When
we talk about human history, we focus on great leaders, mass migration
and decisive wars. But how has the Earth itself determined our destiny?
How has our planet made us?
As
a species we are shaped by our environment. Geological forces drove our
evolution in East Africa; mountainous terrain led to the development of
democracy in Greece; and today voting behaviour in the United States
follows the bed of an ancient sea. The human story is the story of these
forces, from plate tectonics and climate change, to atmospheric
circulation and ocean currents.
How are the Himalayas linked to
the orbit of the Earth, and to the formation of the British Isles? By
taking us billions of years into our planet’s past, Professor Lewis
Dartnell tells us the ultimate origin story. When we reach the point
where history becomes science we see a vast web of connections that
underwrites our modern world and helps us face the challenges of the
future.
From the cultivation of the first crops to the founding of modern states, Origins reveals the Earth’s awesome impact on the shape of human civilizations.
