Homo sapiens evolved from the ape Australopithecus about 2.5 million years ago in East Africa. Many other human species evolved in different places, including Homo Neanderthals in colder regions of Eurasia, Homo Erectus in Asia’s tropical belt, and Homo Soloensis in Indonesia and nearby islands. Many additional species may exist in various locations around the world. Homo Sapiens are the only species that now dominates the globe and shares the majority of our DNA.
The tale of their dominance began with the development of their cerebral capacity to reason, also known as the Cognitive Revolution. It contributed to the development of their brains. Initially, Homo Sapiens resided in East Africa and roamed in quest of food and shelter. They were weak in comparison to the huge animals that lived on the African peninsula, therefore they hunted smaller animals to survive. However, things changed once the fire was discovered. Before the advent of fire, Homo Sapiens ate raw meat and fruits; chewing raw food took longer, which may explain why they had larger jaws and intestines than modern humans. Homo sapiens began cooking with fire, and heated food is easier to chew and digest. As a result, their jaws and intestines shrank, and since they spent more time daydreaming, their brain began to enlarge, resulting in an increase in their mental capacity. They began to cooperate more effectively and developed methods for killing larger animals. Sapiens began interacting with one another, utilizing their abilities, increased reasoning, and sign language, which strengthened them against larger creatures. The cognitive revolution made homo sapiens invincible, giving them an advantage over other animals and species. When they came into touch with other animals, there are only two potential theories.
Interbreeding theory: Homo sapiens interbred and mingled with other species.
Extinction theory: sapiens murdered them and only mated with a few of the group’s females.
Whatever the case may be, we all know that the bulk of people share the same DNA as Homosapiens.
Homo sapiens migrated to different regions of Eurasia, including modern-day Russia, as their population grew and they sought sustenance. Wherever they traveled, most species of larger animals became extinct, and the reason for this was because bigger creatures took a long time to give birth and grow, so even if sapiens killed one animal per week, those animals would be extinct. Sapiens traveled from present-day Siberia to present-day Alaska because it was the shortest distance between two megacontinents. When the ice melted in the summer, they proceeded to the Northern Plains of America, then from North America to South America. Wherever Sapiens went, many species of animals became extinct, as Sapiens dominated the majority of Eurasia and North America.
The Emergence of Agriculture.
The next major event in Sapiens’ lives was the emergence of agriculture.
Agriculture began in diverse places of the world along the same belt, with crops such as wheat, rice, and millet growing alongside corn and beans in North America and potatoes in South America. Major locations where these crops were grown were in the same latitudinal band as Turkey, which stretched across America and China.
Why did agriculture begin in these areas?
Pigs, goats, and cattle were the most common farm animals in these locations. Following the 2000-year Agriculture Revolution, Homo Sapiens began producing crops for survival and stopped hunting. Farming is not easy; it takes time and effort. It begins with spreading the seeds and watering the crops on time; following harvest, the crop must be properly kept. This caused sapiens to stop wandering for food and settle on a plot of land, which provided stability and allowed them to expand in number.Initially, when sapiens migrated in search of food and shelter, bearing children was difficult for women, but once they settled, it became easier for women to bear and care for multiple children, and food to feed a larger population became available thanks to agriculture. However, agriculture did not provide sapiens with a comfortable life, but rather made them dependent and vulnerable. Sapiens used to consume raw or cooked meat, fruits, and nuts from woodlands. They used to labor 30 hours a week, but during the agricultural revolution, sapiens got reliant on certain foodstuffs and began working 60 hours weekly. They were previously unconcerned about climatic circumstances, but agriculture rendered them climate sensitive. Additionally, because to a restricted diet and interaction with animals, different diseases began to spread among humans.
Although agriculture had numerous downsides, sapiens couldn’t go back to hunting and gathering since the transition from hunting to agriculture was slow and took many years. Sapiens became accustomed to agriculture and forgot about hunting as a way of survival. Sapiens began planning crops and got concerned if crops were destroyed for various reasons. Sapiens attained evolutionary progress through population growth, but at the individual level, they primarily experienced agony. Sapiens had tiny communities and it was easy for them to cooperate before the agricultural revolution, but the population surged enormously following the agricultural revolution.
So, in order to collaborate in vast numbers, humans evolved imagined reality or mythologies, which entails believing and adhering to things that do not exist, such as religion, god, myth, laws, and religion. God told numerous stories, and it became natural and evident for sapiens to believe in them, facilitating cooperation among sapiens. Homo sapiens were now living in a dual reality objective reality alongside nature, rivers, trees, and animals.Gods, nations, and laws are all examples of imagined reality. Homo sapiens began to place a greater emphasis on imagined reality.
Human population and settlement increased, causing many changes in society. People began fighting for property (land), and an army was formed to resolve and stop such fighting. Someone was appointed as the head of the army, who became ruler or king, and because the army was only meant for fighting, tax collection began to feed the army, and because the population was large, laws were enacted to manage it. Laws began to be enacted, and administration got more sophisticated, resulting in the formation of a social hierarchy. As society progressed, its imagined story got more complicated. Small civilizations grew into megacultures, and empires formed to support megacultures. To build empires, mediums must unite humans from all civilizations. There are three such mediums that continue to unite humans from many cultures:
Money: Regardless of faith or culture, people pursue money. Initially, the barter system was utilized as a medium of exchange, which implies that if one person has apples and another has bread, they can exchange them. However, as society grows in size and the variety of things available increases, the barter system becomes increasingly complex. Money was created to solve this problem. Money became the worldwide medium of exchange. Metal pieces were first used as money, followed by gold and silver coins, and coins with the king’s authority over them; today, government authority in the form of paper is utilized as money.
Empire rulers and their armies ruled over humans from various cultures, forcing them to follow common law. Empires destroyed small cultures and created mega cultures, and for many generations afterward, no one remembered their original culture, and they continued to follow the same mega culture even after empires disintegrated. Before the Arab Muslim Empire, Egypt, Syria, and Iran had distinct local cultures. Arab Muslim dominance began in the 17th century, and all local populations began to adhere to Arab Muslim culture; after the empire disintegrated, people continued to do so till the present day. Second, India was dominated by Britishers for a long time, and they imposed their laws and systems on Indians. Even after their dominion ended in 1947, Indians continue to use English and adhere to the British administration.
Religion: After the agricultural revolution, when humans settled, they became reliant on climate for sustenance, which is why, when disasters or diseases struck, people began praying to imaginary gods. Initially, these gods were local and nature-related, such as the rain deity and the fertility god. As society progressed, the number of gods increased, resulting in the development of polytheism in society. Monotheism, or belief in one god, developed from polytheism, giving rise to Christianity and Islam, both of which are monotheistic religions with followers who enjoy spreading and propagating their religion. Buddhism and Jainism, which emerged in the fifth century BC, were based on natural rules rather than gods.
The question is, if religion is an imagined phenomenon, why do people believe in it?
Religion has lost its power to shape ideas and beliefs in today’s global environment due to two key causes. For starters, religion gets authority from supernatural forces, which does not always align with modern scientific and reasonable thinking. Second, while individuals are naturally inclined to believe and cooperate, global world ideologies like as capitalism, communism, and nationalism have emerged in place of religion, giving a common ground for people to connect and collaborate. For example, when watching a cricket or football match, individuals celebrate goals with strangers since they all represent the same country. For many years, people thought whatever was in religion was right, and they didn’t need to study anything else. However, this changed after the 16th and 17th centuries, when Europe emerged as the epicenter of the scientific revolution. Capitalists sponsored Europeans’ recognition of their ignorance and the urge to investigate farther. This resulted in the development of a simple research approach that included observing, formulating hypotheses, creating experiments to test them, carrying out tests, analysing outcomes, and making conclusions. This method contributed to the growth of scientific knowledge and discoveries that challenged religious beliefs. Newton utilized this method to derive the Laws of Motion. That which could not be calculated precisely was stated in terms of probability. Actuarial science, which is utilized in the insurance industry to calculate premiums, is based on statistical and probability theory.
Why did Europeans have an advantage over others?
Sailors in Europe began seeking expedition sponsors due to their intense desire to explore the unknown. Columbus, a small-time sailor, requested assistance in his search for a new continent, and the monarchs of Spain agreed to subsidize his trips. Columbus discovered the American continent during his journey, and Spain grew wealthy from the raw products of America; hence, the expedition and sailing idea became popular. Along with rulers, the ordinary man began supporting such voyages through joint stock exchanges. These expeditions propelled Europeans to global dominance. It was not because Asian or Chinese monarchs lacked expedition technology, but Asian rulers were not interested in learning about other areas, and they did not have the same thirst for knowledge as Europeans, therefore they were left behind in exploring and dominating the world.
Impact of the Industrial Revolution in Society
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, humanity used wood for energy and heat. Coal became a fuel after a while. The development of steam engines, which transformed heat energy into motion, ushered in mechanized production of commodities. The Industrial Revolution established the timeline for our current society. During IR, several factories were established, and lakhs of people began to work in them. The concept of a 9-to-5 employment originated during the Industrial Revolution. People used public transportation to get to work every day. Because of the increase in the number of items, a new concern arose: who would buy so many goods? Many people were low-wage workers. Humans evolved another notion order to overcome this problem, which was the concept of credit. This indicates that even if you don’t have money today, you can pay later.
The consumerism philosophy was created to persuade consumers to purchase items on credit. Innovative marketing strategies affected people’s psyche for fashion. Because things are shared in joint families, the joint family structure contradicted the consumerism ethic. People used to seek advice from family members before purchasing something. The state has taken over the role of joint family; formerly, local communities were responsible for human health, security, and educational needs. People can survive anyplace if they leave their joint family since the state has established public schools, hospitals for their health, and police for their safety. Emotional advertising began to influence humans, breaking down family structures into nuclear families.
Are humans satisfied after making such significant progress?
Today, we have advanced communication tools, but we are emotionally isolated. Humans are naturally wanderers. We are shackled to a system that contradicts our basic nature; until now, our evolution has been natural, but future technologies such as AI have the potential to disrupt our evolution process and transform humans into superhumans; nonetheless, humans must consider whether such technologies would bring them happiness. Having originated in Africa, we now watch videos on our mobile devices and PCs. But the real question is, are homo sapiens happy?