A Pocket History of Human Evolution: How We Became Sapiens

A Pocket History of Human Evolution: How We Became Sapiens

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Few disciplines have experienced such significant changes over the last few years as has the study of prehistory. Thanks to the progress of genetics, we now know for instance that 40,000 years ago, we shared the planet with three other species of the Homo genus. As for new dating methods, they have taught us that Sapiens left its African cradle a good 100,000 years earlier than we had first imagined . . . Meanwhile, anthropology has tackled the issue of what is inherent to mankind: Is it the use of tools? The presence of a ‘large’ brain? Articulated language? Bipedalism? Empathy? All of which suggests the urgent need to take stock of our ancestors and to listen to the latest news on Homo Sapiens. Not only do the authors deliver a valuable overview of the latest findings on the topic, they also look at the future of our strange species. They offer a riveting account of the social animals that we are, migrants with a rapidly expanding population, who have forever transformed their environment.