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In his new book The Strange Case of the Rickety Cossack, human paleoanthropologist Ian Tattersall argues that a long tradition of "human exceptionalism" in paleoanthropology has distorted the picture of human evolution. Drawing partly on his own career -- from young scientist in awe of his elders to crotchety elder statesman -- Tattersall offers an idiosyncratic look at the competitive world of paleoanthropology, beginning with Charles Darwin 150 years ago, and continuing through the Leakey dynasty in Africa, and concluding with the latest astonishing findings in the Caucasus.The book's title refers to the 1856 discovery of a clearly very old skull cap in Germany's Neander Valley. The possessor had a brain as large as a modern human, but a heavy low braincase with a prominent brow ridge.



About the Author

Ian Tattersall

Ian Tattersall, a Curator Emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, is a paleoanthropologist and primate biologist of long experience. He has conducted fieldwork in places as diverse as Yemen, Vietnam, and Madagascar, and besides being a prolific contributor to the technical literature in these areas, he has written widely for the public on topics ranging from the biology of the lemurs of Madagascar, and the natural history of wine, to the evolution of humankind. His current laboratory research involves trying to understand how human beings acquired their highly unusual cognitive system, and his current fieldwork involves practical research for a forthcoming book on the Natural History of Beer. His most recently published book (with Peter Nevraumont) is "Hoax. A History of Deception: 5000 Years of Fakes, Forgeries, and Fallacies."



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