Neanderthals are at the center of this compelling narrative by Europe's leading anthropologist, not because they were our ancestors but because they were not. Members of a parallel humanity that evolved in Europe for hundreds of thousands of years, they were in direct competition with Cro-Magnons -- modern humans. The way Neanderthals lived and the reasons why they disappeared 50,000 years ago offer a surprising mirror in which we can examine and learn more about ourselves. Illustrated, concise and readable, this is a fascinating exploration of human origins. "Lively, personal, refreshing, and instructive, this book should be read by anyone interested in their own origins and our extinct relatives." -- Ian Tattersall, author of The Fossil Trail, The Last Neanderthal, and Becoming Human
A dazzling follow-up to Life As Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal. ‘We would love to discover that each species has a biological clock in its cells, because, if that clock existed and if we were able to find it, perhaps we could stop it and thus become eternal,’ Arsuaga tells Millás in this book, in which science is intertwined with literature. The paleontologist reveals essential aspects of our existence to the writer, and debates the advisability of transmitting his random vision of life to a dieting Millás, who discovers that old age is a country in which he still feels like a foreigner. After the extraordinary international reception of Life As Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal, the most brilliant double act in Spanish literature once again dazzle the reader by addressing topics such as death and eternity, longevity, disease, ageing, natural selection, programmed death, and survival. Here you will find humour, biology, nature, life, a lot of life … and two fascinating characters, the Sapiens and the Neanderthal, who surprise us on every page with their sharp reflections on how evolution has treated us as a species. And also as individuals.
A New Scientist Book of the Year Prehistory is all around us. We just need to know where to look. Juan José Millás has always felt like he doesn’t quite fit into human society. Sometimes he wonders if he is even a Homo sapiens at all, or something simpler. Perhaps he is a Neanderthal who somehow survived? So he turns to Juan Luis Arsuaga, one of the world’s leading palaeontologists and a super-smart sapiens, to explain why we are the way we are and where we come from. Over the course of many months, the two visit different places, many of them common scenes of our daily lives, and others unique archaeological sites. Arsuaga tries to teach the Neanderthal how to think like a sapiens and, above all, that prehistory is not a thing of the past: that traces of humanity through the millennia can be found anywhere, from a cave or a landscape to a children’s playground or a toy shop. Millás and Arsuaga invite you on a journey of wonder that unites scientific discovery with the greatest human invention of all: the art of storytelling.
Is modern man the logical conclusion of a long evolutionary journey? Or are humans merely an evolutionary accident? The Chosen Species answers these and many other questions about our origins. Authors Juan Luis Arsuaga and Ignacio Martínez are world-renowned paleoanthropologists and co-directors of the excavations at Atapuerca---a World Heritage Site and Europe’s oldest known burial site---where their team discovered a new human species, homo antecessor. Their work has changed the way we see human evolution. Here, the authors draw on their rich experience to provide a fascinating account of our origins. They reconstruct the sequence of events, give an account of how, when, and why man evolved, and draw conclusions based on verifiable facts and well-founded argument. The Chosen Species combines scientific rigor with a spellbinding style that will grip readers as they follow the tale to its end.
Neanderthals are at the center of this compelling narrative by Europe's leading anthropologist, not because they were our ancestors but because they were not. Members of a parallel humanity that evolved in Europe for hundreds of thousands of years, they were in direct competition with Cro-Magnons -- modern humans. The way Neanderthals lived and the reasons why they disappeared 50,000 years ago offer a surprising mirror in which we can examine and learn more about ourselves. Illustrated, concise and readable, this is a fascinating exploration of human origins. "Lively, personal, refreshing, and instructive, this book should be read by anyone interested in their own origins and our extinct relatives." -- Ian Tattersall, author of The Fossil Trail, The Last Neanderthal, and Becoming Human
Scientific rigor is combined with an entertaining narrative to link the origin of life on Earth and the development of the human brain, covering such topics as how Aristotle and Galileo disagreed and how jellyfish and airplanes have the same navigational systems.
Is modern man the logical conclusion of a long evolutionary journey? Or are humans merely an evolutionary accident? The Chosen Species answers these and many other questions about our origins. Authors Juan Luis Arsuaga and Ignacio Martínez are world-renowned paleoanthropologists and co-directors of the excavations at Atapuerca---a World Heritage Site and Europe’s oldest known burial site---where their team discovered a new human species, homo antecessor. Their work has changed the way we see human evolution. Here, the authors draw on their rich experience to provide a fascinating account of our origins. They reconstruct the sequence of events, give an account of how, when, and why man evolved, and draw conclusions based on verifiable facts and well-founded argument. The Chosen Species combines scientific rigor with a spellbinding style that will grip readers as they follow the tale to its end.
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