Showing results for "Genetics" in Civilisation

Resistance to malaria. Blue eyes. Lactose tolerance. What do all of these traits have in common? Every one of them has emerged in the last 10,000 years.

Why did humans abandon hunting and gathering for sedentary communities dependent on livestock and cereal grains and governed by precursors of today's states? Most people believe that plant and animal domestication allowed humans, finally, to settle down and form agricultural villages, towns, and states, which made possible civilization, law, public order, and a presumably secure way of living. But archaeological and historical evidence challenges this narrative.

While plenty of entertaining books have been written about the history of alcohol and other intoxicants, none have offered a comprehensive, convincing answer to the basic question of why humans want to get high in the first place. Drunk elegantly cuts through the tangle of urban legends and anecdotal impressions that surround our notions of intoxication to provide the first rigorous, scientifically grounded explanation for our love of alcohol.

An eye-opening investigation into ancestry and origins in the Middle East that synthesizes thousands of years of genetic history in the region to question what it means to be indigenous to any land “Ancestors transcends geography to launch an eye-opening inquiry into the relationship of...

Wer sind wir? Woher kommen wir? Und wohin gehen wir? Martin Elias findet in seinem Buch "Der Neue Mensch" spannende Antworten auf die Frage, wie wir uns als Menschheit verändern – und welche Rolle das Erbe unserer Steinzeit bis heute spielt. Wieso fällt es uns Menschen so schwer, uns zu verändern, auch wenn wir längst wissen, dass bestimmte Verhaltensweisen sich schädlich auf uns auswirken – von Gewalt über Gier bis zur falschen Ernährung. Der Steinzeitmensch in uns ist schuld! Doch die Menschheit steht vor großen Herausforderungen.

Best-selling author Brian Fagan brings early humans out of the deep freeze with his trademark mix of erudition, cutting-edge science, and vivid storytelling. Cro-Magnon reveals human society in its infancy, facing enormous environmental challenges - including a rival species of humans, the Neanderthals. For ten millennia, Cro-Magnons lived side by side with Neanderthals, an encounter that Fagan fills with drama.