Extinct Humans

by Ian Tattersall, Jeffrey Schwartz

It's time for a hominid family reunion, and anthropologists Ian Tattersall and Jeffrey Schwartz have brought the scrapbook. Extinct Humans is both an album of knowledge of our ancestors and closely related species and a theoretical reconsideration of the fossil evidence. Tattersall and Schwartz suggest that many more human species existed than we previously thought, and that many of them existed contemporaneously until about 25,000 years ago. Profusely illustrated, the book makes its case well, showing and discussing the evidence and proposing a family history that pulls all the fossils and theories together into a testable whole. The authors have personally investigated every available hominid specimen, and the depth of their knowledge is staggering at times--but their obsession is enlightening and entertaining.

The introductory history of human taxonomy sets us up for the discussions to follow and reminds us of our tendency to read more into human history than can reasonably be inferred from the evidence. The racist sentiments of 19th-century anthropologists found firm footing in their theories, and we can only wonder what mistakes we're making today. Doing their best to eliminate extraneous details, Tattersall and Schwartz provide a lean, parsimonious theory to guide anthropology into the 21st century, as we try to learn why we're the only ones left. --Rob Lightner

Genres: Science, Evolution, Anthropology, Nonfiction, History, Biology, Archaeology

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its not a family tree. Its a family shrub...with many branches that ended in extinction. Explore this book and you will never look at Human Evolution the same again!

[Clifton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inevitably dated now as scientists have made new discoveries, still this book, richly illustrated, is well worth the read.

[Daniel Barrows · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an important book in its time, but is now grossly out-of-date and not worth reading.

[Bonnie Lymer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have not technically finished this book, but have given up on it for now. It is definitely not summer reading material and while I may come back to it later, it is a book that I am struggling to read. If I can't enjoy a book, I would prefer not to read it.

[Caitlin]

Extinct humans by Ian Tattersall (2000)

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too short.