Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity

(John Hannent) #1

Christian, Maps of Time, chaps. 6, 7; pp. 171–76.


Lewin, Human Evolution.


Deacon, The Symbolic Species.


Pinker, The Language Instinct.


Tomasello, The Cultural Origins.


Wright, Nonzero.



  1. What evidence is there that our species is radically different from
    other hominines?

  2. What is “collective learning,” and why does it give our species such a
    striking ecological advantage?


Essential Reading


Supplementary Reading


Questions to Consider

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