Abstract:

One hundred thousand years ago, Homo sapiens was one of at least six species of humans living on this planet, an unremarkable animal that played no greater role in the ecosystem than gorillas, fireflies or jellyfish. But about seventy thousand years ago, the mysterious change in the cognitive abilities of Homo sapiens turned him into the master of the planet and the nightmare of the ecosystem. How did a man of intelligence manage to conquer the world? What happened to other human species? When and why did the money, state and religion appear? How did empires arise and collapse? Why almost all societies put women below men? How did science and capitalism become the dominant creeds of the modern era? Have people become happier over time? What future awaits us?

Keywords: Yuval Noah Harari Sapiens A Brief History of Humankind Copyright © Yuval Noah Harari 2011