Chapter 1 of 10All chapters
Chapter 1 of 10
Before writing
Most of the human story.
Foragers
Anatomically modern humans spread out of Africa and across the world over tens of thousands of years, living in small mobile groups. This period covers the overwhelming majority of human existence.
- Evidence comes from bones, tools, art and increasingly from ancient DNA.
- Populations mixed repeatedly; simple migration stories keep being revised.
The agricultural turn
From around twelve thousand years ago, farming began independently in the Fertile Crescent, China, Mesoamerica and elsewhere. It supported far more people per hectare, at the cost of harder work and new diseases.