In 1974 in a remote region of Ethiopia, Donald Johanson, then one of America's most promising young paleoanthropologists, discovered "Lucy", the oldest, best preserved skeleton of any erect-walking human ever found. This discovery prompted a complete reevaluation of previous evidence for human origins. In the years since this dramatic discovery Johanson has continued to scour East Africa's Great rift Valley for the earliest evidence of human origins. In 1975 this team unearthed the "First Family", an unparalleled fossil assemblage of 13 individuals dating back to 3.2 million years ago; and in 1986 at the Rift's most famous location, Olduvai Gorge, this same team discovered a 1.8 million-year-old partial adult skeleton that necessitated a reassessment of the earliest members of our own genusHomo. Johanson's fieldwork continues unabated and recently more fossil members of Lucy's family have been found, including the 1992 discovery of the oldest, most complete skull of her species, with future research now planned for 1996 in the virtually unexplored regions of the most northern extension of the Rift Valley in Eritrea. From Lucy to Languageis a summing up of this remarkable career and a stunning documentary of human life through time on Earth. It is a combination of the vital experience of field work and the intellectual rigor of primary research. It is the fusion of two great writing talents: Johanson and Blake Edgar, an accomplished science writer, editor of the California Academy of Sciences'Pacific Discovery,and co-author of Johanson's last book,Ancestors. From Lucy to Languageis one of the greatest stories ever told, bracketing the timeline between bipedalism and human language. Part I addresses the central issues facing anyone seeking to decipher the mystery of human origins. In this section the authors provide answers to the basics -- "What are our closest living relatives?" -- tackle the controversial -- "What is race?" -- and contemplate the imponderables -- "Why did consciousness evolve?" From Lucy to Languageis an encounter with the evidence. Early human fossils are hunted, discovered, identified, excavated, collected, preserved, labeled, cleaned, reconstructed, drawn, fondled, photographed, cast, compared, measured, revered, pondered, published, and argued over endlessly. Fossils like Lucy have become a talisman of sorts, promising to reveal the deepest secrets of our existence. In Part II the authors profile over fifty of the most significant early human fossils ever found. Each specimen is displayed in color and at actual size, most of them in multiple views. With them the authors present the cultural accoutrements associated with the fossils: stone tools which evidence increasing sophistication over time, the earliest stone, clay, and ivory art objects, and the culminating achievement of the dawn of human consciousness -- the magnificent rock and cave paintings of Europe, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. In the endFrom Lucy to Languageis a reminder and a challenge. Like no species before us, we now seem poised to control vast parts of the planet and its life. We possess the power to influence, if not govern, evolution. For that reason, we must not forget our link to the natural world and our debt to natural selection. We need to "think deep", to add a dose of geologic time and evolutionary history to our perspective of who we are, where we came from, and where we are headed. This is the most poignant lesson this book has to offer.

PART 1 Central Issues of Paleoanthropology

WHAT IS A HUMAN? 1. The Human Creature 2. The Quest for Origins 3. Is Human Evolution Different?

EVIDENCE 4. The Science of Paleoanthropology 5. The Early Human Fossil Record 6. Discovering Early Human Fossil Sites 7. Recovering the Remains of Early Humans 8. Dating Fossils and Artifacts 9. Climate and Human Evolution 10. Teeth 11. Proteins, DNA, and Human Evolution 12. Why is Paleoanthropology So Contentious?

ANCESTORS 13. Our Closest Living Relatives 14. The Last Common Ancestor of Apes and Humans 15. Drawing the Human Family Tree

LINEAGES 16. African Genesis 17. Early vs. Modern Humans 18. Eve, and Adam 19. The Earliest Fossil Evidence of Anatomically Modern Humans MIGRATION 20. Out of Africa 21. The First Americans 22. Peopling the Globe

DIVERSITY 23. Defining Human Species 24. Co-Existing Human Species 25. Human Diversity Today 26. What Is Race?

ANATOMY 27. The Size of Early Humans 28. Sexual Dimorphism 29. Gestation 30. Maturation 31. Evolution of the Human Brain 32. Reconstructing the Appearance of Early Humans

SOCIETY 32. Primate Societies and Early Human Social Behavior

BIPEDALISM 34. Evidence for Bipedalism 35. The Origins of Bipedalism

TOOLS 36. The Oldest Stone Tools

CUSTOMS 37. Hunters, Gatherers, or Scavengers? 38. Diet 39. Cannibalism 40. Fire 41. Shelter 42. Clothing

CULTURE 43. Burial 44. Art 45. The Origins of Language

IMPONDERABLES 46. The Problem of Consciousness 47. Will Humans Become Extinct? 48. Place of Humans in Nature

PART 2 Encountering the Evidence Ardipithecus ramidus,ARA-VP-6/129, Juvenile Partial mandible

AUSTRALOPITHECINES Australopithecus anamensis,KNM-KP 29281, Adult mandible Australopithecus afarensis Australopithecus afarensis,A.L. 288-1, Lucy, Partial adult skeleton Australopithecus afarensis,A.L. 333, Fragments of thirteen individuals Australopithecus afarensis,A.L. 444-2, Adult cranium Australopithecus afarensis,A.L. 129-1a+1b, Adult female knee joint Australopithecus afarensis,L.H. 4, Adult mandible / Fossil hominid footprints Australopithecus africanus Australopithecus africanus,Sts 5, Mrs. Ples, Adult cranium Australopithecus africanus,Sts 14, Partial adult skeleton Australopithecus africanus,Sts 71 and Sts 36, Adult cranium and mandible Australopithecus africanus,Taung Child, Juvenile skull Australopithecus africanus,TM 1517, Adult
Partial cranium and mandible Australopithecussp., Stw 252, Adult cranium Australopithecus robustus Australopithecus robustus,SK 6, Adolescent mandible / SK 48, Adult cranium / SK 48, Adult cranium / SK 79, Adult cranium Australopithecus aethiopicus Australopithecus aethiopicus,KNM-WT 17000, Black Skull, Adult cranium Australopithecus boisei Australopithecus boisei,OH 5, Zinj, Adult cranium Australopithecus boisei,KNM-ER 406, Adult male cranium / KNM-ER 732, Adult female cranium HOMO Homosp., A.L. 666-1, Adult maxilla Homo habilis Homo habilis,OH 7, Juvenile male Partial skeleton Homo habilis,OH 24, Adult female cranium Homo habilis,KNM-ER 1813, Adult cranium Homo habilis,OH 62, Partial adult skeleton Homo rudolfensis Homo rudolfensis,KNM-ER 1470, Adult cranium Homo ergaster Homo ergaster,KNM-ER 3733, Adult cranium Homo ergaster,KNM-WT 1500, Juvenile male skeleton Homo ergaster,SK 847, Partial adult cranium Homo erectus Homo erectus,Trinil 2, Java Man, Adult Partial cranium Homo erectus,Peking Man, Adult skull reconstruction Homo erectus,Sangiran 17, Adult male cranium Homo heidelbergensis Homo heidelbergensis,Bodo cranium, Adult cranium Homo