3.5 out of 5 stars
The publisher provided a copy of this, free of charge, in return for an honest review.
Humanity is very much the dominant species on this pale blue dot. This dominance means that we have the ability to change and dominate almost everything that we choose to, though we are helpless when nature really gets going.
So how did Homo Sapiens end up as this tour de force? Of all of the hominid species, why did we survive? It is these questions and many others that Sarah Wild sets about trying to answer in this book. Even though we share 98% of our DNA with chimps and some other primates, how we got down the family tree from them to us is a long and complicated path. There are numerous other hominid species that have been found all over the world, though most early species were discovered in Africa.
Working out where they fit in the timeline is helped by the modern dating techniques that they can use, the big puzzle is working out how they are all related or not as the case may be. It is a puzzle that has been keeping scientists busy for years and every time they think they are a little closer to answering some of the questions, new bones are discovered and the picture becomes a little more complicated.
I thought that this was a fascinating story of our past. I also like that nothing in this story is clear cut and that as scientists look at our DNA there are the echoes of past species, neanderthal and Denisovan in particular. This is a snapshot of where scientists are, in tracing our shared history, in the time it took to write this book, more bone discoveries had been made that further complicated the picture. I thought that this book was definitely worth reading.
This is the sort of science writing I like, where it is acknowledged that what we have is a snapshot that will likely change – evolve – as new discoveries are made.
It is a good way of writing science.
I appreciated that aspect of the book as she was at pains to make the developments and changes that are still ongoing very clear while giving us a picture of what we know at the moment.