Java man : how two geologists' dramatic discoveries changed our understanding of the evolutionary path to modern humans

Swisher, Carl Celso

ISBN 10: 0316648604 / ISBN 13: 9780316648608

Published by London : Little, Brown and Company, 2000

About this Item

Fine cloth copy in a good if somewhat edge-nicked and dust-dulled dust-wrapper. Remains particularly well-preserved overall; tight, bright, clean and strong. Physical description: 256p, [8]p of plates (some col.) ; 24cm. Subjects: Human beings Origin. Human evolution. Java man. Genre: Evolution. Language: English. 1 Kg.

Seller Inventory # 363275

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Java man : how two geologists' dramatic discoveries changed our understanding of the evolutionary path to modern humans
• Publisher: London : Little, Brown and Company
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0316648604
• ISBN 13: 9780316648608
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.

About this title

Synopsis

JAVA MAN is the scientific narrative of a landmark discovery, involving the fascinating adventure of the Dutch physician Eugene Dubois and his search for early humans in Java in the East Indies a century ago. There he uncovered the first fossils of our immediate ancestor, Homo erectus. A century later, the authors of JAVA MAN brought the power of the most sensitive radiosotopic dating technique to Homo erectus fossils from the same island where Dubois toiled so diligently. Sensationally, their true age is almost two million years old, a million years older than anthropological theory has held. The implications are profound. Not only does it mean that Homo erectus left Africa almost a million years earlier than was believed, indicating that it was a very different kind of animal than we thought; it also tells us that our own species, Homo sapiens, evolved rapidly and recently, in Africa. This solves anthropology's most contentious and rancorous debate, that of the origin of modern humans and the fate of the Neanderthals.

About the Author

* Co-written by Roger Lewin, 1989 winner of the Science Book of the Year (later the Rhone Poulenc) prize for BONES OF CONTENTION.