Osteodontokeratic Industry - Popular References

Popular References

Robert Ardrey’s “African Genesis” (1961), which popularized concurrent viewpoints on the evolution of modern humans, contains numerous references to Dart’s ODK hypothesis. He detailed Dart’s evidence for the predatory rise of Australopiths from ‘Ape to Man’ as the major factor from which modern behavior emerged.

One of the most well-known popular references to Dart’s ODK hypothesis was captured in Stanley Kubrick’s film “2001: A Space Odyssey” (an adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s short story “The Sentinal,” who also co-authored the screenplay with Kubrick) in which the first part of the film depicts early hominin ‘ape-men’ as herbivorous animals being preyed upon by leopards (note the possible reference to Brain’s work, see above). Then a black monolithic structure ascends from the sky, which is inspected and touched by the ape-men who start shrieking and are thrown into a frenzy. One 'ape-man' spontaneously starts to use a bone as a tool, more specifically a weapon, which they use to retake a waterhole, suggesting the ‘dawn of human culture’ began from an extra-terrestrial source.

More recently, Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi, the 34th Grandmaster of Tokagure-Ryu Ninjutsu, and founder of the Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu association, briefly discussed Dart’s ODK hypothesis as a possible scientific explanation for the continuity of the use of weapons throughout human history (2005).