Bones of Contention: Controversies in the Search for Human Origins - Hardcover

Lewin, Roger

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 067152688X ISBN 13: 9780671526887

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1987

Synopsis

From the discovery of Neanderthal Man a century ago to the contemporary debate on methods for dating fossils, this book examines the history and science of paleoanthropology and provides a behind-the-scenes look at anthropologists at work

About this title

Review:

No area of science has a higher incidence of colorful personalities than paleoanthropology. The Leakey family and Donald Johanson are merely the best known of a vivid and contentious bunch that have not hesitated--indeed, have made every effort--to air their conflicts before a wider public. Roger Lewin's recently updated Bones of Contention is the only reliable field guide to these scientists, their characters, and controversies. Lewin never forgets that hominid fossil discoveries always involve both the self-image of humanity and that of individual scientists. Lewin is uniquely evenhanded (i.e. he thinks everyone is wrong from time to time), yet the all-star blurbs on the cover show that he retains the respect of the entire paleoanthropological community.

From Publishers Weekly:

In this compelling, readable book, Lewis (Thread of Life, etc.) inquires into the controversies and "paradigm shifts" that have marked the views of evolutionists Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace, T. H. Huxley and others in the era that witnessed the discovery of the bones of Neanderthal Man (1856); as well as such modern-day theorists and field-workers as the Leakeys (Louis, Richard and Mary) and Donald Johanson, who found the bones of "Lucy." Covering the history of the hunt for fossil evidence supporting Darwin's argument for man's "descent," he shows through superb research and lively interviews how profoundly subjective the views of scientists have been whenever they have tried to determine when, how and why humans ("hominids") branched off from apes. Here are descriptions of African fossil-digs, arguments about the naming of fossil finds, ego-clashes between the likes of Richard Leakey and Donald Johansonnone of it destroying evolutionary theory itself, but all of it, with insight and submerged humor, showing how all-too-human science can be. Photos. Macmillan Book Club alternate.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 067152688X
• ISBN 13: 9780671526887
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 348