Making Silent Stones Speak: Human Evolution And The Dawn Of Technology

by Kathy D. Schick, Nicholas Toth

In this dramatic reconstruction of the daily lives of the earliest tool-making humans, two leading anthropologists reveal how the first technologies-- stone, wood, and bone tools-- forever changed the course of human evolution.

Based on the authors' unique mix of archaeology and practical experiments, ranging from making their own stone tools to theorizing about the origins of human intelligence, Making Silent Stones Speak brings the latest ideas about human evolution to life.

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

352 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1993

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a superb outline of human development, focusing particularly on the role of technology on that development. It discusses the emergence of stone tool technology as well as how we came to understand that emergence. Besides providing information on development, the book provides superb information on anthropological experiments done; two that particularly stand out are observations of Kanzi the Bonobo Chimpanzee working with stone to form tools and the results of fake sites set up to see artifact dispersion due to natural and animal disturbance. This well-written, easy-reading book would be a good guide for anyone interested in paleoanthropology, especially as it deals far more with technological changes than physiological changes. It also serves as a nice counter to those who are tempted to go overboard with stating this or that is “brain-based” as the book details how there is a real give and take between technology, and the culture it creates, and the development, including brain development, of those who emerge in that created culture (i.e. the book describes how it is equally “nature and nurture” instead of only embracing the biological predestination position of only “nature”).

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In this dramatic reconstruction of the daily lives of the earliest tool-making humans, two leading anthropologists reveal how the first technologies -- stone, wood, and bone tools -- forever changed the course of human evolution.

"Drawing on two decades of fieldwork around the world, authors Kathy Schick and Nicholas Toth take readers on an eye-opening journey into humankind's distant past -- traveling from the savannahs of East Africa to the plains of northern China and the mountains of New Guinea -- offering a behind-the-scenes look at the discovery, excavation, and interpretation of early prehistoric sites.

"Based on the authors' unique mix of archaeology and practical experiments, ranging from making their own stone tools to theorizing about the origins of human intelligence, Making Silent Stones Speak brings the latest ideas about human evolution to life."
~~back cover

this book was written and published in the early '90s (1993) and it's amazing how far the discipline has advanced since then. Nevertheless, this book is an excellent primer in the beginnings of stone tool manufacture & use. The books goes on to follow the development of stone tool manufacture and use as hominids and then Homo evolved as well. Did humankind evolve in response to the mental demands of increasingly sophisticated tool creation? Or did humankind learn to make increasingly sophisticated stone tools because of the physical development of larger brains? It's an intriguing question -- one that this books is unable to completely answer, but which definitely points the way to further research and theorization.

[Andy Todd · Rating 1 out of 5]

It began well enough for a couple of chapters that set both the prehistoric background and some methodology. I began to be worried by chapters starts that were pure fiction in a 'Clan of the Cave Bear' style - like wtf is this doing in an academic text? The book then degenerated rapidly into a series of lists of tools, sites, archaeologists but with little attempt to explore or construct a scholarly discussion. The final chapters run rapidly in a desperate attempt pt to 'finish' and include an irrelevant speculation on future technologies, extra terrestrial life in the universe etc.
Such a bad book.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 6 yo likes rocks and has experimented as he made some "tools" in the backyard out of rocks, such as I think the first humans came upon discovering that they are very useful. So we checked out about 20 books on the subject of flint knapping & also on the progress of human evolution with tools, etc. This was one of our favorites as it was illustrated with pics & diagrams enough to hold our interest, and broken into a timeline of evolution that could be read as we found it interesting. It did not have to be read page by page, line by line. We extracted the most interesting parts & digested those and moved on.

So I must say it was one of our favorite date days, having a picnic in the backyard, just the two of us, on a rare sunny day, and I read from the books while he tried several flint knapping techniques of interest and made his own discoveries about tool making while we both enjoyed the connection, company & learning. This is what makes life learning so precious & enjoyable & worth every moment. Then he presented the "tools" he made at rock club that night, just for fun :)

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

We didn't just evolve to create technology - technology evolved to create us!!!

Take that, fundamentalists!!!

(caveat - technology could destroy us as well)

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

No memory!