First published 2009
Scientists have spent over a century piecing together human ancestry from incomplete fossils and scattered bones. Then researchers discover Ida, a 47-million-year-old primate fossil locked away in a natural history museum vault. The specimen predates Lucy by forty-four million years and represents the most complete early primate ever found. Her preservation includes skin impressions and stomach contents that offer unprecedented detail about ancient life. The discovery nearly remained hidden from the scientific community entirely. Colin Tudge follows the researchers who authenticated Ida's significance and traced her place in primate evolution. The book examines how this single fossil challenges established theories about human origins and demonstrates how scientific breakthroughs can emerge from careful detective work and persistence.
Genres: science, anthropology, non-fiction, biology, academic, science-nature
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: detective-work, scientific-breakthrough
Period: 47-Million-Years-Ago, 20th-Century
262 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown & Company