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Author: M. G. Lockley
Publisher: Floris Books
Published: 2010
Total Pages: 358
ISBN-13: 9780863157325
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →A fascinating journey through our anthropological history which points towards an emerging collective awakening for the human race.
Author: David Graeber
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published: 2021-11-09
Total Pages: 384
ISBN-13: 0374721106
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A dramatically new understanding of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution—from the development of agriculture and cities to the origins of the state, democracy, and inequality—and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation. For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike—either free and equal innocents, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a conservative reaction to powerful critiques of European society posed by Indigenous observers and intellectuals. Revisiting this encounter has startling implications for how we make sense of human history today, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery, and civilization itself. Drawing on pathbreaking research in archaeology and anthropology, the authors show how history becomes a far more interesting place once we learn to throw off our conceptual shackles and perceive what’s really there. If humans did not spend 95 percent of their evolutionary past in tiny bands of hunter-gatherers, what were they doing all that time? If agriculture, and cities, did not mean a plunge into hierarchy and domination, then what kinds of social and economic organization did they lead to? The answers are often unexpected, and suggest that the course of human history may be less set in stone, and more full of playful, hopeful possibilities, than we tend to assume. The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a monumental book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision, and a faith in the power of direct action. Includes Black-and-White Illustrations
Author: Richard Potts
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Published: 2010
Total Pages: 180
ISBN-13: 1426206062
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This generously illustrated book tells the story of the human family, showing how our species' physical traits and behaviors evolved over millions of years as our ancestors adapted to dramatic environmental changes. In What Does It Means to Be Human? Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian's Human Origins Program, and Chris Sloan, National Geographic's paleoanthropolgy expert, delve into our distant past to explain when, why, and how we acquired the unique biological and cultural qualities that govern our most fundamental connections and interactions with other people and with the natural world. Drawing on the latest research, they conclude that we are the last survivors of a once-diverse family tree, and that our evolution was shaped by one of the most unstable eras in Earth's environmental history. The book presents a wealth of attractive new material especially developed for the Hall's displays, from life-like reconstructions of our ancestors sculpted by the acclaimed John Gurche to photographs from National Geographic and Smithsonian archives, along with informative graphics and illustrations. In coordination with the exhibit opening, the PBS program NOVA will present a related three-part television series, and the museum will launch a website expected to draw 40 million visitors.
Author: Richard G. Klein
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
Published: 2007-08-15
Total Pages: 331
ISBN-13: 0470250712
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →A bold new theory on what sparked the "big bang" of human culture The abrupt emergence of human culture over a stunningly short period continues to be one of the great enigmas of human evolution. This compelling book introduces a bold new theory on this unsolved mystery. Author Richard Klein reexamines the archaeological evidence and brings in new discoveries in the study of the human brain. These studies detail the changes that enabled humans to think and behave in far more sophisticated ways than before, resulting in the incredibly rapid evolution of new skills. Richard Klein has been described as "the premier anthropologist in the country today" by Evolutionary Anthropology. Here, he and coauthor Blake Edgar shed new light on the full story of a truly fascinating period of evolution. Richard G. Klein, PhD (Palo Alto, CA), is a Professor of Anthropology at Stanford University. He is the author of the definitive academic book on the subject of the origins of human culture, The Human Career. Blake Edgar (San Francisco, CA) is the coauthor of the very successful From Lucy to Language, with Dr. Donald Johanson. He has written extensively for Discover, GEO, and numerous other magazines.
Author: Yuval Noah Harari
Publisher: Harper Collins
Published: 2015-02-10
Total Pages: 402
ISBN-13: 0062316109
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →New York Times Bestseller A Summer Reading Pick for President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.” One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us? Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas. Dr. Harari also compels us to look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us, but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become? Featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams, this provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is essential reading for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moalem.
Author: Robert Greene
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2018-10-23
Total Pages: 626
ISBN-13: 0698184548
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power comes the definitive new book on decoding the behavior of the people around you Robert Greene is a master guide for millions of readers, distilling ancient wisdom and philosophy into essential texts for seekers of power, understanding and mastery. Now he turns to the most important subject of all - understanding people's drives and motivations, even when they are unconscious of them themselves. We are social animals. Our very lives depend on our relationships with people. Knowing why people do what they do is the most important tool we can possess, without which our other talents can only take us so far. Drawing from the ideas and examples of Pericles, Queen Elizabeth I, Martin Luther King Jr, and many others, Greene teaches us how to detach ourselves from our own emotions and master self-control, how to develop the empathy that leads to insight, how to look behind people's masks, and how to resist conformity to develop your singular sense of purpose. Whether at work, in relationships, or in shaping the world around you, The Laws of Human Nature offers brilliant tactics for success, self-improvement, and self-defense.
Author: Yuval Noah Harari
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-02-21
Total Pages: 464
ISBN-13: 0062464353
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Official U.S. edition with full color illustrations throughout. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Yuval Noah Harari, author of the critically-acclaimed New York Times bestseller and international phenomenon Sapiens, returns with an equally original, compelling, and provocative book, turning his focus toward humanity’s future, and our quest to upgrade humans into gods. Over the past century humankind has managed to do the impossible and rein in famine, plague, and war. This may seem hard to accept, but, as Harari explains in his trademark style—thorough, yet riveting—famine, plague and war have been transformed from incomprehensible and uncontrollable forces of nature into manageable challenges. For the first time ever, more people die from eating too much than from eating too little; more people die from old age than from infectious diseases; and more people commit suicide than are killed by soldiers, terrorists and criminals put together. The average American is a thousand times more likely to die from binging at McDonalds than from being blown up by Al Qaeda. What then will replace famine, plague, and war at the top of the human agenda? As the self-made gods of planet earth, what destinies will we set ourselves, and which quests will we undertake? Homo Deus explores the projects, dreams and nightmares that will shape the twenty-first century—from overcoming death to creating artificial life. It asks the fundamental questions: Where do we go from here? And how will we protect this fragile world from our own destructive powers? This is the next stage of evolution. This is Homo Deus. With the same insight and clarity that made Sapiens an international hit and a New York Times bestseller, Harari maps out our future.
Author: Wallace Shaunfield
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2015-07-22
Total Pages: 204
ISBN-13: 9781512110913
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The research and writing of the book, HUMANS, has been a time of discovery and revelation. The intention was to complete the fascinating story touched on in the author's first two books of how early Homo sapiens became modern humans. Humans today are anatomically the same as the early Homo sapiens who first appeared on Earth about 200,000 years ago; however, there is a difference. The evidence shows they were instinctively-driven creatures much like their Homo ancestors. The hypothesis was that the key difference was modern humans have the unique attribute of consciousness. This study confirmed that and discovered how and when the transition to modern humans was made. But, much more was uncovered, including the story of how Homo sapiens acquired the broad set of key attributes that makes humans unique, compared to all other living creatures. In addition to consciousness, other attributes were discovered, including how and when the Moral Code, our conscience, our sense of a god, plus many other attributes came into being. The study was scientific in nature using secular evidence, solid logic and reason to tell the story; however, it was clearly shown that the appearance of Homo sapiens on Earth was a supernatural event, which I deduced was an act of God, just as described in the Bible. Topics, like the origination of the moral code, have been debated by scholars throughout the ages with no conclusion. Now, with secular facts, solid logic, and reason, it is also shown that the acquisition of the moral code was a supernatural act of God. The realization of a novel logic principal, I call Non-Evolving Attributes (NEA), allowed this to be determined with a high degree of confidence. Simply stated, the NEA principal says that if you have a group of descendants from a common ancestor, randomly evolved through many different branches, isolated in time and/or distance, and that all descendants have an identical attribute, then that attribute could not have randomly evolved; because if it did, then it would have had to evolve in the same way in each branch, and that is essentially impossible. If that attribute did not evolve, then the original ancestor must have that same attribute. This is profound and very powerful. If you discover a group of identical attributes in a group of people isolated from each other, but with a common ancestor, then you know right away the ancestor had that same attribute. This same principal also showed the Origin-of-Life was a supernatural act of God. No evolution was involved. This important question has long been pondered with no answer until now. This study is a breakthrough in understanding how we humans came into being. This is an important subject and one that has been debated by scholars for ages and now we have an answer. These are profound answers to long held questions, and which could cause a great deal of controversy
Author: James Bronterre O'Brien
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
Published: 2023-10-12
Total Pages: 318
ISBN-13: 3387099193
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.
Author: Jeremy DeSilva
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2022-11-29
Total Pages: 288
ISBN-13: 0691242062
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Leading scholars take stock of Darwin's ideas about human evolution in the light of modern science In 1871, Charles Darwin published The Descent of Man, a companion to Origin of Species in which he attempted to explain human evolution, a topic he called "the highest and most interesting problem for the naturalist." A Most Interesting Problem brings together twelve world-class scholars and science communicators to investigate what Darwin got right—and what he got wrong—about the origin, history, and biological variation of humans. Edited by Jeremy DeSilva and with an introduction by acclaimed Darwin biographer Janet Browne, A Most Interesting Problem draws on the latest discoveries in fields such as genetics, paleontology, bioarchaeology, anthropology, and primatology. This compelling and accessible book tackles the very subjects Darwin explores in Descent, including the evidence for human evolution, our place in the family tree, the origins of civilization, human races, and sex differences. A Most Interesting Problem is a testament to how scientific ideas are tested and how evidence helps to structure our narratives about human origins, showing how some of Darwin's ideas have withstood more than a century of scrutiny while others have not. A Most Interesting Problem features contributions by Janet Browne, Jeremy DeSilva, Holly Dunsworth, Agustín Fuentes, Ann Gibbons, Yohannes Haile-Selassie, Brian Hare, John Hawks, Suzana Herculano-Houzel, Kristina Killgrove, Alice Roberts, and Michael J. Ryan.
