Customer Reviews

Origins Reconsidered: In Search of What Makes Us Human

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If you've never read Leakey, start with this book. This well conceived and finely crafted work should grace any library. Bringing skillful research and writing skills to relating the evidence of human origins, Leakey and Lewin demonstrate why this team has been so successful. More than simply technical skills are visible here. There's a strong sense of humanity applied here to everything from flying an aircraft to preparing a specimen for appraisal. A major element in Leakey's presentation is his willingness to revise his opinions in the face of new evidence

Leakey once suffered from 'lack of credentials' in his work as an paleoanthropologist. Drawn to this work by a fascination with our past instead of by an academic background, he's shamed his critics with stunning finds, excellent logic in assessing their value, and the presentation talents shown here. The lack of academic constraints frees him to bring fossils to life in speculative scenarios no schooled scientist would dare. He does it here with plausible accounts of our ancestors possible lifestyles. The guild scientists may complain that 'there isn't enough evidence' to draw these scenes, but Leakey is careful to point to the evidence, drawing many elements together to produce these scenes. They are vivid and thought provoking in portrayal and need no more defense than that. And they are supported by fine illustrations of many aspects of paleoanthropology.

Leakey's examination of language development occupies a significant part of his discourse. These arguments are worthy of your close inspection. Verbal communication has long been viewed as the sole distinction between humans and the other animals. Leakey shows how even this feature cannot be considered a sharp demarcation. He examines the function of language over the course of human evolution, concluding that language and our oversize brains result from a continuous feedback loop.

There are few shortcomings in this book. Foremost is a lack of bibliography [yes, this remains a shortcoming even while defending Leakey's 'non-academic' background]. It would be nice to further pursue details of some of the contentious issues. Lewin's own BONES OF CONTENTION makes a fine starting point. It lacks however, any mention of Owen Lovejoy's thesis on bipedalism related in Johanson's LUCY, the most succinct depiction of human evolution in print. Leakey uses Harry Jerison as a source for brain/language interaction, but you'll look long to find Jerison's BRAIN SIZE AND THE EVOLUTION OF MIND. The lack of a reading list can be overcome with a bit of work on your part. There are many good titles available and the effort will expand your view of our origins. Start here, you will not find many other works that will touch your own humanity as closely as this one does.

Richard Leakey introduced millions to the evolution of humanity in his first "Origins", but over the years it had inevitably become outdated. This book is less dramatic but far more complete scientifically, and is an essential read for anyone who wants to keep up with our past. Moreover, where the first book tended toward philosophical speculation, in this one he builds theory on facts; where before he focused on his own views with little discussion of other researchers, in this one he quotes them with the dilligence of a reporter. Where the first book was often gramatically infuriating, this one has the polished language and clearly stated logic that make learning complex concepts seem effortless.

Best of all, this time he takes us along on the adventure of discovery. Leakey is no closeted academic; he can find food and water as the ancient hunter-gatherers did, with no modern tools, in what looks to the untrained eye like a dry wasteland. He understands the politics of the illegal ivory trade as well as the interpretation of fossils. He was not stopped in either his explorations of human origins or his quest to save African wildlife by years of kidney failure, near-fatal pneumonia, death threats from poachers, or even the loss of his legs in a plane crash. He covers the science in full detail, yet the reader has a sense of immediacy one never gets from the academic literature. We are parties to acrimonious debate and feel the thrill of pouncing on the apparent error of a rival. We spend months in the bush, and are immersed in a lifelong search that yields, after innumerable frustrations, to the occasional astonishing discovery.

There are a few shortcomings; Leakey glosses over some of the points he made eloquently in the first book which turned out, in retrospect, to be radically incorrect. The photographs, critical to understanding the discussion, are grouped together and hard to relate to the appropriate text, and the critical diagrams of the human evolutionary tree are small and difficult to read. But overall, the theory is so cogently explained, and the narrative has such a sense of realism, that we feel we could do it ourselves, flying over the Great Rift, sifting through ancient sand and rock, pushing back the frontiers of time to discover ourselves.

Richard Leakey is one of the most well-known, and respected, fossil-hunters today. One must stop to appreciate the irony of his rebellion toward his parents, without whom he may have actually had to go to college to establish the credibility he enjoys due to his last name.

Leakey's "shots" at Donald Johanson and other scientists aside, much of the analysis presented in "Origins Reconsidered" is quite interesting. His rebuttal of the "Lovejoy hypothesis" is well-articulated and rather persuasive. But the way he barely hints at his infamous "4-million-year-old homo habilis" fossil debacle (a claim he held far longer than evidence supported it) is awfully self serving.

The driving force behind Leakey's studies is this fundamental question: "what separated members of the genus homo from the "bipedal ape" australopithecines, and what were the environmental factors that favored homo's survival and led to australopithecus' extinction?" Nearly the entire book focuses on the analysis of this question, and rather eloquently at that.

This book would be best for the student of paleoanthropology, whose reading list on the subject would extend beyond this single volume. While scientifically valid, the range of theories in the area is vast, and each developing theory carries its own controversy. Only by understanding the range of these theories can one hope to have a good idea of the bipedal-ape-to-human evolution.

This book covers in details the exciting discovery of Turkana boy, a nearly complete junvenile H. erectus skeleton. Although a little limited in scope (look for other books for a good overview of the current state of human evolution) it does a great job of detailing the discovery and its significance. Leakey also does a good job of trying to peer into the minds of these primitive hominids, examining their intellect, speech, compassion, etc. in the last several chapters and what makes us who we are. This book however is more of description of the discovery than anything else, as shown by the considerable amount of space dedicated to the descriptions of the area and the sequence of events leading to the discovery and excavation. Overall a good book with some good anthropology in it and also an exciting depiction of the discovery.

"Men it appears would rather believe than know. They would rather have the void of purpose...than to be void of purpose." E. O Wilson

There is a concept of "convergence" that is used by many evolutionary scholars to make their case that evolution is real, factual and not only tells us about history but allows us to make valid predictions about the future. This notion of convergence tells us that there is not one specific event or proof that guarantees that the theory of evolution is real but there exists detailed evidence in many arenas of science that all point to the same conclusion.

Origins Reconsidered provides a methodology of convergence that is critical in making a case for what appears obvious to the thinking individual. Unfortunately, the theory of Evolution requires constant re-proving. Evidence which has been overwhelming for the last 150 years is still subject to "debate" for a contingent large in numbers, who have attempted to erode the credibility of this science by locating little chinks in the over all armor. Briefly, convergence is the making of inductions from classes of facts that may be disparate in and of them selves, and making strong scientific cases for each class. Once that is done the convergence of all of these explanations makes an extraordinary case for the over all objective. In this case the objective is that the theory of evolution is once again, strong and obvious.

The book is written in six different parts that take the reader through an explanation of methodology, through some obvious conclusions and lastly into some speculation about what the future bodes. The authors tell most of the story in clear and sequential ways. Initially part one "In search of the Turkana Boy" is more prosaic and nearly fictional in style. It describes the setting and friendships amongst skilled and intellectual colleagues in search of "Missing link" or at least additional verification of paleo-anthropological evolution. In this section I did worry that I was reading the wrong book; that I was about to endure a book of anecdotes about what life in the anthropological dig would be. Fortunately I did not give up.

Leakey attempts to make a case for how the first humans came about. At what point are those of us who are considered human distinguished from other nearly similar hominoids? Leakey explores aspects of personality that of course include the use of tools but extends the search to the beginning of language, writing, musical instrument making and art to name a few aspects.

He explores the concept of consciousness and morality to further his premise. While many animals have instinctual altruism and show human signs of affection it is the ability to remember things distant and to create an ethical code of morality that distinguishes us from Cro-Magnons and other late near humans.

Leakey furthers his case by addressing evolution itself and the arguments against it. He talks about the arguments and dismisses them succinctly. "In many cases the urge to know surpasses what can be known; questions without answers." Many find this impossible to accept and seek mysticism in its place, extracting meaning where none exists.

Leakey would applaud the fact that mankind has evolved into the most powerful animal on earth but he has no delusions that this is part of a divine plan. There is no predestination in evolution. Mutations occur that are of benefit and help those survive to pass that gene on and improve the species. What has happened in history is only one possible result. There is no inherent superiority in adaptation. Humans have always tried to have a gap between them and animals mainly because of the need to assuage our subjective consciousness.

Origins Reconsidered also discusses how difficult paleontology really is. He uses the problem of distinguishing early hunter/gatherers from scavengers as an example. Both leave their orts in locations that are very difficult to distinguish. At the same time these are very different survivors.

Ultimately Leakey maintains that while currently humans rule the earth it may not always be so, at least not as we understand humans. He sees the future as one wrought with ecological problems. He uses the notion of mass extinction to make his point. He asserts that throughout history there have been many periods of natural mass extinction. Those were precipitated by events such as Ice Ages. He maintains that Biota are fairly resistant to natural disaster. Floods for instances can apparently wipe out some local vegetation but that same biota can revive. Man made ecological disaster is another matter. Leakey's concern is that the current trends toward smog, deforestation and global warming my create a pathos that vegetation cannot withstand.

Leakey and Lewin display very clearly, the science behind their own efforts but they also describe the weaknesses of science in making determinations about what is a human. Those weaknesses are noble when they are ascribed based on sound scientific theory and otherwise when "proven" by only considering results that make one's point.

Leakey may have an axe to grind. He presents excellent scientific evidence but was never trained as a scientist in any field. Of course he is a scion of one of the most prolific of paleontologists; he never received a degree of any sort to lend to his credentials. His skills come from "on the job training" but they are sound. I believe it is rare that an individual can produce sound evidence to back up their empirical claims without the scholarly background, Leakey has done it.

As a non scientist, it is my endeavor to understand evolution from as many perspectives as possible and this is a book that weighs heavily on that purpose.

I found this book both enchanting and informative; not academic, but personal. This is probably the next best thing to sitting around a campfire on a dig, and listing to the shop talk about what's going on.

The reconstruction of social necessities from the fossil record is excellently done. The lesson regarding (the lack of) directed-ness in evolutionary trajectory should not be missed. The human evolutionary tree has become the evolutionary bush, with mostly dead branches. One might speculate on the fate of current primate relatives given the fate of Homo Neandertalensis, Homo Heidelbergensis and Homo Erectus, all existing when Homo Sapien emerged. Additionally, the example of persistent coevolution of related anatomic or ontogenetic phenotypic expressions such as lengthening childhood, larger mature female birth canals and expanding brain size represent evolutionary puzzles with more than a touch of mystery.

This sequel to his earlier (1977) book is both readable and informative. His not infrequent pokes at Johanson detract from the first part of the book. (One has to read LUCY for "the other side of the story"). The last chapter, however, is the best, easily making up for any deficiencies that preceed it. In it he comments upon three topics: The Inevitability of Homo Sapiens, The Gap between us and "lower" animals, and The Sixth Extinction. He concludes that our existence here on Planet Earth is a matter as much of happenstance as any thing else. Echoing S. J. Gould, we are a "contingent fact of history, not the march down a predestined evolutionary pathway". As for a Gap between us and other life on earth, Leakey calls that an illusion, an accident of history. If you look closely enough you will see our links with the rest of life. Leakey has written an entire book on the last topic, The Sixth Extinction. Comparable in scale to the other "big five" we are in the midst of the sixth, with some 50% of species predicted by some to be gone in 30 years or so. Dispairing of our intelligence or ability to solve the problems we are causing, he envisions an earth without Homo Sapiens. Someday our brief sojourn here may be considered an "abberant blip". Still we should do all we can to preserve the environment, if only to post-pone the inevitable.

I almost gave this book 3 stars for it's difficult narrative style, but that would have taken away from the fact that it is full of great ideas. Lots of photos and illustrations cut through the slow moments. More info on the mitochondrial hypothesis would have been nice also. Still a great read all in all.

Richard Leakey's "Origins Reconsidered" offers an incredible look inside the processes that make us 'human'--from our earleist ancestors' physical attributes as compared with both ourselves today and his contemporarioes then, to examinations of attributes derived from minute studies of cranial features, including brain and layrnx development, to dentition and analogous behavioral studies on modern apes and stone age societies past and present.

Famous for numerous fossil finds of our ancient ancestors, the leakey family's contributions to our understandings of ourselves transends mere examination of fossil remains to the point that we many truthfuly look into our future as a species, armed with far more certain knowledge of where we came from. "Origins Reconsidered" follows in and often corrects misunderstandings now evident in Richard Leakey's first book, "Origins"...both a must read for the bipedal ape in all of us.

This book shares the history of many history books in my library which were bought in the 1980s. I collected a set of books on various kinds of science and have kept them over the years, gradually reading them. I mostly read sections in each, to sample them.

From 2003 till about 2006, I systematically went through them all, plus others that I had added in the course of this reading plan. Thus Leaky and Lewin sat in almost new condition on my bookcase for many years till I absorbed the whole thing finally in 2005.

Acquaintance
One reason I bought this book is because of my acquaintance with Richard Leakey. We never had an extensive relationship but I met him early in my experience as a young man in Africa. I met Richard in 1972 in Nairobi, when my wife and I were members of the Kenya Museum Society. While living in Kenya for about 25 years, we followed Richard's career in paleoanthropology, conservation and politics in the precarious rough and tumble of Kenya's volatile tribal atmosphere.

I appreciated Leakey's stand on moral and scientific standards. He resisted the pressures of political expediency and the pragmatism of a party trying to stay in power. The situation made it difficult for him to conduct some of the public duties even while he was the Director of the Kenya Museums.

Species Revision
Edith and I heard and early lecture by Richard, presented to the small group of Society members one evening, on the change in theory of human pre-history arising out of his discoveries. In this book Roger Lewin assists Leakey to present a scenario of pre-history, reconstructed from fossil findings and surmises of archaeologists.

A key theme is that Neanderthals and other humanoid beings were NOT direct ancestor species of the modern human, homo sapiens sapiens. This has been proven definitively now by DNA research. DNA also proves Leakey's theory that the human race had one common beginning, in Africa. This book is very informative.

Drama
Origins reads like a novel, which it basically is. There is a dramatic motif spinning out how it must have been, filling in from imagination the details to bridge the great gaps between the relatively few bones of various kinds from which a humanoid evolutionary history has been reconstructed.

The stories attempt to paint a picture of daily life and interaction with their environment. This novelesque approach helps bring to life these beings as real living individuals. There is extensive cultural information, however, on various human cultures.

Leakey and Lewin make important connections from various disciplines of science to explain aspects of human culture and suggest possible ways these practices and social structures arose in human history.