- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated; New edition edition (Sep 6 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1841880388
- ISBN-13: 978-1841880389
- Product Dimensions: 29.5 x 24.9 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1.4 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,221,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
In recent decades new fossil discoveries have redefined perceptions of human evolution at a remarkable pace, making it nearly impossible for the general reader to find an up-to-date account of the subject. This large-format book by science writer Edgar and paleoanthropologist Johanson--discoverer of the famous partial skeleton of "Lucy," a female hominid who lived 3.2 million years ago--gives as complete a picture as is presently known. Much mystery remains, but the earlier view of human evolution as a linear progression from apes through the hominids to the various homo species has been replaced by a more treelike analogue, one with many branches of upright-walking hominids. Truly a photo album of hominid history, the volume includes more than 200 color pictures of the major fossil discoveries, each with explanatory text.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
No serious student of paleoanthropology can afford to miss this magnificent, encyclopedic survey of human origins. It combines a lucid, meticulous text by noted American paleontologist Johanson (well known for his discovery of Lucy, a 3.2-million-year-old hominid skeleton from Ethiopia) and freelancer Edgar with more than 200 stunning color photographs of fossils, artifacts and prehistoric art by National Geographic chief staff photographer Brill. The book's first half succinctly yet comprehensively explores dozens of issues and controversies, among them our genetic similarity to our closest living relatives, African apes; what early humans looked like; Homo's probable beginnings in Africa and migrations therefrom; and the latest evidence regarding hominid lifestyles, diet, shelter, art, burial practices. The second half contains arguably the fullest systematic survey to date for the nonspecialist of fossil hominids, ranging from the earliest such find, in 1921, to the most recent specimens from Kenya and Ethiopia, unearthed in 1994-95 and dated to more than four million years. Johanson forcefully argues that race is a superficial cultural construct without any solid genetic basis, and he theorizes that language, a survival mechanism that evolved through natural selection, is intimately linked to our brain's evolution.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
A HUMAN is any member of the species Homo sapiens ("wise man"), the only living representative of the family Hominidae. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
A HUMAN is any member of the species Homo sapiens ("wise man"), the only living representative of the family Hominidae. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good organization. Lucidly written. A great visual guide.,
By Mr Tough Guy (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: From Lucy To Language (Hardcover)
(...)Donald Johanson's "From Lucy to Language" is most certainly a long awaited book on hominid evolution. Any amateur interested in human evolution would welcome this edition. "From Lucy to Language" is an oversized hardcover book containing a wealth of visual information depicting fossilizes skeletal fragments of all known (up until 1995-1996) hominid species. The book is divided into two distinct parts. As you can see from the contents preview that Amazon provides, the first part deals with different aspects of human evolution such as climate, recovery and categorization of remains, human migration, use of fire, art, burial, symbolic thinking, and other interesting topics related to paleoanthropology. The second part contains information on every hominid species. Dr. Johanson pays a special attention (locality, age, discoverer, date, place of publication and brief description) to specimens that represent a particular genus and species. At the end of the book readers will find information on different tool industries beginning with Oldowan tool industry (2.4 million years to 1.5 million years ago) then moving on to Acheulean (first appearance 1.4 million years ago), Mousterian, and Upper Paleolithic industries (Gravettian, Aurignation, Magdalenian). I was surprised to see Johanson omitting so many other industries (such as Solutrean). All in all he only allocated 12 pages to depiction and describtion of artifacts and tools. Cladogram and phylogenetic tree found on page 38 needs modifications to account for a number of new hominids that were found after 1996. As some on you may already know there was sort of a gap in the fossil record between 5 and 10 millions years. The gap is beginning to fill up slowly but surely. An update to this edition is needed. I searched around for anything that might be fresher than 1996 but there is really not much choice. Conclusively, I think Johanson produced a marvelous piece of literature. Students in high schools and college undergraduates writing reports and papers may find this book especially useful as a reference. Print quality is one of the highest I have seen in a while ("Printed in Italy" as the book states but watch out because you may leave a great deal of oily finger prints after holding pages). Good organization, lucidly written.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great for just about anybody...,
By Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: From Lucy To Language (Hardcover)
If you want a solid, detailed book about the search for mankind's origins this is it. The first part of the book deals with the science of paleoanthropology, the nuts and bolts of how it works, from dating fossils, firepits and artifacts to studying past climates. The book also reveals to us the debates within society about where humans came from and what it means to be human. Will the answers change the way we think about ourselves and how what we will do in the future?The second part shows us the evidence - bones. Skulls, teeth, fingers. In clear photos, many of them actual size so we can see for ourselves what the text is telling us. It ends with a couple of pages on stone tools and their development. The two authors did their best to make the book complete BUT they also did not talk down to the reader. They don't assume you know everything, but they don't assume you're a fossil hunter either. For pros or beginners alike.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A definate must have,
By
This review is from: From Lucy To Language (Hardcover)
I borrowed this book for my Anthropology exams and I loved it. I had just the kind of information I needed and not just the badly drawn illustrations that my text book provided. I especially loved the fact that all plates are full size, and all the descriptions are generous. A good combination of Laymans terms and Anthropology.
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