Ancient Bones

Starred review from August 15, 2020
A fascinating forensic inquiry into the origins of humankind. In this exciting investigation into the long and ancient path of humans, the authors explore the connections among evolution, climate, and environment. It has long been the understanding that the earliest humans evolved in Africa and spread from there to the other land masses. But recent discoveries, aided by advances in genetics and our ability to more accurately read fossil evidence, have suggested many different scenarios. "Europe 14 million to 7 million years ago must have been like a giant laboratory where great apes made huge evolutionary leaps forward," they write. "Then, as climate conditions became more challenging in Europe and more favorable once again in Africa, these more highly evolved great apes would have returned to Africa." The narrative spotlights the authors' pleasing explanatory style, as they describe the evolutionary process and the mechanisms and geographical spread of changing climatic conditions. The authors energetically highlight major discoveries--e.g., Graecopithecus as "the first potential early hominin" who "was closer to modern humans than to modern great apes" or the 6-million-year-old footprint from a biped discovered on Crete in 2002--and consistently show that there is much more to the story than old bones and radiometric measurements. They re-create entire vanished environments; present a vibrant picture of the hand's evolution for different functions; propose a scenario for the capture and use of fire; and explore the value of running, language, food, and wanderlust. "Paleoanthropology urgently needs new hypotheses so that the data we now have can be categorized in a way that makes sense," they write. Throughout this eye-opening book, the authors present a number of them, and any reader interested in the study of early humans and their predecessors will find plenty of material here. An impressive introduction to the burgeoning recalibration of paleoanthropology.

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December 4, 2020
The material in this overview of early humans considers ancient mysteries, serendipitous discoveries, feuding experts, and scientific breakthroughs, all unfolding like a richly detailed detective story. Brief introductory chapters tell of early discoveries and evolving theories and are interspersed with longer, technical excerpts concerning geology, great-ape evolution, climate change, fossil dating, prehistoric species, and paleoanthropology, the science of ancient humans. With coauthors Braun and Breier, B�hme is an especially engaging narrator, whether drawing readers into prehistoric landscapes or sharing an anecdote about sprinkling her sandwich with 600-million-year-old salt. For decades, Lucy, the 3.2-million-year-old skeleton discovered in Ethiopia, was thought to be our oldest ancestor. But in 2017, anthropologists in Crete discovered biped footprints that are around six million years old. B�hme's 2019 establishment that El Graeco, a specimen dating back 7.2 million years, was a humanoid indicates that early humans were much more abundant (at least seven distinct species, including Neanderthals and Denisovans) and considerably more mobile than previously thought. So, who was first? Who first made tools, controlled fire, and developed language? Where did they live? Why are homo sapiens the only survivors? This engaging account raises several lingering questions, often the best kinds for inquisitive readers.

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