Homo Sapiens Rediscovered: The Scientific Revolution Rewriting Our Origins

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars | 34 ratings

Price: 18.8

Last update: 09-10-2024


About this item

Who are we? How do scientists define Homo sapiens, and how does our species differ from the extinct hominins that came before us? In this accessible account palaeoarchaeologist Paul Pettitt shows how the latest scientific advances, especially in genetics, are revolutionizing our understanding of human evolution. Pettitt reveals the extraordinary story of how our ancestors adapted to unforgiving and relentlessly changing climates, leading to remarkable innovations in art, technology, and society that we are only now beginning to comprehend.

Drawing on twenty-five years of experience in the field, Pettitt takes listeners from the caves and rock-shelters that provide evidence of our African origins to the far reaches of Eurasia, Australasia, and ultimately the Americas. Popular accounts of the evolution of Homo sapiens emphasize biomolecular research, notably genetics, but this volume also draws from the wealth of information from specific excavations and artifacts, including the author's own investigations into the origins of art and how it evolved over its first 25,000 years.

Drawn from cutting edge research in this field, with a unique perspective from Pettitt's own studies focusing on human behavior, this immersive and surprising book paints the clearest picture we have ever had of our own evolution.


Top reviews from the United States

Gerald C.
4.0 out of 5 stars Useful to Catch Up on the Latest
Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2023
I was already pretty well familiar with the field, but I wanted to see what was happening recently. If I had asked the author to catch me up, I think that's what I got. If you're new to the subject and hope to grasp it all, this may not be the book for you until you have worked through another one or two that are more structured. But after that, I'd go on to this one.
Steve G
3.0 out of 5 stars Dates and places
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2023
The strong points of the book are its conversational tone, clear explanations, and the author’s anecdotes and personal history. There was also some clever wording and some humor. But after a while, the book just became a series of community names and approximate dates (years before present) and everything jumbled together in my mind. The narration, however, was excellent. The narrator was able to communicate the humor expressed by the author and was even able to make clear what were parenthetical remarks. Thank you to Netgalley and Tantor Audio for the audio review copy.
W. Parrow
2.0 out of 5 stars It meanders mostly
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2023
There seems to be a lot of useful information here but the author meanders. I kept trying to get through it. I am an avid reader but the author wanders. it's such an attractive book. I feel badly; I finally had to give up.

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