86-94 Summary

Return to History 8 Human Origins Bone From a Dry Sea

Summary This chapter is telling what happens after Greb's challenge, and how the tribe reacts when Presh breaks his ankle. The tribe is distraught, and is in a panic of what to do, as the necessary fresh water is 3 days away. As they desperately try to nurse Presh, Li shows ingenuity and makes a splint for him. It then explains the tribe feverishly trying to find Presh a safe place to heal, and a place to get more fresh water.

Fresh water's relationship to the environment.

The chapter describes fresh water's relationship to the environment. "The river held muddy fish and clams, but also crocodiles"(91). Fresh water can clearly have an impact on the wildlife, because many creatures and types of fish need fresh water to survive. There's a link explaining the importance of freshwater and the impact it is making in the world. [1] It really explains that all of the biosphere must have fresh water to survive. The fresh water can also grow certain trees that create edible fruit: "From the trees on the bank fell a fruit whose fermenting juices made you dance"(91). This chapter also shows something that had a large importance on the people in these ancient tribes.

The Importance of the Pool

The pool had a great importance to the people of the tribe. The pool was, as described, a "holy"(91) place. The tribe ceased to fight as it reached the pool, the adults relaxed and the children of the tribe played. Other members of the tribe would mate while at the pool, because it was a very meaningful place to them, and a place where they could be at ease. They all had respect for the pool and quite enjoyed it: "...they reached it and would arrive with shouts of joy"(91). It was basically a tradition for the tribe: "They came there twice a month for the middle part of a day"(91). This is what the pool the tribe visited might have looked like: [2]

This is what a common freshwater stream or river looks like in the environment, and although it isn't a major river, it still has a profound affect on the environment around it: [3]

This chapter is also particularly interesting because Li begins to show some creativity, something many other members of the tribe do not have. She begins to have a different sort of imagination in her thinking of splinting Presh's leg, and shows how the early humans slowly began to evolve with more imagination and curiosity. Li shows the way the Homo Habilis can adapt to the changes around them, by creating a splint.

Some terms in the chapter that you might not know:

headland: (first seen on page 87), noun, a promontory extending into a large body of water.

creeper: (first seen on page 87), noun, a plant that grows upon or just beneath the surface of the ground, or upon any other surface, sending out rootlets from the stem, as ivy and couch grass

wrack or tide wrack: (first seen on page 87), noun, seaweed or other vegetation cast on the shore.

• roller: (first seen on page 89), noun, I assume a type of wave looking at the context, possibly a slang term used by the tribe for a wave.

runneled: (first seen on page 90), verb, the verb form of runnel (a noun) which is a a small stream; brook; rivulet.

foreshore: (first seen on page 94), noun, the ground between the water's edge and cultivated land; land along the edge of a body of water.

All definitions were gathered from dictionary.com except for roller.

From the class notes:

In class, we discussed a very important change in Africa, due to fresh water. Over the course of time, as India collided with Asia and formed the mountain chain, The Himalayas, the amount of rainfall that was coming into Africa decreased very rapidly. Africa went from being almost completely forest to completely desert. This had a profound affect on the environment, and on the two variations of man living on Africa at the time: Homo Habilis and the Boisei. Although the Boisei did not experience such an abrupt change, as they could live off of the dead reeds just as well as the live ones, the habilis faced a much larger problem of finding water and scavenging for food in the rough environment. This began to show how the habilis could actually adapt to the climate changes. The Boisei were perfectly suited to their environment, but when the climate changes, as we all know it will, they will die out. This change in the water levels reveals that the habilis have a knack for curiosity, and they are, as the video said, "the jack of all trades." This begins the evolution of man's adaptability and curiosity, and is very important through the course of our evolution.

Page numbers taken from the book A Bone From A Dry Sea: Dickinson, Peter. A Bone From A Dry Sea. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc, 1992. Print.

Carson Harraman