A Short History of Nearly Everything-第100章

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homo　erectus；　which　became　javaman　and　peking　man　and　the　like；　and　a　later；　more　advanced　wave　of　homo　sapiens；　whichdisplaced　the　first　lot。　yet　to　accept　that　you　must　believe　thathomo　sapiens　got　so　far　withtheir　more　modern　technology　and　then；　for　whatever　reason；　gave　it　up。　it　was　all　verypuzzling；　to　say　the　least。”

as　it　turned　out；　there　would　be　a　great　deal　else　to　be　puzzled　about；　and　one　of　the　mostpuzzling　findings　of　all　would　e　from　thorne’s　own　part　of　the　world；　in　the　outback　ofaustralia。　in　1968；　a　geologist　named　jim　bowler　was　poking　around　on　a　long…dried　lakebedcalled　mungo　in　a　parched　and　lonely　corner　of　western　new　south　wales　when　somethingvery　unexpected　caught　his　eye。　sticking　out　of　a　crescent…shaped　sand　ridge　of　a　type　knownas　a　lunette　were　some　human　bones。　at　the　time；　it　was　believed　that　humans　had　been　inaustralia　for　no　more　than　8；000　years；　but　mungo　had　been　dry　for　12；000　years。　so　whatwas　anyone　doing　in　such　an　inhospitable　place？

the　answer；　provided　by　carbon　dating；　was　that　the　bones’　owner　had　lived　there　whenlake　mungo　was　a　much　more　agreeable　habitat；　a　dozen　miles　long；　full　of　water　and　fish；fringed　by　pleasant　groves　of　casuarina　trees。　to　everyone’s　astonishment；　the　bones　turnedout　to　be　23；000　years　old。　other　bones　found　nearby　were　dated　to　as　much　as　60；000　years。

this　was　unexpected　to　the　point　of　seeming　practically　impossible。　at　no　time　sincehominids　first　arose　on　earth　has　australia　not　been　an　island。　any　human　beings　who　arrivedthere　must　have　e　by　sea；　in　large　enough　numbers　to　start　a　breeding　population；　aftercrossing　sixty　miles　or　more　of　open　water　without　having　any　way　of　knowing　that　aconvenient　landfall　awaited　them。　having　landed；　the　mungo　people　had　then　found　their　waymore　than　two　thousand　miles　inland　from　australia’s　north　coast—the　presumed　point　ofentry—which　suggests；　according　to　a　report　in　the　proceedings　of　the　national　academy　ofsciences；　“that　people　may　have　first　arrived　substantially　earlier　than　60；000　years　ago。”

how　they　got　there　and　why　they　came　are　questions　that　can’t　be　answered。　according　tomost　anthropology　texts；　there’s　no　evidence　that　people　could　even　speak　60；000　years　ago；much　less　engage　in　the　sorts　of　cooperative　efforts　necessary　to　build　ocean…worthy　craft　andcolonize　island　continents。

“there’s　just　a　whole　lot　we　don’t　know　about　the　movements　of　people　before　recordedhistory；”　alan　thorne　told　me　when　i　met　him　in　canberra。　“do　you　know　that　whennineteenth…century　anthropologists　first　got　to　papua　new　guinea；　they　found　people　in　thehighlands　of　the　interior；　in　some　of　the　most　inaccessible　terrain　on　earth；　growing　sweetpotatoes。　sweet　potatoes　are　native　to　south　america。　so　how　did　they　get　to　papua　newguinea？　we　don’t　know。　don’t　have　the　faintest　idea。　but　what　is　certain　is　that　people　havebeen　moving　around　with　considerable　assuredness　for　longer　than　traditionally　thought；　andalmost　certainly　sharing　genes　as　well　as　information。”

the　problem；　as　ever；　is　the　fossil　record。　“very　few　parts　of　the　world　are　even　vaguelyamenable　to　the　long…term　preservation　of　human　remains；”　says　thorne；　a　sharp…eyed　manwith　a　white　goatee　and　an　intent　but　friendly　manner。　“if　it　weren’t　for　a　few　productiveareas　like　hadar　and　olduvai　in　east　africa　we’d　know　frighteningly　little。　and　when　youlook　elsewhere；　often　wedo　know　frighteningly　little。　the　whole　of　india　has　yielded　just　oneancient　human　fossil；　from　about　300；000　years　ago。　between　iraq　and　vietnam—that’s　adistance　of　some　5；000　kilometers—there　have　been　just　two：　the　one　in　india　and　aneandertal　in　uzbekistan。”　he　grinned。　“that’s　not　a　whole　hell　of　a　lot　to　work　with。　you’releft　with　the　position　that　you’ve　got　a　few　productive　areas　for　human　fossils；　like　the　greatrift　valley　in　africa　and　mungo　here　in　australia；　and　very　little　in　between。　it’s　notsurprising　that　paleontologists　have　trouble　connecting　the　dots。”

the　traditional　theory　to　explain　human　movements—and　the　one　still　accepted　by　themajority　of　people　in　the　field—is　that　humans　dispersed　across　eurasia　in　two　waves。　thefirst　wave　consisted　of　homo　erectus；　who　left　africa　remarkably　quickly—almost　as　soon　asthey　emerged　as　a　species—beginning　nearly　two　million　years　ago。　over　time；　as　they　settledin　different　regions；　these　early　erects　further　evolved　into　distinctive　types—into　java　manand　peking　man　in　asia；　and　homo　heidelbergensis　and　finally　homo　neanderthalensis　ineurope。

then；　something　over　a　hundred　thousand　years　ago；　a　smarter；　lither　species　of　creature—the　ancestors　of　every　one　of　us　alive　today—arose　on　the　african　plains　and　began　radiatingoutward　in　a　second　wave。　wherever　they　went；　according　to　this　theory；　these　new　homosapiens　displaced　their　duller；　less　adept　predecessors。　quite　how　they　did　this　has　alwaysbeen　a　matter　of　disputation。　no　signs　of　slaughter　have　ever　been　found；　so　most　authoritiesbelieve　the　newer　hominids　simply　outpeted　the　older　ones；　though　other　factors　may　alsohave　contributed。　“perhaps　we　gave　them　smallpox；”　suggests　tattersall。　“there’s　no　real　wayof　telling。　the　one　certainty　is　that　we　are　here　now　and　they　aren’t。”

these　first　modern　humans　are　surprisingly　shadowy。　we　know　less　about　ourselves；curiously　enough；　than　about　almost　any　other　line　of　hominids。　it　is　odd　indeed；　as　tattersallnotes；　“that　the　most　recent　major　event　in　human　evolution—the　emergence　of　our　ownspecies—is　perhaps　the　most　obscure　of　all。”　nobody　can　even　quite　agree　where　trulymodern　humans　first　appear　in　the　fossil　record。　many　books　place　their　debut　at　about120；000　years　ago　in　the　form　of　remains　found　at　the　klasies　river　mouth　in　south　africa；but　not　everyone　accepts　that　these　were　fully　modern　people。　tattersall　and　schwartzmaintain　that　“whether　any　or　all　of　them　actually　represent　our　species　still　awaits　definitiveclarification。”

the　first　undisputed　appearance　of　homo　sapiens　is　in　the　eastern　mediterranean；　aroundmodern…day　israel；　where　they　begin　to　show　up　about　100；000　years　ago—but　even　therethey　are　described　（by　trinkaus　and　shipman）　as　“odd；　difficult…to…classify　and　poorlyknown。”　neandertals　were　already　well　established　in　the　region　and　had　a　type　of　tool　kitknown　as　mousterian；　which　the　modern　humans　evidently　found　worthy　enough　to　borrow。

no　neandertal　remains　have　ever　been　found　in　north　africa；　but　their　tool　kits　turn　up　allover　the　place。　somebody　must　have　taken　them　there：　modern　humans　are　the　onlycandidate。　it　is　also　known　that　neandertals　and　modern　humans　coexisted　in　some　fashionfor　tens　of　thousands　of　years　in　the　middle　east。　“we　don’t　know　if　they　time…shared　thesame　space　or　actually　lived　side　by　side；”　tattersall　says；　but　the　moderns　continued　happilyto　use　neandertal　tools—hardly　convincing　evidence　of　overwhelming　superiority。　no　lesscuriously；　acheulean　tools　are　found　in　the　middle　east　well　over　a　million　years　ago；　butscarcely　exist　in　europe　until　just　300；000　years　ago。　again；　why　people　who　had　thetechnology　didn’t　take　the　tools　with　them　is　a　mystery。

for　a　long　time；　it　was　believed　that　the　cro…magnons；　as　modern　humans　in　europebecame　known；　drove　the　neandertals　before　them　as　they　advanced　across　the　continent；eventually　forcing　them　to　its　western　margins；　where　essentially　they　had　no　choice　but　tofall　in　the　sea　or　go　extinct。　in　fact；　it　is　now　known　that　cro…magnons　were　in　the　far　west　ofeurope　at　about　the　same　time　they　were　also　ing　in　from　the　east。　“europe　was　a　prettyempty　place　in　those　days；”　tattersall　says。　“they　may　not　have　encountered　each　other　allthat　often；　even　with　all　their　ings　and　goings。”　one　curiosity　of　the　cro…magnons’　arrivalis　that　it　came　at　a　time　known　to　paleoclimatology　as　the　boutellier　interval；　when　europewas　plunging　from　a　period　of　relative　mildness　into　yet　another　long　spell　of　punishing　cold。

whatever　it　was　that　drew　them　to　europe；　it　wasn’t　the　glorious　weather。

in　any　case；　the　idea　that　neandertals　crumpled　in　the　face　of　petition　from　newlyarrived　cro…magnons　strains　against　the　evidence　at　least　a　little。　neandertals　were　nothing　ifnot　tough。　for　tens　of　thousands　of　years　they　lived　through　conditions　that　no　modern　humanoutside　a　few　polar　scientists　and　explorers　has　experienced。　during　the　worst　of　the　ice　ages；blizzards　with　hurricane…force　winds　were　mon。　temperatures　routinely　fell　to　50　degreesbelow　zero　fahrenheit。　polar　bears　padded　across　the　snowy　vales　of　southern　england。

neandertals　naturally　retreated　from　the　worst　of　it；　but　even　so　they　will　have　experiencedweather　that　was　at　least　as　bad　as　a　modern　siberian　winter。　they　suffered；　to　be　sure—aneandertal　who　lived　much　past　thirty　was　lucky　indeed—but　as　a　species　they　weremagnificently　resilient　and　practically　indestructible。　they　survived　for　at　least　a　hundredthousand　years；　and　perhaps　twice　that；　over　an　area　stretching　from　gibraltar　to　uzbekistan；which　is　a　pretty　successful　run　for　any　species　of　being。

quite　who　they　were　and　what　they　were　like　remain　matters　of　disagreement　anduncertainty。　right　up　until　the　middle　of　the　twentieth　ce