Dawn of Man: The Story of Human Evolution

by Robin McKie

Dawn of Man, which accompanies a BBC television series, tells the story of human evolution, warts and all, over the last 4 million years or so. From a shared ancestor with the higher apes, an upright,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0789462621
• ISBN13: 9780789462626
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley)
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 2.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.8" x 11.1"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Overview Anybody Can Understand

You need not have seen the TV show, or be a science student, to read and understand this book. It is a carefully-written exploration of the fossil record to date, and even includes some of the paleo-DNA work that has been done on Neanderthals. All the major finds, scientists and theories are touched on. Anyone who is curious about prehistory or primates should find it a fun, fast, and fascinating read, more like a novel than a piece of non-fiction. In addition, there are illustrations and photos throughout, making it a great book for kids who are curious

Imaging who we were

Any book written for/from a TV production is certain to have shortcomings. The usual flaws are oversimplification, errors of omission or outdated information. This book exhibits few of these problems, with the possible exception of the last. The rapid progress being attained in paleoanthropology these dates edges the "most recent finds" boundary almost monthly. We can't fault Robin McKie for falling behind as his frequent columns in The Guardian allow for prompt updating of the material. In this presentation, McKie has made a valiant effort to summarise the most recent information gathered on the nature of our ancestors. His fine prose is supported by some excellent, some good and some almost pitiful graphics. Fortunately, McKie's narrative more than transcends any shortcomings in the visuals.Human evolution remains the most important scientific topic. Its significance is reflected in the many controversies associated with paleoanthropology. McKie doesn't shy away from these disputes. In fact, he nearly makes them the underlying theme of the book. He follows the revelations about our forebears offered by Raymond Dart, the Leakey family [which has proven a true dynasty in its own right], Don Johanson, Alan Walker and numerous others. Each made contributions, sometimes hotly contested by fellow researchers looking at the same data from different perspectives. McKie is good at examining the views and the evidence supporting them. He follows debates and resolutions closely, leaving the reader well informed and generally convinced by the resolution he selects.McKie has a fine sense of the issues surrounding excavations and the analysis of revealed data. He explains the dating methods used in properly placing our ancestors on the evolutionary timeline. The evidence demonstrates that a strictly linear progression of human ancestry is difficult or impossible to draw from existing fossil specimens. McKie shows how many of the pre-human species branched off to become "failed" evolutionary experiments. The picture that emerges he equates with "the bar in Star Wars" in which many different types co-exist and intermingle while remaining unique. He returns to this image frequently which might become supportive of the "multi-regional" hypothesis. This idea, that Homo sapiens developed in parallel in different parts of the world, contested for some time with Darwin's proposal that humanity emerged in Africa. McKie, after examining all the arguments and data, declares that Darwin "got it right" all those years ago.With the resources available, McKie has enlivened his text with excellent illustrations. There are diagrams and photographs of fossils as found and reconstructed. Several good maps of fossil sites and likely routes taken by our wandering ancestors. The only flaw in these images are hazy reproductions of the TV production. Most of these portray our ancestors as hirsute savannah dwellers, an image dispelled by Don Johanson's artist a generation ago. As an

Lessons for today from a beautiful book

In this book a skilled science journalist surveys the palaeontological and anthropological state of play through to late 1999. In the course of surveying the last 5m years of human evolution, McKie brings out some fascinating evidence relevant to important contemporary debates. I look at these in this review. (The page references are to McKie's book.) In terms of diet, our pre-Homo ancestors were herbivorous (vegetarian) and our digestive system is basically unchanged since that time. However, there were immense evolutionary advantages in our ancestors also consuming meat - indeed, without consuming meat we might still be the Australopithecene genus which preceded Homo through to 2m years ago.Climate change gave the Australopithecenes the stark alternative: adapt or perish. Some of our ancestors adapted, becoming tool makers and omnivores (and Homo) rather than herbivores. They also survived - as meat eaters with a herbivorous gut.McKie quotes Richard Potts: "About 2.5m years ago, hominids encountered great fluctuations in the climate. At the same time we see the appearance of stone tools. That is no coincidence. They indicate that at least one hominid species was responding to these changes by becoming even more adaptable, rather than becoming specialized in the way that robustus and bosei did. By making tools, dietary choices became greater. Not only could people skin the large dead and doubtless smelly carcasses they occasionally found, they could crack open their bones for marrow. In addition tools would have helped pound and break down vegetables and nuts that could otherwise only have been eaten by animals with specialized dentures, and also helped dig up tubers rich in protein and calories. Just as Australopithecines responded to oscillating climates by walking, by becoming more versatile movers, so did the first members of the Homo line 2m years later. They made tools and became more versatile eaters" [66f]. The richer diet led to bigger brains, bigger brains led to intellectual growth and intellectual growth led to: (a) improved memory (including mental resource maps of the terrain and the seasons), (b) the ability to co-operate and take advantage of social complexity, (c) the ability to solve problems which led to the ability to create and use tools. These benefits in turn led to a more reliable diet which was also richer [114]. "We became less tethered to our habitats. Our ancestors' behaviour was becoming increasingly diverse, our menus more adventurous" [67]. Meat eaters were more free to migrate so they could survive, herbivores being more limited to the spread of their familiar staple plants [96]. The complexity of societies, the importance of memory and skills led to adults having a benefit beyond their reproductive age - they had knowledge and culture (wisdom) to pass on, not just physical genes[115].The second theme concerns the evolution of human society and the differentiation of male and female roles.Huma

Bones, Stones and Genes

This is a very interesting book on the always polemical subject of human evolution. It is light reading with nice explanatory double page boxes. The book can be read by junior high kids with good reading skills and it can also bring the latest developments for the ones who have been following the ongoing discussion.The book starts at around 6.5 million years ago when our lineage and the chimpanzees' lineage split. At around 4.2 million years ago we were already bipeds as it can be proved by the position of the foragen magnun, the entry point for the spinal cord on the skul, found in ancient fossils. From that point till around 30,000 years ago a bush of different hominid species occupied the planet. The fate of the last non Homo sapiens human species, the Neanderthals is controversial but since their disappearance or assimilation we rule this planet.By developing bipedalism, mastering the construction of tools and evolving big brains our ancestors survived harsh climate conditions through Ice Ages, settled in virtually every part of the globe and now we prepare ourselfs to leave this planet. It's a wonderful saga wonderfully described in this book. The book not only covers all the major scientific findings that help us understand our family history but also honors the people behind the findings. Archeologists and paleontologists working under scorching sun, eagle-eyed Kenyans, and technicians in cool, high-tech genetic labs; they all help us to reconstruct our heritage.This is a very interesting introductory book on a subject that usually brings heated discussion. The book is very didactical and filled with nice pictures, diagrams and maps. It presents scientific discoveries as recent as 1999 what is very desirable since molecular biology is revolutionizing the field. The book is a good complement for the excellent BBC/TLC four hours TV program.Leonardo Alves - January 2001