As a species, Homo sapiens is a palimpsest of adaptations that evolved in our ancestors in response to specific challenges in ancient environments. In this view, those ancient environments are written in our anatomy, physiology, behavior, and genes. For many millions of years, the environments of our evolution have been primarily African, and thus the environments of our African ancestors have become part of us. In his latest book, Origin Africa, Jonathan Kingdon takes us through safaris in deep time that explore and illustrate the environments, geology, and evolution of Africa over many millions of years. 1 It is a book that could only have been written by someone with deep and extensive knowledge and understanding of the plants and animals that have been evolving in Africa, often alongside our ancestors, and of the patterns that emerge over time and across geographical space. Origin Africa is a unique book, full of surprise and delight, beautifully illustrated with drawings, paintings, and photographs by an artist and scholar deeply immersed in natural history.Born in Tabora in the hinterlands of Tanzania, Kingdon grew up in intimate connection with the plants and animals of our common African home, and at a young age he was already sketching plants and animals under the guidance of his artist mother, Dorothy. The book is