Rating: 
Summary: The Light Before the Dawn
Review: "The Dawn of Human Culture" proposes a theory for the "big bang" in human consciousness, an event that occurred about 50,000 years ago for reasons that are not entirely clear. The archaeological record suggests that humans became physically modern about 120,000 years ago--if you could dress a human from that time in modern clothes, he or she would blend in on the streets of any modern city.Behavior, however, is a different matter. The authors present a very strong case that whatever it is that makes us fully "human" did not appear until about 50,000 years ago. At about that time, people suddenly started engaging in recognizably modern behaviors--producing stunning cave paintings, carving figurines, making complex ornaments, burying their dead with ritual, building semi-permanent structures, assembling an intricate tool kit, and expanding throughout the world. The authors readily concede that there are a few ambiguous examples of similar behavior among more ancient Neanderthals and archaic homo sapiens, but the change after 50,000 years ago is a flood compared to the trickle that came before it. To unravel the mystery of this abrupt event, the authors start with the appearance of australopithicenes and other "hominids" that may or may not be ancestral to modern humans. They then carry the tale forward, describing "revolutions" in tool making and other behavior (of which there were very few before 50,000 years ago). I was impressed by how careful the authors were in laying out their arguments for the lay reader. Each point is clearly made, and the authors give fair treatment to scientists with whom they disagree. They scrupulously note when they have chosen to accept one point of view over another. The result is a meticulous, fair summary of what scientists know about the origins and development of the human species--as well as an intriguing answer to the mystery of how we came to be (no, I'm not going to give away the authors' theory--read the book). If you enjoy "The Dawn of Human Culture," there are two other books that you might want to read. The first is "Origins Reconsidered," by Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin. Although the book is now a bit dated (it was published in 1992, before several significant discoveries in the late 1990s), it is a very well written tale describing the discovery of a lifetime. The second is "Mapping Human History" --while not in the same scientific league as "The Dawn of Human Culture" or "Origins Reconsidered," this book offers an often interesting story of what our genes tell us about human history.
Rating:
Summary: The Big Bang of Human Consciousness
Review: Darwinian theory is so intent on slow evolution as explanation, but the embarrassing fact is that the onset of the modern human shows counter-evidentiary 'sudden fits and starts', and we have the direct evidence of a sudden explosion ca 50K years ago. The point is that man was anatomically complete, more or less, much earlier, so what caused this sudden emergence of high level culture and language?
This useful treatment of the great enigma of homo sapiens sapiens brings the issue up to date (although this area is constantly changing) and then leaves us with little to go on as to the cause of this phenomenon, venturing the guesswork hypothesis of a special mutation. Such a mutation would have to be the super humdinger kind, what kind is that? Such an explanation is not convincing (but this doesn't subtract from the interesting account).
Rating: 
Summary: Great Intro to Anthro but Misleading Cover
Review: I had a hard time deciding whether to give this book four or three stars. Richard Klein is,indeed, one of the top bioanthropologists in the U.S. But the cover and flap's trumpeting of a purported new theory inside, as one other reviewer pointed out, were hardly contained in the text. Very little space is dedicated to the discussion of why they thought there was a dawn of human culture (basically, art) around 50 thousand years ago. There's some text on it in the beginning (including a discussion of Gould's puncuated equilibrium theory) and a brief revisit towards the end, but, all in all, this is a rehashing of the current state of bioanthropology, aka, human evolution. There is very little here that's new to anyone who's taken anything above Anthro. 100/Intro. to Human Ev.
Therein lies the reason many have given the book five stars and I was tempted to give it four. Klein and Edgar provide and excellent overview of the finds, including very recent discoveries such as O. tungensis in E. Africa in 2001 and K. platyops (don't have the spelling in front of me) by Leakey in 2001. One of the best aspects of this book are its excellent drawings and diagrams. The maps are great.
The most interesting aspects for experts and students of antho. will be Klein's opinions on cannibalism and whether neandertals created art. I can't agree with his conclusion on the latter. While he refutes the evidence of ochre on remains as the possible presence of rodents burrowing in the soil, I don't recall any discussion of the largely accepted belief that Neandertals had the ability for abstract thought, as evidenced by the use of ibex horns in the burial of a Neandertal boy at Teshik Tash in Uzbekistan. They fail to mention him.
All in all, a great introduction for the general audience. Too bad their book was published before the HUGE Chad find in 2002. I would recommend Klein's textbook The Human Career for more technical descriptions. The bibliography listing various journal articles is a great place for further reading.
Rating:
Summary: Great Intro to Anthro but Misleading Cover
Review: I had a hard time deciding whether to give this book four or three stars. Richard Klein is,indeed, one of the top bioanthropologists in the U.S. But the cover and flap's trumpeting of a purported new theory inside, as one other reviewer pointed out, were hardly contained in the text. Very little space is dedicated to the discussion of why they thought there was a dawn of human culture (basically, art) around 50 thousand years ago. There's some text on it in the beginning (including a discussion of Gould's puncuated equilibrium theory) and a brief revisit towards the end, but, all in all, this is a rehashing of the current state of bioanthropology, aka, human evolution. There is very little here that's new to anyone who's taken anything above Anthro. 100/Intro. to Human Ev.
Therein lies the reason many have given the book five stars and I was tempted to give it four. Klein and Edgar provide and excellent overview of the finds, including very recent discoveries such as O. tungensis in E. Africa in 2001 and K. platyops (don't have the spelling in front of me) by Leakey in 2001. One of the best aspects of this book are its excellent drawings and diagrams. The maps are great.
The most interesting aspects for experts and students of antho. will be Klein's opinions on cannibalism and whether neandertals created art. I can't agree with his conclusion on the latter. While he refutes the evidence of ochre on remains as the possible presence of rodents burrowing in the soil, I don't recall any discussion of the largely accepted belief that Neandertals had the ability for abstract thought, as evidenced by the use of ibex horns in the burial of a Neandertal boy at Teshik Tash in Uzbekistan. They fail to mention him.
All in all, a great introduction for the general audience. Too bad their book was published before the HUGE Chad find in 2002. I would recommend Klein's textbook The Human Career for more technical descriptions. The bibliography listing various journal articles is a great place for further reading.
Rating:
Summary: No need to be ashamed of our history or hairy grandparents
Review: I was looking for an indepth and comprehensive introduction into the beginnings of man. "The Dawn Of Human Culture" takes the reader, step by step, through the long and meandering history of Modern Man. While archaeology and anthropolgy are not black and white theories, one who is a neophite, as I am, will quickly feel at ease and comfortable in the methodology and qualifications of the writers and science incorporated within. The book will often make the reader pause, not so much because one cannot understand the language and science but, rather, because of the profound revelations and relevance of their discoveries. One cannot be but a bit taken back by the fact that when we look back, back, back into our family tree, it is a very literal statement being made. One must face one's self in the most honest and naked way. Santa Claus and wishful thinking were fine when we were young but once the science and truth of humankind's origins has been revealed, and eventually absorbed and accepted, Modern Man's evolution becomes even more fascinating and miraculous than the Bible stories one was brought up on. We are the marvel and the cancer of this planet. And this book is a good blueprint to where we came from and what it will take to make the future a better and more humane place.
Rating:
Summary: Dawn of Human Culture
Review: If you like any type of anthropology, you'll love this book. The book explores why and how creativity helped homo sapiens evolve, in a new theory that the author calls the "big bang of human consciousness." The book takes you a journey working through the author's theory and gives in incredible insight to human development.
Rating: 
Summary: Very plausible synthesis
Review: Klein tells the six million-year-old story of human evolution from a "splitter's" perspective. Accordingly, H. habilis is distinguished from rudolphensis, and the Asian H. erectus from the African ergaster and the European antecessor. Neandertals are accorded some humanity, but are treated as a separate species. They evidently lacked the inferred genetic mutation for modern speech that supposedly arose some 50 kya. While Klein avoids any mention of the earlier evidence for speech, and argues away inconvenient dates, he offers a coherent synthesis of all the recent data.
Rating:
Summary: Very plausible synthesis
Review: Klein tells the six million-year-old story of human evolution from a "splitter's" perspective. Accordingly, H. habilis is distinguished from rudolphensis, and the Asian H. erectus from the African ergaster and the European antecessor. Neandertals are accorded some humanity, but are treated as a separate species. They evidently lacked the inferred genetic mutation for modern speech that supposedly arose some 50 kya. While Klein avoids any mention of the earlier evidence for speech, and argues away inconvenient dates, he offers a coherent synthesis of all the recent data.
Rating:
Summary: Very plausible synthesis
Review: Klein tells the six million-year-old story of human evolution from a "splitter's" perspective. Accordingly, H. habilis is distinguished from rudolphensis, and the Asian H. erectus from the African ergaster and the European antecessor. Neandertals are accorded some humanity, but are treated as a separate species. They evidently lacked the inferred genetic mutation for modern speech that supposedly arose some 50 kya. While Klein avoids any mention of the earlier evidence for speech, and argues away inconvenient dates, he offers a coherent synthesis of all the recent data.
Rating:
Summary: Great Introduction to Human Evolution
Review: Looks like I will be the minority voice in these ratings. While _The Dawn of Human Culture_ does cover many aspects of human evolution clearly and well, explaining theories and pitfalls, and including a lot of clear sketches, most of the book is just that, a rehash of evolutionary theory. The authors don't get to the subject at hand until very late in the book (in fact, I haven't finished reading yet, and only the knowledge that they do eventually make some sort of a point is keeping me reading it). I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I had been better prepared going in, because I kept expecting to read something really new and interesting.
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