A Short History of Nearly Everything-第99章

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for　a　very　long　time　no　one　hadthought　to　look　there。　it　was　only　because　richard　leakey　was　on　a　flight　that　was　divertedover　the　valley　that　he　realized　it　might　be　more　promising　than　had　been　thought。　a　teamwas　dispatched　to　investigate；　but　at　first　found　nothing。　then　late　one　afternoon　kamoyakimeu；　leakey’s　most　renowned　fossil　hunter；　found　a　small　piece　of　hominid　brow　on　a　hillwell　away　from　the　lake。　such　a　site　was　unlikely　to　yield　much；　but　they　dug　anyway　out　ofrespect　for　kimeu’s　instincts　and　to　their　astonishment　found　a　nearly　plete　homo　erectusskeleton。　it　was　from　a　boy　aged　between　about　nine　and　twelve　who　had　died　1。54　millionyears　ago。　the　skeleton　had　“an　entirely　modern　body　structure；”　says　tattersall；　in　a　way　thatwas　without　precedent。　the　turkana　boy　was　“very　emphatically　one　of　us。”

also　found　at　lake　turkana　by　kimeu　was　knm…er　1808；　a　female　1。7　million　years　old；which　gave　scientists　their　first　clue　that　homo　erectus　was　more　interesting　and　plexthan　previously　thought。　the　woman’s　bones　were　deformed　and　covered　in　coarse　growths；the　result　of　an　agonizing　condition　called　hypervitaminosis　a；　which　can　e　only　fromeating　the　liver　of　a　carnivore。　this　told　us　first　of　all　that　homo　erectus　was　eating　meat。

even　more　surprising　was　that　the　amount　of　growth　showed　that　she　had　lived　weeks　or　evenmonths　with　the　disease。　someone　had　looked　after　her。　it　was　the　first　sign　of　tenderness　inhominid　evolution。

it　was　also　discovered　that　homo　erectus　skulls　contained　（or；　in　the　view　of　some；　possiblycontained）　a　broca’s　area；　a　region　of　the　frontal　lobe　of　the　brain　associated　with　speech。

chimps　don’t　have　such　a　feature。　alan　walker　thinks　the　spinal　canal　didn’t　have　the　sizeand　plexity　to　enable　speech；　that　they　probably　would　have　municated　about　as　wellas　modern　chimps。　others；　notably　richard　leakey；　are　convinced　they　could　speak。

for　a　time；　it　appears；　homo　erectus　was　the　only　hominid　species　on　earth。　it　was　hugelyadventurous　and　spread　across　the　globe　with　what　seems　to　have　been　breathtaking　rapidity。

the　fossil　evidence；　if　taken　literally；　suggests　that　some　members　of　the　species　reached　javaat　about　the　same　time　as；　or　even　slightly　before；　they　left　africa。　this　has　led　some　hopefulscientists　to　suggest　that　perhaps　modern　people　arose　not　in　africa　at　all；　but　in　asia—whichwould　be　remarkable；　not　to　say　miraculous；　as　no　possible　precursor　species　have　ever　beenfound　anywhere　outside　africa。　the　asian　hominids　would　have　had　to　appear；　as　it　were；spontaneously。　and　anyway　an　asian　beginning　would　merely　reverse　the　problem　of　theirspread；　you　would　still　have　to　explain　how　the　java　people　then　got　to　africa　so　quickly。

there　are　several　more　plausible　alternative　explanations　for　how　homo　erectus　managedto　turn　up　in　asia　so　soon　after　its　first　appearance　in　africa。　first；　a　lot　of　plus…or…minusinggoes　into　the　dating　of　early　human　remains。　if　the　actual　age　of　the　african　bones　is　at　thehigher　end　of　the　range　of　estimates　or　the　javan　ones　at　the　lower　end；　or　both；　then　there　isplenty　of　time　for　african　erects　to　find　their　way　to　asia。　it　is　also　entirely　possible　that　oldererectus　bones　await　discovery　in　africa。　in　addition；　the　javan　dates　could　be　wrongaltogether。

now　for　the　doubts。　some　authorities　don’t　believe　that　the　turkana　finds　are　homoerectus　at　all。　the　snag；　ironically；　was　that　although　the　turkana　skeletons　were　admirablyextensive；　all　othererectus　fossils　are　inconclusively　fragmentary。　as　tattersall　and　jeffreyschwartz　note　in　extinct　humans；　most　of　the　turkana　skeleton　“couldn’t　be　pared　withanything　else　closely　related　to　it　because　the　parable　parts　weren’t　known！”　the　turkanaskeletons；　they　say；　look　nothing　like　any　asian　homo　erectus　and　would　never　have　beenconsidered　the　same　species　except　that　they　were　contemporaries。　some　authorities　insist　oncalling　the　turkana　specimens　（and　any　others　from　the　same　period）　homo　ergaster。

tattersall　and　schwartz　don’t　believe　that　goes　nearly　far　enough。　they　believe　it　wasergaster“or　a　reasonably　close　relative”　that　spread　to　asia　from　africa；　evolved　intohomo　erectus；and　then　died　out。

what　is　certain　is　that　sometime　well　over　a　million　years　ago；　some　new；　parativelymodern；　upright　beings　left　africa　and　boldly　spread　out　across　much　of　the　globe。　theypossibly　did　so　quite　rapidly；　increasing　their　range　by　as　much　as　twenty…five　miles　a　year　onaverage；　all　while　dealing　with　mountain　ranges；　rivers；　deserts；　and　other　impediments　andadapting　to　differences　in　climate　and　food　sources。　a　particular　mystery　is　how　they　passedalong　the　west　side　of　the　red　sea；　an　area　of　famously　punishing　aridity　now；　but　even　drierin　the　past。　it　is　a　curious　irony　that　the　conditions　that　prompted　them　to　leave　africa　wouldhave　made　it　much　more　difficult　to　do　so。　yet　somehow　they　managed　to　find　their　wayaround　every　barrier　and　to　thrive　in　the　lands　beyond。

and　that；　i’m　afraid；　is　where　all　agreement　ends。　what　happened　next　in　the　history　ofhuman　development　is　a　matter　of　long　and　rancorous　debate；　as　we　shall　see　in　the　nextchapter。

but　it　is　worth　remembering；　before　we　move　on；　that　all　of　these　evolutionary　jostlingsover　five　million　years；　from　distant；　puzzled　australopithecine　to　fully　modern　human；produced　a　creature　that　is　still　98。4　percent　genetically　indistinguishable　from　the　modernchimpanzee。　there　is　more　difference　between　a　zebra　and　a　horse；　or　between　a　dolphin　anda　porpoise；　than　there　is　between　you　and　the　furry　creatures　your　distant　ancestors　left　behindwhen　they　set　out　to　take　over　the　world。





29THE　RESTLESS　APESOME

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time　about　a　million　and　a　half　years　ago；　some　forgotten　genius　of　the　hominidworld　did　an　unexpected　thing。　he　（or　very　possibly　she）　took　one　stone　and　carefully　used　itto　shape　another。　the　result　was　a　simple　teardrop…shaped　hand　axe；　but　it　was　the　world’sfirst　piece　of　advanced　technology。

it　was　so　superior　to　existing　tools　that　soon　others　were　following　the　inventor’s　lead　andmaking　hand　axes　of　their　own。　eventually　whole　societies　existed　that　seemed　to　do　littleelse。　“they　made　them　in　the　thousands；”　says　ian　tattersall。　“there　are　some　places　inafrica　where　you　literally　can’t　move　without　stepping　on　them。　it’s　strange　because　they　arequite　intensive　objects　to　make。　it　was　as　if　they　made　them　for　the　sheer　pleasure　of　it。”

from　a　shelf　in　his　sunny　workroom　tattersall　took　down　an　enormous　cast；　perhaps　a　footand　a　half　long　and　eight　inches　wide　at　its　widest　point；　and　handed　it　to　me。　it　was　shapedlike　a　spearhead；　but　one　the　size　of　a　stepping…stone。　as　a　fiberglass　cast　it　weighed　only　afew　ounces；　but　the　original；　which　was　found　in　tanzania；　weighed　twenty…five　pounds。　“itwas　pletely　useless　as　a　tool；”　tattersall　said。　“it　would　have　taken　two　people　to　lift　itadequately；　and　even　then　it　would　have　been　exhausting　to　try　to　pound　anything　with　it。”

“what　was　it　used　for　then？”

tattersall　gave　a　genial　shrug；　pleased　at　the　mystery　of　it。　“no　idea。　it　must　have　had　somesymbolic　importance；　but　we　can　only　guess　what。”

the　axes　became　known　as　acheulean　tools；　after　st。　acheul；　a　suburb　of　amiens　innorthern　france；　where　the　first　examples　were　found　in　the　nineteenth　century；　and　contrastwith　the　older；　simpler　tools　known　as　oldowan；　originally　found　at　olduvai　gorge　intanzania。　in　older　textbooks；　oldowan　tools　are　usually　shown　as　blunt；　rounded；　hand…sizedstones。　in　fact；　paleoanthropologists　now　tend　to　believe　that　the　tool　part　of　oldowan　rockswere　the　pieces　flaked　off　these　larger　stones；　which　could　then　be　used　for　cutting。

now　here’s　the　mystery。　when　early　modern　humans—the　ones　who　would　eventuallybee　us—started　to　move　out　of　africa　something　over　a　hundred　thousand　years　ago；acheulean　tools　were　the　technology　of　choice。　these　early　homo　sapiens　loved　theiracheulean　tools；　too。　they　carried　them　vast　distances。　sometimes　they　even　took　unshapedrocks　with　them　to　make　into　tools　later　on。　they　were；　in　a　word；　devoted　to　the　technology。

but　although　acheulean　tools　have　been　found　throughout　africa；　europe；　and　western　andcentral　asia；　they　have　almost　never　been　found　in　the　far　east。　this　is　deeply　puzzling。

in　the　1940s　a　harvard　paleontologist　named　hallum　movius　drew　something　called　themovius　line；　dividing　the　side　with　acheulean　tools　from　the　one　without。　the　line　runs　in　asoutheasterly　direction　across　europe　and　the　middle　east　to　the　vicinity　of　modern…daycalcutta　and　bangladesh。　beyond　the　movius　line；　across　the　whole　of　southeast　asia　andinto　china；　only　the　older；　simpler　oldowan　tools　have　been　found。　we　know　that　homosapiens　went　far　beyond　this　point；　so　why　would　they　carry　an　advanced　and　treasured　stonetechnology　to　the　edge　of　the　far　east　and　then　just　abandon　it？

“that　troubled　me　for　a　long　time；”　recalls　alan　thorne　of　the　australian　nationaluniversity　in　canberra。　“the　whole　of　modern　anthropology　was　built　round　the　idea　thathumans　came　out　of　africa　in　two　waves—a　first　wave　of　homo　erectus；　which　became　javaman　and　peking　man　and　the　like；　and　a　later；　more　advanced　wave　of　h