a bit ackwardly. Overall a very useful resource.
Book Description
The last few years have witnessed an unparalleled rate of discoveries of early birds and their dinosaurian predecessors. Written by a recognised authority in the field,
Glorified Dinosaurs: The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds provides a comprehensive summary of these discoveries and addresses the fascinating topic of how modern birds evolved from fearsome dinosaurs akin to the celebrated Velociraptor. The book focuses on an evolutionary approach and presents current research and fossil discoveries. The title includes coloured photographs of fossils and fossil localities, many of which have been rarely reproduced elsewhere.
Glorified Dinosaurs: The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds is an invaluable resource for every palaeontologist, ornithologist, evolutionary biologist, geology and life sciences student. It is also an exciting reading for people interested in dinosaurs and avian evolution and for all those with a general interests in the topic.
Customer Reviews:
Great Pix, good read, complete coverage, expert author........2007-06-15
Most books on evolution don't talk about the evidence in enough detail that you can really understand it, let alone be convinced by it. This is a tragic waste since there really is good fossil evidence for evolution, but the experts just can't be bothered to talk about it. There have been 3 recent exceptions to this rule: T. S. Kemp's The Origin and Evolution of Mammals, Jennifer A. Clack's Gaining Ground (origin of amphibians from fish), and now this book, which is the only one really accessible by the general public. Bird fossils is a field which have really exploded recently, I read lot's of science mags and try to keep up, but this book has tons of stuff I hadn't even heard about. The title of the review really says it all, I just want to add that the old debate about whether birds started as gliding tree dwellers or as two legged runners that flapped to go faster may have been finally settled. I won't give away the ending, though. Creationists will probably pay this book the supreme complicment of ignoring it completely, anyone with an open mind will be very impressed.
The best handbook on feathered dinosaurs and early birds.......2007-06-12
Luis Chiappe is one of the leading paleontologists working on Jurassic and Cretaceous predatory dinosaurs and primitive birds. In his "Glorified Dinosaurs" he summarises in clear words the arguments supporting the idea of close relationships between these two groups, but also discusses the alternative theories on the origin of birds and their flight. The illustrations - photographs, color drawings, reconstructions and diagrams - are of extraordinary quality. Photographs of virtually all the most important relevant fossils, such as Archaeopteryx and perfectly preserved feathered dinosaurs and birds from Liaoning in China, are provided. The book gives a very interesting insight into the history of discoveries and evolution of concepts. It is an invaluable tool for all the vertebrate paleontology teachers and a thrilling lecture for non-professionalists.
Excellent book.......2007-03-13
This book covers all the latest research, with readable text and splendid artwork and photography. It is a deluxe must-have book for dinosaur and paleo-bird enthusiasts everywhere.
The most Authoritarian Book on the Subject.......2007-02-10
I think it has come to be pretty well accepted by most scientists that the songbird outside your window is a descendent of the dinasaurs that once reigned supreme.
This book by a renowned paleornithologist, gives the best summary yet of how the dinosaurs evolved into birds. It begins with the development of feathers, and continues with the earliest fossil samples, including the famous archaeopteryx. (As best I can tell there is only one archaeopteryx in the United States at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center, Thermopolis. At this date the display for these fossils is being built. It should be open sometime in May, 2007, but check with them first.)
This book is current as to early 2007, reflecting all of the latest findings (especially in China) of the steps in the descent of the modern bird.
This book is lavisly illustrated with hundreds of illustrations from color photographs of fossils to line drawings showing the variations in skeletal structure as the birds developed. It uses high quality paper, printing and binding to insure a long useful life.
Average customer rating:
- Human Evolutionary Anatomy
- An excellent book-faithfull to its own title.
|
An Introduction to Human Evolutionary Anatomy
Leslie Aiello , and
Christopher Dean
Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Anthropology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Evolution
| Anthropology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Archaeology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Evolution
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Anatomy
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Evolution
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Anatomy
| Basic Sciences
| Medical
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Nonfiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Science Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
All Amazon Upgrade
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Medicine
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Nonfiction
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Professional & Technical
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Medicine
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Nonfiction
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Professional
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Human Origins : The Fossil Record
-
Primate Adaptation and Evolution, Second Edition
-
The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins
-
Human Osteology, Second Edition
-
Principles of Human Evolution
ASIN: 0120455919 |
Book Description
An anthropologist and an anatomist have combined their skills in this book to provide students and research workers with the essentials of anatomy and the means to apply these to investigations into hominid form and function. Using basic principles and relevant bones, conclusions can be reached regarding the probable musculature, stance, brain size, age, weight, and sex of a particular fossil specimen. The sort of deductions which are possible are illustrated by reference back to contemporary apes and humans, and a coherent picture of the history of hominid evolution appears. Written in a clear and concise style and beautifully illustrated,
An Introduction to Human Evolutionary Anatomy is a basic reference for all concerned with human evolution as well as a valuable companion to both laboratory practical sessions and new research using fossil skeletons.
Customer Reviews:
Human Evolutionary Anatomy.......2007-05-07
Very well written and scholarly. Combines the best of human anatomy and biological anthropology. Recommended for anyone who has a serious interest in this field.
Lydia Toso
An excellent book-faithfull to its own title........2000-02-25
Students of Human paleoanthropology should look no further for complete synthesis of anatomical aspects that are proprietary to Hominids-because not only that full treatment is provided on such topics as diachronic trends in qualitative and quantitive development in anatomical features, but recapitulation that contains basic standards of anatomical reporting,complete terminology and also,with full recognition that one important propertes of locomotory system is in its mechanisms for body movement,so that this is not only descriptive work,but one that contains detailed account on anatomical pecularities of Human ancestors,thus providing non-analogues perspective on subject,in full recognition that it is sometimes wrong to accept uncriticaly paralels with modern Humans.Also,some histological aspects are mentioned.This book will provide students with full account on subject of evolutionary anatomy,perhaps one that could became most easily dull,descriptive work under some other concepts,but instead is excelently and logicaly organised textbook.
Average customer rating:
|
Lothagam
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Fossils
| Animals
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Paleontology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Evolution
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Geology
| Earth Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Evolution
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
African Studies
| Africa
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside History Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Outdoors & Nature Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Science Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0231118708 |
Book Description
Located at the southwest corner of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, Lothagam represents one of the most important intervals in African prehistory. Early human remains are restricted in distribution to Africa and the acquisition of an upright bipedal striding gait, the hallmark of humanity, appears to be at least circumstantially linked to the reduction of equatorial forests and the spread of grasslands on that continent. The diverse Lothagam fauna documents the end-Miocene transition from forested to more open habitats that were exploited by grazing horses and antelopes, hippos, giant pigs, and true elephants. It also includes spectacularly complete fossil carnivore skeletons and some of the oldest human remains.
Enlisting a team of highly qualified specialists, this book provides the geologic context and dating framework for the Lothagam fossiliferous sequences, describes the immense diversity of vertebrate fossils recovered from the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene sediments, and synthesizes the results to interpret the changing paleoenvironments that prevailed at this site. The book will interest anthropologists, paleontologists, geologists, and anyone interested in human origins.
Amazon.com
The Burgess Shale of British Columbia "is the most precious and important of all fossil localities," writes Stephen Jay Gould. These 600-million-year-old rocks preserve the soft parts of a collection of animals unlike any other. Just how unlike is the subject of Gould's book.
Gould describes how the Burgess Shale fauna was discovered, reassembled, and analyzed in detail so clear that the reader actually gets some feeling for what paleobiologists do, in the field and in the lab. The many line drawings are unusually beautiful, and now can be compared to a wonderful collection of photographs in Fossils of the Burgess Shale by Derek Briggs, one of Gould's students.
Burgess Shale animals have been called a "paleontological Rorschach test," and not every geologist by any means agrees with Gould's thesis that they represent a "road not taken" in the history of life. Simon Conway Morris, one of the subjects of Wonderful Life, has expressed his disagreement in Crucible of Creation. Wonderful Life was published in 1989, and there has been an explosion of scientific interest in the pre-Cambrian and Cambrian periods, with radical new ideas fighting for dominance. But even though many scientists disagree with Gould about the radical oddity of the Burgess Shale animals, his argument that the history of life is profoundly contingent--as in the movie It's a Wonderful Life, from which this book takes its title--has become more accepted, in theories such as Ward and Brownlee's Rare Earth hypothesis. And Gould's loving, detailed exposition of the labor it took to understand the Burgess Shale remains one of the best explanations of scientific work around. --Mary Ellen Curtin
Book Description
"Gould has brought to light one of the least known but most spectacular paleontological discoveries of all time….a brilliant tapestry."—Martin Gardner
The Burgess Shale is a small limestone quarry formed 530 million years ago. In it are the remains of an ancient sea that nurtured more varieties of life than can be found in all of our modern oceans. Stephen Jay Gould explores what the Burgess Shale reveals about evolution and the nature of history. 116 illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
Not Good.......2007-07-15
This book is quoted so often in the literature that I thought I was going to read something profound. It isn't. Conway Morris and others were right to criticize it. Not sure what all the fuss is about. As a well reasoned argument Gould missed the mark.
LIFE 101.......2007-03-19
I READ THIS BOOK WHEN CAME OUT YEARS AGO. NOW YOU CAN GET IT AT AMAZON AS A BARGAIN BOOK. THIS WONDERFUL STORY TELLS ABOUT AN ALTERNATE EARTH THAT NEVER MADE IT. SOMETHING DESTROYED IT UTTERLY. AND WONDERFUL LIFE FOUGHT BACK AND WITH TIME BECAME GIANT ANIMALS ROAMING THE LANDS OF THE EARTH. THE K-T EVENT. WACKED AGAIN! BUT LIFE ENDURED AND BECAME US...
READING THIS BEATS WATCHING THE FLUFF ON SATELLITE AND CABLE. AND IT MAKES YOU THINK. IT HELPS YOU PUT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER TO ARRIVE AT YOU!
Revolution in thinking about evolution.......2007-02-25
Burgess Shale is the most important find ever of remains of early animal life on earth. Stephen Jay Gould explains why, and also why it took almost seventy years before the true significance of this treasure trove began to dawn upon the scientific world. In Gould's view, the 1970's reappraisal of the Burgess Shale fossils represents no less than a Copernical revolution in thinking about the way life on earth has evolved. While this may be, or may not be the case, the tale of how this reappraisal came about is thrillingly and competently told.
As a complete layman in the field of paleontology, I found the insets, explaining the basics and the terminology of the science very helpful. The beautiful drawings by Marianne Collins also helped me a lot to get a feel of what the amazing creatures of Burgess Shale must have been like while living.
The tale of how three British paleontologists, through their work on the fossils, arrived, much to their own surprise, upon conclusions very different from Walcott's (who first discovered Burgess Shale) is a captivating one. Gould's analysis of why Walcott in his time could not possibly have seen his find in it's true light, is something I could have done without.
But then, even if this part holds less interest for me than the main story, were it not for social obligations, I would have finished this book in one sitting!
Heartily recommended for all interested in the history of life on earth.
Elegant prose, science made accessible.......2007-01-10
I feel remiss for not writing a lengthy review of the book, but I hardly have time to do it justice as I go about my work. Instead, I will summarize the major points.
Gould is an exceptional writer who makes science accesible for all readers. I know that this book has drawn new paleontologists into the field, and it definitely encouraged me. It also inspired research programs, numerous books by detractors (e.g., Conway-Morris's "The Crucible of Creation"), which are unfortunately not nearly as well written, and helped popularize the importance of the Cambrian explosion and the lack of understanding of this crucially important time in the history of life. While some of Gould's ideas have since been proved wrong (e.g., he felt that there were more body plans, phyla, represented by Burgess Shale animals than at present but these animals have since been seen to fit into existing phyla), other ideas (e.g., that nearly all phyla arose in the same geological instant) have stood the test of time.
As with all science, the book should be approached critically. Unfortunately, there are few scientists who are able or willing to make their work accessible to the lay person so that all can have an opportunity to understand, enjoy, and contemplate.
Gould's take on the creatures of the Burgess Shale........2006-01-31
Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) was a very popular (and controversial) scientist/professor. He wrote several books and many articles in Natural Science magazine. In Wonderful Life, he focuses on the Pre-Cambrian fossils of the Burgess Shale in western Canada.
In doing so, he creates a book with three divisions: the biography of Charles Dolittle Walcott, a description of the creatures from that find, and his own interpretation of what they mean in evolutionary theory.
I found the narrative about Walcott interesting as he was surely a man of powerful intellect, standards and drive. But Gould does go out of his way to not just point out that Walcott never performed a serious study of the fossils, but to explain ~why~ and why his early analysis was wrong.
There is a one-hundred-plus section in which each of the specimens is described in great detail. He uses this as a means to discuss the advances in techniques and approaches to studying these fossils, how our understanding of them changed over time, replacing Walcott's ideas. The discussion of scientific approach was fine, but frankly, I was a bit overloaded with the detailed descriptions of the Burgess creatures. A set of good drawings would have gone a long way - a picture being worth a thousand words and what. This section became tedious to read.
The third section, Gould's interpretation of the data, is also a bit confusing and has turned out to be controversial and even wrong. Gould presents his thoughts on the diversity of life in the Cambrian vs modern times, and why there is such a difference. Simon Conway Morris, one of the young scientists he lauds, would later criticize him in his own book about the Burgess Shale fossils, The Crucible Of Creation (1998).
When published, Wonderful Life was a best seller and won awards. I am honestly not sure why. While it is fairly interesting, it is not a 5-star book.
Book Description
For dinophiles of all ages, Hunting Dinosaurs does for paleontology what Indiana Jones did for archaeology--makes scientific adventures exciting and entertaining. The stunning, full-color photos contained here present dinosaurs as never seen before.
Customer Reviews:
Great fun! And educational too.......2004-09-10
A result of Award winning photojournalist Louie Psihoyos' three-year field trip to the world's major dinosaur fossil sites, this oversized book, written with frequent collaborator John Knoebber, is a well-organized, energetic, stimulating, amusing and gorgeously illustrated trek through prehistory.
Accompanied by the bones of famous fossil hunter Edward Drinker Cope (you'll just have to read the book), Psihoyos visits the world's prominent paleontologists, lends a hand when asked and lets them talk for themselves.
The book is organized loosely by time periods, beginning with an introduction to the history of dinosaur hunting and concluding, cleverly, with opinionated statements from all the scientists on "What killed the dinosaurs?"
In between are colorful visits to major museums and field sites, lively discussions of the theories of warm-bloodedness, dinosaur physiology and evolution and the evidence to be found in tracks, scat and site environments.
Psihoyos' crisp, humorous style is reminiscent of the best of personal journalism - an irreverence for academic stodginess and a participatory flair - mixed with a deep respect for expertise and avid curiosity. His photographs are complemented by paintings and maps showing fossil sites.
impish and wonderful.......2001-05-07
This book is an original, combining the stories of discoverers, hard science, and masterful photography. It is a true feast, leavened by odd humor and genuine love of the subject. For example, there is a section on coprolites - petrified dino scat - that goes into what they are revealing about the ecology of the dino era. In addition, it features a lovely photo of a smiling scientist, as she preside over her coprolites like a baker advertising her wares: it is funny, informative, artististic. The stories in it are also fascinating, telling of their quirky personalities, inexplicable talents, and fanatical drive.
Reading it helped me to re-live my childhood love of these great and mysterious beasts as well as to update my knowledge on the state of the art today. Now I am introducing my children to them through this book.
Highly recommended.
A wonderful piece of photojournalism.......2000-08-14
Psihoyos, a photographer for National Geographic, has written a tremendous book about dinosaurs as we understand them today. Central to the book, of course, are Psihoyos' terrific photographs: Of fossils in museums, of individuals in their workplaces, of the beautiful landscapes to which paleontologists travel to search for bones, and of the bones themselves in varying states of discovery and repair. All by itself, this book gives you a deep respect for what really good photographers can accomplish with their craft.
Psihoyos also turns out to be a lively and witty writer, and the book provides a good general background on what we understand of dinosaurs and how they lived, as well as a history of dinosaur hunters dating back to the mid-19th century. I've been a casual "fan" of dinosaurs since childhood, and much of what's related here was completely unknown to me. Psihoyos outlines several of the controversies in the history of dinosaur digging, including the discovery of the reptile-bird archaeopterix, and the wars between the two great bone hunters of the late 19th century.
Along the way he also caught a few big breaks, such as discovering that there was no "type specimen" (defining example) for homo sapiens (humans), as well as getting caught up in the Tyrannosaur Sue controversy which resulted in lawsuits and jail time for some of those involved.
Anyone with any amount of interest in dinosaurs - from casual to deep - should find this book entertaining, and maybe even enlightening. For the pictures alone, it's a steal.
can't believe it's OP--check it out at the library!.......2000-04-25
This is a wonderful book for amateur paleontologists and those who just like dinosaurs. The authors visit all the famous locales, where the big finds were made (you know the names--the Badlands, Mongolia), and talk to those who are currently working in the field. You learn some of the interesting stories from behind the scenes. Beautifully photographed as well. Accompanied by the skull of Edward Drinker Cope ("the Man" when it comes to North american paleontologists, along with his nemesis, O.C. Marsh), this is the ultimate dinosaur roadtrip. Maybe it will come back into print soon, with the ever present interest and appetite for dinosaurs and dinosauria.
Librarians--while this was published as an adult book, Amazon's suggestion of YA is right on--glossy photos, some irreverant humour, nice layout with just enough white space, and a subject that is always in demand somewhere make it just right for a YA non fiction collection.
This book is exceptionally informative and beautiful!.......1999-01-07
I enjoyed the informative, humorous writing and beautiful photography of this book so much that I have included it in my course designed for teachers. Good work, authors!
Book Description
This dynamic chronicle of the race to find the “missing links” between humans and apes transports readers into the highly competitive world of fossil hunting and into the lives of the ambitious scientists intent on pinpointing the dawn of humankind.
The quest to find where and when the earliest human ancestors first appeared is one of the most exciting and challenging of all scientific pursuits. The First Human is the story of four international teams obsessed with solving the mystery of human evolution and of the intense rivalries that propel them.
An award-winning science writer, Ann Gibbons introduces the various maverick fossil hunters and describes their most significant discoveries in Africa. There is Tim White, the irreverent and brilliant Californian whose team discovered the partial skeleton of a primate that lived more than 4.4 million years ago in Ethiopia. If White can prove that it was hominid—an ancestor of humans and not of chimpanzees or other great apes—he can lay claim to discovering the oldest known member of the human family. As White painstakingly prepares the bones, the French paleontologist Michel Brunet comes forth with another, even more startling find. Well known for his work in the most remote and hostile locations, Brunet and his team uncover a stunning skull in Chad that could set the date of the beginnings of humankind to almost seven million years ago. Two other groups—one led by the zoologist Meave Leakey, the other by the British geologist Martin Pickford and his partner, Brigitte Senut, a French paleontologist—enter the race with landmark discoveries of other fossils vying for the status of the first human ancestor.
Through scrupulous research and vivid first-person reporting, The First Human takes readers behind the scenes to reveal the intense challenges of fossil hunting on a grand competitive scale.
Customer Reviews:
Ann Gibbons, the First Human.......2007-09-28
Very informative summary of more recent discoveries and their significance w.r.t. older finds. The competition among field workers is not surprising although at times the story becomes a bit "gossipy"
Inspired Narrative .......2007-07-21
`The First Human' was a surprisingly literary and detailed read about the fossil hunters and their discoveries over the past half-century. While it is primarily historical, the science behind the discoveries is explained quite satisfyingly and succinctly. A great deal of time is spent explaining the politics involved and the professional disputes among the leading figures in the field. But in so doing, the scientific discussions interwoven throughout are all the more memorable.
Gibbons does a good job explaining the limitations of what is known ...and just how scientists can sometimes draw larger conclusions from an isolated fossilized bone. Also interesting is the realization that of all the ancestral hominid remains found in Africa, apart from a few isolated fossilized teeth, there have been no ancestral gorilla or chimpanzee remains found to which they can be compared.
On a lighter note, Gibbons applauds the French for their interest in this subject... and impugns the average American for their ignorance. But after reading 'The First Human' one is left with the impression that science can really do little more than guess about such matters anyway. The hominid fossil evidence is so scarce. Much of the science , in the end, is wishful thinking. And the fact that 45% of Americans think man appeared intact roughly 10,000 years ago...to that I say... their guess is as good as any.
A Human who can write!.......2007-07-03
The First Human by Ann Gibbons is a good book for any armchair paleoanthropologist. She reviews concisely the history of the search for human origins and reveals in great detail the recent discoveries made over the last few decades.
The book is well written and analytical with in depth reporting from actual interviews with the principals who have made the most recent finds.
I highly recommend this book.
Fascinating read!.......2006-12-06
As a student of paleoanthropology, I was slightly wary of reading another popular account of fossil hunting in Africa. After finishing "The First Human," however, I can say with certainty that not only did Ann Gibbons do her homework, but that she was able to deftly weave together both the science and the politics in one of the most fascinating narratives I've read in some time. One really begins to understand both the hardship of paleoanthropological fieldwork and the thrill of discovery. But that of course is only the beginning. Her descriptions of the ensuing scientific cross-fire, often tainted by personal and political conflict, is clear and engaging. All in all, a well-written and up-to-date chronicle of the science of human origins.
Makes You Want to Watch for Anything Else She Writes.......2006-11-05
As best I can tell this is Ann Gibbons first book. And it makes you want to keep an eye out for anything else she publishes.
Nominally this book is a report on the search for our first ancestors. But in reality it is a book on the people doing the searching. Big time science, be it physics or medicine or, as in this case, paleontologists the struggle is only partially one of finding the answer to the problem. The real problems are in getting funded, then when you discover something, going to war against your fellow scientists whole will be attacking your results because if you get more funding, more support, more prizes they will suffer, or at least they think they will.
Ms Gibbons primarily follows four teams who are looking for evidence about our earliest ancestors. Our ancestors didn't conveniently die in nice places that you'd want to visit. Having to go where the fossils are. And in the case of human ancestors, that means Africa. And not the nicest places in Africa but dry hot deserts in Ethiopia, Chad and places like that.
While I suspect that the discoveries described in this book will be replaced by the next finding somewhere else, the interplay of the people will remain constant.
Next, Ms. Gibbons, how about looning into astronomy/cosmology.
Books:
- The Last Human: A Guide to Twenty-Two Species of Extinct Humans
- The Magic School Bus In The Time Of The Dinosaurs (Magic School Bus)
- The Nature of Consciousness : The Structure of Reality: Theory of Everything Equation Revealed : Scientific Verification and Proof of Logic God Is
- The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design
- The Prehistory of the Mind: The Cognitive Origins of Art, Religion and Science
- The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man's World
- Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine
- World Prehistory: A Brief Introduction
- A Human Being Died That Night: A South African Woman Confronts the Legacy of Apartheid
- A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder--How Crammed Closets, Cluttered Offices, and On-the-Fly Planning Make the World a Better Place
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Think and Grow Rich!: The Original Version, Restored and Revised
- The I Ching or Book of Changes
- The Gospel According to the Son: A Novel
- Poop Problems After Three Years of Age: A parent's guide
- Planetes, Book 2
- Schaum's Outline of Beginning Linear Algebra
- The Backyard Astronomer's Guide
- Business Law, Fifth Edition
- Tax Facts: What Every Homeowner Should Know About Income Taxes
- Pointman
Smithsonian Intimate Guide to Human Origins
The World Without Us
The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language
The First Human: The Race to Discover Our Earliest Ancestors
The Complete World of Human Evolution
