From the fossil hunter who discovered the Homo naledi fossils in
September 2015, this book is an amazing account of Lee Berger's 2008
hunt -- with the help of his curious 9-year-old son -- for a previously
unknown species of ape-like creatures that may have been direct
ancestors of modern humans. The discovery of two remarkably well
preserved, two-million-year-old fossils of an adult female and young
male, known as Australopiitecus sediba, has been hailed as one of the
most important archaeological discoveries in history. The fossils reveal
what may be one of humankind's oldest ancestors.
Berger believes the skeletons they found on the Malapa site in South
Africa could be the "Rosetta stone that unlocks our understanding of the
genus Homo" and may just redesign the human family tree.
Berger, an Eagle Scout and National Geographic Grantee, is the Reader in
Human Evolution and the Public Understanding of Science in the Institute
for Human Evolution at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg,
South Africa.
The focus of the book will be on the way in which we can apply new
thinking to familiar material and come up with a breakthrough. Marc
Aronson is particularly interested in framing these issues for young
people and has had enormous success with this approach in his previous
books: Ain't Nothing But a Man and If Stones Could Speak.
Berger's discovery in one of the most excavated and studied areas on
Earth revealed a treasure trove of human fossils--and an entirely new
human species--where people thought no more field work might ever be
necessary. Technology and revelation combined, plus a good does of luck,
to broaden by ten times the number of early human fossils known,
rejuvenating this field of study and posing countless more questions to
be answered in years and decades to come.
Releases simultaneously in Reinforced Library Binding:
978-1-4263-1053-9, $27.90/$32.00 Can
