Seven Skeletons: The Evolution of the World's Most Famous Human Fossils

An irresistible journey of discovery, science, history, and myth making, told through the lives and afterlives of seven famous human ancestors

Over the last century, the search for human ancestors has spanned four continents and resulted in the discovery of hundreds of fossils. While most of these discoveries live quietly in museum collections, there are a few that have become world-renowned celebrity personas—ambassadors of science that speak to public audiences. In Seven Skeletons, historian of science Lydia Pyne explores how seven such famous fossils of our ancestors have the social cachet they enjoy today.

Drawing from archives, museums, and interviews, Pyne builds a cultural history for each celebrity fossil—from its discovery to its afterlife in museum exhibits to its legacy in popular culture. These seven include the three-foot tall “hobbit” from Flores, the Neanderthal of La Chapelle, the Taung Child, the Piltdown Man hoax, Peking Man, Australopithecus sediba, and Lucy—each embraced and celebrated by generations, and vivid examples of how discoveries of how our ancestors have been received, remembered, and immortalized. 

With wit and insight, Pyne brings to life each fossil, and how it is described, put on display, and shared among scientific communities and the broader public. This fascinating, endlessly entertaining book puts the impact of paleoanthropology into new context, a reminder of how our past as a species continues to affect, in astounding ways, our present culture and imagination.

• Almost Human: The Astonishing Tale of Homo naledi and the Discovery That Changed Our Human Story
• The Strange Case of the Rickety Cossack: and Other Cautionary Tales from Human Evolution
• Neanderthals Rediscovered: How Modern Science Is Rewriting Their Story (Revised and Updated Edition)
• Lone Survivors: How We Came to Be the Only Humans on Earth
• The Complete World of Human Evolution (Second Edition) (The Complete Series)
• Evolution's Bite: A Story of Teeth, Diet, and Human Origins
• Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Origins (MacSci)
• A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes
• Neanderthal Man: In Search of Lost Genomes
• Lone Survivors: How We Came to Be the Only Humans on Earth