On Humans

Encore | Why Agriculture? Climate Change and the Origins of Farming ~ Andrea Matranga

Climate. Weathers. History.Here's an encore episode to wrap up the mini-series on these themes!This episode on the puzzling origins of farming is one of my all-time favourites on the show. I thought it was a good time to put it out again.You can also read my essay on the topic ⁠here⁠.Enjoy!~ORIGINAL SHOW NOTESAgriculture changed everything. Traditionally, this “Neolithic Revolution” was celebrated for opening the gates of civilisation. Recently, it has been compared to the original sin. But whatever our take on agriculture, we should be puzzled by one thing: Why did our ancestors start to farm in the first place? It's not like early farmers had improved lives. Quite the opposite, they worked harder and suffered from worse health. So why did so early farmers stick to it? And why did farming spread so far and wide?⁠Andrea Matranga⁠ thinks he has the answer. An economic historian at the University of Torino, Matranga links agriculture to climate change. This is not a new idea — not as such. After all, agriculture developed in lockstep with the end of Ice Ages. For years, this vague link has formed my own pet-theory on the matter. But I never paused to reflect on the obvious problem with it. There was never an “Ice Age” in Sudan. Why didn’t humans just farm there? Matranga has the answer to this and many other puzzles. And surprisingly, his answer is linked to the movements of Jupiter. I will let him tell you why.We begin this episode covering some previous theories on the origins of agriculture. Next, we dissect Matranga's theory and the evidence for it. Towards the end, we talk about the spread of farming — peaceful and violent — and note a neglected downside to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. As always, we finish with my guest’s reflection on humanity.LINKSYou can find my summary of Matranga's theory with links to academic articles at ⁠⁠⁠⁠OnHumans.Substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠.Do you like On Humans? Join the group of patrons at ⁠⁠Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠⁠!MENTIONSNamesV. Gordon Childe | Jared Diamond | Mo Yan | Alain Testart | Robert J. Braidwood | Milutin Milanković | Feng He | James Scott | Richard B. Lee | Irven DevoreTermsNeolithic | Holocene | Pleistocene | Consumption smoothing | Malthusian limit | Milankovitch cyclesEthnic groupsNatuffians | Pacific Northwestern hunter-gatherers KeywordsAnthropology | Archaeology | Big History | Economic History | Agricultural Revolution | Neolithic Revolution | Homo Sapiens | Sapiens | Climate change | Paleoclimatology | Seasonality | Origins of Agriculture | Neolithic Revolution | Climate Change | Hunter-Gatherers | Human Civilization | Population Growth | Sedentary Lifestyle | Subsistence Farming | Evolutionary Adaptation | State Violence | Agricultural Coercion | Ancient DNA

Climate, Water, and the Origins of Colonialism ~ Tirthankar Roy

Before they built empires, the Europeans built ports.Across Africa and Asia, European sailors arrived as merchants. They traded and negotiated. They defended their interests—sometimes with cannon fire. But they were not trying to govern a foreign land.Yet things changed. Why?Historian Tirthankar Roy has a bold new answer. Roy is a professor at the London School of Economics, where he teaches a renowned course on the economic history of colonialism. His most recent book isThe Origins of Colonialism. And in it, Roy explains that we cannot understand the origins of European Empires in Asia and Africa by simply zooming into the actions of Europeans. We must understand what happened to the elites of the lands being conquered. And more often than not, that had to do with the rains, rivers, and access to water. In this episode, Roy explains how his theory sheds light on the rise of the British Empire in India. Along the way, we also sketch many broader ideas about the story of global colonialism, from Chinese ports to the conquest of Burma and from the water problems of Mumbai to the rubber plantations of Congo.Enjoy!This is part two of this summer’s mini-series on the way climate has shaped the human story. Curious to hear more? Head to last week’s episode on how an ancient climate change paved the way for the very origins of humanity!Thoughts about Roy’s points? Or mine? Voice them at OnHumans.Substack.com! (Episode page uploaded within an hour of the episode drop.)SUPPORT THE SHOWYou can pledge your support at ⁠Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠⁠DIG DEEPERCheck out also the two-part "What About India?" series from this February!KEYWORDS Colonialism | Imperialism | British East India Company | European colonialism | Africa | Asia | India | China | History of Colonialism | Geographical Determinism | Environmental Determinism | Political History | Military History | Fiscal History | Great Divergence | Western Dominance | Early Modern History

How Climate Crafted Humanity (Or Did It?) ~ Jessica Thompson

On Humans is back from the break! To mark the summer heat, here is a two-part series on how climate has shaped the human story. In next week's episodes, we will explore the role of water and weather in the origins of European colonialism. But today, we start by crawling deeper into the past: to the origins of humanity itself.In this episode, Yale professor Jessica Thompson helps us navigate one of the most influential ideas in human evolution: that an ancient climate change pushed our ancestors out of the jungle, onto the savanna, and eventually toward big brains, meat-eating, and tool use.This is a captivating story. It has been mentioned many times on the show. But do the details hold up?What follows is a sweeping account of human origins, which nuances — but does not reject — the grand arc explored in The Origins of Humankind series. This is a story about a climate that has never remained steady. It serves as a poignant reminder of the weather's power to shape human destiny. But it’s also a story about human resilience and our capacity, from the very beginning, to defy the iron laws of ecology. Enjoy!Thoughts about the episode? Share them at OnHumans.Substack.com⁠. You'll also find a bunch of links to dig deeper. SUPPORT THE SHOWYou can pledge your support at Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠MENTIONED SCHOLARSRichard Wrangham (guest in summer 2023) Sarah Blaffer Hrdy (guest in Spring 2024)KEYWORDS Human evolution | Human origins | Paleoanthropology | Human biology | Climate change | Miocene | Pleistocene | Brain evolution | Brain energetics | Deep history | Anthropology | Archaeology | Austrolopithecins | Genus homo | Bipedalism | Evolution of apes | Missing link | Tsetse flies |

An Essential Difference? Males, Females, and the Spaces In Between ~ Augustín Fuentes

Binary thinking is out of fashion. But what about biological sex?Whatever we might say about diversity and fluidity, the ideas of “male” and “female” seem essential in biology. I’ve taught the subject. I’ve drawn bees and flowers, with arrows from anthers to ovaries. I’ve used the terms “dad cell” and “mother cell” while doing so. I don’t know how I could have done it any differently.And maybe that’s just fine. Human sex cells are binary: sperm and egg. But here’s the twist: humans aren’t sex cells. Humans are animals. And animals aren’t so easily grouped. XY chromosomes don’t always produce a penis. And when we turn to hormones, brains, and behaviours, the picture gets even messier.Or so argues Princeton Professor Agustín Fuentes, a leading expert on human biology. His new book, Sex Is a Spectrum, came out this week. It makes the case that biology no longer supports a sharp separation between the male and the female. I approached this topic with a mix of curiosity and scepticism. And while I'm still unsure of what to make of the conclusion, I do not regret the conversation one bit. We had a great chat, ranging from hermaphroditic worms to sex-changing fish, and from gender stereotypes to intersex humans. At times, I pushed back. But I learned a lot throughout the conversation. I hope you do, too.Thoughts about Fuentes’s argument? Or my takes? Share them at onhumans.substack.com. You'll also find more links to dig deeper.Support the show: patreon.com/onhumansMENTIONSAgustín Fuentes: Sex is a Spectrum; Creative Spark; Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told YouYuval Noah Harari: Sapiens, A Brief History of HumankindJared Diamond: Guns, Germs, and Steel Steven Pinker: How the Mind WorksSara Blaffer Hrdy: Father Time (see episode in April 2023)KEYWORDS Biological sex | gametes | chromosomes | intersex | hermaphrodite | sex determination | sexual dimorphism | sex-changing fish | clownfish biology | evolutionary biology | human evolution | Agustín Fuentes | anthropology of sex | reproductive biology | nonbinary biology | developmental biology | sex differences | male and female | sex in animals | sex in humans | genetics of sex | human biology | science of sex | sex vs gender | c. elegans sex | 5-alpha-reductase type 2 deficiency (5α-R2D) | PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) | 

The Rest is History: From the Origins of Farming to the Dawn of Modernity ~ Johannes Krause

And so it ends! In the final episode of The Origins of Humankind, we explore the aftermath of the story so far—the story of how one peculiar species, Homo sapiens, evolved, spread, and outlived its relatives.Guiding us through this final chapter is Johannes Krause once again. Together, we uncover the emerging picture of the global spread of farming, pastoralism, and other key ingredients of modernity. Along the way, we explore some of the central questions of history—from the origins of inequality to the surprisingly pivotal role played by the peoples of the Eurasian steppe. (Yes, Mongols will make an appearance! But the story of the steppe goes much deeper...)As always, we end with my guest’s reflections on humanity.Enjoy!LINKSMore material: ⁠⁠⁠⁠OnHumans.Substack.com/Origins⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the show: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠⁠⁠⁠Free lectures on human origins: ⁠⁠⁠⁠CARTA⁠⁠⁠⁠Krause's books: ⁠⁠A Short History of Humanity⁠⁠; ⁠⁠Hubris: The Rise and Fall of Humanity⁠⁠ABOUT THE SERIESThe ⁠⁠Origins of Humankind ⁠⁠is produced by On Humans and UC San Diego's Centre for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (⁠⁠CARTA⁠⁠). Other guests include Chris Stringer, Dean Falk, and Tim Coulson. KEYWORDSAnthropology | Biology | Human evolution | Human origins | Homo sapiens | Agriculture | Ancient DNA | Climate changes | Pleistocene | Holocene | Archaeology | Neolithic | Yamnaya | Bell Beakers | Proto Indo-Europeans | Ötzi Ice Man | Gunpowder Empires | Bantu-expansion | Austranesian expansion | Sami poeple | Y-chromosome bottleneck |