A Bouquet of Ancestors. First Humans: Who Was Who, Who Did What, Where, and When?
CNRS Editions & Pontifical Academy of Sciences| N° d'inventaire | 24023 |
| Format | 15 x 23 |
| Détails | 424 p., numerous black and white illustrations, paperback. |
| Publication | Paris, 2021 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9782271137579 |
The incredible paleontological and prehistoric discoveries of recent times allow us to better understand the African origin of man, which occurred 3 million years ago, due to a simple need to adapt to climate change. They tell the story of the few million years that preceded it, as well as those that followed.
The ambition of this book is to shed light on this extraordinary period when living matter became thinking matter. We learn that the lineage of Prechimpanzees and Prehumans separated about ten million years ago, the latter establishing itself in a less wooded environment than the former. We see these Prehumans standing up, walking, and still climbing. Six genera and a dozen species thus illustrate this extraordinary radiation that flourished from 7 to 2 million years ago in the intertropical arc, from Chad to South Africa, passing through Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Malawi. Then these first humans, long confined to the African savannah, emerged from it and it is in Israel, Georgia, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Laos, Indonesia, China, but also, on the other side, in Italy, France, Spain, that we will find them and follow them, from at least 2 million years ago in Asia, from a generous million years ago in Europe… And then we see modern Man born in turn in Africa, spreading there and emerging from it 200,000 years ago. This beautiful story is of course accompanied by multiple events which all raise new questions which complicate and enrich it.
The storytellers, all actors, are Zeresenay Alemseged, Lee R. Berger, José Braga, Michel Brunet, Ronald J. Clarke, Yves Coppens, Anne Dambricourt Malassé, Fabrice Demeter, Robin Dennell, Yohannes Haile-Selassie, Sonia Harmand, Israel Hershkovitz, Dirk L. Hoffmann, Jean-Jacques Hublin, Marie-Hélène Moncel, François Sémah, Brigitte Senut and Amélie Vialet.
The incredible paleontological and prehistoric discoveries of recent times allow us to better understand the African origin of man, which occurred 3 million years ago, due to a simple need to adapt to climate change. They tell the story of the few million years that preceded it, as well as those that followed.
The ambition of this book is to shed light on this extraordinary period when living matter became thinking matter. We learn that the lineage of Prechimpanzees and Prehumans separated about ten million years ago, the latter establishing itself in a less wooded environment than the former. We see these Prehumans standing up, walking, and still climbing. Six genera and a dozen species thus illustrate this extraordinary radiation that flourished from 7 to 2 million years ago in the intertropical arc, from Chad to South Africa, passing through Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Malawi. Then these first humans, long confined to the African savannah, emerged from it and it is in Israel, Georgia, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Laos, Indonesia, China, but also, on the other side, in Italy, France, Spain, that we will find them and follow them, from at least 2 million years ago in Asia, from a generous million years ago in Europe… And then we see modern Man born in turn in Africa, spreading there and emerging from it 200,000 years ago. This beautiful story is of course accompanied by multiple events which all raise new questions which complicate and enrich it.
The storytellers, all actors, are Zeresenay Alemseged, Lee R. Berger, José Braga, Michel Brunet, Ronald J. Clarke, Yves Coppens, Anne Dambricourt Malassé, Fabrice Demeter, Robin Dennell, Yohannes Haile-Selassie, Sonia Harmand, Israel Hershkovitz, Dirk L. Hoffmann, Jean-Jacques Hublin, Marie-Hélène Moncel, François Sémah, Brigitte Senut and Amélie Vialet.