There is something remarkably alluring about the ancient Maya art. Perhaps it's the originality and depth of the art enveloped in esoteric elements thThere is something remarkably alluring about the ancient Maya art. Perhaps it's the originality and depth of the art enveloped in esoteric elements that effortlessly captivates and keeps one's attention.
However Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest civilization by Arthur Demarest is a case study that covers much more than the Maya art. Its primary focus is chronologically presenting the cultural evolution of the Maya based on archeological and historical data, while interpreting the Maya society through their art, iconography, hieroglyphic inscriptions, architecture, and their sophisticated calendar system.
Unlike the numerous civilizations that emerged in the ancient world, the Maya stand out as they appeared, developed, and remained in the rain forest, thus, can be considered a rainforest civilization.
As for the narrative, it was dry and the book lacked a clear central argument or narrative thread to make the book more readable. A very mechanical composition and erudite work so beware.
Nevertheless, it was great learning about this Mesoamerican culture and its cyclical concept of time, their cosmogram with 13 levels of the heavens and 9 of the underworld, and their version of the Creation's beginnings which started on August 13th, 3114 BCE (by the Gregorian calendar), their ideology, worldview, and untimely the reason(s) for the ancient Maya downfall that still remains debatable....more
This is an impressive succinct summary of human evolution: from the first hominid species to the Homo sapiens.
Even though the development of the humaThis is an impressive succinct summary of human evolution: from the first hominid species to the Homo sapiens.
Even though the development of the human family is a complex non-linear process with numerous unanswered questions and missing elements, Tattersall, finds a way to present the story of evolution that a layman can easily follow and comprehend the terminology of the various historical periods and the sciences employed in mapping the hominids lineage.
Tattersall is a leading scientist in the field of paleoanthropology, through which perspective he mostly presents his arguments, but he is aware that "Science is thus inherently a system of provisional, rather than absolute, knowledge." and therefore is not imposing his opinion on the reader. Nevertheless, he makes a point that "Unlike religious knowledge, which is based on faith, scientific knowledge is grounded in doubt."
In The World from Beginnings to 4,000 BCE we learn that human species are not as fine-tuned to their environments as we might think they are, but they are an adaptable kind. The ancient Homo is not the "caveman" depicted in motion pictures, but a species that spent most of their time out in the open. We discover that the Neanderthals burials of their dead might suggest empathy for the deceased, and the early toolmakers such as the Homo habilis 1.9 million years ago might give us an insight into when our precursors became planners. Also, it's perhaps not the larger brains that allowed hominids to migrate outside of Africa, but our bipedal predecessors' capability and endurance to walk, persistently, hour after hour, day after day.
Even though this book was published recently, in 2008, much has changed in this filed with the introduction of the whole-genome sequencing of ancient DNA and if you are curious to find out more, please check out David Reich's Who We Are and How We Got Here (2018).
All in all, Tattersall's approach is sensible and his arguments are well-presented in an even-handed manner. Big thanks to Sense of History and Marc for introducing me to this author and book.
When did humanness first emerge in the hominid's lineage? What qualities characterize being human? Was the first indication that distinguished our ancWhen did humanness first emerge in the hominid's lineage? What qualities characterize being human? Was the first indication that distinguished our ancestors from the rest of the species when they rose on their own two feet several million years ago in Africa? Perhaps it was when the Homo habilis two million years ago developed a craft of stone tool-making that he envisioned to use in the future and thus we became planners. This archaic technology enabled the production of stone weapons with which for the first time the physically weaker could overpower the competitor's muscle strength in conflict.
Perhaps a more recent modern human characteristic appeared 50,000 to 150,000 years ago that was possibly caused by a genetic mutation that resulted in an adaptation and hence the development of language and even our sense for numbers. This linguistic ability enabled our ancestors to clearly and quickly communicate thoughts and their sense for mathematics created the ability to compute while passing down the acquired knowledge and experience to their peers and offspring.
Douglas Palmer correlates the appearance of bone tools and ornaments in Eurasia 40,000 years ago to modern human behavior and links this cognitive ability to produce them to the Cro-Magon humans. Perhaps it was free time along with our cognitive evolution that enabled our ancestors to create rock art engravings 80,000 years ago found in the Blombos Cave in South Africa or cave art in the Chauvet Cave in France 32,000 years ago.
It seems that the increase of the hominid's brain size is a good but rough parameter for measuring intelligence. Although, a more precise method is the brain-to-body mass ratio; the lower the ratio the higher the cognitive leap. Nevertheless, this method has many flaws, too. It appears that we just can't seem to find an adequate quantifiable size or ratio.
All in all, Seven Million Years: The Story of Human Evolution (2005) is a great summary of the last seven million years of the more than two dozen human-related species that lived, evolved, and became extinct with the Homo sapiens only to survive. Palmer does not dig much into the development of the human consciousness and the power of our imagination and self-awareness but gives a well-balanced overview of the events that were clear signs of the arrival of true humanness. Thanks to Sense of History and Marc for bringing this wonderful book to my attention.
The idea of an existence of a pure human race is scientifically dead.
Geneticist, David Reich, discovers through the process of whole-genome sequencinThe idea of an existence of a pure human race is scientifically dead.
Geneticist, David Reich, discovers through the process of whole-genome sequencing that modern humans are a mixture of a variety of human species, where forty thousand years ago our planet was inhabited by multiple groups of archaic humans that were physically different.
Comparing ancient to modern human DNA, Reich finds that the non-African genome, fifty thousand years ago, which was a direct ancestor of modern humans, had almost 5 percent of Neanderthal origin, while non-African genomes today consist of nearly 2 percent of Neanderthal origin. Hence, Neanderthals and the archaic human interbred. This depletion of the Neanderthal genes is accomplished by natural selection, at the expense of the Neanderthals DNA, and perhaps due to the high infertility of this hybrid. A similar history is shared in Asia and Oceania with the Denisovans, where Neanderthals and Denisovans are cousins. With all these findings, can we conclude that modern humans are to some degree biologically different?
Reich's laboratory was able to trace through analyzing the ancient DNA that the people of the Yamnaya culture from the Eurasian Steppe around five thousand years ago migrated to Europe and to a significant degree replaced the majority of the then existing European population. Reich further hypothesizes that this could be evidence why the Northern European languages spoken today are so closely kindred i.e. as a consequence of the spread of a new culture at the same time.
Genomic data also traces that the descendants of Indians today are a mixture of ancestral people of West Eurasia and South and East Asia and that the spreading of the Yamnaya five thousand years ago could offer a clue on how these two regions and their languages are a part of the same Indo-European language family. What was also fascinating is that an Ancient North Eurasian population genetically contributes one-third of their ancestry of present-day Native Americans, while the natives of the Amazon share ancestry with the indigenous people of Australia, New Guinea, and Andaman.
Who We Are and How We Got Here (2018) reconstruct events of the human past that reveals the history of humankind's movements, interbreeding, and transformations, replacement, and extinction of populations. David Reich in my opinion is not quite the writer and storyteller as Siddhartha Mukherjee, hence, the narrative is not as compelling as it is in Mukherjee's The Gene: An Intimate History. On the other hand, Reich is a heavyweight in his field and his work has and will have a great impact on the future work of archaeologists, anthropologists, and linguists. I have been meaning to read this book for some time now, but reading Sense of History's excellent review of the book triggered me to buy and read it, and I am glad I did....more
Why didn't the indigenous people of the Americas, Oceania, and sub-equatorial Africa conquer Europe and its people? Why was it the other way around?
WWhy didn't the indigenous people of the Americas, Oceania, and sub-equatorial Africa conquer Europe and its people? Why was it the other way around?
Why didn't agriculture, cities, the wheel, writing, craftsmanship of metal processing originate in Europe? Why did it instead originate in the Fertile Crescent (Mesopotamia) and its surrounding areas? These are some very intriguing questions discussed in Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (1997) written by Jared Diamond.
This book is a brief history of the human evolution of the last 13,000 years with a focus on social evolution, ethnology, and ecology. The book also pays special attention to the regions which boarder the vast Pacific Ocean.
Well, the Europeans discovered and conquered the Americas and Oceania because they were a more advance civilization. The Europeans had firearms, metal weapons, logistical technology that conquered land and sea, written language, centralized political power, and contagious diseases with which they infected and killed the natives, as the Europeans have already become genetically resistant to and acquired an immunity to those contagious diseases.
The reason why the cradle of civilization originated in the Fertile Crescent is due to its specific geographical characteristics of the environment that had more favorable ecological conditions compared to other regions and Diamond states that it had nothing to do with the biology of those people. This region had access to metal based material for their tools and weapons. They were surrounded by animals that could be domesticated for defense, labour, and food. Last but not least, the Mesopotamians had local available plants that were edible and easily cultivated. All in all, in general, the Eurasians had a more favorable environment, a head start, a greater population, larger continent, and this is why they had an advantage on the people of the Americas, Oceania, and sub-equatorial Africa. I am assuming this is part of the story, but I can name several counter arguments. I was expecting a lot more, and I just wasn't satisfied with the arguments presented, nor were they all convincing. I can't recall any creative ideas or clever theories in this book. The influence of culture was discussed, but hardly religion or genetics.
Diamond also very briefly discusses how the development of technology was amplified by a cumulative effect which reminded me of how well Richard Dawkins in The Blind Watchmaker (1986) explained the various positive feedback loops and the cumulative effect in biological evolution.
The book is well-written and informative, this is a given, but many things are unnecessarily being repeated throughout the book with too many recapitulations. It could all have been more concise.
You don't have to like science to enjoy this book! If you do like science, you'll find it even more informative and entertaining. The book is written You don't have to like science to enjoy this book! If you do like science, you'll find it even more informative and entertaining. The book is written for a broader audience who enjoy history, biology, and for those who enjoy debating social, cultural, and ethical dilemmas.
In the book the author takes us in depth though the biological journey of the evolution of our knowledge and struggles with the study of the gene, all coiled around like the DNA strand with world histories most critical events and Mukherjee's personal intimate story.
The stories in the book relating to the competitiveness between laboratories are suspenseful and fun to read. We also find out, to my surprise, the important roll identical twins play for geneticist in providing data and proof that inclination to a certain temperament, urges, illnesses, and other character traits are in most part hereditary, and therefore written in our genes.
We also see that the commonality, or better yet solidarity, that bonds some of the greatest names in biology such as Darwin, Mendel, and others is their failure in the natural and applied science formal education systems of their times. This can be encouraging for those academically struggling.
The book is well-written, and the science and history is well balanced. Mukherjee stays on topic, which is always good.
Don't be discouraged by the 600 pages, it's an enjoyable and easy read. You won't regret it. Highly recommend it!
I've read the Montenegrin-Serbian-Croatian-Bosnian translation Gen: Intimna Istorija autora Sidarte Mukardžija. Laguna 2018 Publishing / 678 pages / 163,515 words. Excellent translation....more
I have always been intrigued by evolution, especially by evolutionary biology.
So, I picked up this book when I saw the title had the words evolution aI have always been intrigued by evolution, especially by evolutionary biology.
So, I picked up this book when I saw the title had the words evolution and humankind. To my surprise this book has almost no science, very little about natural selection, etc. Everything that you would expect.
Instead, this is a history book that's very well written. It's a pleasant read and the author found a very clever approach by giving every important humankind phase a chapter or better yet, as the Author calls a revolution. This way it's easier for the reader to differentiate and compare the main phases our kind has gone through and their differences.
Harari also keeps a pretty optimistic tone throughout the book, so it can give the reader a hopeful feeling.
If you like evolution biology or history I would recommend reading this book.
I read the Serbo-Croatian translation Sapijens Kratka Istorija Čovečanstva autora Juvala Noe Hararia / Laguna 2019 Publishing / 560 pages / 124,804 words....more
The Selfish Gene (1976) is exactly how I prefer my non-fiction science books to be written. Richard Dawkins is clear, stays on topic, and explains theThe Selfish Gene (1976) is exactly how I prefer my non-fiction science books to be written. Richard Dawkins is clear, stays on topic, and explains the necessary details and complexities using simple everyday life examples. Dawkins, is entertaining, and gives you a hand when you get lost in his genetic pool analysis.
His writing talks to me. His argumentation challenge and encourage me to think and feel that I am gaining knowledge. It's a rewarding read. The author discusses the plants, animals, and humans selfish gene and their evolution by means of natural selection. There is no moral of the story as morals are not considered in the natural selection process.
What roll did natural selection have on primordial Earth? It selected to retain the stable forms of molecules and throw out the unstable forms. During the same period, simple replicating molecules were present with a capability to replicate themselves. Today we have a far more sophisticated self-replicating molecule, containing a complex recipe, called the DNA. Such stable molecules started to compete with one another in a struggle for existence. In order to increase their chances of survival and reproduction, these stable replicating molecules built machines for survival in which they would be accommodated. Those stable molecules today are our genes, and the machines for their survival, our bodies.
What is a selfish gene? The selfish gene is a short or rather small piece of a chromosome that lasts for many generations and has an extremely low probability to split up. It collaborates well with other genes and does not allow anything to penetrate it. The long lasting life of the selfish gene makes it an important unit of evolution by means of natural selection, and the replicating molecule (gene) a fundamental unit of natural selection.
The selfish gene created us to be self-centered and not altruistic. Our genes created us for their well-being and to fight for their survival and reproduce them through procreation. The selfish gene in living organisms is concerned for itself and individual in which they are housed. Therefore, our genes have a more egocentric approach for self-survival rather than an altruistic one that would benefit the group. Altruism is not the most stable evolutionary strategy for the genes and individuals, unless reciprocal altruism is at hand that would benefit each variety (of course there are exceptions). Parental altruism towards children can be viewed as genes investing in themselves as their genes are now found in their offspring. That is why it is important to teach altruism to our children, as it doesn't necessarily come naturally.
But our brain has developed up to a point that we are in a position to reject or rebel against our own selfish gene. Many people choose not to have children or use contraceptives and this way disobey the selfish gene. Others sacrifice themselves for the benefit of a group, for an ideal or a cause. In one chapter we see how a "meme" (idea or behavior), a unit of culture, acts as a replicator that is transmitted from individual to individual.
Since humans are conscious beings and aware that a future exists, it gives us the power to simulate and plan ahead. Also, we have written accounts of the past events - history. I would certainly hope that with our increasing knowledge about our genes, our finer capability of forecasting, and written history from different points of view, can act as tools to help us find a better balance between the common good of a society and the individuals interest i.e. balancing altruism and selfishness....more
A great summary of the evolution of the brain (intelligence) in humans and how the homo sapiens brain compares to other spieces. Very informative and A great summary of the evolution of the brain (intelligence) in humans and how the homo sapiens brain compares to other spieces. Very informative and a great read.
I've read the Ballantine Book 1977 publishing The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan / 288 pages / 77,454 words....more
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