Eugène Dubois was a Dutch doctor and anatomist whose ambition was to prove that evolution was not just a theory. He wanted to find fossils from an extinct creature that was the intermediate in form between man and the apes. He found his ape-man, now known as the Java Man, as well as a lot of other important fossils. His find was controversial, and Dubois’ personality didn’t help either.
His recent “re-discovery” was helped by the book “The man who found the missing link”. Laura Durnford spoke to its author Pat Shipman, Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University. She also spoke to John de Vos, Curator of Fossile Macrovertebrates in Leiden, as well as Dubois’ great-granddaughter.
Producer: Laura Durnford
Broadcast: November 7, 2000