Yuval Noah Harari on History
Part 2
A Brief History of Humankind - Lesson 1.2 - Dr. Yuval Noah Harari
Systems of increasing complexity and their fields
Harari talks about something I’d like to call a ladder of increasing complexity in history; more and more complex systems have been formed.
The major fields of study that make up human science can thus be said to be the study of a particular rung on this ladder:
| Time | Event | Field |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Bya | Big Bang, elementary forces and particles | Physics |
| 300 k years later | Atoms and eventually molecules | Chemistry |
| 4 Bya | Certain molecules formed together and made Life | Biology |
| 70 kya | Homo sapiens formed culture | History |
Revolutions
He also talks about the revolutions of human development and thought:
| Time | Revolution | Happening |
|---|---|---|
| 70 kya | Cognitive | History starts |
| 12 kya | Agricultural | Domesticated animals and plants. Cities established |
| 500 ya | Scientific revolution | Humans started to understand the world correctly |
- Prehistoric humans were like other animals
- Species can reproduce
- Genus are groups for species
- Homo sapiens = genus homo, species sapiens
- Genera are organised in families
- Homo sapiens belong to the Family of Great Apes
|
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- Australopithecus: developed into the first human species
- Homo soloensis: Java island (Solo valley)
- Homo floresiensis: dwarfs; less food => smaller (Flores island)
- Homo ergaster
- Homo erectus: Central Asia, 1.5 Mya → 50 kya
- Homo neanderthalensis: in Europe/Middle East (Neander valley)
- Homo heidelbergensis
- Homo sapiens: 200-300 kya in East-Africa
- Homo densisova
The thought that humans developed in a straight line and that only species existed at a time is false. 100 kya at least 6 species of human existed
Part 3
A Brief History of Humankind - Lesson 1.3 - Dr. Yuval Noah Harari