Edited by
Anne Dambricourt Malassé, CNRS, France.
Djillali Hadjouis, University of Algiers, Algeria.
Sandra Joffroy, University of Toulouse, France.
Bernard Autet, SNESO, France.
ISBN : 9781836690771
Publication Date : April 2026
Hardcover 264 pp
170 USD
Co-publisher
The Future of Sapiens and Verticality is the result of an encounter, more than twenty years ago, between human paleontology and osteopathy. It is part of a radical paradigm shift in our understanding of the origins of our anatomy.
This book presents a profound challenge to the dominant evolutionary narrative since Lamarck (1802), abandoning the scenario of the quadrupedal tree-dwelling ape forced to stand upright, following the disappearance of trees. The discovery of the embryonic origin of the central nervous system (CNS), which began around forty million years ago and continued to grow in complexity, has profoundly changed this interpretation. This discovery has led us to recognize “Sapiens” as the final threshold of an evolutionary process that confronts us with a real problem: while verticality has been achieved, the progression of CNS complexity continues unabated.
This book seeks to anticipate the consequences of this dynamic on psychomotor, psychoaffective and cognitive development, as well as on occlusal and postural balance.
Part 1. Paleontological Perspectives.
1. The Future of Sapiens: A Question of Verticality, Proof by Neanderthal Man, Anne Dambricourt Malassé, Djillali Hadjouis, Sandra Joffroy and Bernard Autet.
2. Middle Meningeal Vascularization in Neanderthals, and Their Cardiovascular System, Sandra Joffroy, Anne Dambricourt Malassé and Djillali Hadjouis.
3. Virtual Reconstruction of the Skull Base of Sinanthropus (Homo erectus pekinensis), Tan-Nhu Nguyen, Anne Dambricourt Malassé, Marie-Christine Ho Ba Tho, Fabienne Lallouet and Tien-Tuan Dao.
4. Characterization and Modeling of Morphological Evolutions in Bones, Marie-Christine Ho Ba Tho.
Part 2. Current Perspectives: From the Fetus to Life in Space.
5. Pre- and Postnatal Haptonomy: An Early Humanization, Catherine Dolto.
6. New Paradigm for Human Parturition, July Bouhallier.
7. How Upright Posture Endures Despite Deficits in Core Postural Motor Control, Véronique Leroy-Malherbe, Élise Pineau and Virginie Pineau.
8. Contribution to the Study of the Postural Evolution of Patients in a Dental Office, Michel Clauzade and Numa Clauzade.
9. Homo sapiens and Verticality: The Contribution of Research in Space Medicine and Posturology, Denis Ducommun and Loïc Treffel.
Anne Dambricourt Malassé is a paleoanthropologist at the CNRS, France, and is a specialist in the evolution of verticality and cognition in hominids. She is a medalist of the Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters of Caen.
Djillali Hadjouis is Associate Professor at the University of Algiers, Algeria, and is a paleontologist, paleoanthropologist and paleopathologist. He is a historian of science and also a laureate of the National Academy of Dental Surgery.
Sandra Joffroy is Lecturer of Biological and Medical Sciences at the University of Toulouse, France. She is a Knight of the National Order of Merit.
Bernard Autet is Former Secretary General of SNESO, France. He is an osteopath, President of FREHOPS, and a bronze medalist for youth, sports, and community involvement.
