The Last Human: A Guide to Twenty-Two Species of Extinct Humans

by G.J. Sawyer, Viktor Deak, Esteban Sarmiento

This book tells the story of human evolution, the epic of Homo sapiens and its colorful precursors and relatives. The story begins in Africa, six to seven million years ago, and encompasses twenty known human species, of which Homo sapiens is the sole survivor. Illustrated with spectacular, three-dimensional scientific reconstructions portrayed in their natural habitat developed by a team of physical anthropologists at the American Museum of Natural History and in concert with experts from around the world, the book is both a guide to extinct human species and an astonishing hominid family photo album.
The Last Human presents a comprehensive account of each species with information on its emergence, chronology, geographic range, classification, physiology, lifestyle, habitat, environment, cultural achievements, co-existing species, and possible reasons for extinction. Also included are summaries of fossil discoveries, controversies, and publications. What emerges from the fossil story is a new understanding of Homo sapiens. No longer credible is the notion that our species is the end product of a single lineage, improved over generations by natural selection. Rather, the fossil record shows, we are a species with widely varied precursors, and our family tree is characterized by many branchings and repeated extinctions.
Exhibition information:
Photographs of most of the reconstructions that appear in this book will be featured in exhibits appearing in the new Hall of Human Origins at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.  The opening of the Hall is planned for November 2006.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, History, Anthropology, Evolution, Archaeology, Biology

256 pages, Hardcover

First published June 28, 2007

Reviews

[Captain Sir Roddy, R.N. (Ret.) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book! It is perhaps better characterized as a naturalist's 'Field Guide' to the history of the evolution of human species (i.e., the hominins). The authors present a relatively detailed synopsis of the current state-of-knowledge associated with each of the 22 hominin species portrayed in the book, starting with Sahelanthropus tchadensis and Ororrin tugenensis at about 6 million years ago, and then finishing up with anatomically modern humans, or Homo sapiens. Along with the background information about each species, the authors have supplied beautifully reconstructed images of what these individuals may have looked like in the habitats they are thought to have occupied. They have taken casts of the fossils and added tendons, muscles, flesh, skin, and hair. The results are simply astounding. As just one superb example, the cover of the book is their rendition of the famous Australopith, "Lucy", the fossil of the little female Australopithecus afarensis discovered by Donald Johanson in 1974. It takes your breath away just to look into her face and realize that she and her kind represent something like 800,000-900,000 years in the several million year old history of the human species. This is a book that one can spend hours with every time you take it from the shelf, and learn something new each time too.

[Jerome · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an absolutely phenomenal overview of the 22 human/man-ape species that have been identified. They are accompanied by shockingly realistic photographs of carefully constructed models or crisp computer images. Great detail is included in regards to skull, skeleton, tools, diet, male/female differences, and location of fossil finds, along with fair commentary about the classification of the species (many appear to simply be slight variations of another species). The authors also composed a short story to accompany every species except Homo Sapiens that attempts to depict what life would have been like during their time.

I found this book equal parts fascinating and dry. I could only read this book in short bits at a time because I don't have a lot of background knowledge on the subject of early human species. I took one species at a time typically, then would put the book down for a few hours, then read about the next species. There's a lot of information in a small space (only 250 pages). So, in other words, this is not a book for a casual reader, but if you are interested in the subject, this is your book.

[Alexandra Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A guide useful for the student or enthusiast. Includes details of skull, teeth, diet, skeleton, fossil sites and range as well as tools, appearance, etc of each species. A book perhaps most useful as a reference source. Some extraneous information such as animals and habitat was not what I was expecting, but nice background.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice consistent treatment of what we know about the different hominims, with some creative imaginings of what daily life was like for each group at the beginning of each chapter.

The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is that the author doesn't include sources within the text.

[Sydney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fascinating information with a dull verbal presentation. The artistic renderings of what the various species may have looked like create an interesting linear presentation of hominid development. The accompanying text, however, contains multiple typos and is just plain snooze-inducing after awhile.

Each species is introduced with a fictional-yet-possible textual vignette. (These introductions and the artistry are the high points of the book.) Then each species has specific sections pertaining to areas that include: skull, teeth and diet; skeleton, gait and posture; fossil sites and range; age; tools; sex differences; animals and habitats; climate; classification; and historical notes. The sections are not very long, but I kept finding myself skimming over lines because they were just so dry. I can't really put a finger on why, but it felt like a particularly knowledgeable professor was being forced to answer dumb questions from freshmen who knew nothing about his area of expertise.

I love this area of study and am not bothered by terminology or detail or anything that a reluctant reader would find off-putting, but this book left me somewhat frustrated as I'm unsure what niche to place it in. It has a wealth of good, basic information but is too prosaic to hold the interest of the very casual reader. Yet anyone enamored enough of the subject to plod through the dull text likely already has a good working knowledge of the information that's presented. While this book is a solid, quick comparison of the 22 species, I can't think of anyone to whom I'd recommend it as reading material.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ambitious undertaking in the field of human paleo-anthropology: recreating / re-imagining the daily lives of different species of early hominids as they started in Africa and migrated to Asia and Europe. It's got forwards and intros and various nods of approval from the big wigs in this field of research, so it seems like it was a very well-lauded effort to bring all of this information into one book. There are several model recreations in the book - which are quite stunning (based on cranial reconstruction and computer imaging) and well-researched. For each of the 22 species discussed, there is a short narrative, imagining a scenario in their daily lives based on their environments, societal structures, etc. Some of these narratives are a bit corny and theatrical, but they do seem quite plausible - warring groups, fighting over food sources, mating rituals, etc.

It is a large "coffee table" book with full photos of the bones themselves as well as the recreated computer images (that looks quite real). I imagine my college Human Anthro prof would have loved this one and made it one of our textbooks... alas, it came out 6 years too late.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a weird book. The beautiful illustrations make it look like it's a popular science book, which is what I was here for. This isn't my field. I'm just curious about it.

But the bulk of the book is written like my Audubon field guides for birds, methodically working its way through the same headings for every species - Skull, Teeth, and Diet; Skeleton, Gait, and Posture; Fossil Sites and Possible Range; Age; Tools; Animals and Habitats; Climate; Classification; Historical Notes.

I don't know who these things are for. I'm sure this is all old news to academics in the field. But I bet I'm not the only casual reader who is not exactly riveted by passages like:

"The skull (KNM-WT 4000) preserves only the incomplete crown of the second molar, and thus molar dimension can only be estimated. The ear canal is long and narrow and the ear opening is small, as it is in Australopithecus anamensis and living chimpanzees."

I mean, I guess if I find myself needing to differentiate an Australopithecus afarensis from a Paranthropus aethipicus, I've got a handy tool now.

Every ten pages or so, the field guide entries are broken up by a page or so of a fictional story, imagining a slice of life for these various pre-Homo sapien species. I liked that part the best. I wanted my imagination sparked, and that sparked it.

And the illustrations really are gorgeous. I'd recommend picking up the book and flipping through it just for the illustrations alone. Though here's a weird quirk with the illustrations. They all had story-like captions, and sometimes the captions matched up with the little slice-of-life stories in the book. And sometimes they had nothing to do with the stories at all.

"Lucy, a female Austrolopithecus afarensis, searches desperately through the savannah for her missing three year old daughter." Tell me more! What happened to Lucy's daughter!?

I'm guessing the team responsible for the illustrations was told what the little stories would be about, and sometimes the stories changed, but nobody ever changed the captions. The stories themselves often had strange typos and grammatical errors, so I'm guessing the whole thing probably could have used an extra editor's eye.

So mostly, from a non-academic reader's point of view, this whole thing was strange and underwhelming. But the illustrations are great. And I'd like more stories, and fewer field guide notes.

[Michael Macdonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating reference to extinct homicide

This fabulously illustrated guide to 22 extinct precursors of man is full of detail but lacks a narrative explanation. Neanderthal man is particularly well described with information on brain size and speech that suggests that this species was not far removed from us. Most importantly for a science guide, it also accepts that the evidence is not always complete and more research will deepen our understanding.

[Vince · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice breakdown of many variables in human development. No definitive point to the "missing link" or human erectus origin. Yes, it mentions the earth's magnetic pole change; the climate changes from wetlands to deserts; ice age melts without automobile emissions; millions of years and climate has been changing that affects human development. Mystery: how human erectus appears in China, Africa, Java Island, European Georgia; yet no migration solution offered.

[Blaine Morrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarmiento et. al. provide a useful reference work for anyone interested in early humans and pre-humans. There are some distracting typos, particularly in the fictional introductions to each species, but the consistent format throughout the book will be helpful for anyone doing research or comparative analysis.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suitable for both people knowledgeable about biology and anthropology, as well as people who are new to the field. While some background knowledge would be beneficial in order to better understand, it is not absolutely necessary. It contains enough science to make a good case for human evolution- and thus rebuttal of arguments that deny it.

[C Jon Tice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well documented timelines but the sequence did seem a bit unclear. It wasnt a huge issue but I am unclear as to why the jump between epochs switched up half way through the book. The short stories at the beginnings of the chapters did take quite a few liberties but the book was very straight forward with each chapter breaking down the age, habits, etc of each ancestor.

[Mrs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much ape-men with questionable ancestry. Not enough about Neanderthals.

[Walter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the book has great information, I found it was brought a bit sterile. It's not a book that you sit down and read in one sitting. I ended up reading one species a day.
That being said it's a great addition to the library of anyone interested in the topic

[Ralph Hermansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Last Human" is worth owning as a reference guide to early humans, if for no other reason. The book is printed on thick high gloss paper and there are numerous color photographs within the book. The book contains essentially three sections per prehuman species discussed. First, there is usually a small fantasy story, which tries to help one see life as this creature saw it way back when. Second, there is a photograph of the creature as he/she might have looked when alive. Third, there is a data section listing facts such as kinds of fossils found, geology of the fossil sites , dating, climate at the time, animals found in the same stratum, and historical notes. The book starts with the oldest of our possible ancestors and progresses species by species forward in time, ending with our species (Homo sapiens).

The fantasy stories are based on factual evidence ( indications of cannibalism, tool marks on animal bones, stone tools, etc). However, There are many things still unknown to us such as when man could actually communicate by speech. So, one should realize the stories may be wrong in some aspects. The flesh and blood recreations of the fossil skulls are most likely accurate as far as general shape of the head is concerned. Scientific methods were employed to add tissue to the skulls. However, no one really knows when we first lost our fur coats or the shapes of our noses. So again, sprinkle a little salt on the proposed creature's appearance and reserve judgement. The data section for each species is as detailed as what could reasonably expected considering the huge task these authors have undertaken. The interpretations of what the bones tell us might be contested by other anthropologists, but controversy has been the norm for this field from its beginning. The one big impression, that I came away with, was that the authors are dubious that most of these creatures were basically bipedal walkers. They believe that they were upright walkers for short periods, but may have resorted to quadrupedal motion if they needed to get away fast. Up until reading their book, I had thought bipedal walking was dominant for the australopithicines and surely for the homos. Yet, they express doubt even about the the bipedalism of early homos, like homo habilis.

A word to the authors for when they start a revision to this books: First, I give you high credit for the great task that you completed. However, you can make this book much, much better than it is. The data sections are overwhelming in wordiness. For example, you give us lengthy sentences of all the animals found in the concerned stratrum. It would be easier to read if the animals were shown as a list in a table with other columns indicating whether extinct, and other traits. There should be a detachable super table relating these animals to periods of existence, climate preference, etc. Also, in describing fossil features and how one species compares with another, provide photos of what you are discussing. I feel that you were overwhelmed by the task and took the easier way out rather than making a proper argument by illustrating your comparative anatomical conclusion. Remember, the reader would like to view the data and see if he/she agrees with your conclusion. On the plus side, I applaud you for including a map of where the respective fossils were found and the graphic showing the period that it was alive. I appreciated that graphic aid immensely. Now you need to add more graphic aids to the textual descriptions.

General conclusion: Readers, who are serious about studying our prehistoric ancestors, should buy this book without hesitation. It is organized for your convenience and is chuck full of revelant facts. It is expensively produced and yet is attractively priced.
reviewed by: Ralph D. Hermansen on October 5, 2009

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an excellent field guide style presentation about various known (in some cases barely known at the time of writing) Hominids. As such, it probably would benefit from guided readings or used as a supplement to other readings rather than just trying to power through it as I did. Still it was an interesting read as they broke down how each unique species was identified, often just by skull fragments, digits, and fragments of hips & long bones (Science!), their time period, climate, animals they likely coexisted with, tool use, etc... The facial reconstructions were impressive.
Also enjoyable were the fanciful short stories often breaking up the Hominid entries with speculative narratives often highlighting the "nasty, brutish, and short" view of Caveman life. My favorite example would be the Male & Female Hominid who met and chose to forage & bed down together, then the next day they stumble upon a Tiger. The male is killed and eaten while the female escapes, the story concluding with something along the lines of "the comfort they'd found together so briefly was an illusion." I LOL'd.

[Barry]

An odd mixture of gorgeous photographs of meticulous and artful recreations of faces, short scenes of imagined events in their lives, and dry lists of what is actually known of each creature. Categories: Skull, Teeth, and Diet; Skeleton, Gait, and Posture; Fossil Sites and Possible Range; Age; Tools; Differences Between Males and Females; Animals and Habitats; Climate; Classification; and Historical Notes. It looks like a coffee table book, but reads like a monograph.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this one high marks for a lot of detail in discussing the various human and prehuman species, and doing a very good job dispelling commmon misconceptions about these species. I would have liked to have seen a little bit more narrative piecing together what we know about the relationships between the species, or at least what we speculate about them. This element was generally given short shrift. All in all, a good reference work, I though.

[Pancha · Rating 2 out of 5]

A summary view of the 20 species that preceded homo sapiens. I found the short historical notes at the end of each species section the most interesting, which discussed the finding of the first fossils, how it became accepted as a species, and in some cases the meaning of the assigned nomenclature.

[Norm · Rating 4 out of 5]

New from my favorite place on Earth- the American Museum of Natural History. This book was produced in conjunction with the recent remodel of the hall of human evolution. A beautiful beastiary of our extinct relatives, makes a fine companion piece to the Cambrdge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution. Everyone should own a copy, if only to piss off Sarah Palin

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just skimmed over a lot of the technical data concerning the research that had been done on each species. Most interesting for it's mock-ups of what each species would have looked like. It would also be very interesting to folks who are interested in the details concerning the current fossil evidence existing for each species and the history of its discovery and analysis.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this as a companion to Lone Survivors by Chris Stringer. Stringer's book is easier to tote around, Last Human has desirable layout, photos, and maps.

[Chris Loves to Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book discussed the 22 extinct species of hominids. Very interesting. Evolution rocks!

[Regina Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Images are just amazing.