Tertulia Logo
Sign upLog In
Cart Icon0
Cart Icon0
The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Book Cover for: The Skull in the Rock: How a Scientist, a Boy, and Google Earth Opened a New Window on Human Origins, Marc Aronson

The Skull in the Rock: How a Scientist, a Boy, and Google Earth Opened a New Window on Human Origins

Marc Aronson

Hardcover
Regular price$18.95With free membership trial$9.4850% off your first book+ Free shipping
Currently out of stock. Place a backorder.

Do you recommend this book?

Yes!

No

From the fossil hunter who discovered the Homo naledi fossils in September 2015, this book is an amazing account of Lee Berger's 2008 hunt -- with the help of his curious 9-year-old son -- for a previously unknown species of ape-like creatures that may have been direct ancestors of modern humans. The discovery of two remarkably well preserved, two-million-year-old fossils of an adult female and young male, known as Australopiitecus sediba, has been hailed as one of the most important archaeological discoveries in history. The fossils reveal what may be one of humankind's oldest ancestors.

Berger believes the skeletons they found on the Malapa site in South Africa could be the "Rosetta stone that unlocks our understanding of the genus Homo" and may just redesign the human family tree.

Berger, an Eagle Scout and National Geographic Grantee, is the Reader in Human Evolution and the Public Understanding of Science in the Institute for Human Evolution at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

The focus of the book will be on the way in which we can apply new thinking to familiar material and come up with a breakthrough. Marc Aronson is particularly interested in framing these issues for young people and has had enormous success with this approach in his previous books: Ain't Nothing But a Man and If Stones Could Speak.

Berger's discovery in one of the most excavated and studied areas on Earth revealed a treasure trove of human fossils--and an entirely new human species--where people thought no more field work might ever be necessary. Technology and revelation combined, plus a good does of luck, to broaden by ten times the number of early human fossils known, rejuvenating this field of study and posing countless more questions to be answered in years and decades to come.


Releases simultaneously in Reinforced Library Binding: 978-1-4263-1053-9, $27.90/$32.00 Can

Book Details

  • Publisher: National Geographic Kids
  • Publish Date: Oct 23rd, 2012
  • Pages: 64
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 10.90in - 8.80in - 0.50in - 1.15lb
  • EAN: 9781426310102
  • Recommended age: 10-14
  • Categories: • History - Prehistoric• Science & Nature - Fossils• Science & Nature - Discoveries

About the Author

LEE BERGER is the Reader in Human Evolution and the Public Understanding of Science at the Institute for Human Evolution, School of GeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg South Africa. He won the National Geographic Society's first Research and Exploration Prize in 1997, has conducted numerous subsequent expeditions, and is best known for his discovery of Australopithecus sediba.

MARC ARONSON is an award-winning author and editor who earned his doctorate in American History at NYU, he is co-author of The World Made New for National Geographic, a new biography of Robert Kennedy, and Race: A History Beyond Black and White.

Praise for this book

CCBC's Book of Choice 2013!

Winner of The American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Science Books & Films Prize for Excellence in Science Books!

"Adding to a heap of impressive recent books about old bones, The Skull in the Rock provides a dual picture of science being practiced in all its current high-tech glory." --The Washington Post

"A fascinating account of an Indiana Jones-style fossil hunter and how his discoveries have changed the way we see human evolution." --Kirkus Reviews

"... a fine pairing of an impassioned personality and scientific achievement." --School Library Journal

"Slim, enticing and totally accessible, this is a book that will open eyes to the world around us and, perhaps, inspire a whole new generation of "Indies."" --Bookends, a Booklist Blog

"Readers will be entranced with this story." --Library Media Connection

"The co-authors have given this photo- and imagined paintings-filled volume a fun, hands-on flavor by providing a number of series of captioned photos that demonstrate scientific processes utilized in the searching and evaluating of these new fossils." --A Book and a Hug

"The fossils Berger discovered reveal what may be one of humankind's oldest ancestors. The find has been hailed as one of the most important archaeological discoveries in history." --Niagara Falls Review

"The focus of the book will be on the way in which we can apply new thinking to familiar material and come up with a breakthrough. Marc Aronson is particularly interested in framing these issues for young people and has had enormous success with this approach in his previous books." --GSWNY MLK Troop #30294