Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

by Yuval Noah Harari

Just 6 million years ago, a single female ape had two daughters. One became the ancestor of all chimpanzees, the other is our own grandmother.

Humans in Europe and western Asia evolved into Homo neanderthalensis (‘Man from the Neander Valley’),

The more eastern regions of Asia were populated by Homo erectus, ‘Upright Man’, who survived there for close to 2 million years, making it the most durable human species ever.

On the island of Java, in Indonesia, lived Homo soloensis, ‘Man from the Solo Valley’, who was suited to life in the tropics.

While these humans were evolving in Europe and Asia, evolution in East Africa did not stop. The cradle of humanity continued to nurture numerous new species, such as Homo rudolfensis, ‘Man from Lake Rudolf’, Homo ergaster, ‘Working Man’, and eventually our own species, which we’ve immodestly named Homo sapiens, ‘Wise Man’.

jumbo brain is a jumbo drain on the body. It’s not easy to carry around, especially when encased inside a massive skull. It’s even harder to fuel. In Homo sapiens, the brain accounts for about 2–3 per cent of total body weight, but it consumes 25 per cent of the body’s energy when the body is at rest.

It takes a tribe to raise a human. Evolution thus favoured those capable of forming strong social ties.

Fire not only changed food’s chemistry, it changed its biology as well. Cooking killed germs and parasites that infested food.

Tolerance is not a Sapiens trademark.

Our language evolved as a way of gossiping.

Gossip usually focuses on wrongdoings.

Such myths give Sapiens the unprecedented ability to cooperate flexibly in large numbers.