Until the 1970s, it was thought that human history began about two million years ago, that is, in the period to which the fossils of our ancestors found up until then dated back. In 1974, exactly fifty years ago, a discovery revolutionized the knowledge of our origins: in the Rift Valley, in Africa, more than fifty bones of the skeleton of a female Australopithecus (one of our most ancient ancestors) were found. They were given the name Lucy, in honor of the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by the Beatles, broadcast on the radio during the excavation campaign. It was a fundamental discovery, both for the quantity of finds and for their age: they dated back to more than three million years ago, therefore to a time much earlier than that until then hypothesized for the appearance of hominids. Lucy soon became a star of anthropology, but above all she paved the way for new studies of our ancestors... of which there are really many!
The history of human evolution is enriched, in fact, every year with new protagonists. It is a fascinating story, too often relegated to specialist essays and school textbooks. Susan Schädlich and Michael Stang , assisted in the drawings by Bea Davies , have chosen to tell it to us in comics in the volume Umani! L'evoluzione spiegata bene (Sonda, 2024, pp. 80).
In the book, intended for readers under 18, but enjoyable for all ages, Tali wants to organize a party for her grandmother's birthday with all her relatives, even the most ancient and mysterious ones: ancestors and primitive men included!
Armed with a digital medallion, Tali embarks on an incredible journey through time, where she can communicate with the first anthropoid apes, invite the monkeys of the Sahel to the party, the Australopithecines like Lucy, and even the Neanderthals competing with the first Homo sapiens. In this exciting comic Tali will discover how evolution has unfolded, living an adventure that spans millions of years, that has followed many paths and that has not stopped yet!
