
Almost Human
The Astonishing Tale of Homo Naledi and the Discovery That Changed Our Human Story
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Narrated by:
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Donald Corren
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By:
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Lee Berger
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John Hawks
About this listen
A story of defiance and determination by a controversial scientist, this is Lee Berger's own take on finding Homo naledi, an all-new species on the human family tree and one of the greatest discoveries of the 21st century.
In 2013, Lee Berger, a National Geographic explorer-in-residence, heard of a cache of bones in a hard-to-reach underground cave in South Africa. He put out a call around the world for petite collaborators - men and women small and adventurous enough to be able to squeeze through eight-inch tunnels to reach a sunless cave forty feet underground. With this team, Berger made the discovery of a lifetime: hundreds of prehistoric bones, including entire skeletons of at least 15 individuals, all perhaps two million years old. Their features combined those of known prehominids like Lucy, the famous Australopithecus, with those more human than anything ever before seen in prehistoric remains. Berger's team had discovered an all new species, and they called it Homo naledi.
The cave quickly proved to be the richest prehominid site ever discovered, full of implications that shake the very foundation of how we define what makes us human. Did this species come before, during, or after the emergence of Homo sapiens on our evolutionary tree? How did the cave come to contain nothing but the remains of these individuals? Did they bury their dead? If so, they must have had a level of self-knowledge, including an awareness of death. And yet those are the very characteristics used to define what makes us human. Did an equally advanced species inhabit Earth with us, or before us? Berger does not hesitate to address all these questions.
Some colleagues question Berger's interpretation of this and other finds. Here, this charismatic and visionary paleontologist counters their arguments and tells his personal story: a rich narrative about science, exploration, and what it means to be human.
©2017 Lee Berger (P)2018 Blackstone Publishingreally interesting and a good adventure story
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Worth a second read
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Gripping!
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Extraordinary
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The content is fabulous, who knew that the world of fossil hunting could be so competitive and exciting.
I totally recommend this book if you are interested in learning about how the work is done and the commitment that these guys and gals have to their subject. It actually made me want to join them!
I hope there is another book soon.
A very exciting history lesson
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Riveting
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We follow his story from his 9-year-old son's unprecedented discovery of Australopith bones, right through to the HUGE cache of seemingly deliberately buried Homo Naledi remains in a difficult-to-navigate cave system.
It's perfectly pitched for someone who has only scant knowledge of the subject or field, and despite the number of long species names routinely thrown out there, is never difficult to follow.
As always, the scientific method gives us satisfying answers - where despite passion and emotion running at highs amongst Berger and his team, they never jump to conclusions and are always open to allow the science to provide answers to all of their questions.
There is also plenty of interesting context surrounding the culture of the field of Paleoanthropology, and how, like many fields, its progress was often hindered by refusal to adapt and change with the times (how ironic!)
I would thoroughly recommend this listen.
A Passionate Account of modern Paleoanthropology
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This has been one of my most enjoyable listens on Audible so far. Highly recommended!
Wonderful recollection of a seminal event
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a fascinating insight into discovery of hominims
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Absolutely excellent paleoanthropology memoir
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