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The Wisdom of Bones
"Fascinating. . . . As engaging an explanation of how scientists study fossil bones as any I have ever read." --John R. Alden, Philadelphia InquirerIn 1984 a team of paleoanthropologists on a dig in northern Kenya found something a nearly complete skeleton of Homo erectus, a creature that lived 1.5 million years ago and is widely thought to be the missing link between apes and humans. The remains belonged to a tall, rangy adolescent male. The researchers called him "Nariokotome boy."In this immensely lively book, Alan Walker, one of the lead researchers, and his wife and fellow scientist Pat Shipman tell the story of that epochal find and reveal what it tells us about our earliest ancestors. We learn that Nariokotome boy was a highly social predator who walked upright but lacked the capacity for speech. In leading us to these conclusions, The Wisdom of the Bones also offers an engaging chronicle of the hundred-year-long search for a "missing link," a saga of folly, heroic dedication, and inspired science."Brilliantly captures [an] intellectual odyssey. . . . One of the finest examples of a practicing scientist writing for a popular audience." --Portland Oregonian "A vivid insider's perspective on the global efforts to document our own ancestry."--Richard E. Leakey
270 pages, Paperback
First published April 9, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 7, 2017
Every book tells two stories: the narrative itself, whether it's fiction or non-fiction, and the story of how you obtained that book. This is one of the extra delights of a book that you can physically hold in your hands. I like to start reviews by giving the context in which I came across the book as it is part of the entire experience for me. In this case, I stumbled across this tome in my friend, Owen's, extensive library after a whiskey soaked evening, talking about art and collecting, that precipitated my staying the night. Although it was well past midnight, and my eyes were crossed, I still couldn't sleep without reading something. I ended up devouring the first chapter of this twenty-one year old book and asking to borrow it after the wonderful breakfast he made me the next morning.
Ironically, twenty-one years is a long time in the study of paleoanthropology. New discoveries shift thinking, readjust or challenge theories and can radically restructure the perceived time-line of of our emergence as a species. For all of that, this book still has relevance as the documentation of the preliminary study of a particularly unique find, the remains of the Narikotome Boy, a Homo Erectus child who lived 1.5 million years ago. What made the 1984 discovery so important - and it remains so - was that the skeleton was almost intact. It has given scientist a plethora of information that has illuminated what was a particularly vague understanding of our most successful ancestor - Homo Erectus was around for two million years, we have only been here two hundred thousand years.
The author, Alan Walker, was co-leader with Richard Leakey, of the team who discovered the boy near the shore of Lake Turkana in Kenya. It was his task to analyse the find.
Walker devotes almost half the book to the history of our knowledge of Homo Erectus from the first discovery by Eugene Dubois in Java in 1891. It is a fascinating history, in of itself, interspersed with Walker's own entertaining experiences and interactions with various colourful characters in the field.
The analysis of the remains involved many experts and technologies that were new at the time. The conclusions and deductions were far ranging and in many cases surprising. Perhaps the most interesting of all was the discovery that Homo Erectus did not have the ability of speech. This was ascertained by better understanding of the significance of the imprint of Broca's area of the brain on the braincase, analysis of the muscle attachments at the bottom of the skull and, cleverly, the narrowness of the spinal canal of the vertebrae, which rendered the kind of control needed of the lungs and larynx impossible.
Where the book slumps a bit is in Walker's knowledge and speculation on language and symbol, he seems to be unaware of semiotics, and in the significance of art making. I cringe when scientist try to attach a particular sociological significance or meaning to prehistoric artworks. My contention is that the rationale for making images and objects that were visually interesting were always as complex and varied as they are today and can't begin to be understood out of context.
Stylistically the book is competently written and flows well. This is definitely still a good read for armchair archaeologists like me.
Ironically, twenty-one years is a long time in the study of paleoanthropology. New discoveries shift thinking, readjust or challenge theories and can radically restructure the perceived time-line of of our emergence as a species. For all of that, this book still has relevance as the documentation of the preliminary study of a particularly unique find, the remains of the Narikotome Boy, a Homo Erectus child who lived 1.5 million years ago. What made the 1984 discovery so important - and it remains so - was that the skeleton was almost intact. It has given scientist a plethora of information that has illuminated what was a particularly vague understanding of our most successful ancestor - Homo Erectus was around for two million years, we have only been here two hundred thousand years.
The author, Alan Walker, was co-leader with Richard Leakey, of the team who discovered the boy near the shore of Lake Turkana in Kenya. It was his task to analyse the find.
Walker devotes almost half the book to the history of our knowledge of Homo Erectus from the first discovery by Eugene Dubois in Java in 1891. It is a fascinating history, in of itself, interspersed with Walker's own entertaining experiences and interactions with various colourful characters in the field.
The analysis of the remains involved many experts and technologies that were new at the time. The conclusions and deductions were far ranging and in many cases surprising. Perhaps the most interesting of all was the discovery that Homo Erectus did not have the ability of speech. This was ascertained by better understanding of the significance of the imprint of Broca's area of the brain on the braincase, analysis of the muscle attachments at the bottom of the skull and, cleverly, the narrowness of the spinal canal of the vertebrae, which rendered the kind of control needed of the lungs and larynx impossible.
Where the book slumps a bit is in Walker's knowledge and speculation on language and symbol, he seems to be unaware of semiotics, and in the significance of art making. I cringe when scientist try to attach a particular sociological significance or meaning to prehistoric artworks. My contention is that the rationale for making images and objects that were visually interesting were always as complex and varied as they are today and can't begin to be understood out of context.
Stylistically the book is competently written and flows well. This is definitely still a good read for armchair archaeologists like me.
March 8, 2021
The most fascinating book I ever had to read for a science/anthropology class. It’s kind of sad that I used to be so interested in bones but this never became my life. How does a bio anthropology major become a dyslexia teacher??? No one knows but I will still always be fascinated in what bones can teach us of the past.
July 8, 2007
This book is a surprise for those used to reading a routine and heartless evaluation of the history and study of mankind. In Wisdom of the Bones Alan Walker recalls the drama, pathos, and historical parallels that accompany the find of the Nariokotome boy in 1984 at a site on the west side of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya and the impact of this find on our knowledge of Homo erectus and the emergence of modern Homo sapiens.
February 14, 2017
A fascinating book about human evolution in the fossil record. Scholarly but very accessible, this is recommended for its thorough treatment of partial, often fragmentary hominid remains. New discoveries may have been made since The Wisdom of the Bones was first published but this is still a useful text.
September 14, 2025
its a very interesting read on the discovery, analysis and significance of a Homo Erectus skeleton found in 1984. Maybe parts are now outdated but that does not detract. Alan describes the scientific exploration occasionally in a little too much detail but the meticulous approach is fascinating. Higly recommended
September 8, 2019
The story of te excavation of the "Nariokotome Boy" found in Kenya in 1984 its fascinating real life detective work using scientific aids walker was a long time collaborator of Richard Leakey. He is known for his pioneering techniques for analysing fossils.
March 26, 2024
An great read but my main takeaway is that Paleo anthropologists are expert 'house of cards' builders.
December 2, 2015
This book is very clearly written by two different authors. Sometimes, the book is written as a narrative, but other times, it will switch to a very scientific book. The difference in the writing was alarming. The author(s) went off on tangents that seemed rather irrelevant. Plus, the organization of the novel was poor. I could cut several chapters out of this book, and it would still be able to convey the same amount of information. However, the topic is insanely interesting. It's awesome being able to hear the story from one of the men who worked on the Nariokotome Boy. 3/5 stars.
February 7, 2014
This is one of the most easily understood books on archaeology I have ever read. Walker does a fine job of presenting his tale and the people who inhabit it. I finished this with a much greater understanding of not only his discovery, but the politics involved in making such an historic find. The methods and the madness of the field archaeologist are well documented here. If only all such scientific reads were so easy to traverse.
September 1, 2009
hasil hunting ke Pamulang Sabtu 30 Mei 2009
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews