The myriad mysteries that enshroud the origins of our species hold, for us, an endless fascination. They cause us to reach back thousands of years in search for elusive clues to those critical links in the evolutionary chain that can tell us from whence we've come and, perhaps, even for where we're destined. However, is the search for our origins not simultaneously the most and the least consequential drama of our age?
On one hand, satisfactorily solving such queries might lead to the end of racism and speciesism, cultural blights that have tormented us and our planet for centuries now. Scientific proof might force us all to acknowledge our common origins. But on the other hand, science can never entirely dispel the bigotry that lives on in our hearts. Science has proven that the world is billions of years old and yet the devout among us insist otherwise. Reason does not always reach the stubborn.
Such questions of consequence spin through Mr. Meredith's riveting history of humanity. For, here, he has catalogued our efforts to solve the fundamental questions of the why, the how, and the when from which we've come, He follows the generations of scientists and bonehunters who have combed our world's oldest places, searching relentlessly for answers that might well have eluded us entirely were it not for advancements in genetics. These truthseekers did not undertake such journeys for profit; in fact, most appear to have practically starved, often pouring their last pennies into an effort to glimpse the fundamentals of our species. Largely without external funding, many seekers have been scorned for their discoveries, bone-truths that throw up inconvenient narratives about who we are and from whom we've come. This treatment has nursed rivalries, encouraged frauds and empowered familial dynasties, all of which color this most epic hunt across Africa for the origins of humanity.
From deserts to caves, from labs to museums, Born in Africa is a wonderfully concise expose of a century-long battle over the story of our beginnings. Divided into two primary sections, part I deals with the dogged and underfunded scientists who have characterized this search. The author unknots their dysfunctional community, revealing how discord contorts life on the fringes of scientific respectability. Part II is a chronicle of what we know so far. After exposing us to the multiregional hypothesis of our origins in part I, here, he lays out the single-origin theory which is now widely accepted in mainstream science. In doing so, Mr. Meredith explains how, despite the fact that modern humans are believed to have migrated out of Africa in a series of waves, beginning some 120,000 years ago, there is evidence of human habitation in Europe and Asia that predate such migrations. The clear narrative leaves little doubt of the theory's solidity.
Born in Africa is a swift and fascinating read that tackles a difficult and contentious subject with intelligence and insight. The rivalries are as engrossing as the science. This is guaranteed to enlighten all but the most primatologically informed. (4/5 Stars)
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