Seven Skeletons
The Evolution of the World's Most Famous Human Fossils
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- ¥2,000
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- ¥2,000
発行者による作品情報
An irresistible journey of discovery, science, history, and myth making, told through the lives and afterlives of seven famous human ancestors
Over the last century, the search for human ancestors has spanned four continents and resulted in the discovery of hundreds of fossils. While most of these discoveries live quietly in museum collections, there are a few that have become world-renowned celebrity personas—ambassadors of science that speak to public audiences. In Seven Skeletons, historian of science Lydia Pyne explores how seven such famous fossils of our ancestors have the social cachet they enjoy today.
Drawing from archives, museums, and interviews, Pyne builds a cultural history for each celebrity fossil—from its discovery to its afterlife in museum exhibits to its legacy in popular culture. These seven include the three-foot tall “hobbit” from Flores, the Neanderthal of La Chapelle, the Taung Child, the Piltdown Man hoax, Peking Man, Australopithecus sediba, and Lucy—each embraced and celebrated by generations, and vivid examples of how discoveries of how our ancestors have been received, remembered, and immortalized.
With wit and insight, Pyne brings to life each fossil, and how it is described, put on display, and shared among scientific communities and the broader public. This fascinating, endlessly entertaining book puts the impact of paleoanthropology into new context, a reminder of how our past as a species continues to affect, in astounding ways, our present culture and imagination.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Pyne (Bookshelf), a historian and philosopher of science, superbly profiles seven fossils that she feels "tell us how scientific discoveries become written into popular culture and scientific ethos": the "old man," Piltdown Man, the Taung Child, Peking Man, Lucy, Flo, and Sediba. She makes clear their importance in helping people to understand both human evolution and the scientific process, while addressing larger cultural questions about the nature of celebrity and the role played by story and symbol. Pyne acknowledges that there are many fossils that play a central role in telling the story of human evolution, but she argues that these seven have acquired a cultural cachet that both add to and transcend their scientific value. Indeed, the stories associated with each fossil, the nicknames each has acquired, and the marketing arising from them have in many ways transformed paleoarchaeology as well as the popular understanding people have for evolutionary history. As Pyne notes, such stories "humanize the australophithecines, and that's a powerful thing. It makes the fossil record accessible to us as people, not just as scientists." Pyne's tales complement and flesh out the well-known narratives already associated with these fossils; her work impressively blends the humanities and science to greatly enrich both.
