History Literature / ManAfterManAnAnthropologyOfTheFuture

''Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future'' (1990) is the third [[SpeculativeDocumentary speculative evolution]] book written by Scottish geologist Creator/DougalDixon, and the most controversial instalment of the trio. Allegedly a science-fiction account of future human evolution, the premise and its accompanying illustrations can come off as disturbing. Unlike Dixon's previous two outings, this book deliberately ignores the laws of evolution, biology, and genetics when the plot calls for it; these contrivances are not helped by the unsettling pictures and imagery that accompany the posthumans of the distant future. Also unlike Dixon's previous two books, this one has a narrative component and focuses on individuals across time rather than entire species, even giving them individual names.

** This also includes the Vacuumorphs, exoskeletal Humans that are used as [[OrganicTechnology living space scouting probes]] that have all of their vulnerable parts sealed up so they can survive the natural elements of outer space without the need of a ship. [[OffscreenInertia And since its never mentioned]] no one from Earth retrieves them. In other words Vacuumorphs are [[BlessedWithSuck cursed]] with staying in space without any way of directly seeing or communicating with the outside universe (except through their surgically attached planetary surveying equipment) and are ([[FridgeHorror Presumably]]) forced to consume nothing but their own recycled natural waste until finally accidentally falling towards and burning up in a random planets atmosphere. They cannot even travel through space- it is stated that are high-orbit space ship engineers only. Their bodies cannot operate or even survive in gravity at all - and that includes the artificial gravity of an accelerating space ship. They're stuck in near-Earth space.

[[quoteright:200:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/manafterman2_9038.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:200:"Two creatures - a single ancestor."]]

Unfortunately, a century later, environmental deterioration finally kills off most of the planet's fauna. Humanity is (inexplicably) one of the only species left standing and so a faction of the survivors (a [[{{Cyborg}} cybernetically enhanced]] offshoot known as the Hitek) begin to create new Biotech Human species for the next 500 years en masse to fill in some of critical ecosystemic niches left by the general absence of the Earth's now countless extinct animal species. Meanwhile some of the remnants of unaltered humans decide to leave the wrecked earth and return when it gets well...better, while others, without the benefit of technology, return to barbarism and later a form of civilization again.

* DarkerAndEdgier : Compared to Dixon's previous speculative biology books, ''AfterManAZoologyOfTheFuture'' and ''The New Dinosaurs''. The far darker and horror-like tone of the book caused some pretty big FanDisservice for those who were expecting something similar to the previous two.

''Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future'' (1990) is a [[SpeculativeDocumentary speculative evolution]] book written by Scottish geologist Creator/DougalDixon. The book is allegedly a science-fiction account of future human evolution, although the story and its accompanying illustrations can come off as disturbing. Unlike Dixon's previous two outings, this book deliberately ignores the laws of evolution, biology, and genetics when the plot calls for it; these contrivances are not helped by the unsettling pictures and imagery that accompany the posthumans of the distant future. Also unlike Dixon's previous two books, this one has a narrative component and focuses on individuals across time rather than entire species, even giving them individual names.

''Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future'' (1990) is a [[SpeculativeDocumentary speculative evolution]] book written by Scottish geologist Creator/DougalDixon. The book is a horror-based exploration of humanoid monsters created in a sci-fi future. Despite its seemingly scientific pretext, the book's notions of evolution, genetics, and common sense are all extremely flawed, and ultimately exist only as a rationalization for the highly disturbing illustrations. Unlike Dixon's previous two books, his story context focuses on individuals rather than entire species, even giving them human names.

''Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future'' (1990) is a [[SpeculativeDocumentary speculative evolution]] book written by Scottish geologist DougalDixon. The book is a horror-based exploration of humanoid monsters created in a sci-fi future. Despite its seemingly scientific pretext, the book's notions of evolution, genetics, and common sense are all extremely flawed, and ultimately exist only as a rationalization for the highly disturbing illustrations. Unlike Dixon's previous two books, his story context focuses on individuals rather than entire species, even giving them human names.

* ScienceMarchesOn: For starters, the species Dixon notes as the first human, ''Ramapithecus'', was later found to actually be an earlier-discovered species called ''Sivapithecus'', an early relative of the orangutan, not humans. Oops. Still, his description of an early proto-human still holds water.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The book was originally supposed to be a direct sequel to ''AfterMan'' involving human time travelers colonizing the book's far-future NewEden and killing everything, but this was changed due to ExecutiveMeddling. Dixon himself actually had very little to do with the final product apart from lending it name recognition.

Unfortunately, a century later, environmental deterioration finally kills off most of the planet's fauna. Humanity is (inexplicably) one of the only species left standing and so a faction of the survivors (a [[{{Cyborg}} cybernetically enhanced]] offshoot known as the Hitek) begin to create new Biotech Human species for the next 500 years en masse to fill in some of critical ecosystemic niches left by the general absence of the Earth's now countless extinct animal species. (As bicycles can no longer be built, genetic engineering is used to breed humans to function as beasts of burden. This is portrayed on the cover.) Meanwhile some of the remnants of unaltered humans decide to leave the wrecked earth and return when it gets well...better, while others, without the benefit of technology, return to barbarism and later a form of civilization again.

''Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future'' (1990) is a [[SpeculativeDocumentary speculative evolution]] book written by Scottish geologist DougalDixon. The book is a horror-based exploration of humanoid monsters created in a sci-fi future. Despite it's seemingly scientific pretext, the book's notions of evolution, genetics, and common sense are all extremely flawed, and ultimately exist only as a rationalization for the highly disturbing illustrations. Unlike Dixon's previous two books, his story context focuses on individuals rather than entire species, even giving them human names.

''Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future'' (1990) is a [[SpeculativeDocumentary speculative evolution]] book written by Scottish geologist DougalDixon. The theme of the book is a science fiction-based exploration of the possibilities of the future evolution of humans. Unlike Dixon's previous two books, his story context focuses on individuals rather than entire species, even giving them human names.

Unfortunately, a century later, environmental deterioration finally kills off most of the planet's fauna. Humanity is one of the only species left standing and so a faction of the survivors (a [[{{Cyborg}} cybernetically enhanced]] offshoot known as the Hitek) begin to create new Biotech Human species for the next 500 years en masse to fill in some of critical ecosystemic niches left by the general absence of the Earth's now countless extinct animal species. Meanwhile some of the remnants of unaltered humans decide to leave the wrecked earth and return when it gets well...better, while others, without the benefit of technology, return to barbarism and later a form of civilization again.

* [[ChekhovsGunman Chekov's Species:]] [[spoiler: Piscanthropus profundis.]] About one sentence is given to a population of aquatics [[spoiler:that colonises the deep ocean]] and are never heard from again. [[spoiler: 5 million years later, we learn that their descendents have still survived and [[AWorldHalfFull may one day re-colonise the surface of the ravaged Earth.]]]]

* HumansAreBastards: Due to the massive genetic tinkering/fiddling/manipulation/outright butchering that humanity performs on its own collective self that starts this whole bizarre mess to begin with. Although both regular humans and Hitek try to justify it as [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans either Utopia or moreso base survival justifies the means]].

* InferredHolocaust: While not visually shown, after all the massive time and energy used to create these species, the last remnants of altered/evolved humans were abandoned on a somewhat dying Earth to die a slow and somewhat painful death by suffocating and starvation with no way to save themselves simply because they were not built with the general intelligence to do so. It can be considered somewhat of a TearJerker as well.

* FromBadToWorse: By or near the book's end, the remains of Humans left on Earth bear either little to no resemblance to what they were or even what their evolutionary ancestors were. Aliens have taken over the planet and enslaved every living thing on it. Original Humans - if there even are any left at all - are now doomed to nearly eternally roam the universe [[Franchise/BattlestarGalactica in search of a new home]]. And the Hitek probably acted more machine then man. It doesn't help matters that those aliens also happen to be [[spoiler:descendants of those Original Humans to fled to space]].

The majority of tropes below might lead you to think that this is some sort of horror novel or film. However, this is far from the case. In fact, it's only a flight of fancy created as a fictional textbook [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids Ya Know, for Kids!]]

** This also includes the Vacuumorphs exoskeletal Humans that are used as [[OrganicTechnology living space scouting probes]] that have all of their vulnerable parts sealed up so they can survive the natural elements of outer space without the need of a ship. [[OffscreenInertia And since its never mentioned]] no one from Earth retrieves them. In other words Vacuumorphs are [[BlessedWithSuck cursed]] with staying in space without any way of directly seeing or communicating with the outside universe (except through their surgically attached planetary surveying equipment) and are ([[FridgeHorror Presumably]]) forced to consume nothing but their own recycled natural waste until finally accidentally falling towards and burning up in a random planets atmosphere. They cannot even travel through space- it is stated that are high-orbit space ship engineers only. Their bodies cannot operate or even survive in gravity at all - and that includes the artificial gravity of an accelerating space ship. They're stuck in near-Earth space.
** The book also states that the vacuumorphs do indeed still need to breathe oxygen, the genetic engineers were unable to build a species that didn't need to breathe. So they have 3 large lungs with massive storage capacity, and a reduced metabolism so that they can survive on their stored oxygen for some considerable length of time before having to refill their lungs. However when they were left behind during the mass planetary evacuation, they would eventually hav died in a few weeks with no ways to get any more breathable oxygen.

* ApocalypseHow: A Planetary Social Disruption occurs due to global warming in 2200, destroying most of the coastal cities. A Planetary Species Extinction destroys Homo sapiens around 3000 when the magnetic poles reverse, [[SerialEscalation and finally]] A Planetary ''Life Extinction'' occurs at the end of the book [[spoiler: instigated by the starfaring descendants of humanity]].

* ApocalypseHow: A Class 1 occurs due to global warming in 2200, destroying most of the coastal cities. A Class 3 destroys Homo sapiens around 3000 when the magnetic poles reverse, [[SerialEscalation and finally]] A Class 4 occurs at the end of the book [[spoiler: instigated by the starfaring descendants of humanity]].

** Also, the catastrophic magnetic pole shift that kills off the last remnants of civilization has been found to be virtually impossible in real life. Magnetic poles do shift but it's a slow, gradual process that nobody who isn't looking for it would notice.

Unfortunately [[ItGotWorse that doesn't happen]] when [[ReverseThePolarity the Earth's magnetic field flips]]. The Hitek (and also the remaining normal humans) went extinct themselves, allowing the altered humans to naturally evolve for a few million years (which is the main point of the book). Ironically, the descendants of humanity that went to the stars and now return have themselves been altered - and possibly evolved - so much they no longer recognize their ancestral planet, let alone the animals on its surface, and exploit both to the point of eradication.

* CrapsackWorld: By the book's near end this entire story pretty much embodies this trope. Humanity does not exist anymore and most of its descendants have been wiped out by its other descendants, who are no longer human by any definition of the word ''and'' leave Earth for good, with its resources depleted and its atmosphere unbreathable to anything human. The relatively near future of the 22nd-23rd Century is also portrayed as one, with modern civilization on the verge of collapse and some lucky souls pulling an [[SidMeiersAlphaCentauri Alpha Centauri]]. [[spoiler:Eventually, [[ItGotWorse they come back]] 5 million years later...]]

* ItGetsWorse: By or near the book's end, the remains of Humans left on Earth bear either little to no resemblance to what they were or even what their evolutionary ancestors were. Aliens have taken over the planet and enslaved every living thing on it. Original Humans - if there even are any left at all - are now doomed to nearly eternally roam the universe [[Franchise/BattlestarGalactica in search of a new home]]. And the Hitek probably acted more machine then man. It doesn't help matters that those aliens also happen to be [[spoiler:descendants of those Original Humans to fled to space]].

The main plot of book starts 200 years from now, which for the book's scale is almost the present day. Humanity begins to play around with its own Genetics, like a kid with {{Lego}} blocks on [[LegoGenetics a large scale]], creating new Humanoid creatures known as aquamorphs and aquatics (or basically FishPeople), and vacuumorph beings that have been engineered for life in the vacuum of space. Their skin and eyes carry shields of skin to keep its body stable even without pressure as [[LivingShip living space probes]].