After waiting a good long time, (John is a very busy man) I was finally able to (virtually) sit down with the man and get some good questions in.

John tells us his stories, and they are enthralling, one thing that you will find after watching, is that he found out how powerful the idea of storytelling is and what role it can play in education.

John is one of my personal heroes and is one of my motivations for my fight for open access education.

Please enjoy!

Join us this time as we meet up with Keneiloe Molopyane, curator of the Maropeng Museum of Human Origins in South Africa!

She is a member of the original Rising Star caving team, and has been working closely with Lee Berger ever since, more recently she has been working on a site called the 105 site in the cradle, and is helping preparations and excavations there as she prepares to take over the site from Professor Berger.

Join us for a chat!

Let us know what you think in the comments below and if you want to be a guest on the show let us know by emailing us at worldofpaleoanthropology@gmail.com!

The Sediments of Time, a book written by Meave Leakey (Yes those Leakey’s) with her daughter Samira is a look into the history of modern Paleoanthropology from her perspective as some of the greatest archaeological finds of all time were made.

From the discovery, excavation and preparation of the Turkana Boy, as well as many other erectus fossils found all over the larger Turkana region, Koobi Fora, and other localities.

Fossils from all across Africa are chronicled in this book, all from the perspective of a young WOMEN in the STEM field. Its a perspective that is both rare and welcoming as most stories and recollections from the time are from their male counterparts, which is great but its a nice change.

The books goes over the personal life of the Leakey’s at the time, from Meave getting hired on by Louis and eventually marrying Richard, nursing him through the loss of his legs, and even giving him a kidney. A story of true love follows these two as they adventure around the wilds of Africa following Richards pursuits. But Meave was never far behind, in fact in some cases she was in front, leading her own expeditions when Richard couldn’t, or when he had to take up position with the ranger service.

This books is not a technical biological review of the evolution of humans, while human evolution is a prevailing theme, and is all that is talked about, it is what is between the lines that make this book stand out against the crowd when it comes to books on paleoanthropology.

The Leakey Family is famous for all that they have contributed, and continue to contribute to the community of paleontologists, archaeologists, and scientists who study and try to answer the same initial questions that Louis Leakey set out to answer oh so long ago.

This is a great read if you want to hear about the story of these amazing finds, and learn the history of where we are today.

Don’t miss out on this one.

Welcome to our next interview! And with the prolific and wonderful Professor John Hawks!

I do hope you enjoy our chat, and remember if you or someone you know is interested in appearing on the show have them contact us at worldofpaleoanthropology@gmail.com and we can set something up!

Enjoy!

So we are finally here! Launch day in the United States! October 27th is the day that Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art finally comes available in hardcover and paperback to readers across the U.S.

While available on kindle and audible for some time, the book was not officially available until now.

In preparation for the books launch, we interviewed the author, Rebecca Wragg Sykes, which we had a great time doing. You should check out that talk here:

But now that the book is out, lets talk about it! How is it? Should you get it, and whole role does it play in the future of anthropology?

First off lets start off with the basics, if you are looking for a book on Neanderthals, especially one that has by far the most up to date information based on the most recent findings and technology, then this is the book for you. Not only is all of the information top notch, and as up to date as you will find out there (besides any discoveries that come out after the publication of this article).

Each chapter starts with a look back into the past, with a glimpse through the eyes of our Neanderthal cousins, while some people complain about these anecdotes, I find that they add to the overall story and provide a more fulfilling and imaginary driving experience when imagining a world that no longer exists. After all, no matter how much archaeology is involved, there is still going to be guess work, might as well make it interesting and logical.

The book guides you through the basic lives of a Neanderthal, as the title suggests, from birth to death and everything in between we get a close glimpse at what it was like to live in a world no longer recognized. From how stone tools were made and used to the way in which a Neanderthal women would give birth, each aspect is touched upon, and in unique and intelligent ways.

At the time of writing this, it is a fact, that there are no more updated or more informed books on Neanderthals out there Rebecca Wragg Sykes has quickly made herself a name in the field of Paleoanthropology and Archaeology doing various works in STEM and science education. And for good measure, her charisma, love her work, and talent at bringing detailed and hard to understand concepts into view creates an entirely new perspective on creatures long dead.

From start to finish the book takes you on a long journey through time and explains each aspect of it, in a kind, understandable way that makes it enjoyable to read and learn even the harder, more dry topics.

For me, Im a biological anthropology kind of guy, the chapters on stone tool knapping were not my favorite, but they were still very informative.

So what is there to learn and take away from this book? First of all, let me say, if it is not clear, if you want to learn about Neanderthals this is a must read, simply put. This is the best modern book on Neanderthals.

But what is the main take away? To me, I think its an idea that many anthropologists have been trying to push for some time with little success, but maybe this book will change that. To change the idea that Neanderthals were not brutish ancestors who only lived in caves and ate each other. But that they were so much more, so much closer to our own species than we ever thought, both in thought, culture and anatomy. That these creatures were in fact us, and that our differences are far smaller than they ever seemed before.

Neanderthals were not “cavemen”, they were sophisticated hominids who lived dedicated and developed lives that were not so different than our own. Hopefully this message gets across to a new, and old generation, for we have so much to learn about those that came before us, and even during our own existence. We have no closer relatives, its time we start to recognize them for who and what they are and their importance in our daily lives, our health, and our future.

We have so much left to learn about Neanderthals, and while KINDRED is a great start and covers just so much information, it is just the tip of the iceberg, the taste to get you interested and involved in the on going research involving paleontology and Neanderthals.

You can order your copy of the book right here on your favorite format:

We highly recommend it, and suggest you watch our interview to go along with the book for added content!

We would like to go ahead and thank Rebecca again for her participation in our interview, and thank you for the wonderful years and hard work that she has put forth to bring us this great work on Neanderthals.

Until Next Time

Never Stop Exploring

Seth Chagi

It’s finally uploaded! Our second interview with Dr. Prof. Lee R. Berger! 

Check it out and like and subscribe for more!! 

Let us know what you think in the comments!

Our friends at CARTA – Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny are hosting a free public (virtual) symposium this Saturday October 24th! 

Learn about comparative anthropogeny and the human-ape paradox!

Learn more here: https://carta.anthropogeny.org/…/comparative-anthropogeny-e…

#carta #anthropology #human #ape

Hello fellow scientists and enthusiasts!

I have some exciting news! Along the launch of our latest interview today, we are also announcing that we have created our very own Youtube account!

You will be able to find all of our video interviews there, as well as on Facebook, but the quality will be much better on YouTube! But we shall maintain both for user ease.

View our channel and please like and subscribe here!

Author of the new book KINDRED, we take time to talk to Rebecca about Neanderthals and their lives, from how they could throw spears to Jean Auels Earth’s Children Saga.

Join us here, and let us know what you think about Neanderthals below!

Whats your favorite aspect about them?

Look forward to our full review of the book when it comes out at the end of the month, in the meantime be sure to get your pre order on Amazon right here!

We hope you have a great time and learn a lot!

Check out our review of her book here:

Some Assembly Required by Neil Shubin is a great look into the genetics of what makes us human. One of the newer books out there, the information contained therein is up to date and relevant to todays topics and discoveries. 

Focusing more on the mechanics of evolution and biology in general than specifically Human Evolution, this book will please a variety of scientists and enthusiasts alike. 

Discussing from what we are from our basic building blocks, to Homo sapiens, we explore an amazing journey through they eyes of a geneticist and scientist who’s goal is to find the center of it al through a detailed analysis of genetic, fossil, and theoretical remains. 

Neil Shubin does a great job of leading us down a path of exploration as we start at the beginning, the very beginning, 4 billion years ago at the start of life on earth up to where we are today. Not only is this done in great detail with in a way that is easy to understand but done so that it can be built upon by other scientists and enthusiasts. 

This may not be the best book for those just starting down the path of paleoanthropology as some of the topics are harder to understand than others, but they are explained well and in detail so that no one is left behind. 

All in all its a good book, nothing super special to say about it to be honest, but if youre looking for another book to pick up, anything relating to this subject, its a good addition to your library. 

Worth the read. 

Until next time.