Java Man: How Two Geologists' Dramatic Discoveries Changed Our Understanding of the Evolutionary Path to Modern Humans

What is the potential fallout when two ""journeymen geochronologists"" venture into ""the world of paleoanthropology?"" As Curtis and Swisher found out, ""of all the disciplines in science, paleoanthropology boasts perhaps the largest share of egos, often engaged in intemperate defense of cherished hypotheses,"" and that's where their story--made exceptionally engaging by the talents of veteran science writer Lewin (Bones of Contention, etc.)--begins. In fact, their tale comprises three stories. The first recounts Curtis and Swisher's attempts to date precisely a Homo erectus skull found in Java, that of the Mojokerto child, and later, an unsurpassed find of 12 skulls, known collectively as Solo Man. The second details the stunning and widely reported implications of their results, including a March 1994 cover story in Time. By showing that the Mojokerto child fossil was 1.8 million years old, Curtis and Swisher proved that our ancestors left Africa nearly a million years earlier than anyone had suspected. Their dates for Solo Man are even more remarkable, indicating that Homo erectus was not a precursor to Homo sapiens but a separate species that, like the Neanderthals, had coexisted with us as recently as 27,000 years ago. Through these two stories is woven the unfortunate but captivating third: that of the back-biting and public sniping, professional jealousy and petty turf battles endemic to any scientific endeavor. The real value of this book is its retelling of our evolutionary history, one that is engrossing and carefully laid out and that will provide to a wide range of general readers as well as anthropology buffs a new sense of wonder about the past. B&w illus. (Nov. 21)