Masters of the Planet
The Search for Our Human Origins
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Masters of the Planet
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Narrated by:
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Bob Souer
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By:
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Ian Tattersall
About this listen
Fifty thousand years ago - merely a blip in evolutionary time - our Homo sapiens ancestors were competing for existence with several other human species, just as their precursors had done for millions of years. Yet something about our species distinguished it from the pack, and ultimately led to its survival while the rest became extinct. Just what was it that allowed Homo sapiens to become masters of the planet? Ian Tattersall, curator emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History, takes us deep into the fossil record to uncover what made humans so special. Surveying a vast field from initial bipedality to language and intelligence, Tattersall argues that Homo sapiens acquired a winning combination of traits that was not the result of long-term evolutionary refinement. Instead, the final result emerged quickly, shocking our world and changing it forever.
©2012 Ian Tattersall (P)2019 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Masters of the Planet
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gidlabu
- 01-03-24
An intelligent and well-reasoned history
Fascinating, intelligent and well-reasoned history of hominid to human evolution. Educational and enjoyable. Highly recommended to anybody with an interest in paleo anthropology.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Paul
- 17-11-20
Decent exploration, unbalanced
The first half of the book is way too long, the second half, which would be more interesting a topic, and true to the books title, is rushed.
A huge amount of time is spend on our earliest ancestors. Digressions occur on the specifics of how rocks and fossils are dated etc, which don't help the overall purpose of the book. By the time discussion has moved to the Neanderthals, it has become a hurried affair. Neanderthal interbreeding with Homosapiens is brushed off with "well Ligers in South Carolina". It would be better to steelman other perspectives in paleoanthropology, and then challenge them, than to dismiss them off-hand.
Our acquisition of language, is the most fascinating topic, but only delved into in the last few chapters. The last 2 or 3 chapters read like a promising introduction to a book rather than the closing of a seminal publication. The narration speed is too fast, but that can be reduced in the player. The sentences are often long winded, something only exacerbated by the monotone narration.
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1 person found this helpful