Fossil Men

The Quest for the Oldest Skeleton and the Origins of Humankind

By: Kermit Pattison

Narrated by: Roger Wayne

Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

A behind-the-scenes account of the discovery of the oldest skeleton of a human ancestor, named "Ardi"—a find that shook the world of paleoanthropology and radically altered our understanding of human evolution.

In 1994, a team led by fossil-hunting legend Tim White—"the Steve Jobs of paleoanthropology"—uncovered the bones of a human ancestor in Ethiopia's Afar region. Radiometric dating of nearby rocks indicated the skeleton, classified as Ardipithecus ramidus, was 4.4 million years old, more than a million years older than "Lucy," then the oldest known human ancestor. The findings challenged many assumptions about human evolution—how we started walking upright, how we evolved our nimble hands, and, most significantly, whether we were descended from an ancestor that resembled today's chimpanzee—and repudiated a half-century of paleoanthropological orthodoxy.

Fossil Men is the first full-length exploration of Ardi, the fossil men who found her, and her impact on what we know about the origins of the human species. It is a scientific detective story played out in anatomy and the natural history of the human body. Kermit Pattison brings into focus a cast of eccentric, obsessive scientists, including one of the world's greatest fossil hunters, Tim White—an exacting and unforgiving fossil hunter whose virtuoso skills in the field were matched only by his propensity for making enemies; Gen Suwa, a Japanese savant who sometimes didn't bother going home at night to devote more hours to science; Owen Lovejoy, a onetime creationist-turned-paleoanthropologist; Berhane Asfaw, who survived imprisonment and torture to become Ethiopia's most senior paleoanthropologist and who fought for African scientists to gain equal footing in the study of human origins; and the Leakeys, for decades the most famous family in paleoanthropology.

An intriguing tale of scientific discovery, obsession and rivalry that moves from the sun-baked desert of Africa and a nation caught in a brutal civil war, to modern high-tech labs and academic lecture halls, Fossil Men is popular science at its best, and a must-listen for fans of Jared Diamond, Richard Dawkins, and Edward O. Wilson.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Kermit Pattison (P)2020 HarperAudio

Discovery told well

thank you for writing such an interesting treatise for people like myself who do not have the specific education but the interest in the spectrum of our ancestors. this writing kept me interested throughout its entirety and still fascinated and grateful for the work the people have done towards finding our ancestors.

Science Geek loved it..

But the average reader might not understand the significance of the book. “Doing science” in any context is challenging. Recognizing the pitfalls of dedication is the main takeaway for me with this book.

Many interesting people

A little difficult to keep up with the many characters but well worth the listen

Most memorable

In the years that I have been using Audible this book captivated me the most. It's hit and miss even if you read the reviews, due to personal tase. The real life characters were so well developed and described, locations as well were made so interesting that I was looking at maps to see where all of this was happening. I loved this book so much. It was fun to read and an incredible lesson in fossil history as well.

a must read for any interested in the subject

It is a great sadness that the world of paleatology is also bedevilled by politics. The history of mankind and in fact all living creatures belongs to us all and should not be under the control of countries that are cursed with bribery and corruption and fossils vulnerable to destruction by war and vandalism. Just because a fossil is found in a particular country should make it that country's property.

This book also provides one of the most insightful discussions on homo erectus I have read. The author is fair and as unbiased as I think is reasonable for the subject matter.

What I enjoyed most is the in-depth discussion about broader and more plausible picture of the development of man and ape.

I think it must be one of the more up-to-date books on the discovery and examination of fossils.

A reminder of why I don’t work in academia

A very good summary of the search for the fossils of ancient human ancestors during the last 40 years. I would have preferred less time spent on the rivalry between scientists. Instead I was hoping for a deeper dive into the science. The descriptions of the science was sometimes cursory while the political rivalry between labs was described exhaustively.

Bones

In-depth view of the process involved in seeking answers to our origins. Mistakes made/assumptions corrected leading to a greater understanding

I’m addicted to to learning about our common ancestors

A superb book, beautifully written and I loved every minute. Narrator was wonderful. I loved thinking about my great, great, great ———————-grandmothers. Our early human ancestors are fascinating creatures.

Oh narrator

I would wager that Tim White or Owen Lovejoy could not listen to the end of the audio version with a single hair on their heads intact. The slaughter of pronunciation of anatomical and scientific terms was exhausting. Not the narrator (actor) fault. The audiobook publisher should review scientific term pronunciation beforehand with the narrator. Excellent story.

Informative investigations of humans’ beginnings

Narration is clear and professional.

Informative and engaging descriptions and explanations of rival theories and evidence of human origin. The controversies based on conflicting interpretations of of archaeological remains is the heart of this analysis and is informative.