saffron 115n
Visigoths 208
Sparta 117–18
Spice Islands 96, 240, 245, 247, 251
spice trade 112–15, 193, 211, 218, 241, 245, 249, 252
spiders 262
spore-forming plants 78–9
spruce trees 79
squash plants 66, 81, 214n
Sri Lanka (Ceylon) 113, 221, 245n
Staffordshire: coalfields 272
star fossils 138
stars 37, 118n, 148n, 167–8, 169, 224, 227, 240, 252n, 281
steam engines 78, 97, 149, 233, 254, 259–60, 273
steam-powered machinery 148
steamships 107n, 122n, 260
steel 130n, 166–7, 174, 255, 272
step pyramids, Mesoamerican 128
steppes 33, 61, 62, 77, 79, 89, 196–203, 198–9, 204, 208
nomads 200, 204–5, 206, 208, 213–14
stirrups 194
stock market, first 97
Stoke-on-Trent: potteries 149
Stonehenge, England 137
Strabo 111, 228
‘subtropical highs’ 232, 233
Sudbury Basin, Canada 179
Suez, Gulf of 110n
Suez Canal 107n, 120, 121
Suffolk: cottages 152
sugar plantations 222, 252, 253
Sugarloaf Mountain, Rio de Janeiro 147
sulphides 157, 159, 280
sulphur 1, 167, 259
sulphur dioxide 142
Sumatra 111, 112, 114, 115, 119n, 252
Sumerians 71, 131
Sun, the/sunlight 36, 41, 43, 44, 171, 232, 258, 281
Earth’s orbit round 19, 21, 22, 24, 35, 36–9, 37
proto-9, 168
solar wind 169
ultraviolet radiation 142, 170, 172 and n
see also solar energy Sunda Strait 119n, 252
Sundaland 48
sunflowers 214n
supernovae 167
swamp forests 262–3, 265–6, 268, 274
Sweden 286
Syria 163, 285
Tabriz, Iran 30
taiga 79, 195, 196
Taj Mahal, Agra, India 249
Taklamakan Desert 185, 189–90, 191
Tambora, eruption of (1815) 111, 141n
tantalum 175
Tanzania 10, 11, 14
tapirs 83
Tarim Basin, China 185, 189, 204
taro 66
Tasmania 48, 97
Taurus Mountains 74, 163
Teays River 55
tectonic plates 8–10, 11, 12–13, 18, 24, 25, 41, 43, 56, 88, 98–9, 102–3, 106, 111, 135, 145–6, 148n, 159, 160, 161–2, 190–91, 218n, 262, 266, 268
and convergent plate boundary 9
and early civilisations 25–30, 70
Tehran, Iran 29–30
Ternate Island 114
Tethyean limestone 135
Tethys Ocean/Sea 102–3, 103, 104, 104–5, 105, 129, 135, 136, 138, 160, 163, 218n, 267, 274, 276–7, 279, 285
textiles 259, 269; see also cotton; wool Thames, River/Thames Valley 57, 154
thatch-roofed buildings 152
Thebes, Egypt: Luxor Temple 132
Thera (Santorini) 162–3
thermohaline circulation 61–2, 278
Thirty Years War (1618–48) 58
thrust faults 28–30
thyme 115n
Tian Shan Mountains 191, 196
Tibet/Tibetan Plateau 10, 28n, 91–3, 92, 184, 185, 191, 242, 243, 285
Ticino, River 140
Tidore Island 114
Tigris, River 27, 65, 90, 107
timber 73, 79, 130, 255–6
timber-framed houses 152
Timbuktu, Mali 193
tin 158, 164, 175, 267n
tipis 130
Tivoli, Italy: mineral springs 133
Toba, eruption of 111
tobacco 252, 254
toilets, Minoan 161
tomatoes 66, 81
tools 15, 16–17, 22, 24, 137, 140, 156
Acheulean 17, 22
agricultural 76, 165–6, see also ploughs bronze 157–8, 161, 164, 165
iron 165
Oldowan 16–17, 18, 22
steel 166–7
Tordesillas line 247n
Toscanelli, Paolo dal Pozzo 228
Towers of Paine, Chile 147
trade routes 29, 30, 58, 76, 89, 110, 158, 185, 194, 203, 215
maritime 106–11, 108–9, 110, 112, 114–15, 118, 119–21, 194, 216, 218, 232, 247–54
see also Silk Road trade winds 73, 219, 220, 230, 233–4, 235, 237, 238, 243–4, 246, 247, 253
Trafalgar, Battle of (1805) 58, 118
travertine 133
trees/forests 12, 15, 33, 40, 44, 61, 78, 79, 80, 81, 85, 161, 189, 255, 258, 263–4
and coal formation 261–5
coppicing 256, 258, 259
swamp 262–3, 265, 266
see also rainforests; timber Triassic Period 141, 143
Troodos Mountains, Cyprus 160, 163
Trump, President Donald 122, 124
tsunamis 25, 163
tundra 31, 33, 53, 79, 195
tungsten 168
Tunisia 100, 105
Turkey 65, 70, 88
see also Ottoman Turks turkeys 74
Turkmenistan 190, 212
Uffington White Horse, Oxfordshire 137
Uighurs 202
Ukraine 120, 202
Umayyad Caliphate 217
ungulates 12, 82–4, 86–7, 90, 196, 200, 287
see also camels; cattle; hippopotamuses; horses; pigs; rhinoceroses; zebras etc
United Arab Emirates 120
United Nations building, New York 134, 145
United States 55–6, 121, 122, 124–5, 262, 267
architecture 134–5, 136
‘Black Belt’ 125–6
coal industry 279–70
cotton plantations 125, 252, 253–4
elections (2008, 2012, 2016) 122, 123, 124
forests 195
and Hawaii 107n, 222n
Indiana limestone 134–5
and Japan 122n, 222n
population 284
rare earth metals 181
slavery 125–6, 253–4
see also Alaska; North America Ur 71
Ural Mountains 163, 196, 200–1 and n, 267
uranium 168, 181n, 182n
Uruk 71
Uzbekistan 190, 194, 212
Vandals 207, 208
Variscan Orogeny 267
Vega 37
vegetables 66 and n, 69, 78, 81–2, 131
Venezuela 231, 279
Venice 99, 115, 140, 211, 212, 217, 229
Vienna 209
Vietnam 92
Virginia
Pentagon 134
State Capitol 136n
tobacco plantations 254
University Library 136n
Visigoths 207, 208
volcanoes/volcanic activity 8, 9, 12–13, 24, 25, 28, 43, 85–6, 98, 107, 111, 133, 141–2, 162 and n, 172, 173, 221n, 222, 277
Krakatoa 111
Mount Elgon 12
Mount Etna 117
Mount Kenya 12
Mount Kilimanjaro 12
Popocatepetl 28
Potosí (Cerro Rico) 177, 248n
Tambora 111, 141n
Thera 162–3
Vesuvius 162
wagons 76, 77, 200
Wales
coal 266, 272
slate 152–3
warfare 57–8, 76, 98, 101, 116n, 117–18, 119, 122, 124, 126, 184, 200n, 217, 222n, 229, 245, 247n, 248, 254
nomadic tribes 201–3, 204–6, 213
see also gunpowder; weapons Washington, DC
Capitol Building 136n
Hoover Building 136n
National Cathedral 134
Peace Monument 136
Treasury Building 136n
White House 136n
water buffalo 77
W
aterloo, Battle of (1815) 222n
waterwheels 68, 130, 165, 257, 259
wattle and daub 152
Weald–Artois anticline 56, 154
weapons 17, 137, 140, 156, 200n
bronze 116n, 157–8, 164, 165
iron 165, 166
steel 166, 174
West Africa 66, 75, 242
coastline 193, 218, 223, 224, 253
Western Ghats, India 114
Western Steppe 196, 201
whales 83n, 95, 275
wheat 61, 65, 67, 87–8, 117, 184, 214, 215n, 286
White Cliffs of Dover 57, 137, 138, 145
White House, the 136n
Wight, Isle of 137, 221
wigwams 130
wildebeest 33
windmills 68, 96, 130, 257
winds 5, 32, 56, 61, 99, 197, 216, 220, 223n, 232–3
and Coriolis effect 233, 235, 237
easterly trade winds 73, 219, 220, 230, 233–4, 235, 237, 238, 243–4, 246, 247, 253
monsoon 110, 192, 240–44, 243, 251
polar easterly 235, 238
solar 169
southwesterly/westerly 220, 226, 230, 236, 237, 238, 239, 244
wool 76, 77, 88, 90, 115, 201, 255, 259
Wren, Sir Christopher: St Paul’s Cathedral 134
writing/script
Minoan 163n
Phoenician 101n
Sumerian 131
Xiongnu, the 202, 206; see also Huns Y-chromosome Adam 46
yams 66, 82
Yangtze River 28n, 65–6, 91, 184, 187
Yankee Stadium, New York 134
Yellow River/Valley 28n, 63, 65, 73, 90, 91, 184, 187
yew trees 79
Yorkshire 134, 152, 271, 272
Yosemite National Park, USA 147
Younger Dryas Event 61, 62, 64
yttrium 175, 176
Yuan dynasty (China) 91, 210, 212
yurts 130
Zagros Mountains 27, 71, 74, 104, 110
zebras 12, 83, 89
ziggurats 131
zinc 159, 163, 174
zooplankton 275
ALSO BY LEWIS DARTNELL
The Knowledge
If the world as we know it ended tomorrow, how would you survive?
A nuclear war, viral pandemic or asteroid strike. The world as we know it has ended. You and the other survivors must start again. What knowledge would you need to start rebuilding civilisation from scratch?
How do you grow food, generate power, prepare medicines, or get metal out of rocks? Could you avert another Dark Ages, or take shortcuts to accelerate redevelopment? Living in the modern world, we have become disconnected from the basic processes and key fundamentals of science that sustain our lives.
Ingenious and ground-breaking, The Knowledge explains everything you need to know about everything, revolutionising your understanding of the world.
*
‘A glorious compendium of the knowledge we have lost in the living … the most inspiring book I’ve read in a long time’ Independent
‘A terrifically engrossing history of science and technology’ Guardian
http://the-knowledge.org/
@vintagebooks
penguin.co.uk/vintage
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Epub ISBN: 9781473547339
Version 1.0
Thank you for downloading this eBook.
* * *
All the books totally free of charge, if you like to receive our books on the next time, please Subscribe and join our free books group.
Subscribe
Introduction
fn1 Incidentally, the East African Rift was not only the evolutionary cradle and early nursery of humanity, but also the region where I spent my own childhood: attending school in Nairobi and holidays with family around the savannah, lakes and volcanoes of the Rift Valley. It’s these experiences that have given me a lifelong interest in understanding our origins.
1 The Making of Us
fn1 We’ll come back to the planetary event that saw the emergence of primates as a group in Chapter 3.
fn2 Named after The Beatles song ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’, which was played loudly in the excavation camp after her discovery in 1974.
fn3 It’s common when discussing organisms to abbreviate the genus name. So Australopithecus afarensis becomes A. afarensis. The dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex, for example, is most popularly known simply as T. rex.
fn4 Stone Age tools have been found made from materials like quartzite, chert, volcanic obsidian, and flint. These rock types are mainly composed of silica: silicon dioxide. Silica has offered the base material for transformative technologies throughout our history as a species, from stone tools, to glass, to the high-purity silicon wafers of modern computer microchips. In this way, the East African Rift, for over 2 million years the centre of the cutting-edge technology (if you’ll excuse the pun) of stone tool manufacture, was the original Silicon Valley.
fn5 The two main exceptions to this pattern of early civilisations arising on tectonic boundaries were those in Egypt and China. But Egyptian civilisation was supported by the regular flooding of the Nile, depositing fertile sediment eroded out of its headlands in the mountains surrounding the tectonic rift valley in Ethiopia and Rwanda. And Chinese civilisation began in the plain of the Yellow River in the north before spreading south into the valley of the Yangtze river, both of which flow down from the Tibetan plateau thrust up by the continental collision of India and Eurasia. So although not located along a plate margin, both Egyptian and Chinese civilisations still owe their agriculture – and wealth – to recent tectonic features.
2 Continental Drifters
fn1 Currently, summer in the Northern Hemisphere actually falls when the Earth is furthest from the sun in its elliptical orbit.
fn2 As Sarah Palin famously said in 2008, you can actually see Russia from Alaska. Incidentally, Russia owns the western island, Big Diomede, and the US Little Diomede. And because the international date line passes between them, these two tiny islands just a few kilometres away from each other are in time zones a whole day apart.
fn3 The detective work involved in trying to trace the spread of humanity around the globe carries a lot of uncertainty in the timings and exact routes taken, with frequent disagreement between the genetic, fossil and archaeological evidence. I’ve presented the consensus view here, but there are claims for much earlier arrivals of humanity in China, Australia or North America. One recent controversial study, for example, argues that an unidentified hominin species reached California during the preceding ice age, 130,000 years ago.50 What does seem likely, however, is that the exodus of modern humans out of Africa around 60,000 years ago, which gave rise to all people around the world today, was not the first. Fossilised remains in caves in Israel and stone tools found in the Arabian Peninsula suggest earlier migrations around 100,000 years ago,51 but these apparently reached a dead end and didn’t go on to populate the rest of the world.52 It’s almost as if early sparks of humanity blew out of Africa but didn’t catch.
fn4 The Neanderthals weren’t the only species to have been apparently greatly affected by modern humans appearing in their environment. The dispersal of humans into new geographical regions had a profound impact on local ecosystems around the world, and in particular on large animals, known as megafauna. By roughly 12,000 years ago, around a third of the large-bodied mammals in Eurasia, and about two-thirds in North America, had fallen extinct. The most likely cause is the arrival of highly-skilled human hunters, to
which these large herbivores had not been previously exposed. The only continent that kept its complement of large animals was Africa, where for millions of years the megafauna had adapted to hominins while they slowly improved their hunting abilities.54
3 Our Biological Bounty
fn1 In fact, this episode around 11,000 BC is only one of several occasions when Lake Agassiz drained, as meltwaters accumulated again before breaking through the natural dam once more, each time leading to a sudden leap in global sea levels.3
fn2 Indeed, it’s possible that there may have been earlier instances of settling and farming that faltered without leaving any archaeological traces – false starts in the emergence of civilisation. In particular, any settlements on the Ice Age coastal plains would now be lost beneath the waves after the oceans rose again.15
fn3 It is intriguing to realise that, had they not unwittingly been saved by people, several of the plants we domesticated would have fallen extinct. The fruit of the wild ancestors of squash, gourds, pumpkins and courgettes, for example, are all repulsively bitter and encased in a hard rind. They naturally relied on large animals like the mammoth and mastodon to break them open and disperse the seeds within. And so when such large beasts died out, these plants were themselves coasting on borrowed time. But about 10,000 years ago, these species were pulled back from the brink when they formed a symbiotic partnership with a new animal species – humans. We domesticated these plants, provided them with new, artificially maintained habitats in our farms and plantations, and changed them over generations of selective breeding to become larger, softer-skinned and more palatable. Avocado and cocoa are also believed to have originally relied on recently extinct large mammals to spread their seeds, and so were saved by humans who adopted these ghost species and became substitute seed dispersers.29
fn4 The Sumerian cities, fed by the fertile alluvial soil, were also largely built of the river mud beneath their feet, as we’ll see in Chapter 5.
fn5 In the hierarchical system that we developed for classifying different organisms, artiodactyl, perissodactyl and primate are known as different orders. They all fall within the class of mammals (and ultimately the kingdom of the animals), and within them they hold individual species – for example, the cow (Bos taurus).
fn6 Artiodactyls haven’t always been herbivorous. Twenty-five million years ago Archaeotherium, related to the hippo and the whale, roamed North America, and this fanged, cow-sized predator may even have attacked rhinos.