For most of us the word ‘palaeontology’ is likely to conjure images of dinosaurs and flying reptiles, but what of that other evolutionary branch to which we belong, the mammals? In Beasts Before Us, palaeontologist Dr Elsa Panciroli expands our understanding of evolutionary history to reposition mammals as central protagonists throughout the pre-historic era. We spoke to Elsa about her remarkable work and the impact she hopes it might have.

Beasts Before Us: The Untold Story of Mammal Origins and Evolution
By Elsa Panciroli
Published by Bloomsbury

Can you tell us a little bit about Beasts Before Us?

Mammals are animals that feed their young on milk, and have fur. They include most of the large charismatic creatures on Earth today, including humans. Most books about the origin of mammals start when the non-bird dinosaurs became extinct after an asteroid impact about 66 million years ago, but this is far from the true beginning. Beasts Before Us tells you the part of the mammal story you’ve never heard before, it is the untold story. It stretches back over 300 million years to our first egg-laying predecessors, which share a common ancestor with reptiles. The book then takes you through time following the incredible evolution of our lineage, which flourished long before the dinosaurs appeared.

In Beasts I also seek to reframe a few narratives: for example we need to challenge what evolutionary ‘success’ looks like – tiny rodents are arguably the most successful mammals on earth! I don’t shy away from addressing the dubious practices associated with fossil extraction, which has traditionally been tied to the exploitation of indigenous people and lands. I also tell the stories of some less well-known scientists, such as the indefatigable Polish researcher Zofia Keilan-Jaworowska, who defied the Nazis to learn palaeontology, and led expeditions to the heart of Mongolia in search of fossils.

The book is not what one might expect when they imagine a book on paleontology – it is witty, engaging like a page-turner, and anchored by a clear storytelling style that seamlessly drifts into reflections on your own past. What made you write this book in this way?

Very few people enjoy reading dusty, dry scientific text, not even scientists! When I write I always think: if I wasn’t a scientist, would I want to read this? By challenging myself in this way constantly, I remember to keep the reader at the heart of what I write. I hope to connect with readers by sharing non-scientific details too: the soggy atmosphere at a field site, or the thrill a fossil gives you when you touch it. Extinct animals and places can be hard to picture in the minds’ eye, so adding elements of creative storytelling helps you imagine them and engage with the science.

What connections do you see between storytelling and our understanding of evolutionary history? How has storytelling shaped popular understanding of our origins over the past centuries?

Palaeontology is a lucky science, because fossils lend themselves so naturally to storytelling. The very best science communicators have always used narrative methods to talk about discoveries. A good example is Hugh Miller (1802–1856), a Scottish writer and self-taught geologist. His books were like the David Attenborough documentaries of his day. He was widely read around the world, and much admired by great thinkers and writers, including John Ruskin and Charles Dickens. Miller’s books were enjoyed not just for the knowledge they contained, but his amazing way with words; he presented evolution like a theatre, with stage sets and actors entering and exiting the scene, something his readers would have connected with easily. Another example is the brilliant Arabella Buckley (1840–1929): she wrote popular science books for people of all ages that championed evolution, and did so in a way that avoided a lot of the masculine-dominated narratives of the time. Great figures in science at the time credited her with setting them on their scientific career path.

Storytelling is a powerful thing, it can shape the way we think about the present as well as the past. And of course, the way we interpret the scientific evidence and tell those stories reflects current society almost as much as it does the state of knowledge itself.

You wrote Beasts Before Us relatively early into your research career. Has it always been an ambition of yours to write a book?

Certainly, I’ve been writing since I was six years old! All through childhood I would scribble excessively long stories and draw illustrations to accompany them. I composed silly poems too, inspired particularly by Roald Dahl. Over the years I’ve kept writing, most of it fiction, including writing almost a complete book – a story steeped in nature and Scottish folklore. But unfortunately I never had the confidence to try and publish anything more than a handful of poems. It wasn’t until I began my academic training in my late twenties that I gained the skills and confidence to send work to editors and publishers. Although my articles and books are non-fiction, I try and allow some of my creative side to creep in wherever I can.

While most people associate paleontology with the study of dinosaurs, you use this book to champion the evolutionary history of mammals as just as, if not more, worthy of study. What can we gain as human beings by studying our animal ancestors?

Evolutionary history gives us a kind of perspective that’s hard to gain any other way. Robert MacFarlane called it gaining ‘deep time spectacles’; the ability to see beyond the miniscule scope of the human lifetime. I find that very humbling. I think looking at the path of evolution can also challenge our interpretation of ourselves and the natural world. We see that the traits we associate with being humans – like large brains, replacing our baby teeth with adult ones, feeding our babies on milk – can all be traced to our ancestors, countless millions of years ago. The more you look, the more clear it is that every organism is connected through common ancestry, which gives us a sense of kinship with all life on earth. We can also see how intimately organisms are linked to the world around them, responding to changes in habitat and climate. It’s really quite beautiful. This interconnectedness is something I explored in my second book, Earth: A Biography of Life.

The book ends with a relatively grim forecast of our future, with the Anthropocene incurring a current mass extinction event that is set to see all but the smallest and most adaptable mammals going extinct. What changes can we as individuals make to help stave off the destructive impact of human activity on the world’s biodiversity?

I understand people might find it a bit grim, but there are seeds of hope in there too. Looking over hundreds of millions of years, life has withstood some pretty brutal extinction events – times when our seas were hotter than a bubble bath, and the rain was acidic enough to melt snail shells. I find comfort in knowing that, eventually, life recovers. But it only does so because the major perturbations that cause extinctions (whether they are from asteroid strikes or gases from volcanic eruptions) have always been temporary. This teaches us a really simple lesson: if we can stop poisoning our atmosphere and destroying habitats, life will spring back. But the longer we leave it, the more we will lose – extinction is forever, after all. So this isn’t an excuse for complacency.

There are many ways we can curb our impact on the planet as individuals, and we should do as many of them as possible. From small things like avoiding plastics, to the single biggest thing you can do, which is eat vegetarian and vegan. Meanwhile, we need to campaign to reshape our society away from the destructive consumerist patterns we’ve got ourselves stuck in. There is definitely scope for us to live happier lives with a much lighter footprint on the planet. If we lay off nature and give it a chance, it can spring back. The sooner we do this the better.

If you could choose one thing you hope readers take from Beasts Before Us, what would it be?

That’s a difficult question! I’d hope I can persuade people away from some of the old-fashioned ways of thinking about evolution. A lot of empirical language dominates how we discuss nature, there are ‘winners’ and ‘losers’, and we talk about life as if it is a series of oppressive empires that rise and fall. I think it’s time to step away from that militaristic framework and see that everything that ever lived, whether it’s big and small, charismatic or niche, hunter or prey – is successful and well adapted for its time and place. Whether it became extinct or not is really just a matter of luck.

Beasts Before Us: The Untold Story of Mammal Origins and Evolution by Elsa Panciroli is published by Bloomsbury, priced £12.99.