Cro-Magnon
How the Ice Age Gave Birth to the First Modern Humans
by Brian M. Fagan
Mem. Ed. $8.99
Pub. Ed. $28.00
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Cro-Magnon
Cro-Magnons were the first fully modern Europeans—not only the creators of the stunning cave paintings at Lascaux, but the most adaptable and technologically inventive people that had yet lived. In Cro-Magnon, Brian Fagan brings these early humans out of their snowbound world with erudition, cutting-edge science and vivid storytelling.
The prolonged encounter between the Cro-Magnons and the archaic Neanderthals between 45,000 and 30,000 years ago was one of the defining moments of human history. The Neanderthals survived for some 15,000 years in the face of the newcomers, but were finally pushed aside by the Cro-Magnons’ superior intellectual abilities and cutting-edge technologies, which allowed them to thrive in the intensely challenging climate of the Ice Age. What do we know about this remarkable takeover? Who were these first modern Europeans and what were they like? How did they manage to thrive in such an extreme environment? These are among the questions the book addresses.
Fagan shows how the Cro-Magnons journey out of Africa and shows how radiocarbon dating proves they spread across Europe within a mere 5,000 years. They crafted subtle and beautiful carvings on bone and antler and kept records by incising intricate notations on bone plaques. These hunter-gatherers played tunes on bone flutes, ornamented their bodies, and buried their dead with elaborate grave goods for use in an afterlife. He reviews the individual cultural impact of Cro-Magnon subcultures such as the Gravettians and Magdalenians, whose stone tools attest to their knack for innovation. “Effective technology, an acute self-awareness, and an intimate relationship with the environment,” writes Fagan, “made the Cro-Magnon personality practically invincible.”
Cro-Magnon captures the indomitable adaptability that has made Homo sapiens an unmatched success as a species.
Hardcover : 304 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury Uk ( March 01, 2010 )
Item #: 12-815603
ISBN: 9781596915824
Product Dimensions: 6.125 x 9.25 inches
Product Weight: 17.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Interesting 
September 28, 2010
The books suffers from poor editing, especially captions / illustrations. Also, we are tantalized by frequent descriptions of interesting places, artwork, or artifacts, but are left disappointed by a paucity of sketches or photos.
Reviewer: Reg T
A good read and fascinating in many places.
July 08, 2010
As a layman with interest in this subject I found the book to be a good, educational read. The drawings do not always line up with the footnotes but that can be forgiven.
All in all, I liked it. I found it fascinating in many places.
Reviewer: Walter R
A good read with minor flaws
April 11, 2010
Informative and fun to read. As a layman I learned a lot from the book. However it has three minor flaws:
1) The writing style is clumsy at times with modifying phrases often distant from their subject. The book would greatly benefit from a good editing.
2) Explanatory captions for images for the most part just don't match up with images.
3) There is a lot of conjecture about the mindset and cultural practices of Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons for which there is no surviving archeological evidence. Nonetheless we can accept this as at least approximately correct, given the expertise of the author.
Reviewer: Donald R
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