A Short History of Nearly Everything-第95章

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ime　to　look　at　a　species　of　ape　that　trulydid。

　。。



28THE　MYSTERIOUS　BIPED

小？说网
just　before　christmas　1887；　a　young　dutch　doctor　with　an　un…dutch　name；　marieeugène　fran？ois　thomas　dubois；　arrived　in　sumatra；　in　the　dutch　east　indies；　with　theintention　of　finding　the　earliest　human　remains　on　earth。

1several　things　were　extraordinary　about　this。　to　begin　with；　no　one　had　ever　gone　lookingfor　ancient　human　bones　before。　everything　that　had　been　found　to　this　point　had　been　foundaccidentally；　and　nothing　in　dubois’s　background　suggested　that　he　was　the　ideal　candidate　tomake　the　process　intentional。　he　was　an　anatomist　by　training　with　no　background　inpaleontology。　nor　was　there　any　special　reason　to　suppose　that　the　east　indies　would　holdearly　human　remains。　logic　dictated　that　if　ancient　people　were　to　be　found　at　all；　it　would　beon　a　large　and　long…populated　landmass；　not　in　the　parative　fastness　of　an　archipelago。

dubois　was　driven　to　the　east　indies　on　nothing　stronger　than　a　hunch；　the　availability　ofemployment；　and　the　knowledge　that　sumatra　was　full　of　caves；　the　environment　in　whichmost　of　the　important　hominid　fossils　had　so　far　been　found。　what　is　most　extraordinary　in　allthis—nearly　miraculous；　really—is　that　he　found　what　he　was　looking　for。

at　the　time　dubois　conceived　his　plan　to　search　for　a　missing　link；　the　human　fossil　recordconsisted　of　very　little：　five　inplete　neandertal　skeletons；　one　partial　jawbone　of　uncertainprovenance；　and　a　half…dozen　ice…age　humans　recently　found　by　railway　workers　in　a　cave　at　acliff　called　cro…magnon　near　les　eyzies；　france。　of　the　neandertal　specimens；　the　bestpreserved　was　sitting　unremarked　on　a　shelf　in　london。　it　had　been　found　by　workers　blastingrock　from　a　quarry　in　gibraltar　in　1848；　so　its　preservation　was　a　wonder；　but　unfortunatelyno　one　yet　appreciated　what　it　was。　after　being　briefly　described　at　a　meeting　of　the　gibraltarscientific　society；　it　had　been　sent　to　the　hunterian　museum　in　london；　where　it　remainedundisturbed　but　for　an　occasional　light　dusting　for　over　half　a　century。　the　first　formaldescription　of　it　wasn’t　written　until　1907；　and　then　by　a　geologist　named　william　sollas“with　only　a　passing　petency　in　anatomy。”

so　instead　the　name　and　credit　for　the　discovery　of　the　first　early　humans　went　to　theneander　valley　in　germany—not　unfittingly；　as　it　happens；　for　by　uncanny　coincidenceneander　in　greek　means　“new　man。”　there　in　1856　workmen　at　another　quarry；　in　a　cliff　faceoverlooking　the　düssel　river；　found　some　curious…looking　bones；　which　they　passed　to　alocal　schoolteacher；　knowing　he　had　an　interest　in　all　things　natural。　to　his　great　credit　theteacher；　johann　karl　fuhlrott；　saw　that　he　had　some　new　type　of　human；　though　quite　what　itwas；　and　how　special；　would　be　matters　of　dispute　for　some　time。

many　people　refused　to　accept　that　the　neandertal　bones　were　ancient　at　all。　august　mayer；a　professor　at　the　university　of　bonn　and　a　man　of　influence；　insisted　that　the　bones　were1though　dutch；　dubois　was　from　eijsden；　a　town　bordering　the　french…speaking　part　of　belgium。

merely　those　of　a　mongolian　cossack　soldier　who　had　been　wounded　while　fighting　ingermany　in　1814　and　had　crawled　into　the　cave　to　die。　hearing　of　this；　t。　h。　huxley　inengland　drily　observed　how　remarkable　it　was　that　the　soldier；　though　mortally　wounded；　hadclimbed　sixty　feet　up　a　cliff；　divested　himself　of　his　clothing　and　personal　effects；　sealed　thecave　opening；　and　buried　himself　under　two　feet　of　soil。　another　anthropologist；　puzzlingover　the　neandertal’s　heavy　brow　ridge；　suggested　that　it　was　the　result　of　long…term　frowningarising　from　a　poorly　healed　forearm　fracture。　（in　their　eagerness　to　reject　the　idea　of　earlierhumans；　authorities　were　often　willing　to　embrace　the　most　singular　possibilities。　at　about　thetime　that　dubois　was　setting　out　for　sumatra；　a　skeleton　found　in　périgueux　was　confidentlydeclared　to　be　that　of　an　eskimo。　quite　what　an　ancient　eskimo　was　doing　in　southwestfrance　was　never　fortably　explained。　it　was　actually　an　early　cro…magnon。）it　was　against　this　background　that　dubois　began　his　search　for　ancient　human　bones。　hedid　no　digging　himself；　but　instead　used　fifty　convicts　lent　by　the　dutch　authorities。　for　a　yearthey　worked　on　sumatra；　then　transferred　to　java。　and　there　in　1891；　dubois—or　rather　histeam；　for　dubois　himself　seldom　visited　the　sites—found　a　section　of　ancient　human　craniumnow　known　as　the　trinil　skullcap。　though　only　part　of　a　skull；　it　showed　that　the　owner　hadhad　distinctly　nonhuman　features　but　a　much　larger　brain　than　any　ape。　dubois　called　itanthropithecus　erectus　（later　changed　for　technical　reasons　to　pithecanthropus　erectus）　anddeclared　it　the　missing　link　between　apes　and　humans。　it　quickly　became　popularized　as　“javaman。”　today　we　know　it　as　homo　erectus。

the　next　year　dubois’s　workers　found　a　virtually　plete　thighbone　that　lookedsurprisingly　modern。　in　fact；　many　anthropologists　think　itis　modern；　and　has　nothing　to　dowith　java　man。　if　it　is　an　erectus　bone；　it　is　unlike　any　other　found　since。　nonetheless　duboisused　the　thighbone　to　deduce—correctly；　as　it　turned　out—that　pithecanthropus　walkedupright。　he　also　produced；　with　nothing　but　a　scrap　of　cranium　and　one　tooth；　a　model　of　theplete　skull；　which　also　proved　uncannily　accurate。

in　1895；　dubois　returned　to　europe；　expecting　a　triumphal　reception。　in　fact；　he　met　nearlythe　opposite　reaction。　most　scientists　disliked　both　his　conclusions　and　the　arrogant　manner　inwhich　he　presented　them。　the　skullcap；　they　said；　was　that　of　an　ape；　probably　a　gibbon；　andnot　of　any　early　human。　hoping　to　bolster　his　case；　in　1897　dubois　allowed　a　respectedanatomist　from　the　university　of　strasbourg；　gustav　schwalbe；　to　make　a　cast　of　the　skullcap。

to　dubois’s　dismay；　schwalbe　thereupon　produced　a　monograph　that　received　far　moresympathetic　attention　than　anything　dubois　had　written　and　followed　with　a　lecture　tour　inwhich　he　was　celebrated　nearly　as　warmly　as　if　he　had　dug　up　the　skull　himself。　appalled　andembittered；　dubois　withdrew　into　an　undistinguished　position　as　a　professor　of　geology　at　theuniversity　of　amsterdam　and　for　the　next　two　decades　refused　to　let　anyone　examine　hisprecious　fossils　again。　he　died　in　1940　an　unhappy　man。

meanwhile；　and　half　a　world　away；　in　late　1924　raymond　dart；　the　australian…born　head　ofanatomy　at　the　university　of　the　witwatersrand　in　johannesburg；　was　sent　a　small　butremarkably　plete　skull　of　a　child；　with　an　intact　face；　a　lower　jaw；　and　what　is　known　asan　endocast—a　natural　cast　of　the　brain—from　a　limestone　quarry　on　the　edge　of　the　kalaharidesert　at　a　dusty　spot　called　taung。　dart　could　see　at　once　that　the　taung　skull　was　not　of　ahomo　erectus　like　dubois’s　java　man；　but　from　an　earlier；　more　apelike　creature。　he　placedits　age　at　two　million　years　and　dubbed　it　australopithecus　africanus；　or　“southern　ape　man　ofafrica。”　in　a　report　to　nature；　dart　called　the　taung　remains　“amazingly　human”　andsuggested　the　need　for　an　entirely　new　family；　homo　simiadae　（“the　man…apes”）；　toacmodate　the　find。

the　authorities　were　even　less　favorably　disposed　to　dart　than　they　had　been　to　dubois。

nearly　everything　about　his　theory—indeed；　nearly　everything　about　dart；　it　appears—annoyed　them。　first　he　had　proved　himself　lamentably　presumptuous　by　conducting　theanalysis　himself　rather　than　calling　on　the　help　of　more　worldly　experts　in　europe。　even　hischosen　name；　australopithecus；　showed　a　lack　of　scholarly　application；　bining　as　it　didgreek　and　latin　roots。　above　all；　his　conclusions　flew　in　the　face　of　accepted　wisdom。

humans　and　apes；　it　was　agreed；　had　split　apart　at　least　fifteen　million　years　ago　in　asia。　ifhumans　had　arisen　in　africa；　why；　that　would　make　us　negroid；　for　goodness　sake。　it　wasrather　as　if　someone　working　today　were　to　announce　that　he　had　found　the　ancestral　bones　ofhumans　in；　say；　missouri。　it　just　didn’t　fit　with　what　was　known。

dart’s　sole　supporter　of　note　was　robert　broom；　a　scottish…born　physician　andpaleontologist　of　considerable　intellect　and　cherishably　eccentric　nature。　it　was　broom’shabit；　for　instance；　to　do　his　fieldwork　naked　when　the　weather　was　warm；　which　was　often。

he　was　also　known　for　conducting　dubious　anatomical　experiments　on　his　poorer　and　moretractable　patients。　when　the　patients　died；　which　was　also　often；　he　would　sometimes　burytheir　bodies　in　his　back　garden　to　dig　up　for　study　later。

broom　was　an　acplished　paleontologist；　and　since　he　was　also　resident　in　south　africahe　was　able　to　examine　the　taung　skull　at　first　hand。　he　could　see　at　once　that　it　was　asimportant　as　dart　supposed　and　spoke　out　vigorously　on　dart’s　behalf；　but　to　no　effect。　forthe　next　fifty　years　the　received　wisdom　was　that　the　taung　child　was　an　ape　and　nothingmore。　most　textbooks　didn’t　even　mention　it。　dart　spent　five　years　working　up　a　monograph；but　could　find　no　one　to　publish　it。　eventually　he　gave　up　the　quest　to　publish　altogether（though　he　did　continue　hunting　for　fossils）。　for　years；　the　skull—today　recognized　as　one　ofthe　supreme　treasures　of　anthropology—sat　as　a　paperweight　on　a　colleague’s　desk。

at　the　time　dart　made　his　announcement　in　1924；　only　fo