Tamed: Ten Species that Changed our World

Product Description

Ten species that changed our world... For hundreds of thousands of years, our ancestors depended on wild plants and animals for survival. They were hunter-gatherers, consummate foraging experts, but taking the world as they found it. Then a revolution occurred - our ancestors' interaction with other species changed. They began to tame them. The human population boomed; civilization began. In her new book, Tamed, Alice Roberts uncovers the amazing deep history of ten familiar species with incredible wild pasts- dogs, apples and wheat; cattle; potatoes and chickens; rice, maize, and horses - and, finally, humans. Alice Roberts not only reveals how becoming part of our world changed these animals and plants, but shows how they became our allies, essential to the survival and success of our own species - and to our future. Enlightening, wide-ranging and endlessly fascinating, Tamed is an epic story, encompassing hundreds of thousands of years of history and archaeology alongside cutting-edge genetics and anthropology. Yet it is also a deeply personal journey that will change how we see ourselves and the species on which we have left our mark.Ten species that changed our world... For hundreds of thousands of years, our ancestors depended on wild plants and animals for survival. They were hunter-gatherers, consummate foraging experts, but taking the world as they found it. Then a revolution occurred - our ancestors' interaction with other species changed. They began to tame them. The human population boomed; civilization began. In her new book, Tamed, Alice Roberts uncovers the amazing deep history of ten familiar species with incredible wild pasts- dogs, apples and wheat; cattle; potatoes and chickens; rice, maize, and horses - and, finally, humans. Alice Roberts not only reveals how becoming part of our world changed these animals and plants, but shows how they became our allies, essential to the survival and success of our own species - and to our future. Enlightening, wide-ranging and endlessly fascinating, Tamed is an epic story, encompassing hundreds of thousands of years of history and archaeology alongside cutting-edge genetics and anthropology. Yet it is also a deeply personal journey that will change how we see ourselves and the species on which we have left our mark.
Alice Roberts is an anthropologist and Professor of Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham. She has presented several landmark BBC series including The Incredible Human Journey, Origins of Us, Coast and The Celts. Her latest book, The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being, was shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize in 2015.