Philip D. Gingerich

Evolving Eden: An Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of the African Large‐Mammal Fauna.ByAlan Turnerand, Mauricio Antón.New York: Columbia University Press.

Through the efforts of intrepid field paleontologists, the fossil evidence for human evolution has been accumulating at an extraordinary pace over the past several decades. Although there is still a great deal more to uncover about the course and circumstances of human evolution, the major steps in our evolutionary history are now well known, and the human lineage is one of the best documented among mammals. A key finding that has emerged is that our origins and much of our subsequent evolution has taken place in Africa. From the time when the human lineage diverged from that of chimpanzees at ∼6–7 Ma, until Homo ergaster first set foot in Eurasia at ∼1.7 Ma, hominins were exclusively African. Even after their initial exodus, Africa continued to be the geographical source for later species of Homo, including our own species, Homo sapiens. As the general outline of the evolutionary tree has taken shape, investigations have shifted to include a greater emphasis on the context of these discoveries, and a renewed focus on why and how the tree became shaped the way it is. As a consequence, the associated faunas and floras have taken on particular significance, and, in conjunction with evidence from regional and global climate change, paleontologists have begun to reconstruct the ecology and habitat diversity of Africa over time, and to explore macroevolutionary patterns of speciation, diversification, and extinction. Compared with the avalanche of popular books published on human evolution, few books have tackled the broader theme of the evolution of African faunas and environments. In Evolving Eden, Alan Turner and Mauricio Antón attempt to redress this by producing a richly illustrated and popular account of the evolution of African large mammals over the past 35 million years. The authors are well qualified to meet the challenge. Alan Turner is an experienced vertebrate paleontologist specializing in African faunas, especially the evolution of large carnivores, while Mauricio Antón is a paleontologist, natural historian, and artist, renowned for his scientific illustrations. In many respects this is an admirable book that fills a significant gap in the popular paleontological literature. The authors have done a first-rate job in distilling the pertinent information from a massive technical literature, and presenting it in a lucid, accessible and engaging style to appeal to a popular audience. There is no question, however, that the exquisite illustrations of extinct mammals by Antón are the main attraction. They are remarkable, not simply because of Antón’s artistic mastery, but because they are informed by his first-hand knowledge of the anatomy, behavior and ecology of his subjects. I am always perplexed by reconstructions of prehistory in which the paleo-artist has had the good