《A Short History of Nearly Everything》第143章

an　undistinguished　position　as　a　professor　of　geology　at　theuniversity　of　amsterdam　and　for　the　next　two　decades　refused　to　let　anyone　examine　hisprecious　fossils　again。　he　died　in　1940　an　unhappy　man。
meanwhile；　and　half　a　world　away；　in　late　1924　raymond　dart；　the　australian…born　head　ofanatomy　at　the　university　of　the　witwatersrand　in　johannesburg；　was　sent　a　small　butremarkably　plete　skull　of　a　child；　with　an　intact　face；　a　lower　jaw；　and　what　is　known　asan　endocast—a　natural　cast　of　the　brain—from　a　limestone　quarry　on　the　edge　of　the　kalaharidesert　at　a　dusty　spot　called　taung。　dart　could　see　at　once　that　the　taung　skull　was　not　of　ahomo　erectus　like　dubois’s　java　man；　but　from　an　earlier；　more　apelike　creature。　he　placedits　age　at　two　million　years　and　dubbed　it　australopithecus　africanus；　or　“southern　ape　man　ofafrica。”　in　a　report　to　nature；　dart　called　the　taung　remains　“amazingly　human”　andsuggested　the　need　for　an　entirely　new　family；　homo　simiadae　（“the　man…apes”）；　toacmodate　the　find。
the　authorities　were　even　less　favorably　disposed　to　dart　than　they　had　been　to　dubois。
nearly　everything　about　his　theory—indeed；　nearly　everything　about　dart；　it　appears—annoyed　them。　first　he　had　proved　himself　lamentably　presumptuous　by　conducting　theanalysis　himself　rather　than　calling　on　the　help　of　more　worldly　experts　in　europe。　even　hischosen　name；　australopithecus；　showed　a　lack　of　scholarly　application；　bining　as　it　didgreek　and　latin　roots。　above　all；　his　conclusions　flew　in　the　face　of　accepted　wisdom。
humans　and　apes；　it　was　agreed；　had　split　apart　at　least　fifteen　million　years　ago　in　asia。　ifhumans　had　arisen　in　africa；　why；　that　would　make　us　negroid；　for　goodness　sake。　it　wasrather　as　if　someone　working　today　were　to　announce　that　he　had　found　the　ancestral　bones　ofhumans　in；　say；　missouri。　it　just　didn’t　fit　with　what　was　known。
dart’s　sole　supporter　of　note　was　robert　broom；　a　scottish…born　physician　andpaleontologist　of　considerable　intellect　and　cherishably　eccentric　nature。　it　was　broom’shabit；　for　instance；　to　do　his　fieldwork　naked　when　the　weather　was　warm；　which　was　often。
he　was　also　known　for　conducting　dubious　anatomical　experiments　on　his　poorer　and　moretractable　patients。　when　the　patients　died；　which　was　also　often；　he　would　sometimes　burytheir　bodies　in　his　back　garden　to　dig　up　for　study　later。
broom　was　an　acplished　paleontologist；　and　since　he　was　also　resident　in　south　africahe　was　able　to　examine　the　taung　skull　at　first　hand。　he　could　see　at　once　that　it　was　asimportant　as　dart　supposed　and　spoke　out　vigorously　on　dart’s　behalf；　but　to　no　effect。　forthe　next　fifty　years　the　received　wisdom　was　that　the　taung　child　was　an　ape　and　nothingmore。　most　textbooks　didn’t　even　mention　it。　dart　spent　five　years　working　up　a　monograph；but　could　find　no　one　to　publish　it。　eventually　he　gave　up　the　quest　to　publish　altogether（though　he　did　continue　hunting　for　fossils）。　for　years；　the　skull—today　recognized　as　one　ofthe　supreme　treasures　of　anthropology—sat　as　a　paperweight　on　a　colleague’s　desk。
at　the　time　dart　made　his　announcement　in　1924；　only　four　categories　of　ancient　hominidwere　known—homo　heidelbergensis；　homo　rhodesiensis；　neandertals；　and　dubois’s　javaman—but　all　that　was　about　to　change　in　a　very　big　way。
first；　in　china；　a　gifted　canadian　amateur　named　davidson　black　began　to　poke　around　ata　place；　dragon　bone　hill；　that　was　locally　famous　as　a　hunting　ground　for　old　bones。
unfortunately；　rather　than　preserving　the　bones　for　study；　the　chinese　ground　them　up　tomake　medicines。　we　can　only　guess　how　many　priceless　homo　erectus　bones　ended　up　as　asort　of　chinese　equivalent　of　bicarbonate　of　soda。　the　site　had　been　much　denuded　by　thetime　black　arrived；　but　he　found　a　single　fossilized　molar　and　on　the　basis　of　that　alone　quitebrilliantly　announced　the　discovery　of　sinanthropus　pekinensis；　which　quickly　became　knownas　peking　man。
at　black’s　urging；　more　determined　excavations　were　undertaken　and　many　other　bonesfound。　unfortunately　all　were　lost　the　day　after　the　japanese　attack　on　pearl　harbor　in　1941when　a　contingent　of　u。s。　marines；　trying　to　spirit　the　bones　（and　themselves）　out　of　thecountry；　was　intercepted　by　the　japanese　and　imprisoned。　seeing　that　their　crates　held　nothingbut　bones；　the　japanese　soldiers　left　them　at　the　roadside。　it　was　the　last　that　was　ever　seen　ofthem。
in　the　meantime；　back　on　dubois’s　old　turf　of　java；　a　team　led　by　ralph　von　koenigswaldhad　found　another　group　of　early　humans；　which　became　known　as　the　solo　people　from　thesite　of　their　discovery　on　the　solo　river　at　ngandong。　koenigswald’s　discoveries　might　havebeen　more　impressive　still　but　for　a　tactical　error　that　was　realized　too　late。　he　had　offeredlocals　ten　cents　for　every　piece　of　hominid　bone　they　could　e　up　with；　then　discovered　tohis　horror　that　they　had　been　enthusiastically　smashing　large　pieces　into　small　ones　tomaximize　their　ine。
in　the　following　years　as　more　bones　were　found　and　identified　there　came　a　flood　of　newnames—homo　aurignacensis；　australopithecus　transvaalensis；　paranthropus　crassidens；zinjanthropus　boisei；and　scores　of　others；　nearly　all　involving　a　new　genus　type　as　well　as　anew　species。　by　the　1950s；　the　number　of　named　hominid　types　had　risen　to　fortably　overa　hundred。　to　add　to　the　confusion；　individual　forms　often　went　by　a　succession　of　differentnames　as　paleoanthropologists　refined；　reworked；　and　squabbled　over　classifications。　solopeople　were　known　variously　as　homo　soloensis；　homo　primigenius　asiaticus；　homoneanderthalensis　soloensis；　homo　sapiens　soloensis；　homo　erectus　erectus；　and；　finally；　plainhomo　erectus　。
in　an　attempt　to　introduce　some　order；　in　1960　f。　clark　howell　of　the　university　ofchicago；　following　the　suggestions　of　ernst　mayr　and　others　the　previous　decade；　proposedcutting　the　number　of　genera　to　just　two—australopithecus　and　homo　—and　rationalizingmany　of　the　species。　the　java　and　peking　men　both　became　homo　erectus。　for　a　time　orderprevailed　in　the　world　of　the　hominids。
2it　didn’t　last。
after　about　a　decade　of　parative　calm；　paleoanthropology　embarked　on　another　periodof　swift　and　pr