The World from Beginnings to 4000 BCE

by Ian Tattersall

To be human is to be curious. And one of the things we are most curious about is how we came to be who we are--how we evolved over millions of years to become creatures capable of inquiring into our own evolution.

In this lively and readable introduction, renowned anthropologist Ian Tattersall thoroughly examines both fossil and archaeological records to trace human evolution from the earliest beginnings of our zoological family, Hominidae, through the appearance of Homo sapiens to the Agricultural Revolution. He begins with an accessible overview of evolutionary theory and then explores the major turning points in human the emergence of the genus Homo , the advantages of bipedalism, the birth of the big brain and symbolic thinking, Paleolithic and Neolithic tool making, and finally the enormously consequential shift from hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies 10,000 years ago. Focusing particularly on the pattern of events and innovations in human biological and cultural evolution, Tattersall offers illuminating commentary on a wide range of topics, including the earliest known artistic expressions, ancient burial rites, the beginnings of language, the likely causes of Neanderthal
extinction, the relationship between agriculture and Christianity, and the still unsolved mysteries of human consciousness.

Complemented by a wealth of illustrations and written with the grace and accessibility for which Tattersall is widely admire, The World from Beginnings to 4000 BCE invites us to take a closer look at the strange and distant beings who, over the course of millions of years, would become us.

Genres: History, Science, Anthropology, Archaeology, Nonfiction, Evolution, Prehistory

160 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2008

Reviews

[Orhan Pelinkovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 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.

(4.5/5.0)

[Marc Lamot · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a highly recommended read if you want to get a brief and balanced overview of the earliest human history. Ian Tattersall is very professional, that is clear, and he also knows how to hit the right note. For example, he clearly shows how relative the findings of paleoanthropology are, and how careful you should be with new fossil discoveries: “the problem has been that paleoanthropologists have tended to dive in at the deep end, going directly to full-fledged scenarios. This has tended to reduce discussion in the field to a sort of storytelling competition.”

And he gives another typical example of his nuanced thinking in dispelling the simplistic scheme of a growth from primitiveness to civilization, for example in the transition from hunter-gatherers to farmers: “Hunter-gatherers have a totally different perspective on the world from that of agriculturalists, it is true; but it is not necessarily a simpler one. The world views and social interactions of hunter-gatherers are (or, sadly, were) typically highly complex and nuanced, as are their interactions with the environment around them.”

Yet I see two weaknesses: Contrary to the explicit purpose of this Oxford series, Tattersall's focus nevertheless is very eurocentric. The development of the Neanderthal and homo sapiens in Europe in particular gets a lot of attention, but that is of course also because scientific research has focused on this. Plus, this book was published in 2008, so it's still at the beginning of the genetic revolution. Tattersall already presents some results of the mitochondrial and the Y-chromosome research, but you can’t find the great new insights that have only emerged in the last 5 years. Still I highly recommend this book (rating 3.5 stars). More on this in my History-account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Sense of History]

Ian Tattersall (° 1945) has more than earned his spurs as a paleo-anthropologist, he is considered one of the great specialists in that field. Since his retirement he has published several overviews, each of which provides a very transparent introduction to the earliest human evolution. In my opinion, this short book, only 120 pages, is nothing short of a gem. This is mainly because Tattersall doesn’t offer spectacular titles nor screaming exclamations, as unfortunately happens far too much in that sector. He rightly writes, for example, that our old image of the human lineage, modeled on a simple tree trunk, is very misleading: “It is becoming increasingly apparent that the evolutionary history of the hominid family has not been a straightforward story of the fine-tuning of a major central lineage over the eons. Instead, it has been a dynamic saga in which multiple hominid species have originated, done battle in the ecological arena, and, more often than not, gone extinct. It has been a story of evolutionary experimentation, of exploration of the many ways in which it is evidently possible to be a hominid.” In the same vein, he also presents a very thoughtful theory of the appearance of the hominids and the homo sapiens species: not with sudden jumps, but very gradual and through a lot of hybrid transitions.

Tattersall is rightly cautious about the great leap in homo sapiens-evolution towards symbolic behavior (art, religion, etc.), both in dating and in explaining that leap. According to him, also that is a matter of very slow evolution: “The underlying anatomical substrate for symbolic thought was born with the major structural adjustment that gave rise to our species— but was not expressed immediately in new behaviors. It must have lain fallow for many millennia, until its unprecedented uses were discovered by human ancestors who had until then possessed this new capacity unknowingly. The story seems to be that, with the necessary biological structures in place, this new potential awaited its “release,” not by any biological innovation but by a cultural stimulus of some kind.”

And rightly he makes a link with language: “Like thought language involves forming and manipulating symbols in the mind, and our capacity for symbolic reasoning is almost inconceivable in its absence. Imagination and creativity are part of the same process, for only once we have created mental symbols can we combine them in new ways and ask “what if?” Language is particularly attractive in this role because it is an external, communal property, in contrast to other potential releasers such as “theory of mind”— the ability to read the minds of others. Unless, that is, the primary function of language is to promote thought, rather than communication.”

And so, unlike many of his colleagues, Tattersall opts for a fairly late leap in cognitive evolution: “However it came about, the origin of the human capacity for thought was a rather recent happening and an emergent one. It did not result from a gradual process of perfecting earlier trends. Much as paleoanthropologists like to think of our evolution as a linear process, a gradual progression from primitiveness to perfection, this holdover from earlier days of the science is clearly in error. We are not the result of constant fine-tuning over the eons, any more than we are the summit of creation.”

Perhaps this book is becoming a bit outdated by now, because it was published before the gulf of ancient-DNA analyses that have changed our view on prehistoric history quite radically. But if only there were more scientists in this field who think as prudent and balanced as Ian Tattersall!

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4⭐
A short, accessible history of human evolution, as far as we know it. Tattersall has a clear and uncluttered style that mostly avoids swamping the reader with over technical explanations of this complex subject. Some dives into the science are inevitable, for example when describing the tools and techniques used by anthropologists and archeologists digging ( literally) into the origins of homo sapiens. Mostly it's a engaging story of what it means to be human and how we got there.

" There is no deeper mystery in the entire long history of humankind than how we came to acquire our distinctive mental qualities."
-page 100, Kindle edition.

It happened fast. Within the span of a few tens of thousands of years we went from smart to really smart. Maybe it was the big, black monolith after all.

If you want a quick, readable history of how we got here this may fit the job -30-

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

A readable and for the most part easy enough to successfully comprehend introduction to human evolution and prehistory, Ian Tattersall’s The World from Beginnings to 4000 BCE (and the author at the time of publication was the chief curator in the Division of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History) is both informative and extensive (but not really all that intensive either, as The World from Beginnings to 4000 BCE is but a short and thus general introduction).

Now the featured and presented text of The World from Beginnings Until 400 BCE, it is, although of course academic and scientific in nature, actually and thankfully, fortunately, also never overly difficult both content-wise and with regard to stylistics. And while the author must by simple necessity at times make use of subject specific jargon and definitions, Ian Tattersall has, for the most part, more than well succeeded in creating with The World from Beginnings to 4000 BCE an account that can be easily comprehended and enjoyed by scientists, students, as well as by those of us with just a casual lay interest in anthropology and human prehistory. And while those individuals looking for a detailed and in-depth analysis and study of human origins might indeed be somewhat disappointed, as a basic introduction, The World from Beginnings to 4000 BCE works rather, no it works very well. And yes and finally, as an added bonus, Ian Tattersall has also listed a detailed bibliography for each of the featured chapters (which, in my humble opinion, can often be much more user and research friendly than a huge and all encompassing bibliography at the back), as well as interesting and relevant websites, making The World from Beginnings to 4000 BCE not only a great introductory tome, but also book that can most definitely serve as a starting point for further and more detailed research and analysis.

Edited To Add: But in light of the fact that recent archaeological and paleontological discoveries and research have pretty well now demonstrated and even rather proven that most human beings except for sub-Saharan Africans generally do seem to have up to three percent Neanderthal DNA (and perhaps even the DNA of other humanoid species as well), some of the information presented in this book, shown in The World from Beginnings to 4000 BCE might or rather should need to be updated and expanded (because Ian Tattersall certainly does make a point actively trying to disprove the mere concept of Neanderthal/Homo Sapian interbreeding, which in light of recent evidence, probably did occur, and likely far more frequently than even those who had originally proposed this, had assumed).

[محمد حمدان · Rating 4 out of 5]

العالم من البدايات حتى 4000 قبل الميلاد – إيان تاتيرسول

إيان تاتيرسول هو عالم أمريكي الأصل بريطاني المولد.. متخصص في تاريخ الأحافير البشرية.. وعليه فإن هذا الكتاب هو شرح لكيفية نشوء الإنسان حسب نظرية التطور. ولربما يكون عنون الكتاب غير دقيق إلى حد بعيد.. فهو لا يتحدث عن العالم –عدا الفصل الأول الذي كان يتحدث عن الأحافير بشكل عام- بقدر ما يتحدث عن الإنسان وكيفية نشوئه.

بدأ الكتاب بتسلسل طبيعي.. إبتداءً بشرح تمهيدي عن الأحافير وأهميتها بشكل عام.. ثم بالتسلسل التاريخي العروف والشائع لنشوء الإنسان. وهو بذلك يبدو أكثر تفصيلاُ في هذا الخصوص من كتاب عظيموف "البدايات" فبينما ذاك يتحدث عن كل البدايات الكون، الحياة، الإنسان... فهذا أكثر تخصصاً بالإنسان ولا شيء عدا الإنسان وهو موضوع مهم جداً على أي حال.

على القاريء في التطور أن يتفهم أن هذه النظرية لا تحمل حلقة واحدة مفقودة كما يوحي عنوان الكتاب الشهير الحلقة المفقودة لكولين تادج. بل هي تحتوي على عدد لا متناه من الحلقات المفقودة والتي يقول تاتيرسول أنها قد لا توجد أبداً.. لكن المنهج العلمي في إثبات النظريات لا يعتمد بالضرورة على إثبات دقيق بمعنى أن النظرية مثبتة 100%. حيث أن النظرية تبدأ بافتراض.. ثم يبدأ صاحب النظرية بشرح الأدلة التي يستدل بها على النتيجة التي يريد أن يوصلنا إليها.. ثم يبدأ دور علماء آخرين في إثبات أو دحض تلك الأدل��. وكلما صمدت النظرية أمام محاولات أكثر لدحضها كلما أصبحت أقوى.. وأكثر ترجيحاً. ونظرية التطور قد "تطورت" بدورها بالفعل منذ أن وضعها دارون إلى يومنا الحالي.. وهذا الكتاب يورد وبالتفصيل سجلاً مثيراً للإعجاب في سلسلة الأدلة التي تحكي أن هذه النظرية مرجحة علمياً.

الكتاب لربما أعقد بعض الشيء من كتاب عظيموف ولربما يحتاج القاريء العادي –غير المختص- للرجوع لبعض شروحات المصطلحات كي يفهم هذا الكتاب بشكل أفضل. إلا أنه بشكل عام كتاب مهم في فهم نشأة الإنسان حسب نظرية التطور وبشكل وافٍ.

باختصار، كتاب لطيف.. أنصح به.

[Hosam Diab · Rating 3 out of 5]

الكتاب يبدو ممتعاً للوهلة الأولى. لقد تم تصنيفه على أنه كتاب تاريخ وليس علوم طبيعية حتى. بل إنه يتناول علم الباليوأنثربولوجي (حفريات الإنسان القديم)، مما يشي بمتعة متوقعة.

الحق أن الكتاب مفيد لكنه غير ممتع، هناك المترجم د. حازم نهار التي جاءت ترجمته ثقيلة، هناك الاهتمام العلمي بالتصنيف والتدقيق، يبدو كتاباً مبتدئاً للمتخصصين وليس كتاباً متخصصاً للمبتدئين، إن أدركتم قصدي. يحتاج الكتاب منك إلى قراءات سابقة في نفس الموضوع، بالإضافة إلى قراءته بالإنجليزية، لأن الترجمة مرهقة بمصطلحاتها المعربة وصياغاتها المربكة.

[Mehwish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any book that attempts to give an account of hominid history is worthy of praise
because almost every aspect is debatable. Few examples are Emergence of bipedality, ancestral candidates for hominids.

This book is an excellent but brief summary, more like the tip of the iceberg. Topics that are covered are, NS, tool-use, radiometric dating, fossils, classification etc.

A few discrepancies are owed to the progressive nature of research in this field. Papers are being published frequently filling/creating the gaps. Overall, relatively easy read and clear demonstration of concepts.

[Iset · Rating 4 out of 5]

I pretty quickly realised that this book is not for me. Not because it’s bad or anything like that, but because it is aimed at beginners. The text is narrative, not critical analysis, and explains just about everything you’d ever want to know about how archaeologists know what we know about human history up to 4000 BCE. I’d definitely recommend this to any friends who were clueless but really wanted to get into history, but for me it covers methods, techniques, and knowledge that I’m already familiar with. So it’s a good book, I’m just the wrong reader!

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I found this book distinctly tedious as the author explained the history of Darwin and evolutionary theory in general. But it got more interesting when he started discussing the groups of hominids--where they arose, where they ended up, etc. He is very clear that it was not a "one species following the other" with no overlap--different species of hominids, he believes, lived at the same time. He discusses how "we" could have become who we are and why other hominids did not. A fast and interesting read.

[Mohammad Al Refaei · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book to have a look over our history as humans, dating back to the common ancestor of primates around 6 million years ago. the book takes the reader in a journey exploring the stages our ancestors take to evolve from small-brained quadrupedal to the Homo Sapiens, including our greatest technological discoveries and inovations (like the invention of the hunting tools and the domestication of plants and animals) all the way to the ancient civilization.

The book is concise but the author gave quite a big deal of the book to some aspects and small to others which made the latter less understandable (talked a lot about the comparative anatomy compared to languages, for instance).

However, a good book to read.

[Sami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great work !A lot of info about humans(HOMO).The beginning of the words and the different idea of what happened and from where it dos.

[Abu Hasan محمد عبيد · Rating 4 out of 5]

يحتاج هذا الكتاب إلى شيء من التركيز ليتمكن القارئ العادي مثلي من استيعاب مباحثه
يحتوي الكتاب على الكثير من المباحث التقنية خصوصا تلك التي تتعلق بكيفية فحص الأحافير وكيفية مقارنتها ببعضها لمعرفة العلاقة التي تربطها
يتناول الكتاب الدراسات التي أجريت على الأحافير والنتائج المتعلقة بها والأماكن التي وجدت بها والترتيب الزمني لها ليحاول إنشاء قصة مترابطة لنشأة الجنس البشري
بغض النظر عن مدى توافق القارئ مع هذه القصة، إلا أن الكتاب برأيي تناول الموضوع بموضوعية، وأظهر مدى صعوبة هذا النوع من الدراسات والعقبات التي تواجهها وعدم يقينية النتائج التي تخلص إليها
بالرغم من أن المؤلف استطاع اقناعي أو أقله إيصال أفكاره لي وإن كانت غير مقنعة، إلا أنه لم يستطع إقناعي أو إيصال فكرته لي في الجزء الذي تناول فيه ظهور الانسان العاقل، فأحسست هذا المبحث على أهميته مختصرا ومختزلا وغير مقنع

[Jessie Laurence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read, in-depth, all around pretty informative. Can be dry at times, particularly in the middle, but fun and easy.

[Ahmed Ezzeldien · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب رائع .. وسهل الأسلوب .. يذكر بتفاصيل قد تكون مطولة بعض الشيء رحلة بنية الإنسان وذكاءه من البدايات وحتى استقراره وتعلمه الزراعة وترويض الحيوانات وتربيتها، وكذلك إنشاء المجتمعات المعقدة في خطوة لبداية الحضارات .. كتاب مهم جداً للمهتمين برحلة الإنسان المتطورة على الأرض...

[Ignacio Sotelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un breve libro que realiza una reseña clara y precisa desde los inicios de la presencia de homos, su evolución y datos de investigación que ayudan a trazar una ruta más clara de nuestra evolución y transformación a cómo hoy somos.

[Haidar Almubarak · Rating 5 out of 5]

"ولا يوجد في كامل التاريخ البيولوجي الطويل للجنس البشري سراً أعمق من كيفية اكتسابنا للقدرات العقلية المميزة ...... ومن الواضح أن اكتساب ما اصطلح على تسميته ((القدرة البشرية)) لا يمكن أن يكون مسألة تحسينات صغيرة عبر الدهر وفقاً للإصطفاء الطبيعي المستمر. وعوضا عن ذلك، كانت هذه القدرة أمراً جديدا كليا، وليست ببساطة نتيجة للاتجاهات التي سبقتها في تاريخ أسلاف الإنسان" صفحة 164 من الكتاب


هذا الكتاب يسلط الضوء على تاريخ أسلاف الإنسان من خلال الأحافير المكتشفة في شتى أنحاء العالم ومحاولة ربط هذه الأحافير ببعض. لايوجد جزم في هذا الكتاب أن التسلل لأسلاف الإنسان حدث بالشكل الموضح، وإنما يعرض الأحافير المكتشفة وتاريخها ويعرض آراء العلماء فيها وما يعتقدونه في تسلسل الأحداث.

من الجدير بالذكر أن ظهور أحافير معينة في زمن معين ثم ظهور أحافير أخرى لها أوجه شبه وأوجه اختلاف مع الأحافير السابقة لايعني بالضرورة أن الأول هو اصل للثاني وأن مايحصل من ربط بين أحفورتين في زمنين مختلفين هو حاصل استقراءات العلماء للأحداث وليست جزما بماحدث، فبين وقت وآخر تظهر آثار وأحافير جديدة تؤدي لإلغاء افتراضات قديمة وإحلال افتراضات جديدة محلها.

رغم كل هذا يضل الكتاب مرجعا مهما لسرد تاريخ الكائنات ماقبل البشرية حسب ماظهر إلى الآن من أحافير.

[Massoma · Rating 3 out of 5]

كنت أظن أن العصر الحجري ماهو إلا أسطورة من أساطير أفلام الكرتون، ولكن الباحث #إيان_تاتيرسول في كتاب #العالم_من_البدايات_حتى_٤٠٠٠-قبل_الميلاد
يقول بأن هناك عصر جليدي، الحجري البرونزي، الهولوسيني..الخ

علماء الأحافير والانثربولوجيا يقولون أن هناك كائنات تشابه الإنسان
كالإنسان المنتصب، النياندرتال، صبي توركانا،إنسان هايدلبيرغ وووو

الكتاب بدلا من أن ينورني
إذ كنت متحمسة لمعرفة بداية العالم البشري
إلا إنه حيرني مليون حيرة
كل النظريات والدراسات أقف حائرة عندها دون قبول ولارد

المشكلة دراسات دقيقة ليست عبطاً ولامزحة، وبالفعل التقارير من ناحية الجماجم، الأحافير، الـ DNA كما يذكر الكاتب، فإن هناك تشابه بين الإنسان العاقل وبين المخلوقات المذكورة.

[Stephen Cranney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Physical anthropology can get really complicated, and a lot of public-market works on the subject completely lose the forest because of the trees. This book did a good job of hitting the major points and mapping out the general picture while also delving into the technical nitty gritty surrounding the major debates, while still making it accessible to the layperson. Can read it within 1-2 hours.

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief primer on the history of humanity in pre-history. Not the most engaging book on the subject, still it is a good reference to where things stand in the study of human evolution. More thoughts are here: Sects and Violence in the Ancient World.

[Francesco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ottimo libro per introdurre il mondo della paleoantropologia e la storia delle origini dell'umanità. L'unica pecca è che oramai non è più aggiornato e necessiterebbe di una nuova edizione che tenga in considerazione le scoperte più recenti.

[Zohoor · Rating 2 out of 5]

لم استطيع اكمال قرأته، الكتاب ممل و موجه للمختصين اكثر

[أحمد مصلح · Rating 4 out of 5]

عايز أفراه تاني
علشان أستوعب كويس

[Andreas Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ottimo riepilogo...
Malgrado sia un testo più o meno scientifico, manca di fonti bibliografiche (cosa che comunque l'autore stesso fa notare). Ad ogni modo il testo si rifa a conoscenze più o meno note (almeno per me). Inizia con un riepilogo storico della classificazione delle specie (di Linneo), della teoria evoluzionistica di Charles Darwin, dopodiché un breve riepilogo della teoria genetica (l'esperimento di Mendel con le piante di pisello), la teoria della simbiosi delle cellule mitocondriali (impiegate poi per la tracciatura genetica della popolazione mondiale, dal momento che il DNA mitocondriale viene trasmesso da madre in figlio e non viene unito al DNA della cellula del padre). Continua inoltre con una storia globale delle varie specie umane nel corso della storia. Vorrei indicare qui una frase riguardante la specie Homo Sapiens: gli esseri umani, per contro, sono creature simboliche. Nella loro testa, scompongono il mondo esterno il una massa di simboli mentali e poi lo ricreano ricombinando quei simboli. Ciò a cui in seguito reagiscono spesso è il costrutto mentale, più che le esperienze primarie in sé. Queste ri-creazioni sono diverse da una persona all'altra e da una società all'altra, il che, in definitiva, è ciò che sta dietro la maggior parte dei conflitti e dei dissensi che incontriamo nella storia umana. Lo ritengo un ottimo testo, in duecento pagine riassume il necessario per ulteriori approfondimenti futuri.

[Mohammed Maatallaoui · Rating 4 out of 5]

كيف ظهر الانسان على وجه الأرض؟ هل خلق في معزل عن الكائنات الحية أم أنه منحدر منها بطريقة ما؟ إن كان خلق في معزل عن الكائنات الحية فما سر التشابه الكبير بينهما فيزيولوجيا، إن كان منحدرا من إحداها فلم تكاد تجزم الأديان بالعكس.
أسئلة محيرة كنت أنتظر من الكتاب أن يجيبني عنها أو عن بعضها، لكنه لم يفعل، ظل الكتاب يبين نقط التشابه والاختلاف بين جنس البشر (الانسان العاقل وغير العاقل) وبين أقرب المقربين إليه بنية، القردة العيا (المنقرضة) وتضم النسانيس وقردة الليمور.. لكن تظل هناك دائما نقطة مبهمة تأبى أن تجمع النوعين معا، أو كما يعبر عنها العلم الطبيعي بالحلقة المفقودة، نفسه داروين أعجزته الحيلة عن تفسيرها، لكن عدا ذلك، فالكتاب يقدم صورة جلية عن تطور الإنسان مرتكزة على دراسة الأحافير، وجدته مفيدا لأنني غير متخصص في علوم الطبيعة وإن كان أقل تشويقا مما ألفته عند قراءة كتابي بريان سايكس "بنات حواء السبع" و"لعنة آدم"
قراءة ممتعة

[Shervin · Rating 4 out of 5]

قطعا یکی از بهترین کتابها که با نگاه علمی و نسبتا ساده تاریخ تکامل انسان را از ابتدا تا دوران کشاورزی بازگو می کند.
موضوعی که در این ده سال اخیر برایم بسیار جذابیت داشته و مطالعات پراکنده بسیاری روی آن داشتم، با خواندن این کتاب انسجام اطلاعاتی بیشتری پیدا کردم.
انسان دیرین شناسان تلاش می کنند با بررسی شواهد باقی مانده در سنگواره های بدویان، به سوال مهم "از کجا آمده ام؟" پاسخ دهند.
مترجم این کتاب استاد حامد وحدتی نسب عزیز یکی از بهترین متخصصان این حوزه است که سعی می کند مباحث پیچیده انسان دیرین شناسی را به زبان ساده و جذاب برای عموم شرح دهد، رسالتی مهم که در مقابل تفکرات حاکم پر از خرافه و دروغ قرار می گیرد.
پینوشت: مطالعه این کتاب نیاز به پیش نیازهای اطلاعاتی دارد. پیشنهاد می کنم پادکست "خداحافظ آفریقا" شنیده شود.

[Katherine Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really cool how much we know about our pre-history. But there is till so much we don't know. Take these theories with a large batch of salt, then let your own imagination run. I do recommend reading this book.

[الشناوي محمد جبر · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب عن قصة التطور البشري ومساراته وبعض الحلقات المفقودة في السجل الأحفوري
الكتاب خفيف
بعيد عن التعقيد العلمي التقليدي
يعني تقريبا هو كتاب تاريخ أكثر منه علوم
خفيف وسهل
لكن لو قرت في موضوعه أكثر من مرة قد لا تجد فيه شيء جديد

[Samar Al otaibi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it

[حسام · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب جيد ويحتوي علي معلومات قيمة ...لكن هناك الكتير من التفصيل التي لا داعي لها وخاصة لغير المتخصص والذي يريد الاطلاع فقط .