The discovery of the first bone of what would eventually be called Australopithecus sediba, a previously unknown branch of human ancestry, was made by the nine-year-old son of anthropologist Lee Berger at the Cradle of Humankind in South Africa in 2008. This account opens with that momentous discovery, which has demanded that scientists reevaluate what they thought they understood about human origins. It then backtracks, describing Berger’s journey to becoming a scientist, which began with his passion for nature and science in childhood. Berger’s continued work has led to the discovery and study of more Australopithecus sediba bones. Meticulous research in the field and in the lab is one part of the process, but so, too, is creative thinking as he and others theorize about the lives the bones represent. Numerous color photographs accompany a text that captures Berger’s enthusiasm, and concludes by acknowledging how much more there is to learn. Indeed, future discoveries may contradict current conclusions. Suggestions for further reading and a glossary are provided along with a website where readers can track new developments in the study of Australopithecus sediba. (Age 9 and older)

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