Other Origins: The Search for the Giant Ape in Human Prehistory

by Russell Ciochon

Based on research garnished from a joint American-Vietnamese expedition into the jungles of Southeast Asia, a new study of the origins of humankind theorizes that human beings evolved in tandem with a species of giant ape

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Anthropology, Archaeology

262 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1990

Reviews

[Paleoanthro · Rating 3 out of 5]

The portions of the book concentrating on the research and the collaboration necessary to complete the work are a great read, but the last couple chapters of the book move off into more fantasy than science.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gigantopithecus, an extinct relative of the orangutan, lived in China and Vietnam from about 1 to 0.5 million years ago and in India about 6 million years ago. Known only by fossilized teeth and lower jaws, the authors of this book (Ciochon, a University of Iowa paleoanthropologist, and Olsen, an archeologist at the University of Arizona, and Discover ex-staffer James) determined to search for more complete remains of this creature in Vietnam, where it was supposed to have coexisted with the early human ancestor Homo erectus. Although they found little more remains of Gigantopithecus, they undertook extensive travel and research in late 1980’s Vietnam, which at the time was quite an accomplishment. The book is generally well written. It’s strength is that it really imparts the flavor of fieldwork and provides some pretty good background information on paleoanthropology and paleontology (For instance, providing information on why some scientists have estimated that Gigantopithecus stood up to 6 feet at the shoulder and possibly weighed 1,500 pounds, through discussion of forensic reconstructions and hypotheses derived from analog with living species such as Gorillas, Orangutans, and Giant Pandas.). The book's weakest section is an attempt to explain Bigfoot, Sasquatch and Yeti sightings as products of a primal memory traceable to mankind's earliest contacts with Gigantopithecus.

[Caleb · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is authored by three individuals--two scientists and a science writer--who speak in a shared "we" voice, which gives it a bizarre, not-very-compelling narrative. The subject matter--an investigation into Vietnamese dig sites for fossil evidence of Gigantopithecus, the largest ape that ever lived, and evidence of its interaction with our own ancestors--is fascinating, but the tale is dull. The authors tend to go off on tangents, some of which are quite interesting, some of which are quite lame, and several of which seem to have relatively little to do with the story. It's not exactly written for scientists (or I wouldn't have gotten to the end), but it's not written for lay folks either (which I suppose is why I got to the end without liking it).

It's still the best book about Gigantopithecus that I've ever read, though.