title: Close Encounters with Humankind: A Paleoanthropologist Investigates Our Evolving Species
author: Sang-Hee Lee
description: Humans walk upright, possess giant brains, have nearly hairless skin, and live exceptionally long lives. How did we come to be such peculiar primates? Sang-Hee Lee tackles this question with aplomb. Deftly weaving together science and personal observation, Lee proves an engaging, authoritative guide on this nickel tour of the human condition.<br /> - <strong>Kate Wong, <em>Scientific American</em></strong><br /><br />Succinctly and engagingly, Lee revisits key questions about the story of our evolving speciesand gives some unconventional answers.<br /> - <strong><em>Nature</em></strong><br /><br />Lee, a paleoanthropologist, tells us much about our evolutionary origins by sorting through our ancestors mortal remains.<br /> - <strong><em>New York Times, New &amp; Noteworthy</em></strong><br /><br />An exceptionally reader-friendly introduction to human evolution Highly accessible, consistently interesting popular science writing.<br /> - <strong><em>Kirkus (starrred review)</em></strong><br /><br />I have struggled for years to find reading materials that cover the basics of human evolution without overwhelming students with dry, technical minutiae. At last, a book that does this! This book will appeal not only to students, but to anyone who is curious about the world.<br /> - <strong>Dean Falk, coauthor of <em>Geeks, Genes, and the Evolution of Asperger Syndrome</em></strong><br /><br />Lee uses quick-take chapters and a congenial tone to give us an overview of what paleoanthropology has discovered and how it works... Think of it as visiting some really old friends.<br /> - <strong><em>Library Journal</em></strong><br /><br /><em>Close Encounters with Humankind</em> is a terrific introduction to the story of human evolution for someone who is just beginning to explore the field, but even those familiar with the material will find a lot of new information here. I congratulate Sang-Hee Lee for writing an appealing, factual, and entertaining book on the ever-fascinating topic of human evolutionary history.<br /> - <strong>Wenda Trevathan, author of <em>Ancient Bodies, Modern Lives: How Evolution Shaped Womens Health</em></strong><br /><br /><em>Close Encounters with Humankind</em> is a delightful book full of memorable stories that reveal deep truths and penetrating mysteries about our past. What a fun way to explore the origins of our strange human ways.<br /> - <strong>Nathan H. Lents, The Human Evolution Blog and Professor, John Jay College</strong><br /><br />Sang-Hee Lee has posed some of the big questions in human evolution and has written brief, clear, and jargon-free essays about them. Her informal, clear style and commonsense explanations are delightful and engaging. Brava!<br /> - <strong>Pat Shipman, Professor of Anthropology and author of <em>The Invaders</em></strong><br /><br />In this insightful collection, Sang-Hee Lee shows herself to be a gifted storyteller, breathing new life into the old bones, with both the intimate knowledge of a practitioner and a dose of cross-cultural scientific sensitivity. A pleasure to read!<br /> - <strong>Jonathan Marks, Professor of Anthropology and author of <em>Tales of the Ex-Apes</em></strong>
zlib_text: BY EWEN CALLAWAY
   In 2004, researchers announced the discovery of 
  Homo floresiensis, a small relative of modern humans 
  that lived as recently as 18,000 years ago. The ‘hobbit’ 
  is now considered the most important hominin fossil in a 
  generation. Here, the scientists behind the find tell its story. 
  Tales of 
  the hobbit
  ILLUSTRATIONS BY SEÑOR SALME
  MIKE 
  MORWOOD
  DEAN
  FALK
  WAHYU 
  SAPTOMO
  RADEN 
  SOEJONO
  TEUKU
  JACOB
  PETER 
  BROWN
  BERT 
  ROBERTS
  MACIEJ 
  HENNEBERG
  LEIGH 
  DAYTON
  THE CAST
  Raden Soejono: Indonesian National Centre for Archaeology (ARKENAS), Jakarta (deceased 2011); Mike Morwood: 
  University of New England, Armidale, Australia/University of Wollongong, Australia (deceased 2013); Teuku Jacob: 
  Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (deceased 2007); Bert Roberts: University of Wollongong; Peter 
  Brown: Australian National University, Canberra; Leigh Dayton: former science reporter at The Australian, Sydney; 
  Dean Falk: Florida State University, Tallahassee; Maciej Henneber