Becoming Human: Evolution and Human Uniqueness (Harvest Book)

To describe as magnificent this short treatise on (a) the evolution of our species and (b) the search for the spark that makes us human doesn’t begin to do justice to this book. Its value lies not in its content per se, but in the sum of its parts, infinitely more valuable than any one of them on their own. Ian Tattersall touches on so many topics that any one of them could easily be expanded into a book longer than this and still make for delightful reading. Granted, some of the content is outdated in a book written in the last years of the 20th century. That’s especially true in a field in which every discovery claims to rewrite human evolution on an almost daily basis. Tattersall’s strong viewpoints on a number of topics diverge from the consensus in the field. Depending on where you come from, you may find them refreshingly provocative or politically incorrect, daring or too far out of the mainstream. My own agreement or disagreement with the author ebbed and flowed over the course of his narrative. Some topics are mentioned so briefly in passing that they might have been better off left out (such as a split-second reference to free will). Genetics contributions to the field are missing for the most part, while the contribution of genes to our very humanity are strongly and repeatedly minimized. And the fascinating discussion of episodic vs gradual nature of human evolution is enlightening if controversial. So this is not a book for all. But I bet that even the book’s detractors are given a healthy serving of food for thought. When all is said and done, I can say that seldom, if ever, have I read a book that is so infinitely more than the sum of its parts. The way Tattersall seamlessly weaves topics as different as human origins, evolution of life, development of the human brain, biology, philosophy, psychology, language, history, climate change, religion, our place in nature, comparison with our closest relatives, the great apes, and — above all — the search for that eternally elusive spark that made us human and which separates us not only from the great apes, but from every one of the millions of species spanning three billion years of evolution of life on Earth. For all that and much more, I wholeheartedly give it 5 stars, with no hesitation and utmost enthusiasm. As far as I’m concerned, Becoming Human is almost unprecedented in its breadth of fields of study covered, in the power of its narrative, and unique — even if provocative — perspectives, all passionately laid out for us by the author, even as he must have known they’d be rejected by many of his peers. That makes it admirable in my book. Or his. To be sure, I’m not a professional in any of the fields named above, so my ability to judge the content from a strict scientific perspective is limited to none. My background is in liberal arts, not science. But since my college days, when I had the great fortune of being taught Anthropology 1 by the great paleoanthropologist Tim White, I have been in love with the subject at hand. So I’m an outsider looking in, but with enough background acquired over the years to consider myself more than a dispassionate observer. This book could have benefitted greatly from photos and charts, especially color plates of the cave art Tattersall describes with such sensitivity and passion. No doubt that omission was needed to keep costs down. I think the benefit of such visuals may have outweighed financial considerations, but it’s not for me to judge. Maybe in a future, updated edition? (Not likely after 27 years, but I can but dream.) My one big criticism of the book has to do with the author’s outright dismissal of Neanderthals as mere automatons who lacked artistic sensibility, language and symbolic thinking, the latter two which Tattersall so well describes as fundamental to our species. In other words, he excludes Neanderthals from our human family. Given that this book was written without the benefit of nearly three decades of almost daily discoveries in the field, his logic is understandable. Least of all could he have known of the bombshell discovery back in 2010 that each of us of non-African ancestry carry 2 to 3% Neanderthal genes. The very fact that Neanderthals and humans regularly made babies together tells you that our ancestors recognized Neanderthals as human. What’s more, Neanderthals had skills (such as the production of glue to haft stone weapons to wooden handles) that I believe would have been impossible to achieve without high cognitive skills and at least some linguistic ability — if nothing else, to pass the knowledge to the next generation. Tattersall’s lack of knowledge of these discoveries is understandable. His certainty about knowing what he didn’t know bothers me a little. But even that’s ultimately a small part of what’s otherwise a great overview of expansive topics braided together in an almost novel-like narrative about our Becoming Human. I read the last third of the book in one sitting late last night, unable to put it down and go to bed till near-morning. It was suspenseful, enthralling, riveting read. I don’t agree with every word. I want to go on and read more about some of the topics touched on here to make up my own mind. Ultimately, I learned much and thought even more, until it felt like my brain hurt. Good hurt.

This book fills in the gap to many questions that pertain to our origins. Mr.Tattersall writes in laymans terms that jsut about anyone can interpret. If your the bible reading kind. I don't suggest you read this because he will throw some serious doubt into your faith. He shows you pretty clear cut evidence that evolution is no longer just a theory!

If I'd read this book 15 years ago I'd rated it 5 for content (it won the prestigious W.W. Howells Prize of the American Anthropological Association when published) but overall I'd rated it a 4 because of its literary quality. Now I rated it a 3 because it badly needs updating. I would still recommend reading it, but with the qualifications of my last section. Level The author is curator of the Anthropology Department at the American Museum of Natural History in New York (as well as a recognized authority of Hominid fossils) - and it shows: the content his work is generally accessible and interesting to the lay public. Not an introductory text, but appropriate for those just beginning to get serious. His insights and sometimes controversial viewpoints and strong opinions should also be meat to chew-on for the more advanced reader. Literary Quality Some books on hominids are dense, compilations of journal articles - with scientific references, detailed analysis, qualifying statements and conditions, and jargon. Ian's isn't - and so more accessible. But readers looking for a book with details about fossils are going to be disappointed. (There are better books for this, including several written by Tattersall) But it has some literary problems that limit it, such as only one illustration (sketch of a poignant cave painting), no photos, maps, charts or illustrations. Surprising since as a curator he must know their importance in his Museum display - and accordingly may have access to those resources. Ian's is not good at English Exposition: paragraphs are run-on with two or more topics. He over-qualifies, sometimes qualifies his qualifications. He's a bit wordy. In this book his organization is disorderly, jumping around far too much. He often states he is going to develop a point in more detail later - which might be able to avoided if the book was better organized. * Content Ian establishes and develops some major points that tend to run through out the book: the impact that climate (and habitat change) has had on hominid and mammals evolution in general - leading to isolation and species change. Niles Elderidge is also at the AMNH and influenced Ian. Ian is a proponent of Punctuated Equilibrium. (With good reason - even opposed to it generally usually end up conceding its strong role in the evolution of our lineage. He singles out 4 instances where it occurred and notes that Punctuated equilibrium can also be seen in tools development. He points that tool development does not track with species changes but that biological changes do track with climate changes. (He goes into quite a bit of detail on speciation due to isolation and environmental stresses). He also quotes Niles in other areas. To Ian, evolution is non-linear. He sees it as a bush producing and bush trimming process - and one that is erratic and wholly random. (IMHO - he pushes this point perspective too far.) He goes into quite a bit of detail about the rise and role of symbolism and what that indicates in human intelligence, its presence in art and its connection leading to language (and the importance of language in subsequent evolution/human history and social structure.) There is much more here - you will just have to take a look. The last two chapters attempt to deal with what it means to be human and what light science can cast on it. He also takes on Evolutionary Psychology and genome focused evolution - which are seen here in contrast to evolution at the species and above level (macro evolution) - the focus of this book. But these last two chapters are the least successful in the book. Literary shortcomings are more severe: wording becomes denser, run-on paragraphs get longer and qualification becomes equivocation - ending up in vagueness. There are important viewpoints in the last chapters that deserve to be developed and clarified - but I am not sure that they belong in this book, if it is rewritten. The sense of this section is far more philosophical and speculative. The audience for the first part of the book is probably going not the same as for these later chapters. * Criticisms Now 17 years old its missing many species and needs updating of many that he does report on. There are multiple areas where he suggests that outstanding questions may be resolved in the future - some of which have advanced. Ian is a chauvinist. He has an obvious bias towards the west / Europe, in the hominid fossil record, art and intelligence. East Asia only gets one or two sentences? Australia nothing. His bias extends to species. His position on Neanderthal is out of date - (rejected possibility of Moderns inter-breeding with them) they may have been behaviorally and cognitively closer to Moderns than he gives them credit for. His western bias extends to the world of art - as another reviewer pointed out: " 'he offers the astonishing statement that "art, as such, is a concept invented by Western civilization.' This proposal might be forgiven as an editing oversight, if the remainder of the book didn't sustain it." Given the prominent role things such as art, symbolism, language it's surprising he didn't go more in Cultural and Social Evolution. He hits around the edges of these fields without really developing them. And there is very little on genetics and what it has to say about evolution. Recent understandings about the role of mutation of regulating genes goes a long ways toward explaining a reason for some Punctuated Evolutionary events, for instance. There are still important writings here. I hope Ian will take the time to update it in the near future. Recommendation to Buy Tattersall later wrote "Masters of the Planet", which I was hoping would be that rewrite - but its not. "Masters" does tend to cover the same material but is more up to date, overcomes some of this books problems (better organized and has added a few illustrations, charts etc). That book focuses on the fossils (190 pages vs less than 60 here) and consequently doesn't go into as much details as this book on evolution, art and symbolism, the brain and intelligence and other processes involved in the transition of Hominids as discussed here. These books do compliment each other. This book is more about interpretations and implications that can be extracted from the fossils. Involves a lot of deductions and (and some think controversial) speculations - by an important person in the field. "Masters" has more fossil details. This book is more generalization about what it means to be "Human" and the processes to get there. So - read "Masters" first or concurrently with this one - so you will know where data and interpretations have been updated - and have the detail and visual aids that are lacking in this book. Read this book second to gain insight to processes and implications about the fossil record and evolutionary processes involved and Ian's opinions about them. When I wrote this review a used book goes for a penny and new books as low as $5, so it's affordable as a supplementary text. I just wouldn't read it alone.