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Human origins: ‘storylines’ can obscure the view

December 13, 2004

Dennell.thumb.jpg“Grand narratives” about human evolution, such as the widely-accepted account of humanity’s unique origin in Africa and subsequent world-wide dispersal, can stifle inquiry and distort the interpretation of data, a British archaeologist has told a conference in Armidale, NSW.

“A narrative that began as a tentative explanation can turn into a set of blinkers,” said Professor Robin Dennell from the University of Sheffield. Professor Dennell (pictured here) was presenting the first keynote address at this year’s annual conference of the Australian Archaeological Association, being held (December 12-15) at the University of New England. The conference is titled “Networks and Narratives”.

Professor Dennell pointed out that such narratives usually “have a social and political significance not always clear at the time”. (In earlier times, these undertones in evolutionary narratives actually included forms of racial prejudice, he explained.)

He compared the “storyline” of such narratives with that of fairytales, involving a hero (early humans), a magically-bestowed gift (e.g. language, or a large brain), a trial (e.g. surviving the last Ice Age) and even an evil competitor (the Neandertals).

He quoted from a recent letter to The Times, London, that attributed the widespread belief in the existence of Iraqi “weapons of mass destruction” to “the failure initially to explore enough alternatives, but to settle down to a tunnel vision of possibilities, selecting data on the basis of fitting in with the prevailing view, and omitting any serious reassessment”.

“We need to ensure we do not make the same mistake in writing our own narratives about the past,” he concluded.

Referring particularly to published maps of human dispersal according to the “out of Africa” scenario, he said: “Narrative is a magic carpet that transports us across vast distances and great chasms of ignorance.”

He welcomed the recent discovery of remains of Homo floresiensis (known as “the hobbit”) by a team of scientists led by UNE’s Professor Mike Morwood because it did not fit into any such narrative. “It was absolutely unexpected,” he said.

In presenting a range of evidence contrary to the “out of Africa” narrative, he mentioned his own discovery in Pakistan of stone tools more than 2 million years old (and thus considerably pre-dating the narrative’s “dispersal”). As part of a distinguished career, Professor Dennell has served as Director of the British Archaeological Mission to Pakistan.

About 250 delegates from all over Australia, as well as from the UK, France, Indonesia and Canada, are attending the conference.


Media contact: Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE (02) 6773 3049. For a photograph of Professor Dennell, contact Jim Scanlan on (02) 6773 3049.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at December 13, 2004 04:24 PM