From Publishers Weekly
Head of Manhattan's American Museum of Natural History's anthropology department, Tattersall here weaves a vigorous historical narrative of paleontologists' attempts to reconstruct human origins from the fossil record. Beginning with the unearthing of Neanderthals and "Java Man," he carefully sifts through a remarkable succession of hominid finds from Africa, Eurasia, China, Indonesia and Israel, including Don Johanson's 1973 discovery in Ethiopia of "Lucy," a 3.4-million-year-old female hominid skeleton, and the Leakey team's 1984 find, "Turkana Boy," a 1.6-million-year-old Homo erectus skeleton uncovered in Kenya. Citing disagreements among scientists over interpretations of radiocarbon dating, comparative anatomy and biochemical techniques, Tattersall unreels a catalogue of paleoanthropological misidentifications, dogmas and misperceptions. He draws a hypothetical evolutionary tree that includes three genera of our hominid ancestors-Homo and Australopithecus (accepted by conventional wisdom) plus a new genus, Paranthropus-altogether embracing a dozen species leading to Homo sapiens. Illustrated.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
This informative and highly readable introduction to paleoanthropology by the head of the anthropology department at the American Museum of Natural History surveys the major discoveries in hominid evolution (fossils and artifacts) and examines both past and present principal interpretations of this growing empirical evidence for the complex emergence of humankind. Important fossils from Olduvai and other sites are critically discussed in terms of modern hominid taxonomy within the framework of climatic fluctuations, environmental changes, and morphological variety (species diversity). Throughout this detailed story, Tattersall argues against both human orthogenesis and the one-species hypothesis for explaining hominid evolution. He focuses on australopithecine diversity and behavior, those questions still surrounding Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis, and the recent appearance of our own unique species in Africa. A fascinating and provocative overview of human paleontology that is highly recommended for all anthropology collections.
H. James Birx, Canisius Coll., Buffalo, N.Y.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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