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Birthright
Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge
Thousands of years after mankind has become extinct, a party of alien archaeologists try to learn the mysteries of mankind as they excavate in a gorge on Earth. This Hugo and Nebula Award winning novella by Mike Resnick is a gripping exploration of human origins and motivations.
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First published January 1, 1994
About the author
Mike Resnick
817 books561 followersMichael "Mike" Diamond Resnick, better known by his published name Mike Resnick, was a popular and prolific American science fiction author. He is, according to Locus, the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short science fiction. He was the winner of five Hugos, a Nebula, and other major awards in the United States, France, Spain, Japan, Croatia and Poland. and has been short-listed for major awards in England, Italy and Australia. He was the author of 68 novels, over 250 stories, and 2 screenplays, and was the editor of 41 anthologies. His work has been translated into 25 languages. He was the Guest of Honor at the 2012 Worldcon and can be found online as @ResnickMike on Twitter or at www.mikeresnick.com.
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April 16, 2026
A dark and disturbing view of humanity's history
SEVEN VIEWS OF OLDUVAI GORGE posits a distant future in which Man is long extinct. Having arisen as a deceptively small and to all appearances harmless bipedal ancestor of the earliest pro-simian species, Man evolved into a violent and powerful predator who was master of his planet. Technological advancements allowed Man to travel to the stars colonizing a million planets and enslaving or eliminating all those he met who posed any threat, real or imagined. Notwithstanding his powerful position astride the top of the galactic food chain, as it were, mankind has slipped into extinction. Five millennia after the last known representative of our species died, an alien planet has sent a scientific archeological team to earth to study man's rise and fall by a careful examination of the artifacts they find in the location now known as the birthplace of our species - Olduvai Gorge.
SEVEN VIEWS OF OLDUVAI GORGE is a series of seven short stories commenting on man's violent and aggressive nature ranging in time from our earliest pre-history as a species that could hardly be graced even with the term "caveman" to a hypothesized galactic superpower with technological skills that included interstellar travel and domination of a million other planets. The stories are all told by "He Who Sees", a member of the alien archeological team who has the uncanny ability to see, hear, feel and completely experience the history of an artifact by subsuming it into his own body and absorbing its history into his mentality.
This collection of stories, which won the 1994 Nebula Award for best novella, portray a bleak, dismal and disappointed view of an aggressive, violent and self-centered humanity. Perhaps the most disappointing thing of all about this fine book is that, as a reader of the book and a member of the race under discussion, I can find no reason to dispute Michael Resnick's hard-hearted view of our history.
It would be most unfair to disclose the point of the final story to a potential reader. But, suffice it to say, although Michael Resnick's cynicism remains obvious at the close of his novel, it is just possible - barely - that we could make something of ourselves if we had another chance.
SEVEN VIEWS OF OLDUVAI GORGE is short, sweet and compellingly powerful. Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
SEVEN VIEWS OF OLDUVAI GORGE posits a distant future in which Man is long extinct. Having arisen as a deceptively small and to all appearances harmless bipedal ancestor of the earliest pro-simian species, Man evolved into a violent and powerful predator who was master of his planet. Technological advancements allowed Man to travel to the stars colonizing a million planets and enslaving or eliminating all those he met who posed any threat, real or imagined. Notwithstanding his powerful position astride the top of the galactic food chain, as it were, mankind has slipped into extinction. Five millennia after the last known representative of our species died, an alien planet has sent a scientific archeological team to earth to study man's rise and fall by a careful examination of the artifacts they find in the location now known as the birthplace of our species - Olduvai Gorge.
SEVEN VIEWS OF OLDUVAI GORGE is a series of seven short stories commenting on man's violent and aggressive nature ranging in time from our earliest pre-history as a species that could hardly be graced even with the term "caveman" to a hypothesized galactic superpower with technological skills that included interstellar travel and domination of a million other planets. The stories are all told by "He Who Sees", a member of the alien archeological team who has the uncanny ability to see, hear, feel and completely experience the history of an artifact by subsuming it into his own body and absorbing its history into his mentality.
This collection of stories, which won the 1994 Nebula Award for best novella, portray a bleak, dismal and disappointed view of an aggressive, violent and self-centered humanity. Perhaps the most disappointing thing of all about this fine book is that, as a reader of the book and a member of the race under discussion, I can find no reason to dispute Michael Resnick's hard-hearted view of our history.
It would be most unfair to disclose the point of the final story to a potential reader. But, suffice it to say, although Michael Resnick's cynicism remains obvious at the close of his novel, it is just possible - barely - that we could make something of ourselves if we had another chance.
SEVEN VIEWS OF OLDUVAI GORGE is short, sweet and compellingly powerful. Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
August 4, 2016
Final review, first posted on Fantasy Literature:
In this Hugo and Nebula award-winning novella by Mike Resnick, humanity once controlled much of the galaxy due to its ambition and ruthlessness, but then declined for unspecified reasons and is now an extinct race. About five thousand years after mankind’s extinction, a group of diverse alien anthropologists travels to Earth to excavate Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, which is considered by many scientists to be the birthplace of humanity, where we first evolved. The team finds several ancient artifacts in Olduvai Gorge from different layers in the strata, representing different periods of time in the past: a triangular rock, a broken chain link, a knife handle, and so on. One alien, known as “He Who Views,” has the convenient ability to temporarily absorb an object into itself and experience key moments in history related to the object. He Who Views retells seven stories of mankind’s past based upon these artifacts, revealing both our strengths and our weaknesses.
The depth and details of the history that He Who Views relates don’t entirely make logical sense, as much of each story is only indirectly related to the particular artifact that plays a role in that story, but the artifacts do provide a convenient hook for each story and a framework for the account of humanity’s rise and fall. The tale of an African photo safari in the year 2103 was particularly memorable. Though some may differ, I thought it was an overly grim view of our race (though the abysmal current U.S. presidential campaign does, I confess, give me pause for thought). This novella focuses almost exclusively on mankind’s penchant for murder, enslaving each other, abusing our planet and its environment, and other types of destructiveness, while giving a nod to our resolve and hardiness. As a whole, it’s a compelling and sobering look at who we are as a people, and why we might be viewed with alarm by other intelligent beings.
Free online at Subterranean Press.
In this Hugo and Nebula award-winning novella by Mike Resnick, humanity once controlled much of the galaxy due to its ambition and ruthlessness, but then declined for unspecified reasons and is now an extinct race. About five thousand years after mankind’s extinction, a group of diverse alien anthropologists travels to Earth to excavate Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, which is considered by many scientists to be the birthplace of humanity, where we first evolved. The team finds several ancient artifacts in Olduvai Gorge from different layers in the strata, representing different periods of time in the past: a triangular rock, a broken chain link, a knife handle, and so on. One alien, known as “He Who Views,” has the convenient ability to temporarily absorb an object into itself and experience key moments in history related to the object. He Who Views retells seven stories of mankind’s past based upon these artifacts, revealing both our strengths and our weaknesses.
The depth and details of the history that He Who Views relates don’t entirely make logical sense, as much of each story is only indirectly related to the particular artifact that plays a role in that story, but the artifacts do provide a convenient hook for each story and a framework for the account of humanity’s rise and fall. The tale of an African photo safari in the year 2103 was particularly memorable. Though some may differ, I thought it was an overly grim view of our race (though the abysmal current U.S. presidential campaign does, I confess, give me pause for thought). This novella focuses almost exclusively on mankind’s penchant for murder, enslaving each other, abusing our planet and its environment, and other types of destructiveness, while giving a nod to our resolve and hardiness. As a whole, it’s a compelling and sobering look at who we are as a people, and why we might be viewed with alarm by other intelligent beings.
Free online at Subterranean Press.
April 14, 2019
Couldn't get this story out of my head while reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. So I've reread this after many years just to discover that it's still very fresh and considering our political situation (our as of a human kind) this is going to stay fresh for a very long time. Tragic and gorgeous, in a way.
May 4, 2010
6.0 stars. On my list of "All Time Favorite" stories. An amazing novella taking place after humanity's extinction and centering around an alien archaeological expedition sent to Earth to study man's rise and fall through, fossils and other artifacts, in the legendary place where man began. A fascinating look at an "outsiders" view of the cruelty and glory of human history. Add to that a GREAT ENDING and you have a truly memorable story.
Winner: Hugo Award for Best Novella (1995)
Winner: Nebula Award for Best Novella (1994)
Nominee (runner up): Locus Award for Best Novella (1995)
Winner: Hugo Award for Best Novella (1995)
Winner: Nebula Award for Best Novella (1994)
Nominee (runner up): Locus Award for Best Novella (1995)
June 29, 2012
SF doing what SF does best : look at the world from a new perspective, asking the big cosmological and existential questions. The perspective in this novella is alien: a team of galactic archeologists exploring the cradle of humanity - Olduvai Gorge - thousands of years after humanity has become extinct, tens of thousands of years since Man has conquered the galaxy.
What made us reach for the stars? What made us fail the survival game? The title evokes Hokusai woodcuts that are more than just snapshots of pretty landscapes. It evokes epic struggles of man against elemental forces of nature, majestic vistas where people move like ants against the far off siluette of a volcano, be it Mt. Fuji or Mt Kilimanjaro.
Are seven short tableaux enough to paint the whole history of humanity? After reading Mike Resnick account, I would say yes. In the hands of a master storyteller 50 pages or so are more than enough. From an opening gambit chanelling Arthur C Clarke and the prologue to 2001: A Space Oddissey, the destiny of humanity will be defined by weapons, slavery, racial discrimination, the extinction of animal life on Earth, the destruction of the environment, the exodus from the home planet that will ultimately lead back in an elegant symmetry to the team of aliens looking for answers in the dust of Olduvai Gorge.
A novella well worth checking out.
What made us reach for the stars? What made us fail the survival game? The title evokes Hokusai woodcuts that are more than just snapshots of pretty landscapes. It evokes epic struggles of man against elemental forces of nature, majestic vistas where people move like ants against the far off siluette of a volcano, be it Mt. Fuji or Mt Kilimanjaro.
Are seven short tableaux enough to paint the whole history of humanity? After reading Mike Resnick account, I would say yes. In the hands of a master storyteller 50 pages or so are more than enough. From an opening gambit chanelling Arthur C Clarke and the prologue to 2001: A Space Oddissey, the destiny of humanity will be defined by weapons, slavery, racial discrimination, the extinction of animal life on Earth, the destruction of the environment, the exodus from the home planet that will ultimately lead back in an elegant symmetry to the team of aliens looking for answers in the dust of Olduvai Gorge.
A novella well worth checking out.
December 4, 2020
Seven views of Olduvai Gorge has won so many awards and accolades that it resembles a tinpot dictatorship army General, its shoulders bowing under the near-satirical weight of the medals, ribbons and braid cascading across its cover.
With its almost universal acclaim, Mike Resnick's book could have been titled All The Major SF Awards, and How to Win Them.
Sometimes, the weight of all these awards can hype a book up so much, that the content, even if brilliant, cannot hope to meet expectations. Not so here.
Mike Resnick's novella is a genuine classic - one of those fantastically original works that stays with you long after you've read it.
Seven views of Olduvai Gorge is set millennia after the extinction of humanity, and is told from the perspective of a member of a team of alien archaeologists who are exploring the accreted layers of history buried in Olduvai Gorge in contemporary Tanzania.
As they dig, the central character, an alien who can viscerally experience the happenings of history by touching unearthed artefacts, pieces together the trajectory of the human race, as we rise from primitive roots to running a galaxy spanning civilisation that grew with shocking rapidity to encompass almost all the known universe.
The civilisation that Homo Sapiens built however, was not a very nice one, and the era of humanity is remembered by the galaxy as one of brutal domination, conquest and violence. It is an epoch that the other sentient races of the Milky Way are glad to have seen the back of, at the same time as they are in awe of humanity's achievements.
From this premise, Resnick embarks on a fascinating tour through some of the darker aspects of human history, each revealed by an artefact uncovered in Olduvai gorge - a piece of chain, a triangular stone, the handle of a knife and others.
It 's a great setup, and Resnick uses it well, going beyond a kind of reverse, sedate Roadside Picnic and exploring some hard-hitting truths about human nature.
As each object's sad history is uncovered our team of xenoarchaeologists is confronted with slavery, murder, racism, and other grim facts of human existence that both shock them and educate them as to how and why humanity rose so quickly, and treated other races so poorly.
From these unassuming objects we begin to see how the brutality of the Terran interstellar empire reflects the fact that violence and bigotry have been baked into our species since our beginnings on the savannah of Africa. It's a grim message, but one that is artfully shown, and hard to argue with.
Resnick takes his readers on an innovative tour through history, and gives them a grim glimpse of what human expansion into space could result in if we don't curb our less laudable traits. When I tried to imagine Resnick's fallen Terran empire I came up with Genghis Khan in space, which is a horrifying, but all too easily predicted possibility as our species looks heavenward.
This is a quick read, being a slight novella of only 48 pages, but it packs a great deal in, and wastes no words in its fascinating and impactful story. It totally sucked me in, and the juxtoposition of the grimmer moments of human hstory with the reactions of alien observers brings fresh shock at how really, genuinely awful we humans have been to each other over the millennia.
There's also a surprise or two, which I won't spoil as they are well worth the wait.
It turns out that Resnicks' old general isn't so tinpot after all - behind the wall of medals and trophies on Seven views's cover sits a grizzled veteran of a story that earned every one of it's braids and honours.
Read it - it's uncommon to find such a close matchup between critical acclaim and pure reading enjoyability.
4.5 Distinguished Reading Crosses out of five.
With its almost universal acclaim, Mike Resnick's book could have been titled All The Major SF Awards, and How to Win Them.
Sometimes, the weight of all these awards can hype a book up so much, that the content, even if brilliant, cannot hope to meet expectations. Not so here.
Mike Resnick's novella is a genuine classic - one of those fantastically original works that stays with you long after you've read it.
Seven views of Olduvai Gorge is set millennia after the extinction of humanity, and is told from the perspective of a member of a team of alien archaeologists who are exploring the accreted layers of history buried in Olduvai Gorge in contemporary Tanzania.
As they dig, the central character, an alien who can viscerally experience the happenings of history by touching unearthed artefacts, pieces together the trajectory of the human race, as we rise from primitive roots to running a galaxy spanning civilisation that grew with shocking rapidity to encompass almost all the known universe.
The civilisation that Homo Sapiens built however, was not a very nice one, and the era of humanity is remembered by the galaxy as one of brutal domination, conquest and violence. It is an epoch that the other sentient races of the Milky Way are glad to have seen the back of, at the same time as they are in awe of humanity's achievements.
From this premise, Resnick embarks on a fascinating tour through some of the darker aspects of human history, each revealed by an artefact uncovered in Olduvai gorge - a piece of chain, a triangular stone, the handle of a knife and others.
It 's a great setup, and Resnick uses it well, going beyond a kind of reverse, sedate Roadside Picnic and exploring some hard-hitting truths about human nature.
As each object's sad history is uncovered our team of xenoarchaeologists is confronted with slavery, murder, racism, and other grim facts of human existence that both shock them and educate them as to how and why humanity rose so quickly, and treated other races so poorly.
From these unassuming objects we begin to see how the brutality of the Terran interstellar empire reflects the fact that violence and bigotry have been baked into our species since our beginnings on the savannah of Africa. It's a grim message, but one that is artfully shown, and hard to argue with.
Resnick takes his readers on an innovative tour through history, and gives them a grim glimpse of what human expansion into space could result in if we don't curb our less laudable traits. When I tried to imagine Resnick's fallen Terran empire I came up with Genghis Khan in space, which is a horrifying, but all too easily predicted possibility as our species looks heavenward.
This is a quick read, being a slight novella of only 48 pages, but it packs a great deal in, and wastes no words in its fascinating and impactful story. It totally sucked me in, and the juxtoposition of the grimmer moments of human hstory with the reactions of alien observers brings fresh shock at how really, genuinely awful we humans have been to each other over the millennia.
There's also a surprise or two, which I won't spoil as they are well worth the wait.
It turns out that Resnicks' old general isn't so tinpot after all - behind the wall of medals and trophies on Seven views's cover sits a grizzled veteran of a story that earned every one of it's braids and honours.
Read it - it's uncommon to find such a close matchup between critical acclaim and pure reading enjoyability.
4.5 Distinguished Reading Crosses out of five.
November 11, 2025
DELICIIOSO.
Un relato de apenas 50 páginas pero que te va a hacer darle alguna vuelta a la cabeza.
¿ por qué somos como somos de "egoístas" ? ¿ desde cuándo está ése "egoísmo" implantado en nuestros cerebros ?
Una verdadera chulada de relato que se lee en un plis-plas.
Un relato de apenas 50 páginas pero que te va a hacer darle alguna vuelta a la cabeza.
¿ por qué somos como somos de "egoístas" ? ¿ desde cuándo está ése "egoísmo" implantado en nuestros cerebros ?
Una verdadera chulada de relato que se lee en un plis-plas.
March 22, 2019
Theoretically, it's a stand-alone short story. Practically, it's a sequel of Birthright: The Book of Man. Actually, it is more of an epilogue for it.
Everything I've written in my review of "Birthright" perfectly applies for this book too, so I see both no reason to add anything to aforementioned review and no choice but to rate Olduvai the same 5* I've handed to "Birthright".
Everything I've written in my review of "Birthright" perfectly applies for this book too, so I see both no reason to add anything to aforementioned review and no choice but to rate Olduvai the same 5* I've handed to "Birthright".
October 10, 2021
Tras ver la cantidad de premios que ganó, me esperaba más. La idea es original y la historia empieza bien, pero fui perdiendo interés al avanzar y me quedo con la sensación de que se podían haber contado más cosas.
June 2, 2018
great SF novella that spans the spectrum from "humanity f*** yeah!" through "humanity f*** no!" to "humanity wtf?"
July 1, 2021
Short story about men’s greed, resilience, and devotion, seen from the perspective of alien archaelogists.
August 1, 2026
Wooden, clunky, and dated. I'm shocked that this novelette won multiple awards. I spent more time in used book stores looking for this damn rag than actually reading it. Meh
November 8, 2020
Tengo que admitir que cuando vi el título de este cuento no me llamó para nada la atención, sin mencionar que tiene una de las portadas más horribles que he visto en mi vida. Pero como ya sabemos el hábito no hace al monje, y luego de investigar un poco descubrí que “La Garganta de Olduvai” es uno de los yacimientos paleontológicos más importantes de África. Esta información extra me ayudó a disfrutar más la lectura.
La historia nos muestra un grupo de investigadores extraterrestre que están realizando excavaciones en La Garganta de Olduvai y recolectando una serie de muestras para conocer más sobre una raza que vivió mucho tiempo en el planeta Tierra, los humanos. Uno de estos investigadores tiene la capacidad de visualizar el entorno y la historia de estas muestras mediante una especie de fusión de su propio cuerpo con dichos objetos. De esta manera, se nos irá narrando las diferentes historias escondidas en estos objetos. De repente un miembro del equipo desaparece y el miedo se apodera de la tripulación…
Me ha encantado este cuento. La narración y las diferentes visiones de cada objeto te dejan cada vez más enganchado, y te hacen meditar mucho sobre nuestra especie.
Si te gusta la ciencia ficción no debes dejar de leer esta historia. Estoy segura que lo que esconde La Garganta de Olduvai te sorprenderá.
La historia nos muestra un grupo de investigadores extraterrestre que están realizando excavaciones en La Garganta de Olduvai y recolectando una serie de muestras para conocer más sobre una raza que vivió mucho tiempo en el planeta Tierra, los humanos. Uno de estos investigadores tiene la capacidad de visualizar el entorno y la historia de estas muestras mediante una especie de fusión de su propio cuerpo con dichos objetos. De esta manera, se nos irá narrando las diferentes historias escondidas en estos objetos. De repente un miembro del equipo desaparece y el miedo se apodera de la tripulación…
Me ha encantado este cuento. La narración y las diferentes visiones de cada objeto te dejan cada vez más enganchado, y te hacen meditar mucho sobre nuestra especie.
Si te gusta la ciencia ficción no debes dejar de leer esta historia. Estoy segura que lo que esconde La Garganta de Olduvai te sorprenderá.
May 3, 2020
Davvero all'altezza della sua fama!
December 29, 2019
I went through a phase years ago where I read about 20 books in Resnick's Birthright setting, most of which were books set in a particular vision of the future (Santiago was my first and favorite of them), but I never got around to read this multi-award-winning novella until now. I thought it was a great if disturbing one--there's a frame story where different aliens are involved in an archeological expedition in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania five thousand years after humanity has gone extinct, and our narrator-alien can "see" the past through some sort of alien psychometry. It's basically a window into how vicious and contradictory humans are, which can be interesting to read if not always fun. The final section is a bit chilling, though I was more disturbed by it--others might think "hell yeah!"
February 3, 2019
La humanidad se ha extinguido en la tierra y a la garganta de Olduvai (Tanzania), cuna del nacimiento de la especie humana, llega una expedición arqueológica extraterrestre con la misión de intentar comprender tanto ese nacimiento como su extinción. Entre los efectivos de esta expedición se encuentra un espécimen que es capaz de sentir las circunstancias que rodearon a los objetos que examina. La novela narra sus visiones, que abarcan 7 momentos puntuales distintos de la humanidad en el planeta tierra.
Es una novela que hace uso de un lenguaje sencillo, que no simple, y que no cuesta seguir en ningún momento. La excepción serían apenas los primeros párrafos de cada visión, en los que tenemos que situarnos en el espacio, tiempo y circunstancias de lo que se narra. Tiene un trasfondo de crítica social y me ha resultado entretenida y curiosa.
Es una novela que hace uso de un lenguaje sencillo, que no simple, y que no cuesta seguir en ningún momento. La excepción serían apenas los primeros párrafos de cada visión, en los que tenemos que situarnos en el espacio, tiempo y circunstancias de lo que se narra. Tiene un trasfondo de crítica social y me ha resultado entretenida y curiosa.
December 11, 2021
Mike Resnick's "Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge" is remembered for being the winner of the Nebula and Hugo Awards for Best Novella (in 1994 and 1995). Humanity had been the dominating species of the universe for eons, before its extinction about 5,000 years ago. Other races have an archaeological fascination with the origins of this once-great civilization and a research team is send to Earth to investigate what they may learn from its homeworld. It's especially its infamous contentiousness and crude social stratification that they want to explore.
The story portrays humankind by episodes from various stages of its history that are representative of the species. The story is told by a being whose birth (or whatever the start of their existence may be like) took place even before humans evolved from apes. He is capable of controlling his (he presents himself as male) bodily structure and can assimilate objects in ways that make them experience their history. As the title suggests, he tells the reader of seven stories that he learned from artifacts found in the region around the East African in East Africa.
The artifacts are mundane. The earliest is a stone used as a weapon when men were still tailless apes. He assimilates spearheads, the handle of a knife, a metallic pen, an anachronistic fetish, and unused cartridge, and what is alleged to be the remains of one of their team members. There are only very brief interludes between the stories, but often the commentary makes clear what aspect of humanity they are meant to symbolize.
Of course, it's his intelligence that made men capable to survive. The first episode shows how the use of weapons and strategy made the small apes superior over the baboons. I enjoyed how the story was set up with two alien invaders send there to examine Earth's suitability for colonization. The second story focuses on slavery, one particularly puzzling institution. Why would a species enslave their own? Similar with racism (the theme of the third story), where do concepts of superiority over another race come from when they all belong to the same species?
The later episodes all have environmentalist concerns. In the fourth story we already reached the 2100s. Because of its excessive ways of living, humanity caused the extinction of most animals on Earth. Safaris in Eastern Africa, where at least some exotic creatures are preserved, are the pleasure of some rich westerners. In the fifth story, a man is paid to dispose of large amounts of radioactive waste, which he carelessly stores near the titular gorge. Sure, he is suffering from nightmares afterwards (don't we all feel a slight discomfort when we think of this issue?), but he finds a way to appease his guilt. Tragically, this doesn't prevent that a century later innocent people have to live through his nightmares when an Earthquake brings the broken barrels back to the surface.
The tales often feature the Maasai, an ethnic group living in Kenya and northern Tanzania (where the Olduvai Gorge is located). I don't know how accurate the people is portrayed here, but it is said that there is a strong band between them and their land (there is a rich literature on this issue in cultural anthropology). Reckless use of resources and technology has made their ancestral dwelling place uninhabitable (that sounds familiar, too). Because of pollution and radiation, the Maasai are forced to leave. Most accept their fate (they are promised a new beautiful land, presumably on a different plant). One man, however, upholds what he takes to be the genuine Maasai values. He rather dies in the land of his heroes than to become someone else.
As must be clear from what was said so far, the novella's themes are amazingly powerful. But I have to admit that I wasn't very thrilled by the narrations. Strangely, I was more excited whenever we returned to the archaeological research expedition and I wanted to know more about what humanity has become (whether than learning about things I already knew).
Because of this, I very much liked the climax. The events that the narrator assimilates at the end were only a couple of hours old. He realized that the bone they've found wasn't what was left of the exobiologist; it was the shin used to kill her. More importantly, it was the shinbone of a being that can be regarded as the mutated successor of humanity adjusted to its soiled environment. Euphorically, the narrator feels their ambition for greatness. Me too I felt more excited about this than some of the other stories.
Rating: 3/5
The story portrays humankind by episodes from various stages of its history that are representative of the species. The story is told by a being whose birth (or whatever the start of their existence may be like) took place even before humans evolved from apes. He is capable of controlling his (he presents himself as male) bodily structure and can assimilate objects in ways that make them experience their history. As the title suggests, he tells the reader of seven stories that he learned from artifacts found in the region around the East African in East Africa.
The artifacts are mundane. The earliest is a stone used as a weapon when men were still tailless apes. He assimilates spearheads, the handle of a knife, a metallic pen, an anachronistic fetish, and unused cartridge, and what is alleged to be the remains of one of their team members. There are only very brief interludes between the stories, but often the commentary makes clear what aspect of humanity they are meant to symbolize.
Of course, it's his intelligence that made men capable to survive. The first episode shows how the use of weapons and strategy made the small apes superior over the baboons. I enjoyed how the story was set up with two alien invaders send there to examine Earth's suitability for colonization. The second story focuses on slavery, one particularly puzzling institution. Why would a species enslave their own? Similar with racism (the theme of the third story), where do concepts of superiority over another race come from when they all belong to the same species?
The later episodes all have environmentalist concerns. In the fourth story we already reached the 2100s. Because of its excessive ways of living, humanity caused the extinction of most animals on Earth. Safaris in Eastern Africa, where at least some exotic creatures are preserved, are the pleasure of some rich westerners. In the fifth story, a man is paid to dispose of large amounts of radioactive waste, which he carelessly stores near the titular gorge. Sure, he is suffering from nightmares afterwards (don't we all feel a slight discomfort when we think of this issue?), but he finds a way to appease his guilt. Tragically, this doesn't prevent that a century later innocent people have to live through his nightmares when an Earthquake brings the broken barrels back to the surface.
The tales often feature the Maasai, an ethnic group living in Kenya and northern Tanzania (where the Olduvai Gorge is located). I don't know how accurate the people is portrayed here, but it is said that there is a strong band between them and their land (there is a rich literature on this issue in cultural anthropology). Reckless use of resources and technology has made their ancestral dwelling place uninhabitable (that sounds familiar, too). Because of pollution and radiation, the Maasai are forced to leave. Most accept their fate (they are promised a new beautiful land, presumably on a different plant). One man, however, upholds what he takes to be the genuine Maasai values. He rather dies in the land of his heroes than to become someone else.
As must be clear from what was said so far, the novella's themes are amazingly powerful. But I have to admit that I wasn't very thrilled by the narrations. Strangely, I was more excited whenever we returned to the archaeological research expedition and I wanted to know more about what humanity has become (whether than learning about things I already knew).
Because of this, I very much liked the climax. The events that the narrator assimilates at the end were only a couple of hours old. He realized that the bone they've found wasn't what was left of the exobiologist; it was the shin used to kill her. More importantly, it was the shinbone of a being that can be regarded as the mutated successor of humanity adjusted to its soiled environment. Euphorically, the narrator feels their ambition for greatness. Me too I felt more excited about this than some of the other stories.
Rating: 3/5
February 17, 2022
Every time I read a Hugo award-winner (and Nebula winner, with a runner-up for Locus to round out the big three), I really can see why the gleaming heaping praise is piled high on top of it. It's one Academy that knows what it's talking about.
The story is simple, but implies a lot: a group of aliens visit the Olduvai Gorge, birthplace of humanity, to try to get more information through various means about the 8000 year extinct human race. Through examining 7 artifacts, we see grim snapshots of human history, their tribalism, willingness to murder, enslave, and destroy the people and environment around them.
Multiple times through this story were my own views of current humanity reinforced. Confirmation bias lends a lot to my love of this story, but Sci-fi that isn't afraid to pull its punches is a particular delicacy for me lately (see the Three Body Problem trilogy). Each of the stories hits hard in its own way, and serves as a cautionary tale to our own race. Will we ever grow out of our bloody past into something more enlightened?
Here's hoping.
The story is simple, but implies a lot: a group of aliens visit the Olduvai Gorge, birthplace of humanity, to try to get more information through various means about the 8000 year extinct human race. Through examining 7 artifacts, we see grim snapshots of human history, their tribalism, willingness to murder, enslave, and destroy the people and environment around them.
Multiple times through this story were my own views of current humanity reinforced. Confirmation bias lends a lot to my love of this story, but Sci-fi that isn't afraid to pull its punches is a particular delicacy for me lately (see the Three Body Problem trilogy). Each of the stories hits hard in its own way, and serves as a cautionary tale to our own race. Will we ever grow out of our bloody past into something more enlightened?
Here's hoping.
June 12, 2024
I read this for a challenge where I am trying to read more Hugo Award winning novels and novellas. This novella won a lot of awards, but I didn't really think it was groundbreaking, as the description implies. It was written in 1994, and I think Le Guin's 1972 The Word for World Is Forest covered some of the same themes but with much more eloquence and insight. I found this story to be merely okay, with parts that haven't aged all that well.
May 26, 2026
Une lecture accessible que j'ai fini en une seule traite, cette série de nouvelles déguisées dans une certaine continuité a le mérite de tenir en haleine son lecteur. Il faut prendre cette note comme un 2,5 dans le sens où le livre me semble un bon début à la SF même si les thèmes qu'il aborde sont largement éculés.
Le fond politique du récit (puisque c'est souvent de cela dont il est question dans mes critiques de science fiction) est abêtissant. Les sujets intéressants abordés par l'auteur sont au nombre de deux : la décolonisation et la perte de l'habitat de la faune sauvage. Cependant, Mike Resnick est un vieux blanc américain fan de safari et ça se sent... Il ne me semble pas comprendre les rapports de force internes aux sociétés africaines qu'il présente, et, plus problématique encore pour un auteur qui prétend parler de colonisation, il ne semble pas comprendre l'impérialisme et le principe de l'échange inégal de la valeur. J'ai plusieurs fois été inquiété de voir Mike franchir des lignes rouges dans l'écriture qui le situerait parmi les auteurs du "ni bon ni mauvais" et en définitif du côté des colonisateurs. Ces récits ne vont pas jusque là mais je pense que ce qu'il cherche à présenter comme de la profondeur narrative est parfois plutôt révélateur d'une tendance à minimiser le fossé opposant les violences. La violence coloniale, racontée par les personnages, n'est jamais vraiment montrée et lorsque vient la question de l'esclavage, c'est évidemment une traite par "des marchands arabes" qui est illustrée. L'auteur entretient la confusion entre ceux-ci et les marchands européens de la traite trans-atlantique ce qui est non plus seulement une erreur politique mais aussi une grave erreur d'appréciation historique (ces deux formes d'esclavage ne relevant pas du tout des mêmes modes de production). A cela s'ajoute le traitement des Masaï à la fameuse sauce du "bon sauvage" héritée du romantisme. Mention honorable à ce passage où un Masaï est même figure d'apolitisme, tronant fièrement au-dessus d'un camp colonial et d'un camp décolonial qui ne parviennent (avant tout) pas à se comprendre... La conclusion philosophique de ce livre, comme je le craignais, est que l'agressivité serait une caractéristique inhérente à l'espèce humaine et la plus fondamentale de celle qu'il possède. Cette idée est abêtissante parce qu'elle pousse à l'inaction et au nihilisme. Si l'homme est fondamentalement mauvais alors il n'y a rien que l'on puisse faire pour renverser l'impérialisme ou le fascisme ? Si l'homme est fondamentalement mauvais alors il n'y a rien que l'on puisse faire pour rendre sa société plus juste ? En définitif, ce type de propos, topos de la SF héritière des pires philosophes capitalistes, est un étendard de statut quo. C'est l'équivalent politique d'un homme qui t'apprends l'empathie...
Bref, il y a du bon dans ce livre mais il n'apporte rien en tant que fiction politique. Ce constat ne repose pas seulement sur le fait que le futur qu'il présente soit dystopique mais bien sur le fait que l'auteur qui en est responsable ne comprends absolument pas (et là-dessus je n'emploierais aucun conditionnel) la source des maux qui affectent l'humanité. C'est cette incapacité qui l'amène à essentialiser la question du manque de développement des forces productives (pour la violence paléolithique), celle des échanges inégaux (pour l'esclavage) et celle de la décolonisation.
Le fond politique du récit (puisque c'est souvent de cela dont il est question dans mes critiques de science fiction) est abêtissant. Les sujets intéressants abordés par l'auteur sont au nombre de deux : la décolonisation et la perte de l'habitat de la faune sauvage. Cependant, Mike Resnick est un vieux blanc américain fan de safari et ça se sent... Il ne me semble pas comprendre les rapports de force internes aux sociétés africaines qu'il présente, et, plus problématique encore pour un auteur qui prétend parler de colonisation, il ne semble pas comprendre l'impérialisme et le principe de l'échange inégal de la valeur. J'ai plusieurs fois été inquiété de voir Mike franchir des lignes rouges dans l'écriture qui le situerait parmi les auteurs du "ni bon ni mauvais" et en définitif du côté des colonisateurs. Ces récits ne vont pas jusque là mais je pense que ce qu'il cherche à présenter comme de la profondeur narrative est parfois plutôt révélateur d'une tendance à minimiser le fossé opposant les violences. La violence coloniale, racontée par les personnages, n'est jamais vraiment montrée et lorsque vient la question de l'esclavage, c'est évidemment une traite par "des marchands arabes" qui est illustrée. L'auteur entretient la confusion entre ceux-ci et les marchands européens de la traite trans-atlantique ce qui est non plus seulement une erreur politique mais aussi une grave erreur d'appréciation historique (ces deux formes d'esclavage ne relevant pas du tout des mêmes modes de production). A cela s'ajoute le traitement des Masaï à la fameuse sauce du "bon sauvage" héritée du romantisme. Mention honorable à ce passage où un Masaï est même figure d'apolitisme, tronant fièrement au-dessus d'un camp colonial et d'un camp décolonial qui ne parviennent (avant tout) pas à se comprendre... La conclusion philosophique de ce livre, comme je le craignais, est que l'agressivité serait une caractéristique inhérente à l'espèce humaine et la plus fondamentale de celle qu'il possède. Cette idée est abêtissante parce qu'elle pousse à l'inaction et au nihilisme. Si l'homme est fondamentalement mauvais alors il n'y a rien que l'on puisse faire pour renverser l'impérialisme ou le fascisme ? Si l'homme est fondamentalement mauvais alors il n'y a rien que l'on puisse faire pour rendre sa société plus juste ? En définitif, ce type de propos, topos de la SF héritière des pires philosophes capitalistes, est un étendard de statut quo. C'est l'équivalent politique d'un homme qui t'apprends l'empathie...
Bref, il y a du bon dans ce livre mais il n'apporte rien en tant que fiction politique. Ce constat ne repose pas seulement sur le fait que le futur qu'il présente soit dystopique mais bien sur le fait que l'auteur qui en est responsable ne comprends absolument pas (et là-dessus je n'emploierais aucun conditionnel) la source des maux qui affectent l'humanité. C'est cette incapacité qui l'amène à essentialiser la question du manque de développement des forces productives (pour la violence paléolithique), celle des échanges inégaux (pour l'esclavage) et celle de la décolonisation.
January 21, 2020
Está entretenido, aunque yo lo consideraría más un relato largo que un libro corto. La humanidad y sus virtudes y defectos (las dos caras de la misma moneda) como explicación de lo que somos y lo que se supone que llegaremos a lograr.
Tampoco entiendo que se llevase tantos premios en su día, pero no deja de ser una lectura recomendable para cualquier aficionado a la ci-fi e incluso para el que no lo sea especialmente.
Tampoco entiendo que se llevase tantos premios en su día, pero no deja de ser una lectura recomendable para cualquier aficionado a la ci-fi e incluso para el que no lo sea especialmente.
July 1, 2026
Le concept de cette nouvelle est génial, des scientifiques aliens qui explorent la Terre après l'extinction de l'humanité et qui vont reconstituer une partie de leur histoire en étudiant 7 reliques et 7 moments de leur l'histoire.
Le style est excellent et j'aurais pu la lire d'une traite, même si c'est plutôt pessimiste (réaliste ?) sur notre nature...
Le style est excellent et j'aurais pu la lire d'une traite, même si c'est plutôt pessimiste (réaliste ?) sur notre nature...
September 7, 2022
Great. เรื่องสั้นไซไฟยอดเยี่ยม ไม่ควรพลาดด้วยประการทั้งปวง
July 23, 2011
I'm an archaeologist with a passion for paleo-anthropology. I know the history of Olduvai Gorge pretty thoroughly, having first been brought into the field by the stories and NOVA science specials about the Leakey Family and later Don Johanson. When I saw this book, I knew I had to read it, because it examines a question that all undergraduate anthropology students have to write a paper on, "What will archaeologists, 20,000 years from now be able to learn about people living in the early 21st century from out material artifacts?"
I really liked the overarching concept Resnick came up with, and I definitely laughed inwardly at the sly comment about current archaeological methods "plundering" as opposed to "excavating" sites. I would love to be able to have a soil sifter that consumed micro-layer by micro-layer of sediment and leave noting but a lovely soil profile behind!
Overall I found Resnick's view of the future of mankind to be intriguing and a little frightening (as it should be), but I found his view of the past to be slightly off putting.
No, there appears to be no such thing as an entirely peaceful culture of man, and we have done many things to be ashamed of, and I am probably committing a logical fallacy, but when I study Australopithecus Afarensis or Africanus, when I learn about Homo Habilis, Erectus, and Neandethalensis, and finally, the current Sapiens, I don't want to believe that all of our history was that of a mindless predator, of sociopathic killing. Yes the ancient man in Resnick's book killed for food, but he constantly describes them as having malevolence in their eyes, or a murderous intent. And when he looks at the future, the killer purpose in unabated. The future of mankind looks bleak, and the fact that we cannot seem to learn from the past is disheartening, but we are becoming aware! And with that awareness there must be a peaceful future, there must. Every other species depicted clearly came from a peaceful society, but Resnick never stops to dwell on the learning curve that is inherent in all species of any world. And yes, I agree with Carl Sagan and Michio Kaku and Neil DeGrasse Tyson that there are other intelligent life forms out there, and that one day we will meet them.
I ascribe to the Replacement theory of the Homo Sapien exodus out of Africa, as oppose the Multi-Regional evolution of Homo Erectus into Homo Sapien. Darwin's laws of evolution forbid that, since evolution has no set endgame and only the mutational Russian roulette of genetics, plus time and space, will alter one species into another. Having stated that, yes, Homo Sapiens now stand as the only species of man to live on this planet, but that does not have to mean that Sapiens dominated and destroyed Erectus/Ergaster and Neanderthals. We might have just been better adapted, better suited.
Yes it is naive of me, but I feel I am a peaceful person, who may get angry, but has never felt the urge to crack open my room-mate and use his femur to murder and eat my neighbor (that is clearly a hyberbolic fallacy, I realize that).
I greatly enjoyed this book, and read it in one sitting on a too hot summer afternoon. I love that it made me think, and disturbed me enough to do something I almost never do, namely post my opinion on the internet. I would recommend it to anyone, science fiction and science fact lovers both.
I really liked the overarching concept Resnick came up with, and I definitely laughed inwardly at the sly comment about current archaeological methods "plundering" as opposed to "excavating" sites. I would love to be able to have a soil sifter that consumed micro-layer by micro-layer of sediment and leave noting but a lovely soil profile behind!
Overall I found Resnick's view of the future of mankind to be intriguing and a little frightening (as it should be), but I found his view of the past to be slightly off putting.
No, there appears to be no such thing as an entirely peaceful culture of man, and we have done many things to be ashamed of, and I am probably committing a logical fallacy, but when I study Australopithecus Afarensis or Africanus, when I learn about Homo Habilis, Erectus, and Neandethalensis, and finally, the current Sapiens, I don't want to believe that all of our history was that of a mindless predator, of sociopathic killing. Yes the ancient man in Resnick's book killed for food, but he constantly describes them as having malevolence in their eyes, or a murderous intent. And when he looks at the future, the killer purpose in unabated. The future of mankind looks bleak, and the fact that we cannot seem to learn from the past is disheartening, but we are becoming aware! And with that awareness there must be a peaceful future, there must. Every other species depicted clearly came from a peaceful society, but Resnick never stops to dwell on the learning curve that is inherent in all species of any world. And yes, I agree with Carl Sagan and Michio Kaku and Neil DeGrasse Tyson that there are other intelligent life forms out there, and that one day we will meet them.
I ascribe to the Replacement theory of the Homo Sapien exodus out of Africa, as oppose the Multi-Regional evolution of Homo Erectus into Homo Sapien. Darwin's laws of evolution forbid that, since evolution has no set endgame and only the mutational Russian roulette of genetics, plus time and space, will alter one species into another. Having stated that, yes, Homo Sapiens now stand as the only species of man to live on this planet, but that does not have to mean that Sapiens dominated and destroyed Erectus/Ergaster and Neanderthals. We might have just been better adapted, better suited.
Yes it is naive of me, but I feel I am a peaceful person, who may get angry, but has never felt the urge to crack open my room-mate and use his femur to murder and eat my neighbor (that is clearly a hyberbolic fallacy, I realize that).
I greatly enjoyed this book, and read it in one sitting on a too hot summer afternoon. I love that it made me think, and disturbed me enough to do something I almost never do, namely post my opinion on the internet. I would recommend it to anyone, science fiction and science fact lovers both.
November 7, 2019
This is one of the great novellas. It may be my absolutely favorite sci fi novella. This is an amazing story that swept the awards the year it came out. It has lost nothing, and is as great today as if was when it came out. A must read for sci fi fans.
September 14, 2019
This was good old fashioned science fiction. With the awards it won, I guess I was expecting better but it was satisfying.
April 7, 2020
Me gusta mucho como escribe Resnick.
January 13, 2018
Brilliant
I loved this story. Only wish it was longer. I'd recommend it to any one interested in human history. Yep.
I loved this story. Only wish it was longer. I'd recommend it to any one interested in human history. Yep.
May 16, 2018
Man is extinct. Has been for nearly 5 centuries. But a team of alien archeologists has come to Earth. Specifically, Olduvai Gorge; to study this interesting creature that once ruled the galaxy and its worlds.
Examination of seven artifacts, in this birth place of this enigmatic race, yields a stunning conclusion. Overall a good story. It was the shorter stories each artifact told about man that was truly amazing. It's no wonder this won a Nebula and Hugo.
perhaps, when we put [all the findings] together, we can finally begin to understand what it was that made Man what he was.
Examination of seven artifacts, in this birth place of this enigmatic race, yields a stunning conclusion. Overall a good story. It was the shorter stories each artifact told about man that was truly amazing. It's no wonder this won a Nebula and Hugo.
November 1, 2017
In what could almost be an epilogue to Asimov Isaac's Foundation series, barring a lack of homogeneity of sentience, humankind evolved through planet Earth and spread out into the stars, spreading its wings throughout the galaxy and, as is its wont, enslaving most of it, by force if necessary. In a universe where such necessities rise ever so often, Mike Resnick's Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge gives us a unique perspective of the circle of human life---from its birth as tailless monkeys in the Olduvai Gorge of modern day Tanzania, to its eventual escape from its birth planet it had so carelessly and unfeelingly made uninhabitable.
It is thousands of years into the future. Humans have rose to be the preeminent species in the galaxy, the Masters of the Milky Way, if you will. Their warlike tendencies have also led to their untimely demise. Now, with the military human empire in ruins, a multi-species team of scientists land on planet Earth to piece together a picture of the early history of Homo sapiens. The team has landed near Olduvai Gorge, long thought to be the cradle of humanity. There they hope to salvage artifacts in order to fulfill their mission. Among them is He Who Views, a being with an uncanny viewpoint into an artifact's history. With his help, the team discovers, through seven viewings into Man's past, the history of arguably the most dangerous species this galaxy has ever seen. In doing so, they will uncover a secret that neither them, nor the galaxy itself, might be ready for.
Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge won the Nebula and Hugo awards for best novella in the mid-nineties. It is not a difficult read, and can easily be finished at one go. The Kindle edition is currently about Rs 255/-, and the paperback is currently Rs 299/-. I am tempted to say that is a bit too much for a novella, but I shan't. I was drawn to this book for its title, which, in a sleepy haze, I had misread as Seven Views of Olduvai George. Suffice to say, I had, to my eternal shame, not made the obvious connection to the Leakeys. Nevertheless, I had no reason to regret my choice, as the novella made for an engaging and educational read.
It is thousands of years into the future. Humans have rose to be the preeminent species in the galaxy, the Masters of the Milky Way, if you will. Their warlike tendencies have also led to their untimely demise. Now, with the military human empire in ruins, a multi-species team of scientists land on planet Earth to piece together a picture of the early history of Homo sapiens. The team has landed near Olduvai Gorge, long thought to be the cradle of humanity. There they hope to salvage artifacts in order to fulfill their mission. Among them is He Who Views, a being with an uncanny viewpoint into an artifact's history. With his help, the team discovers, through seven viewings into Man's past, the history of arguably the most dangerous species this galaxy has ever seen. In doing so, they will uncover a secret that neither them, nor the galaxy itself, might be ready for.
Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge won the Nebula and Hugo awards for best novella in the mid-nineties. It is not a difficult read, and can easily be finished at one go. The Kindle edition is currently about Rs 255/-, and the paperback is currently Rs 299/-. I am tempted to say that is a bit too much for a novella, but I shan't. I was drawn to this book for its title, which, in a sleepy haze, I had misread as Seven Views of Olduvai George. Suffice to say, I had, to my eternal shame, not made the obvious connection to the Leakeys. Nevertheless, I had no reason to regret my choice, as the novella made for an engaging and educational read.
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