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Almost Human
- The Astonishing Tale of Homo Naledi and the Discovery That Changed Our Human Story
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins
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Almost Human
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Summary
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.
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Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mrs J H Kingdon
- 03-03-19
really interesting and a good adventure story
a fascinating insite into the hint for our ancestors and the conflicting views of academics on the approach
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1 person found this helpful
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- Marilyn Weston
- 22-12-21
Worth a second read
Very interesting book and subject, which I thoroughly enjoyed it and found the subject matter fascinating. I will be re-listening to the book again shortly, as I think I will get more from it each time.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Andrew Golightly
- 02-11-21
A Passionate Account of modern Paleoanthropology
It is always rewarding hearing about the work of someone so passionate about what they do, and this is a perfect example of a scientist who has dedicated his life to studying paleoanthropology.
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.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Regan Cipher
- 20-06-22
Wonderful recollection of a seminal event
This is far more than a diary of Sediba and Rising Star. Berger and Hawks walk through their struggles in the change in paradigm from Isaac Newton and Rosalind Franklin- style working in secret (justified in the case of the latter, given the constraints) to the open and collaborative approach which appeared to have grated the community before slowly turning them around. There are some nice character developments as we move into Dinaledi - by the end you feel like you know his son Matthew, the team of scientists and even the cavers. And just as you ask yourself questions, they are seemingly quickly addressed.
This has been one of my most enjoyable listens on Audible so far. Highly recommended!
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- Corsaire
- 10-08-23
Gripping!
As a former archaeologist and a person with a long interest in early human remains, I enjoyed this massively. My partner, with no such experience, was equally gripped from beginning to end. The author manages to make all aspects of paleoanthropology clear, and gives a beautiful summary of the meaning of each piece of research. The account of the most important excavation of all, in an almost inaccessible cave, with a group of women who were small enough to enter through the only available passage, is particularly engaging. Heartily recommended.
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1 person found this helpful
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- OldnCreaky
- 26-01-24
Extraordinary
I learnt so much about human evolution and the difficulty involved in uncovering the details. I hope future generations learn of this at school.
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- Allan Friday
- 07-08-21
A very exciting history lesson
Narration style is excellent
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.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Pen Name
- 29-07-23
Riveting
Altogether brilliant. Spellbinding, a plethora of scientific facts presented to be digestible. More of this quality please.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Malaika
- 12-07-23
Absolutely excellent paleoanthropology memoir
Explains the fossil finds, their association and their significance in a very understandable but exciting way!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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- agncvw
- 13-02-22
Fantastic but…
An incredible and fascinating story, and I loved it. But is it really too much to ask for the narrator to ensure that he knows the correct pronunciation of names? The American accent doesn’t jar since Berger himself is American, but he would have known and used local place names and the name of the university and people correctly.
My only other quibble is that he seems to have been afraid to allude to any political results of his discoveries. The South African government has been known to be unsympathetic to science that contradicts its preferred narrative.
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