Deep History

Humans have always been interested in their origins, but historians have been reluctant to write about the long stretches of time before the invention of writing. In fact, the deep past was left out of most historical writing almost as soon as it was discovered. This breakthrough book, as important for readers interested in the present as in the past,brings science into history to offer a dazzling new vision of humanity across time. Team-written by leading experts in a variety of fields, it maps events, cultures, and eras across millions of years to present a new scale for understanding the human body, energy and ecosystems, language, food, kinship, migration, and more. Combining cutting-edge social and evolutionary theory with the latest discoveries about human genes, brains, and material cultureDeep History invites scholars and general readers alike to explore the dynamic of connectedness that spans all of human history.

With Timothy Earle, Gillian Feeley-Harnik, Felipe Fernández-Armesto, Clive Gamble, April McMahon, John C. Mitani, Hendrik Poinar, Mary C. Stiner, and Thomas R. Trautmann

Humans have always been interested in their origins, but historians have been reluctant to write about the long stretches of time before the invention of writing. In fact, the deep past was left out of most historical writing almost as soon as it was discovered. This breakthrough book, as important for readers interested in the present as in the past,brings science into history to offer a dazzling new vision of humanity across time. Team-written by leading experts in a variety of fields, it maps events, cultures, and eras across millions of years to present a new scale for understanding the human body, energy and ecosystems, language, food, kinship, migration, and more. Combining cutting-edge social and evolutionary theory with the latest discoveries about human genes, brains, and material cultureDeep History invites scholars and general readers alike to explore the dynamic of connectedness that spans all of human history.

With Timothy Earle, Gillian Feeley-Harnik, Felipe Fernández-Armesto, Clive Gamble, April McMahon, John C. Mitani, Hendrik Poinar, Mary C. Stiner, and Thomas R. Trautmann

List of Figures
Preface
A Note on Dates
PART ONE. PROBLEMS AND ORIENTATIONS
1. Introduction
Andrew Shryock and Daniel Lord Smail
2. Imagining the Human in Deep Time
Andrew Shryock, Thomas R. Trautmann, and Clive Gamble
PART TWO. FRAMES FOR HISTORY IN DEEP TIME
3. Body
Daniel Lord Smail and Andrew Shryock
4. Energy and Ecosystems
Mary C. Stiner and Gillian Feeley-Harnik
5. Language
April McMahon, Thomas R. Trautmann, and Andrew Shryock
PART THREE. SHARED SUBSTANCE
6. Food
Felipe Fernández-Armesto with Daniel Lord Smail
7. Deep Kinship
Thomas R. Trautmann, Gillian Feeley-Harnik, and John C. Mitani
PART FOUR. HUMAN EXPANSION
8. Migration
Timothy Earle and Clive Gamble with Hendrik Poinar
9. Goods
Daniel Lord Smail, Mary C. Stiner, and Timothy Earle
10. Scale
Mary C. Stiner, Timothy Earle, Daniel Lord Smail, and Andrew Shryock
Notes
Bibliography
Contributors
Index