"Peking Man," a cave man once thought a great hunter who had first tamed fire, was actually a composite of the gnawed remains of some fifty women, children, and men unfortunate enough to have been the prey of the giant cave hyena. Researching the famous fossil site of Dragon Bone Hill in China, scientists Noel T. Boaz and Russell L. Ciochon retell the story of the cave's unique species of early human, Homo erectus. Boaz and Ciochon take readers on a gripping scientific odyssey. New evidence shows that Homo erectus was an opportunist who rode a tide of environmental change out Africa and into Eurasia, puddle-jumping from one gene pool to the next. Armed with a shaky hold on fire and some sharp rocks, Homo erectus incredibly survived for over 1.5 million years, much longer than our own species Homo sapiens has been on Earth. Tell-tale marks on fossil bones show that the lives of these early humans were brutal, ruled by hunger and who could strike the hardest blow, yet there are fleeting glimpses of human compassion as well. The small brain of Homo erectus and its strangely unchanging culture indicate that the species could not talk.
Part of that primitive culture included ritualized aggression, to which the extremely thick skulls of Homo erectus bear mute witness. Both a vivid recreation of the unimagined way of life of a prehistoric species, so similar yet so unlike us, and a fascinating exposition of how modern multidisciplinary research can test hypotheses in human evolution, Dragon Bone Hill is science writing at its best.
"Peking Man," a cave man once thought a great hunter who had first tamed fire, was actually a composite of the gnawed remains of some fifty women, children, and men unfortunate enough to have been the prey of the giant cave hyena. Researching the famous fossil site of Dragon Bone Hill in China, scientists Noel T. Boaz and Russell L. Ciochon retell the story of the cave's unique species of early human, Homo erectus. Boaz and Ciochon take readers on a gripping scientific odyssey. New evidence shows that Homo erectus was an opportunist who rode a tide of environmental change out Africa and into Eurasia, puddle-jumping from one gene pool to the next. Armed with a shaky hold on fire and some sharp rocks, Homo erectus incredibly survived for over 1.5 million years, much longer than our own species Homo sapiens has been on Earth. Tell-tale marks on fossil bones show that the lives of these early humans were brutal, ruled by hunger and who could strike the hardest blow, yet there are fleeting glimpses of human compassion as well. The small brain of Homo erectus and its strangely unchanging culture indicate that the species could not talk.
Part of that primitive culture included ritualized aggression, to which the extremely thick skulls of Homo erectus bear mute witness. Both a vivid recreation of the unimagined way of life of a prehistoric species, so similar yet so unlike us, and a fascinating exposition of how modern multidisciplinary research can test hypotheses in human evolution, Dragon Bone Hill is science writing at its best.
Noel T. Boaz is Professor of Anatomy, Ross University School of
Medicine. He is the author of Evolving Health, Eco Homo and Quarry:
Closing in on the Missing Link.
Russell L. Ciochon is Professor of Anthropology at the University
of Iowa. His books include Other Origins: The Search for the Giant
Ape in Human Prehistory and The Human Evolution Source Book.
"For non-scientists interested in the evolution of man and the
study of daves and dave men, this book is highly readable."--Danny
A. Brass, Journal of Cave and Karst Studies
"Adding a controversial interpretation of the human evolutionary
story to a gripping account of the discovery and mysterious
disappearance of some of the world's most charismatic fossils, Boaz
and Ciochon take the reader on an absorbing tour of the remote
human past. Along the way they reveal some of the complexities,
human as well as scientific, that continue to beset our efforts to
understand whence our extraordinary species emerged."--Ian
Tattersall, author
of Becoming Human and The Monkey In the Mirror
"Boaz and Ciochon have written an admirable book worth reading with
both reflection and delight. Their historical account of the
important discoveries at Dragon Bone Hill may read like good
fiction, but the events are well researched and honestly portrayed.
Details of the magnificent fossils are carefully described for
layman and scientist alike. In the contentious field of human
evolutionary studies, the ideas of Boaz and Ciochon are sometimes
daring, but
never fanciful. The bottom line is that Dragon Bone Hill is a good
read coupled with educational value."--Jeffrey K. McKee, Associate
Professor of Anthropology at The Ohio State University, author of
The
Riddled Chain and Sparing Nature
"A meticulous, but not forbiddingly technical, survey of evidence
from which scientists infer and debate the species' evolution. From
areas where consensus reigns--that H. erectus was a head-banging,
tool- and fire-using scavenger--Boaz and Ciochon proceed to the
most disputatious ground in the field, arguments about whether H.
erectus evolved in Africa or elsewhere. Methodically informative,
this book best suits readers with a well developed interest in
human origins."--Booklist
"[Boaz and Ciochon] tell two entertaining tales as they explore
many facets of the Homo erectus story. The first deals with the
discovery of Peking Man and provides much insight into the politics
of early paleoanthropology.... Their second story addresses the
evolutionary place of Peking Man and presents hypotheses on the
origins of the use of fire, the beginnings of human language, the
evolution of the brain, hunting, cannibalism, stone and bone tool
use and
ancient human diet."--Publishers Weekly
"Boaz and Ciochon restore Zhoukoudian to its pivotal role in
understanding human evolution and how it was discovered. They give
us new insights and some tantalizing glimpses of almost-lost
history. This is a welcome addition to Multiregionalism."--Milford
H. Wolpoff, University of Michigan
"For non-scientists interested in the evolution of man and the
study of daves and dave men, this book is highly readable."--Danny
A. Brass, Journal of Cave and Karst Studies
"Adding a controversial interpretation of the human evolutionary
story to a gripping account of the discovery and mysterious
disappearance of some of the world's most charismatic fossils, Boaz
and Ciochon take the reader on an absorbing tour of the remote
human past. Along the way they reveal some of the complexities,
human as well as scientific, that continue to beset our efforts to
understand whence our extraordinary species emerged."--Ian
Tattersall, author
of Becoming Human and The Monkey In the Mirror
"Boaz and Ciochon have written an admirable book worth reading with
both reflection and delight. Their historical account of the
important discoveries at Dragon Bone Hill may read like good
fiction, but the events are well researched and honestly portrayed.
Details of the magnificent fossils are carefully described for
layman and scientist alike. In the contentious field of human
evolutionary studies, the ideas of Boaz and Ciochon are sometimes
daring, but
never fanciful. The bottom line is that Dragon Bone Hill is a good
read coupled with educational value."--Jeffrey K. McKee, Associate
Professor of Anthropology at The Ohio State University, author of
The
Riddled Chain and Sparing Nature
"A meticulous, but not forbiddingly technical, survey of evidence
from which scientists infer and debate the species' evolution. From
areas where consensus reigns--that H. erectus was a head-banging,
tool- and fire-using scavenger--Boaz and Ciochon proceed to the
most disputatious ground in the field, arguments about whether H.
erectus evolved in Africa or elsewhere. Methodically informative,
this book best suits readers with a well developed interest in
human origins."--Booklist
"[Boaz and Ciochon] tell two entertaining tales as they explore
many facets of the Homo erectus story. The first deals with the
discovery of Peking Man and provides much insight into the politics
of early paleoanthropology.... Their second story addresses the
evolutionary place of Peking Man and presents hypotheses on the
origins of the use of fire, the beginnings of human language, the
evolution of the brain, hunting, cannibalism, stone and bone tool
use and
ancient human diet."--Publishers Weekly
"Boaz and Ciochon restore Zhoukoudian to its pivotal role in
understanding human evolution and how it was discovered. They give
us new insights and some tantalizing glimpses of almost-lost
history. This is a welcome addition to Multiregionalism."--Milford
H. Wolpoff, University of Michigan
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