Sapiens: a brief History of Humankind

Homo sapiens
, the last human species.
What was the Sapiens’ secret of success? How did we manage to settle so
rapidly in so many distant and ecologically di erent habitats? How did we push
all other human species into oblivion? Why couldn’t even the strong, brainy, cold-
proof Neanderthals survive our onslaught? The debate continues to rage. The most
likely answer is the very thing that makes the debate possible: 
Homo sapiens
conquered the world thanks above all to its unique language.

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2
The Tree of Knowledge
IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER WE SAW THAT although Sapiens had already
populated East Africa 150,000 years ago, they began to overrun the rest of planet
Earth and drive the other human species to extinction only about 70,000 years
ago. In the intervening millennia, even though these archaic Sapiens looked just
like us and their brains were as big as ours, they did not enjoy any marked
advantage over other human species, did not produce particularly sophisticated
tools, and did not accomplish any other special feats.
In fact, in the rst recorded encounter between Sapiens and Neanderthals, the
Neanderthals won. About 100,000 years ago, some Sapiens groups migrated north
to the Levant, which was Neanderthal territory, but failed to secure a rm footing.
It might have been due to nasty natives, an inclement climate, or unfamiliar local
parasites. Whatever the reason, the Sapiens eventually retreated, leaving the
Neanderthals as masters of the Middle East.
This poor record of achievement has led scholars to speculate that the internal
structure of the brains of these Sapiens was probably di erent from ours. They
looked like us, but their cognitive abilities – learning, remembering,
communicating – were far more limited. Teaching such an ancient Sapiens
English, persuading him of the truth of Christian dogma, or getting him to
understand the theory of evolution would probably have been hopeless
undertakings. Conversely, we would have had a very hard time learning his
language and understanding his way of thinking.
But then, beginning about 70,000 years ago, 
Homo sapiens
started doing very
special things. Around that date Sapiens bands left Africa for a second time. This
time they drove the Neanderthals and all other human species not only from the
Middle East, but from the face of the earth. Within a remarkably short period,
Sapiens reached Europe and East Asia. About 45,000 years ago, they somehow
crossed the open sea and landed in Australia – a continent hitherto untouched by
humans. The period from about 70,000 years ago to about 30,000 years ago
witnessed the invention of boats, oil lamps, bows and arrows and needles
(essential for sewing warm clothing). The rst objects that can reliably be called
art date from this era (see the Stadel lion-man on 
this page
), as does the rst clear

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evidence for religion, commerce and social stratification.
Most researchers believe that these unprecedented accomplishments were the
product of a revolution in Sapiens’ cognitive abilities. They maintain that the
people who drove the Neanderthals to extinction, settled Australia, and carved the
Stadel lion-man were as intelligent, creative and sensitive as we are. If we were to
come across the artists of the Stadel Cave, we could learn their language and they
ours. We’d be able to explain to them everything we know – from the adventures
of Alice in Wonderland to the paradoxes of quantum physics – and they could
teach us how their people view the world.
The appearance of new ways of thinking and communicating, between 70,000
and 30,000 years ago, constitutes the Cognitive Revolution. What caused it? We’re
not sure. The most commonly believed theory argues that accidental genetic
mutations changed the inner wiring of the brains of Sapiens, enabling them to
think in unprecedented ways and to communicate using an altogether new type of
language. We might call it the Tree of Knowledge mutation. Why did it occur in
Sapiens DNA rather than in that of Neanderthals? It was a matter of pure chance,
as far as we can tell. But it’s more important to understand the consequences of
the Tree of Knowledge mutation than its causes. What was so special about the
new Sapiens language that it enabled us to conquer the world?
*
It was not the rst language. Every animal has some kind of language. Even
insects, such as bees and ants, know how to communicate in sophisticated ways,
informing one another of the whereabouts of food. Neither was it the rst vocal
language. Many animals, including all ape and monkey species, have vocal
languages. For example, green monkeys use calls of various kinds to
communicate. Zoologists have identi ed one call that means, ‘Careful! An eagle!’
A slightly di erent call warns, ‘Careful! A lion!’ When researchers played a
recording of the rst call to a group of monkeys, the monkeys stopped what they
were doing and looked upwards in fear. When the same group heard a recording
of the second call, the lion warning, they quickly scrambled up a tree. Sapiens can
produce many more distinct sounds than green monkeys, but whales and
elephants have equally impressive abilities. A parrot can say anything Albert
Einstein could say, as well as mimicking the sounds of phones ringing, doors
slamming and sirens wailing. Whatever advantage Einstein had over a parrot, it
wasn’t vocal. What, then, is so special about our language?
The most common answer is that our language is amazingly supple. We can
connect a limited number of sounds and signs to produce an in nite number of
sentences, each with a distinct meaning. We can thereby ingest, store and
communicate a prodigious amount of information about the surrounding world. A
green monkey can yell to its comrades, ‘Careful! A lion!’ But a modern human can
tell her friends that this morning, near the bend in the river, she saw a lion

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tracking a herd of bison. She can then describe the exact location, including the
di erent paths leading to the area. With this information, the members of her
band can put their heads together and discuss whether they ought to approach the
river in order to chase away the lion and hunt the bison.
A second theory agrees that our unique language evolved as a means of sharing
information about the world. But the most important information that needed to
be conveyed was about humans, not about lions and bison. Our language evolved
as a way of gossiping. According to this theory 
Homo sapiens
is primarily a social
animal. Social cooperation is our key for survival and reproduction. It is not
enough for individual men and women to know the whereabouts of lions and
bison. It’s much more important for them to know who in their band hates whom,
who is sleeping with whom, who is honest, and who is a cheat.