Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
by Yuval Noah Harari. One of the best books I have read this decade - brilliant !! Home-sapiens should read this book and understand what kind of creatures we are.
And our relationship with Dogs:
What generalizations can we make about life in the per-agricultural world nevertheless? It seems safe to say that the vast majority of people lived in small bands numbering several dozens or at most several hundred individuals, and that all these individuals were humans. It is important to note this last point, because it is far from obvious. Most members of agriculture and industrial societies are domesticated animals. They are not equal to their masters, of course, but they are members all the same. Today, the society called New Zealand is composed of 4.5 million Sapiens and 50 million sheep.
There was just one exception to this general rule: the dog. The dog was the first animal domesticated by Home Sapiens, and this occurred before the Agriculture Revolution. Experts disagree about the exact date, but we have incontrovertible evidence of domesticated dogs from about 15,000 years ago. They may have joined the human pack thousands of years earlier.
Dogs were used for hunting and fighting, and as an alarm system against wild beasts and human intruders. With the passing of generations, the two species co-evolved to communicate well with each other. Dogs that were most attentive to the needs and feelings of their human companions got extra care and food, were more likely to survive. Simultaneously, dogs learned to manipulate people for their own needs. A 15,000-year bond has yielded a much deeper understanding and affection between humans and dogs than between humans and any other animal. In some cases dead dogs were even buried ceremoniously much like humans.
by Yuval Noah Harari. One of the best books I have read this decade - brilliant !! Home-sapiens should read this book and understand what kind of creatures we are.
"Ever since the Cognitive Revolution, Sapiens have thus been living in a dual reality. On the on hand, the objective reality of rivers, trees and lions; and on the other hand, the imagined reality of gods, nations and corporations. As time went by, the imagined reality became even more powerful, so that today the very survival of rivers, trees and lions depends on the grace of imagined entities such as the United States and Google."
And our relationship with Dogs:
What generalizations can we make about life in the per-agricultural world nevertheless? It seems safe to say that the vast majority of people lived in small bands numbering several dozens or at most several hundred individuals, and that all these individuals were humans. It is important to note this last point, because it is far from obvious. Most members of agriculture and industrial societies are domesticated animals. They are not equal to their masters, of course, but they are members all the same. Today, the society called New Zealand is composed of 4.5 million Sapiens and 50 million sheep.
There was just one exception to this general rule: the dog. The dog was the first animal domesticated by Home Sapiens, and this occurred before the Agriculture Revolution. Experts disagree about the exact date, but we have incontrovertible evidence of domesticated dogs from about 15,000 years ago. They may have joined the human pack thousands of years earlier.
Dogs were used for hunting and fighting, and as an alarm system against wild beasts and human intruders. With the passing of generations, the two species co-evolved to communicate well with each other. Dogs that were most attentive to the needs and feelings of their human companions got extra care and food, were more likely to survive. Simultaneously, dogs learned to manipulate people for their own needs. A 15,000-year bond has yielded a much deeper understanding and affection between humans and dogs than between humans and any other animal. In some cases dead dogs were even buried ceremoniously much like humans.
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