The book Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind by Israeli author Yuval Noah Harari has both captivated and frenzied readers since its publication in 2011. A controversial and famously cyniecal book on the history of human society and culture, Harari’s writings have been subject to both admirant praise and harsh criticism from those who argueContinue reading “Sapiens: A Review + Essay”
Category Archives: Biology
The Younger Dryas – was there civilization in the Ice Age? Part I: Itihasas
We are taught in school that the earliest civilizations rose 6,000 years in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley. However, the mainstream academia has said that the earliest signs of civilization stretch further back to at least 8,000 BCE, or 10,000 years ago. And yet, there are some fringe scientists who disagree, who say (withContinue reading “The Younger Dryas – was there civilization in the Ice Age? Part I: Itihasas”
How “wheat (and other grains) domesticated us”
You read the title right! Wheat, in fact, domesticated us. Well, if you look at it in a certain way. Let me explain. This article was inspired by author Yuval Noah Harari, whose words I have paraphrased here, who proposed a really interesting argument that, while it sounds absurd at first, has a lot ofContinue reading “How “wheat (and other grains) domesticated us””
Us and Them: When we first met our siblings
Homo sapiens evolved in relative isolation in the south of Africa, so when we met our cousins the Neanderthals and Denisovans for the first time, it was quite the shocker. After all, even today we like to discriminate against those who are slightly different from us, and other hominins certainly fit the box of tooContinue reading “Us and Them: When we first met our siblings”
Out of Africa
We aren’t the only human species to have migrated out of Africa. In fact, our cousins have done it already, albeit to a lesser degree. The first time occurred just after the time our ancestors’ brains grew significantly and when we mastered the art of fire and was carried out by a species called HomoContinue reading “Out of Africa”
Australopithecus – before Man
Last time we left off with Ardipithecus ramidus, the first bipedal ape, around 4.4 million years ago. Let’s fast-forward a bit to Ethiopia, 3.3 million years ago, where a 4 foot tall, apelike creature walks the savanna. The Australopithecus afarensis is the most famous species in its genus, known for having one of the mostContinue reading “Australopithecus – before Man”
The Last Common Ancestor
In the last blog post I mentioned Sahelanthropus, who was potentially the first creature more human than ape. That leads us to a question that has had scientists scratching their heads for decades: What was the last common ancestor of us and chimps? Or, put more simply, what was the last species to evolve thatContinue reading “The Last Common Ancestor”
The First Apes and their branches
Humans are arguably the most successful species on the planet, with over 8 billion individuals on every continent on this planet, and by definition that means apes are the most successful family of animals ever. People often confuse “apes” with monkeys. Apes don’t have tails, apes are larger, apes are smarter, etc. However, just likeContinue reading “The First Apes and their branches”
Africa’s New Ocean and why humans are a thing
Yesterday there was a news that scientists are now saying that a new ocean is slowly forming in Africa and in a few thousand years Africa will be completely split in half, changing the shape of the world as we know it. The surprise here, though, is not that our ancestral cradle is being cleavedContinue reading “Africa’s New Ocean and why humans are a thing”
Our first steps Down Under and beyond
Australia is one of the most isolated and weirdest continents that humans have ever settled. Like, literally everything is just programmed to kill you. Name the biggest shark, largest venomous snake, most venomous snake, most venomous marine animal, a kickboxing freak of nature, and then we have koalas. While they look cuddly, a koala’s screamContinue reading “Our first steps Down Under and beyond”
Anay Ganesh 