Java Man – How Two Geologists Changed Our Understanding of Human Evolution - Softcover

Swisher, Carl

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0226787346 ISBN 13: 9780226787343

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2001

Synopsis

"'Garniss, lend me your knife for a second, will you, ' I whispered." So begins Java Man, the inside story of how one discovery--a human skull found on the island of Java--by two geologists shook the foundations of science. By uncovering new evidence about the hominid known as Java man, Carl C. Swisher and Garniss H. Curtis were able to date his fossil remains at 1.7 million years, an age that stunned the scientific community because it pushed back the time when humans migrating out of Africa first reached Eurasia by nearly one million years. Cowritten by the popular science writer Roger Lewin, this is a gripping and informative account of the discovery that breathed new life into the human origins debate. Originally published by Scribner 2000 ISBN: 0-684-80000-4

About this title

Review:

One of the most important events in the discovery of human ancestry was the 1892 discovery on the Indonesian island of Java of part of a fossil skull. Found by a Dutch army medic, Eugene Dubois, the part ape-like part human skull cap was dug out from ancient sediments along with fossils of animals that no longer live in Java. Dubois thought his Pithecanthropus erectus was the missing link between apes and humans and showed that humans had evolved in the Far East but hardly anyone believed him. Not until many years later was the importance of his find acknowledged. One of the problems was that it was not possible for Dubois to date his fossil. Java Man tells the story of how it has now become possible to accurately date such fossil remains of our ancient human relatives. Co-written by two American academic experts (Curtis and Swisher) on dating rocks and fossils and Roger Lewin, the author of many highly acclaimed books on human prehistory, we get a firsthand account of modern science in action. Anyone who does not think that scientists are human should read this book, it reveals in fascinating detail the all too familiar frailties of overwheening ambition, back stabbing and name calling which bedevil most human enterprise. And yet out of all the mess comes important evidence and insights into the story of our deep ancestry. In 1996, the American team dated some of the Java fossils at around 27,000 years old and shattered most expert preconceptions about when Java Man died out. If the date is correct then these extinct human relatives overlapped in time with modern humans who arrived in Australia at least 60,000 years ago. A great story, well told and accompanied by illustrations, notes and a useful index.--Douglas Palmer.

Review:

It's like finding a family of Neanderthals living in 1996 (NEWSWEEK, December 1996 issue, on Curtis & Swisher's findings.)

The world of anthropology has been turned on its head. (THE TIMES)

The story carries you along...provides a strong confirmation of the theory that 'Homo sapien s' evolved in Africa a few million years ago, at a time when there were several other 'Homo (species around the world.')

LITERARY REVIEW ('A new and surprising dimension to the evolutionary picture. these hypotheses alter the story of human origins dramatically.')

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0226787346
• ISBN 13: 9780226787343
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256