He is the sole survivor, sapiens, and we
not luck, strength or size of brain but wisdom
which means drive, cunning and a will to kill.
Moment | JoAnne McKay
Olduvai Core: Africa: The Art of a Continent, Royal Academy, December 1995
for a heartbeat there is no heartbeat
between the hominid and me
she holds it steady hand like mine
I hold it steadfast in my gaze
and will not look away till I can bear the weight
for this is it this rock
the birth of homo habilis who bears me
these two million years past imagine
what happens in her mind that makes her reason
if I hit this with that then other will result
and I can use it glass-cased before me
is the Olduvai Core of Prehistory
and I can’t use language in order to grasp
this the moment of the start of our past