Best of
Prehistory

2011

Evolution The Human Story


Alice Roberts - 2011
    A unique visual guide to human evolution that brings you face to face with our ancient ancestors.Illustrated throughout with amazingly realistic model reconstructions by world-renowned Dutch paleoartists Kennis and Kennis.Draws on cutting-edge research and the latest theories to explain the science, explore our relationship to other primates, and chart our journey out of Africa to colonize and settle the world.

Bang!: How We Came to Be


Michael Rubino - 2011
    Author and illustrator Michael Rubino conveys not only the facts but also the excitement of the scientific explanation of our world, from the origin of the universe in the big bang to the present reality of our planet, teeming with life but threatened by overpopulation and pollution.Parents looking for an easy-to-understand guide to the scientific worldview for their children will find the perfect source here. The formation of stars and galaxies; the origin of our solar system and planet Earth; the epochal march of life from single-celled organisms through sponges, worms, insects, fish, dinosaurs, birds, and early mammals; and the evolution of the first humans from their simian cousins—it’s all here. This book is an eloquent blend of art and science that tells the most important story so far known.

Savage Eden


K.M. Ashman - 2011
    In the meantime, miles away, his clan's peaceful existence is devastated by an attack from an unknown cannibalistic species, the Baal. Some of the clan are killed but many more are taken as prey by the Baal to their lands beyond the ice wall. When Golau leads a rescue mission north, Inter species alliances are forged with the Neanderthal and barriers are broken down as the struggle for survival intensifies. Meanwhile back in the clan, hunger and tragedy force the remaining clan members to embrace strange new ideas from a lowly teenage girl and a mentally challenged boy.A final bloody confrontation ensues, but not before Golau unveils the strange ancestry of the Neanderthal, a horrifying, truth about the Baal, and the uncertain future of humanity.

A Snag in the Tapestry


Amethyst Marie - 2011
    Helicon and move to Mt. Parnassus under the governorship of the god Apollo. When Thalia and Apollo raise a cursed nymph from the dead, Thalia starts to wonder if the Muses have greater powers than anyone realized. The Fates, threatened by this possibility, put her to a test. But Thalia cares less about the Fates’ games than the behind-the-scenes drama of the Olympian royal court. Why did Apollo kill the Cyclops, Zeus’ minion? Why did Zeus give Apollo such a light sentence? And with the Cyclops dead, who will resupply Zeus’ lightning bolts when they run out? Will Hera then make her move for Zeus’ throne, or will she be too busy torturing his latest paramour? And what will happen to the Muses when said paramour is one of them?

Grand Canyon Thunder


Gary McCarthy - 2011
    THE 1869 POWELL EXPEDITION...deep in a chasm of roaring water and soaring stone and at a deadly stretch of river now named Separation Rapids, three desperate men abandoned the expedition after months of unspeakable hardships and near starvation. But only one of the three could survive high up on the wild, uncharted North Rim. WILLIAM DUNN...a mountain man forever haunted by guilt and driven by the love of extraordinary women will cast his fate across the vast and magnificent Grand Canyon of the Colorado in an epic tale of undying courage. This is a story of fearless river adventurers, brave and beautiful women and the early Mormon pioneers all of whose lives are interwoven with the Navaho, Hopi and the Havasupai...“The People of the Blue Green Water.” GRAND CANYON THUNDER is a never to be forgotten American saga written by multiple award-winning author Gary McCarthy.

Social Zooarchaeology


Nerissa Russell - 2011
    Until recently, archaeological analysis of faunal evidence has primarily focused on the role of animals in the human diet and subsistence economy. This book, however, argues that animals have always played many more roles in human societies: as wealth, companions, spirit helpers, sacrificial victims, totems, centerpieces of feasts, objects of taboos, and more. These social factors are as significant as taphonomic processes in shaping animal bone assemblages. Nerissa Russell uses evidence derived from not only zooarchaeology, but also ethnography, history, and classical studies to suggest the range of human-animal relationships and to examine their importance in human society. Through exploring the significance of animals to ancient humans, this book provides a richer picture of past societies.

Deciphering Ancient Minds: The Mystery of San Bushmen Rock Art


James David Lewis-Williams - 2011
    Along with the Aborigines of Australia, the indigenous San people of southern Africa—among the last hunter-gatherer societies on Earth—became iconic representatives of all our distant ancestors and were viewed as either irrational fantasists or childlike, highly spiritual conservationists.Since the 1960s a new wave of research among the San and their world-famous rock art has overturned these misconceived ideas. Here, the great authority David Lewis-Williams and his colleague Sam Challis reveal how analysis of the rock paintings and engravings can be made to yield vital insights into San beliefs and ways of thought. This is possible because we possess comprehensive transcriptions, made in the nineteenth century, of interviews with San informants who were shown copies of the art and gave their interpretations of it. Using the analogy of the Rosetta Stone, the authors move back and forth between these San texts and the rock art, teasing out the subtle meanings behind both.The picture that emerges is very different from past analysis: this art is not a naive narrative of daily life but rather is imbued with power and religious depth.

Baby Mammoth Mummy: Frozen in Time (Special Sales Edition): A Prehistoric Animal's Journey into the 21st Century


Christopher Sloan - 2011
    Together with award-winning author Christopher Sloan, kids learn the story of her discovery by the indigenous Nenet people and peak inside Lyuba’s mysterious prehistoric world. Readers will join scientists as they recreate Lyuba’s life and death using cutting edge science—including paleontology, radiology, and forensic science—and reveal new information about mammoths and their ice age home. Lyuba’s incredible story, which debuted as a National Geographic Channel exclusive and as articles in National Geographic magazine and National Geographic Kids magazine, is certain to be a fascinating read for kids and a great complement to science curriculum.