Dragon Bone Hill: An Ice-Age Saga of Homo Erectus

"Peking Man," a cave man once thought a great hunter who had first tamed fire, actually was a composite of the gnawed remains of some fifty women, children, and men unfortunate enough to have been the prey of the giant cave hyena. Researching the famous fossil site of Dragon Bone Hill in China, scientists Noel T. Boaz and Russell L. Ciochon retell the story of the cave's unique species of early human, Homo erectus.

Boaz and Ciochon take readers on a gripping scientific odyssey. New evidence shows that Homo erectus was an opportunist who rode a tide of environmental change out Africa and into Eurasia, puddle-jumping from one gene pool to the next. Armed with a shaky hold on fire and some sharp rocks, Homo erectus incredibly survived for over 1.5 million years, much longer than our own species Homo sapiens has been on Earth. Tell-tale marks on fossil bones show that the lives of these early humans were brutal, ruled by hunger and who could strike the hardest blow, yet there are fleeting glimpses of human compassion as well. The small brain of Homo erectus and its strangely unchanging culture indicate that the species could not talk. Part of that primitive culture included ritualized aggression, to which the extremely thick skulls of Homo erectus bear mute witness.

Both a vivid recreation of the unimagined way of life of a prehistoric species, so similar yet so unlike us, and a fascinating exposition of how modern multidisciplinary research can test hypotheses in human evolution, Dragon Bone Hill is science writing at its best.

"For non-scientists interested in the evolution of man and the study of daves and dave men, this book is highly readable."--Danny A. Brass, Journal of Cave and Karst Studies

"Adding a controversial interpretation of the human evolutionary story to a gripping account of the discovery and mysterious disappearance of some of the world's most charismatic fossils, Boaz and Ciochon take the reader on an absorbing tour of the remote human past. Along the way they reveal some of the complexities, human as well as scientific, that continue to beset our efforts to understand whence our extraordinary species emerged."--Ian Tattersall, author of Becoming Human and The Monkey In the Mirror

"Boaz and Ciochon have written an admirable book worth reading with both reflection and delight. Their historical account of the important discoveries at Dragon Bone Hill may read like good fiction, but the events are well researched and honestly portrayed. Details of the magnificent fossils are carefully described for layman and scientist alike. In the contentious field of human evolutionary studies, the ideas of Boaz and Ciochon are sometimes daring, but never fanciful. The bottom line is that Dragon Bone Hill is a good read coupled with educational value."--Jeffrey K. McKee, Associate Professor of Anthropology at The Ohio State University, author of The Riddled Chain and Sparing Nature

"A meticulous, but not forbiddingly technical, survey of evidence from which scientists infer and debate the species' evolution. From areas where consensus reigns--that H. erectus was a head-banging, tool- and fire-using scavenger--Boaz and Ciochon proceed to the most disputatious ground in the field, arguments about whether H. erectus evolved in Africa or elsewhere. Methodically informative, this book best suits readers with a well developed interest in human origins."--Booklist

"[Boaz and Ciochon] tell two entertaining tales as they explore many facets of the Homo erectus story. The first deals with the discovery of Peking Man and provides much insight into the politics of early paleoanthropology.... Their second story addresses the evolutionary place of Peking Man and presents hypotheses on the origins of the use of fire, the beginnings of human language, the evolution of the brain, hunting, cannibalism, stone and bone tool use and ancient human diet."--Publishers Weekly

"Boaz and Ciochon restore Zhoukoudian to its pivotal role in understanding human evolution and how it was discovered. They give us new insights and some tantalizing glimpses of almost-lost history. This is a welcome addition to Multiregionalism."--Milford H. Wolpoff, University of Michigan

Noel T. Boaz and Russell L. Ciochon sheds new light on this famous fossil site in China and the cave's unique species of early human, Homo erectus.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-215) and index.

Noel T. Boaz is Professor of Anatomy, Ross University School of Medicine. He is the author of Evolving Health, Eco Homo and Quarry: Closing in on the Missing Link.

Russell L. Ciochon is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Iowa. His books include Other Origins: The Search for the Giant Ape in Human Prehistory and The Human Evolution Source Book.

The bones of Dragon Hill -- The dragon reclaims its own -- Giants and genes: Changing views of Peking Man's evolutionary significance -- The third function: A hypothesis on the mysterious skull of Peking Man -- The adaptive behavior of the not-quite-human -- The times and climes of Homo erectus -- The nature of humanness at Longgushan: Brain, language, fire, and cannibalism -- Alpha and Omega: Resolving the ultimate questions of the beginning and endings of Homo erectus, the species -- Testing the new hypotheses.