Why we need to rethink the history of humanity

by time news

2023-12-25 06:00:29

10,000 years ago, humanity moved from the era of hunter-gatherers to complex social organizations. The rise of agriculture was believed to have been the trigger, but recent discoveries contradict this account. And the whole concept of civilization and progress, as it has spread in the West, is being turned upside down, explains the British magazine “New Scientist”.

Throughout most of its existence, our species has roamed the planet, living by hunting and gathering in small groups, moving to new regions where the climate was suitable, and leaving them when conditions became untenable. For hundreds of thousands of years, our ancestors used fire to cook food and keep warm. They made tools, shelters, clothing and jewelry – but their possessions were limited to what they could carry. Sometimes they encountered other hominids, such as Neanderthals, and sometimes had sex with them.

For dozens and dozens of centuries, history continued without ever being written down. Then, 10,000 years ago, everything started to change.

In some places, people began to cultivate plants. They stayed longer on the same site. They built villages and towns. Various unknown geniuses invented writing, money, the wheel and gunpowder. In just a few millennia – a blink of an eye in terms of evolution – cities, empires and factories have multiplied all over the planet. Today, the Earth is surrounded by orbiting satellites and crisscrossed with Internet cables. Nothing like this had ever happened.

Archaeologists and anthropologists have strived to explain this rapid and extraordinary transformation. Their story, most often, evokes a

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New Scientist (Londres)

Stimulating, concerned about ecology and good popularizer, New Scientist is one of the best scientific news magazines in the world. Created in 1956, it generates a third of its sales abroad.

He is particularly interested in scientific and technological developments in the field of the environment as well as in that of industry or, more simply, in daily life.

Simple in presentation, the site allows very quick access to the most recent articles. By offering complete files on themes already covered in general newspapers, it allows you to learn more “scientifically” about GMOs, alcohol, climate, cloning, pollution and even DNA. However, a large portion of the articles are reserved for subscribers.

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