In the Footsteps of Eve: The Mystery of Human Origins

A footprint in the sand is the very definition of impermanence, but this one was 117,000 years old. Fossilized into sandstone just yards from a South African public beach, it would become the first step of a fascinating scientific journey that has led to a bold new theory of human evolution. For generations conventional wisdom has held that our species arose in East Africa - the paleontological preserve of the legendary Leakeys and the ancient home of Lucy, perhaps the world's most famous prehistoric find. But in this provocative and persuasive book, a brilliant young paleontologist marshals a powerful argument that our earliest ancestors evolved in South Africa - an idea that could redraw our ancient family tree.