From Lucy to Language

Authors Donald C. Johanson and Blake Edgar

In 1974 in a remote region of Ethiopia, Donald Johanson, then one of America's most promising young paleoanthropologists, discovered "Lucy," the oldest, best-preserved skeleton of any erect-walking human ever found. This discovery prompted a complete reevaluation of previous evidence for human origins. Johanson's fieldwork continued unabated with more fossil members of Lucy's family found, including the 1992 discovery of the oldest, most complete skull of her species.

"From Lucy to Language" is a summing up of this remarkable career and a stunning documentary of human life through time on Earth. It is a combination of the vital experience of field work and the intellectual rigor of primary research. It is the fusion of two great writing talents: Johanson and Blake Edgar, an accomplished science writer, editor of the California Academy of Sciences' Pacific Discovery, and co-author of Johanson's book, "Ancestors."

"From Lucy to Language" brackets the timeline between bipedalism and human language. It is an encounter with the evidence. The authors profile over fifty of the most significant early human fossils ever found. Each specimen is displayed in color and at actual size, most of them in multiple views. With them, the authors present the cultural accoutrements associated with the fossils: stone tools that evidence increasing sophistication over time; the earliest stone, clay and ivory art objects; and the culminating achievement of the dawn of human consciousness — the magnificent rock and cave paintings of Europe, Africa, Australia and the Americas.

Bio

Donald C. Johanson is a renowned paleoanthropologist, founding director of the Institute of Human Origins, and Virginia M. Ullman Chair in Human Origins in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change. He discovered the fossil skeleton popularly known as “Lucy” and has written nine books and numerous scientific and popular articles. He lectures in the U.S. and abroad.