Big History

FOREWORD BY DAVID CHRISTIAN
Lead Senior Editor Helen Fewster Managing Jackets Editor (Delhi) Saloni Singh
Senior Editors Peter Frances, Dr Rob Houston Producer, pre-production Jacqueline Street-Elkayam
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Editor Kaiya Shang Publisher Liz Wheeler
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Cartography Ron and Dee Blakey, Ed Merritt, Illustrators
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A WORLD OF IDEAS: SEE ALL THERE IS TO KNOW

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Big History Institute Consultants Contributors

David Christian, Director, Big History Institute Introduction – Elise Bohan
Professor David Christian (DPhil Oxford) is the founder of Big History. David is a Threshold 1 – Robert Dinwiddie
Distinguished Professor at Macquarie University, co-founder with Bill Gates of the Threshold 2 – Jack Challoner
Big History Project, presenter of one of the 11 classic TED Talks with over 6 million Thresholds 3 and 4 – Colin Stuart
views, and instructor in the world’s first Big History MOOC on COURSERA®. Threshold 5 – Derek Harvey
Macquarie University was founded with a unique David has given hundreds of presentations internationally, including Davos World Threshold 6 – Rebecca Wragg-Sykes
purpose: to bring minds together unhindered by Economic Forum in 2012, 2014, and 2015. He is a member of the Australian Threshold 7 – Peter Chrisp
tradition. Created to challenge the education Academy of the Humanities and the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Threshold 8 – Ben Hubbard
establishment, Macquarie has a rich track record Humanities, and a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Global History
of innovation – Big History is such an innovation. and The Cambridge World History.
The Big History Institute builds upon the pioneering
role that Macquarie University has played in the Andrew McKenna, Executive Director, Big History Institute
evolution of the new field of Big History. It brings Andrew McKenna (BCom LLB UNSW, MIntRel Macquarie) coordinates Big History
together a community of scholars and students as an integrated initiative encompassing research, teaching, and outreach. Andrew
from both the sciences and the humanities who leads the strategic growth and development of the Big History Institute globally.
pursue research questions across disciplinary
boundaries and discover new ways of thinking. Tracy Sullivan, Education Leader, Big History Institute
The Big History Institute is also a global hub for Tracy Sullivan (BA GradDipEd UWS, MA Macquarie) was on the curriculum
educators, members of the public, and partners development team for Big History Project, and oversees implementation in
from the research, government, non-profit, and Australian schools. Tracy coordinates educational initiatives to support the
business sectors. growth and development of Big History globally.
CONTENTS
8 FOREWORD BY DAVID CHRISTIAN
10 INTRODUCTION
1 THE BIG BANG

16 GOLDILOCKS CONDITIONS 28 THE ATOM AND THE UNIVERSE
18 ORIGIN STORIES 30 THE UNIVERSE GETS BIGGER
20 THE NEBRA SKY DISC 32 THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE
22 ASTRONOMY BEGINS 34 THE BIG BANG
24 EARTH ORBITS THE SUN 36 RE-CREATING THE BIG BANG
26 SEEING THE LIGHT 38 BEYOND THE BIG BANG
2 STARS ARE BORN

42 GOLDILOCKS CONDITIONS
44 THE FIRST STARS
46 THE PUZZLE OF GRAVITY
48 THE FIRST GALAXIES
50 HUBBLE EXTREME DEEP FIELD
3 ELEMENTS ARE FORGED

54 GOLDILOCKS CONDITIONS
56 THE LIFE CYCLE OF A STAR
58 HOW NEW ELEMENTS FORM INSIDE STARS
60 WHEN GIANT STARS EXPLODE
62 MAKING SENSE OF THE ELEMENTS
4 PLANETS FORM
66 GOLDILOCKS CONDITIONS 78 EARTH COOLS 90 CONTINENTS DRIFT
68 OUR SUN IGNITES 80 EARTH SETTLES INTO LAYERS 92 HOW EARTH’S CRUST MOVES
70 THE PLANETS FORM 82 THE MOON’S ROLE 94 OCEAN FLOOR
72 THE IMILAC METEORITE 84 THE CONTINENTS ARE BORN
74 THE SUN TAKES CONTROL 86 DATING EARTH
76 HOW WE FIND SOLAR SYSTEMS 88 ZIRCON CRYSTAL
5 LIFE EMERGES
98 GOLDILOCKS CONDITIONS 114 LIFE DISCOVERS SUNLIGHT 130 ANIMALS GAIN A BACKBONE
100 STORY OF LIFE 116 OXYGEN FILLS THE AIR 132 RISE OF THE VERTEBRATES
102 LIFE’S INGREDIENTS FORM 118 COMPLEX CELLS EVOLVE 134 JAWS CREATE TOP PREDATORS
104 THE GENETIC CODE 120 SEX MIXES GENES 136 PLANTS MOVE ONTO LAND
106 LIFE BEGINS 122 CELLS BEGIN TO BUILD BODIES 138 WENLOCK LIMESTONE
108 HOW LIFE EVOLVES 124 MALES AND FEMALES DIVERGE 140 ANIMALS INVADE LAND
110 HISTORY OF EVOLUTION 126 ANIMALS GET A BRAIN 142 REINVENTING THE WING
112 MICROBES APPEAR 128 ANIMAL LIFE EXPLODES 144 THE FIRST SEEDS
6 HUMANS EVOLVE
180 GOLDILOCKS CONDITIONS 196 ANCIENT DNA 214 THE INVENTION OF CLOTHING
182 THE PRIMATE FAMILY 198 THE FIRST HOMO SAPIENS 216 HUMANS HARNESS FIRE
184 HOMININS EVOLVE 200 BRINGING UP BABIES 218 BURIAL PRACTICES
186 APES BEGIN TO WALK UPRIGHT 202 HOW LANGUAGE EVOLVED 220 HUMANS BECOME DOMINANT
188 GROWING A LARGER BRAIN 204 COLLECTIVE LEARNING
190 THE NEANDERTHALS 206 THE BIRTH OF CREATIVITY
192 KEBRA NEANDERTHAL 210 HUNTER-GATHERERS EMERGE
194 EARLY HUMANS DISPERSE 212 PALAEOLITHIC ART
7 CIVILIZATIONS DEVELOP
224 GOLDILOCKS CONDITIONS 238 POLLEN GRAINS 252 POPULATION STARTS TO RISE
226 CLIMATE CHANGES 240 FARMERS DOMESTICATE 254 THE FENTON VASE
THE LANDSCAPE ANIMALS 256 EARLY SETTLEMENTS
228 FORAGERS BECOME FARMERS 242 FARMING SPREADS 258 SOCIETY GETS ORGANIZED
230 AFFLUENT FORAGERS 244 MEASURING TIME 260 RULERS EMERGE
232 HUNTERS BEGIN TO GROW FOOD 246 NEW USES FOR ANIMALS 262 LAW, ORDER, AND JUSTICE
234 FARMING BEGINS 248 INNOVATIONS INCREASE YIELDS 264 THE WRITTEN WORD
236 WILD PLANTS BECOME CROPS 250 SURPLUS BECOMES POWER 266 WRITING DEVELOPS
8 INDUSTRY RISES
302 GOLDILOCKS CONDITIONS 316 CONSUMERISM TAKES OFF 332 EDUCATION EXPANDS
304 THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 318 EQUALITY AND FREEDOM 334 MEDICAL ADVANCES
306 COAL FUELS INDUSTRY 320 NATIONALISM EMERGES 336 ROAD TO GLOBALIZATION
308 STEAM POWER DRIVES CHANGE 322 THE INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY 338 ENGINES SHRINK THE WORLD
310 THE PROCESS OF 324 THE WORLD OPENS TO TRADE 340 NEWS TRAVELS FASTER
INDUSTRIALIZATION 326 WAR DRIVES INNOVATION 342 SOCIAL NETWORKS EXPAND
312 INDUSTRY GOES GLOBAL 328 COLONIAL EMPIRES GROW 344 GROWTH AND CONSUMPTION
314 GOVERNMENTS EVOLVE 330 SOCIETY TRANSFORMS 346 FINDING THE ENERGY
146 SHELLED EGGS ARE BORN 160 THE PLANET BLOSSOMS 174 ICE CORES
148 HOW COAL FORMED 162 MASS EXTINCTIONS 176 EARTH FREEZES
150 LIZARD IN AMBER 164 PLANTS RECRUIT INSECTS
152 THE LAND DRIES OUT 166 THE RISE OF MAMMALS
154 REPTILES DIVERSIFY 168 GRASSLANDS ADVANCE
156 BIRDS TAKE TO THE AIR 170 EVOLUTION TRANSFORMS LIFE
158 CONTINENTS SHIFT 172 HOW WE CLASSIFY LIFE
AND LIFE DIVIDES
268 WATERING THE DESERT 282 ÖTZI THE ICEMAN 296 EAST MEETS WEST
270 CITY STATES EMERGE 284 CONFLICT LEADS TO WAR 298 TRADE GOES GLOBAL
272 FARMING IMPACTS THE 286 AGE OF EMPIRES
ENVIRONMENT 288 HOW EMPIRES RISE AND FALL
274 BELIEF SYSTEMS 290 MAKING MONEY
276 GRAVE GOODS 292 UNHEALTHY DEVELOPMENTS
278 CLOTHING SHOWS STATUS 294 TRADE NETWORKS DEVELOP
280 USING METALS
348 NUCLEAR OPTIONS

350 ENTERING THE ANTHROPOCENE
352 CLIMATE CHANGE
354 ELEMENTS UNDER THREAT
356 THE QUEST FOR SUSTAINABILITY
358 WHERE NEXT?
360 INDEX AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
FOREWORD
I vividly remember a globe map of the world sitting in a Today, more and more schools and universities are
classroom when I was a child. I also remember a geography teaching Big History, and it’s a story we all need to know.
class, taught in a school in Somerset in England, where we In the book you are holding in your hands, you will find
learnt how to draw sections through the earth, showing the a beautifully illustrated account of this story, a sort of
various layers of soil beneath our feet, and how they globe in words and pictures that links knowledge from
connected to other parts of England. For me, the most many different disciplines. Big History shows how our
exciting thing in school was always the sudden connections, world developed, threshold by threshold, from a very
realizing that layers of chalk beneath our feet were made simple early Universe, to the emergence of stars and
from the remains of billions of tiny organisms – called chemistry, and on to a cosmos that contained places
coccolithophores – that had lived millions of years ago, and like our earth on which life itself could emerge.
that the same remains could also be found in layers of chalk
in other parts of England and other countries much further And you’ll also see the strange role played by our own
away. What was Somerset like when the coccolithophores species, humans, in this huge story. We appear at the
were alive? For that matter, where was Somerset back then? very end of the story, but our impact has been so colossal
That’s a question I couldn’t even ask when I was at school that we are beginning to change the planet. We have done
because at that time scientists didn’t know for sure that the something else that is perhaps even more astonishing: from
continents moved around the surface of the earth. our tiny vantage point in the vast Universe, we have figured
out how that universe was created, how it evolved, and how
For me, the globe in the corner of my classroom was a key it became as it is today. That is an amazing achievement,
to all this knowledge. It helped me see the place of Somerset and in this book you will explore the discoveries that
in Britain, of Britain in Europe – so that’s where the Vikings allowed us to piece together this story. This is the world
came from! – and of Europe in the world. Big History is like globe that we need today, early in the 21st century, as
the globe, but it’s much bigger: it includes all the observable we try to manage the huge challenges of maintaining
universe and all observable time, so it reaches back in time our beautiful planet and keeping it in good condition
for 13.8 billion years to the astonishing moment of the Big for those who will come after us.
Bang, when an entire Universe was smaller than an atom.
Big History includes the story of stars and galaxies, of new
elements from carbon – the magical molecule that made life
possible – to uranium, whose radioactivity enabled us not
just to make bombs, but also to figure out when our earth DAVID CHRISTIAN
was formed. It is like a map of all of space and time. And FOUNDER OF BIG HISTORY
once you start exploring that map, you will be able,
eventually, to say: “So that’s what I’m a tiny part of! That’s DIRECTOR, BIG HISTORY INSTITUTE
my place in the grand scheme of things! So what’s next?” CO-FOUNDER OF THE BIG HISTORY PROJECT
Big History provides a framework for understanding literally all of history, ever,
from the Big Bang to the present day. So often subjects in science and history are
taught one at a time – physics in one class, the rise of civilization in another – but
Big History breaks down those barriers. Today, whenever I learn something new
about biology or history or just about any other subject, I try to fit it into the
framework I got from Big History. No other course has had as big an impact
on how I think about the world.
BILL GATES, WWW.GATESNOTES.COM

CO-FOUNDER OF THE BIG HISTORY PROJECT
WHAT IS
BIG
HISTORY?
BIG HISTORY IS THE STORY OF cosmos? Throw a dart at any point in
the history of the Universe and it will
land on a page of the Big History story.
HOW YOU AND I CAME TO BE. No matter how obscure this page, or
how far removed it may seem from the
world we know, it will invariably
It is a modern origin story for a modern describe a fragment of this grand
age. This grand evolutionary epic rouses scientific narrative, in which all events
our curiosity, confronts our ingrained and all chapters are connected.
intuitions, and marries science, reason In this volume we traverse the stars,
and empiricism with vivid and dynamic the galaxies, the cells inside your body,
storytelling. Best of all, Big History and the complex interactions between all
provides the scope and scientific living and non-living things. We stretch
foundations to help us ponder some of our minds to the limits of human
the most exciting and enduring questions understanding in order to see reality
about life, the Universe, and everything. from many angles, and on many scales.
These universally compelling What is truly remarkable about looking
questions include: How did life on Earth at the world from such an expansive
evolve? What makes humans unique? perspective is that we begin to engage
Are we alone in the Universe? Why do with many facets of the natural world
we look and think and behave the way that we often miss, or take for granted.
we do? And what does the future hold How often do we think about the fact
for our species, our planet and the that every atom inside each of our
HOW OFTEN DO WE naked eye. It is also important to
remember that Big History is not a static
THINK ABOUT THE tale that proclaims how things are and
will be for all time. It is a provisional
FACT THAT EVERY
narrative that is constantly being updated
ATOM INSIDE EACH as our knowledge about the natural world
grows, and as our needs as a species evolve.
OF OUR BODIES WAS From a cosmic perspective, we see
MADE INSIDE A that humans are a novel species that
appear on the scene very late in this
DYING STAR? evolutionary history. We were not there
at the beginning, and we are almost
bodies was made inside a dying star? certainly not the species with whom the
Or that ancient celestial implosions gave evolutionary buck stops. Yet Big History is
rise to the kinds of chemistry that makes still very much a human story, written by
life possible? How frequently do we humans, for humans. At a certain point in
zoom out far enough in our historical this tale we choose to focus on our species
musings to see connections that and our corner of the galaxy, because
transcend the actions of kings, armies, from our point of view, this is where the
politicians, and peasants? action and the meaning is.
Our minds do not instinctively follow In the grand scheme of space and time,
the threads of our evolutionary history humanity may seem like little more than a
to the point where all national, tribal, cosmic footnote. But when we look closely
and species boundaries fall away. But at our blue planet we see that our species
when we allow ourselves to explore is responsible for some very remarkable
beyond these domains we come face things, which no other species has
to face with a single family tree, which achieved in the 3–4 billion years that life
shows that every one of us shares a has existed on Earth. As far as we know,
common ancestor with every living Homo sapiens is the first and only species to
organism on the planet: from worms, represent the Universe becoming self-
to fish, to reptiles, to chimpanzees, to aware. Humans are now the dominant
a bird singing on the other side of the force altering the planetary biosphere,
world, and the strangers who sleep and we have kicked the pace of terrestrial
through its refrain. evolution into a dramatic new gear.
BIG HISTORY HELPS US TO QUESTION EVERYTHING

WE SEE, AND EVERYTHING WE THINK WE KNOW.
Big History helps us question everything As you explore this remarkable our accumulated knowledge and
we see, and everything we think we know. narrative, you will discover that our experiences to new generations via
In the process, we discover that the species has been so successful in DNA, we have developed the means
Universe is far stranger than we often expanding and colonising the globe, in to transmit this information culturally.
imagine, and that the shape of history large part because of our capacity for Such a radical innovation in information
is moulded by forces that are often what big historians call collective sharing was made possible by the
surprising, and hard to see with the learning. Although we cannot impart human invention of symbolic language.
At first this meant sharing ideas through WITH THE ABILITY TO BUILD UPON
the oral tradition. But eventually we
developed writing, which reduced the EXISTING INFORMATION OVER MANY
error rate in the transmission of
GENERATIONS, HUMANS LEARNED
information and left humans in
possession of a tool resembling a crude EVER FASTER, AND KNOWLEDGE AND
external hard drive. For the first time we
could store large bodies of information
INNOVATION PROLIFERATED.
without having to use the limited
memory capacity of our brains. giant evolutionary leap in a relatively technological arms race leave us
With the ability to build upon existing short period of time. We have liberated or enslaved? And how long
information over many generations, transitioned from our initial role as will most of us continue to exist as fully
humans learned ever faster, and one of evolution’s many simple players, biological beings, unenhanced by
knowledge and innovation proliferated. to a fledgling director engaged in the technological modifications?
While many civilizations collapsed and task of consciously shaping the trajectory These are the kinds of questions
some discoveries were lost for centuries, of evolution on Earth. While this is a that the Big History story prompts us
the overall trend was a feedback loop very exciting role, it also presents to consider. There is no doubt that in
of accelerating cultural change: the immense challenges. terms of its scope, content, and method,
invention of ever faster and more It is sobering to look back at our Big History is a truly modern story, fit
accurate methods of information extensive family tree and recall that for the needs of a modern age.
sharing generated rapid bursts of 99 per cent of species that have ever Like all origin stories of previous ages,
innovation, and vice versa. lived are now extinct. In light of this, this narrative is designed to help orient
While the oral tradition persisted it is natural and beneficial to consider us with where we come from, what we
for tens of thousands of years, it only whether our species will be able to live are, and where we might be going. But
took a few hundred years for humans sustainably and prosperously for many unlike ancient origin stories that were
to transition from the age of the years into the future. And if we can built upon myth and intuition, this
printing press to the digital world of achieve this, how might it be possible? evolutionary epic relies on the theories
today. If the pace of cultural evolution Will we reduce our consumption of modern science to help us get to grips
continues at such a rate we may see of energy and live more simply? with the world around us.
the emergence of a new evolutionary Or will we harness our immense For most of us, thinking about things
paradigm in mere decades. collective brainpower to engineer that are very big, very small, and very
Because of our astounding capacity more sophisticated ways of producing old does not come naturally. But
for collective learning and cultural clean energy and sustainable products pursuing big ideas and chasing the
development, humans have made a and services? Will our modern answers to profound universal questions
BIG HISTORY IS A TRULY

MODERN ORIGIN STORY, FIT FOR
THE NEEDS OF A MODERN AGE.
does! We cannot help wanting to know complex in various pockets of cosmic
what else is out there: whether it be order. This story helps us to see that our
among the stars, inside black holes, planet and our species emerged among
or in the mysterious workings of our a rare set of goldilocks conditions, where
brains, our DNA, or the remarkable the balance and stability of elements was
bacterial ecosystems that live on, “just right” to sustain life.
around, and inside us. Once you explore this book and
The Big History story helps to get a feel for the big picture it presents,
facilitate our exploration of these and we hope you will be left pondering
other exciting domains. It allows us many new and rousing questions. As
to focus on an array of subjects and you sit, poised to embark on this journey
historical moments and encourages of discovery, there is one question in
us to ponder the nature of reality on particular that we hope you will consider.
many different scales. We learn to What role will you play in
relate the details to the big picture, determining how events unfold in
and observe how broad trends can the next threshold of the this great
contextualise local phenomena and cosmic drama?
events. By exploring the viewpoints
of both the generalist and the
specialist, we are able to think more
carefully and creatively about cause
and effect, and devise more innovative “BENEATH THE AWESOME
DIVERSITY AND COMPLEXITY OF
responses and solutions to the many
challenges we face in the world today.
Big History’s unified perspective
also helps us to see the present in
dynamic terms, and shows us that we
MODERN KNOWLEDGE, THERE
are not only the successors of previous
evolutionary thresholds, but also the
IS AN UNDERLYING UNITY AND
possible progenitors of those to come.
Our story is divided into eight COHERENCE, ENSURING THAT
DIFFERENT TIMESCALES REALLY
thresholds of increasing complexity,
which highlight some of the key
transitionary phases in this cosmic
evolutionary history. As we move from
threshold to threshold you will see how
DO HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY
profoundly each stage is connected,
and how matter and information in TO EACH OTHER.” DAVID CHRISTIAN, BIG HISTORIAN
the Universe grow denser and more
THRESHOLD
THE BIG BANG
What are the origins of our Universe?
It is a question that has captivated humans
probably since we emerged as a species
and began trying to make sense of our
place in nature. Centuries of observation,
investigation, and scientific endeavour have
led us to the Big Bang theory – but that too
leaves questions unanswered, and our quest
for further explanation continues.
GOLDILOCKS CONDITIONS
The Universe formed in the Big Bang. We do not know if anything
existed before it, and we only have a glimpse of what happened
in the fraction of a second immediately afterwards. But over
the next 380,000 years, the Universe expanded and
cooled, and the fundamental forces and forms
of matter that we know today emerged.
What changed?
Suddenly, space, time, energy,
and matter came into existence
in the Big Bang.
Before the Big Bang

We don’t know what existed
before the Big Bang. There
might have been nothing. But
there are other possibilities.
For example, one alternative
theory proposes
a multiverse – a vast realm
from which universes
keep appearing.
Particles of matter
and antimatter form Matter and
from mass-energy antimatter annihilate
each other
ENERGY AND Energy

MATTER IN AN As the Universe cools,
INTERCHANGEABLE quarks are bound
FORM CALLED together by gluons
MASS-ENERGY to form protons
and neutrons
As the Universe
cools, matter and
antimatter stop
returning to energy
Protons and neutrons

AN INCONCEIVABLY combine to form the
SINGLE, UNIFIED
HOT, SMALL, DENSE SUPERFORCE
first atomic nuclei
(of hydrogen, helium,
UNIVERSE and lithium)
Electrons combine
with nuclei to form
the first atoms
Superforce
separates into
gravity and Grand
Unified Theory
(GUT) forces
SHORT-LIVED
INFLATION EXPANDS Free
THE UNIVERSE electrons
MORE RAPIDLY GUT forces
separate into strong
nuclear force and
electroweak force
Electroweak force
separates into
electromagnetic
force and weak
interaction
BIG IDEAS
THE EARLIEST ASTRONOMERS
At points in history that vary according
to the culture, but typically from about
ORIGIN STORIES
4000 BCE in Europe and the Middle East,
it seems that humans began to tire of merely
gazing at, and devising stories about, objects
such as the stars, Sun, and Moon. Instead
some individuals began making detailed
Nearly all human cultures and religious traditions have nurtured origin recordings of celestial phenomena. These
stories – symbolic accounts that describe how the world came about. investigations were carried out for a variety
These stories or narratives were most often passed from one generation of mostly practical reasons. An ability to
to the next in the form of folk tales or ballads and sometimes through identify a few stars, and to understand sky
movements, proved useful for navigation.
writing or pictures.
It was also realized that the sky is a sort of
rigin stories are extremely varied in Ranginui (Rangi) and Papatuanuku (Papa), ASTRONOMERS IN CHINA
O detail, but they tend to include some the Sky Father and Earth Mother. Rangi
RECORDED OBSERVATIONS OF
common themes. Often they tell how the and Papa remain physically cleaved together
Universe acquired order from an original until pushed apart by their six offspring to MORE THAN 1,600 SOLAR
state of either darkness or deep chaos. create the separate realms of Earth and sky. ECLIPSES FROM 750 BCE
In several versions, including the Old Many stories also account for the creation of ONWARDS
Testament’s Book of Genesis, this order is celestial bodies such as the Sun and Moon.
imposed by a supreme being or deity. In For example, in a story from China, the first
some stories, creation is a cyclical process. living being, Pangu, hatches from a cosmic clock that could be used, for example, to
For example, in Hindu thought, order is egg. Half the shell lies under him as the tell farmers when to sow crops or to give
generated only to be destroyed and then Earth; the rest arcs above him as the sky. warning of important natural events. In
regenerated. Many stories begin with Each day for thousands of years he grows, ancient Egypt, for example, the rising of the
Earth. In some, people and gods emerge gradually pushing Earth and sky apart until bright star Sirius around the same time as
from the Earth. In others, an animal they reach their correct places. But then the Sun heralded the annual flooding of the
dives into a boundless primeval ocean Pangu disintegrates. His arms and legs Nile. A final reason for studying the heavens
and retrieves a portion of Earth from become mountains, his breath the wind, was to predict solar eclipses. Chinese
which the cosmos is created. his eyes turn into the Sun and Moon. Often astronomers are thought to have attempted
this as long ago as 2500 BCE , but it was not
ORIGINS OF THE SKY, SUN, until the 1st century BCE that the ancient
AND MOON MORE THAN 100 DISTINCT Greeks reached the level of astronomical
Many origin stories describe how the sky ORIGIN STORIES HAVE BEEN sophistication needed to do it accurately.
was created along with Earth, often by Successful eclipse prediction had little
splitting off from another primeval object. IDENTIFIED FROM VARIOUS specific practical use but it did confer on the
In a common form of the Māori creation PEOPLES AND CULTURES predictor very significant mystical powers
myth, the Universe is created from nothing ACROSS THE WORLD and, as a result, considerable peer respect.
by a supreme being, Io. He also creates In some early cultures, accurate
observation not only had practical uses but
celestial objects originate as physical was also intertwined with religion. Some
representations of gods. For example, an of the most sophisticated observations before
origin story from ancient Egypt begins with the invention of the telescope were made
WE HAVE INHERITED FROM OUR Nun, the primeval ocean, from which the by the Maya, who colonized parts of Central
FOREFATHERS THE KEEN LONGING god Amen rises. He takes the alternative
name Re and breeds more gods. While his
America between 250 and 900 CE . They
made accurate calculations of the length of
FOR UNIFIED, ALL-EMBRACING tears become mankind, Amen-Re retires to the solar year, compiled precise tables of the
the heavens, to reign eternally as the Sun. positions of Venus and the Moon, and were
KNOWLEDGE. Origin stories such as these developed able to predict eclipses. They used their
because early humans needed to find an calendar to time the sowing and harvesting
explanation for their own existence and for of crops. But they also saw a link between
Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian theoretical physicist, 1887–1961
everything that they saw around them. The the cycles they observed and the place of
cultures that fostered these stories regarded their gods in the natural order. Specific
them as true, and for their adherents they events in the night sky were seen as
usually carried great importance and representing particular deities. The Maya
emotional power. But such perceptions also practised a form of astrology, drawing a
were based on faith and not on accurate connection between cycles in the sky and the
observations or scientific reasoning. everyday life and concerns of the individual.
18 THRESHOLD 1
A MODERN NARRATIVE
Big History is a modern-day origin story.
Part of this story is an account of how the
Universe formed provided by the Big Bang
theory of cosmology. The theory describes
the formation of a Universe with a beginning
and a structure. Modern cosmology as a
whole also contains an account of a Universe
that changes over time, as matter and
energy take on different forms, new particles
come into existence, space itself expands,
and structures such as stars and galaxies
emerge. The Big Bang theory, as part of the
Big History narrative, shares some other
features with traditional origin stories. For
example, in common with several of the
stories, it proposes that everything – all
matter, energy, space, and time – originated
from nothing. Big Bang theory and the
traditional stories also set out to answer
many of the same questions – including how
did the Universe begin? The theory does not
give a complete account of how the Universe
came to be the way it is now. For example,
it does not explain the origin of life or the
evolution of humans. But it does form part
of the larger framework of Big History that
attempts to answer these and other questions.
However, in one crucial respect, Big Bang
theory, like Big History in general, differs
from traditional origin stories in that it seeks
to provide a literal and accurate account
of the Universe’s origins. It represents the
current state of scientific thinking, arrived at
after many centuries of both gradual change
and sudden leaps forward. Like other
scientific theories in Big History, the theory
also makes predictions that can be tested
against evidence, allowing it to be refined
or even disproved and overturned. Some ▶ Brahma the creator
questions remain unanswered by Big Bang According to some older forms of
Hinduism, the god Brahma, who is
theory. But, at least for now, it offers the
usually depicted with four heads,
most convincing account of when and how was born from a golden egg and
the Universe began. created Earth and everything in it.
THERE WAS NEITHER NON-EXISTENCE

NOR EXISTENCE THEN; THERE WAS
NEITHER THE REALM OF SPACE NOR
THE SKY WHICH IS BEYOND.
The Rig Veda,
a collection of Sanskrit hymns, 2nd millenium BCE
ORIGIN STORIES 19
HARD EVIDENCE
THE NEBRA
SKY DISC
Small discs may
denote stars, but
During the European Bronze Age, people developed their knowledge of most appear to
astronomy and put it to practical uses. The Nebra Sky Disc is a key piece be decorative, as
they do not match
of evidence for observation of the sky at this time. Analysis of the disc’s known star patterns
materials also reveals information about metalworking and trade.
The Bronze Age in Europe began around used to indicate times for sowing and
3200 BCE . Dug up near Nebra in central harvesting crops and to coordinate the
Germany in 1999, the 3,600-year-old Nebra solar and lunar calendars. Alternatively,
Sky Disc depicts the Sun, Moon, and 32 the objects on the disc may illustrate a
stars, including possibly the Pleiades star significant astronomical event – a solar Large gold
disc probably
cluster. It is the oldest known portrayal of eclipse on 16 April 1699 BCE . On that represents
such a variety of sky objects. The disc also date, the Sun, as it was eclipsed by the the Sun
reveals that its owners had measured the Moon, was close in the sky both to the
angle between the rising and setting points Pleiades and to a tight grouping of three
of the Sun at the summer and winter planets – Mercury, Venus, and Mars.
solstices – the days of greatest and least Whatever its exact use, the Nebra Sky
daylight each year. Disc provides clear evidence that some
There are two schools of thought as to Bronze Age people had made detailed sky
what the disc was used for or represents. observations and also developed tools to
Some archaeologists think that it was an help them mark the passage of time and
astronomical clock, which could have been the seasons.
Pleiades Arcs added, one

of them covering
Sun or full Moon two stars
Waxing Moon
or partially
eclipsed Sun
Sunboat added
PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3
▲ Phases in construction The disc was made

in three phases, significantly separated in time, Holes were punched
suggesting it underwent some repurposing. If the disc was held horizontally, its into the rim after
The addition of the sunboat indicates that it edge would represent the horizon other additions for an
unknown purpose
may have taken on religious significance.
Sunset point at Sunrise point

summer solstice at summer Metal sources
solstice
The disc’s copper came from
▶ The golden arcs The two the Austrian Alps. Its tin –
arcs on the disc span 82°, the used with copper to make bronze
angle between the points on 82° 82° – and its original gold were from
the horizon where the Sun sets Cornwall, England. The gold in the arcs
(or rises) at the summer and and sunboat came from the Carpathian
winter solstices for the location
Mountains in eastern Europe.
where the disc was found.
Evidently there were well-
established trade routes
across Europe at the time.
Sunset point at Sunrise point at Gold nugget

winter solstice winter solstice
20 THRESHOLD 1
The Pleiades
A group of stars on the disc may
represent the Pleiades star cluster,
of which the brightest stars could
have been seen with the naked
eye by Bronze Age skygazers. In
central Europe, the Pleiades would
have been a prominent evening
feature in the southeastern sky
around harvest time.
Stars and dust in the Pleiades
Golden arcs span the angle

between the setting (or
rising) points of the Sun at
summer and winter solstices
The Nebra hoard

The disc was buried with other
objects, including two swords
made of bronze with copper and
gold inlays, a chisel, two axeheads,
and two armbands, collectively
called the Nebra hoard. It is not
known why the disc was placed
with these objects. The hoard was
buried in around 1600 bce, but the
disc could be older. When first
examined by archaeologists, it was
suspected to be an elaborate fake,
but corrosion tests, excavation of
the burial site, and examination of
the other artefacts pointed to its
authenticity.
Bronze Age sword from the Nebra hoard
Gold crescent may signify

either a crescent Moon or
the Sun during a solar eclipse
Blue-green patina, caused

by oxidation of disc’s copper
content, was probably an
intentional decorative feature
The sunboat
The arc of gold at the bottom of the Nebra sky disc
is thought to be a sunboat – the means by which some
ancient people imagined the Sun was conveyed from its
setting point in the west to its rising point in the east during
the night. The hairlike protrusions around the edge of the
arc might represent oars. If the arc is indeed a sunboat, it
would be the earliest known representation of one.
Gold arc, with hundreds
of tiny protrusions, may
represent a sunboat and oars
THE NEBRA SKY DISC 21

13.8 BYA THE UNIVERSE FORMS 10 - 36 SECONDS INFLATION 10 - 32 SECONDS INFLATION 10 -12 SECONDS SEPARATION OF FUNDAMENTAL
IN THE BIG BANG AFTER BIG BANG BEGINS AFTER BIG BANG ENDS AFTER BIG BANG FORCES IS COMPLETED
ASTRONOMY
BEGINS
For most of human history, people were too busy surviving to spend
much time thinking about the world’s underlying nature and origins.
But from around 1000 BCE, a few began to try answering key questions
about the Universe without recourse to supernatural explanations.
These thinkers – initially concentrated in number of indivisible particles called atoms.

Mediterranean lands, especially Greece – Finally, in the 4th century BCE the influential
realized that to understand the world it is scholar Aristotle added a fifth element,
necessary to know its nature, and that aether, to Empedocles’ four. Although
natural phenomena should have logical Aristotle was sceptical of the idea of atoms,
explanations. Although they did not always it is remarkable that the concepts of both
find the correct answers, this leap marked atoms and elements had been proposed
the start of a 3,000-year journey that has more than 2,000 years before either was
led in the modern world to such key theories proved to exist.
as the Big Bang model of the Universe.
EARTH’S SHAPE AND SIZE
THE NATURE OF MATTER Among many other ideas that Aristotle gave
The fundamental questions of what the his views on was the concept that Earth is
world is made of, and where matter came a sphere. Earlier Greek scholars, such as
from, are some of the oldest. In the 6th Pythagoras, had already argued this, but
century BCE , Greek philosophers such as Aristotle was the first to summarize the
Thales and Anaximenes proposed that all
substances were modifications of more
intrinsic substances, the main candidates
being water, air, earth, and fire. In the 5th THE IDEA THAT EARTH IS FLAT
century BCE , Empedocles claimed that WAS STILL THE PREVAILING
everything was a mixture of all four of these
VIEW IN CHINA UP TO THE
substances, or elements. His near-
contemporary Democritus developed the EARLY 17TH CENTURY
idea that the Universe is made of an infinite
Sun’s rays main points of evidence. Chief among them

Tower in
was that travellers to southern lands could
Tower’s
Alexandria shadow see stars that could not be seen by those
living further north – explainable only if
Height of tower
800km (500 miles) Earth’s surface is curved. In 240 BCE ,
from Alexandria
Length of by comparing how the Sun’s rays reach ▲ Earth-centred Universe
to Syene
shadow
Earth at Syene and Alexandria, the This 17th-century illustration by Andreas
Cellarius depicts Aristotle and Ptolemy’s model.
mathematician Eratosthenes was able to Working out from the centre, the Moon,
Well at Syene
estimate Earth’s circumference. He came Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
up with a figure of about 40,000km (25,000 and the stars move in circular orbits around Earth.
miles) – close to the true value known today.
7°
Angle at Earth’s east to west, whereas Earth itself did not
centre is equal ◀ Estimating Earth’s circumference
EARTH AND THE SUN seem to move. An alternative view, put
to angle at which When the Sun was overhead above
shadow is cast in 7°
a well at Syene, it cast a shadow at Aristotle thought that Earth was at the centre forward by the astronomer Aristarchus, was
Alexandria
an angle of about 7° in Alexandria. of the Universe and that the Sun, planets, that the Sun is at the centre and that Earth
Dividing this angle into 360°, then and stars move around it. This seemed like orbits it, but this idea did not gain much
multiplying the result by the distance
common sense given that every night various credence. In 150 CE , Claudius Ptolemy – an
between the two places gave an
Centre of estimate of Earth’s circumference celestial objects (and during the day, the Sun) eminent Greek scholar living in Alexandria
Earth of about 40,000km (25,000 miles). could be seen moving across the sky from – published a book called the Almagest, which
22 THRESHOLD 1
10 - 6 SECONDS THE FIRST PROTONS AND 3 MINUTES THE FIRST ATOMIC 380,000 YEARS THE UNIVERSE BECOMES 13.6 BYA THE FIRST
AFTER BIG BANG NEUTRONS FORM AFTER BIG BANG NUCLEI FORM AFTER BIG BANG TRANSPARENT STARS FORM
A STATIONARY OR A
SPINNING EARTH?
Linked to the issue of what is
at the centre of the Universe, the
question of whether or not Earth
rotates was debated for around
2,000 years up to the 17th
century CE . The prevailing view
was that Earth does not spin, as
this fitted best with the idea of an
Earth-centred Universe.
However, there were opponents
to this view, including Greek
philosopher and astronomer
Heraclides Ponticus in the 4th
century BCE , as well as an Indian
astronomer, Aryabhata, and
Persian astronomers (Al-Sijzi and
Al-Biruni) between the 5th and ▲ Ulugh Beg
15th centuries CE . Each proposed that Working at his
observatory at
Earth rotates and that the stars’ apparent Samarkand, Ulugh Beg
movement is just a relative motion caused and other astronomers
by Earth’s spin. But it was not until the determined matters
Copernican Revolution (see pp.24–25) that such as the tilt of
Earth’s spin axis and
Earth’s rotation became accepted as fact, an accurate value for
and it was not until the 19th century that the length of the year.
it was categorically proved.
THE SIZE AND AGE OF THE UNIVERSE

A final popular subject for speculation
among early philosophers was the question
of whether the Universe is finite (limited)
or infinite, both in extent and in time.
Aristotle proposed that the Universe is
infinite in time (so it has always existed)
but finite in extent – he believed that
all the stars were at a fixed distance,
embedded in a crystal sphere, beyond
which was nothing. The mathematician
Archimedes made a reasoned estimate
of the distance to the fixed stars and
realized it was vast (at least what we would
now call 2 light years) but stopped short
of claiming it to be infinite. In the 6th
century CE , Egyptian philosopher
John Philoponus opposed the prevailing
affirmed the prevailing view that Earth now Uzbekistan, during the 15th century) Aristotelian view by arguing that the
is at the centre. Ptolemy’s detailed model made major contributions to knowledge Universe is finite in time. It was not until
fitted with all known observations but of the Solar System and in particular to the 20th century that scientists began to
in order to do so contained complex cataloguing star positions. find answers to these questions.
modifications to Aristotle’s original
ideas. For about the next 14 centuries,
the Earth-centred view of Aristotle and
Ptolemy totally dominated astronomical
theory, and it was adopted throughout IN POSITION EARTH LIES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HEAVENS
Europe by medieval Christianity. During
this time, Islamic astronomers such as VERY MUCH LIKE ITS CENTRE.
Ulugh Beg (who worked from a great
observatory in Samarkand, in what is Claudius Ptolemy, astronomer and geographer, 90–168 CE
ASTRONOMY BEGINS 23
o the people of medieval Europe up to in an invisible, distant sphere that rotated including the Sun and stars, rose up in the
T the mid-16th century, the question of rapidly, approximately daily, around Earth. east, moved across the sky, and then set
how the Universe is organized had been The Sun, Moon, and planets also revolved below the western horizon.
answered centuries before by Ptolemy, in his around Earth, attached to other invisible
modifications to ideas first asserted by spheres. For most people, this explanation DOUBTS ABOUT GEOCENTRISM
Aristotle (see pp.22–23). According to seemed reasonable – after all, looking up at The geocentric model of the Universe did
Ptolemy, Earth stood still at the centre of the the sky at night, it did seem that Earth was not satisfy everyone, however. A serious
Universe. Stars were “fixed” or embedded quite still, while all other objects in the sky, doubt focused on what it predicted about
the planets. According to the original
Aristotelian version of geocentrism, the
BIG IDEAS planets rotated around Earth in perfect
circles, each at its own steady speed. But
if this was true, the planets should move
across the sky with unvarying speed and
EARTH ORBITS
brightness because they were always the
same distance from Earth – and this wasn’t
what was observed. Some planets, such as
THE SUN
Mars, varied hugely in brightness over time,
and when their movements were compared
with those of the outer sphere of fixed stars,
▼ The Solar System the planets sometimes reversed direction –
in miniature a behaviour called retrograde motion.
This model of the Solar In the 16th and early 17th centuries, the prevailing view of an Earth- To deal with these problems, Ptolemy
System, called an
armillary sphere, is a centred, or geocentric, Universe, as first put forward by the Greek had modified the Aristotelian model. For
Copernican version, scholars Aristotle and Ptolemy, was challenged by a simpler Sun-centred, example, he had planets attached not to
showing the Sun at the
centre and the planets
heliocentric, model. This single idea eventually led to the scientific
revolving around it. revolution, a whole new way of thinking about the Universe.
COPERNICUS WAS A DOCTOR,
CLERIC, DIPLOMAT, AND
ECONOMIST AS WELL AS
AN ASTRONOMER
the spheres themselves, but to circles called

epicycles attached to the spheres. To some
astronomers, these modifications looked
like “fixes” to fit the model to observational
data. From time to time, they suggested
alternative ideas, such as that Earth orbits
the Sun. But supporters of geocentrism had
what seemed an excellent reason for ruling
this out. They argued that if Earth moves,
the stars should be seen shifting a little
relative to each other over the course of a
year – but no such shifts could be detected
and so, they answered, Earth cannot move.
THE COPERNICAN MODEL

In the face of these arguments – and the
power of the Catholic Church, which
supported the established view – for
centuries there was little opposition to
the idea of a geocentric Universe.
However, around 1545, rumours
began circulating in Europe
that a new and convincing
challenge – in the form of
a Sun-centred theory
of the Universe – had
appeared in a book,
CHURCH REACTION
In 1616, the Roman Catholic Church
I THINK THAT IN THE DISCUSSION OF NATURAL banned De Revolutionibus – a ban that was
enforced for more than 200 years. This
PROBLEMS WE OUGHT TO BEGIN NOT WITH THE probably came about as a result of a
dispute the Church was having with the
SCRIPTURES, BUT WITH EXPERIMENTS AND astronomer Galileo Galilei, a champion
DEMONSTRATIONS. of the Copernican theory who had made
discoveries that supported heliocentrism.
In particular, in about 1610, Galileo had
Galileo Galilei, astronomer, 1564–1642 discovered moons circling Jupiter, proving
that some celestial objects do not orbit
De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (“On moving freely in orbits. Brahe had observed Earth. The dispute with Galileo caused
the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres”), comets apparently passing through the De Revolutionibus to undergo intense scrutiny
by a Polish scholar, Nicolaus Copernicus. spheres, which convinced him that they by the Church, and because some of its ideas
Copernicus based his theory on several did not actually exist. He also observed a
assumptions. The first was that Earth supernova, contradicting a long-held idea
spins on its axis, and it is this rotation that no change takes place in the heavens.
that accounts for most of the daily motion Another shortcoming in Copernicus’s
of the stars, planets, Moon, and Sun across theory was his belief that all celestial objects GALILEO NAMED JUPITER’S
the sky. Copernicus considered that it was must move in circles, which forced him to MOONS THE MEDICEAN STARS
inconceivable that thousands of stars were retain some of Ptolemy’s “fixes”. But in the AFTER THE MEDICI FAMILY
rotating rapidly around Earth. Instead, he 1620s, the work of the German astronomer
proposed that their apparent motion was Johannes Kepler showed that orbits were
an illusion caused by Earth’s spin. He elliptical, not circular. By removing most
discounted an objection that this would of the remaining “fixes”, this simplified and seemed to go against biblical statements, it
create catastrophic winds, pointing out improved the heliocentric model. In the late was banned. In 1633, Galileo himself was
that Earth’s atmosphere was part of the 17th century, Isaac Newton expanded on eventually put on trial and forced to recant
planet and so part of the motion. Kepler’s work, and with his laws of motion his views.
Copernicus’s core assumption was that and newly introduced force of gravity (see
the Sun, not Earth, is at or near the centre pp.46–47), Newton was able to explain THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
of the Universe, and that the planets – exactly why celestial objects move in the Banned by the Catholic Church and viewed
including Earth, just another planet – circle way they do. His work Principia effectively ambivalently at first by astronomers, the
the Sun at differing speeds. This system removed the last doubts about heliocentrism. Copernican theory took time to catch on.
could explain, in a simpler way, the motions These improvements in the Copernican More than 150 years passed before some of
and variation in brightness of the planets theory took place against the backdrop of its basic assumptions were shown to be true
without recourse to any of Ptolemy’s “fixes”.
A third important assumption was that the
stars are much further from Earth and the
Sun than had previously been accepted.
This explained why the relative positions
of the stars as seen from Earth appeared
AT REST, HOWEVER, IN
to remain fixed over the course of a year.
THE MIDDLE OF EVERYTHING
IS THE SUN.
THE THEORY DEVELOPS
De Revolutionibus was published when
Copernicus was dying, and it was a century
Nicolaus Copernicus, astronomer
or more before his theory became widely
and mathematician, 1473–1543
accepted. One problem was that his model
contained misconceptions that had to be
corrected by later astronomers. Copernicus
clung to the idea that all movements of other important advances in cosmology. In beyond dispute. But what was important
celestial bodies occur with the objects the early 17th century, the development of about the theory was that it established
embedded in invisible spheres. In 1576, telescopes helped establish that stars are far cosmology as a science and represented a
the English astronomer Thomas Digges more distant than planets and exist in vast serious blow to some old, traditional ideas
suggested modifying the Copernican system numbers. It was even suggested that the about how the Universe works, many dating
by removing the outermost sphere, in which Universe could be infinite. Kepler, however, from Aristotle. As such, it is often viewed as
stars are embedded, and replacing it with a pointed out that it cannot be infinite, static, ushering in the scientific revolution – a series
star-filled unbound space. In the 1580s, the and eternal, otherwise the night sky would of advances between the 16th and 18th
Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe banished look uniformly bright due to there being a centuries that transformed views of nature
the rest of the spheres in favour of planets star emitting light from every direction. and society in the early modern world.
EARTH ORBITS THE SUN 25

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P l u t o d i s c o ve r
THE ATOM
AND THE UNIVERSE
From the early 19th century to the late 1920s, a series of breakthroughs
occurred in the physical sciences. They transformed our understanding
of the workings and structure of the world at both infinitesimally small
◀ Henrietta Leavitt
scales and at the very largest, raising the possibility of an infinite cosmos. Over 20 years, Leavitt
studied 1,777 variable
stars at the Harvard
These discoveries paved the way for the time, the German theoretical physicist College Observatory
advances of the 1930s to the 1950s, from Albert Einstein showed that matter and before stumbling upon
the realization that the Universe is energy have an equivalence. Simultaneously, her key discovery.
expanding to the development of ideas a new field of physics, quantum theory, was
on how energy and matter interact at proposing (among other things) that light
the subatomic level. Through the coming can behave either as a wave or as a stream
together of ideas in cosmology and particle of particles. By the late 1920s, it was known
physics, these breakthroughs eventually led
to the development of the Big Bang theory.
PROBING MATTER AND ENERGY

The idea that matter consists of atoms WHAT WE OBSERVE AS MATERIAL BODIES
was first suggested by the ancient Greek,
Democritus (see p.22). In the early 1800s, AND FORCES ARE NOTHING BUT SHAPES
an Englishman, John Dalton, revived the
idea. Dalton regarded atoms as indivisible, AND VARIATIONS IN THE STRUCTURE
but around the turn of the 20th century
experiments by scientists such as the New OF SPACE.
Zealander Ernest Rutherford proved that
they have a substructure. Around the same Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian theoretical physicist, 1887–1961
Electrons Positively Positively Electrons orbiting

▶ Understanding Each atom is scattered like charged charged in a ring (or rings)
the atom a single, raisins in a plum ground nucleus
indivisible entity pudding material
From around
1800 until the mid-
1920s, a step-by-step
evolution occurred in
the understanding of
atomic structure. Later,
from the late 1920s,
physicists found that
atomic nuclei have
a substructure.
An atom is
like a tiny,
solid ball
Dalton’s atom (1803) English chemist Thomson’s plum pudding (1904) The Nagaoka’s Saturnian model (1904)
John Dalton pictures atoms as extremely discoverer of the electron, British physicist Japanese physicist Hantaro Nagaoka
small spheres, like tiny billiard balls, that J.J. Thomson, suggests a “plum-pudding” proposes an atom has a central nucleus,
have no internal structure and cannot model, with negatively charged electrons around which the electrons orbit in one
be subdivided, created, or destroyed. embedded in a positively charged sphere. or more rings, like the rings of Saturn.
28 THRESHOLD 1
that atomic nuclei consist of protons American called Henrietta Leavitt. Her Galaxy appears slightly
redder to observer
and neutrons and are held together breakthrough concerned a class of star
by a newly detected force, the strong called Cepheid variables, which cyclically
force. Also discovered at this time was vary in brightness. Leavitt found a link Galaxy moving
away from
antimatter – subatomic particles that are between the cycle period and brightness observer
identical to their matter equivalents except of these stars, meaning that if both could Wavelength
is stretched
for opposite electrical change – and that the be measured a good estimate could be
◀ Redshift
coming together of matter and antimatter made of their distance from Earth. Within When an object such as
can annihilate both, producing pure energy. a few years, it became apparent that some a galaxy is receding at
stars are tens of thousands of light-years high speed, light waves
THE DISTANCES TO STARS away, while some vaguely spiral-shaped from it appear stretched.
This causes features in
During roughly the same period, great nebulous patches in the sky, known at Line in original the galaxy’s spectrum,
Redshifted
advances were made in understanding the time as “spiral nebulae”, seemed spectrum spectrum line such as prominent lines,
the true scale of the cosmos. In 1838, the to be millions of light-years away. to shift towards the red
German astronomer Friedrich Bessell made (long wavelength) end.
This is a redshift.
the first reliable measurement of the distance SHIFTING NEBULAE
to a star other than the Sun, using a method Between 1912 and 1917, the American REDSHIFT
called stellar parallax. The star, although astronomer Vesto Slipher studied several Galaxy appears slightly
bluer to observer
one of the closest to the Sun, seemed at the “spiral nebulae” and realized that many
were moving away from Earth at high
speed, while a few were approaching
A LIGHT-YEAR – THE DISTANCE Earth. He found this out by measuring Galaxy
approaching
a property of the light from the nebulae observer
LIGHT TRAVELS THROUGH called redshift or blueshift. It seemed
SPACE IN A YEAR – IS ABOUT odd that the nebulae were moving at
9.5 TRILLION KILOMETRES such speed relative to the rest of the
(6 TRILLION MILES) galaxy. Partly prompted by Slipher’s
◀ Blueshift
findings, in 1920 a formal debate was Light waves from a
held in Washington, DC on whether these rapidly approaching
time almost unimaginably far-off – what nebulae might be separate galaxies outside Blueshifted Wavelength object appear squashed,
would now be called 10.3 light-years away. our own. The debate was inconclusive. spectrum line is squashed shifting features in the
spectrum towards the
It was 1912 before a system was discovered But within a few years, the answer had been blue (short wavelength)
for estimating the distance to many more found – by another American astronomer end. This is a blueshift.
remote stars. The discoverer was an called Edwin Hubble (see pp.30–31). BLUESHIFT
Cloud density varies

Electrons gain with probability that it
Empty contains an electron
space or lose energy
on moving
between orbits
Tiny, very dense, Nucleus as in Cloud region Nucleus as

positively charged Electrons moving Rutherford containing in Rutherford
nucleus around randomly model Electron orbit electrons model
Rutherford and the nucleus (1911) Bohr’s electron orbits (1913) Danish Schrödinger’s electron cloud model
Rutherford proves experimentally that physicist Niels Bohr proposes that (1926) According to Austrian physicist
an atom’s nucleus is much smaller and electrons can move in spherical orbits, Erwin Schrödinger’s model, the locations of
denser than previously thought – and at fixed distances from the nucleus, electrons in an atom are never certain and
that much of an atom is empty space. and can “jump” between orbits. can be stated only in terms of probabilities.
THE ATOM AND THE UNIVERSE 29

THE UNIVERSE
GETS BIGGER
During the 1920s, two key breakthroughs led to a revolution in
understanding of the size and nature of the Universe. Both were
the result of discoveries made by the astronomer Edwin Hubble.
In 1919, Hubble arrived at Mount Wilson to observe a class of stars called Cepheid
Observatory in California, aged 30. His variables in some of the nebulae, including
arrival coincided with the completion of what today is called the Andromeda Galaxy.
what was then the largest telescope in the Cepheid variables stars whose distances can
world, a reflector with a 2.5m (100in) be estimated by measuring their average
wide mirror, called the Hooker Telescope. brightness and the lengths of their cycles
of brightness variation. As a result of his
ENDING THE GALAXY DEBATE observations, in 1924 Hubble was able to
At that time, the prevailing view was that announce that the Andromeda nebula and
▼ Photographic
evidence the Universe consisted of just the Milky Way other spiral nebulae were far too distant to
These two (negative) Galaxy, although in 1920 a famous debate be part of the Milky Way and so must be
photographic plates (see p.29) had considered whether or not galaxies outside our own. Almost overnight,
were used by Hubble to
some vaguely spiral-shaped nebulae – fuzzy, the Universe had become a much bigger
identify a specific
Cepheid variable star in star-containing objects – in the night sky place than anyone had previously imagined.
the Andromeda Galaxy. might be collections of stars outside our own
Studies on this star were galaxy. Hubble, who had been studying RECEDING GALAXIES
crucial in confirming
these nebulae, already strongly suspected Hubble next studied a phenomenon that
that the Andromeda
Galaxy is outside that they were outside our galaxy. In had already been noted by an astronomer
the Milky Way. 1922–23, he used the Hooker Telescope called Vesto Slipher: many of the spiral
galaxies had large “redshifts” in their
spectra, meaning that they were
moving away from Earth at high speed
Hubble’s note VAR! (see p.29). Again by observing Cepheid
indicates he had found variables, Hubble began measuring
a star that varied in
brightness between the distances to these galaxies and
the two plates
compared the distances to their
redshifts. He noticed something
remarkable: the more distant a galaxy
was, the greater was its recessional
velocity – a relationship that became
known as Hubble’s Law. Hubble
date on which published his results in 1929. Although
plate was taken he himself was initially sceptical, to other
astronomers it was clear that only one
conclusion could be drawn – the whole
Universe must be expanding!
THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY IS A HISTORY OF

RECEDING HORIZONS.
Edwin Hubble, American astronomer, 1889–1953
30 THRESHOLD 1
The world’s largest telescope

Completed in 1917, the Hooker Telescope
was the world’s largest telescope for about
30 years. Its glass mirrors, which had to be
cast to an accuracy of a few millionths of an
inch, had to be kept cool to prevent them
warming up and becoming distorted.
THE UNIVERSE GETS BIGGER 31

THE EXPANDING
UNIVERSE
Edwin Hubble’s work showed that many galaxies are receding from us a “primeval atom” as he called it – which
at a rate proportional to their distance. It was soon deduced that the disintegrated in an explosion, giving rise
Universe must be expanding, but astronomers still had to understand to space and time and the expansion of
the nature of this expansion and what the Universe is expanding from. the Universe. By 1933, Einstein (who had by
now abandoned his cosmological constant)
was in full agreement with Lemaître’s theory,
By the beginning of the 1930s, scientists it became clear to many astronomers that calling it “the most beautiful and satisfactory
were also starting to address a question the Universe must indeed be expanding, explanation of creation to which I have
that philosophers had been pondering for although neither Hubble nor Einstein was ever listened”.
several millennia – has our Universe always convinced at first. Despite this, for many Simple physics dictates that the Universe
existed or did it have a beginning? Physicists, years credit for the discovery was given to compressed into a tiny point would be
mathematicians, and astronomers were now Hubble, but today most experts agree it extremely hot. During the 1940s, Russian-
in a position to try answering this question. should be equally shared with Lemaître. American physicist George Gamow, and
colleagues, worked out details of what might
have happened during the exceedingly hot
first few moments of a Lemaître-style
universe. This included working out how
THE RADIUS OF SPACE BEGAN AT ZERO; THE FIRST STAGES the nuclei of light elements, such as helium,
might have been forged, starting with just
OF THE EXPANSION CONSISTED OF A RAPID EXPANSION protons and neutrons. The work showed
that a “hot” early universe, evolving into
DETERMINED BY THE MASS OF THE INITIAL ATOM. what is observed today, is at least
theoretically feasible. In a 1949 radio
Georges Lemaître, astronomer, 1894–1966 interview, the British astronomer Fred Hoyle
coined the term “Big Bang” for the model
EINSTEIN’S POSSIBLE UNIVERSES DISCOVERING THE BIG BANG of the Universe Lemaître and Gamow
The story of how scientists came to realize If the Universe is expanding, and the clock had been developing. At last, Lemaître’s
that the Universe is expanding began in is run backwards, then the further back in startling hypothesis had a name, which
1915 with the publication of Albert Einstein’s time you look, the denser the Universe has stuck ever since.
general theory of relativity. This theory becomes. But, as Lemaître reasoned, one
▼ Georges Lemaître is a description of how gravity works at the can only go so far before the Universe is
Arguably the first largest scales, and it defines what possible crushed into an infinitely dense point. So
person to propose universes can exist. Part of Einstein’s theory in 1931, he suggested that the Universe was
that the Universe is Early galaxy clusters
expanding, Lemaître was
consists of a set of equations that have to be initially a single, extremely dense particle – were closer together
solved to give a description of the long-term, than they are today
a priest and physicist as
well as an astronomer. large-scale behaviour of the Universe. ▶ Expanding space Free gas and
The Universe’s expansion is most accurately dust not yet
Einstein’s initial solution to his equations absorbed into
thought of in terms of space itself expanding
suggested the Universe is contracting, but and carrying objects with it – called
galaxies
he could not believe this, so he introduced a cosmological expansion – rather than
“fix” – an expansion-inducing factor called galaxies and galaxy clusters moving away
the cosmological constant – into his theory from each other “through” space.
to allow for a static universe. In 1927, the
Belgian astronomer Georges Lemaître,
who had studied Einstein’s equations
and heard of Hubble’s measurements
At the beginning of
of galaxy distances, proposed that the time, all matter was
whole of space is expanding – but concentrated in a tiny
particle –Lemaître’s
his hypothesis failed to attract “primeval atom” –
widespread attention. After which exploded
Hubble released his findings

about receding galaxies in 1929,
32 THRESHOLD 1
RECESSIONAL VELOCITY (km per second)
20,000 Each disc represents At a local scale,

a galaxy gravity dominates over
expansion, holding galaxy
clusters together
15,000 A galaxy’s velocity
is estimated from
measurements of
its redshift
Over time, the space
10,000 The slope of the between galaxies and
line gives a value galaxy clusters empties
for the Hubble out as free gas and dust
Constant are pulled into galaxies
5,000 A galaxy’s distance is
estimated by taking
measurements from In the 1930s, it was
some of its variable stars assumed that the rate
of expansion was at or
0 30 60 90 120 near a uniform rate –
with just slight slowing
DISTANCE FROM EARTH (millions of light-years) due to gravity
▲ The Hubble Constant

If the velocities of a number of galaxies are plotted
against their distances, a “best fit” line can be drawn
close to all the plotted points. The slope of the line is
an estimate of the Hubble Constant, itself a measure
of the rate of the Universe’s expansion.
All galaxy clusters are

gradually moving away from
each other – there is no
centre to the expansion
Some galaxies
gradually develop
spiral shapes
THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE 33

TIMELINES
HYDROGEN
ATOM
10 0 HELIUM-4
THE BIG BANG

m
light illion HELIUM-3
- ATOM
diam year s ATOM
e te r
2,70 0 DEUTERIUM
°C
8 FIRST ATOMS ATOM
380,000 YEARS Electrons combine with
protons to form hydrogen
Since the 1930s, when the Big Bang theory was first atoms and with other
nuclei to form deuterium
proposed, physicists and cosmologists have been (heavy hydrogen), helium,
testing and developing the theory and filling in the and lithium atoms. As
Photons can now move
electrons are now bound
details of the first moments of the Universe. up in atoms, they no longer freely without colliding
interfere with photons, with free electrons
LITHIUM 7 which are free to travel
Part of the work to improve Big Bang theory has been carried NUCLEUS through space as radiation,
out by experiments in which high-energy particles are collided and the Universe becomes
transparent.
to re-create Big Bang-like conditions (see pp.36–37), and part has 10,000°C
been purely theoretical, involving the formulation of equations
and models. During the experimental side of this journey, many
1000 YEARS
new subatomic particles have been discovered. Another focus
of research has been the fundamental forces that govern particle
interactions. It has been known since the 1930s that there are four
of these forces: gravity, the electromagnetic force, the strong force,
and the weak interaction. During the Big Bang, it is theorized that DEUTERIUM
NUCLEUS
these forces were initially unified. Then, as the Universe cooled,
they split off, possibly triggering new phases of the Big Bang.
Gradually, physicists have fitted all the known particles and the
forces into a scheme called the Standard Model of particle physics.
One important change to the original theory was made in the 0 0 °C
10 0,0
1980s by the American physicist Alan Guth. He proposed that at
a very early stage a part of the Universe underwent an extremely
fast expansion called cosmic inflation. Guth’s idea helped explain
some aspects of the Universe today, including why at the largest
scales matter and energy seem to be distributed very smoothly.
The reality of cosmic inflation is now widely accepted. HYDROGEN
1 YEAR HELIUM-4
NUCLEUS
NUCLEUS
(FREE PROTON)
There are six types of A proton is Two down

quark. Up and down made of two up quarks and one HELIUM-3
Up Down quarks are the most quarks and one up quark, plus
n°C NUCLEUS
quark quark stable and common. down quark gluons, make
illi o
Proton plus gluons. Neutron up a neutron. 1m
This tiny subatomic
particle has a negative ▲ Composite particles
Electron electrical charge.
These particles are composed of other smaller
particles. Scores of different composite particles
By carrying the strong have been identified, but protons and neutrons
nuclear force, gluons
Gluon hold quarks together.
are the only stable types.
A photon is a tiny
packet of light or 1 DAY
other electromagnetic
Photon radiation. For each of the six
types of quark there is
Up Down a corresponding type
This particle is antiquark antiquark called an antiquark.
associated with a C
Higgs boson field that gives mass n°
io
to other particles. ill
A positron is the positively m
Positron charged equivalent of the 10
▲ Fundamental particles electron.
These particles are not, so far as is
7 FIRST NUCLEI
known, made of smaller particles.
Some, such as quarks, are building Two up This consists Collisions between protons and
on r
3 MINUTES
illi h o u
antiquarks of two down neutrons begin forming the nuclei

°C
blocks of matter. Others, like gluons

and one down antiquarks
1
and photons, are force-carrier particles. antiquark, plus and one up of helium-4 and small amounts of
m
Anti- gluons, form Anti- antiquark, other nuclei, such as helium-3 and
0
lithium-7. All the neutrons are

10
proton an anti-proton. neutron plus gluons.

mopped up by these reactions,
▲ Antiparticles but many free protons remain.
°C
on
These are particles with the same mass but an

ds
illi
on
opposite electric charge to their equivalent particles.

1b
sec
60
34 THRESHOLD 1
LITHIUM-7
1,0 0 0k m
diameter
n° n
lli o i o
ATOM
C
t r i m ill
1
1
tr b
ill illi
io on
n°
C
km
n er
io t 00
ill a m e 0, 0 ° C
m i 10 llion
1 d
tri
HIGGS BOSON
1 THE BIG BANG

3 INFLATION BEGINS
2 GRAND UNIFIED ERA Space, time, and an intense
burst of energy appear The Universe undergoes
This era begins when gravity suddenly and simultaneously. a short period of extreme
splits off from the other The state of the Universe inflation, during which
fundamental forces. During during the first 10 -43 a fantastic amount of mass-
this short time, matter and seconds – the Planck Era – energy comes into existence.
energy are in a fluidly is uncertain, but it is Around this time, the strong
interchangeable form inconceivably hot and force splits off from the
called mass-energy. the four fundamental two remaining fundamental
forces are unified. forces. The Universe at 10,0 0 0
this point is dominated trillion°C
FORCES by photons (packets of

electromagnetic energy).
Gravity separates out DIAMETER
10 −43
SECONDS 10−12 SECONDS
PARTICLES
St r o n 100 million
g
force nuclear km diame ter
o u t s e p ar a te s
10−36 SECONDS
TEMPERATURE
5 FINAL SEPARATION
er
et
am
The weak interaction separates

di
from the electromagnetic force,

m
Pairs of quarks and 1,0 0 0

1k
antiquarks form and and the fundamental forces and trillion

°C
then immediately laws of physics become as they
are today.
annihilate each other
10−32 SECONDS
trillion n
°C
o
4 INFLATION ENDS
10 trilli
As inflation ends, a
Residue of particles results seething mass of particles
from slight excess of and antiparticles, such 10
0 t r il
particles over antiparticles as quark-antiquark pairs, li o
form spontaneously from n°C
energy and then annihilate
back to energy. The sea Quarks are bound into
of particles is sometimes heavier particles, such
referred to as a quark-gluon as protons, by gluons
plasma. The temperature
of the Universe at this stage
is still many trillion trillion
10
0
degrees Celsius.
b i iam
t T he
the
lli o e
d
pair s
n k te r
wher cooled to
zeou
m
form -antipar tic e
10−6 SECONDS
or
le
rg y.
Unive t ter free
e no m
f ene
6 FIRST PROTONS AND NEUTRONS

as
r se h
The Universe has cooled sufficiently that

out o
a
A n t im
1 trillion km
quarks start becoming bound together by

le
10
point
par tic
gluons into composite particles, such as

diameter
t
r il
li o
protons and neutrons, and antiquarks form

n°
into antiprotons and antineutrons.

C
1 SECOND
10 billion°C
THE BIG BANG 35
Physics on a grand scale

The large, barrel-shaped machine
undergoing a refit here is a part of the
LHC called the electromagnetic calorimeter.
It measures the energies of electrons and
photons to a high degree of accuracy.
36 THRESHOLD 1
RE-CREATING
THE BIG BANG
For years, researchers at the European Organization for Nuclear Research
(CERN) have used the world’s largest particle accelerator – the Large
Hadron Collider (LHC) – to smash particles together at extreme speeds
to re-create conditions that existed shortly after the Big Bang.
The LHC is the largest, most sophisticated

scientific instrument ever built. Located
underground on the French-Swiss border,
it accelerates two beams of high-energy
particles, moving in opposite directions,
through pipes connected in a ring with a
circumference of almost 27km (17 miles).
From time to time, the beams are made
to collide, and the results – which typically
include the appearance of short-lived, exotic
particles – are recorded by detectors around
the ring. The purpose of the LHC is to
study the range of subatomic particles
that can exist and the laws governing
their interactions.
Physicists hope these experiments will
refine their ideas about what happened in In 2012, a long sought-after, high-mass, ▲ Seeking the
the Big Bang and help them to investigate extremely short-lived particle called the Higgs boson
This computer graphic
some poorly understood cosmic phenomena. Higgs boson was detected. Its existence shows a particle
The Big Bang-type conditions are re-created confirmed the presence of an energy field, collision recorded
only in miniature – so there is no chance the the Higgs field, that imparts mass to during the search for the
experiments could trigger a new Big Bang particles passing through it. The significance Higgs boson. It displays
features that could be
and the appearance of a new Universe. of this for the Big Bang is that it explains expected from the
how in the first moments of the Universe decay of a Higgs boson
NEW DISCOVERIES particles such as quarks acquired mass, into two other bosons.
One success of the LHC has been to create causing them to slow down and combine One of these decays to a
pair of electrons (green
a quark-gluon plasma, a maelstrom of free to form composite particles, such as protons lines) and the other to a
quarks and gluons (see p.34) that is thought and neutrons. pair of particles called
to have existed for up to a microsecond Other notable successes include the muons (red lines).
(a millionth of a second) after the start of detection in 2014 of a pentaquark (consisting
the Big Bang. This was achieved in 2015 by of four quarks and an antiquark). This
colliding protons with lead nuclei, creating discovery may allow scientists to study in
minuscule fireballs in which everything broke more detail the strong force that holds
down momentarily into quarks and gluons. quarks together.
WE HAVE MADE THE DISCOVERY OF A NEW PARTICLE –

A COMPLETELY NEW PARTICLE – WHICH IS MOST PROBABLY
VERY DIFFERENT FROM ALL THE OTHER PARTICLES.
Rolf-Dieter Heuer, Director of CERN, 1948–, on the discovery of the Higgs boson
RE-CREATING THE BIG BANG 37

BEYOND THE
Red-orange spots
These have a temperature just
0.0002°C higher than the average
CMB temperature
BIG BANG
All-sky projection
The map is a projection
of measurements
collected across
the whole sky
Although the Big Bang model is now accepted by the vast majority
of astronomers, additional evidence is continually being sought to
support it. There are also some problems with the theory that need
to be addressed and some aspects that have yet to be understood.
A general point in favour of the Big Bang from the sky called the cosmic
model is that an important assumption on microwave background (CMB). Early
which it is based, the cosmological principle supporters of the Big Bang theory
(see opposite page), has so far held true. The predicted that this radiation should
model also works within the framework of exist, and in 1964 it was detected
▼ Dark matter
general relativity (see p.32), which is today by two American radio
In this image of a galaxy
cluster over 7 billion considered a pillar of cosmology. However, astronomers. The CMB arose
light-years from Earth, these facts do not necessarily mean the Big soon after the Big Bang, when
called El Gordo (“The Bang theory is correct. To be sure of its photons (small packets of radiant
Fat One”), the blue haze
validity, specific positive evidence is needed energy) were freed from interacting
indicates the
distribution of dark – but there is no shortage of this. with matter and began to travel
matter – hard-to-detect unhindered through space.
matter that appears to SPECIFIC EVIDENCE Further strong evidence comes from
bind galaxy clusters
The most important positive evidence observations of deep space, looking back
together gravitationally.
The pink haze indicates for the Big Bang is an extremely faint but billions of years in time. Such observations
X-ray emissions. uniform thermal radiation coming have revealed objects called quasars (the
highly energetic centres of galaxies) that no
longer seem to exist today. Furthermore,
the most distant galaxies – that is, galaxies
as they existed 10–13 billion years ago – ▲ The cosmic
look different from closer, modern galaxies. microwave background
These observations suggest the Universe is The strength of the CMB measured
of a finite age and has evolved over time by the Planck spacecraft is shown here
as a temperature variation. Although
rather than been static and unchanging. the CMB is uniform across the sky, a
One other important piece of evidence finely graded scale has been used to
comes from the predominance and show tiny variations as coloured spots.
proportions of the chemical elements
hydrogen and helium in the Universe.
The ratios of these two elements in their UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
different forms (called isotopes) agree very One major problem in cosmology in general
closely with what is predicted by the Big is to shed light on the nature of “dark matter”
Bang theory. and how it may have arisen in the Big Bang.
Dark matter is an unknown substance that
emits no light, heat, radio waves, nor any
other kind of radiation – making it extremely
hard to detect – but it does interact with other
WE CAN TRACE THINGS BACK TO THE EARLIER STAGES matter. Another challenge is to understand
“dark energy”. In 1998, it was discovered
OF THE BIG BANG, BUT WE STILL DON’T KNOW WHAT that the expansion of the Universe has been
accelerating over the past 6 billion years. The
BANGED AND WHY IT BANGED. THAT’S A CHALLENGE reason for the acceleration is not known, but
the mysterious phenomenon of dark energy
FOR 21ST-CENTURY SCIENCE. has been proposed as the cause. Very little is
known about it at present, but if dark energy
Martin Rees, British cosmologist, 1942– exists, it must permeate the whole Universe.
38 THRESHOLD 1
Dark blue spots These areas

have a temperature just
0.0002°C lower than the
average CMB temperature
Temperature anomaly
Unexpectedly, one
hemisphere, centred
around this region, is
slightly hotter on average
than the other
Large cold area

This might be due to
a huge void in space
around 6–10 billion
light-years away
In an area of sky several In a much smaller area of sky,

billion light years across, no galaxies can be seen to be
structure can be detected in grouped into clusters rather
Other unanswered questions include why an the distribution of galaxies than evenly distributed
excess of matter over antimatter appeared
during the Universe’s first few moments –
without it, no atoms could ever have formed
– and what caused the cosmic inflation that
produced the smooth distribution of matter
that we see in the Universe today. The final
question is “what triggered the Big Bang?”
and this, of course, may never be answered.
▶ The cosmological principle

This principle states that when viewed on a
sufficiently large scale, the Universe is uniform,
although on small scales there are clear variations
in the distribution of objects such as galaxies.
It follows from the cosmological principle that 5 BILLION LIGHT- 150 MILLION LIGHT- 4 MILLION LIGHT-
the Universe has no centre and no edges. YEARS ACROSS YEARS ACROSS YEARS ACROSS
BEYOND THE BIG BANG 39

THRESHOLD
STARS ARE BORN
With space, time, matter, and energy in place
after the Big Bang, new powerhouses start to
appear – stars. These form as matter is packed
tighter and tighter together under the influence
of gravity. The extremely high temperatures that
result cause atoms to fuse together, releasing a
huge amount of energy and opening the door to
a new level of complexity in the Universe.
The early Universe was shaped by two ingredients, both of which
emerged while it was less than a second old. Gravity acted on tiny
variations in the density of matter, setting in train processes that
led to the formation of the first stars and galaxies and,
ultimately, a far more complex Universe.
Tiny varia
tion
s in
Gravit y, w the
hich de
pu ns
Clumps o lls ity
fm m o
att at
er ter
fm
gr
ow
at
to
The nuclei of
te
ge
hydrogen atoms
r
de
th
ns
er
er
an
dh
otte
What changed?
The early Universe consisted of hydrogen and
r
helium – and another form of matter called dark
matter. It was also completely without light. Under
the influence of gravity, matter began to clump
together. As it did so, it heated up until nuclear
fusion reactions began, forming the first stars and
lighting up the Universe. Over time, the new stars
clustered together into galaxies.
The nuclei of
helium atoms
Dark matter
Today, interstellar
Star’s materials space is filled
are blasted with plasma
into space Star explodes
as supernova
Plasma bubbles
around stars grow
and merge
Clouds become
hotter and denser
Hydrogen and
helium nuclei fuse
GRAVITY PULLS inside clouds
MATTER TOWARDS
AREAS OF HIGH
A star uses fuel
DENSITY, FORMING
quickly, creating
CLOUDS
new elements in
the process UV radiation
interacts with atoms
around stars, forming
a charged gas called
a plasma
Fusion releases
vast amounts
of radiation
MATTER TAKES Stars emit

SIMPLE FORMS – powerful
UV radiation
ATOMIC NUCLEI THE FIRST
(PROTONS AND STARS FORM
NEUTRONS) AND
DARK MATTER
Newly formed stars

cluster around
concentrations of
dark matter
Supermassive
black holes form
at centres of
large galaxies
First galaxies form

as clusters of stars
are attracted to
each other Matter falling
towards a black
hole heats up, releasing
vast amounts
of radiation
Huge amounts
of matter gravitate
towards centres
of galaxies
Early galaxies
gain order and
structure
Mergers inject
Galaxies collide mass and energy
and merge
13.6 BYA THE FIRST
STARS FORM
THE FIRST STARS

TYPICAL FIRST-
GENERATION STAR
THE SUN
For its first 200 million years, the Universe was a dark place. But things
changed dramatically when clouds of gas collapsed to form the first stars.
Inside, new chemical elements formed, and at the ends of their short
lives the stars exploded, dispersing the elements into space.
During the Epoch of Recombination, although it was also dark, for there were no HOW STARS FORM
380,000 years after the Big Bang (see p.34), sources of light. It was a time cosmologists Tiny variations in the density of the dark
positively charged hydrogen and helium refer to as the Cosmic Dark Ages. Amid the matter and the hydrogen and helium gases
nuclei combined with negatively charged dark soup of neutral gas was even darker caused vast clouds of gas to collapse under
electrons to form neutral (uncharged) atoms. stuff: dark matter. Scientists have little idea the influence of gravity to form huge
Until this point, collisions with free electrons about the nature of dark matter, although spherical clumps of matter. This would
had prevented photons of light from moving they do know there is lots of it and that it is have happened without dark matter but
any distance in a straight line. Now the affected by gravity but doesn’t interact with much more slowly – so slowly that no stars
The Big Bang Universe became transparent to light, light or any other form of radiation. would have formed to this day.
13.8 BYA
The enormous energy liberated in the
Epoch of Recombination collapse heated the balls of gas. At the
380,000 years after increasing densities deep inside the balls of
Big Bang
Cosmic Dark Ages gas and as a result of the high temperatures
The Universe is an
13.796 to 13.4 BYA
opaque plasma of
positively charged
hydrogen and The first stars Early star
helium nuclei form 13.6 BYA forming inside
gas cloud
NEUTRAL
HYDROGEN AND
HELIUM ATOMS
Hydrogen and
helium gases
begin to clump
together to
form clouds
Filament of
dark matter
▶ Lighting up the early Universe

The first stars formed about 200 million years after
the Big Bang from clouds of hydrogen and helium
gas. The intense ultraviolet light produced by these
stars re-ionized the space around them, leaving
behind charged atoms (or ions) and free electrons
– and defining the character of interstellar space
we see today.
13.45 BYA RE-IONIZATION OF 13.4 BYA THE FIRST GALAXIES
THE UNIVERSE BEGINS START TO FORM
▲ The size of early stars helium atoms still in space, its energy ◀ Early light
According to astrophysicists’ best models, separated the electrons from their nuclei This is an artist’s
most early stars were much larger than the – just as they had been before the Epoch impression of CR7, a
Sun and hundreds of times as massive. small, bright galaxy. At
of Recombination. This “re-ionization” 12.7 billion light years
created a plasma bubble, of hydrogen away, CR7 appears as
at their cores, hydrogen and helium nuclei ions, helium ions, and free electrons, in it was about a billion
years after the Big Bang.
collided, and some of them joined together, the space around each star. Interstellar
It represents the best
or fused. This nuclear fusion resulted in the space today is an extremely tenuous plasma evidence so far of
production of more helium nuclei from the that was created by this re-ionization, and first-generation stars.
hydrogen nuclei, and new, heavier elements nearly all radiation can pass through it.
– including boron, carbon, and oxygen –
from the helium nuclei (see pp.58–59). SHORT LIVES
The nuclear fusion inside the collapsing The first stars were large and massive:
balls of gas released a huge amount of probably dozens of times the diameter of few million years, compared to several billion
energy, enough to heat the gas to incredibly the Sun and with hundreds of times as much years for an average star in later generations.
high temperatures. That made the gas mass. Such stars burn out quickly. The first As the hydrogen and helium “fuel” began
expand, buoying it up against further generation of stars probably only lived for a to dwindle at the cores of the stars, they
collapse. The high temperature also cooled, enabling the collapse to begin again,
made the balls of gas glow brightly – eventually causing the stars to explode as
to become the first stars. FIRST-GENERATION STARS LIVED supernovas (see pp.60–61). The explosions
The extremely hot first stars emitted large threw a cocktail of new elements and the
amounts of powerful ultraviolet radiation
ONLY A FEW MILLION YEARS remaining un-fused hydrogen and helium
that had far-reaching effects. When the BEFORE EXPLODING AS out into space. This cocktail formed the
intense radiation hit neutral hydrogen and VIOLENT SUPERNOVAS ingredients of a second generation of stars.
Stars form in clusters that

coincide with concentrations
of dark matter The first stars Re-ionization starts
explode as 13.45 BYA
supernovas
13.5 BYA Ultraviolet radiation
from hot star creates
Clusters of stars
bubble of ionized
are drawn together Dwarf galaxies
plasma
into dwarf galaxies combine to form As re-ionization
13.4 BYA larger galaxies, continues, bubbles
including spiral of plasma merge,
galaxies and eventually the
Universe is filled
with plasma
13.6 BYA THE FIRST 13.5 BYA THE FIRST STARS EXPLODE
STARS FORM AS SUPERNOVAS
THE PUZZLE
▼ Isaac Newton
In the late 1680s,
OF GRAVITY
Newton published
both his Universal Gravity, or gravitation, plays a crucial role in the formation of stars and
Law of Gravitation – planets because it causes matter to clump together. The modern theory
the first scientific
theory of gravity – and of gravity, Einstein’s general theory of relativity, accurately explains its
his three laws of motion. effects. Nevertheless, the true nature of gravity remains a mystery.
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle that in the absence of air resistance, all two objects. According to Newton’s law, the
supposed that Earth is at the centre of the falling objects would accelerate downwards force depends on the masses of the objects
Universe and that everything has a natural at the same rate. English scientist Isaac and the distance between their centres.
tendency to move towards it. According to Newton made sense of Galileo’s prediction By combining his law of gravitation
Aristotle, heavier things have more of with his Universal Law of Gravitation. with his laws of motion, Newton was able to
this tendency and so fall faster. account for the motions of any object under
Although Aristotle’s simple notion NEWTON’S GRAVITY the influence of gravity – from projectiles
was superficially supported by Newton realised that what makes things fall on Earth to planets in space. His theory was
observations, experiments by Italian to the ground here on Earth also keeps the accepted for over 200 years – and scientists
scientist Galileo Galilei in the 17th century Moon in orbit. He proposed that gravity is still use his equation in most situations
showed that he was wrong. Galileo’s a force and derived an equation that could where they need to calculate the effects
experiments led him to predict, correctly, predict the strength of the force between any of gravity. However, in the 19th century,
Gravitational
Gravitational force on star is
force on equal to force Star hardly moves
planet on planet because of its large mass
Under the influence of gravity,
the planet falls towards the star,
following a curved orbital path
STAR
PLANET
Without gravity, the

planet would follow a
straight line path
▲ Newton’s theory
In Newton’s theory, a
star and planet exert an
attractive force on each
NEWTON HIMSELF WAS BETTER AWARE OF THE WEAKNESSES
other. Both are subject
to an equal force, but IN HIS INTELLECTUAL EDIFICE THAN THE GENERATIONS OF
the effect on the planet
is more obvious because LEARNED SCIENTISTS WHICH FOLLOWED HIM.
it has a lower mass.
Albert Einstein, German physicist, 1879–1955
46 THRESHOLD 2
calculations of the orbit of planet Mercury, distortion. Objects travelling freely through ◀ Gravitational waves
at odds with observations, showed Newton’s distorted spacetime follow curved paths. So The first gravitational
theory to be flawed. In 1915, German projectiles and planets are simply following waves ever detected
resulted from the
physicist Albert Einstein proposed a radical the equivalent of straight line paths, but in merger of two black
new theory of gravitation – the general theory distorted spacetime. A force is needed to holes. Here, the waves
of relativity – that could accurately predict change an object’s path. For example, the are represented as
ripples in a two-
the orbit of Mercury. And according to ground pushes upwards on a person’s feet,
dimensional sheet of
Einstein’s theory, gravity is not a force at all. which stops the person from following a spacetime. These
path that would take him or her ripples were detected
EINSTEIN’S GRAVITY “freefalling” towards the centre of Earth. by sensitive equipment
on Earth.
General relativity is an extension of special For a star, the expansion of the hot gas of
relativity, a theory Einstein published in which it is made provides the force necessary
1905. Special relativity was an attempt to to stop it collapsing – expansion that lasts as
reconcile Newton’s laws of motion with the long as the star produces heat (see pp.56–57).
theory of electromagnetism, developed in
the 1860s. To do that, Einstein had to EINSTEIN’S PREDICTIONS Despite the success of general relativity, the
abandon the idea that space and time are The general theory of relativity has been theory is at odds with quantum mechanics,
absolute: people in motion relative to each tested many times, to extremely high an equally well-tested cornerstone of
other measure distances and intervals of precision. It has also made several important modern science. Quantum mechanics
time differently – the differences only predictions, such as the idea that light must accurately describes the behaviour of matter
become significant at extremely high relative also follow the curved paths of distorted at the atomic and subatomic scales, while
speeds. One of the direct consequences of spacetime. The result is a phenomenon gravity accurately describes the behaviour
special relativity was the realization that called gravitational lensing, which is evident of matter at much larger scales – but the two
time is a dimension, just like the three in the distorted views of distant galaxies theories are incompatible. The search for
dimensions of space, and that all four exist whose light has been bent as it passed close a quantum theory of gravity is a major
in a four-dimensional grid called spacetime; to nearby galaxies. Another key prediction is concern of modern physics, and it is likely
objects therefore move through spacetime, the existence of gravitational waves: ripples that Einstein’s theory of gravity will be
not space. in spacetime emanating at the speed of light reinterpreted or superseded as part of
In order to generalize special relativity from any very energetic event. In 2015, a grand theory that can describe the
to include gravity, Einstein realized that scientists detected the first hard evidence behaviour of matter at all scales. One
objects with mass distort spacetime. The of the existence of gravitational waves, thing is certain: the puzzle of gravity
more massive an object, the greater the produced by the merging of two black holes. is not yet solved.
▼ Einstein’s theory
Lines called geodesics Massive objects indent the
sheet – the more massive
The best way to illustrate the curves of
Curved sheet represent the shortest
represents disorted distances between points the object, the deeper distorted four-dimensional spacetime is as
spacetime in spacetime the indentation a two-dimensional sheet. A massive object
creates an indentation in the sheet, causing
objects nearby to follow curved paths.
PLANET
STAR
There is no force on the planet; instead, it Planet’s path is The distortion of spacetime
freely follows a curved path, because it is a circular or causes distance between
the shortest distance around the star elliptical orbit adjacent geodesics to increase
THE PUZZLE OF GRAVITY 47

13.6 BYA THE FIRST 13.5 BYA THE FIRST STARS EXPLODE
STARS FORM AS SUPERNOVAS
THE FIRST
GALAXIES
A galaxy is a vast congregation of stars orbiting a common centre.
The first galaxies began to form soon after the first stars, around
clumps of dark matter. Mutual gravitational attraction caused these
small galaxies to merge, each merger sparking new flurries of star birth.
▼ Galaxy evolution Dark matter was crucial in the creation various scales. The clumping process drove GROWING GALAXIES
In the absence of of the first galaxies, just as it was for the the formation of individual stars as the As matter fell towards matter, the dark
direct observations,
formation of the first stars (see pp.44–45). concentrations of matter began to rotate matter haloes grew in size, and so did the
astrophysicists
construct simulations Slight variations in the density of dark and heat up, eventually resulting in nuclear galaxies. Like water draining down a plug
to test their theories matter in the early Universe caused the dark fusion (see pp.56–57). At a larger scale, the hole, much of the matter began to spin as
of how the first galaxies matter and ordinary matter – in the form same process also produced clusters of stars. it fell, so that it went into orbit around the
formed. The images
below are snapshots
of hydrogen and helium gas – to clump Each star cluster, plus its surrounding gas, most dense, central part of the halo. As a
from one of those together. The dark matter formed a network was attracted to neighbouring clusters, and result, galaxies that began as irregularly
simulations. of sinuous filaments and nodes, or haloes, at the Universe’s first galaxies were born. shaped masses began to gain order and
DARK MATTER ORDINARY MATTER
GALAXY
0.6 billion years old Dark matter clumps together 1.0 billion years old The dark matter has further
due to gravity, attracting hydrogen and helium gas collapsed in on itself, increasing the gravitational
(red in the bottom image) into its filaments and attraction on stars and gas. A small, irregularly
nodes. Clusters of stars (blue dots) form where shaped galaxy forms, its stars orbiting a point
the density is particularly high. at its centre.
48 THRESHOLD 2
structure. Many formed spinning discs, amounts of energy as high-energy (short ◀ Merging galaxies
with spiral arms; others were egg-shaped wavelength) X-rays, ultraviolet radiation, Astronomers observe
elliptical galaxies. But with each merger, and bright visible light. Astronomers first many merging galaxies.
Shown here is NGC
the structure was disrupted, only to be detected these energetic galaxies in the 4676 – also known as
regained or developed millions or billions 1950s; they made the discoveries with early the Mice Galaxies – a
of years later. The mergers injected energy radio telescopes, since the short-wavelength pair of colliding galaxies
around 290 million
and mass, too, and the rate of star formation radiation has been stretched to such an
light-years away.
and star death increased. Each star inside extent by the expansion of space that it
a young galaxy inevitably ended its life in a arrives as long-wavelength infrared and
powerful supernova explosion that filled the radio waves. Most large galaxies in the
galaxy with the elements that would seed the Universe today, including our own, still have
next generation of stars and even planets. supermassive black holes at their centres.
SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES

Although much of the gas and many of the
stars stayed in orbit around the centre of
each galaxy, huge amounts of the matter fell [IN SIMULATIONS] YOU CAN MAKE STARS AND GALAXIES
towards the centre. In large galaxies, the
density at the centre increased so much that THAT LOOK LIKE THE REAL THING. BUT IT IS THE DARK
a supermassive black hole (see p.47) formed
there. As matter jostled its way in towards MATTER THAT IS CALLING THE SHOTS.
the growing black hole, friction heated it to
extremely high temperatures, releasing vast Professor Carlos Frenk, cosmologist, 1951–
4.7 billion years old Several galaxies have come 13.6 billion years old The galaxy has become stable,
together, forming a much larger structure millions merging with others less often. It has a spiral shape,
of light-years across. Each small galaxy that merges like that of a hurricane, and a supermassive black hole
brings new material, and the increasing density at its core. Fragmented debris of its progenitor
leads to a burst of star formation. galaxies lies around it.
THE FIRST GALAXIES 49

HARD EVIDENCE
HUBBLE EXTREME Relatively nearby

galaxy looks red
as its stars are
DEEP FIELD
running low on
hydrogen fuel
Taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, the eXtreme Deep Field records
faint light from thousands of galaxies in a small area of sky. The deepest
view of space ever captured, it provides the best evidence we have about
the early Universe’s stars and galaxies.
When we look out into space, we are looking years, and the addition of an infrared
back in time, because the light from distant camera to the telescope in 2009 meant that This foreground
star is in our
objects left a long time ago. Light that left a objects whose light has been redshifted (see own galaxy
galaxy 5 billion years ago will appear p.29) beyond the visible spectrum and into
extremely faint, however bright the galaxy the infrared could also be seen. The new
was at the time. Imaging such a dim object observations were combined with the Ultra
requires a long exposure time – not Deep Field, and the result was published in
a fraction of a second, like a typical 2012 as the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field
photograph, but millions of seconds. (XDF). Light from the most distant galaxies
In 1995, astronomers pointed NASA’s in the XDF took more than 13 billion
Hubble Space Telescope at a tiny patch of years to reach us, and they appear one Light from this
very faint galaxy,
sky for over 140 hours and combined a total ten-billionth as bright as the dimmest called UDFj-
of 342 images into a single, remarkable thing visible to the naked eye. 39546284, took
13.4 billion
image called the Hubble Deep Field. In Containing evidence of galaxy mergers light-years to
2004, NASA scientists produced the even (see p.49), extreme redshifting, and reach Earth
more remarkable Hubble Ultra Deep Field gravitational lensing (see p.47), the Hubble
– an image with an even longer exposure, XDF is a significant piece of evidence in This relatively
on a different patch of sky. Observations on support of the most convincing theories we nearby object is a
spiral galaxy, like
that area continued over the next eight have about the evolution of the Universe. the Milky Way,
seen front-on
▶ Looking back The largest, brightest objects MORE THAN

9 BILLION YEARS AGO
in the XDF include mature galaxies that appear
as they were about 5–9 billion years ago – when
they had grown by merging and were populated
by second- or third-generation stars. Galaxies
in the background are smaller: young, irregular
5–9 BILLION
galaxies seen as they were over 9 billion years
YEARS AGO
ago. The foreground is relatively empty because
the XDF team chose an area almost devoid of
nearby galaxies and stars in our own galaxy.
LESS THAN
5 BILLION YEARS AGO
50 THRESHOLD 2
Field of view
Next to the full Moon, the Hubble eXtreme
Deep Field covers a tiny area: less than one
More recent
galaxies are Distant galaxy twenty-millionth of the area of the whole sky.
the result of appears red due To see the image at its true size, you would need
mergers of smaller, to redshifting to hold this page about 300m (1,000ft) away. It
older galaxies of its light
is remarkable that more than 7,000 galaxies can
be seen in such a small field of view – and to think
that each tiny dot in the image is a collection of
millions or billions of stars frozen in time.
XDF’s field of view, with the Moon for comparison
Early galaxies
The XDF gives astronomers a unique
view of galaxies as they were during the
Universe’s first few hundred millions of
years, when they were relatively small,
irregularly shaped groups of stars. As they
collided and merged, most became spiral
shaped because the collisions resulted in
rotation. The Universe was smaller when
the light captured in the XDF left the
young galaxies. As space has expanded,
the light has been “stretched”, shifting its
frequencies towards or even beyond the
red end of the spectrum, which is why so
many of the XDF galaxies appear reddish.
Close-up of heavily redshifted galaxy merger
HUBBLE EXTREME DEEP FIELD 51

THRESHOLD
ELEMENTS ARE
FORGED
We all come from dying stars. All the
elements that make up our world originated
there. Stars are hungry, and as some of them
use up their fuel, age, and finally die, they
collapse and go out with a tremendous
explosion of energy. But from star death
come new building blocks – the elements –
pushed out into the Universe to start
something new.
The formation of the first stars had profound consequences. As well
as lighting up the Universe, stars act as chemical factories, producing
new chemical elements that provide the raw materials for everything
else in the Universe, including living things.
Gravit y, w
hich
pul
The stron ls m
g nu at
cle te
Inside sta ar rt
rs, h f or og
yd ce
Old star ro , h
et
s ru ge
he
no n
ol
n
r
Early stars, grouped
ut
di
into galaxies
of
n
uc
ga
lei
tom
hy
fus
dr
s to
og
e to
en
geth
form
and
er
helium
helium nuclei
What changed?
As stars run out of hydrogen fuel,
they begin to collapse, getting hotter
and denser.
Interstellar space, filled

with charged gases
First 26 elements
in periodic table,
up to iron, form
in this way
AS ONE ELEMENT
RUNS OUT, STAR
COLLAPSES AGAIN,
LEADING TO SURGE
IN TEMPERATURE
AND START OF NEW
FUSION PROCESS
Star collapses
for the last time,
then explodes in
supernova
Some new elements

mix with other
elements from dead
stars to form
complex molecules
ANOTHER TYPE OF
Some hydrogen and
FUSION REACTION helium will provide raw
BEGINS, FORMING materials for next
generation of stars
ELEMENTS SUCH
AS CARBON Process called
neutron capture forms
even heavier elements,
creating all elements
up to uranium
Universe is
now chemically
more diverse, with
92 elements
Supernova
scatters new
elements
into space
13.6 BYA THE FIRST 13.4 BYA THE FIRST
STARS FORM GALAXIES FORM
THE LIFE CYCLE

OF A STAR
Just like humans, stars are born, grow old, and die. The way a star ends its
days depends on its mass, with the largest stars exploding as supernovas.
These detonations furnished, and continue to furnish, the Universe with
heavier elements, recycling material ready for it to be turned into new stars.
Consequently, the life cycle of stars also balance is maintained, but things change
played a crucial role in the emergence A SUPERGIANT STAR CAN when fusion eventually stops. Astronomers
of life on Earth. Essential ingredients – HAVE A VOLUME 8 BILLION refer to a star still fusing hydrogen into
including the calcium in your bones and helium as a main-sequence star. Once
TIMES THAT OF THE SUN
the iron in your blood – were forged inside this fusion ceases, the star evolves off the
stars, only for supernovas to spread them main sequence.
▼ Sun-like star
far and wide. For all but the smallest stars, the core
Stars like the Sun
typically live for around Stars come in a vast array of sizes. governs how long it will live. The larger the contracts and the temperature rises to
10 billion years. After Astronomers classify them into seven main star, the quicker it will consume its nuclear around 100 million degrees Celsius.
entering a red giant groups from largest to smallest denoted by material. O stars live fast and die young, This is hot enough for helium to fuse into
phase, they form a
the letters O, B, A, F, G, K, and M. Our Sun often dying out within just a few million carbon, which creates enough energy to
planetary nebula – and
usually do not explode is a G star, meaning there are bigger and years, whereas the smallest stars can eke upset the balance the other way and the
as supernovas. smaller stars out there than our own. The out their existence for trillions of years. star bloats outwards. Then, depending
smallest stars, known as dwarfs, are the on size, it will either turn into a planetary
most common. M stars, for example, LIFE STAGES nebula with a white dwarf at the centre,
make up more than 75 per cent of all Stars begin their lives as protostars, or detonate as a supernova, leaving behind a
stars. By contrast, O stars account formed from clouds of interstellar dust neutron star or
for just 0.00003 per (see pp.44–45). Nuclear processes in a star’s black hole.
cent. The size core then shore it up against gravitational
of a star also collapse. For most of a star’s life, this
The supply of hydrogen

decreases – eventually fusion
ceases, and there’s nothing
to counteract gravity
MAIN- MAIN-
PROTOSTAR SEQUENCE SEQUENCE
STAR STAR
Nuclear fusion
starts, and a Fusion in the core supports The core contracts, and
new star, called the star against the temperature rises to
a protostar, gravitational collapse 100 million degrees
is born
The increased temperature allows

A cloud of gas and dust helium to fuse into carbon but this
collapses under gravity creates more energy, causing the
to form a protostar star to surge outwards
56 THRESHOLD 3
9 BYA THE UNIVERSE CONSISTS OF 6 BYA THE EXPANSION OF THE UNIVERSE 4.6 BYA OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
VAST CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES STARTS TO ACCELERATE STARTS TO FORM
▶ Low-mass star Stars less than a quarter

Hydrogen fusion The star finally
These smaller stars are able to of the Sun’s mass don’t
can continue for runs out of fuel and
mix their interiors, meaning that become red giants
trillions of years forms a white dwarf
the core’s supply of hydrogen
gets replenished by the outer
layers falling towards the centre
– so the core doesn’t contract to PROTOSTAR MAIN-SEQUENCE RED WHITE
start helium fusion. STAR DWARF DWARF
Heavier elements The star collapses, and

▶ High-mass star These hot blue stars get fuse together and the infalling material
The evolution of more massive through their nuclear eventually form rebounds outwards in a
stars is initially similar to that of material quickly an iron core violent explosion
Sun-like stars. But they form red
supergiants, instead of red giants,
and eventually supernovas. The BLACK
star’s ultimate fate depends on HOLE For the largest stars,
its mass. the iron core becomes
a black hole
For smaller stars, a

neutron star is formed
PROTOSTAR MAIN-SEQUENCE SUPERGIANT TYPE II NEUTRON

STAR STAR SUPERNOVA STAR
STARS ARE BORN, LIVE – OFTEN FOR BILLIONS OF YEARS – AND DIE …
SOMETIMES IN A SPECTACULAR MANNER.
Carl Sagan, American astronomer, 1934–1996
This white dwarf is The white dwarf

orbiting a main- can rip material
sequence star from its partner
TYPE 1A
Half of the star’s mass
ends up in a central,
SUPERNOVA
BINARY
Earth-sized core SYSTEM
Eventually, the white dwarf

becomes unstable and
explodes as a supernova
RED
GIANT
PLANETARY
NEBULA
Initially, the white Over time, the white

dwarf is hot and dwarf fades away
glows brightly into a black dwarf
Helium fusion is
less stable, and
the star sheds its
outer layers
WHITE DWARF BLACK DWARF
THE LIFE CYCLE OF A STAR 57

HOW NEW ELEMENTS

FORM INSIDE STARS
Before the first stars shone, the Universe was just a sea of hydrogen, helium, and
residual energy from the Big Bang. The chemical diversity in the Universe today
is due to stars – effectively, vast atom factories – churning primitive materials
into more complex elements and then flinging them outwards when they die.
Inside stars, the temperature is high in uncovering this process and was awarded At this point, the temperature in the core
enough to rip electrons away from the the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physics for his has soared to three billion degrees Celsius,
nuclei of atoms. In the case of hydrogen, work. Crucially, the total mass of the which is enough to force two silicon nuclei
this leaves solitary protons (and electrons) products of the pp-chain is less than the together to form iron. In this way, a wealth
wandering around the star’s interior. mass of the ingredients entering into it. In of elements builds up in shells within the
Matter in this state is known as plasma. the Sun, for example, 620 million tonnes star, resembling the layers of an onion, with
Due to their like electric charges, protons
repel each other, rather like similar poles
of a magnet.
NEW ELEMENTS IN STARS FINALLY, I GOT TO CARBON, AND AS YOU

However, deep in the core of the star, the
temperature and pressure are high enough ALL KNOW, IN THE CASE OF CARBON THE
to squash protons together. Known as
nuclear fusion, this process releases energy REACTION WORKS OUT BEAUTIFULLY.
and is the star’s power source. It also exerts
an outward pressure that counters the Hans Bethe, German–American physicist, 1906–2005
inward pull of gravity.
The simplest fusion mechanism is of hydrogen (protons) is turned into Hydrogen | 1
called the proton-proton (or pp) chain. 616 million tonnes of helium every second. Helium | 2
▼ The triple
alpha process
In the first step, one of the fused protons The missing four million tonnes of mass Lithium | 3
In this process, two turns into a neutron, creating a new is converted into energy according to Beryllium | 4
helium-4 nuclei fuse proton-neutron pair called a deuteron. Einstein’s famous equation E = mc². Boron | 5
into beryllium-8, which This is bombarded by another proton to Eventually, the hydrogen in the star’s Carbon | 6
becomes carbon-12
when struck by a third
create the nucleus of a helium-3 atom. core runs out and gravity contracts the core. Nitrogen | 7
helium-4 nucleus. When two of these helium-3 atoms collide, The resulting temperature surge allows a Oxygen | 8
Helium-4 nuclei are they create a helium-4 nucleus, along with new fusion mechanism to take over – the Fluorine | 9
also called alpha two protons, which can start the whole triple alpha process – one which uses
particles, and so this Neon | 10
mechanism is known as process again. The German–American helium-4 nuclei (alpha particles) as its main Sodium | 11
the triple alpha process. physicist Hans Bethe was a key player ingredient. This enables two helium nuclei
Magnesium | 12
to fuse into beryllium and then, with the
Aluminium | 13
addition of a third helium nucleus, into
Silicon | 14
Gamma ray emitted as two
carbon. In smaller stars, such as the Sun,
Phosphorus | 15
helium-4 nuclei fuse to form the atom construction process ends here.
beryllium-8 nucleus Gamma ray Sulphur | 16
(high-energy However, larger stars can go on
Helium-4 Chlorine | 17
nucleus
photons) increasing the diversity of chemical
Helium-4 Argon | 18
nucleus, or
elements; once one fusion path runs out, the
alpha particle core contracts and the temperature spikes to Potassium | 19
Helium-4 Calcium | 20
nucleus
kick-start another. Next, carbon fuses with
helium to form oxygen, which is bombarded Scandium | 21
Proton by another helium nucleus to forge neon, Titanium | 22
Neutron Beryllium-8
nucleus Carbon-12 which itself is fashioned into magnesium Vanadium | 23
nucleus
Helium-4 by a similar process. The sheer range of Chromium | 24
nucleus Helium-4 and beryllium-8
nuclei fuse to form carbon-12
possible reactions is vast. Eventually, carbon Manganese | 25
nucleus and oxygen fuse together to form silicon. Iron | 26
58 THRESHOLD 3
m e n t s in t elements in Ea
iron at its heart. However, because iron on ele he U mon
o mm ni v om
r th
’s c
tc c
is the most stable of all the elements, it os
er
se o st ru
st
M M
cannot be fused into anything else and
fusion ceases. As heavier elements form,
the process gathers pace – it can take Helium 23.0% Oxygen 46.0%
millions of years for a star to exhaust its Oxygen 1.0% Other 0.9%
hydrogen, but the fusion of silicon nuclei (Titanium 0.66%,
Carbon 0.5% Carbon 0.18%)
to form iron takes just a single day.
Other 0.5% Potassium 1.5%
(Neon 0.13%, Sodium 2.3%
NEW ELEMENTS IN SUPERNOVAS Iron 0.11%,
Nitrogen 0.10%, Magnesium 2.9%
Elements heavier than iron can only be Silicon 0.07%,
Magnesium 0.06%, Calcium 5.0%
created when a massive star explodes in Sulphur 0.05%)
a supernova. The next heaviest elements
are formed by the s-neutron-capture
process – “s” stands for slow, as it typically
Hydrogen 75.0% Silicon 27.0% Aluminium 8.1% Iron 6.3%
takes hundreds of years. This process
actually begins inside stars, but in stars
the interactions are extremely slow – they rapid). The r-process can only happen in form giant molecular clouds that will ▲ The distribution
only speed up once a supernova gets going. the extreme conditions of a supernova. The eventually collapse to form new stars. of the elements
The combination of
The earlier transformation of carbon density of neutrons increases greatly during Individual atoms can combine with others
elements found on
into oxygen, and neon into magnesium, the explosion, and new elements can be in the clouds to form complex molecules, Earth differs greatly
created a wealth of additional neutrons. formed in a fraction of a second. Some of some of which are crucial for life. from the Universe at
The gradual combination of these excess these r-process nuclei later decay away, Astronomers and astrochemists have already large. The lightest
elements, hydrogen and
particles with existing nuclei allows creating new elements not fashioned found evidence of these molecules. The
helium, were expelled
elements as heavy as bismuth to form. directly by either neutron capture process. simplest amino acid – glycine – has been from Earth’s orbit by the
However, this process cannot produce any detected in a cloud of gas towards the centre young Sun. Oxygen, the
elements heavier than bismuth, because COMPLEX CHEMISTRY of our Milky Way galaxy, as well as in the crust's most abundant
element, was created
bismuth decays away into polonium before This profusion of material is dispersed nearby Orion Nebula. Amino acids are as life turned carbon
it can combine with a neutron. A much into the wider Universe by the force of the regarded as life’s building blocks, so it dioxide into sugar via
faster neutron capture mechanism is supernova. It then mixes with interstellar is possible that the basic ingredients for life photosynthesis.
required – the r-process (“r” stands for material and debris from other dead stars to were fashioned long before the Sun lit up.
◀ New elements in dying stars

As one source of fusion material runs
out, gravity contracts the star’s core and
triggers further fusion. This successively
builds up concentric shells of new elements.
The elements become increasingly heavy, as
measured by their atomic numbers (the
number of protons in the nucleus),
which range from 1 to 26.
▲ Life’s cosmic origins

The building blocks of life have been
found in the nearest star-forming region
to our Solar System, the Orion Nebula.
Amino acids combine to create proteins
and are a key component of DNA.
IRON ASH CORE

WHEN GIANT
5 minutes after
core collapse
STARS EXPLODE
Today we know that supernovas pepper the Universe with elements
heavier than iron. But our quest to understand these searing explosions
dates back to a time long before the advent of our astronomical
understanding. We’ve been documenting them for almost 2,000 years.
166 minutes
The earliest recorded evidence of an it was a guest in the night sky for almost
observed supernova dates back to Chinese two years. The remnant of this colossal
astronomers in 185 CE . They documented explosion is the spectacular Crab Nebula
the appearance of a sudden bright light in in the constellation Taurus.
the sky that took eight months to fade from
view. A similar event occurred in 393 CE , ENTER THE TELESCOPE
and up to 20 other potential events appear The 1054 event was followed nearly
six centuries later by the supernovas
of 1572 and 1604, the last in the pre-
JUST BEFORE A telescope age. The latter, known as
Tycho’s supernova, was the last observed
SUPERGIANT STAR EXPLODES to explode in our Milky Way galaxy.
AS A SUPERNOVA, ITS However, in more recent times, light
TEMPERATURE REACHES ABOUT reached us in 1987 from an explosion
100 BILLION°C in one of our galaxy’s satellites – the
Large Magellanic Cloud. By then,
astronomers were able to observe it
in Chinese records, although modern with telescopes within days of detonation.
▼ Chaco Canyon astronomers haven’t been able to confirm The Voyager probe, then on its way
These wall markings
they were all supernovas. to the furthest planets, was also pointed
in a New Mexico cave
show a large star, a One definitive explosion – perhaps the towards the explosion for a closer look.
crescent Moon, and most famous of the pre-telescope age – was Designated SN 1987A, it surprised
a handprint. It has been seen to detonate in 1054. It was observed astronomers because the best theories
suggested that the local
in Japan and the Middle East, as well as of the day said the star that exploded
Anasazi people drew
it as a record of the in China. Luminous enough to be seen shouldn’t have done so. Consequently,
1054 supernova. during daylight hours for nearly a month, it has become a valuable source of
evidence against which astronomers
can test their theories. Some of their
ideas were backed up by SN 1987A,
particularly that the radioactive decay
of cobalt atoms keeps the supernova
remnant bright long after the initial
explosion. But some mysteries remain.
For example, astronomers have yet to
find the neutron star that should have
formed at the heart of the dying star.
The 1054 supernova and SN 1987A
were both Type II supernovas, formed
by the core collapse of massive stars.
In recent years, astronomers have also
been able to pick out some relatively close
Type 1a supernovas, which are formed
by stars of lower mass. These include
SN 2011fe in the Pinwheel Galaxy and
SN 2014J in the nearby Cigar Galaxy.
60 THRESHOLD 3
27 minutes 50 minutes 120 minutes
Simulating a supernova
This computer model of SN 1987A
was made at the Max Planck Institute
for Astrophysics in Germany. Density
increases from black through red,
orange, and white. A shockwave is
expanding through the star’s outer
layers of hydrogen. Metals (white) from
the core are being expelled rapidly, with
turbulence occurring as they collide
with gases in the star’s interior.
WHEN GIANT STARS EXPLODE 61

▼ The Periodic Table Missing elements By arranging the table in terms

First presented to the Russian Chemical Society on of the behaviour and structure of elements, Atomic number This is the number
Mendeleev was able to spot gaps that suggested of protons in the nucleus – just one
6 March 1869 as “the period system”, this famous as-yet-unseen elements, including germanium in the case of hydrogen
depiction of the primary components of matter
organises the elements in an incredibly useful way.
Group Vertical columns are called groups. Unstable elements Some elements are not Relative atomic mass This is measured in
Group members have similar electron stable and decay over time. Even the most atomic mass units (amu), where 1 amu is equal
configurations and so exhibit similar stable form of kurchatovium (now called to 1/12 of the mass of a carbon atom. This is why
chemical properties. Today, 18 groups rutherfordium) will decay to half the original it is called relative – it helps compare the masses
are officially recognized amount in just 1 hour 20 minutes of different elements
62 THRESHOLD 3
MAKING SENSE
OF THE ELEMENTS
Dmitri Mendeleev The periodic table of the elements is one of the most recognizable icons in
Mendeleev is the
name most associated science. By organizing the elements according to their atomic structure, it
with the Periodic
Table. He didn’t win provides a standard way to order and classify them. Of the 118 elements
the Nobel Prize, but
he does have an
in the table, 92 form inside stars and supernovas.
element named after
him (Mendelevium),
as well as a crater on
the Moon As the scientific revolution gathered pace,
so did the rate at which new elements were
discovered. Over time, a pattern in their
chemical behaviour was found. The first
attempt to organize the elements into
groups came in the late 18th century, when
Period Rows are French chemist Antoine Lavoisier sorted
known as periods.
Their main function them into four categories: gases, non-
is to make sure that
elements with
metals, metals, and earths. In 1829, the
similar chemical German Johann Döbereiner noted that
properties appear
in the correct group. trios of elements had similar chemical
There are currently properties. Crucially, he realized that the
seven periods
attributes of one could be predicted from to ensure that sodium is in the same column ▲ Organizing
those of the other two. By the 1860s, the as lithium (both are highly reactive). These the elements
The elements can be
British chemist John Newlands had devised columns, or groups, are the real key to the grouped according
his Law of Octaves, which said that every table. Mendeleev’s table only had seven to how they formed.
eighth element exhibited similar chemical groups, but the power of his system was Most of the elements
behaviour. However, on occasion he had confirmed in the 1890s when the noble up to uranium formed
as a result of nuclear
to squeeze two elements into the same box, gases were discovered and fitted in reactions in stars or
Tile Each tile
displays a chemical and he did not leave gaps for as-yet- perfectly as an eighth group. supernovas. Elements
symbol for the undiscovered elements. This problem heavier than uranium
element (either one
or two letters), along explains why the Russian Dmitri WHERE THE ELEMENTS ARE FORGED are unstable and
with information rarely encountered.
including atomic Mendeleev is often regarded as the father The searing heat in the first minutes after
number and relative of the periodic table. In 1869, Mendeleev the Big Bang turned some of the cosmos’s
atomic mass number
published a primitive version of the nascent hydrogen into helium via nuclear
famous table, leaving gaps based on the fusion (see p.58). After just 20 minutes,
“periodicity” of the known elements. fusion stopped and the basic composition KEY
of the Universe was set down as about Formed in Big Bang
(hydrogen and helium)
HOW THE TABLE WORKS 75 per cent hydrogen and 25 per cent
Formed in stars
The elements are organized in order of helium. It took millions of years for more by fusion (lithium
increasing atomic mass. The horizontal rows elements to appear. The elements up to to iron)
are known as periods – a new period begins and including iron form by fusion in stars, Formed in stars by
neutron capture
when the behaviour of an element repeats. whereas many beyond iron can only be (cobalt to uranium)
For example, a new period starts after neon made in the cataclysm of a supernova. Unstable elements
IT IS THE FUNCTION OF SCIENCE TO DISCOVER THE

EXISTENCE OF A GENERAL REIGN OF ORDER IN NATURE
AND TO FIND THE CAUSES GOVERNING THIS ORDER.
Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist, 1834–1907
MAKING SENSE OF THE ELEMENTS 63

THRESHOLD
PLANETS FORM
As our own star – the Sun – ignites, its gravitational
pull sweeps up the elements into orbit around
it. As they crash together, planets begin to
form. While the lighter elements are blown
to the outer regions, forming gas giants, close to
the Sun the heavier elements remain and form
rocky planets, including Earth: our home is born.
When stars were born from the debris of former stars, some chemically
rich material was left in orbit. This debris clumped into balls of matter
stuck together by gravity and chemical bonds. These structures were
planets, and they were far more complex than
anything seen before. We now know that this
first happened long ago in solar systems A newly f
orm
far older than our own. ed
s New chem un
ical lik
ele es
Gravit y, a me ta
cc r e nt r
tio sa
n, n
an
d
d
Matter from dying stars
r
cl
The death of stars builds up an
ou
an
ever-increasing supply of heavier
ds
do
elements, supplementing the
of
m
hydrogen and helium of the early
che
Universe. This results in a more
co
chemically complex world with
llisi
mic
92 elements that can combine
to form compounds.
What changed?
ons
After the formation of a star, material was
ally rich matter orbit

left orbiting in a disc. The star’s fierce radiation
blasted light, volatile material, particularly hydrogen
and helium, far from the star. These gases would go
on to form distant gas-giant planets. Nearer to the
star, the heavier, chemically rich materials from the
death of previous generations of stars remained
solid or liquid and clumped into rocky planets.
In our own Solar System, one of these
planets was Earth.
ing
t
Star nurseries
he
Clouds of dead star
ne
material, rich in heavy
w
elements, such as carbon,
st
oxygen, nitrogen, aluminium,
a
r
nickel, and iron, gather under
weak forces of gravity and
electromagnetism. They
become sites of new
star formation.
Shockwave
from a supernova
A disturbance, such as a
shockwave from a neighbouring
exploding star, may trigger a cloud
to begin contracting to form a star.
As it slowly collapses, the cloud
begins spinning faster and
faster, and takes on
a disc shape.
Movement
generates Earth’s Solid metal inner
Magnetic magnetic field core and liquid
field deflects metal outer core
solar wind and Semi-solid
protects rocky mantle
atmosphere
Gaseous
atmosphere While molten,
planet separates
into layers
Solid crust
ENERGY OF EARTH’S Liquid water

FORMATION IS SO ocean
GREAT, PLANET
BECOMES A HOT,
MOLTEN BALL One
giant impact Moon’s gravity
fragments Earth creates Earth’s
and creates tides, possibly
its Moon triggering life
Conditions
for life
Moon’s gravity Earth’s

stabilizes Earth’s seasons and
axis and spin climate remain
relatively
stable
ROCKY
PLANETS FORMED
BY COLLIDING Layers form
the geological
DEBRIS Hot water and record – a history
minerals reach written in
the surface at Earth’s rocks
mid-ocean ridges,
where new oceanic
crust is made
Heat
retained in
core and drives
currents in Continental
the mantle crust is eroded
Rifts create
above and new rocks
new oceans
are deposited
in layers
Volcanoes
and mid-ocean Earth’s
ridges create crust splits into Continental
new crust Deep oceanic plates, which move landmasses
trenches created against each other as grow
where plates slip they are dragged
underneath by Earth’s moving
others mantle
Continents
drift on
their moving New range
plates of habitats for
colonization
by life
Continental
crust – a new, light
type of crust – is
formed Mountains
built by
colliding
plates
4.56 BYA SUN 4.54 BYA EARTH 4.53 BYA MOON 4.4 BYA FIRST
IGNITES FORMS FORMS OCEANS
OUR SUN IGNITES

In an otherwise inconspicuous region of our Milky Way galaxy, a giant
cloud of matter began to coalesce. Our Sun had a tempestuous birth,
heating up and spinning until it exploded into life.
An unassuming mass of gas and dust, temperatures and pressures counteracted

measuring only a few gas molecules per its own gravitational force, blasting ice,
cubic centimetre, floated aimlessly in space. rock, and gas away from the centre. These
Eventually, it started to collapse under the materials flattened in a spinning disc that
weight of its own gravity. began to orbit the protosun.
It is likely that this collapse was kick- Entering a new phase of intense activity,
started by a shockwave from a nearby the protosun began to eject jets of radiation
supernova. A rare type of aluminium can from its poles. Fierce winds blasted lighter
be found across the Solar System, which elements such as hydrogen and helium to
may be a potential trace of this supernova. the edge of the protosun’s orbit. Soon, the
protosun’s temperature, pressure, and size
UNSTOPPABLE FORCE rose even higher, until it had absorbed
Whatever the cause, what we do know is 99.9 per cent of material from the
that over tens of millions of years the cloud original solar nebula.
progressively became more dense. In the Despite these events occuring almost
centre, the cloud was at its densest and 5 billion years ago, we can gather clues
hottest – this was the protosun, and it was as to how our Sun was born because we
composed of about 75 per cent hydrogen can watch new stars being created
and 25 per cent helium. Extreme elsewhere in the galaxy.
THE SUN, WITH ALL OF THOSE PLANETS REVOLVING

AROUND IT... CAN STILL RIPEN A BUNCH OF GRAPES
AS IF IT HAD NOTHING ELSE IN THE UNIVERSE TO DO.
Galileo Galilei, astronomer, 1564–1642
Temperature
Spinning cloud of dust, Dense central protosun Grains of icy dust remain in Sun starts Rocky debris orbits and pressure
hydrogen, and helium formed by gravity cold parts of outer disc to shine near to the Sun in Sun rise
Solar nebula Liquid and gas freeze here, far Rocky dust close Gas and icy particles
flattens into a disc away from the protosun’s heat to protosun orbit further out
An interstellar cloud of gas and dust begins to Extreme temperatures inside the protosun generate The protosun’s temperature and internal pressure
collapse under gravity, spinning and heating up as it energy that counteracts its own gravity. Ice and gas near rise, and it becomes an early Sun. Lumps of rock
does so. In the hot, dense centre, a protosun forms. the protosun burn away, leaving rocky dust particles. and ice orbiting the Sun start to collide.
68 THRESHOLD 4
4.1 BYA FIRST TRACE OF 4 BYA EARTH SETTLES 3.8 BYA EARTH’S CONTINENTS
POSSIBLE LIFE INTO LAYERS START TO FORM
Bursting into life

Intense jets of radiation erupt from the
protosun’s poles as it swallows up dust
and gas. Fierce winds collide with the
surrounding rock and ice that will later
form planets.
Rocky worlds are born

As planetesimals within the frost line orbited
the young Sun, incoming materials approached
with ever greater speed. The constant impacts
accelerated their growth, pulling even more
material towards them.
70 THRESHOLD 4
THE PLANETS
FORM
The planets in our Solar System started their lives as gas and tiny grains
of dust. Formed into a whirling disc by the young Sun’s gravitational pull,
millions of years of violent collisions would eventually mould the gas and
dust into impressive planets, one of which would become our home.
Before the modern planets came the DIFFERENT TYPES OF WORLD In the outer Solar System, beyond what
planetesimals – the building blocks from The distance at which these planetary astronomers refer to as the frost line,
which planets are made. The gathering seeds formed from the Sun determined materials such as water and methane froze
together of smaller chunks to form larger whether the eventual planet was made in the frigid temperatures. With more solid
ones is a process known as accretion. primarily of rock or gas. material available, the gravitational pulls
In the hot ring of the inner Solar of these larger planetesimals were stronger.
ASSEMBLING A PLANET System, only materials with very high Consequently, lighter elements such as
The irregular orbits of the mostly solid melting points, such as iron, nickel, and hydrogen and helium were more easily
materials around the young Sun led to silicon, could survive to be incorporated captured, resulting in the vast gaseous
frequent impacts, causing accretion. into the rocky planets, Mercury, Venus, atmospheres typical of Jupiter, Saturn,
Initially, centimetre-sized grains grew our home planet Earth, and Mars. Uranus, and Neptune.
to metre-sized lumps. It took tens to
hundreds of millions of years for their
collective gravity to accumulate materials
that resulted in planetesimals that
stretched kilometres across. THE FORMATION OF THE PLANETS IS LIKE A GIGANTIC
The largest planetesimals had enough
gravitational power to attract additional SNOWBALL FIGHT... A PLANET-BALL THAT HAS GATHERED
material relentlessly. The planetesimals
formed by this process of runaway ALL THE SNOWFLAKES IN THE SURROUNDING AREA.
accretion created the embryos of planets.
Claude Allègre, scientist and politician, 1937–
Gravity draws Rock and dust clump Little debris Fully formed
rock and dust into together to form remains in inner rocky inner
rings around Sun planetesimals Solar System planet Sun Uranus
Sun Mercury Earth
Mars
Icy material and gas remains in

Frost line outer Solar System Kuiper Belt Venus Jupiter
Distant planet continues to

Sun blasts vapour and other Sun’s radiation boils away most pull in ice and gas, becoming
gases beyond the frost line water and other volatile substances a bloated gaseous world Saturn Neptune Asteroid Belt
Materials and debris left over from the Sun’s formation Large planetesimals attracted smaller particles. Stabilization of the Solar System took hundreds of
orbited the young Sun in rings. The inner rings were Their gravitational fields grew stronger as they millions of years (see pp.74–75). The gravitational
composed of metals and rock; outer rings beyond continued to grow larger. Most of the orbiting interactions of the infant planets settled, eventually
the frost line held rock, frozen water, and gases. material was eventually swept up. forming the stable orbits we see today.
THE PLANETS FORM 71

HARD EVIDENCE
Metal matrix is made
of iron and nickel
THE IMILAC
METEORITE
Meteorites – pieces of material that have flown through space and
landed on Earth – deliver small time capsules of ancient data. They
have drifted since the birth of the Solar System, so the information
they contain is often older than Earth.
Artefacts that were around after the Solar as a pallasite meteorite due to its matrix
System formed are still orbiting our Sun of metal encapsulating its crystals. Like all
today, as comets and asteroids. They are pallasites, it originated from the boundary
relics of the early Solar System that have between the metallic core and the rocky
remained relatively unchanged due to the mantle of a planetesimal, which broke apart
absence of geological activity. When they during the formation of our Solar System,
land on Earth as meteorites, studying them possibly due to the early Sun’s gravitational
allows us to journey into the past and test pull. Some small pieces of the mantle fell
out our theories of how our Solar System, into the molten core during this process. It
and our planet, came to be. Tens of then took at least a million years for these
thousands of meteorites weighing more chunks to cool into the crystals scattered
than 10g (1⁄4 oz) land on Earth every throughout the metal you can see here.
year, each parachuting down precious Not only can pallasite meteorites help
information on what the Solar System determine the age of the Solar System,
was like billions of years ago. they can also provide clues as to its
This sample is a slice of a meteorite early chemical composition. Pallasites
named “Imilac”, which was itself a small such as this one are incredibly rare
fragment of almost a tonne of material that in our Earthly collection – they make
fell into the Atacama Desert, Chile, as part up just 0.4 per cent of the meteorites
of a single impact event. Imilac is classified scientists have gathered up.
See-through
parts are olivine
crystals
How do we know its age?

Calculating the age of these cosmic fragments
allows geologists to date the birth of the Solar System.
This meteorite was once part of an asteroid’s or
planetesimal’s hot interior. When the asteroid cooled
sufficiently for its molten rock and metal to freeze, it
also sealed in isotopes – unstable, radioactive atoms.
Scientists can use a process called radiometric dating
(see pp.88–89) to put a date on this event. By measuring
the present-day densities of the isotopes, geologists can
▲ Orbiting evidence
These ice mountains on Comet 67p, studied by
calculate how much radioactive decay has occurred and
probes in 2014–15, are as old as our Solar System. estimate that the asteroid solidified 4.5 BYA – soon after
The presence of ice in the comet’s interior the birth of the Sun.
demonstrates that water or ice was present
during the Solar System’s formation.
72 THRESHOLD 4
What happened on impact?
During this meteorite’s descent to Earth, it split into
fragments as it entered our planet’s atmosphere.
Friction heated the surface of this fragment, and a
thin crust melted. Outer crystals melted out of
the matrix, but crystals in the interior remained cool
and intact, because it only took a few seconds to
pass through Earth’s atmosphere.
Earth’s building block?

By comparing the composition of these
meteorites to the composition of Earth,
geologists can identify the type of
planetesimals that came together to form our
planet. Like Earth, this meteorite contains iron
and nickel – both of which are thought to
constitute Earth’s core. Asteroids, dwarf
planets, and this pallasite meteorite have
remained unchanged since the early Solar
System and therefore can be key pieces
of evidence in determining its history.
Planetesimal forming from smaller bodies
Crystals from the rocky mantle

The crystals are made of olivine and
peridot – materials found in tetrataenite,
a mineral that can record magnetic fields.
Microscopic analysis of these particles
demonstrates that when the meteorite
was part of an asteroid, the asteroid had
a magnetic field – until its core solidified.
A thin slice of meteorite under a microscope
THE IMILAC METEORITE 73

KEY
Sun’s gravitational field in g (where
Solar wind 1 g = Earth’s gravity at sea level)
The outer layer of the Sun’s
atmosphere, the chromosphere, Sunlight intensity in Watts per
emits a stream of highly charged and sq m (Watts per sq ft)
extremely hot (1 million °C) particles
outwards throughout the Solar System.
Earth’s magnetic field (see pp.80–81)
protects it from this solar wind Comets and their tails
As a comet nears the Sun, heat
vaporizes ice, letting loose dusty
material, forming the dust tail that
bends as it orbits the Sun. A second
ion tail that streaks directly behind
the comet’s path is formed through
G 0.0
ra 0
interactions between the comet

vi 4
ty
and the solar wind

0.0
01
0.0
Asteroid belt
00
In this region, the opposing gravitational

6
pulls of Jupiter and the Sun cancel each

other out, and pull the asteroids in
0.0
opposite directions. This means they

0 03
cannot clump together under their

own gravity and form new planets
0.0 0 0 0
0.0 0 0
02
06
Venus
Although Venus is the hottest planet, it SATURN
does not receive the most intense sunlight:
Mercury is bathed in much greater solar
radiation. Venus is hotter because it traps
JUPITER
heat from the Sun in its dense atmosphere,
which is rich in carbon dioxide
MERCURY EARTH MARS
VENUS
Mars
Rover data suggest Mars was once
much warmer and wetter, with a
thicker atmosphere. Mars is
smaller than Earth, so its inner heat
and activity may have cooled more
rapidly, causing its protective
magnetic field to switch off. Solar Jupiter
wind would have stripped most When our Sun ignited (see
of the atmosphere away pp.68–69), light gases were
15 (1.4)
blasted into the furthest parts

51 (4
of the inner Solar System.

As Jupiter grew larger, its
.7)
gravitational pull captured a

huge amount of gas to form
a giant atmosphere 5,000km
(3,100 miles) high
59
(55 0
ASTEROID
1,3
BELT
70
(12
,6 2
7
1
)
0(
24
9 un
3)
,12 lig
S
0 ht
( in
8 4 8 te n
) si
ty
74 THRESHOLD 4
THE SUN
TAKES CONTROL
◀ Inner Solar System Between 4.1 and 3.8 bya, planets shifted their orbits in a cascade of
The realm of the eight planets is
referred to as the inner Solar gravitational disruption. The process left eight major planets in orbits
System. However, that is by no that remain stable to this day. However, the Sun controls much more
means the end of the Sun’s family
of orbiting objects. There are
in its neighbouring space than just these planets.
many objects beyond Neptune,
including dwarf planets and
comets. Light and gravity Scientists have long grappled with the Heavy Bombardment. This occurred when
spread out from the Sun in problem of how the modern Solar System a sudden shift in the movements of the gas
all directions – each rapidly
came to be. When modelling the evolution giants and their gravitational fields caused
losing intensity with distance
of the Sun’s environment, it was hard to a catastrophic torrent of asteroids to fall on
explain its present form if the planets had the inner Solar System, including Earth.
always been where they are now. Lunar rock samples returned to Earth by
the Apollo astronauts point to a clustering
NICE MODEL of meteor impacts around 3.9 BYA .
The present arrangement of the Solar According to the Nice Model, the
System fits with the explanation that the giant planet migration was to blame.
four gas giants started out much closer
together: Jupiter moved inwards while A MISSING PLANET
0.000002
the other three backed away from the Sun. Simulations of the Solar System’s infancy
It is even possible that Uranus and Neptune also suggest that our Sun once had more
0.0 0 0 0 0 0 7
may have swapped order. The outward planets. By adding a fifth gas planet to
migration of Neptune would have scattered the model, researchers found they could
many of the Solar System’s smaller objects get a much better match for the modern
URANUS NEPTUNE
into a region known as the Kuiper Belt. arrangement of planets. We do not have five
This simulation is known as the Nice gas planets today, however, so the fifth must
Model, after the city in France where it was have been ejected from the Solar System.
devised. If the migration of the gas giants Given that astronomers have recently found
took place about 600 million years after the rogue planets – which wander through
1. 5 (0.14)
formation of the Solar System, then it might empty space with no host star – the idea
also account for the event known as the Late is not as bizarre as it may at first appear.
3.7 (0.35)
Uranus
Asteroid belt
The intensity of light Pluto
fades over distance:
at twice the distance, Sedna
sunlight is four times Jupiter
weaker. Uranus’s orbit is
20 times further from the
Sun than Earth’s, so the
intensity of sunlight is just
1/400th of that on Earth
Sedna
Eris
Earth
Oort Cloud
Kuiper Belt
▲ Central Solar System ▲ The Kuiper Belt ▲ Outer Solar System

The Sun’s gravity holds four rocky The band of icy objects – including The Oort Cloud is a large, spherical
planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Pluto – that sits 30–50 times further region sparsely populated by comets.
Mars – and an asteroid belt. Beyond from the Sun than Earth is known as The Sun’s gravity controls their orbits
that, the gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, the Kuiper Belt. Objects including Eris up to one light year away, which is the
Uranus, and Neptune also orbit the Sun. and Sedna orbit even further out. extent of our Solar System.
THE SUN TAKES CONTROL 75

HOW WE FIND
SOLAR SYSTEMS Communication hub transmits
data to Earth for eight hours a
day and at speeds of five
For centuries astronomers have recognized the stars as distant versions megabits per second
of our own Sun. The stars are so far away that it took until the late
20th century to tease out the presence of planets orbiting them
and to discover new solar systems.
Stars are often millions of times bigger than shorter orbits mean closer planets. Two dual-speed focuser
telescopes with billion-pixel
planets, and their considerable brightness Consequently, astronomers use this distance cameras housed in spacecraft’s
easily overwhelms any light their suites to estimate the planet’s temperature and cylindrical body
of planets happen to reflect. The stars whether it might be habitable.
themselves appear only as tiny flecks of light
from Earth due to their vast distances – the GRAVITATIONAL WOBBLE
closest one is over 40 trillion km (25 trillion The other main way of finding other solar
miles) away. It is only in the last few decades systems is to exploit the two-way nature
that scientists have developed the technology of gravity. While stars famously pull on
to spot the alien worlds orbiting them. planets, planets also pull back on their suns.
This slight tugging causes the star to wobble
BLOCKING THE LIGHT slightly on the spot. These small changes in
While too small and dark to be observed the star’s motion have an effect on the way
directly, a planet blocks some of its host star’s we see the light it emits. If wobbling towards
light when passing, or “transiting”, in front us, the star’s light is shifted towards the blue
of it. Astronomers can glean a wealth of end of the colour spectrum. Conversely,
information from this simple event. The if it is moving away from us, the shift is
planet’s size, for example, is betrayed by towards the red end (see pp.28–29). As
the amount of light that is blocked out. more massive planets pull on their
A transiting Earth would cause a 0.01 stars with a greater gravitational
per cent change in the brightness of the Sun. force, these colour shifts are
The time between successive transits more pronounced for heavier
reveals the duration of the planet’s orbit, planets, allowing astronomers
which in turn discloses its orbital distance: to estimate the planet’s mass.
Planet blocks some

of its star’s light
reaching Earth
as it orbits
Star
Star’s orbit Star
Planet’s orbit
Earth
Blue light emitted Planet’s gravity
as star moves causes alien star’s
Brightness
towards us orbit to wobble
Red light emitted as

Star brightness star moves away
falls as planet
passes in front
Temperature-resistant materials
cope with conditions between
Time Earth -170°C and 70°C (-270°F–160°F)
▲ Finding distant planets ▲ Tracking distant stars
Star brightness (red dots) is sampled As the star wobbles, colour shifts
many times. The line shows the average in its light tell us its speed of travel
as it dips due to the passing planet. towards or away from us.
76 THRESHOLD 4
Satellite telescope
is 3m (93/4ft) tall
◀ Gaia satellite
Launched by the European Space
Silicon carbide Agency (ESA), this spacecraft is able
structure provides to precisely pinpoint the location
strength and stability of planets by measuring their star’s
brightness and the colour of its light.
Sun-shield measures
10m (33ft) wide
▼ Habitable zones
Most solar systems have a habitable zone, where
liquid water and life could exist. Earth orbits in our
Solar System’s habitable zone, and other planets
in alien solar systems, for example Kepler-452b,
orbit in habitable zones of their own. The planet
has spent 6 billion years orbiting within its star’s
habitable zone – longer than Earth has in its own.
Kepler-452b Earth
Venus
Mercury Mars
Kepler- Sun
Sensor within cylinder 452
can detect stars
400,000 times dimmer
than human eyes can see
Solar system
Habitable zone
Kepler-452 system
HOW WE FIND SOLAR SYSTEMS 77

EARTH COOLS
Early Earth was very different from the warm, blue planet we know
today. Its tumultuous first years were dominated by almost constant
collisions from elsewhere in the Solar System. Initially a giant molten
ball of magma, it gradually became a world fit for life.
Around 4,560 million years ago, rock floated to the surface. Geologists call
and ice orbiting the early Sun collided this process “differentiation” and it would
into a small, rocky planet under the force stabilize Earth’s structure (see pp.80–81).
of gravity. Earth would have looked very Localized
heating and
different, with no atmosphere and no HELLISH PLANET melting of rock
oceans. The collisions were far from Earth’s earliest period was once believed
over – our infant planet was still being to be so hellish that it is named the
battered by many objects, some the size Hadean Era – after Hades, the god of
of planets. One collision, with an impactor the underworld. It was thought that much
about the size of Mars, is thought to have of Earth’s surface remained molten for
formed our Moon 100 million years later hundreds of millions of years, but recent
(see pp.82–83). findings are overturning this notion and
suggest our planet began to cool more
BOMBARDMENT OF EARTH rapidly. It may have had oceans less
The energy of these collisions, along with than 200 million years after it formed,
that emitted by the radioactive decay of as vapour released by volcanic activity
heavier elements, kept early Earth incredibly condensed into water.
hot. Much of its material remained molten.
This allowed heavier materials, such as iron
and nickel, to sink deep towards the planet’s Spherical shape due
to larger mass and
core. Less dense, rocky materials, such as gravitational field
molten magnesium and silicon oxides,
Larger clumps of
rock and ice formed
Rock
Craters from
impacts
A tiny Earth began to form, bearing The gravitational potency of early Earth
the scars of continual impacts. Its increased and it attracted impactors, such as
bumpy surface was a result of recent asteroids, that were hurtling around the Solar
additional material. Gravity moulded System. Each impactor that joined Earth
Ice
it into a roughly spherical shape. added to the planet’s mass and gravitational
force. This increased the acceleration and
energy of the next impactor.
Gravity pulled rock

and ice together
Accretion over many millions of years pulled THE HADEAN ERA, IN WHICH
increasingly large clumps of rock and ice (planetesimals)
together. They formed a planetary embryo, which then EARTH FORMED, AND IN
attracted more material. Lumps of ice that remained
WHICH ITS LAYERS STARTED TO
intact despite the Sun’s heat would later become the
initial source of water on Earth. STABILIZE, OCCURRED 4.6–4 BYA
78 THRESHOLD 4
Crust began
to form
Light liquid rock rose Heavy elements like

to the surface iron sank to the centre
Earth’s surface became

a molten mass due to
the frequency and
Force of power of impacts
impacts grew Each impact
as gravitational now contained
force increased immense energy
Early mantle Central

had formed metallic core
Primordial Layers such as the crust,

planet
mantle, and core start to
form (see pp.80–81) as
differentiation continued.
Differentiation – or movement The surface cooled and
of Earth’s materials – began. solidified into a crust as the
Heavier elements sank to the number of impacts from
bottom of the magma ocean space fell. Iron and nickel
and lighter material bobbed up at the Earth’s centre formed
to the surface. the planet’s metallic core.
Molten surfaces caused by

relentless asteroid strikes
created a vast ocean of magma.
As it was then primarily made
of liquid, Earth’s materials had
the potential to move.
EVEN UNDER THE MOST EXTREME CONDITIONS...

EARTH WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY
STERILIZED BY THE BOMBARDMENT.
Rock pulled Oleg Abramov, scientist and astronomer, 1978–
towards planet
by its gravity
◀ Hadean Earth
During the Hadean era,
molten lava dominated
the surface, and Earth’s
atmosphere was devoid
of oxygen. The Moon,
far nearer than it is
today, caused huge
tides, as a deluge of
impactors rained
from above.
EARTH COOLS 79
EARTH SETTLES
INTO LAYERS
The Earth is formed of distinct layers, and each is made of different
materials. The processes responsible for this structure began billions
of years ago and continue to shape and influence our planet today.
For hundreds of millions of years after the oceans. The Late Heavy Bombardment ▼ Earth’s layers
planet formed, Earth was a molten mass. It about 4.1–3.9 BYA (see pp.74–75) saw a Layers began to form 4.4–3.8 BYA . Our
planet is divided here into six layers:
was still contracting under its own gravity significant, secondary spike in the number the solid inner core, liquid outer core,
and material left over from the Solar of impacts thumping into Earth. These semi-solid mantle, solid crust, liquid
System’s formation was still bombarding asteroids and comets are thought to have ocean, and gaseous atmosphere.
it. Both processes generated heat. Earth’s added much of the water that contributed
crust solidified, but the planet continued to to the primordial oceans.
differentiate, settling into its present layers. The lightest materials – gases – escaped
from the mantle via volcanoes and became
FROM CORE TO ATMOSPHERE part of our planet’s carbon dioxide-rich
Material in the centre hardened to form a atmosphere. Hydrogen and helium were
solid inner core, surrounded by a largely blasted away by the solar wind, but Earth’s
liquid outer core. The fluid in the outer core gravity was strong enough to hold onto
flowed easily, and turbulence within it is carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water vapour,
and argon. Gaseous oxygen was absent
from the atmosphere – all of Earth’s oxygen
was bound into its rocks and water.
TEMPERATURES IN EARTH’S
CORE ARE ESTIMATED TO BE EXPLORING INSIDE EARTH
Our planet’s depths are so hot and under
HIGHER THAN 6,700°C (12,000°F) such extreme pressure that we have never
even penetrated the crust. Instead, scientists
have used other methods to deduce what
thought to contribute to Earth’s magnetic is inside Earth. They knew that there
field to this day. Above the outer core sits the must be significantly heavier material
thickest of the layers – the mantle. The next at the centre, because the average
layer, formed by molten rock erupting from density of Earth is greater than
the mantle, is the crust, which accounts for the density at its surface. Studies
only 0.5 per cent of the planet’s thickness. of the way earthquakes travel and
Differentiation continued as water how our magnetic field emerges
vapour released by early volcanic activity provide additional clues about
condensed into water and became the first the inner structure of Earth.
Epicentre of Solid core

earthquake made of iron
Crust
▶ Seismic waves and nickel sank
to the centre
Vibrations from soon after
earthquakes are either Earth formed
primary (P) waves or S-waves cannot travel
secondary (S) waves. through liquid outer core
The speed at which they
travel through the planet INNER CORE
during seismic events Paths of P-waves refract and wobble
as they travel through each layer
can help to determine
Earth’s structure.
Shadow zone where no waves
Inner core can travel due to a change in the The flow of liquid iron OUTER CORE
direction of travel at the boundary and nickel in the outer core
Outer core
between mantle and core creates Earth’s magnetic field
Mantle MANTLE
80 THRESHOLD 4
Heavier, thinner oceanic crust

sits lower on the mantle and
forms the deep ocean basins
Lighter, thicker continental

crust floats higher on the
hot mantle and forms
dry land, flooded at the
edges by shallow seas
ATMOSPHERE
Gaseous layer around

120km (75 miles) thick
contains oxygen, nitrogen,
argon, and a small amount
of carbon dioxide
Layer of water with an average

depth of 3.7km (12,100ft) covers
two-thirds of Earth’s surface
OCEAN
Region of charged particles Bow shock

held in place by magnetic
field; it is sometimes visible
as aurorae (Northern Lights)
CRUST EARTH SUN
Magnetic field lines

show shape and
strength of field ▲ Natural shield
Semi-solid rock in the mantle flows A stream of harmful particles from the
very slowly in convection currents, Solar wind
Sun – solar wind – is deflected by Earth’s
which cause plate movements in deflected
the crust (see pp.92–93)
magnetic field. This field is created by by Earth’s
currents in the liquid-iron core. magnetic field
EARTH SETTLES INTO LAYERS 81

THE MOON’S ROLE

Despite being a relatively small planet, Earth is blessed with a particularly
large moon – the fifth largest in the Solar System. The Moon is our only
natural satellite and has had such a significant influence on our planet
that it may even have played a role in kick-starting life on Earth.
If the length of Earth’s existence was Tides were extreme, and biologists have also keeps the tilt of Earth’s axis constant,
condensed into a single day, the Moon speculated that the intense churning which means our seasons are steady and
would have formed when the Earth was during these super tides was a key factor repeat predictably. The Moon stabilized
10 minutes old. The Moon is our planet’s in the mixing of ingredients that led Earth over time and this has given life
steadfast partner and it is likely that we to life in the first oceans. Over millions a chance to thrive.
would not be here without it. of years, the Moon retreated from Earth
It is thought that a giant piece of rock due to the Moon’s gradually increasing PULLING ON THE PLATES
smashed into our infant planet during its orbital velocity. Today, the Moon is the Geologists have speculated that Earth
▼ Extreme tides early days. Rock from the impact, while main driver of the roughly daily cycle is the only planet with plate tectonics
The Bay of Fundy in Earth’s orbit, gathered together to form of high and low tide, and continues to (see pp.92–93) because of the early Moon’s
on Canada’s Atlantic
the Moon. As it formed, it was 10 times drift away from Earth at a rate of 3.8cm strong gravitational pull. During Earth’s
coast boasts the
widest tidal ranges closer to Earth than it is currently. (1.5in) per year. As it edges further away, hellish Hadean Era, our Moon would have
on Earth. The water tidal strength falls. pulled on the primordial oceans of magma.
rises and falls twice THE MOON AND LIFE The tides swirled the oceans, and Theories suggest that the wrench of the
each day by up to
During Earth’s childhood, the Moon’s close this helped to spread heat from polar to Moon on the cooling liquid rock helped
16 m (52 ft), regularly
submerging the proximity would have created a considerably equatorial regions, regulating the young separate it into the distinct pieces of
Hopewell Rocks. mightier gravitational pull than we feel now. Earth’s temperature. The Moon’s gravity crust our planet possesses today.
82 THRESHOLD 4
▼ Pull of the Moon

The Moon’s gravitational force creates tidal bulges
on both sides of Earth. On the side facing the
Moon, the Moon’s gravity pulls the oceans towards
THE POSSIBILITY DESERVES CONSIDERATION THAT THE
it, resulting in high tides. As well as attraction,
however, gravity exerts a stretching force on FORMATION OF THE MOON... PROVOKED THE ORIGIN
Earth. Counterintuitively, this results in a second
high tide facing away from the Moon. OF LIFE ON EARTH.
Moon’s gravity has a stretching Richard Lathe, molecular biologist, c.1950–

effect on Earth along an axis Low tide
connecting Earth and Moon EARTH
High tide High tide
Orbit of Moon
MOON
Moon’s
gravitational force
Stretching effect of Moon’s Moon’s gravity pulls

gravity acts on both rock and Earth’s oceans
ocean, but because the ocean is towards Moon
liquid, it bulges far more
Earth’s direction of rotation;
tidal bulges shift as it spins
THE MOON’S ROLE 83

THE CONTINENTS
ARE BORN
At some time around 4 BYA , Earth’s crust began moving, forcing some Before continents came cratons – the
crust down into the mantle. Magma erupted and cooled into a new, seedlings from which greater swathes of
lighter kind of crust – continental crust. It bobbed up higher than the land would grow. Cratons in turn were made
surrounding rock, creating the first land masses. The process continues from strings of islands formed from the first
continental crust. The process began in the
today, with 30 per cent of our planet’s surface now made of continents.
Archean era (4–2.5 BYA). Although Earth
had cooled since the Hadean era, the planet
First continental crust formed when
magma cooled, building a volcanic island was still much hotter than it is today. Earth’s
of crystalline rock, typically granite layers had settled, however, and oceans had
formed on a solid crust.
Today, Earth’s crust is made of both
SHALLOW OCEAN heavy oceanic crust and continental crust,
Primordial crust initially
which is lighter and thicker. The primordial
covered Earth. When PRIMORDIAL CRUST
two plates of the moving
SU B D U C T
IN G C VOLCANIC crust was uniform, but when currents in
RU S ISLAND
crust met head-on, one T Earth’s mantle began dragging on its
was forced underneath. underside (see pp.92–93), it began moving,
In the mantle, its lighter MANTLE
splitting into plates. When these plates
materials were melted
first, and these bubbled collided, one plate was forced under the
to the surface. other. This triggered a further stage of
Crust was forced down, Melted crust formed magma rich in
or subducted, into the light elements, such as silicon, oxygen,
hot mantle and melted aluminium, sodium, and potassium
Crust continues to be Island collided Some cratons rifted (split) and Erosion of the craton by oceans,
Movements of Earth’s forced downwards with another island, admitted heavier materials wind, and rain created sediments,
crust pushed adjacent forming a craton from below to fill the gap such as sandstone
islands together and
formed progressively
larger masses of light
rock called cratons.
But two more processes
CRATON
were at work: heavy
material rose to the
surface where cratons
split, and new heavy,
oceanic crust was also
created where plates
separated in oceans.
Subducting crust continued to Heavy magma, rich in magnesium

be pushed into the hot mantle and iron, could push upwards
and then melted into rifts in the craton
Granite from
original islands was
Oceanic crust is Craton pushed Volcanic rock, Crust melted Sandstone pushed Basalt from speading compressed and
The first continents destroyed by into other cratons greenstone, formed at base but stayed inland by colliding oceanic ridge could be changed into a
subduction and islands from heavy magma solid on top cratons incorporated into banded rock
eventually formed from
continent called gneiss
colliding cratons and
islands. Because they
were light, they stayed
on the surface, but
became composed of a CONTINENT
growing variety of rock.
Oceanic crust, being
heavier, is continuously
subducted, and never
gets old and complex. It
is replaced by new crust
at spreading ridges.
84 THRESHOLD 4
differentiation, in which some primordial rocks dated to 3.6–2.7 BYA . In fact we now ◀ Nishinoshima
crust melted and created lighter material know these land masses have split and In 2013, a new island
was discovered off
that bobbed to the surface and solidified, rejoined more than once (see pp.158–59), the coast of Japan. It
forming islands. Over millions of years, and that the cratons that formed the first appeared when lava
the movement of Earth’s crust pushed the continents are now scattered across the broke through Earth’s
islands together to form cratons – small modern continents. Even though continents crust in a burst of
volcanic activity and
proto-continents. Eventually, these cratons change, cratons remain as their stable cores. then cooled, following
collided and coalesced to create successively Continent formation is still occurring. the same process that
larger land masses – the first continents. Oceanic crust continues to subduct under created continents 4 BYA .
other oceanic crust, causing magma to push
THE FIRST SUPERCONTINENT to the surface and cool into arcs of volcanic
By the end of the Archean Era, 2.5 BYA , the islands – such as those in the Caribbean.
Earth’s surface had 80 per cent of the land
mass it does today, largely gathered together
into a supercontinent called Vaalbara. THE OLDEST CONTINENT
Vaalbara was formed by colliding cratons
WHOSE ROCKS STILL EXIST
called Kaapvaal and Pilbara. These survive
today, but Kaapvaal is now in South Africa TODAY IS CALLED “UR” AFTER
and Pilbara is in Australia, and each has THE ANCIENT SUMERIAN CITY
Plates of crust New heavy oceanic crust was created Further island chains and cratons
beneath ocean at a spreading ridge, where the old were built as the creation of
moved apart crust was diverging; the new rock continental crust continued
formed was heavy, volcanic basalt
VOLCANIC VOLCANIC
ISLAND ISLAND
Heavy magma rose

to fill the gap left by
diverging crust
New oceanic crust

continued to be created at
oceanic spreading ridges
OCEANIC CRUST
THE CORES OF CONTINENTS... MAKE UP THE
STABLE LITHOSPHERE. THEIR FORMATION...
OCCURED BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO.
Nicholas Wigginton, Science editor, c.1970–
THE CONTINENTS ARE BORN 85

DATING EARTH
The question of Earth’s age has only been resolved in the last few
decades. As knowledge increased and scientific techniques were honed,
estimates of the age of our planet increased from thousands of years
to billions. We now know that Earth is around 4.54 billion years old.
It was not always clear Earth had an origin in the late 18th century as the tide of
at all. Ancient Greek philosophers including opinion began to turn towards a greater age
Aristotle believed that our planet was for the planet. Hutton argued that Hadrian’s
eternal – it has always been here and always Wall, despite being built by Romans in
will be. Most civilizations had their own England more than 1,000 years previously,
origin stories (see pp.18–19), and before had barely eroded. Therefore, other rocks
the onset of modern science, religious texts that had been significantly eroded must
were the main sources of ideas about Earth’s have been around much longer. Hutton also ▲ Dangerous beliefs
origins. In 1645, Irish Bishop James Usher noted that layers of rock had not been laid Bernard Palissy (1509–1589) worked as a potter for
most of his life, but he was also a scientist. He put
famously used the genealogy in the Bible down continuously, but in separate episodes
forward his then-radical belief that fossils were
to calculate the date of Earth’s creation as of deposition, leading to “unconforming” prehistoric animals, and not from the biblical flood.
23rd October, 4004 BCE . layers that would have taken millions, not The French authorities ultimately imprisoned him.
thousands, of years to form. Victorian
EARLY SCIENTIFIC IDEAS geologist Charles Lyell agreed with Hutton,
Not everyone believed the idea of a young but emphasized the idea of Earth in a state distance. By the 20th century, the general
Earth. Back in the 16th century, French of slow, perpetual change. Rates of change consensus for the age of Earth had leapt
thinker Bernard Palissy argued that if the observed in modern times could then be from thousands of years to tens, if not
erosion of rocks was caused by the gradual used to estimate rates of change in the past. hundreds, of millions of years.
▼ Clues in the rocks
battering of wind and rain, then Earth must
A sketch from 1787 of be much older than a few thousand years. THE DEBATE INTENSIFIES THE AGE OF RADIOACTIVITY
rock layers at Jedburgh, French natural historian BenoÎt de Maillet By the middle of the 19th century, attempts It was the discovery of radioactivity by Henri
Scotland, shows tried to explain why marine fossils were to determine Earth’s age had picked up Becquerel in 1896 that would enable scientists
horizontal layers of rock
that sit on top of vertical found at high elevations by wrongly steam, and scientists from many different to find concrete evidence of Earth’s age. The
layers, each from concluding that Earth’s sea level must have disciplines made estimates. In 1862, decay of radioactive atoms in rocks occurs
different periods. This been much higher in the past. This was long physicist William Thompson (later Lord over millions of years, and the proportion of
unconformity served
before the discovery of plate tectonics (see Kelvin), imagined our infant planet as a ball unstable atoms remaining can be measured
as geologist James
Hutton’s evidence that pp.90–91). This idea of rates of erosion was of molten rock and calculated how long it to reveal the rock’s age (see pp.88–89). Over
Earth was very ancient. revisited by Scottish geologist James Hutton would have taken to cool to its present the next 30 years, many scientists used
temperature, concluding 20–400 million radiometric dating to analyze rocks from
years. He did not take into account the all over the world – arriving at ages between
effect of radioactivity, a phenomenon 92 million years and 3 billion years.
that had yet to be discovered. Lyell By the 1960s, the number of ways to use
criticized his ideas for being too radioactivity to date rock samples started to
conservative and inconsistent with rise. The precision of these techniques and
what he had learnt about the the accuracy of the calculated ages steadily
deposition of rock layers. Charles increased. We know now that Earth has
Darwin joined the debate, stating been around for close to 4.54 billion years,
in On the Origin of Species that Earth give or take 50 million years. Such figures
must be at least 300 million years are supported by the age of meteorites that
old in order for chalk deposits in we think are slightly older than Earth.
England to have eroded to their
current state. Charles’s son,
astronomer George Darwin, FOSSILIZED TREES ON TOP OF A
believed that the Moon was PREHISTORIC SEA BED 1,800M
formed from Earth. If so, he
(5,900FT) HIGH IN THE ANDES
reasoned it would have taken
at least 56 million years for CONVINCED CHARLES DARWIN
the Moon to reach its current THAT EARTH WAS VERY OLD
86 THRESHOLD 4
▼ History in the rocks

Rock such as this limestone on a Greek coast,
with its apparent long history of deposition, WITH RESPECT TO HUMAN OBSERVATION, THIS WORLD
followed by crumpling, followed by erosion,
was the sort of evidence that, in the 18th and HAS NEITHER A BEGINNING NOR AN END.
19th centuries, set the minds of pioneering
geologists thinking about the amount of
time needed for geological change. James Hutton, geologist, 1726–1797
HARD EVIDENCE
ZIRCON CRYSTAL
Some ancient crystals have survived 4.4 billion years on Earth. Their
persistence provides an excellent opportunity to probe into our planet’s
history, and learn more about the origins of life and the first oceans.
The Jack Hills of Western Australia are too fierce to support liquid water and
home to the oldest material ever found on life, but opinions are beginning to
Earth. These tiny zircon crystals are each shift to an Earth that cooled
only the size of a dust mite, yet hold within relatively quickly, because
them the secrets of our planet’s turbulent the crystals needed those
infancy. The oldest crystals date from cool conditions to form.
4.4 BYA – 100 million years after a giant
impact struck Earth and created the
Moon – which means that Earth’s solid
crust, in which they formed, must be at least Crystal composition
the same age. Zircon is a mineral that
Radiometric dating analysis uses a
contains the element zirconium. It has a
device called a mass spectrometer. The
similar hardness to diamond, its more rock sample is broken into atoms, then
illustrious cousin – which means zircon the atoms are ionized (given an electric
crystals can survive erosion and other charge). As the ions pass through the
geological processes, making them an device, magnets sort them according to
excellent record keeper of Earth’s history. their mass, because the magnets
Normally zircon crystals are red, but deflect lighter ions more easily.
This allows the sample’s different
when scientists bombard them with
ions to be identified and their
electrons in order to study them, they take precise proportions to be
on a blue hue. Analysis of these crystals is measured so the rock’s age
subverting previous ideas of the conditions can be determined.
on early Earth. It was long thought that our
planet’s infancy was a hellscape, one much
▼ How radiometric dating works

Uranium atoms are so large and unstable that they
decay – they give off radiation and change into
more stable atoms – and they do this at a known
rate. Measuring the ratio of uranium in rock to
its final decay product (lead) tells us how much
radioactive decay has occurred since the rock Mass spectrometer
formed, and therefore how much time has passed.
Uranium atom Lead atom produced by One-quarter of the One-eighth

the radioactive decay original uranium of the uranium
of a uranium atom atoms remain atoms remain
When the rock formed, the sample 704 million years later, the uranium After 1.406 billion years, more uranium Today, a geologist measures the ratio of
contained only uranium as it solidified atoms have decayed, giving off radiation atoms have decayed. The more lead uranium to lead remaining in the rock and
from molten rock and crystallized. and changing into lead atoms. found in the rock, the older the sample. dates this rock to 2.112 billion years old.
88 THRESHOLD 4
This particular zircon
crystal is 4.4 billion Evidence of early oceans
years old
By comparing the ratio of oxygen
isotopes found within the Jack Hills
zircon crystals, scientists have
concluded that oceans of liquid water
may have been present on Earth as
early as 4.4 billion years ago. Isotopes
are versions of an atom with differing
atomic weight. The ratio of oxygen-18
to oxygen-16 isotopes found in the
crystals indicates the presence
of liquid water.
Earth in the Archean Era, 3.5 BYA
Signs of life
Earth was previously thought to be
inhospitable until 3.8 billion years ago,
but isotope analysis of graphite flecks
found inside zircon crystals dating back
to 4.1 billion years ago suggests that
life was present at this earlier time.
Graphite is made of carbon,
and the ratio of carbon-12 to
carbon-13 isotopes in the
graphite is characteristic
of the ratio produced
by living organisms.
Protecting the crystals

Around 200,000 zircons have been
unearthed in the Jack Hills since the
1980s, and 10 per cent of them are more
than 3.9 billion years old. The geology of
the area is so important that the
Australian government has declared the
region a geoheritage site, to protect it
from future mining activity and preserve
its scientific treasures.
This zircon crystal is incredibly small –

measuring just 0.4mm – and is barely
visible to the naked eye
Jack Hills, Australia
ZIRCON CRYSTAL 89
CONTINENTS
DRIFT
The map of our modern world is a familiar image, but this arrangement
of continents is a relatively recent development in our planet’s history.
Entire continents have split and moved apart over hundreds of millions
of years. This idea wasn’t accepted until the late 20th century.
The fact that Earth’s land masses have

shifted over time makes sense when looking
at a map of the world. Some continents
appear to fit together, like puzzle pieces.
However, the notion that these vast land
masses could move was long considered
outrageous to the scientific community.
Despite their reservations, the idea has been
around for centuries, with the Flemish
cartographer Abraham Ortelius widely
credited as being the first to express such
thoughts at the end of the 16th century.
Corner of Africa
BRIDGING THE GAP appears to fit
snugly with South
In the 19th century, Antonio Snider- America’s coastline
Pellegrini created two maps showing the
ease with which the meandering coastlines
of the various continents appear to slot into
place to form one giant supercontinent. ▲ First clues expanding. As the planet got bigger, its land
Explorers noticed that the east coast of South
Further evidence that the far-flung America and the west coast of Africa appeared
masses were forced to spread out. Both of
continents had once been conjoined came to fit together. These maps were drawn by these ideas gradually lost support as the
from the fossil record (see pp.158–59). geographer Antonio Snider-Pellegrini in 1858. precise physical mechanisms behind them
Scientists were beginning to discover that could not be found.
the fossilized remains of similar animals, in places now separated by vast oceans.
and in particular plants, were cropping up This was explained away by the idea that A NEW IDEA
continents were once connected via vast In 1912, German scientist Alfred Wegener
land bridges, which have since been eroded argued in favour of continental drift. He not
away or submerged deep beneath the sea. only showed matching fossil evidence on
Another thorny issue perplexing disparate continents, but also concluded
geologists was the origin of mountain that the types of rock and other geological
ranges, such as the Himalayas. The leading structures were similar too. He decided that
idea in the 19th century was that the peaks this idea could not co-exist with the theory
were formed as wrinkles, as Earth cooled of now-submerged land bridges, so he
and shrank. If that were true, mountain suggested that the continents themselves
chains should be spread evenly across the had moved apart. This offered a potential
planet’s surface – and that is not the case. solution to the mountain conundrum. If
Ideas continued to develop at the turn continents were free to roam, then over time
▶ Bold ideas of the 20th century. George Darwin, some could collide. If India had smashed
German scientist Alfred
Charles’s son, proposed that the Moon into mainland Asia, the Himalayas would
Wegener (1880–1930)
hoped to collect had once formed part of Earth and its be the result of continental crumpling.
solid evidence for his absence accounted for the vast, landless Wegener published his findings the same
continental drift theory Pacific Ocean. His theory suggested that year, suggesting that Earth’s land masses
on his fourth expedition
the continents separated as the Moon broke ploughed through the sea over time. His
to Greenland, but he
died while collecting away, explaining their present positions. work met with a lukewarm reception from
supplies for his camp. Another theory was that Earth was the scientific community, in part because
90 THRESHOLD 4
◀ Continent scars
In 1977, this map, the result of a lifetime’s work by
oceanographers and cartographers Marie Tharp and
Bruce Heezen, revealed the ocean floor in new detail,
providing conclusive evidence for plate tectonics.
the idea, arguing that the planet’s crust

ruptures at plate boundaries, allowing
magma to well up from the mantle. As this
material solidifies, it forms a ridge, pushing
the existing sea floor apart. So it is not that
IT TOOK OVER 300 YEARS FOR

THE IDEA OF CONTINENTAL
DRIFT FINALLY TO BE
ACCEPTED AS FACT
the continents plough through the ocean

crust as Wegener had suggested, but rather
that the sea floor itself is growing, carrying
away the continents, which are part of
moving tectonic plates (see pp.92–93).
Today, these ideas are brought together
as the theory of plate tectonics. It is
supported by observations of Earth from
space using geodesy, which maps small
changes in Earth’s gravity to locate
concentrations of mass. Studies of the
he could not provide a plausible reason range and extends through all of its oceans. polarity of Earth’s magnetic field, which is
as to why the continents would drift. He The geologists of the day now had to explain known to have flipped frequently over time
incorrectly calculated the rate of their the presence of this ridge, too. It would fall (north becoming south, and vice versa), also
movement and overestimated by a factor to former US Navy officer turned geologist lends weight. This leaves stripes of magnetic
of 100 compared to today’s accepted
value, which did not help his cause.
Wegener’s academic background was
also a hindrance. Given his training as an
astronomer and meteorologist, many in the I ONCE ASKED ONE OF MY LECTURERS... I WAS TOLD,
geological community suggested he did not
have the expertise required to be taken SNEERINGLY, THAT IF I COULD PROVE THERE WAS A
seriously. He was not without some support,
however – British geologist Arthur Holmes
FORCE THAT COULD MOVE CONTINENTS, THEN HE
backed his ideas, arguing as early as 1931
that Earth’s mantle contained currents
MIGHT THINK ABOUT IT. THE IDEA WAS MOONSHINE.
that helped move parts of the crust.
David Attenborough, natural history broadcaster, 1926–
CLUES FROM THE SEA FLOOR
It was not until the 1950s that evidence Harry Hess to tie all these ideas together. rock on the ocean floor (see pp.94–95),
emerged to turn the tide of opinion in Having used sonar to map the ocean during which allows us to date the bands and show
Wegener’s favour. In 1953, analysis of rocks World War II, by the early 1960s, Hess’s how fast the sea floor is spreading.
in India suggested that it was once in the research led him to propose that the Plate tectonics was not widely accepted
Southern Hemisphere, bolstering Wegener’s continents did indeed drift apart thanks until the 1970s, when maps of the ocean
mountain formation argument. Around the to a process called “sea-floor spreading”. floor, such as that made by Marie Tharp
same time, a huge underwater mountain In 1958, Australian geologist Samuel Carey and Bruce Heezen, left no doubt that the
range – the Mid-Ocean Ridge – was had suggested that Earth’s surface, its crust, sea floor was spreading, accounting for
discovered. It is Earth’s longest mountain was constructed from plates. Hess ran with continental drift.
CONTINENTS DRIFT 91
HOW EARTH’S
CRUST MOVES
The surface of our planet is sculpted by extremely slow convection
currents in the mantle layer below. Earth’s system of plate tectonics
sets it apart from the other rocky planets in the Solar System, since
its surface is constantly changing and is alive with geological activity.
Underwater
volcanoes spew
molten lava, which
Earth’s surface layer, the crust, is formed TECTONIC PHENOMENA cools into new
of seven major tectonic plates – African, Where plates meet, a range of tectonic oceanic crust
Antarctic, Eurasian, North American, activity may occur, but exactly what
South American, Pacific, and Indo- depends on the crust material and the
Australian – along with several smaller ones. direction of movement. There are three
▼ Volcanic eruption
The Eyjafjallajökull These solid plates float on a semi-solid layer main types of plate boundary: transform
volcano in Iceland called the mantle. Plates move incredibly boundaries, where plates slide or grind past
erupts molten magma, slowly, typically at about the rate that one another; divergent boundaries, where
along with black clouds
fingernails or human hair grow. Since they slide apart, allowing magma to cool
of ash that fall on the
ground as added layers Earth’s layers stabilized 4 BYA , these into new crust; and convergent boundaries,
Convection
atop Earth’s crust. plates have been constantly moving. where two plates collide head on. Parts current causes
of the crust sink and melt at subduction an upwelling of
molten magma
zones, but new crust is made elsewhere
by volcanoes and at mid-ocean ridges,
where oceanic crust diverges.
Earthquakes, sudden movements of
Earth’s crust, occur at plate boundaries.
At divergent and transform boundaries,
they tend to be shallow, whereas collisions Heat in the core
causes convection
at convergent boundaries cause the currents in the
deepest earthquakes. mantle that drive
the movement of
Where two plates collide, they can push tectonic plates
up continental crust to form a mountain
range, such as the Himalayas. Those
particular mountains were created when
the Indian plate slammed into the Eurasian
plate around 50 million years ago.
EARTH’S SURFACE MOVES ▶ Dynamic surface

Convection currents in the mantle are Earth’s crust is constantly changing
generated by heat in the core that filters into as the plates move, buoyed
by currents in the mantle
the mantle. Although the mantle is almost below. Depending on
solid, it flows slowly, tugging at the base of how the plates interact,
the crust and moving the plates. The crust is earthquakes can
of two kinds: oceanic crust, which is made of occur and volcanoes
and mountain
dense rock rich in magnesium and iron, and chains can form.
continental crust, made of rock with lighter
elements including aluminium. Where the
Solid crust
edge of a plate is made of oceanic crust, its
greater density makes it subduct, or slip Semi-solid
underneath, the lighter crust. It then sinks mantle
deep into the hot mantle, causing an Liquid

outer core
upwelling of molten magma that breaks
Solid
the surface of the crust as a volcano. inner core
Divergent plate boundary causes a

mid-ocean ridge as magma rises to fill
the gap left by the separating plates CONTINENTAL DRIFT... EARTHQUAKES,
VOLCANICITY... ARE UNDOUBTEDLY
CONNECTED ON A GRAND SCALE.
Alfred Wegener, geologist and meteorologist, 1880–1930
MID-OCEAN RIDGE
Volcanic islands are a result of magma from the
mantle that has risen and cooled through the
crust – these areas are called hotspots
Seamounts are hotspots where magma

has cooled under water, but has not
OCEAN reached the ocean’s surface
Convergent plate boundary causes

oceanic crust to be forced underneath
(subducted under) lighter continental
crust, creating a deep oceanic trench
HOTSPOT
ISLANDS Volcanoes occur at a convergent
boundary because of the upwelling
of magma created by the subducting,
melting crust erupting at the surface
Fold mountains are

wrinkles in the continental
crust, pushed upwards
due to the pressure of
colliding plates
Transform plate
boundary causes a fault,
or crack, in the crust
where the plates are
sliding past each other.
Pressure builds on the
plates until they slip
OCEANIC TRENCH
suddenly, causing an
earthquake
VOLCANO
MELTING
CRUST
TECTONIC FAULT
HARD EVIDENCE
OCEAN FLOOR
Caribbean
plate is sliding Muertos
In many ways, the ocean floor is a guide to Earth’s history – studying it towards the east Trough
helps us decipher the mysteries of our planet’s past. Exploring it has even
given scientists clues about how life originated. Mapping the ocean floor
reveals a diverse, active landscape full of tectonic phenomena.
▲ WEST
The depths of the ocean are cold, dark, and American plates, where the Puerto Rico
incredibly hostile. At its deepest point there Trench is found, is a particularly active area
are 1.2 tonnes of water pressing down on of the ocean floor. Its unique plate boundary
every square centimetre (8.4 tons per square and unusual phenomena provide a rich
inch). Such extremes mean oceanographers resource for scientific research:
resort to imaging the sea bed using sonar oceanographers, biologists, seismologists
from the surface. It is easier for us to get (who study earthquakes), and bathymetrists
images from Mars than map parts of our (who study the underwater terrain of lakes
own sea bed. and oceans) all work here, hoping to unlock
CARIBBEAN PLATE
Despite its inaccessibility, the ocean floor the secrets of the ocean floor.
holds clues that are vital in understanding
the development of Earth’s crust, and also
life. Deep ocean exploration is sharpening
our ideas on plate tectonics (see pp.90–91).
The chemically-rich material and heat How sonar surveys work
generated by underwater volcanoes found Multibeam sonar
on the ocean floor have led biologists to records the time taken ◀ SOUTH
believe that these areas are where the first for sound to bounce back
life-forms appeared (see pp.106–07). from the sea floor in order
The deepest places of the ocean floor to measure ocean depth.
are where two oceanic plates meet and Oceanographers can use
form an underwater valley – one plate slips this data to create a
coloured map of the sea
underneath (subducts beneath) the other, floor, showing its terrain.
creating a V-shaped trench. The deepest Side-scan sonar is more
ocean trench is the Mariana Trench in accurate in that the
the Pacific Ocean: its deepest point is at intensity of its echoes can
10,994m (36,070ft) below sea level. It could reveal whether the ocean
accommodate Mount Everest with about floor is rocky (strong) or
2,000m (6,560ft) of water to spare. sandy (weak). Marie Tharp
and Bruce Heezen mapped
The Puerto Rico Trench in the Atlantic Earth’s ocean floor in the
Ocean has depths greater than 8,400m 1950s (see pp.90–91).
(27,560ft). The underwater boundary Marie Tharp, oceanographer
between the Caribbean and North
ANTILLES ARC
▶ Clues on the ocean floor

Magma from the mantle breaks through Magnetic field reversals Cooling material
the crust and forces tectonic plates apart create stripes forces plates apart
(see pp.92–93). As the magma cools to
form new crust, minerals in the magma
orient themselves in line with Earth’s
magnetic field. For reasons unknown,
Earth’s north-south polarity reverses
from time to time, and over millions
of years these reversals are etched into
the ocean floor as a series of stripes.
Molten material The Antilles islands have

Older rock with frozen from mantle been formed due to both
magnetic alignment breaks through folding and volcanism at
Younger rock with frozen crust this plate boundary
magnetic alignment
94 THRESHOLD 4
The island of Puerto Seamount emerging from The most negative gravity ▼ Exploring the ocean floor KEY
Rico rises above the ocean surface becomes anomaly on Earth is found A bathymetry map Above sea level
ocean surface one of the southernmost in the Puerto Rico Trench;
this indicates an active generated by sonar reveals Sea level - 0m 0 ft
islands of the Bahamas
downward force the underwater terrain of the 2,000m 6,562ft
northeastern corner of the 3,000m 9,843ft
Caribbean plate. Differences
4,000m 13,123ft
in relief are represented by
5,000m 16,404ft
colour, highlighting deep
6,000m 19,685ft
sea trenches in purple.
7,000m 22,966ft
Tectonic activity
The boundary where the Caribbean and
North American plates meet looks like a
convergent plate boundary due to the
presence of an ocean trench, which
normally indicates subduction, but here,
the plates are mainly sliding against one
another instead – forming a transform
plate boundary. The Caribbean plate is
PUERTO RICO sliding to the east at a rate of 2cm (0.8in)
TRENCH NORTH ▶
per year. Since it grinds against the
North American plate, earthquakes can
occur when the plate jerks and slips.
Seismologists study the seismic waves
produced by the earthquakes.
VIRGIN ISLANDS NORTH AMERICAN To the east, the Caribbean plate
TROUGH PLATE is pushing against the North
American plate, resulting in
mountain folds that break
the surface as the
Antilles island arc.
ANEGADA North American

TROUGH plate is sliding
towards the west
EAST ▼
Exploring the deep

Submersibles are invaluable tools for
scientists wanting to explore deep sea
ocean trenches, because they are able to
withstand deep-sea pressure. Robotically-
piloted submersibles, or AUVs, are pre-
Compression of the
programmed with instructions on where
Caribbean plate’s crust from to explore and what to measure. Some
the slightly subducting North submersibles also allow scientists to visit
American plate creates folds the ocean floor in order to examine and
collect samples of both rocks and
life-forms for analysis at the surface.
Example of an AUV
OCEAN FLOOR 95
THRESHOLD
LIFE EMERGES
Earth has a privileged position in the Solar
System – in a band that’s not too cold and not
too hot to support liquid water. It is in this vital
ingredient that life first emerges. And through
a process of natural selection life evolves from
simple bacteria to complex vertebrates, shaping
our planet and filling it with astounding diversity.
On Earth, living organisms emerged from non-living complex
chemicals. Life-forms could metabolize, meaning they were
able to extract energy from their surroundings. They could
also copy themselves and adapt to their environment –
through the process of natural selection.
Abundant co
mpl
ex
ch
Planet with s em
olid ica
cru ls
Stable habi st an
Complex chemicals tat, an
Rocky planets, such as po d
ssi liq
d
Earth, are made of a rich variety
bl
m
of elements, including oxygen, yi
in
n
ui
silicon, iron, nickel, aluminium,
er
d
als
nitrogen, hydrogen, and carbon.
wa
th
The last of these, carbon, can
ed
ter
build a large range of complex
ee
molecules in combination
with other elements.
po
cea
What changed?
n, with a source of h
Chemical reactions produced ever
larger and more complex molecules.
Molecules with self-copying abilities
became more common. Reactions occured
that both provided energy and the means
to build more complex molecules. The
chemicals of life became packaged inside
membranes, forming protocells – the
first true living organisms.
eate
nerg
y
Heat from Earth’s core
The planet’s interior was hot,
because of radioactivity and
also due to heat left over from
its violent formation. The heat
energy reached the surface
at volcanoes and
deep-sea vents.
Mineral catalysts
The reactions that built the
large, complex molecules
of life needed to be driven by a
chemical booster, or catalyst.
Minerals bubbling up from Earth’s
mantle at deep-sea vents are
thought to be a possible
source of those catalysts.
Oxygenation of the
atmosphere
Aerobic
respiration
Nitrogen
Photosynthesis
fixers
Sex
Complex cells
Decomposers
with a nucleus
Males and
females
Fungi Multicellular life
First invaders
BACTERIA of land, creating
AND the first soils
ARCHAEA
Animals
Algae and plants
Corals and
anemones
Body-plan
experimentation Worms
Invertebrates
CELLULAR LIFE, DNA, Living

communities
AND THE PROCESS OF become more Molluscs
NATURAL SELECTION complex
Arthropods
Backbone
Vertebrates (fish)
Invasion
of land
Reptiles Coal
Birds
Limbed
vertebrates
Shelled egg (amphibians)
Mass First
extinction forests
More living
spaces and
lifestyles
Conifers
Seeds and
pollen Centipedes,
millipedes,
insects, and
Mammals spiders
Longer and
more complex Living
food webs communities
Flowering plants
Flying on land become
insects more complex
TIMELINES
The earliest known animal embryos
and cnidarians (relatives of jellyfish and
anemones) are fossilized, 635 MYA .
STORY OF LIFE Rifting of supercontinents,

650 MYA, creates Iapetus Ocean and
may have triggered Ediacaran and
Cambrian explosions of evolution.
Life is over 4 billion years old, first emerging when Sponges, the first
Earth was only one-tenth of its present age. But even animals, evolve 750 MYA ,
DNA evidence suggests.
at the very beginning, life, although microscopic, was
already the most complex thing in the known universe.
The Earth’s violent birth left a planet where life was not only possible, PLANTS AND GREEN ALGAE
but perhaps inevitable. As the land cooled and permanent oceans
formed, the first protocells emerged – probably deep under water ANIMALS
Plants appear 934 MYA,
around chemically-rich fissures in the young ocean floor. Within a according to modern
DNA evidence.
few million years, these protocells had become microbes – and for
billions of years after that, the world belonged only to them. They 3 MULTICELLULAR LIFE
evolved ways of getting energy either from sunlight or by eating
The oldest fossil of a multicellular
other microbes, laying the foundations for the rest of life’s diversity. organism is 1.2 billion years old
The biggest, most complex of life-forms – multicellular life – and belongs to a seaweed,
evolved only in the last billion years of Earth’s history. These are Bangiomorpha. The fossil is
complete with a possible stalklike 1 BYA
the organisms that evolved into the familiar plants and animals “hold-fast” and reproductive
of recent times. It was then that life could emerge from the organs. This is also the earliest
microscopic and fill the oceans and land with greenery complex organism (eukaryote)
“ E x p e r im e n
that can be attributed to a group
and fast-moving creatures. still alive today – the red algae.
ta l ”
1 ORIGIN OF LIFE
Edi
A carbon trace in Australian rocks 4.1 billion years
ac a
old could be life’s oldest “signature”. DNA
ra
evidence (from living organisms) leads to a slightly
na
earlier estimate of life’s beginnings and predicts
ni
al
m
that all organisms alive today can trace their s,
in
c lu
ancestry back to a hypothetical microbe called ar din
LUCA – our Last Universal Common Ancestor. pe x gC
ap p le g y har
nia (a MY
A
Bacteria
s
s t o m r t. bove), appear, 550
l a c e n e gh
and archaea r o p in g c t n li
split from their l o l o w o ll e s u s
C h , al o c r o m sm
common ancestor, t f ni lit
nc e, er n
A
BY l l s g a ) s p al -
a
LUCA, 4.2 BYA , 5 e r

1. c (o lls
emer g o f ar c hae
es ce anim BYA .
DNA ing to mod
accor s, 3.8 BYA ,
according to
ot x
plex c us
r y ple and , 1.6

ells.
DNA evidence
for m t e s on to
a
cle
k m e s
from organisms E u h c o n t lik r o up
evide
he nu
t a
alive today. w i o p l ik e g
e
e
Fossil stromatolite l
in t
d
A t yp
o
of com
t ha t g
n c s t f v i d e r ial
EARTH 4 BYA
c o 5 BY s f o i t e s ,
Mitochondria – the energy-

t h e l o nie A by r m e d
e
e v e ar s , p r b a c t
producing factories of complex

. f a te A ,
f li s il
3. 5 o un d a t o l
r i a o m BY
cells – evolve, 2 BYA .

e o os
o
fe .
s
te in sti 18
m r om
a c o r i g A e d 3.
i d e lie
2 BYA
St
n
in e o D N l a
li v a t t o d e
MICROBES
nd d g a
l a t h e din i n v
DNA evidence.
gb f
The Late Heavy

evolve 2.73 BYA
with a nucleus
of cor eria
Complex cells
2 COMPLEX CELLS
according to
First permanent oceans Bombardment –

ac c t
a peak in space impacts

Ba
possibly form, 4.4 bya,

providing the first 4.1–3.9 BYA – possibly Eukaryotes have complex
habitat for life. strips away the cells with a nucleus and
atmosphere and kills include plants, animals, fungi,
all early life. 3 BYA
and many microbes. Traces
of steroid-like substances –
Th x yg let ’s a n, 2
St r
unique to eukaryotes – have
O m p r t h y ge
o
e G en es tmo .4
s ti ma
c o f E a ox
ll f t been found in rocks 2.4

o ith
re atio the sp BYA
o r o lit
w
at n f lo he .
m billion years old, but direct

in e s –
Fo s r i a ar , 2 . 6
go
organ s rich in
b a c o n la
2.9 BYA mat ter,
evidence comes from the

ce of e rovide
o f li
arly life
n
d.
Traces 2.7 BYA , indic ate

habitat, tosynthe tic
that ph s have started .
c o day
organis air with ox yge
s il s
to fill th
fossil Diskagma – a possible

on lan
t
f
lo ’s
e
to
e
ni Au
fungus – from 2.2 BYA .

oil- the fi BYA .
o d re
,p
es
Soil
ic
o f a n ox
in
o f s t r al
s ur
m
g
e
e
n
b a ian
fa c e s t t r a c
c te
e viden
r ia o a s t li
r
ygenate
–a
c
re
e
d
ne.
100 THRESHOLD 5
THERE ARE 4 MILLION DIFFERENT KINDS OF 0 MYA
A
ANIMALS AND PLANTS IN THE WORLD –
pe
s
2 5 e vo
Me m l ve
ya
4 MILLION DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS TO THE p re s s e l l
e a r a m s e r v a ke p
m
l y p ma e s a it i
.
r im l e v t im n G
PROBLEMS OF STAYING ALIVE. a te o lu
rw
e
D a t io n c ap s many
er
i n i u , i n c l uu l e o f
s, 4 d i n
Pr im 7M g
YA
the a te .
David Attenborough, natural history broadcaster, 1926– f o s s s f ir s t
il r e ap p
c o r d e ar i
Life on Earth, 1979 56 M n
YA .
As
c auses teroid impac t,
ex ti 65
pterosa nc tion of dino MYA , Darwinius
reptiles, urs, and large saurs,
allo mari
e volutio wing the explo ne
n of larg si
e m a m m ve
600 MYA and bir
als
ds.
Ediacaran fossil,
possibly a jellyfish
100 MYA
lan t s w i t h s t r o ng t
e f ir s t p r an
by t h t h e e n igm a t i c , f un g u s p o r t t
v i ded t hem w a s s lik e is
p r o o v e Pr o sue s
w a s n g ab t ot 4
a xi 2 0 M
d r i te s
l a n o we . YA, in g
n .T e r in g
r o nia o w d
e
v s o Fl clu c t u s ,
co ok , in f r u h i a
o t s e c .
an ha se YA
p l A r c o nt 0 M
ch nd
C
2
su r o u
as
dM r1
an p p e a
G
a
A ni
m il
e v id a l t ra c Fo s s x
un i d e n c e f r o k w ay s o p t er y
s
l a n d e n t i f i e d m 53 0 M h o w ae irds
A r c h s t ha t b ed
foss ; oldest ar thop YA of s h o w e lo p
i k o
a n d l i z e d: M n o w n f d s o n de v YA .
H aik y is have t 150 M
o ui c ll o kunm h are fli g h
h t hy i n gi a
s.
r
fossil fu
Bonelike tis
su Trace of ammals
fossilized 51 e is proves m ed fur
0 MYA : lv
dentine in a
fish. have e vo 5 MYA .
16
Experimental animal body
plans fossilized 505 MYA in
Canada's Burgess Shale. Seed-bearin
plants dive g
rsify
19 0 MYA .
500 MYA g ge s t
s 200 MYA
c e su
A e viden 4 83 MYA .
DN s evolv e
t
insec s,
lant
f l a nd p A ,
o
res
Y
70 M ts
S p o ili z e d 4 ik e p l a n Milk
l
f o s s e m o s s d lan d . in m produc
p r o v in v a d e l l amm t
al s 2 io n e vo l
h a ve na ta din E a 10 M ve s
t er s vi o r
h e s a u lie s t YA .
in e – ral r, 2 fo Ma
d nc nd ds 3 s Ad m ma
a n d v a n la gia t h e 1 M Y s il t he e lob a l s, suc
g nt
i n – a g o il r e p a ge o , an c e p sile u s h a s
A
i r r
a t h o n v in o s s . 26 t il e f e s t t ilia , e v o
e t i li f YA 0 s. or s n c
br a ls a M te M Y Fo s 2 2 5 y n o l ve f r o
i r t i l i z im a n in 2 8 don m
A r n w ,4 t h b r a s t r u e t h A , s s il c MY
A. t
ed
fe r a ho de d e a t in c , a h o y
f o re s p e s c w c a t ur m w n o
f f o v id er v
a illi e n ill s e e , u s s d d o
e o pro e s
d a c h – a a n c u i ve n t
re s e
m n t a r a ll d a l a r r s , T
n c an d re p r
c ycle o ple te their life nd

lan d b r a te s h o w s t b e d
habitats me
t s.
an h e
in g
s: c t fe la ja e
shows break ing fr ats.
nv a d a t
Fossil me ver tebra of
an d m G r e
a
m er at u r g w
free of nts have beco
t
rept
is f o
ver t brate) od (lim
prove p eds, 372 MYA ,

h
evi 0 MYA rees a
ir s
-
am i z r e o f im o r a t D
were ter y habit
sf a m e it es
w d as n a t h al a e t y
s s ili z
ile, o d 312 M
al s
M a m s y nap si .
a e P n d ha in
so
reptile
J ve , i
are i
. s.
38 s s il t
er YA ish er p n 7 g k
wa
nd.
p
es 6 M rm f m l a n 0 ill
s
ve r t i l t e t r a
A.
e
r
ian t p e s a
watery
r
n dry la
de
m a l - d,
Fo
p 43 e
MY
il o d p e s p e r c ll t r
, 318 M s
ss c r i o c i e e n t il o
375
la
f o p la
e
d, s a o f b i t
l i ke
Fossil s
s
c an c o m
e
Fo s
25 t t k n e s
300 MYA
YA
0 M he ow
ee
YA ,
te
YA en n
. d
400 MYA
Fossil cones show that plants
305 MYA have evolved structures
that protect their seeds.
STORY OF LIFE 101

4.1 BYA FIRST TRACE 2.4 BYA OXYGEN 936 MYA ESTIMATED ORIGIN OF
OF POSSIBLE LIFE FILLS THE AIR ALGAE AND PLANTS
LIFE’S
INGREDIENTS FORM
Earth’s crust is made of dozens of chemical elements, but only some –
including carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen – are the stuff of living Atmosphere was heavy
with carbon dioxide, so
things. Their atoms lock together into complex molecules and it was this atmospheric pressure
was higher than today,
kind of chemical assembly that precipitated the origin of life. allowing water to stay
liquid way above
its modern-day
boiling point
Earth has an iron core surrounded by mostly hydrogen joined to other elements, making
silicon-based rocks. Carbon is comparatively methane (CH4) and ammonia (NH3). In
scarce, but all known life is carbon-based. 1953, American chemists Stanley Miller and
Both silicon and carbon atoms bond Harold Urey simulated early Earth in the lab
prolifically with others, but while silicon’s with electrical sparks to imitate lightning.
affinity is mainly with oxygen (making up They showed that with enough heat and
the silicon dioxide that dominates Earth’s energy, the chemicals in Earth’s atmosphere
rocks), carbon is versatile. It bonds with could make simple organic molecules –
other elements, such as hydrogen, life-giving, carbon-based chemicals.
Clouds of water
nitrogen, and phosphorus. droplets would
Complex life needs complex molecules. EVEN BIGGER MOLECULES have filled the
sky, as they
Earth – with its rocks still cooling in the But life needed more – proteins, which are do today
wake of its violent birth, and liquid water long chains of amino acids, and DNA.
condensing into the first oceans – provided Today, pools rich with protein would be
just the right conditions for them to form. cleared by hungry organisms. But early
Earth’s first atmosphere was thick with Earth was energized by warmth and full of
unbreathable gases, such as carbon dioxide, minerals that acted as catalysts, boosting
hydrogen, nitrogen, and water vapour – specific chemical reactions. Giant molecules
but these were sources of life’s elements. In could persist long enough to get trapped in
a world without oxygen gas to react with it, membranes – precursors of the first cells.
▶ Recipe for life SIMPLE INGREDIENTS ▼ Life wrapped up

Small molecules of Oxygen Nitrogen The chemicals that created life
less than half a dozen needed compartments, where they
Carbon PHOSPHOLIPID
atoms were abundant could become concentrated. These
on newly-formed Hydrogen may have been provided by oily Water-loving
Earth. They reacted Water Ammonia Methane molecules called phospholipids phosphate head
to form bigger organic (present in all cell membranes
molecules with a today), which naturally aggregate Water-hating
“skeleton” of bonded into membranes in water. When tail
carbon atoms – which, SIMPLE ORGANIC MOLECULES they form spheres, they can trap
in turn, linked to form the life-giving chemicals inside.
long-chain molecules.
Range of different amino acids Water-loving heads

point outwards,
towards water
LARGE ORGANIC MOLECULE Water-hating tails Liquid water – in

point inwards which the first life
formed – would
Groups specific to each have first persisted
kind of amino acid (in Water-loving heads as oceans at some
full colour) stick out also point towards the time between
watery space inside 4.4 and 4.2 BYA
Standard amino acid

repeating units, in faded
colours, form the backbone
Chain of amino acids – the beginnings of a protein MEMBRANE FORMING A SPHERE
102 THRESHOLD 5
530 MYA FIRST LAND 380 MYA FIRST TREES 220 MYA FIRST MAMMALS 65 MYA ASTEROID KILLS THE
ANIMALS AND FORESTS AND DINOSAURS RULING REPTILES
◀ Hellish origins
Earth in the Hadean eon (4.6–4.0 BYA) was
unrecognizable. Exposed land was unprotected
from the Sun’s burning radiation and would remain
lifeless for another billion years – by which time
erosion had started to make the first soils.
Conditions suitable for life may have existed,
however, in the deep ocean or shallow seas.
Dry land was formed by crater

rims made by asteroid impacts,
not by tectonic movements,
which create mountains today
Lava could
fill craters
as asteroid
impacts triggered
volcanic activity
Cooling seas,
cut off from the
violence elsewhere,
may have provided
the conditions
needed for
newly-formed
complex organic
molecules to persist
Earth’s crust was mostly too

hot and unstable to nurture
life. The greater internal heat
of the young Earth, and the
frequent impacts from space,
caused volcanic activity on
an unimaginable scale
Volcanoes spewed minerals that may

have acted as catalysts, helping to
drive the formation of bigger organic
molecules at calmer locations
LIFE’S INGREDIENTS FORM 103

THE GENETIC CODE

A living organism is the most precisely ordered thing in the known
universe. The assembly and upkeep of a living body need direction and
control. The entire operation is guided by self-replicating molecules of
nucleic acid (DNA and its ancestors) that were present at the dawn of life.
Until the discovery of DNA’s precise shape acids, possibly a type called RNA, were ▶ Reading the code
In a living cell’s nucleus, DNA’s double helix is
in 1953, it was a mystery how life-forms probably capable of boosting their own
unzipped so that genes can be used to make
passed on genetic information to the next replication reactions. Their chains could have RNA, and then protein. Here, a strand of RNA
generation. Once revealed, the double- acted as templates guiding the assembly is being built by matching bases (chemical
stranded structure of DNA hinted at how of new parallel chains. Copying from a components), copying the sequence. This RNA
strand will go on to make a specific protein useful
information was inherited whenever one template is also used by DNA in living
to the life-form. The sequence of RNA bases is
cell splits into two. In the next years, organisms today, but it happens only when the code for a specific sequence of chemical
experiments confirmed not only that the two chains of the double helix separate components that makes just the right protein.
DNA IS LIKE A COMPUTER PROGRAM BUT FAR, FAR MORE The rungs that connect
DNA’s backbones are chemical
components called nucleobases,
ADVANCED THAN ANY SOFTWARE EVER CREATED. or bases for short. Each base is a
unit of digital information
Bill Gates, technology pioneer and philanthropist, 1955–

Bases coloured yellow
are adenine. There are three
DNA carried units of heredity (called genes), in preparation for cell splitting. Otherwise, other types: guanine (green),
cytosine (blue), and thymine
but also that it exerted its influence in an one chain is fixed to another like the sides of (orange). Each binds only to
one other type of base
astonishingly intricate way. a ladder. The copying results in two double
helices, each with identical information
INFORMATION CARRIERS destined for a new daughter cell. In this way,
DNA is a giant long-chain molecule – just like genetic information is copied and inherited.
▼ They were
protein, cellulose, and many other biological
simpler times...
Today, DNA needs molecules. But whereas cellulose is a USING THE INFORMATION
protein to replicate and monotonous fibre of identical subunits, those DNA cannot carry out any tasks alone. It
RNA to make protein of DNA – and protein – come in different instructs other molecules – the proteins – to
to carry out all its other
kinds. Different subunits follow in an do the work of maintaining and developing
functions. At the origin
of life, there was no information-carrying sequence – just as a living organism. A single DNA molecule
such complexity. The letters form a word. DNA belongs to a class of carries hundreds of sections – genes – each
earliest replicating long-chain information-carriers called nucleic carrying instructions to make a specific
molecules, possibly
acids. The sugars and other components of protein. In a living cell, sections of DNA are
RNA, had the ability
both to carry data and their structure would have been among life’s continually being unwound and wound – as
multiply unaided. primordial ingredients. The first nucleic genes are exposed for protein manufacture.
RNA chain
folds into a
specific shape Cycle repeats
with reaction- A second, identical, DNA chain
boosting binds to the specific pattern of
properties bases on its partner, forming the
famous double helix structure
Replication
reaction
Reaction- Active site More RNA

boosting part boosts the chains formed,
is called the replication each with an
active site reaction active site
Repeating units of nucleic

acids (DNA or RNA), made of
sugar, phosphate, and a base, are
provided in a steady supply by the
cell. These are RNA subunits
DNA’s backbone
is a string of sugars
and phosphates
RNA subunits bind to the

specific pattern of bases
on the DNA template
Order of bases
carries the
genetic code
This unzipped portion of

the DNA molecule exposes its
DNA’s code is being read for sequence of bases. The unzipping
making RNA. This particular RNA is controlled by a living cell’s
will turn the instructions into a molecular machinery
particular protein molecule
RNA contains uracil

base (purple) instead
of DNA’s thymine
RNA backbone has ◀ Discovering DNA

a different sugar to DNA
In 1953 in Cambridge
University, scientists
made a breakthrough.
American biologist
James Watson (far
left) and British
biologist Francis Crick
deduced that DNA
(deoxyribonucleic acid)
had a regular double-
helical shape and
properties that would
allow it to pass on
DNA IS AMONG THE LONGEST OF genetic information.
MOLECULES – CHAINS IN HUMANS
ARE UP TO 8.4CM (3.3IN) LONG AND
CONTAIN 249 MILLION BASE PAIRS
THE GENETIC CODE 105

RNA (ancestor of DNA)
LIFE BEGINS
controls everything
inside protocell
Carbon dioxide,
dissolved in sea water,
seeps into protocell Reaction boosted
by enzyme to
make organic food
Life arose from non-living matter by processes Carbon
of gathering complexity. As self-replicating molecules dioxide
mixed with catalysts – substances that drive chemical
reactions – self-assembly snowballed into the first
cells: organisms with familiar characteristics of life.
All life consists of cells with the chemicals of life contained inside
a membrane. A living organism is continually dynamic, resisting
collapse into disorder and death. How such a system emerged from
the non-living Earth is a mystery, but scientists apply what they
Enzyme made by the
know about biochemistry and conditions on early Earth to deduce protocell incorporates
what might have happened. The transition demands a special the original mineral,
but its complex
setting, and conditions may have been just right around 4 BYA . ▲ Hot habitat shape makes it a
better catalyst More complex
As water emerges from a deep-sea
protocell
vent, encrusting minerals build up
PAID TO EAT A FREE MEAL “chimneys”, some of which appear to
Deep-sea volcanic vents were rich in chemicals and were warm, smoke with dark iron sulphide. These
but not so hot as to break apart big molecules. Billions of years habitats support bizarre life-forms
ago, they were also a safe haven from bombarding asteroids and today – entirely dependent on the
chemical energy in the effluent.
fierce solar rays. Vents today get encrusted with metal sulphides
as the water cools. These minerals boost, or catalyze, reactions – Protocells disperse
some of which convert carbon dioxide into acetate. Acetate has into the surrounding
sea water
a pivotal position in the metabolism of all life today. What is ▶ The origin of life
A chemical reaction boosted by Minerals
more, one sort of acetate-forming reaction can even generate
minerals inside a deep-sea chimney,
energy. This combination of food manufacture and payment in and contained inside a membrane,
energy – all trapped within the catalytic encrustation – could may have been the basis for the first
have been a “hatchery” for life. life – a “protocell”. More complex
protocells later started to make their
own catalysts, which drove their
reactions. To begin with, these
catalysts may have been RNA. But Chimney formed
TODAY’S DNA, STRUNG THROUGH eventually, protocells developed

protein catalysts called enzymes.
from encrustations
of minerals spewing
from the vent
RNA (and eventually DNA) took
ALL THE CELLS OF THE EARTH, IS ... over the job of controlling
the entire assembly.
AN EXTENSION AND ELABORATION
OF THE FIRST MOLECULE. Minerals
Organic food,
Lewis Thomas, physician, writer, and educator, 1913–1993 such as sugar
or acetate,
produced
ESCAPING THE CHIMNEYS Carbon dioxide
seeps into protocell
The first “protocells” formed when oily membranes encapsulated
chemicals that were generated in the chimneys. Sea water helped
Energy released
protocells disperse from the chimneys, and the catalytic minerals when carbon
dioxide forms
in it helped maintain their primitive metabolism. organic food
The versatility of the element carbon – which forms the skeleton
of acetate – means that its atoms can assemble into a wide range
Minerals
of molecules. Some of the molecules generated by mineral-catalysis catalyze (boost)
may have developed catalytic abilities of their own – and could the reaction
even drive their own assembly. It is possible that these molecules Chimney
may have been related to RNA – a material found in all cells of a
deep-sea
today. RNA – or molecules like it – marked the emergence of vent
biological information, too. Such molecules could control how Protocell
cells maintained the emerging qualities of life.
LIFE BEGINS GRADUALLY AS PROTOCELLS
106
Raw materials
surrounding the protocell
are incorporated into it Protocell, becoming
Larger protocell with large and unwieldy,
more cell membrane breaks into two
and other materials
Daughter
protocells
RNA copies itself
before the cell splits
RNA (the genetic
material) stays the
Protocell Protocell same – it carries the
before growth after growth same information Protocell
splitting
▲ Growth ▲ Reproduction
As protocells acquired and made more organic molecules, The biggest protocells would have been
these became incorporated into their structure – allowing unstable. Splitting into two provided a
them to grow. Membranes became more expansive, but way of perpetuating themselves. RNA,
kept the same two-molecule-thick structure that is common which had begun habitually copying itself, Each daughter
protocell contains
to all cell membranes to this day. may have ended up in both daughter cells. some of its
parent’s RNA
◀ All the attributes of life

Protocells developed the abilities
Ch
we recognize today as defining life.

an
Not only did they grow and multiply,

ne
lp
they also moved (for example by

ro
Organic food
te
absorbed into pumping molecules through their

in
cell through a membranes), and they could sense

special channel their surroundings. They could take
in nutrition, and they had a primitive
metabolism, which built molecules
and also broke molecules down
RNA, to release energy – a process
containing known as respiration. Finally,
Food
genes they got rid of waste
by excretion.
Enzyme
The beginning
Mole Large of sensitivity in
c ul e - molecule
b living organisms
reac uilding
t ion is represented by
receptor molecules
on the cell’s surface
Cell’s metabolism
builds larger
molecules
Enzyme Receptor molecule
Mo
lec u detects chemical
dow le - br e a from cell’s
n re k
a c t i in g - environment
on
Carbon
dioxide
Energy released by Receptor
“respiration” reaction molecule
breaking down
food molecule
Waste product
of respiration reaction
is carbon dioxide
Waste product (carbon

dioxide) excreted by cell
PROTOCELLS ACQUIRE FULL CHARACTISTICS OF LIFE

HOW LIFE EVOLVES

Even at the dawn of life, the process of evolution was under way. Life was
changing, and at the root of every novelty was mutation – imperfections
in DNA’s copy-making process. The mistakes produced variety, and on
a changeable planet some variations succeeded, while others failed.
All organisms change during their lifetime. beneficial mutations are selected – they
But a grander scale of change, at the level of proliferate and pass on their “good genes” to
populations, happens through generations. at least some of their offspring. Those with
When an organism reproduces, it copies its mutations that harm their survival or ability
entire DNA, which ranges from under a to reproduce will diminish and may die out.
million to many billions of digital “bits” of The changing environment, and a
information. The enterprise represents a life-form’s habitat and survival strategy
monumental turnover of molecular data. within it, determine whether its mutations are
Even with natural system-checks in place, helpful or harmful. Deep-sea fish have big
copying errors, called mutations, happen. eyes and glowing devices that allow them to
EVOLUTION HAS NO LONG-TERM GOAL. THERE IS NO

LONG-DISTANCE TARGET, NO FINAL PERFECTION TO SERVE
AS A CRITERION FOR SELECTION.
Richard Dawkins, evolutionary biologist, 1941–
Mutation produces the raw material of hunt in the dark, while desert cacti have
variation. Some mutations have scarcely any water stores defended with spines. Cactus
effect, but others can abort development, spines and luminous lures need genetic
while a few are beneficial. diversity to appear, but it is the environment
that selects them for the right places. Chance
SELECTION BY THE ENVIRONMENT can play a role in spreading mutations, NEW SPECIES
While mutation is haphazard, evolution is especially in small populations, but only Although some mutations can produce
far from random. The mutations are subject natural selection can explain adaptation – sudden, distinct novelties, evolutionary
to a selection process. Life-forms with the fitting of an organism to its environment. change is generally slow and gradual.
Selection typically works on sets of genes
that work together to control broad features
such as size or shape. But living diversity is
not continuous – it occurs in discrete units
called species. New species arise when
two populations can no longer interbreed.
They cannot exchange genes, and their
evolutionary paths drift apart. This
divergence might happen across an
emerging barrier – such as a river or
▶ Reaching the limit mountain range. But mutations themselves,
A few microbes, that
such as those involving whole chromosomes,
today stand out as
bright colours at the especially among plants, can prevent
edges of hot acidic interbreeding and isolate populations.
pools, are a testament There are millions of species living today,
of the extent to which
but all – including countless more that lived
genetic variation and
adaptation allows life in the past – are products of evolutionary
to live in extremes. change shaped by the environment.
108 THRESHOLD 5
▶ Selection by predators
A living organism’s environment includes
Ancestral Predator – an
all the other organisms in it, particularly katydid agent of selection
predators, which influence its evolution.
Cricketlike leaf-eating insects called
katydids are coloured by gene mutations. Mutation happens
Pink or orange variants show up against during reproduction
Ears are elaborately sculpted by vegetation and are eaten, leaving
the need to receive faint echoes camouflaged green ones to
at specific frequencies coming
from prey or obstacles predominate as they breed.
Orange mutations,
Fur insulates the like the pink ones,
Eaten are selected by
tiny body, helping to Camouflaged
maintain its high predator
katydid hidden
temperature and from predator
fast metabolism
Unfavourable
mutations continue
Eaten to occur, but are
eaten more often
Camouflaged katydids
prevail in the population
Face is shaped by evolution into a dish that helps One clawed digit – the thumb – has been left
to broadcast a beam of sound emanating from free of the wing by natural selection, because
the nostrils. Bats use this to detect obstacles bats need it for grooming and for gripping cave
and prey by their echoes roofs. Bats without a free thumb would soon
be selected out of the population
Skin of the wing membrane has become

ultralight and almost hairless, making it
aerodynamic and extra-sensitive – so
the bat can detect faint turbulence and
adjust wing shape for efficient flying or
even to catch prey
▲ Shaped by evolution
Fossil mammals older than the earliest bat had plain faces and
ordinary, weightbearing forelimbs. During bat evolution, then,
selection must have favoured the drastic elongation of their Digits 2–5, the fingers, have
been vastly lengthened by
fingers, allowing them to support wings. In horseshoe bats, it natural selection
also favoured the extraordinary modification of their faces,
which improved their echolocation (their natural sonar).
HOW LIFE EVOLVES 109

▶ Galápagos finches
When Darwin learned that
all of these Galápagos bird
specimens were finches,
despite their different bill
shapes and sizes, he
began to suspect that
they had diversified
from a single,
shared ancestor.
ife changes over the course of EARLY CLUES have been created in their current form by
L thousands, and millions, of years. Philosophers of antiquity had anticipated God. Every species on Earth had always
From one form of life another will arise, evolutionary thought: some considered the been there, and they could not be changed.
modified in some way by the environment possibility that all life could be ranked in Fossils could be explained away as animals
in which it lives. The second form of life is a hierarchy – with humans at the top. that had died during the Great Flood.
more adapted to survive in its environment, In the 17th and 18th centuries, western Scientists who compared the anatomy of
and it retains some aspects of its previous naturalists explored the world and filled various animals saw plenty of parallels
form. This is evolution by natural selection, museums with fossils. Those that named between species. These similarities
and we can track its progress through the these extinct animals did so from a religious supported the idea of an affinity between
fossil record. point of view. Animals were assumed to certain groups of animals. For instance,
African baboons were undoubtedly closer
to Asian macaques than they were to
BIG IDEAS diminutive American marmosets. Likewise,
chimpanzees seemed close to humans. What
did this closeness mean, if anything?
HISTORY OF ALTERNATIVE WORLD VIEW

For Charles Darwin – born into a reverent
society – these anatomical affinities caught
EVOLUTION
his attention. He was recommended for a
five-year voyage aboard the HMS Beagle.
During his journey, he collected specimens
from across the globe.
Darwin pondered on the unexpected
Some have called it the biggest idea of all time: that everything that has
regional similarities in his specimens.
ever lived on Earth – dodos and diatoms, cabbages and kings – has Similarities between species that lived
descended from a single common ancestor. The possibility of life’s thousands of miles away from each other
evolution occupied some of the greatest minds, but it took one gentleman’s seemed to go against the idea of a single,
lifetime pursuit of “the species problem” to explain how it could happen. spontaneous Creation event. Animals on
110 THRESHOLD 5
HISTORY WARNS US... THAT IT IS THE
CUSTOMARY FATE OF NEW TRUTHS TO
BEGIN AS HERESIES...
Thomas Henry Huxley,
biologist, 1825–1895
the Galápagos Islands resembled those in time, but how exactly did these changes were more likely to express themselves than
nearby South America, and the unusual occur? The popular view was that others. When this generation was interbred,
wildlife in Australia seemed to belong to hereditary qualities blended from two the result were a group of peas with mixed
a different Creation altogether. Upon parents – akin to mixing paints of different colours, indicating that traits could also skip
Darwin’s return to England, ornithologist colours. No one knew if these qualities generations.
John Gould examined his collection of physically existed. In reality, this blending Mendel’s discoveries not only augmented
Galápagos birds. Darwin assumed they led to a dilution of varieties, not the Darwin’s, despite each having no knowledge
belonged to multiple families, but Gould emergence of new ones, and so was of the other’s work, but also debunked
showed how they were in fact species of not a sufficient explanation. popular rival theories – such as
closely related finches within one family. “Lamarckism”. The French naturalist
Darwin’s experiences were persuading Jean-Baptiste Lamarck had proposed that
him that not only were these new species CHARLES DARWIN WAITED features acquired through life, such as larger
modified from a former generalized and stronger muscles, could be transmitted
23 YEARS BEFORE PRESENTING
species, but perhaps that was the case with to offspring. Mendelism was finally
all forms of life – that there is one common HIS IDEAS TO THE PUBLIC, DUE rediscovered in 1900 and more scientists
ancestor for all. Darwin ruminated on his TO THEIR CONTROVERSY began thinking about evolution with genetic
theory that evolution happened by inheritance in mind. With genetics as the
infinitesimally small changes over many, exciting new discipline of natural science,
many years and animals with traits that The breakthrough came from an unlikely it became clear that new varieties of genes
aided survival were more likely to breed source: an Augustinian friar in Austria. In arise by a process of spontaneous mutation.
and pass these “favourable” characteristics the 1860s Gregor Mendel’s experiments in Natural selection acts upon these varieties
on to the next generation. breeding different varieties of pea plants by choosing, and keeping, the most useful.
In 1858, English naturalist Alfred Russell allowed him to deduce that inheritance was By the 1940s German-American biologist
Wallace wrote to Darwin with the same
idea. A year later, Darwin published his
ideas in a book, his famous On the Origin of
Species in 1859, which caused a stir in the
scientific community. He faced outrage, EVOLUTION COULD... BE DISPROVED IF... A SINGLE FOSSIL
since it essentially challenged Biblical
Creation as fact. Nevertheless, Darwin’s
TURNED UP IN THE WRONG DATE ORDER. EVOLUTION HAS
theories gained respectable supporters, PASSED THIS TEST WITH FLYING COLOURS.
including the English naturalist Thomas
Henry Huxley, a friend of Darwin’s who
Richard Dawkins, biologist, 1941–
championed his cause in the scientific
community. Within a few years, evolution
by natural selection was being lauded in due to particles, later called genes. Sexual Ernst Mayr showed that if populations
textbooks. In his Principles of Biology, the reproduction remixed genes to produce fragmented, evolution could take different
philosopher Herbert Spencer coined an unique combinations, some of which may courses away from a single ancestor – and
expression that became synonymous with express themselves in later generations. This create new species.
Darwin’s ideas: “survival of the fittest”. explained two mysteries: the appearance Fossils record evolution in progress: fish
of characteristics that skip generations, and fins morphing into amphibious limbs, limbs
A UNIFIED THEORY the perpetuation of characteristics that into wings, mammalian limbs back into
Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was aided survival (natural selection). When he fin-like flippers, and so on. Today, DNA
exhaustive in its catalogue of evidence, bred yellow and green peas together, Mendel analysis proves beyond doubt that even
but the mystery of inheritance remained. saw that the next generation of peas were the lowliest and loftiest life-forms share
Darwin understood that life changed over uniformly yellow. Therefore, some traits the same origins.
HISTORY OF EVOLUTION 111

MICROBES APPEAR
Bacteria have been around far longer than any other kind of organism. They
were the first to photosynthesize, the first to consume food – and are still
the only living things capable of making their food in the absence of light.
Billions of years ago, they were pioneers of both oceans and land.
Bacteria are the simplest cellular organisms, ▼ Bacillus

Main genome – a long,
but also by far the most abundant and The shapes of bacteria vary from spherical twisted, closed loop of DNA,
to spiral-shaped, but this rod-shaped type, Plasmid – one containing a few thousand
widespread. They are far smaller than the called a bacillus, is very common. It shows a of many short genes, loosely bound to the
cells of plants and animals – most are about range of features present in some modern
loops of DNA centre of the cell
one-tenth the size of a human skin cell. bacteria. Most early bacteria would
They are called prokaryotic (“pro” meaning not have had the outer capsule
layer, nor the hairlike pili.
before, and “karyon” meaning kernel),
because their cells lack the dense nucleus
that contains DNA in more complex cells.
Bacteria seem uniform in structure, but
this belies remarkable chemical diversity. In
1977, biologists recognized some kinds of
prokaryotes as an entirely new life-form,
BACTERIA ARE SO WIDESPREAD,

SOME LIVE 3KM (2 MILES)
DEEP IN EARTH’S CRUST, LIVING
ON ENERGY FROM
RADIOACTIVE URANIUM
▼ Bacteria
called archaea. These archaea – mostly
inside animals
Many food-eating living in hostile environments, such as salt
bacteria live inside the lakes or hot acidic pools – had unique,
guts of animals – such ether-based membranes unlike any other
as these on the lining of
living thing. Some performed bizarre
a human colon. Most
maintain a cooperative chemical processes, spewing out methane.
relationship with their repelling substances,
host by exchanging BANKS OF DEFENCES so-called antibiotics, as
nutrients –in humans,
Early bacterial evolution happened in a they competed for food and
they are esential to
digestion. But a few world teeming with other microbes – and space. Bacteria, therefore, have layers
cause disease. many of these early life-forms produced of defences. Outside their thin cell Some of these bacteria
membrane, which is common to all life, invaded soils and became
they have a tough cell wall, and most types critical for other life by recycling
also have a second membrane that helps elements such as nitrogen. Others – the
stop antibiotics from penetrating – and cyanobacteria – evolved photosynthesis,
still today, bacteria with a wall sandwiched making food from sunlight, and were the
between inner and outer membranes first organisms to pour oxygen into the
are most resistant to antibiotics. atmosphere. But as microbial communities
evolved to be more complex, many became
CHEMICAL DIVERSITY food-eaters – absorbing nourishment from
Bacterial nutrition spans the full range their surroundings. It was bacteria like
of types seen in plants and animals – and these that – billions of years later – would
more besides. Many have retained the invade the dead and living bodies of plants
food-making capability of life’s earliest and animals, becoming decomposers or
ancestors, deriving energy from minerals. disease-causing parasites.
112 THRESHOLD 5
◀ Tree of life
This tree shows the branching relationships
Last Universal Common among all forms of life, according to DNA
Ancestor, or “LUCA” analysis. The analysis suggests that all cellular life
alive today has a common origin – it evolved just
once, from an unknown ancestor dubbed
“LUCA”, and that it has three main branches,
or domains: bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes.
BACTERIA ARCHAEA
KEY
Bacteria are prokaryotes – all
simple, single-celled microbes.
FUNGI Archaea are prokaryotes, like bacteria.
They resemble bacteria, but at a chemical
level they are utterly different, and only
distantly related.
Eukaryotes are much more complex (see pp.118–
ANIMALS 19), but most branches are also microbes. The
LAND PLANTS
plants, animals, and fungi are just small twigs
within the eukaryote limb of the tree of life.
EUKARYOTES
Cell membrane lines the
inside of the cell wall
Cell wall is a rigid casing made
of murein – a tough substance
unique to bacteria
Capsule is a thick
coating of gelatinous Food stores are
material surrounding found throughout
some bacteria the cell Ribosome is a tiny molecular machine
that helps to turn DNA instructions
into specific proteins
Flagellar machinery drives

the rotating flagellum
Cytoplasm is the fluid

material filling the cell
and containing a thick
soup of proteins and
other substances
Pilus is a hairlike attachment made

from protein. Bacteria use their pili
to attach to surfaces or to interact Flagellum – a whiplike appendage
with other cells that powers the bacterium
through fluid. Many types of
bacteria lack a flagellum
MICROBES APPEAR 113

LIFE DISCOVERS
SUNLIGHT
Life needs energy, and the first living things drew it from minerals and
made their food in the darkness of the deep ocean. Those that followed
found energy in other places – and, as ancestors of plants and animals,
they captured sunlight in the shallows or ate food made by other cells.
Every living thing – from a microbe to the The most self-sufficient strategy for nutrition
tallest tree – consumes energy that changes is to make food, such as sugar, fat, and
small molecules into big ones, pumps protein, from non-food materials. Carbon
life-giving matter into cells, and resists dioxide in air or dissolved in water provides
decay. The immediate energy source for the carbon and some of the oxygen. Water
this is food. Energy-rich substances, such can provide the hydrogen – and minerals
as sugars and fats, go through a kind of such as nitrates, phosphates, and sulphates
controlled combustion inside cells – in deliver nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur.
the same way that chemical fuel can be Today the world is covered in plants that
burned to power any machine. But instead use the Sun’s energy to do just that – but the
of ignition, cells use molecular catalysts full scope of food-making life is far greater.
(called enzymes) to tease the energy from
their nutritive fuel in a safe and manageable MAKING FOOD
way. The process is called respiration. Plants are not the only food producers. The
most self-sufficient organisms of all can live
without light and survive on nothing but
water dosed with minerals. These life-forms –
all of them bacteria or archaea – can extract
energy from chemical processes involving
these minerals – and use it to manufacture
their food. Organisms that perform this
chemical nutrition were among the first
life-forms to thrive in the deep, mineral-rich ▲ Energy from sunlight
oceans. Some are now the unseen recyclers A thin mat of cyanobacteria on a living stromatolite
uses green chlorophyll to trap sunlight. The energy
of nature, their mineral-changing abilities is used to make organic food from carbon dioxide
helping to return the nitrogen in dead and water, and oxygen bubbles off as a by-product.
▶ Predator in miniature plants and animals to other living things.
Amoebas get food by A significant shift in the abilities of food in darkness: sunlight contains much
engulfing smaller
organisms, such as
prehistoric microbes came when they more energy than minerals. These microbes
algae, and breaking invaded sunlit shallow waters. These new therefore thrived as they basked in coastal
them down using bacteria used sunlight to make food – in the seas. They reorganized and reinvented
digestive enzymes. It process of photosynthesis. They could only chemical processes, changing energy-giving
means amoebas can live
in darkness but need get nourishment in daylight – but the reward reactions into new ones that used solar
prey to stay alive. for doing so far outweighed that of making radiation. They did it with pigments, such as
chlorophyll, that absorbed and trapped the
light energy. The first photosynthesizers
converted carbon dioxide to sugar by adding
the hydrogen from hydrogen sulphide.
BY BLENDING WATER AND MINERALS FROM BELOW WITH Scientists know this due to the yellow
deposits of sulphur this process left behind in
SUNLIGHT AND CARBON DIOXIDE FROM ABOVE, GREEN rock. But a later refinement to photosynthesis
helped life-forms get hydrogen from water
PLANTS LINK THE EARTH TO THE SKY. instead. The substance left over this time –
oxygen – eventually filled the atmosphere
Fritjof Capra, physicist, 1939– (see pp.116–17), and later helped cells burn
114 THRESHOLD 5
their food in respiration more efficiently. acquired dissolved food – such as sugars – ▼ Where photosynthesis is happening
These pioneers were probably like today’s simply by absorbing it from the vicinity. Photosynthesis is the principal food-making
cyanobacteria. They grew into sticky films Decomposers, such as fungi, still get process for modern life. Plants and algae are
the producers of food chains that support
of cells that trapped sediment. Over nourishment this way – producing digestive Marine algae
animals on land and in oceans.
are concentrated in
thousands of years, these colonies formed juices to break down any organic materials seasonally recycled,
rocky mounds called stromatolites (“stroma”, that are close by so they become more nutrient-rich waters
far from the equator Tropical rainforests have especially
bed; “lithos”, rock). Stromatolites still live in absorbable. Active hunting, in which one or near to coasts high productivity on land
a few warm coastal seas, where extra-salty organism eats and digests another, became
conditions suppress grazing animals – but an obvious next step, and complex cells,
they are abundant in the fossil record. such as amoebas, evolved the means to
engulf tinier organisms. It was the
CONSUMING FOOD appearance of this predatory behaviour that
As soon as some life-forms started producing marked the start of microscopic food chains.
food, the opportunity for a shortcut existed. Today, producers and consumers are
Instead of being producers, organisms could linked by the transfer of energy along bigger
evolve a new strategy – they could eat food food chains. Ocean and land life starts with
produced by others. These organisms the solar-powered algae and plants that
abandoned food-making and became now provide almost all of the world’s food.
consumers – collecting their nourishment Herbivores and predators are voracious in
in ready-made form. Those that consume the scale of their consumption, while all
KEY
organic food in this way are represented these living things are, in turn, dependent
Chlorophyll density in the ocean Vegetation density on land
by animals, fungi, and a whole range of on the fungi and bacteria that – in their
microbes. The earliest food-eaters probably various ways – recycle dead matter. Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum
LIFE DISCOVERS SUNLIGHT 115

OXYGEN
Early atmosphere was composed
of relatively unreactive gases, such
as nitrogen and carbon dioxide, and
the sky was red
FILLS THE AIR

Nearly two and a half billion years ago, Earth’s air Sunlight filtered into
shallow ocean
underwent a dramatic change: it became oxygenated.
This momentous event was caused by new kinds
of microbes, and it was incredibly important for
the future of all life.
Most life-forms
lived on the sea
These microbes, bubbling away in the ocean’s sunlit shallows, floor and did not
photosynthesize
produced oxygen, and ensured that the organisms that followed Some microbes
would never be the same again. moved to shallower
waters and began
Oxygen is a remarkable element. It causes fire, which turns to photosynthesize
organic material to cinder – but it is also a component of complex
molecules, such as DNA. Most living things need it to breathe and
stay alive. Today, oxygen gas makes up about one-fifth of the
atmosphere’s chemical composition, but for the first half of Earth’s
history, there was practically no gaseous oxygen at all. Instead, all
oxygen lay chemically bound in water and rocks. Photosynthesizing
microbes were the first organisms to release oxygen by splitting it Life probably originated in the deep ocean, beyond the reach
away from water as they made their food (see pp.114–15). of sunlight. As early life-forms dispersed into new habitats,
those in the sunlit shallows found a new source of energy for
POISON TURNED PROFIT making food: light energy from the Sun.
Early life was so unaccustomed to growing levels of oxygen that
the response was cataclysmic. The same oxygen that can corrode
metal to rust wreaked havoc on the delicate machinery of cells
Oxygen was released Carbon dioxide-rich
ill-protected from it. Much of early life, having evolved in habitats into the air from an atmosphere slowly
devoid of oxygen, died in the new poisonous oxygen onslaught. oxygen-saturated ocean became richer in oxygen
A few microbes had the means to survive – they had enzymes that
locked the oxygen away inside their molecules where it could do no
damage. But one kind of life-form went a stage further by exploiting
the fact that oxidation can be productive as well as destructive.
The eagerness with which oxygen reacts means that oxidation
releases energy. So much energy is released during combustion that
the reaction grows hot. For billions of years, cells had been honing
ways of capturing energy to drive the processes of life. The
presence of oxygen opened up a new avenue of metabolism –
aerobic respiration – by reacting oxygen with organic molecules
(see pp.102–03) and harnessing the energy that was
released. It was such an efficient mechanism for
creating energy that within another billion
years, virtually all life on Earth was
breathing oxygen.
Layer of chert
Bands of iron oxide

Rich iron layer formed deeper layers
as new sediment layers
◀ Bands of evidence were laid down above
Excavation of rocks dating
back to before the Great
Oxygenation Event reveals For hundreds of millions of years, oxygen produced by photosynthesis was soaked up
bands of red iron ore. They by the ocean’s iron and laid down in rusty bands that today comprise an important part
formed in the seas in which of the world’s reserves of iron ore. When the ocean’s dissolved iron ran out around
oxygen was being released. 2.4 BYA , oxygen saturated the water, then started to fill the atmosphere.
116 THRESHOLD 5
Stromatolites were formed by layers

of minerals laid down by microbes
hungry for the Sun’s energy
Tail-like flagellum ◀ Solar-powered microbe
used to swim The photosynthesizing microbes
evolved pigments, coloured green,
Oxygen was released that absorbed the Sun’s energy. They
into the ocean by harness this energy to make organic
photosynthesizing
microbes
food, such as sugars, in the process
of photosynthesis (see pp.114–15).
Green pigment packed

onto membranes inside
microbe
Cell wall surrounds

simple cell body
IT IS THIS CONDITION THAT MAY HAVE

Bacterial Iron oxide formed a red, SET THE ENVIRONMENTAL STAGE
mats formed rusty layer on the sea bed
AND ULTIMATELY THE CLOCK FOR
Microbes in shallow seas began photosynthesizing between 3.8 and 3.2 BYA . They THE ADVANCE OF... ANIMALS.
formed colonies, collecting as bacterial mats and building stromatolites. By extracting
hydrogen from water, they released oxygen, but it did not escape into the atmosphere.
It reacted with the ocean’s dissolved iron, turning it to iron oxide on the sea bed. Timothy Lyons, biogeochemist professor, c.1960–
Atmosphere was New organisms

oxygen-rich, and evolved that can use
the sky was blue oxygen for energy
Earlier
microbes Stromatolites
died off fossilized,
turning to rock
Stromatolites
died off
After 2.4 bya, the ocean’s water was full of oxygen and the New microbes evolved and could now use oxygen to extract more energy
atmosphere was oxygen-rich. Since organisms had evolved in habitats from food and went on to be the dominant life-forms in the new oxygen-
low in oxygen, these new conditions poisoned most of them. Only a few rich habitat. A few oxygen-hating microbes persisted where oxygen could
had the means to detoxify the oxygen, and so could survive. not reach them – such as in thick muds.
OXYGEN FILLS THE AIR 117

COMPLEX CELLS EVOLVE

In a world 2.7 BYA, teeming with microbes, life found a way to move
forward. Simple bacteria were joined by bigger cells to form microscopic
cooperatives, merging and collaborating to form complex new cells.
Such cells would become the living units of plants and animals.
The abilities of bacteria are limited by their larger body. Some, notably chloroplasts and Eukaryotes expanded more than
simple structure. Although they can perform mitochondria, are reminiscent of some bacteria ever could. Some used their
chemical tricks impossible in more complex free-living bacteria. It suggests they came to photosynthesizing chloroplasts to become
life, they are restricted in how they move be when microbes in prehistoric communities algae and plants. The food-eaters became
and socialize. Greater possibilities opened engulfed smaller cells for food, but instead of amoebas, fungi, and animals. A few, such
up when bigger microbes swallowed smaller eating them, held them captive, preserving as Euglena, could even switch between
ones – and kept them alive inside them. their life processes. In this way, some photosynthesis in sunshine and absorbing
photosynthetic bacteria of yesterday became food in darkness. But it was cell-to-cell
CELLULAR COMPARTMENTS the chloroplasts of today. And mitochondria, interaction that continued to be the
Plant and animal cells are eukaryotic (“eu”, which respire using oxygen, came from driving force in escalating complexity –
true; “karyon”, kernel), meaning they have oxygen-breathing bacteria. Even the nucleus so, in time, eukaryotes evolved into the
a central compartment called the nucleus. may have begun like this, although little largest and most elaborate organisms
This, together with many other membrane- remains to hint at its probable archaea on the planet.
bound chambers, distinguishes these complex ancestors. In each case, the prisoners were
cells from bacteria. The chambers are called “cultivated” and passed down whenever their
Ridged surface, or
organelles, because their uses in a cell are hosts reproduced. Over millions of years, host pellicle, is tough enough
comparable to the functions of organs in a and organelle became entirely codependent. to protect the organism
but flexible enough to
Golgi body is a cluster let Euglena engulf prey
of sacs that help refine
and sort proteins and
other cellular products
Photosynthetic membranes,
Chloroplast creates sugar by
arranged just like those in
photosynthesis. The ancestors of
cyanobacteria alive today, are
chloroplasts were probably ancient
packed with chlorophyll,
cyanobacteria. Like mitochondria,
which absorbs light energy
chloroplasts have their own DNA,
with around 100 genes
Outer membrane is Outer membrane is in

permeable to organic three layers – a relic of
molecules needed for the chloroplast’s origin
aerobic respration as a cyanobacterium
inside a host cell
CHLOROPLAST
MITOCHONDRION
Inner membrane folded Mitochondrion is rod-shaped like a

to fit in lots of enzymes that bacillus and is a descendant of free-
perform aerobic respiration – living bacteria. It even retains some
the process that uses oxygen DNA, containing more than 30 genes, Food particles Endoplasmic reticulum is a stack Nucleus contains DNA inside
to break down food for energy from its time as a free-living organism engulfed by the cell of membranous envelopes. Most its double membrane. Nuclei
are digested inside are studded with protein-making may have originated as free-
by enzymes granules called ribosomes; others living archaea – microbes that
help make oily substances survived in hot acidic pools
118 THRESHOLD 5
Neither animal nor plant

A marvel of microscopic intricacy, Euglena
is a single-celled pond dweller that can
photosynthesize like a plant, but can also
eat food like an animal. Its whiplike flagellum
helps it to move into sunlight or towards
nourishment in darkness.
Contractile vacuole squeezes out

excess water from Euglena to keep
its body fluids in balance. This
allowed its ancestors to move from
the salty ocean to fresh water
Light-sensitive bulge
at base of flagellum
tells Euglena the
direction of light
Main flagellum beats,

triggered by the bulged light
receptor at its base, so that
the cell moves towards light
Stigma, or eye-spot – a
patch of orange pigment that
casts a shadow on Euglena’s
light-sensitive bulge
COMPLEX CELLS EVOLVE 119

SEX MIXES GENES

BEFORE GENE
TRANSFER
Main genome on
a single looped
chromosome
Mistakes in the copying of genetic material, known as mutations, create

new genes and characteristics – but it is the sexual behaviour of life that DNA is also on
shorter loops
mixes them up, creating unique individuals. Sexuality is a basic property called plasmids
of all known life and it is likely that it emerged very early on in evolution.
Some organisms reproduce without sex, so

offspring carry exact copies of their parent’s THERE ARE 8 MILLION Purple plasmids
control their
genes. The only way they can change over GENETIC COMBINATIONS own transfer
generations is when mutation produces POSSIBLE IN THE SPERM OR
variety. But most organisms, because of
EGGS PRODUCED BY ▲ Bacterium
their sexuality, can vary much more. Sex Bacteria have sex by transferring DNA to another
mixes up DNA, enriching a population EVERY HUMAN individual. Some of the genes that control the
with new combinations. A plant species exchange are actually on the DNA that is moved,
so the DNA strand controls its own transfer, a
might have genetically-determined white separates the doses into sex cells (usually little like an independent life-form.
or purple flowers, as well as tall or dwarf sperm and eggs), and fertilization restores
statures. These variants are produced by the double dose. This ensures that each gene
mutations (see pp.108–09), but sex mixes gets inherited and no information is lost. Single-celled Parent’s DNA is on
them up, so both tall or dwarf plants can parent has a chromosome pairs –
protective a single pair of
produce flowers of either colour. VARIETY IN SPERM AND EGGS casing chromosomes
is shown here
The simplest kind of sex happens when Fertilization mixes genes from different
bacteria exchange bits of DNA. When they individuals, but meiosis ensures that all the
separate, each partner is genetically changed, sex cells coming from a single parent are
but no new cells are made. So bacteria have different, too. As a prelude to meiosis, DNA
evolved sex, but not sexual reproduction. is shuffled around in the cells of the sex
organs, so that all the sperm or egg cells
HOW TO SHUFFLE A HUGE GENOME made by one parent are genetically different.
Complex, or eukaryotic, cells (see pp.118– Plants, animals, and other complex
19), including those of all plants, fungi, and organisms evolved sexual lifecycles that were
animals, cannot exchange their genes as moulded by their capabilities. Fungi – which Chromosome has
versions of all the same
bacteria do: their long, unwieldy chains of grow as microscopic threads – adopted a PARENT genes as its partner, but
▼ Spawning some versions differ
DNA prevent it. Instead, they rely on first method reminiscent of bacteria: their
Production of sex
cells can be prolific. making special sex cells containing only half threads fuse in places without producing ▲ Complex microbe
Corals release millions their DNA, and then fuse, or fertilize, them true sperm or eggs. Plants – rooted to the Chlamydomonas is a single-celled microbe, but as
of sperm and eggs with half the DNA of another individual. ground – evolved cycles that used dispersive a complex cell (eukaryote), it has a double-dose of
simultaneously – DNA divided into pairs of equivalent chromosomes.
To achieve the halving and fertilization, spores or pollen. But in all these organisms, Each member of a chromosome pair has equivalent
increasing the chance
of fertilization in the they need two “doses” of each kind of gene. sex served to multiply the raw material for genes to its partner, but these genes may differ, due
open ocean water. The halving process, called meiosis, natural selection – variation. to mutations accumulated over millions of years.
PARENT – A One of millions of cells in the

parent animal, each containing These cells are from
NEMATODE, A
paired chromosomes – only the nematode’s
SIMPLE ANIMAL one pair is shown here ovaries – they are
about to make
Each member of every
eggs (sex cells)
chromosome pair has
versions of all the
genes of its partner
▲ Animal
Animals are also eukaryotes. They carry out the same
halving and fertilization processes as all eukaryotes,
but their sex cells are short-lived eggs and sperm,
produced by the halving process (meiosis) in the
animals’ sex cells – either ovaries or testes. PARENT IN CLOSE-UP
120 THRESHOLD 5
Plasmid DNA
passes into another
individual
After DNA transfer,

both bacteria have a
copy of the plasmid
GENE GENE TRANSFER

TRANSFER ACHIEVED
Before dividing, chromosome

pairs stick together and swap Parent cell splits
corresponding material, making into four sex cells
new combinations of genes One sex cell fuses
with the cell of another
individual (there are
no males or females)
Offspring has
a new, unique
combination
of DNA
HALVING
THE DNA
Sex cell of another
individual, carrying
a mixed-up half
FERTILIZATION of its own
parent’s genes
MIXING THE DNA Each sex cell has a mixed-up half of GENETICALLY
the parent’s DNA; each is different MIXED OFFSPRING
from the parent and from the others
SEX CELLS
The fertilization
produces offspring with
new, unique mix of DNA
The halving produces a
variety of eggs (or sperm), The cells multiply
each with a mixed-up half Embryo begins dividing into to grow into a
of the parent's genes many cells, each with the new adult
same DNA, eventually to
build the animal’s body
Before halving the DNA,
chromosome pairs meet
and swap genes
Sex cell (sperm)
from another
individual
HALVING
THE DNA An egg fuses
with a genetically
different sex cell
from another
individual
SEX CELLS GENETICALLY MIXED OFFSPRING

MIXING THE DNA (EGGS) FERTILIZATION OFFSPRING IN CLOSE-UP
SEX MIXES GENES 121

CELLS BEGIN Cleft suggests this is an embryo that

has just made its first cell division,
TO BUILD BODIES
from one to two cells
The step from microscopic, single-celled microbes to organisms such as

plants and animals, with up to trillions of cells, was another quantum leap
in the complexity of life. Maintaining order in a multicellular organism
demands that cells not only stick together in the right way, but also
communicate so that the entire body develops properly.
There are limits to the capabilities of a functions to concentrate on specific jobs –

single-celled microbe. Cells cannot grow and increasingly rely on other cells around
beyond a certain size without becoming them to supply their deficiencies.
unmanageable – using diffusion, materials In the Precambrian oceans, filter-
for life pass in and out of their bodies only feeding sponges were among the first
over microscopic distances, and the oily multicellular animals, although they are
cell membrane breaks up if a cell gets too just a step away from being a loose colony.
big. Cells divide when they reach a certain A sponge passed through a sieve can sprout TWO-CELL STAGE
stage, so microbes stay microscopic. new individuals from each separated cell,
and the same is true of some simple algae.
Later, more complex, animals and plants
had cells more committed to their specific
roles. Their fate – to become skin, muscle,
or another tissue – is set by their location
in the early embryo. Cooperating tissues
then become organs, such as solar-powered
leaves or beating hearts, and their cells
no longer survive alone.
Multicellularity might make cells forever
dependent, but it reaps enormous benefits
for the bigger body. It allowed life to evolve
working parts, such as stinging tentacles and
sex organs. The variety of body sizes now
▲ Temporary body Bigger organisms with cooperating working possible multiplied the complexity of natural
Slime moulds are parts can evolve new ways to live, but they communities, leading to elaborate food webs
on the cusp of
multicellularity. They
must become multicellular to do so. and habitats built from the bodies of larger
are usually solitary, Some microbes refuse to separate after organisms, from corals to trees.
amoeba-like single division, so their cells remain attached in a
cells, but in times of colony. The simplicity of this arrangement –
stress, they band
together and form
division without segregation – suggests that Epithelial cell
forms sponge’s
multicellular multicellularity in itself is not such a body lining
fruiting bodies monumental achievement – but getting 16-CELL STAGE
such as these. body parts (and therefore cells) focused Collar cell creates Collar
Flagellum beats
on different tasks is another matter. a feeding current to create a current
that carries food
to the cell
DIVISION OF CELLULAR LABOUR Pore cell lets
in water and
True multicellularity happens when a food CHOANOFLAGELLATE
COLONY
colony’s cells work together and specialize,
Amoeboid
relying on chemical cues from their cell attacks ◀ Creature or colony?
neighbours to do so. All cells in a colony invaders The distinction between colonies of cells and true
carry copies of DNA made by replication multicellular life is not always clear. Single-celled microbes
called choanoflagellates form stalked colonies. Many cells in
during each cellular division. Although they
a sponge look and behave in much the same way. What makes
keep identical genetic blueprints, cells switch the animal more than a colony are its different, specialized cell
off selected genes as they forego certain SPONGE types, which must cooperate in an integrated way to survive.
122 THRESHOLD 5
One of four cells in this fossil, Granular texture is due

suggesting it is an embryo that to the mineralization
has divided twice process of fossilization
A membrane encloses
the cells, just as it would
in an animal embryo
FOUR-CELL STAGE EIGHT-CELL STAGE
Cells in this “embryo” are more

rounded – perhaps due to loss
of its enveloping membrane
This membrane encloses what

looks like a ball of cells – called a
32-CELL STAGE blastula in animal embryos BLASTULA STAGE
▲ Arrested development
Astonishing fossils from the
THE ANCESTORS OF THE HIGHER ANIMALS MUST Doushantuo Formation of China
appear to show embryos frozen in
BE ... ONE-CELLED BEINGS, SIMILAR TO THE AMOEBAE time at their very earliest stages of cell
division, as they change from a single
egg cell to form first two, then four, and
WHICH ... OCCUR IN OUR RIVERS, POOLS, AND LAKES. eight cells, and so on. This act of cell
division without separating is at the root
of multicellularity; it may be that these
Ernst Haeckel, evolutionary biologist, 1834–1919 fossils represent very early multicellular
The History of Creation animals beginning life around 635 MYA .
CELLS BEGIN TO BUILD BODIES 123

Showing off
Many males use colour to impress females
in species that have good daytime vision –
such as big-eyed jumping spiders. This male
peacock jumping spider combines colour with
choreography in his courtship display.
124 THRESHOLD 5
MALES AND
FEMALES DIVERGE
As well as evolving complex, multicellular bodies, plants and animals also diverged
into two sexes. In each species of animal, half became females and – through yolky
eggs or pregnancy – focused on nourishing their offspring. The other half – the
males – became fighters and show-offs.
Contrast between the sexes can be very investment in the next generation makes
pronounced indeed. A female elephant a female choosy when it comes to selecting
seal can be five times smaller than her mates and passing on her genes.
mate – and an anglerfish female 40 times The cost of sperm production is far lower.
bigger. All sexual organisms have a shared In the drive to pass on their genes, males
genetic investment in producing offspring, invest more in beating other males to fertilize
but males and females have dissimilar – eggs, either in competition, such as a race
although complementary – interests in the or fight, or by wowing females with
way they help create the next generation. advertisement displays. This has resulted
WE CAN HARDLY BELIEVE THAT... THE FEMALE... IS NOT

INFLUENCED BY THE GORGEOUS COLOURS OR OTHER
ORNAMENTS WITH WHICH THE MALE... IS DECORATED.
Charles Darwin, biologist, 1809–82, The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex
MATING TYPES AND SEXES in extravagant male features, from the giant
The lowliest of organisms manages to be jaws of stag beetles to a bird-of-paradise’s
sexual without having males and females plumes. Fossil evidence – such as the crests of
at all. Many microbes and fungi have male pterosaurs – suggests that this is nothing
multiple, but identical-looking, “mating new. But male displays relying on colour,
types”. Subtle chemical differences dictate voice, or behaviour leave no trace; today these
whether they can fuse to mix their genes. attributes provide some of the most dazzling
Mating types have equal reproductive natural spectacles – as males fight, dance,
responsibilities. But the evolution of different or sing their way to mating success.
sexes changes this. Although each sex
◀ Size contrast
contributes the same amount of genetic An egg’s package of
information, the female sex supplies hers as cytoplasm and yolk
an egg provided with nourishing yolk, while makes it one of the
biggest kinds of cells.
males make lightweight sperm devoted to
A sperm – one of
racing to fuse with that egg. The battle the smallest – has
of the sexes began when sperm started a whiplike flagellum
swimming towards food-packed eggs. that helps it swim,
powered by a single
mitochondrion.
CHOOSY FEMALES, SHOWY MALES
Some females – such as many insects
and fish – deposit tiny amounts of yolk
in each egg so can still afford to produce
hundreds. Others make fewer, yolkier
eggs or give birth to young after a costly
pregnancy. Either way, high bodily
MALES AND FEMALES DIVERGE 125

ANIMALS
Nerve net
extends into
each tentacle
GET A BRAIN
All animals have a nervous system that detects and responds Nerve fibre, the
to change. But only some evolved more complex behaviour. long, thin part of a
nerve cell, carries
The animals that did are those that started swimming electrical impulses
or crawling forwards. They developed a battery of sense Nodes are points where
organs and a decision-making brain to lead the way. nerve fibres meet and
communicate
Some of the first animals, such as jellyfish, cells that processed all the incoming data:
moved with tentacles radiating from the they evolved the first heads with the first
body in all directions. Their body had brains. A central conduit – a nerve chord –
a top and bottom, but no front or back – carried impulses through the body, allowing
so no head and tail. It was enough to communication between brain, muscles, ▲ Nerve net
respond to food and danger, and they and sense organs. It meant a fundamental An anemone does not have any nerve cells
concentrated in a brain. Instead, they are
had a nervous system for that, made up rearrangement. Two sides of the newly arranged into a net, with sensory ones collecting
of long, interconnecting nerve cells. A elongated body developed as mirror images information and deeper ones communicating
stimulus, which can be any prompt from of each other, giving the new kind of animal with muscles. Behaviour is in its simplest
the environment, triggered their system a single line of symmetry down the midline stimulus-response form.
to fire electrical impulses along the nerve of its body. This body plan came to dominate
cells’ fibres – and when the signal reached animals from the simplest flatworms to the
a muscle, the muscle contracted to pull on most complex vertebrates.
a part of the body. But complex behaviour Brain power allows complex behaviour,
was impossible: they had no brain to so spiders, for instance, can spin webs to
analyze sensory input and make decisions. catch prey. But as long as behaviour has a
▼ Fossil brain fixed pattern, it can still be “hard-wired”
Soft tissues, such as A HEAD FOR THINKING and determined by genes. Genuine Nerve chord – a thick
the brain, rarely bundle of nerve fibres – is
More than 600 MYA , forward-moving versatility would come where traces of the one of a pair running down
fossilize, but the fossil
head of a Cambrian animals introduced a key innovation. If they brain’s electrical activity left memories that the ventral (belly) side
of the animal
shrimplike animal moved in one direction consistently, one affected behaviour. Big-brained animals,
called Fuxianhuia part of the body – the front end – always such as mammals and birds, can learn from
shows a detailed brain
encountered new territory first. Animals experience. And among them, a few gained
impression. The large
optic lobes suggest the concentrated sense organs at this end and foresight – the ultimate expression of brain
animal relied on vision. developed a corresponding mass of nerve power that foreshadowed human creativity.
Auricle is a projection
on the side of the head
that is sensitive to
chemicals and is used
to find food
Eye-spot, or ocellus, responds

to light but doesn’t produce
detailed images
Brain is simply a concentration

of the biggest ganglia at the
head end of the body
Snout is the first part of

the body to encounter new
things and is touch-sensitive
126 THRESHOLD 5
PARTS OF THE BRAINS OF DIFFERENT ANIMALS HAVE EXPANDED

AND PROSPERED IN IMPORTANCE… ALL IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE DEMANDS OF THE LIFESTYLE OF THE SPECIES. Compound eye is
much more complex
than an eye-spot, and
Susan Greenfield, neuroscientist, 1950– delivers detailed
images to the brain
Peripheral nerves are made of bundles

of fibres (nerve cells) and extend into
every part of the body’s surface
Optic lobe is
made of many
parallel nerve
cells, leading to
and from the eye
Nerve tissue extends, as
Ganglion is a dense concentration a lobe of the brain, into
of nerve cells. Ganglia are arranged the sensory antenna
in pairs and form chains down the
twin nerve chords
Brain is much bigger,
showing that the
nervous system has
become “centralized”
around the brain
Lobe of brain leading

to mouthparts or other
head appendages
Head is more distinct than the

flatworm’s head. “Encephalization” –
the evolutionary process of
developing a head – is complete
▲ Simplest brain
Flatworms are among the simplest of living
animals with a head and a brain. The central
nervous system consists of a cluster of ganglia
(bulges of nerve cells) making up a primitive brain,
while nerve chords communicate with the rest
of the body. Further neurons carry impulses
to and from sense organs and muscles.
Ganglion partially
governs a segment
Nerve chord is one of a of the body, forming
pair, as in the flatworm, a mini-brain devoted
running down the to that segment
animal’s underside
▶ Bigger brain
This arthropod, based on fossil
Fuxianhuia (see opposite), shows
how complex nervous systems had
become by the early Cambrian period A HUMAN HAS 85 BILLION
(515 MYA). Fuxianhuia had a segmented NERVE CELLS, BUT A
body, with a pair of ganglia in each
segment. The brain was much larger NEMATODE WORM GETS
and features fat superhighways of
BY WITH 302
nerve cells extending into the head’s
appendages and sense organs.
ANIMALS GET A BRAIN 127

ANIMAL LIFE
EXPLODES
The first big explosion of animal life occurred just over 600 MYA – in
oceans already alive with algae and microbes. From modest beginnings
as creepers and grazers on the sea bed, animals quickly evolved into
all the main groups alive today.
The oldest full-body fossils seem to appear left little more than tracks and traces.
so suddenly in the geological record that the Those fossil traces can be a rich source of FROM THE BEGINNING TO
first chapter in the evolution of animals has data themselves, however, telling us about THE END OF THE CAMBRIAN
been called an “explosion”. A fuller picture animal lifestyles and communities. PERIOD, ANIMAL BURROWING
actually reveals what might be a series of
▼ Colonizing DEPTH INCREASED FROM
explosions. An early wave of evolution left EARLY RECYCLERS
the ocean floor
behind fossils worldwide, but notably in Animals evolved from single-celled 1 CM (½ IN) TO 1 M (39 IN)
The earliest animals
hugged the ocean floor, Newfoundland, Canada, and in Australia’s organisms. The pre-Cambrian track marks
but their diversity and Ediacara Hills, which gave their name to show that the lives of these first animals dissolved food, some of these pioneers of the
ecology escalated as
this period, the Ediacaran (635–541 MYA). were tied to sediments on the ocean bed. sediment evolved into burrowers and began
some of them dug
deeper into the mud The animals preserved are unrecognizable – Some crawled over the surface or grew into churning the sediment in ways that had
and others grew some are disc-shaped, others frondlike – and spongelike mats. Animals had evolved never happened before. This swirled
upwards into the scientists cannot place them in any modern muscle systems, which distinguish them materials between the ocean water and
water, discovering
new survival strategies
groups. These were not the first animals. from other multicellular life. Their muscles the bottom muds – adding oxygen to the
and building complex DNA evidence points to an even earlier helped them play an active role in shaping sediment and exchanging organic matter
communities. pre-Cambrian origin, but the earliest forms their environment. In their search for and minerals between the two habitats.
Charnia – an organism completely

unlike any alive today – had
a leaflike appearance, but it
was a food-absorbing animal
Sponges filter-fed Trilobite-like
on suspended food Sponge arthropod
Surface trail of an
unknown animal
Sponge
Charnia
Arthropod
track marks
Kimberella Branching
Arthropod burrow
track marks Complex branching
Dickinsonia
burrows
The first burrows beneath

the surface were made by
Life inhabited a thin, unknown wormlike animals
Dickinsonia left
surface layer of the sea impressions of
bed, hardly penetrating its body as it
the sediment at all was grazing
Deeper layer of mixed
sediment was created
In the Ediacaran period (about 560 MYA), the Early in the Cambrian period (about 540 MYA), a deeper
sea bed was colonized by surface mats of algae, layer of mixed, recycled sediment was created by animals
microbes, and possibly sponges. Scratch marks burrowing and digging. The earliest known arthropods,
were made by early animals, possibly including probably resembling trilobites, left tracks – long before
Kimberella, as they grazed the algae. the first trilobite body was fossilized.
128 THRESHOLD 5
◀ Experimental body
SEA-BED COMMUNITIES Opabinia is an example
By the early Cambrian, animal communities of an experimental body
plan from the Burgess
were flourishing on and around the sea Shale. This creature
bed. The fossil record of this time is less is not related to any
incomplete, as many animals had chalky animal alive today, and
exoskeletons – protection from others but some experts regard it
as a failed body-plan
also able to support taller bodies and experiment that
colonies. As plankton became richer with soon died out.
bigger organisms, their dead bodies and
waste were more likely to sink. For the first
time, life-forms in the water column were
strongly linked to those on the ocean floor
by a primitive food chain. Deposit-feeders
came to depend on this rain of food.
Now was the time of the full Cambrian
Explosion, documented most famously by
Canada’s Burgess Shale fossil assemblage
(505 MYA). All the major kinds of living
animals – flatworms, molluscs, and
arthropods included – had evolved. But SOME 15–20 BURGESS SPECIES CANNOT BE
other, less familiar, types evolved alongside
them. Some fossils suggest the existence of ALLIED WITH ANY KNOWN GROUP. MAGNIFY
animals very unlike anything alive today,
and many scientists have described this SOME OF THEM... AND YOU ARE ON THE SET
period as a time of experimentation in
body shaping. Many of these ancient OF A SCIENCE-FICTION FILM.
types disappeared without leaving lasting
descendants, but others went on to fill Stephen Jay Gould, palaeontologist and evolutionary biologist, 1941–2002
the planet with animal life. Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History
Anomalocaris reached nearly

1m (31 ⁄4 ft) long and was the
community’s top predator
Anomalocaris Eocrinoid
Wiwaxia
Sponges
Arthopods
Hallucigenia
Fanworm
Burrowing
anemone
U-shaped Vertical
Sediment filled with traces left
burrow worm burrows
A range of worms by burrowing and foraging Fan-shaped
and anemones held movements of wormlike animals trace made
out tendrils or felt by a worm
with a proboscis
for food
Later in the Cambrian (529 MYA), deposit-feeders subsisted on With the Cambrian Explosion in full flow (520–505 MYA),
the “rain” of detritus from plankton above. They included animals new lifestyles and experimental body plans really
with food-grabbing tentacles, including burrowers similar to the took off. Unique animals such as Anomalocaris,
fanworms of today, and a diversity of trilobite-like arthropods, Wiwaxia, and Hallucigenia evolved, but left no
which left different types of tracks as they patrolled the sea bed. successful descendants.
ANIMAL LIFE EXPLODES 129

ANIMALS GAIN
A BACKBONE Cranium, or braincase, surrounds the
brain. In early vertebrates, this formed
an open-topped cage, but this later
closed over, giving better protection
Backboned animals – from fish to mammals – have a history stretching

back to small larva-like filter-feeders emerging in the evolutionary
explosion of the Cambrian period. The internal skeleton they evolved
went on to support animal bodies far larger than was possible before.
Vertebrates (animals with a spine, or over by the mouth and throat,

vertebral column) emerged from small leaving the gills free to become
muscular swimmers in the Cambrian seas, better at extracting oxygen.
before 500 MYA . They had a rubbery rod – a This happened in bottom-living,
notochord – running through the back of a armoured, jawless fish called
tapering body and blocks of flexing muscle ostracoderms, which used throat
that curved the rod from side to side. Fish muscles to suck food in from mud. But
use the same technique to swim today – but ostracoderms were also pioneers for another
in most, the rod grows only in the embryo reason: they had the first bone.
and is replaced with a harder backbone by
adulthood. The Cambrian rod-backs were BONY BODIES
modest filter-feeders, but a backbone gave Bone has its collagen hardened with at least
their descendants dramatically new 70 per cent mineral. It may have evolved
ways to live their lives. as a reservoir for the extra calcium and
phosphate needed to trigger fast-acting
Mandible is actually a former
CARTILAGINOUS BEGINNINGS muscles and nerves. But it had obvious set of gill arches, reshaped by
The earliest elements of a skeleton were mechanical benefits, too. Ostracoderms evolution into a jaw
made from cartilage: tough, but flexible, (“ostrakon”, shell; ”derma”, skin) used bone as
tissue packed with collagen. Cartilage outer armour, packed with so much mineral
grew in the head of the first fish, such as it excluded living cells. Later fish permeated
Haikouichthys, and protected the brain and their bone with life-supporting microscopic
▼ Step by step supported arches between their gill slits. channels, meaning it could grow from
Fossils show that the In later animals, cartilage grew over the within to make an internal skeleton. Most
evolution of a spine
happened during the notochord and protected the spinal cord too, vertebrates alive today have a bony skeleton,
Cambrian period, becoming the first true vertebral column. with cartilage largely around joints. A few –
541–485 MYA . The The column allowed stronger swimming, such as sharks and rays – reverted to a more
story began with a
while fins – with cartilaginous supports of lightweight cartilaginous skeleton, but bony
back stiffened by a
notochord (a rubbery their own – improved control and stability. fish diversified more, counteracting their
rod) and passed Bodies with supporting cartilage could heavier bone with a buoyant gas-filled swim
through stages where get bigger and more agile – but demanded bladder. And a bony skeleton was critical
vertebrae were made
more food and oxygen, too. The earliest fish for the evolution of the land vertebrates
first from cartilage
then mineralized as got both by straining water through their that followed. Only giant bones could bear
a true backbone. gills – but feeding functions were later taken the weight of the biggest dinosaurs.
Cartilage gill arch stiffens

Notochord – a stiff gill, helping to hold it open
Nerve chord supportive rod for feeding
Cranium
(braincase)
of cartilage
Brain
Gill slit – used

for filter feeding
Chordate – a proto-fish with only a notochord Craniate – protofish with a braincase
130 THRESHOLD 5
◀ Modern vertebrate
A body reinforced by an internal jointed skeleton has
enormous evolutionary promise. The great white shark is
a highpoint of this potential: one of the most formidable
Rods of cartilage support the top predators in the world today. Its skeletal elements are
dorsal fin. They grow under made from cartilage reinforced with mineral deposits.
the skin as part of the dermal Sharks share the main skeletal elements of most other
(skin) skeleton, unconnected living vertebrates, except that they lack ribs.
to the internal skeleton
Vertebrae surround and protect

the spinal chord. They make up the
vertebral column, or spine
The pectoral fins’ skeleton is part of the

internal skeleton. Later, this allowed other
vertebrates to adapt these and the rear
paired fins into limbs and to invade land
Gill arches are elements of the (see pp.140–41)
skeleton between the gill slits that
support feathery gills, holding them
open to absorb oxygen from the water
GREAT WHITE SHARK
Vertebrae made of cartilage, Notochord still Backbone made of

making a chain called a present in some vertebrae turned to bone Swim bladder – added because
Cranium it gives fish the buoyancy it
vertebal column, or spine early fish by adding calcium minerals
Bony plates covering First gill arch made needs in the presence of its
head – fish first evolved transformed into of bone heavy, mineralized skeleton
bone as external armour primitive hinged jaws
Cartilage
gill arch
Gill now used for

Vertebrate – a jawless fish with cartilage extracting oxgygen
internal skeleton and bony armour from the water Vertebrate – fish with bony internal skeleton
ANIMALS GAIN A BACKBONE 131

Myllokunmingia and
Haikouichthys, larvalike,
jawless animals with notocord Whole body of an ostracoderm,
and cranium but no spine, a bony-armoured, jawless fish that
are preserved in what is now Bonelike tissue is fossilized uses gills for breathing, is fossilized for Astraspis scales
China as the earliest known for the first time, in the form of the first time, 465 MYA . Until now, gills
fossil fish, 530 MYA . dentine in fish scales, 510 MYA . were used for filter feeding.
500 mya s
FISH ar k
h (sh MYA ,
f is 0 n
us e 45 der e
g in o vo l v m o o f t h
la e y s
r ti ys) d b les spi
C a d r a m a te y s c a s t r a
450 mya an e s t i b o n m A
Conodonts – mysterious Metaspriggina, a larvalike jawless Lampreys and hagfishes, as A ; o d e r e d .
wormlike creatures thought DN t r a c s ili z
fish with possible rudiments of the only jawless fish living os fos
to be primitive vertebrates – vertebral column, is preserved in today, evolve 482 MYA , are
leave abundant toothlike Canada’s Burgess Shale, 505 MYA . according to modern
fossils, 530 MYA . DNA evidence.
First possible vertebrae

fossilized 438 MYA –
cartilaginous ones in
Fu the fish Jamoytius.
i s ll y
fo b
o
42 s s i l n y
A
0 i ze in
str
M d te J aw
a
f s
, in o r t r n a
YA
li v in an d m
spi s
fo Tee th he l sk in t h g b o n e o d e r n -
s s th e f f ir e l
p la c e e ar lie are p re s t y l e ,
, a t yp
il p a ish s t e t o
r
Lu l ac p e
o d re G t im n sk in oderm st k nowser ved
ng ui e, ned (
er ser yu ”) fis “plate - n
e o f ar m o ur e d
th fish m v . h, 4
ef i 4 e 36 M
ir s s f o 16 d in YA .
t t ss
im ili YA a
M
e 4 ze .
15 d f
o
YA r
M
.
, ja w
le s
sf
ish
ca
ll e
an
d
os
tra
co
der
m, l
i ve d
450 MYA .
400 mya
TIMELINES
TETRAPODS
First trace on land is left
RISE OF THE
by a vertebrate 395 MYA :
track marks of an unknown
tetrapod (limbed vertebrate).
VERTEBRATES Panderichthys iden

s e v . A lso
ce
a v e
h le ned
A
MY
bir t , 38 0 -fin .
Backboned animals span only one-eighth n l i v e f o s s i l , a l o b e r ap o d s
n o w e r m t h y s t e t
t k o d c h o f
l i e s a p l a c an de r i c e s t o r s
of the entire evolutionary history of life, but E ar in P
d i s t h e an ves
ili z e t o le a A .
include some of the most remarkable of its f o s s e l a te d p e t on 5 M Y
r r 7 to
f i sh in e c e 3
Elg en io n .
products – including, of course, humans. a p od il evid a n sit MYA
5
r
Tet fos
s tr 7
in d 3
i sh i z e
e d f ossil to
rk .
- f inn , is f s ha MYA
The first 100 million years of vertebrate evolution is justifiably e
l o b t r ap o
d t 0
irs 7
,a ef s3
described as the “Age of Fish”. During this time, these animals a l i k a te s th ssil
kt
a e i t fo AMNIOTES
evolved the key innovations that made vertebrates so successful Ti c h an
s ela und
o b
– an internal skeleton, biting jaws, and complex organs of sight, ad e a
si s e r n vo l t
C l e av
al y d ) e h a
su DN ve
l
es A
a n , m o g g s te s t
hearing, and taste. Some vertebrates that followed used these

t s.
350 mya
ra
adaptations to be successful on land. Their strong internal skeleton

gg
1 M lle teb
YA d e
36 -she (ver
supported their weight; strongly jointed, bony fins became walking

s
ha io te
limbs; buoyant gas bladders became lungs; and an outer skin,

rd
l ay m n
in some, evolved feathers and fur.

A
132 THRESHOLD 5
M i cidu o o f a m e f o s s .
Mammals exist as a
de
lk p u s t
variety of small shrew
ma v iden
, al s
tho al) le 210 M
like animals, including
r od ee t
mm c e
e
m
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se
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uct h (li rn
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200 MYA .
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c t s t o a r b o m p r in g for
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Earliest known ape, Rukwapithecus,

YA
is fossilized 25 MYA .
.
RISE OF THE VERTEBRATES 133

Neck joint between the

shield-like bones of the thorax
and skull was not a true neck, but,
unusually in fishes, it was flexible Jaw muscles pulled the head back ▼ Terror of the Devonian seas
here, aided by the flexible joint at Dunkleosteus was among the first predators
the back of the head, to help open
up the jaws for a wider bite. to catch fast-moving prey with snapping jaws.
Studies of its fossilized skull suggest it could
have had one of the strongest bites in the
history of vertebrate life.
Jagged edge of jaw

bone could slice
through prey – 100
million years before
sharks evolved their
bladed teeth
Joint connecting upper and

lower jaws was powered by
strong, fast-acting muscles
to pull the jaws closed and
give a formidable bite
Thoracic shield was a plate

of bone that anchored muscles
that pulled on the lower jaw to
rapidly open the mouth
134 THRESHOLD 5
JAWS CREATE
TOP PREDATORS
Predators have been a part of the natural world ever since organisms
evolved the ability to eat one another. However, backboned animals
started as filter-feeders that sucked mud from the ocean floor. It was not
until they evolved jaws that they could sit at the top of long food chains.
Many invertebrates – such as predatory throughout the world – evidence of its vertebrates – notably the sharks – had
worms, sea scorpions, and centipedes – success. Growing twice the length of a car, evolved in the meantime, and they survived.
have evolved sharp-edged jaws that can Dunkleosteus was the biggest predator of its Although their jaws were built from flexible
grab prey. But vertebrates, using cartilage time – and its jaws could easily puncture the cartilage, they had blade-edged teeth that
and bone, made their jaws bigger and more armour of its contemporaries. Its size and could be serially replaced – something
muscular. The first jawed vertebrates did
so through an evolutionary rearrangement
of the arches that support the gills. Over
generations, the front arches were shifted
forwards into the roof and floor of the THE VERTEBRATES THAT CAME STORMING THROUGH...
mouth and met towards the back of the
skull, forming a hinged joint. SWEEPING MOST OF THE [JAWLESS FISH] ASIDE DURING
SUPER-PREDATORS THE DEVONIAN, WERE THE ONES WITH JAWS.
Reshaping the gill arches into moveable jaws
may have helped to fill the gills with more Colin Tudge, biologist and writer, 1943–
oxygen, but the development of stronger
muscles allowed the jaws to bite, too. This strength meant that it could prey on that placoderms probably could never do.
helped fish both to catch prey and also bigger animals, including other predators. But it was bony vertebrates that took jaws and
to kill and dismember it. Natural selection Devonian oceans had an extra link to their especially hard, enamel-coated teeth to
would have favoured the evolution of bigger their food chains: a top predator. a new level. Crocodiles, dinosaurs, and
fish with more powerful jaws – opening up mammals developed deeply-rooted teeth that
more ambitious avenues of predation. DIETARY DIVERSITY could better resist struggling prey. Dentition
The earliest-known jawed vertebrates Despite their apparent supremacy, the was also modified in animals lower in the
were placoderms: mostly armour-plated fish placoderms did not last. They disappeared food chain. Grazing mammals developed
that flourished during the Devonian period in the Late Devonian mass extinction – an grinding teeth, and their biting jaws became
(419–359 MYA). One of the largest known was event that was probably triggered by a drop chewing jaws – extending the ecological
Dunkleosteus, whose fossil remains are found in oxygen levels. But other jawed range of vertebrates more than ever.
▼ Top of the food chain

The evolution of bigger jawed vertebrates broadened
the size range of their potential prey – to include
other smaller predators. As a result, food chains
lengthened. In this food chain, arrows show the
flow of energy from prey to predator.
PREDATOR PREDATOR HERBIVORES PRODUCERS

Cladoselache shark Mimipiscis fish Animal plankton Plantlike plankton
TOP PREDATOR
Dunkleosteus
PREDATOR DEPOSIT FEEDER DETRITUS

Ammonite Trilobite
JAWS CREATE TOP PREDATORS 135

Plant pores
A scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a
pine leaf clearly shows rows of stomata. These
open and close, allowing the plant to control
the passage of gases – a useful adaptation to
life on land.
136 THRESHOLD 5
PLANTS MOVE
ONTO LAND
The first sign that the land was turning green probably came when algae
crept above the tidal zone along ocean shores. However, the move to
permanently drier environments further inland required plants with
roots anchored in soil, and shoots that could grow upright in dry air.
Vegetation grew in water long before it because of the evolution of a complex

invaded the land. Algae had evolved broad substance called lignin. By coating
fronds that intercepted the Sun’s light their microscopic transport vessels,
energy and a “holdfast” that stuck the lignin helped to form water-tight tubes
body to rock. These seaweeds still live in that could deliver water and minerals
the ocean today. Many survive periodic up the stem. Lignified vessels were also
exposure at low tide, but they are too flimsy physically strong, so these new plants
to last long on dry land. grew and branched vertically. Tough
vessels also grew downwards as stronger,
WATERPROOFING THE LEAVES branching roots penetrated the soil to
Water screens out some of the Sun’s energy. anchor the weight and absorb dissolved
On land, although plants bask in stronger minerals. Many of these taller plants
radiation, they risk drying out. Land plants were already better suited to life on
THE FIRST ZOOLOGICAL LANDFALL WAS CONTINGENT

ON THE GREENING OF THE TERRESTRIAL LANDSCAPE BY
PLANT LIFE... WHICH WAS... MORE AN INVASION OF AIR.
Karl Niklas, professor of plant science, 1945–
evolved a waxy waterproof coating on land by producing seeds. But thickened

their epidermis – the surface “skin” of cells. lignified tissue, called wood, helped
Pores in the epidermis called stomata trunks get thicker and trees became
helped to keep gases moving for processes taller still.
such as photosynthesis (see pp.114–15) and
respiration. The earliest land plants, like
the mosses and liverworts of today, could
only hug the land with creeping stems.
They clung there with rhizoids –
microscopic hairs that scarcely penetrated
the ground to function as primitive roots.
STANDING TALL ◀ Rigid stem

A cross-section
Strength is required to stand upright. Plant
of a fossilized plant
cells are surrounded by a scaffolding of (Rhynia gwynne-
tough fibrous cellulose, and the thickening vaughanii) from the
of this wall in places helps stems bear some Devonian period
about 410 MYA reveals
weight. Although mosses can do this, they water-tight tubes
can rise no more than a few centimetres. that conducted water
Other plants managed to grow taller and nutrients.
PLANTS MOVE ONTO LAND 137

HARD EVIDENCE
WENLOCK Rugose coral was as solitary

horn-shaped extinct relative
LIMESTONE
of the corals that live today
Few organisms leave any kind of fossilized trace, but in some locations
conditions have preserved extraordinary snapshots of entire communities.
Their wonderful fossils – rich in species and finely detailed – offer rare Clam was a
free-swimming
insights into the ways groups of animals and plants lived and died. filter-feeder
like today’s
scallops
Wenlock Edge – an outcrop of limestone on from scattered localities. Other Lagerstätten

the Welsh-English border – holds an example may preserve communities intact. The
of such a fossil assemblage, or Lagerstätte. Burgess Shale in the Canadian Rockies has
It is packed with animals of a tropical reef soft-body impressions of animals that were
from more than 420 MYA . At this time, the smothered in mudslides 508 MYA . Although
site straddled the coastline of the ancient their orientation is chaotic, the postures
Iapetus Ocean, where many of Earth’s suggest they were killed instantly. But not all
animals had evolved. The fossils show that Lagerstätten result from violent slaughter.
corals, sponges, trilobites, and brachiopods North America’s Green River formation
flourished in the warm shallows. comprises 50 million-year-old sediments left
Lagerstätten form under certain in lake basins that contain fish, leaves, insects,
conditions that favour preservation. The and even small birds complete with feathers.
Wenlock assemblage includes hard-shelled The oxygen-poor conditions in the lakebed
animals that have been broken or uprooted – muds slowed bacterial decomposition and
suggesting that crashing waves left debris allowed fragile parts to fossilize intact. The
in mud at the bottom of a slope. It means a same process happened in Germany’s
single Wenlock slab could contain animals Messel lake at a similar time.
Identifying extinct animals

An abundance of fossils from the same age not only
helps to reconstruct the interacting lives of prehistoric
animals, but helps to resolve their diversity too. Species
are described on the basis of specimens – but fossil
specimens are frequently incomplete. When so many
individuals are preserved together, biologists have
a better, more representative, view of anatomy – helping
them to divide one species from another.
Giant flying ant with iridescent colours intact
◀ Messel lake pit

The site of Messel, Germany,
shows very fine preservation
of a community living 47 MYA .
Its special conditions included
poisonous gas emanating from the
lake, which not only killed animals
instantly, but also ensured no living
scavengers ate the fallen remains
before they were mineralized.
A piece of colonial coral has

been ripped from its position
on the reef, like many other
Bird complete with fossilized feathers Frog, including an outline of soft body parts attached Wenlock animals
138 THRESHOLD 5
Fenestella, of which this is just a fragment,
was a fan-shaped colony of tiny filter-feeding
animals called bryozoans
Crinoids, or feather stars

(relatives of starfish), have How was the community suddenly buried?
left many broken fragments
of their branched arms
Scientists studying taphonomy – the history of
a fossil – note that this slab has an abundance of
lightweight animals – such as brachiopods, crinoids,
and bryozoans, but most of their shells and cases
are broken. Taphonomists believe wave-smashed
fragments of the living reef were washed away on
currents and collected in calmer spots, where their
remains were buried. Other Wenlock fossils show
trilobites that are partially enrolled – suggesting
that they were buried alive. Trilobite in defensive
rolled posture
Top part of a cystoid – an

extinct relative of starfish
Where did the animals live?

This slab shows a death assemblage,
meaning it includes animals that died together.
Palaeoecologists (scientists who study ancient
ecology) need further fossils to build a picture of
where the organisms lived. From remains of the
animals fossilized as in life, they have found that
on the ancient reef, harder-shelled brachiopods –
more resistant to wave action – lived higher on
the shoreline, whereas free-swimming animals
lived in deeper waters.
Brachiopods had two shells connected

by a hinge, just like a clam, but they are
not related to clams
Supporting stems of crinoids were

easily broken by strong currents and
are abundant in some limestone rocks
Restoring the past

To reconstruct prehistoric life-forms,
palaeontologists use all the fossil evidence
to put forward a hypothesis about
how they looked and behaved, although
they can never be certain about their
conclusions. The Wenlock fauna consisted
of attached animals – such as crinoids and
honeycomb corals – that formed a reef
habitat, which also contained bottom-
feeding trilobites and predatory
Orthoceras – a shelled relative of squid.
Brachiopod with both Restoration of Orthoceras in Ordovician seas

shells open in death Brachiopod
WENLOCK LIMESTONE 139

ANIMALS
INVADE LAND
For billions of years, much of life was confined to oceans, lakes, ◀ First air-breather
This modern millipede has
and rivers. Such an ancient aquatic heritage meant that the first armoured segments similar
complex organisms also lived only in water. Dry land offered so to those of Pneumodesmus,
many new opportunities that terrestrial colonization happened a millipede that lived
428 MYA . Pneumodesmus
not just once, but many times. is the earliest body fossil
of an animal known to
walk on land and breathe
It is likely that the first microbes were LIVING ON LAND air. Fragments of its
invading land within a billion years of life’s Above ground, colonization was exoskeleton show that
it had spiracles, or
origin. For these bacteria, the wet coastal less straightforward. All living cells,
breathing holes.
rocks and moist sediments where oceans whether of single- or multicellular
lapped the shore were a natural extension of organisms, must be surrounded by
their range. As erosion and detritus formed moisture. Land plants survived by evolving
the first soil over 3 BYA , bacteria began to a thick, waxy outer layer (cuticle) that
live between its particles. The earliest both retained water and let gases in animals had evolved into some gigantic
burrowing organisms would have churned and out (see pp.136–37). forms, but size was a liability on land. A
coastal sediment and added more organic The first land animals had a cuticle, body is buoyed in water, effectively weighing
material that served as food for fungi and too, that served the same water-retaining less, but on land, the same animal may be
other decomposers. Soils were becoming function, but there were other challenges too heavy to move. Early land animals
so enriched, that by 470 MYA , land was to overcome in just getting around. In the needed stronger muscles and supporting
becoming an inviting place for plants, too. Cambrian period (541–485 MYA), marine skeletons, and compensated for this extra
baggage by getting smaller. At first,
wormlike land animals probably survived
underground or in rocky crevices, where,
in moist microhabitats, these small animals
THE TETRAPODS, WITH THEIR LIMBS AND FINGERS AND TOES, might have used their skin to breathe air.
The early terrestrial colonists also
INCLUDE OURSELVES AS HUMANS, SO THAT THIS DISTANT included jointed-limbed arthropods.
Prehistoric arthropods, relatives of today’s
DEVONIAN EVENT IS PROFOUNDLY SIGNIFICANT FOR crabs and spiders, were already thriving in
the oceans. Their jointed limbs and armour
HUMANS AS WELL AS FOR THE PLANET. gave them the potential to succeed on land.
Fossil and DNA evidence indicates that
Jennifer Clack, palaeontologist, 1947– millipedes and centipedes were part of the
Track between the
Gaining Ground: the Origin and Evolution of Tetrapods first big wave of land colonists, possibly more
footprints suggests than 500 MYA . Their articulated, armoured
the creature dragged
its abdomen bodies helped them crawl over land without
dehydrating and they evolved breathing
Small, thin prints
suggest at least holes in this armour, called spiracles, and
eight pairs of legs got oxygen straight from the air. Millipedes
would have been among the first grazers of
land plants and centipedes the first predators
of the terrestrial ecosystem.
FILLING THE FORESTS

◀ Life’s first steps Fossil evidence shows that by 380 MYA , the
These fossilized marks made in sand land was already supporting its first trees. By
dunes in the early Cambrian period, the beginning of the Carboniferous period
530 MYA , represent the oldest trace of
(359 MYA), Earth was home to rich, swampy
animals on land that we have discovered.
They were made by an arthropod that forests teeming with life. Plants could grow
divided its time between land and sea. taller because of the evolution of tougher
140 THRESHOLD 5
supporting materials, such as woody lignin.

Forests gave height to the land ecosystems –
providing new niches for tree-climbing
and flying animals. In particular, they
encouraged the biggest radiation of land
animals of them all: the insects. The
evolution of life on land was producing
entirely new kinds of animals with new
ecological interactions: web-spinning
predatory spiders, browsing insects, and
grazing snails. In terms of diversity and
abundance, the organisms roaming the
land were rivalling anything swimming
in the water of the oceans.
OUR ANCESTORS REACH LAND

When invertebrate life conquered land,
vertebrates were still confined to water
habitats. As with invertebrates, when
vertebrates started to move on to land
395–375 MYA during the Devonian
period, their bodies needed to change.
Fishes use their paired fins for stabilizing lobe-fins, this new kind of breathing mammals, as well as modern amphibians. ▲ Transitional fossil
Tiktaalik rosae is an
their swimming and although a few use mechanism, later powered by chest An astonishingly complete fossil record
evolutionary wonder.
them secondarily to “walk” on the sea bed, muscles such as the diaphragm, evolved documents the transition from fish to Although it resembled
for most of them, fins are not strong enough to become the first air-breathing lungs. tetrapod, via intermediate forms a fish, its neck was
to fashion into legs. One group, however – The first vertebrates with lungs are often sometimes called “fishapods”. more flexible than that
of true fishes and its
the “lobe-fins” – had an advantage. A few, called amphibians, but these long-extinct The four-legged, air-breathing plan fins, although small,
creatures are only distantly related to was a major evolutionary step. Although had strong joints that
today’s frogs and newts. They were the some legs have since been lost or turned may have supported
first four-legged vertebrates, or “tetrapods”, to arms or wings, it is the basis for most its weight on land.
TIKTAALIK ROSAE LIVED and ancestors of all reptiles, birds, and land-based vertebrates today.
375 mya; THE FIRST FOSSILS
WERE DISCOVERED IN 2004 IN
THE CANADIAN ARCTIC
such as lungfishes and coelacanths, are still

alive today, but in the Devonian, there were
many different forms. They differed from all
other fishes in having a stronger bony support
for each of their paired fins. Their flexible Lobe-fin fish Lobe-fin fish “Fishapod” ◀ Fins to limbs
joints allowed these fins to be used to walk Sauripterus Eusthenopteron Tiktaalik Dozens of fossilized
under water and later helped them emerge species show the
evolution of fishes to
from the water and crawl across land. Radial bones have now developed Ulna and radius, once Digit number has reduced four-legged amphibians.
Lobe-finned fishes may have done this in into finger bones, but the number differing in shape, to five – a plan inherited
Over time, the same
of digits ranged from five to eight now grow together by all later tetrapods
times of drought, just as lungfishes do today. as arm bones bones mould into
As lobe-fins wandered further ashore, their different shapes,
and a few are
fins evolved into limbs with fingers and toes. lost altogether.
Fishes had other features that prepared
them for a terrestrial life. Most species have KEY
a gas-filled bag – the swim bladder – used Humerus
for controlling buoyancy. Modifications of Radius
this swim bladder in some modern fishes Ulna
mean that the sac can communicate directly Ulnare
Intermedium
with air, helping the fish to breathe and
Radials
supplement the supply of oxygen it extracts Early tetrapod Later tetrapod Later tetrapod Bones missing from
from the water with its gills. In early Acanthostega Tulerpeton Proterogyrinus the fossil record
ANIMALS INVADE LAND 141

REINVENTING
THE WING
Often, the similarities seen in life are the result of
a common ancestor, but not always. For instance,
flapping wings required for flight evolved independently
in at least four groups of animals at separate points
in time, allowing them to take to the air.
Organisms evolve adaptations that make apart, both ichthyosaurs and dolphins range of species. Mammals
them better suited to their lifestyles. needed to be fast swimmers in order to later evolved one of the
Sometimes, natural selection can produce escape predators and catch fast prey, and more specialized groups of
the same innovation in separate, unrelated therefore evolved flippers. flying animals – bats – most
groups. This is convergent evolution. of which take to the air at
EVOLVING FLIGHT night and use sonar, or
SHARING CHARACTERISTICS Insects were the first animals to fly, and they echolocation, to navigate
All plants that produce seeds share a are the only fliers to evolve wings that were and hunt in darkness.
common ancestor – in the same way not commandeered from existing limbs.
that the stingers of jellyfish and coral are Vertebrates became fliers by refashioning
related too. But sometimes, natural their existing limbs. Their forelimbs and
selection can produce a similar adaptation hands, over time, evolved into different ir s t w a r m - b l o o d e d
the f a
in unrelated groups – such as the flippers types of wings. Pterosaurs probably w ere s’ abilit y to turn their w nimal
s d in g s t o
i r d s b ir s in f
of swimming ichthyosaurs (reptiles) and achieved this first and became the most B ow
sh
to ly.
air T
dolphins (mammals). well-known of the reptilian fliers, before br
hi k e s
sl
a
When different forms of life, living in becoming extinct along with the dinosaurs.
an b y s
ne p re
separate environments or even time periods, Birds evolved from bipedal dinosaurs and
r f a a din
lc o
share an anatomical or behavioural fared better. They survived the same
n
similarity, it is often because they live in extinction event, possibly due to their
g t h e ir f e a t h e r s .
similar environments that demand certain warm-bloodedness, to thrive alongside
adaptations. Despite living millions of years mammals and diversify into a wide
B a t s g h t.
t r ue
are “ Fl
f li
th yi
eo
nl
ng y m
” s am m
qu ed
ir r e a l s t o h a ve m a s t e r
ls m
erely glide.
Oldest-known flying insect, a
mayfly or stonefly, is fossilized
YA)
.
in North America, 314 MYA

145 g-
▼ Taking to the skies

in
M
(16 lve w
The history of flying animals spans hundreds of millions

6–
of years of evolution. At four separate points in time, a

o
ss e v
different group of animals evolved powered flight.

o
Ju e s t
ic
br
at
ra
te
400 MYA 300 MYA
Pt v er t he
e t
f la r o s a ir s r o m
pp ef f
u
in g r s , c o u e r e t h ple ARTHROPODS
f lig si r s, w x am
h t. R n s o f t h e d i n o s a u l y e REPTILES
h amp h e ar
o r hy n c h u s i s a n
142 THRESHOLD 5
Stretched
wing membrane ◀ Anatomy of a wing
attaches to body The wings of a
Long pterosaur, bird, and bat
fifth digit
each use bones of the
arm and hand, but
evolution has moulded
the bones differently
in each case. The shape
Pterosaur wings were relatively rudimentary compared of pterosaur and bat
to a bird’s or a bat’s. Wing membranes were supported wings depends on how
mainly by a single finger. Pterosaurs did not have the the bones hold out the
musculature for coordinated flight, and probably relied flight membrane, made
on soaring on air drafts to get around. of skin. A bird’s flight
surface is made of
feathers and its shape
Shortened, fused
finger bones
depends on the form
of its feathers.
KEY
Humerus
Radius and ulna
Wrist bones
Finger bones
Thumb bones
Long feathers
Birds have shorter arm and finger bones that bring the
wing under better control. More powerful muscles also
mean that the wing, equipped with long flight feathers,
can be flapped at wider angles, providing birds with
stronger flight than pterosaurs.
Thumb-bone
free of wing Long fingers
support wing
membrane
en
d wh
l ve
o
ev
a ve
a y h y le s .
,m st
n f l y e li f e
In s e c r a go iv
t wings, like t ose of a modern d ore ac t
a p e ak h dm
i n a t m o s p h e r i c ox y g e n t r i g g e r e
▲ How did wings evolve?

The earliest proto-wings were flaps on insects’ bodies
that previously served as gills, or as oars allowing them
to skim over water. Climbing insects may have used Bats have more finger bones than other flying
them to parachute through air before evolving flapping vertebrates. Their wings are supported by four
wings, which gave them better aerial control. Pterosaurs, fingers. This makes their shape more flexible than
birds, and finally bats became airborne not by growing the wings of birds, helping them move in ways that
new appendages, but by adapting existing ones. improve manoeuvrability and save energy.
Oldest modern bird, Lithornis, the oldest known ratite (a type of

Vegavis, is fossilized flightless bird including kiwis and ostriches)
in Antarctica, 66 MYA is fossilized in North America, 57 MYA
BIRDS
Oldest known bird, At the end of their reign,

Oldest known pterosaur, Archaeopteryx, 68–66 MYA , some pterosaurs
Faxinalipterus, is fossilized is fossilized in reach enormous sizes, with some Oldest known bats are fossilized
in Brazil, 220 MYA Germany, 150 MYA exceeding 10m (33ft) in wingspan 56 MYA : Archaeonycteris in Portugal
and Marnenycteris in France
200 MYA 100 MYA 0
MAMMALS
REINVENTING THE WING 143

THE COMPLETELY PROTECTED

EMBRYO WITHIN THE SEED
GIVES... A GREAT ADVANTAGE.
Douglas Houghton Campbell, American botanist, 1859–1953
The presence of fossilized

seeds indicates that the tree
had been pollinated and so
successfully fertilized
Woody cone has

turned to stone
during fossilization
THE FIRST SEEDS

◀ Monkey puzzle About 370 million years ago, a new kind of plant evolved. It produced
This fossilized cone is 160 million years old but
is remarkably similar to the cones produced by
seeds, which are the ultimate embryo survival kit – packed with nutrients
trees today. This species, Araucaria araucana, and enveloped in a protective casing. Seeds would shape the history of
is known as the monkey puzzle and still life and play a key part in our own prehistory.
thrives in Argentina and Chile.
The first algae-like plants completed their cell nucleus straight to the egg, dispensing
entire life cycle – alternating between spores with swimming altogether. Pollen allowed
and gametes (eggs or sperm) – under water. plants to spread further inland than their
As their descendants, mosses and ferns, water-reliant relatives. What is more, these
crept further inland, more resilient spores plants completed their break from water by
could be dispersed into the air. However, keeping embryos of their next generation
their sperm still needed water droplets to in drought-resistant cases – seeds.
swim to the egg: no matter how much their
deep roots and tough leaves helped them HOW SEEDS WORK
Scales in the cone are
modified leaves that
survive droughts, plants still needed periodic Eggs develop inside a thin-walled sac called
protect the seed rainfall in order to reproduce. an ovule. After pollen fertilizes an ovule, its
A new kind of plant broke this restrictive walls thicken, and it becomes a seed. At first,
link with water by relocating its fertilization ovules grew exposed on foliage or the scales
into reproductive shoots away from the of cones – reproductive shoots composed of
ground. Female shoots retained their spores, hard scales connected at their base, just like
the cones produced by cycads and conifers
today. Eventually, most seed plants buried
MEDULLOSA – A PRIMITIVE their ovules deeper inside the shoot, beneath
a flower (see pp.160–61). When these ovules
SEED PLANT THAT LIVED
turn into seeds, the succulent tissue around
350–250 MYA – HAD SEEDS THE them becomes fruit. Seed plants had now
SIZE OF CHICKEN EGGS evolved a method of enticing animals, a
different form of complex life, to become
part of their life strategy (see pp.164–65).
which grew into eggs. Spores from male
shoots became pollen grains that were SEEDS, THEIR SUCCESS, AND US
blown inland to land on female shoots. The pollen method of fertilization and the
In the most primitive seed plants, sperm seed method of dispersal have both been
then burst from the pollen grains and swam so successful that seed plants now form
through the shoot to the egg – something the basis of all land-based ecosystems and
still seen in cycads of today. But in most seed food webs worldwide, including those with
plants, sperm became redundant. Instead, humans at the top. Non-seed plants – mosses,
each pollen grain sprouted a tiny thread – ferns, and liverworts – athough widespread,
a pollen tube – that conveyed a naked male no longer dominate any land habitats.
Ovule
◀ Primitive seed plants

The first seed plants
are called seed ferns,
Primitive Cupule because of the shape
fruiting of their leaves, although
structure they are unrelated to
Ovule
the ferns we know today.
They grew their ovules
Cupule
Capitulum containing a in packages attached
holding four single ovule to the leaves. Cones
ovules and flowers eventually
evolved in later types
PLUMSTEDIA LIDGETTONIA DENKANIA of plants.
THE FIRST SEEDS 145

▼ Life in a shell The shell is composed of a chalky material

based on calcium carbonate that is hard
Prehistoric reptiles – including dinosaurs – were enough to withstand damage, permeable to White shell membranes conceal the
pioneers of the shelled egg. The embryo could allow the exchange of respiratory gases, chorion – a transparent embryonic
develop inside, safe from dehydration. Its parents and sufficiently brittle so the infant can membrane that completely encloses the
may have guarded the egg from predators, just break free upon hatching embryo, amnion, yolk sac, and allantois
like many reptiles and birds do today.
The expansive allantois

absorbs oxygen that seeps
through the shell from the
egg’s surroundings and
releases carbon dioxide
Some blood vessels in the allantois carry

oxygen into the embryo; others take waste
carbon dioxide away from it. Nitrogen-
containing waste products also build up The embryo has already
in the allantois as deposits of uric acid. developed all the major body
parts it will need upon hatching
146 THRESHOLD 5
SHELLED EGGS
The yolk sac is filled with
ARE BORN
foods, such as protein and fat,
that nourish the developing
embryo; it shrinks as the
The first backboned animals to live on land could walk, since they had
embryo grows bigger and legs, and could breathe air. These early amphibians were still tied to
uses up its contents
water, however, because they needed a wet place to breed. Reptiles broke
this link by producing hard-shelled eggs that could develop on dry land.
Backboned animals originated in water, time. But, in both cases, hatchlings are
where fish and amphibians laid their soft ready to eat and breathe as soon as they
eggs encased in nothing but a protective emerge from the egg.
jelly coat. Reptiles not only evolved hard,
scaly water-proof skin as protection from PREPARED FOR LAND
dehydration, but transformed their breeding The shelled egg and its life-supporting
habits too. They covered their eggs in a shell membranes enabled the amniotes to
hard enough to protect and contain the complete their life cycle on land. They
embryo on land, yet permeable enough mated on land and laid eggs in a dry nest.
for it to breathe. A few living reptiles have abandoned their
egg-laying ways and give birth to live young.
EMBRYO SURVIVAL KIT
The shelled eggs produced by most reptiles
and all birds are amazing structures that
contain all their embryos need to develop. THE EARLIEST ANIMAL
Until the invention of these eggs, all living THOUGHT TO LAY SHELLED
embryos developed surrounded by fluid. To EGGS IS PALEOTHYRIS, AN
reproduce those fluid conditions on land, it
was a small and manageable evolutionary AMNIOTE LIVING 330 MYA
step to enclose the fluid within a membrane.
The membrane is called the amnion, giving
the first animals to possess it the name But one group of amniotes, the mammals,
“amniotes” as well as the more familiar turned live birth into a major asset. They
“reptiles”. Within the egg, the embryo commandeered two membranes – the
also has its own larder, the yolk sac, just as allantois and chorion – into a placenta, which
fish and amphibians do. But it also has an draws oxygen and nourishment straight from
allantois – a waste-disposal pouch absent in the mother’s blood. By nurturing the embryo
its ancestors. The yolk sac grows smaller and in the mother’s body, mammals improved
the allantois enlarges as it absorbs oxygen their offspring’s chances of survival beyond
and accumulates waste products while the those of their larvae-producing ancestors.
embryo grows. A final membrane – the
chorion – serves to contain the entire
embryo “survival kit”.
By the time they hatch, reptiles are ready ◀ Land colonizer
to lead independent lives; on the other hand, Dimetrodon, a reptile
that lived 290–270 MYA ,
most bird chicks need parental care for a is an example of an early
The amnion is a thin transparent
membrane that encloses the amniote. Its ability to
amniotic fluid, which surrounds lay eggs with a shell and
the embryo and cushions it from
physical harm amnion allowed it to
colonize arid habitats
where water was not
readily available.
SHELLED EGGS ARE BORN 147

HOW COAL
FORMED
The trees that formed Earth’s first forests were giant fernlike plants that
resisted decay. Their dead bodies built up, trapping carbon and energy
under ground. These were the coal forests – and 300 million years later,
their compacted remains would fuel an industrial revolution.
The Carboniferous period (359–299 MYA) rich store of energy that formed coal. The
was a time when life on land prospered more trees concentrated lignin in their tissues to
than ever before. Trees grew from mosslike more than 10 times the quantity found in
ancestors, insects took to the air in a world today’s trees. This not only helped to deter
already crawling with invertebrates, and herbivores, but it also resisted decay, because
giant amphibians were evolving into reptiles. few microbes could digest it. As trees died,
This time in Earth’s history would have their fallen trunks lingered. The lignin,
huge implications for our own history. along with the carbon it contained, would
be converted to carbon dioxide (CO2) if it
THE FIRST FORESTS decayed, but it sank into the swampy Earth,
For the first time, terrestrial life could live locking away its chemical energy. As CO2
in the trees, imbuing habitats with an extra in the atmosphere diminished, oxygen
richness. The first big invasions of land increased, since it would normally be
animals, involving millipedes, insects, and consumed by the same processes of
arachnids, had already taken place, but now decomposition, which were now suppressed.
these groups exploded into a multitude of Oxygen built up in the air to become more
species, including predators, such as spiders, than one-third of it by volume. Today,
scorpions, and centipedes. Carboniferous oxygen accounts for only one-fifth of the gas
trees could grow tall because they had in the atmosphere. The effects of such high
evolved a tough supporting material called oxygen levels would have been bizarre.
lignin that formed a protective layer. It Ignition would have happened more readily, passive breathing through their skin or body
would also eventually become the carbon- sparking wildfires. Animals that relied on surface became enormous. The biggest
insects that ever lived evolved during the
▶ Coal formation Prehistoric trees
Carboniferous, and amphibians grew to
Coal began as and other plants the size of crocodiles.
topple and die
undecomposed matter
from dead trees. The Dead matter Pressure of THE ORIGINS OF COAL
dead matter was in swampy soil sediment layers Pressure
buried as new dead partially decays squeezes out of sediment Much of the bulk of the Carboniferous trees
material accumulated to form peat water and air layers builds sank intact beneath the swampy waters,
on top, and it became forming layer upon layer of a deposit called
compacted under
high pressure. Over
millions of years of
increasing pressure LEPIDODENDRON
and temperature, the
material turned first
TREES GREW UP TO 40M
to the rock lignite, then (130FT) TALL IN THE
eventually to coal.
CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD
peat. In the peat, oxygen was low and

acidity high, and instead of decomposing,
the carbon-rich remains built up. The peat
became compacted under its own weight,
Pressure solidifies and compacts As pressures and temperatures Rock is now coal, a more squeezing out water and gases, turning first
layers of peat into a rock called rise, deposits lose water and gas, combustible rock with
lignite, which is combustible concentrating their carbon levels maximum carbon into a form of rock called lignite, and finally
148 THRESHOLD 5
◀ Prehistoric energy
Layers of coal can be
seen clearly as dark
bands packed between
the rock at this coal
mine in the Lower Rhine
region, Germany.
to a harder, denser rock with an especially

high concentration of carbon: coal.
Coal deposits are found in rocks that COAL, OIL AND GAS ARE... FOSSIL FUELS, BECAUSE THEY ARE
date back to before the evolution of land
plants – and these probably came from MOSTLY MADE OF... FOSSIL REMAINS... THE CHEMICAL
algae. But coal deposits are especially
abundant from the Carboniferous ENERGY WITHIN THEM IS A KIND OF STORED SUNLIGHT
period, where conditions were just
right for them to form. ORIGINALLY ACCUMULATED BY ANCIENT PLANTS.
Human civilizations, perhaps as far back
as 1000 BCE , recognized the potential of Carl Sagan, astronomer and science author, 1934–1996
using coal as fuel because of its resemblance
to charcoal. Both could be burned to release
a great deal of heat. The carbon that had (see pp.306–07) could tap deposits in seams concerns for humanity. Energy is required
been locked away in coal for millions far below the surface. Since then, the for a growing population – however, burning
of years was finally released as demand for burning fossil fuels has fossils fuels has increased the amount of
carbon dioxide. The emergence released so much carbon greenhouse gases and contributed to global
of large-scale mining dioxide in such a warming. Today’s civilization must deal with
short amount of time an environmental issue of its own making –
▶ Ingredient of coal that it is sparking and one that affects the entire world.
The fossilized trunk of the plant
Lepidodendron, an abundant
tree during the Carboniferous
Each diamond-shaped scar
period. Its tall trunk lacked true
marks the point where a leaf
bark but was thickened by a has broken away from the trunk
layer of tough lignin.
HOW COAL FORMED 149

HARD EVIDENCE
Story of the dead body
LIZARD IN AMBER
The study of taphonomy concerns
processes that change a dead animal’s
body as it decays or fossilizes. Tree resin
is organic too, so also decays. This lump
of resin fossilized well because it was
packed under sediment soon after
Traces – or fossils – that have been left behind in the rocks and stones of forming. As a result, Yantarogekko was
Earth are evidence that extinct species were not the same as those living preserved perfectly, sealed away from
scavengers and erosion.
today. Scientists must turn detectives to work out how they once lived.
More than 99 per cent of species that the body, such as the skeleton, are most
have ever lived on Earth are now extinct. likely to be fossilized. Footprints, eggs, and
This means that what we know about the faeces can also be fossils. Under the right
history of life is critically dependent on conditions, the most delicate features, such
fossil evidence. as skin, feathers, leaves, or even single cells,
Fossils can form in different ways. If dead can be fossilized. Some fossils can be found
organisms are buried quickly in sediment in amber, such as this lizard. Amber is the
Prehistoric spider
before being eaten, they and the sediment solidified resin of trees that has hardened, also trapped in amber
turn to rock. When continents shift position and animals that get smothered and trapped
over millions of years, rocks that contain within it can be exquisitely preserved.
these fossils may buckle and rise – exposing Palaeontologists must consider how
the fossils, as the surrounding rock is eroded. a fossil formed when interpreting fossil
The fossilization process is never perfect, evidence. Clues are studied from multiple
and preservation quality varies greatly. disciplines, such as geography and anatomy,
Older, soft-bodied species leave frailer traces to assemble a picture of how different kinds
than younger, harder ones. Hard parts of of organisms lived in the past.
Botanical clue
Analysis of this Baltic amber shows
that it was produced by a species of
conifer, suggesting that Yantarogekko’s
habitat was coniferous forest. The
presence of the fossilized amber indicates
that, by this time, these conifer trees had
evolved resin (sticky droplets that seal
wounds and deter herbivores), perhaps
in response to a prehistoric species of
▼ How fossils form
herbivore that fed on them.
It takes millions of years
for the bodies of living
organisms to fossilize.
Organic remains decay Coniferous forest, Poland
and harden.
Dead fish settles at the Layers of sediment Sediment layers compact Plate tectonics push
bottom of seabed settle over fish’s body and turn to rock fossil to surface
Dead animals left uneaten will Buried under sediment, which Pressure from layers of sediment Discovery of the fossil may
decay. Left undisturbed the screens the fish from scavengers, and rock accumulates over occur when continental drift
fish’s scales settle and are minerals from the water filter millions of years and the organic pushes it to the surface, and
preserved as an outline of into the bones, causing them parts of the body are entirely erosion may start to wear away
its fossilized skeleton. to crystallize and harden. replaced by minerals. at the rock – exposing the fossil.
150 THRESHOLD 5
Locating the habitat Comparing anatomy
The place where a fossil is found today The structure of a fossil’s body, or the traces the body leaves
may differ a great deal from its original behind, can be compared with those of related fossils and species
habitat. For instance, this amber- alive today. Only the head, front end of the body, and right
entombed lizard was found on the forelimb of this lizard are preserved in amber, yet this is enough
brackish Baltic Sea coastline. When this for palaeontologists to recognize it as a species of gecko.
lizard died 54 MYA , its natural habitat may This specimen reveals well-developed toe
have been a forest further inland. The pads and lack of eyelids – features that
evidence suggests that a river washed are preserved in amber but would
lumps of amber from the warm coniferous be lost in a fossilized skeleton
forest downstream to the coast. preserved in rock. Banded gecko
Insects entombed
with Yantarogekko
may have been prey
Fixed, transparent scales

covering each eye, similar
to modern gecko species
▶ Pangaea
The continents were merged into one over
Earth’s southern hemisphere between
300–175 MYA . Inland, forests turned
to deserts, while diminished coastlines
drove many marine species to extinction.
Shallow seas encircled

the coastlines of Pangaea
Vast swathes of arid

land spread across
what would become
North America and
Europe during the
Permian period
(299–252 MYA)
Where continents
merged, coastlines
disappeared – probably
resulting in the extinction
of marine life
Pangaea’s climate was

hot and dry, since land
in the centre would not
benefit from temperate
climatic effects normally
provided by nearby
oceans and seas
Glaciers had formed around the

South Pole during the Carboniferous
(359–299 MYA), but gradually receded
as the Permian (299–252 MYA) got
warmer and drier
152 THRESHOLD 5
THE LAND
Shores of the coastline basked in
a moist, tropical climate, and so
DRIES OUT
were probably among the last
refuges of the Carboniferous
swamp forests as the rest of After terrestrial life flourished in the swampy coal forests, a global
Pangaea dried out
drought that lasted 50 million years changed the direction of life’s
evolution. As vegetation grew tougher leaves and swamps dried up,
some moist-skinned amphibians gave rise to the first scaly reptiles.
Around 300 million years ago, all of Dimetrodon reached the size of a car, and
Earth’s landmasses collided to form a others became the first big herbivores.
single supercontinent called Pangaea. This Later synapsids also included small
caused a dramatic change in terrestrial life. reptilian ancestors of mammals.
Climate change had already triggered a The Permian closed with violence – a
collapse in the great swampy forests of the mass extinction so severe that it wiped out
Carboniferous period (see pp.148–49), but more than 70 per cent of animal life. With
MANY OF THE PERMIAN REPTILES POSSESS FOSSIL

CHARACTERISTICS WHICH FORESHADOW THE
HEAD AND TEETH OF MAMMALS.
R. Will Burnett, biologist, 1945–
now, at the dawn of the Permian period, extraordinary volcanic activity releasing
much of the landscape of the new noxious gases, the biggest extinction event
supercontinent was about to turn to desert. ever saw many reptiles disappear. But
enough descendants of both groups, the
NEW SKIN, LARGER SIZES synapsids and diapsids, survived to
Reptiles had evolved in the forests, but repopulate the land – first with dinosaurs
now spread across the new parched world. and mammals, and then with birds.
These new vertebrates were better adapted
for land than their amphibian ancestors.
By evolving hard scales, made from a tough ◀ Moschops
fibrous protein called keratin, they reduced With its stocky body,
this survivor of the
dehydration. Mammals and birds would dry Permian world
later use the keratin for their hairs and ate tough desert
feathers. The first reptiles to lay hard-shelled vegetation. It was one
eggs (see pp.146–47) also did not need water of many synapsids –
strong-jawed reptiles
to breed – unlike their amphibian ancestors. that would eventually
This helped to push vertebrate land give rise to mammals.
The Palaeo-Tethys Ocean was colonization like never before.
at its largest during Devonian Two main reptile groups diverged at the
and Carboniferous periods
(419–300 MYA), but then started start of their reign. One, the diapsids, later
to close up with movement of
land masses in the Permian
went on to produce dinosaurs, birds, and
modern lizards. At the time of the Permian
it was the second group, the synapsids, that
came to rule the arid land. Some evolved
to become the biggest land animals of the
day. The sail-backed, carnivorous
THE LAND DRIES OUT 153

REPTILES DIVERSIFY
The coming and going of species define the chapters in the history of life.
In the wake of a drying supercontinent, the Age of the Reptiles produced
some of Earth’s most spectacular animals. Reptilian diversity reached its
peak, as giant reptiles conquered sky, land, and oceans.
The great Age of Reptiles spanned more it is possible for a land animal to get. Pteranodon
than 200 million years. It began on the As herbivores evolved into giants, so did
parched landscape of Pangaea (see pp.152– their predators. Theropods, the bipedal
53) and ended with an asteroid strike, but sprinters of the dinosaur family, were nearly
even after the demise of the dinosaurs, all carnivores. The biggest of these, such
reptiles prevailed, albeit in a smaller form. as Tyrannosaurus, were among the most
Today, lizards and snakes account for nearly formidable predators ever to walk on land.
one-third of land vertebrate species. Evolution also favoured miniaturization
among dinosaurs: one group of diminutive
MESOZOIC MONSTERS theropods grew feathers, turned warm-
During the Mesozoic Era, the stretch of blooded, and eventually evolved into birds.
time divided into Triassic, Jurassic, and
Cretaceous periods, a group of small, MASS EXTINCTION
lizard-like reptiles – diapsids – diversified The reign of the giant reptiles ended with
with spectacular results. Some diapsids the Cretaceous mass extinction – almost Velociraptor
returned to the ocean habitats of their certainly caused by an asteroid or comet
CREATURES FAR SURPASSING THE LARGEST OF EXISTING

REPTILES... DEEMED SUFFICIENT GROUND FOR ESTABLISHING
A DISTINCT TRIBE... DINOSAURIA.
Richard Owen, palaeontologist, 1804–1892
distant ancestors: the ichthyosaurs and striking Earth. Catastrophic conditions

Edmontosaurus
plesiosaurs, such as Albertonectes, evolved followed, including wildfires, acid rain,
flippers from limbs and became expert and a global cloud of debris that blocked
swimmers and hunters of fish. the Sun’s light and brought much of
The most famous diapsids took body life’s food-providing photosynthesis
size to new extremes. These reptiles – to a temporary halt.
the archosaurs – became crocodilians, Unable to adapt quickly enough to
flying pterosaurs, dinosaurs, and ultimately the rapidly changing conditions, all the
birds. They had strong limb muscles that giant reptiles – including plesiosaurs,
allowed them to walk tall – improving on pterosaurs, dinosaurs, mosasaurs, and
the lumbering, belly-dragging gait of the giant ancestral crocodilians –
earlier reptiles. became extinct. But lizards, snakes,
turtles, and modern crocodiles
GIANTS AND MINIATURES survived. Surviving along
The most successful and diverse archosaurs with them were the
of the time, dinosaurs evolved into a descendants that
multitude of predators, grazers, and would ultimately
scavengers. The gigantic, long-necked, succeed the reptiles
herbivorous sauropods, such as in global domination:
Brachiosaurus, became about as large as birds and mammals.
154 THRESHOLD 5
◀ Diversification
The dinosaurs formed one of many
reptile groups that dominated Earth
for millions of years. Living alongside
them, pterosaurs soared in the skies
Deinosuchus and plesiosaurs and mosasaurs swam
in the oceans. In addition, turtles,
lizards, snakes, and crocodilians
all appeared for the first time.
Placerias
Diphydontosaurus
Titanoboa
Citipati
Iguanodon
Tyrannosaurus Plateosaurus
Rahonavis
Psittacosaurus Parasaurolophus
Stegosaurus
Euoplocephalus
Mosasaurus
Triceratops
Albertonectes Archelon
REPTILES DIVERSIFY 155

BIRDS TAKE
TO THE AIR
Birds are the most varied of the flying vertebrates, and today there
are more than 10,000 species. Their origins lie with the dinosaurs,
and scientists have been studying fossils for 150 years to better
understand this evolutionary transition.
The story of how birds evolved from hind legs, which meant their front legs
reptiles provides biologists with a deeper were free to become wings. Some small
understanding of how evolution works. species had hollow bones, which were
From one form of life another can arise already lightweight. In some gliding
so inherently different that at first glance species, long fingers supporting broad,
it appears that there is no relationship feathered hands provided the lift to sail
between the two. Closer inspection short distances over ground or from
of anatomy, the fossil record, and branch to branch. However, genuine
molecular analysis of genomes can wing-flapping flight required at least
lead to surprising connections between two more modifications: flight feathers
seemingly unrelated species. made into stiff blades and stronger
Superficially, reptiles and birds differ muscles capable of sustained flapping.
to a large degree. Modern birds look As birds evolved over time, their
conspicuously distinct from living reptiles, breastbones developed a bony protrusion
even though they had reptilian ancestors – called a keel to which more massive flight
a group of bipedal, mainly predatory muscles attached. Big-keeled birds packed
dinosaurs called theropods. Theropods, more breast muscle to power their wings.
however, had already evolved to become These masters of flight flourished in the
very unlike the reptiles we know today. forests, grasslands, and wetlands of the
Some were not only feathered, but may post-dinosaur world. They evolved new
have been warm-blooded, too. and better ways to get food, as they caught
insects, crushed seeds, or lapped nectar.
PREPARING FOR FLIGHT Others returned to the meat-eating habits
In some ways, theropods were primed for of their ancestors and a few, such as
flying, even if their reasons for doing so are ostriches, have abandoned flight altogether
not certain. They walked upright on their and sprint across the ground instead.
Long, asymmetrical
flight feathers gave
Confuciusornis a
long, narrow wing
150 MYA 125–120 MYA 0 MYA
Archaeopteryx Confuciusornis Erithacus

This species retained many reptilian The first bird known to have a toothless The keeled breastbone of modern
features, including a long, bony tail, beak, it also had a more birdlike tail birds, such as the European
teeth, and claws on its feathered and a keel on its breastbone. Like robin, supports massive flight
wings. It lacked the musculature for Archaeopteryx, its shoulder joint was muscles (up to 10 per cent of
strong flight, so may have relied angled lower than in modern birds, and the bird’s body weight), making
heavily on gliding. this restricted the depth of its “flap”. flight stronger.
156 THRESHOLD 5
380 MYA FIRST TREES 220 MYA FIRST MAMMALS 65 MYA ASTEROID KILLS THE
AND FORESTS AND DINOSAURS RULING REPTILES
◀ Prehistoric flier
This crow-sized primitive bird, Confuciusornis,
lived alongside the dinosaurs 125–120 MYA ,
during the Cretaceous period. Its fossilized
remains have been found in abundance, with
many fossils preserving its skeleton and
feathers in exquisite detail.
A toothless beak sets

Confuciusornis apart from its
dinosaur ancestors and from
Archaeopteryx, which had
teeth like a dinosaur
Wrist bones helped the hand

Large claw swivel sideways – perhaps to
was probably help catch prey
used to climb trees
Strong, bulky
claws could grab
DEINONYCHUS moving prey
Wrist joint’s movement was

The tail vertebrae ended in a confined to the swivelling
bony stump called a pygostyle, motion that became part
typical of all modern birds; like of the bird’s flight stroke
modern birds, if it had a long tail,
it was formed of feathers
Slender finger
bones made
wing more
light-weight
ARCHAEOPTERYX
KEY
Humerus Wrist bones
Radius and ulna Finger bones
Backward-facing back toe (hallux)

allowed Confuciusornis to perch
firmly on branches, like many
modern birds
▲ Prehistoric hands
Hand and wrist bones of Deinonychus, a theropod
dinosaur, and Archaeopteryx, the earliest known
bird, show remarkable similarity in anatomy.
However, only Archaeopteryx could fly.
AVIAN FLIGHT IS THE MOST VARIED AND SUCCESSFUL

OF ALL FORMS OF VERTEBRATE FLIGHT.
John Ostrom, palaeontologist, 1925–2005
BIRDS TAKE TO THE AIR 157

CONTINENTS SHIFT
AND LIFE DIVIDES
As continents move they carry with them communities of living things
that have evolved over millions of years. Landmasses that split and collide
pull species apart and bring others together. As land glides between
poles and the equator, climate also affects species.
Land-based life rides on moving continental diversified, landmasses became centres

plates that are pushed and pulled as crust for evolution. These events happened so
plunges into Earth’s interior in some places long ago that there is scarcely any trace in
and is reformed in others (see pp.92–93). the distribution of invertebrates and plants
Oceans between the crust expand and alive today. But over 300 MYA – as some
shrink, while coastal and marine life comes amphibians were evolving into reptiles and
and goes. The shifting surface of Earth helps some spore-bearing plants were evolving
to explain why fossils found today end up in into seed plants (see pp.144–45) – the
odd places – such as those of sea-floor movement of the continents began to
animals appearing high in the Himalayas. have more lasting impacts.
CRADLES OF LIFE ON LAND LAND LIFE SPLITS APART SOUTH AMERICA
Relatively early in Earth’s history in the In the Carboniferous period (359–299 MYA),
Cambrian period (541–485 MYA), giant northern and southern land masses collided
land masses formed and split, creating the to form a huge supercontinent called
oceans in which life diversified. Once plants Pangaea (see pp.152–53). It straddled the
and invertebrates had invaded land and equator and contained most of Earth’s land.
ALL EARTH SCIENCES MUST CONTRIBUTE EVIDENCE...

UNVEILING THE STATE OF OUR PLANET IN EARLIER TIMES.
Alfred Wegener, geologist and meteorologist, 1880–1930
▶ Modern clue Its effect on climate was dramatic – with the We now know that Gondwana was covered
The African ostrich is dry interior vastly different from the cold, in rich rainforests that encouraged diversity.
a species of flightless
ratite bird. Other species polar extremes. This, coupled with the loss Many groups alive today evolved there
of ratites include the of many coastal habitats, sent many species first – such as modern marsupial
South American rhea into extinction, but helped seed plants, mammals – and spread throughout
and Australian emu,
reptiles (see pp.154–55), and others diversify. Gondwana, but could not reach Laurasia.
providing evidence for a
Gondwanan distribution In the Mesozoic Era 100 million years Today, marsupials are restricted to South
for ratite birds. later, Pangaea began to split. This created America and Australia, and have fossils in
a sea barrier for land-based life, and plants Antarctica. Flightless ratite birds, such as
and animals were isolated on two the Australian emu, also have a remnant
supercontinents; Laurasia in the north split Gondwanan distribution. Those evolving in
from Gondwana in the south. Land-based Laurasia, such as salamanders and newts,
life could wander across five continents that were restricted to northern continents.
today are widely separated. Further splitting The distribution of fossilized species is
would produce recognizable landmasses: evidence for continental drift (see pp.90–91).
Laurasia into North America and Eurasia, Certainly, the pattern and movement of
and Gondwana into South America, Africa, continents has had a profound impact on
India, Antarctica, and Australia. the distribution of all life that followed.
158 THRESHOLD 5
◀ Clues about Gondwana

We can draw conclusions from the fossil sites of
these four species as to which continents were
connected as Gondwana 150 MYA . Some of these
species are also found in Laurasia, indicating that
they evolved before Pangaea split.
KEY
Glossopteris
This tree lived before Pangaea
split and was found in both
Gondwana and Laurasia. Fossils
are common in Gondwanan
continents, indicating that much
of the continent was forested.
Cynognathus
This primitive mammal-like reptile
lived before the Pangaea
supercontinent split. Despite this,
Cynognathus fossils are found only
in the Gondwanan continents.
AFRICA
Lystrosaurus
A common mammal-like reptile,
Lystrosaurus thrived on Pangaea
before it split. Its fossils are most
abundant in southern Africa – but
have been found in India,
Antarctica, and also Eurasia.
Mesosaurus
Fossils of Mesosaurus, an aquatic
reptile, are only found between
South America and South Africa,
suggesting that its distribution was
confined to the southern extreme
of the continent.
INDIA
GONDWANA
ANTARCTICA
AUSTRALIA
CONTINENTS SHIFT AND LIFE DIVIDES 159

THE PLANET
BLOSSOMS
Limonium sinuatum
One group of seed plants made the planet burst with colour. Flowers gave
plants more effective ways of spreading their pollen and setting their
seeds. Even before the demise of the dinosaurs, forests and other
habitats were blooming – and buzzing with pollinators.
Around 90 per cent of all known plant female flowers are receptive. Female parts,
species are flowering plants. As trees, shrubs, the carpels, have special projections, their
and climbers, they dominate rainforests; as stigmas, that catch the pollen grains. Many
grasses, they carpet open ground. Flowering plants rely on wind to disperse pollen, but
plants thrive in the driest of deserts and early in their evolution, some species
cling to rocks on high mountains and Arctic recruited animal partners to carry it for
tundra. Some, such as mangroves, even them. As insects diversified so did the
tolerate tidal inundations of salt water variety of blossoms (see pp.164–65).
along shorelines. While some produce the
deadliest of poisons, others supply most SCATTERING THE SEED
of humanity’s food. All, in one way or Insects were not the only animals to evolve
another, provide habitats for animals. Such alongside flowers. Fruit, another innovation
impressive diversity stems from a uniquely of flowering plants, encased the seed and
successful reproductive shoot: the flower. turned fragrant and colourful as it ripened.
IT IS DIFFICULT TO CONCEIVE A GRANDER MASS OF Guzmania lingulata
VEGETATION... ONE MASS OF BLOSSOMS... ESPECIALLY THE

WHITE ORCHIDS...WHITENING THEIR TRUNKS LIKE SNOW.
Joseph Dalton Hooker, botanist, 1817–1911, Himalayan journals
THE FIRST FLOWERS This was perfect for attracting mammals

The first members of the flowering plant with a nose for scent and birds with an eye
group, or angiosperms, evolved around for colour. Seeds, in turn, became resistant
120 MYA . Montsechia vidalii, an aquatic to their digestive processes so they could be
plant with tiny flowers, is thought to have dispersed in droppings, readily supplied
dispersed its pollen in water, similar to its with a dose of fertilizer.
ancestors (see pp.144–45). Angiosperms When plants first used flowers in their Nymphaea
began to diversify 30 million years later and reproduction, they were embarking upon an
evolve the flowering structure so integral evolutionary pathway with far-reaching
to their success. Water lilies and magnolias repercussions. Tens of millions of years later, Anemone pulsatilla
are some of the most primitive species – animals with a taste for sugar, including
remaining unchanged for millions of years. humans, would have sweeter foods to
plunder, such as fruits, as more seeds
MOVING THE POLLEN scattered and new seedlings grew.
Flowers improve the transfer of pollen from
male to female parts. Male flower parts, ▶ Bloom of colour
Today, over 250,000 species of flowering plants
called stamens, split open to release their decorate our planet. Some kinds have specific
matured pollen grains at just the right animal pollinator partners, without whom they
time – when pollinators are active and when would not be able to spread. Myrica gale Globularia alypum
160 THRESHOLD 5
Agapanthus africanus
Kunzea baxteri
Austrobaileya scandens Ostrya japonica
Anthericum liliago Delphinium cardinale Eriostemon spicata
Narcissus pseudonarcissus
Potentilla anserine
Rosa rugosa
Choisya ternata
Aesculus
hippocastanum
Magnolia campbellii
Paulownia tomentosa
Quercus robur
Xanthoceras
sorbifolium Primula veris Protea cynaroides Callistemon viridiflorus
THE PLANET BLOSSOMS 161

The Cambrian Explosion, beginning around
542 MYA , gives rise to all modern-day animal
groups, but also sees a radiation of many
unusual body types, such as Hallucigenia, REPTILES
none of which exist today.
Hallucigenia
G
ia
n
f t
t r o lo u amp
pi ri sh hi
c a i bi
l s n an
3 4 w a lu sh s
MARINE 0 mp ,
YA s ),
M
INVERTEBRATES FISH 2 LATE DEVONIAN (365 MYA) . M
YA
.
2 52 c t i o n
Oxygen levels in the oceans drop 9 9 – x t in
(2 s s e
during the Late Devonian, the an ma
▲ Rise and fall
500 cause of which is uncertain. This sic
r ia i
–T rm
MYA
The variety of species found at different points in
ian Pe
s
decimates coral reefs and many
e
the fossil record provide a wealth of information prominent groups of fishes, including
Pe o th
about the diversity of life on Earth. Diversity placoderms and jawless vertebrates.
t
rm
in g
levels of marine invertebrates, fish, amphibians, New kinds of fishes, such as sharks
da t
he
reptiles, birds, and mammals are shown here with and bony fishes, replace them.
we r e a m o n g t h e v i c s a u r s
of t
rising and falling bandwidths.
350
t im s
MYA
yc o
KEY B T
ab io d h e G
Pa n t e l o s a u r u s p e l
o u i ve r e
High diversity t 4 r s at
in v 8 0 i f i c O r d
Medium diversity er MYA ati ov Th e C am
b
te b , o n i c event 4 8 rian -Ordovicia
r a t s e e Ev ian 8 n
Low diversity e s
ev s di mar nt,
e brachiop MYA af fec ts cert ex tinc tion
ods – sm ai
e n ve i n e all clam -l n types of
f u r si f ike shellf
r th y ish.
er.
83 –359 MYA . Placode

ed 3 r
s h , li v w a s k ill e d o f f a r o un d m s t h
f i it y 365 riv
e r m ajo r MY
A.
ed
d
o he m
a c t
1 ORDOVICIAN–SILURIAN (445 MYA) pl bu t
s,
ea f
oc s o
n
The growth of a huge, thick ice sheet on

ian e cie
a continent centred over the South Pole

D e v a sp
causes sea levels to fall. This obliterates

on
i n t h e t e u s,
coastal habitats at a time when most life

is still ocean-bound. Nearly two-thirds
s
Ro l f o
of marine invertebrates become extinct. AMPHIBIANS
450 MYA
E xp e
t y p e r im e n ta l
s
E xplo from the body
with sion go e Cambria
TIMELINES in
of th 10 0 mil x tinc t
eir ev li
olutio on year s
n
n.
400 MYA
MASS
EXTINCTIONS
S p o h e w a in c t i o s in h a
in t e x t
ma er o c
D im
n ge k e o n e b i t
s
End- YA af fec t t to be de
s
416 M ent has y
this e
(primitive fishlike ver odonts
s a n f t h ve n t t h e
sees populations of
The Lau event 420
Silur
Persistent volcanic activity, glaciation, and climate change can

d c e O . Cr p r im
r
v
i n
o r a r d o in o
ite
all result in the loss of species. The fossil record preserves five
ian e corals; th termined
l s d v i c i d s t i ve r e
occasions when such mass extinctions were particularly severe.

i ve i a n – s u c
x tinc
s
e
r si f
tion c ause of
y 4 ilur i a s
Dimerocrinites
MYA
con
tebrates) fall.
05
Life has prevailed on Earth for more than 4 billion years – but individual species
S
e ve n
e
M
i
YA
come and go. Stable, long-term habitats, such as rainforests or warm coastal seas,
an
h
t ab o
that endure for millions of years provide hot spots for evolution that boost the
efs
ut
.
world’s diversity of species. Earth is a changeable place and extinction events can
act too suddenly for some life to adapt. These events drive multiple species to
extinction, but also provide others with fresh opportunities for success.
162 THRESHOLD 5
Large predatory terror birds
go extinct about 1 MYA .
swampy
loc alized ange, leading to

0 MYA
e due to
sees the se
R ainfore niferous
p
st Colla
s
st s reced
lin e
ibians.
Ray-finned fishes diversify
ec
o
The Carb
d 10 MYA and become the biggest

climate ch
305 MYA
rainfore
class of vertebrates alive today.

in amph
Pa dr s p l a a r ,
of the tile re ps, ns
ng y i 28 c e e
in r e p a ll y r y o i b i a
ae ng 0 M d
a. cli YA
e
by a du s E p h
at
Eryops
m
gr ch a a m
su ian t
G
3 PERMIAN–TRIASSIC (250 MYA) Multituberculates, an ancient and
diverse group of mammals, goes
300MYA A vigorous period of volcanism erupts copious extinct 30 MYA .
amounts of greenhouse gases, which cause
the biggest mass extinction so far. Global
warming creates vast deserts and triggers
an event called the “Great Dying”. More than The Grande Coupure 34 MYA sees a change in
70 per cent of all species go extinct. climate causing the evolution of new mammal
species on land and the extinction of some
ancient whale ancestors in the sea.
5 CRETACEOUS–PALAEOGENE (66 MYA)

An asteroid impact creates acid rain and
tile
n -rep lled perpetually dark skies. Plant growth reduces,
hibia
Amp ionals, c a and the dinosaurs, pterosaurs, ammonites,
it o
t r a n s c o s a ur s , g
a
anthr t 26 0 MYA . and mosasaurs such as Mosasaurus, among
c other groups, go extinct. Ancestors of the
ex tin
familiar mammals and birds of today emerge 50 MYA
from the aftermath.
y o f t h e l a r ge r e p t
f o r m an il e s
o om
e l l s d r e d s o f m i l l i o n s o f ye a r s .
250MYA A s p
h u n d
MY for Mosasaurus
6 6 th
a c t E ar
p ed
im na t
o id mi
r d o
e
a t te
th n as
v
ha
A
MAMMALS
100 MYA
200 MYA
of
ives
e d relat uchids
- le g g s YA .
it ho
Two lled orn ut 20 0 M
ca bo
of ds oc eve ven nor r
e s a
lea the en l on e a mi ove
od i l c t
cr oc x tin
go e
m s s x t i i c h te
m m o t o t e an l s d t a s
in x yg cti is urn
y a s c e w h le
i te a s o n
an llu he s, ep
o tin YA n t
on h t i
e x 8 3 M c ia
m uc n c
1 o ar
s.
T
to enormous sizes;
Brachiosaurus lived
reached roughly 9 m
Dinosaurs grow
4 TRIASSIC–JURASSIC (200 MYA)

(30 ft) in height.
155 MYA and
The break-up of supercontinent A

Pangaea increases levels of volcanic c pt
a c au s i a n
activity, which warms Earth’s climate a ti e e
p o f fe v i t y d b y x t in
and causes mass extinction in the pu cts in vo ct
oceans and on land. However, the l a c o In l c i o
t i o r a d an n
event favours the advancing global 150 MYA ns l ia 1 ic eve
. 17 nt
domination of dinosaurs. M
YA
Brachiosaurus
MASS EXTINCTIONS 163 BIRDS

Agent of pollination
The long proboscis of the hummingbird
hawk-moth can reach into tubular flowers, such
as jasmine and honeysuckle, to feed on their
nectar. Pollen easily sticks to the proboscis,
making this species an excellent pollinator.
164 THRESHOLD 5
PLANTS RECRUIT
INSECTS
Species are products of evolution that are shaped, through natural
selection, by the environment around them – but species do not evolve in
isolation. They interact with each other; some clash when they compete
for the same food, but others end up cooperating.
For each species to thrive in its habitat, its on each other. Both evolve by natural
members must do whatever it takes to breed. selection, but for each the other species
Species that have cooperative relationships becomes a factor in the selection. This
with one another are an interesting example can drive partnerships down increasingly
of the way life adapts to a changing world. narrow avenues of dependency until two
species become entirely reliant on one
LIFE AFFECTING LIFE another. Many plant species have flowers
The relationship between flowering plants that can only be successfully pollinated
and pollinating insects marked an important by a single kind of insect. A species of
milestone in evolution. It is no coincidence Madagascan orchid with an exceptionally
that flowering plants and insects represent long “spur” (hollow tube) is pollinated by a
the most diverse groups of plants and species of hawkmoth with a proboscis
animals. There are 250,000 species of (tongue) long enough to reach inside it.
POLLINATORS... ARE KEYSTONE SPECIES. YOU KNOW HOW

AN ARCH HAS A KEYSTONE. IF YOU REMOVE THE KEYSTONE,
THE WHOLE ARCH COLLAPSES.
May Berenbaum, zoologist, 1953–
flowering plants – while insects number Pollination of flowers by insects is an

around one million species. Each group important example of mutualism – a
diversified together as plants provided insects relationship between two species in which
with nutritious nectar and insects provided both benefit from each other. One-way
the service of pollination. While flowers benefits, such as where predators or grazers
evolved colour and scent to entice exploit their prey, can also lead to
pollinators, insects evolved mouthparts coevolution. Coevolution fashions these
that allowed them to extract the reward. kinds of relationships just as it does
In 1964, American biologists Paul mutualistic ones.
Ehrlich and Peter Raven introduced
the term “coevolution” to explain
instances of co-adaptation. They
documented how family trees
of butterflies showed a
degree of correspondence ◀ Pollen collector
with those of flowering plants – The honeybee is
suggesting closely corresponding renowned for its
nectar-loving diet,
pathways of evolution.
and it is an important
Coevolution occurs when two distributor of pollen for
species exert selective influences many plant species.
PLANTS RECRUIT INSECTS 165

1 SYNAPSIDS
Synapsids are the reptilian
give r of s ynapsid d par t of a

group k reptile an at- eating
mamm s that will

sailba A . It is a me silized
ancestors of mammals. They
had strong jaw muscles and
als.
a powerful bite. Therapsids
s
295 M rodon is fo
evolved from synapsids 35
million years later. They had
better posture, raising their
ise to
Eothyris
as gs, d
bodies off the ground.
i vo i t w f an ap si
Y
t
a c i c a t o l a r i s s y v in g
in d s t w A , t h . L i i s
c
Dime
h a 5 M Y l i z e d t hy r
n
SYNAPSIDS
2 8 o s si f Eo
a r n i n g ge
i s f ull o
re .
.
Sk
YA
M
a rly 275
300 MYA e s
an e x a
ly
s ib in T
will give rise to mammals.
group of synapsids that
os d
reptiles and part of a

plant-eating sailback
, p ize
It is one of the earliest

fossilized 300 MYA .
Edaphosaurus is
p s s s il t e d in
t o o pu
ra , is f dis MYA
Ea own epsy 312
k n cl e d ia .
e n
P r s si S c
c d u 0
r li
tr a p si s t d 27
is f Nov
f ir
ot o li z o t
in
es syn rops MYA
THERAPSIDS Te era h e s ili z e

o
t
t
h , s
t us o
im , is f
r an id
a
R a e r ap s
ap ,
Sy d i i l e s
YA
sid
to pt
t h in a .
n a ve 3
65 M
ls 2 e of a
re
p s r ge 2 5
h s i
,
C o s iz d
e s f s t h e s e s t lan
id f r M Y
e av
s e om A .
i
p s l ic a . I t h e lar g
st o
h o fr
sc ft
im t h
Mo outh A one o e . Moschops skull

at er
in S e p a n d i t s t im
ed
sh e al s o f
a n im
st
e earlie
mes th
us b eco
h a ra s sognath ont 259 MYA .
C d
CYNODONTS f a c y no .
fossil o nts were more –19 6
MYA
o
Cynod d therapsids. r s 19 9
e au
a d v an c os
, din
apsids e
ive syn s th
Primit h as sailback of
suc d w
o d on an o
Dim e tr o ad
p h o s a urus, g sh
Ed a sids
therap m.
e
t a s
th
ex tin c the
replace
in
ed
li v
250 MYA
. It
Cy n o d o n l s . T h e
t o mamm
on
rod
ost
a
ga z
t s, s y w
d Me
u ch e re
as
a n u c o d o n t i s c a ll e
t he pr ob
s e ab
t w ly
o j no
uv c
i
t u le T
MORGANUCODONTS
en
r n hr
a l in
an a x
d mor g
d s o do Massetognathu
en n t
s ed ha t plant- eating cynod s, a
ont, is
t h e l i ve d 2 fossilized 235 MYA
ir s u 5 tor s .
rroun 0 MYA , were ancesr s.
- si z e
din g s w i t h w h i s k e
e
ous
ammals,
tives of m
,m
r
Close rela ucodonts appea
iny
M o rg an ar e tiny,
M o st
235 MYA . ly nocturnal.
st
ab
and prob
hiT
Massetognathus skull
2 FIRST MAMMAL
The transition from reptilian
ancestors was a gradual one.
Cynodonts, or mammal-like
reptiles, had distinctive teeth that e
foreshadowed the evolution of er g
s di v ng t o s
molars and canines, and they e r di u
rem o t yp .
were probably warm-blooded. o t a c c la day
on MYA the p e to
Adelobasileus, living 225 MYA , is M 0 of li v
2 2 is sa
usually accepted as the oldest true o u t a l y s i dn a
ab an e ch
mammal. It was a small, shrewlike A d t
D N an es
animal with a coiled inner ear – a o ld uc e d
, d e
mammalian feature associated o n p r o ili z b l y .
with superior hearing. c o d ay o s s b a g gs
f o
nu t m is pr s e
r g a t h a ilk , . I t l l a y
o l m YA til
M im a 0
M s
an 21
200 MYA
166 THRESHOLD 5
.
China
fossil dent, leav le
lu d T h ,
es
in s in c ia . a n
ib
-
in Mves fo lepha rliest
es e
fir st r ys, a poss
lp h e r n d a c e
YA
YA in
cco 56 M
oro ssils nt,
d o l a t in I c e t
A lp m a d 8 0 M an t
, ea
s 60 M
nd up YA st
f o s ng w n o s au d
m
h a d r s up
s a gr o 2 M l d e
Tyr
k n o the r iu
.
alo
He om
o
s ili z i t h
ne
ale an d 5 , o
on, ial, A
a
ll o
nn o r ic e r
w h t a c e ili z e e t u s
w
e
YA di
a sm is
Er i
di u s a n .
a
s au at o p
T
c e o s s yac
le a
8 M rm
a ll
s4 a
r
gi s
i s f m al a
il . s il n
Y
a z o s ow
r
Hi
Br s f n
in ve t-k
s
s
le a lde
O
other grou y
ps.
gs,
later divers nivores will
Canada. C d 62 MYA in
s, and man
a n t l di v d h o o s s h o o t -
is fossilize ammal,
carnivoran enictis,
pe, if y ofed s 55 M ed
camsheep nto d amm YA .
w i l n - t o e a ve s f - t o e d o l d e s
if y into do
Alphadon
, an at s r, pig ls
d c , c a s,
f
cea ,
e t a t t le
ns.
50 MYA
E v e a l , l e e v e n s, t h e
m
Rav
e
m
il
e
cats, bear
ar
mm w n e xi
Uintatherium
e l s , go
ma k no ac o d
i
d
ze t
ili t in c n
elo er s
Di
s s o
100 MYA fo e x m ed
i s a n o m c a ll e s .
m f -c s r
ve d . iu t o e re h e
e ev
ol
h e r p ar o n c i vo t o t
hav s. t s f b n
r in
to nd c at ta t i o e r r o
ea th
r
ve g s a in . I p h b
e U YA rou a pp w i d
s
al d o M g
g s o r d li z e .
m to 45 D o l re c o s si a da
ed si n, f Can
nr a m
o s
e f y o in
at
lu m
th eroc MYA
el
ma us
,
am or o
p
s 37 ruimve
He the i
in o t re la t , i s
v
r s
w a s a h o o fe c ar ni
A t an s
s an t
a di eleph 0 MYA .
of ed 3
dm
st
s ili z
e o f t h e l a r ge
Modern-day mammal fos

groups begin to diverge
about 120 MYA with ancestors
of elephants and manatees,
armadillos and sloths
arc 6 MYA and
was on
diverging from the rest.

s-like
platypu ls
p h u s, a
hu s
si
Teinolo me, leaves fos
w –3
e Arsinotherium
monotr in Australia.
5
n
nd ed 4
120 MYA k now a

s
liest
e ear s in Chin y
e
h
A li v
t
r
is
hys ing fossil duce tin h.
de lp
It
Sino pial, leav upials pro in a pouc

u
m a r s
YA .
M a r s n ur t ur e d r sif y
d i ve
125 M g that are a m mals lop large
r
y o un fed m d e ve o r un
Hoo MYA and abilit y t nds.
t9 the ssla
abou izes and pen gra
MARSUPIALS d y s o s s o
b o cr
k ly a
quic
TIMELINES
THE RISE OF
0 MYA
MAMMALS
3 PLACENTALS
Placental mammals support
their unborn in the womb by
a placenta that exchanges
nourishment and waste with
the mother's blood. Juramaia,
a tree-climbing mouse-like
Mammals first evolved at about the same time as the dinosaurs.
A
mammal living 160 MYA , is They survived the mass extinction event that eliminated giant reptiles
m the oldest fossil placental.
bo
n By this time, most mammals
and rose to dominate the planet in their wake.
fo of kn dr
s m o gave birth to live young and
M sili on ow , o
ad ze o n c lde were probably covered in hair.
ag d 1 tre ou st
so a 6 m s - Mammals descended from a group of reptiles that split away from other reptiles as Pangaea
ft ma sca 5 M es, in
-s m r. Y is
he m T h A i dried out (see pp.152–53). Some 100 million years later, when dinosaurs were evolving into
lle a es n
d ls l e
eg ay
gs giants, these ancestors evolved into small, burrowing, possibly warm-blooded “proto-
.
PLACENTALS mammals” called cynodonts – and spread around the world. In some respects they were still
reptilian, since they still laid eggs – but cynodonts were undergoing a revolution. They went
MONOTREMES on to evolve fur to insulate their bodies, helping them to stay active in the coolness of night.
Furry skin became glandular too: it secreted oil that water-proofed hair, and milk that
nourished infants. Eventually, some mammals began to give birth to live young. As the
dinosaurs thrived, multiple groups of mammals diversified and then became extinct. Only
Marsupials diverge about
176 MYA according to DNA three groups survive today: over 90 per cent of mammals – including us – are placentals,
analysis of species alive today. so-called because they carry their young through a long pregnancy nourished by a placenta.
THE RISE OF MAMMALS 167

THE GRASSLANDS ARE LARGELY UNDISCOVERED

TREASURES OF AN IMPORTANT NATIONAL HERITAGE.
Francis Moul, environmental historian, 1940–
Acacia trees dot tropical
grasslands in Africa, but
do not dominate, offering
sparse cover and shade
The lion is an incredibly
successful grassland predator,
hunting in groups to take down
larger, fast-moving prey
Wildebeest graze almost

exclusively on short grasses,
and in turn are bountiful
prey for grassland predators
such as lions
Deinotherium was a
species of elephant with
unusual downward-
sloping tusks
Termite mounds produce

nitrogen, which promotes
lush grass growth
Aardvarks burrow
during the day, safe
from predators Dinofelis, a prehistoric
cat, possibly ambushed
prey from dense
▲ Life in the savanna undergrowth
One million years ago, the East African
Savanna grasses can
savanna supported an impressive food regrow quickly after Hyenas use old warthog dens Gazelles are fast and
chain, with herds of grazing hoofed heavy grazing to raise their cubs in hiding, nimble, capable of escaping
mammals falling prey to meat-eating lowering risk of attracting predators by running away
predators – just as they do today. predators on the open savanna
168 THRESHOLD 5
GRASSLANDS
ADVANCE
In environmental and ecological terms, the grass family is probably the
single most important plant group on Earth. Nearly three-quarters of
crop species grown by humans are grasses. Remarkably, they only
appeared relatively recently – about 55 MYA .
Although grasses evolved about 55 MYA , evolved yet another tactic: by growing their
grassland habitats were not established blades from the base, rather than the tip, they
until 15–10 MYA . Given the right conditions, could be grazed close to the ground and still
grasses grow opportunistically in open regenerate. Their creeping stems can even
spaces, spreading quickly by underground send up regenerative shoots after being
stems. A few, such as bamboos, grow tall trampled under heavy hooves. This allows
and woody, but most others stay low before grasses to out-compete other plants in
flowering and setting their seed. These are heavily grazed environments.
the species that populate the open habitats
familiar today, forming vast plains and GRAZERS GROW BIGGER
prairies dominated by a single species. As grasslands spread across the world, life
Today, one-fifth of Earth’s vegetation evolved in turn. Productive growth could
cover is grassland. support bigger plant-eaters – and large
bodies were perfect for digesting grass. Big
SURVIVING THE GRAZE herbivorous mammals evolved digestive
Zebras are perfectly
adapted to inhabit
Although grasses can look palatable, most systems that worked like fermentation vats,
grasslands; they can move species reinforce their leafy margins with relying on gut microbes to help break down
across vast plains to search
for food and water granules of the mineral silica. Some species plant fibre. The grassland bounty came at
possess enough silica to make their blades a price: there was no cover from predators.
abrasive or even sharp enough to cut skin. Fleet-footed grazing mammals evolved,
This adaptation deterred herbivores, but in gathering in herds for safety.
response plant-eaters evolved stronger jaws Today grasslands support some of the
or more resilient digestive systems. Grasses biggest concentrations of wildlife on Earth.
Two million years ago, the first humans joined
the grassland food chain. No terrestrial habitat
has been so influential in shaping the evolution
of mammals and humankind (see pp.186–87).
Abdomen
accommodates bulky
digestive system that
ferments grass
Front incisor ◀ Built for grasslands

teeth cut low Grazers such as the
to the ground
horse consume low
grass in open places.
Their large leg muscles
are concentrated at the
Long, slender legs can be
swung quickly to cover top of the legs, leaving
ground swiftly the slender lower legs
Watering holes in the savanna free of bulky muscle, so
can be few and far between –
large mammals must be able to
they are light and easily
travel long distances in order to manoeuvrable for
reach them a quick escape.
GRASSLANDS ADVANCE 169

EVOLUTION
TRANSFORMS LIFE
Evolution happens by small changes in genes. These changes are
inherited from one generation to the next, and over millions of years,
these changes can become amplified. Vast stretches of time may pass
before new species – with new ways of life – emerge.
Some organisms reproduce so quickly that generations of evolution, organisms change HIPPOS GIVE BIRTH AND
their evolutionary changes can be observed so much in their anatomy and behaviour SUCKLE THEIR OFFSPRING
directly. Resistance to antibiotics, for that they may become unrecognizable.
UNDER WATER, JUST LIKE THEIR
instance, can spread through bacteria that Populations split as landscapes move and
double their numbers every half hour. But habitats come and go – sending different CLOSEST LIVING RELATIVES –
to study changes in living things that breed groups along diverging paths that can result WHALES AND DOLPHINS
more slowly, and evolve over much longer in the evolution of different species. For
periods of time, scientists must examine vertebrate animals this may take a few distantly related to gibbons, whose genes
evidence from multiple sources – such as million years, but for fast-breeding microbes have fewer similarities with ours. Genes
genes, anatomy, and fossils – to work out it can happen within our lifetime. show that cetaceans – whales, dolphins, and
how evolution has shaped life on Earth porpoises – share a common ancestor with
▼ From land to sea through time. TRACING THE RELATIONSHIPS the hippopotamus, and are therefore derived
The evolution of whales Analysis of the chemical sequence of genes from the hoofed mammal group. Scientists
from a land-based CHANGE AND DIVERGENCE helps to uncover the relationships between can estimate the rate of random genetic
ancestor is an example
Natural selection works on the variation species (see pp.172–73). This analysis shows, change that accumulates over time by
of large-scale genetic
change over the course created by mutation to bring about for instance, that humans are closest to mutation and devise a “molecular clock”
of millions of years. adaptation (see pp.108–09). Over many chimpanzees – a “sister species” – but more to calculate roughly when species diverged.
Indohyus’s move to water may have happened Long body and stout legs would
for many reasons, including escaping from have made Ambulocetus
predators or to find new food sources cumbersome on land
Tail propelled
Ambulocetus by The structure of
up-and-down its teeth suggests
movements Ambulocetus probably
hunted fish
Tooth structure indicates aquatic plants

were part of Indohyus' diet
A small hoofed animal called Indohyus was the earliest member Ambulocetus was a semi-aquatic animal whose name translates
of the lineage that led to whales and dolphins. Chemical analysis as “walking whale”, although it was best suited to life in fresh and
of its fossils indicates that it spent some time in fresh water. Its salt water habitats. It was less accustomed to movement on land
skull was thicker in the region of its ear canal, suggesting it had and instead was a better swimmer. Its powerful tail moved up and
good hearing, perhaps to help it find food under water. down – just like the flapping tail of modern whales.
170 THRESHOLD 5
Balaenoptera
By using this molecular clock, they ▼ Evolutionary pathway (Blue whale)
conclude that the ancestors of whales Evidence from anatomy and DNA indicates that
and hippopotamuses diverged between whales and dolphins evolved from hoofed animals,
and that the hippopotamus is their closest living
50 and 60 million years ago. Genes only relative. Numerous fossil species add detail to Aetiocetus
provide part of the picture. They can never their cladogram.
show what ancestors looked like, and for that
scientists rely on fossils.
Ambulocetus Grooved pouch in throat
Fossils show how the anatomy of improves efficiency
of baleen; giant size
prehistoric life compares with species
alive today. Although their own DNA Hippopotamus
(Common hippo) Indohyus
has degraded, their anatomy – even
when fragmentary – can reveal important Tail flukes and a streamlined body evolve
allowing swimming in the open ocean;
relationships. Fossils can be dated, which baleen also evolves, which allows filter
helps to establish when key events took place feeding of krill; reduced sense of smell
because they now relied on echolocation
and support the molecular clock. Scientists
can never be sure that fossilized forms of life Tail bones more robust;
stronger tail provided
are the direct ancestors of living ones, but propulsion in water
their relative positions in the tree of life can
be strongly indicated by the evidence. Thickening of the auditory
bulla (part of the skull) allowing
Dozens of fossil animals are at the base of better underwater hearing
the cetacean family tree – tens of millions Common ancestor
of years before modern whales. They not
only help to show how walking limbs
evolved into swimming flippers, but
even, from chemical analysis, whether HUMANS ARE... A TINY LITTLE TWIG ON THE ENORMOUSLY
the animals lived in fresh or salt water.
After 4 billion years of evolution, Earth ARBORESCENT BUSH OF LIFE... IF REPLANTED FROM SEED,
is rich with millions of diverse species – and
many more have lived and died out in the WOULD ALMOST SURELY NOT GROW THIS TWIG AGAIN.
past. Everything on the great tree of life is
connected to the past, and to each other. Stephen Jay Gould, palaeontologist, 1941–2002
Streamlined body, similar to a Aetiocetus probably Krill is one of the Baleen is an adaptation Enormous body size
dolphin, allowed Aetiocetus to swim filtered krill with its main food sources for to filtering krill from deters many predators
more efficiently in the open oceans baleen, although it may modern baleen whales, large gulps of sea water in modern open oceans
than its predecessor Ambulocetus also have hunted fish such as the blue whale
Tail flukes
improved the
vertical up-down
swimming motion
Large, grooved
throat pouch
excellent at
scooping up large
amounts of
Flipperlike limbs evolved from nutritious krill
arms, allowing Aetiocetus to
steer while swimming
Aetiocetus was a recognizable whale – no longer capable of moving The blue whale, the largest living mammal, is toothless and Pods of killer
on land, with a shorter neck, reduced sense of smell, flipperlike limbs, completely relies on baleen to filter plankton, mainly krill. Grooves whales can hunt
tail flukes, and no external ears. It had a beak, but unlike any living help its throat expand to acquire massive amounts of food in one blue whales
whale, its mouth contained both teeth and baleen – fringes of hornlike gulp. Whales may have evolved their large size to maximize food
material to filter plankton – marking it as a truly transitional animal. intake – or perhaps to avoid predation from giant prehistoric sharks.
EVOLUTION TRANSFORMS LIFE 171

aturalists have been classifying living THE EARLY NATURALISTS comparisons based on accurate knowledge
N things for as long as they have been From the 16th century, botany and zoology of anatomy. English naturalist John Ray
trying to understand them. Early groupings moved forward as new researchers made (1627–1705), for instance, recognized that
were wholly guided by specific needs. For first-hand observations, instead of relying on whales were mammals and not fish. He
example, apothecaries classified plants the received wisdom of ancient philosophers. wrote exhaustively on plants and animals
according to their medicinal properties. Renaissance anatomists, such as Andreas and he was the first observer to devise the
Ancient Greek thinker Aristotle classified Vesalius (1514–64), explored the human concept of a biological species: an organism
plants and animals along his scala naturae, body by dissection, and 100 years later, the that reproduced always to result in the
or “ladder of life”, imbuing each kind with newly-invented microscope opened up a same form. As more species were being
a “degree of perfection”, between base world of cells and microbes. Naturalists discovered though, they lacked a standard
minerals at the bottom and God at the came to devise their own classification naming system – however, one Swedish
top. Some of Aristotle’s categories, such as systems and made more meaningful botanist was about to change that.
vertebrates and invertebrates, are still used
today, but his belief that each type of NAMING LIFE
organism had an ideal form – an “essence” – A botanist called Carl von Linné (1707–78) –
pervaded biological thought until the time DARWIN SKETCHED A TREE OF later Latinized to Carolus Linnaeus – had
of Charles Darwin (1809–82), and LIFE IN 1837, 100 YEARS BEFORE been studying the structure of flowers,
hampered notions of evolution based THEY BECAME COMMON identifying their parts as reproductive
on natural variation (see pp.110–11). organs and cataloguing their diversity. In
BIG IDEAS
HOW WE
CLASSIFY LIFE
The classification of living things involves more than unscrambling the
order of the natural world. Modern biologists classify species on the
basis of their ancestral relationships, and their methods for doing so
have been honed over 200 years of studying disciplines as diverse as
anatomy, palaeontology, and genetics.
▶ Collecting specimens
New species are
described from
preserved specimens –
so-called “type
specimens” – that are
deposited as scientific
collections in museums.
172 THRESHOLD 5
DARWIN... SHOWED WHY THERE
ARE NATURAL GROUPS AND WHY THEY
SHARE ‘ESSENTIAL’ CHARACTERS.
Ernst Mayr, 1904–2005
Biologist
1735, he published a pamphlet called Systema Charles Darwin’s recognition of the inside it. DNA contains a code – a sequence
Naturae, or “Natural System”. Initially, it importance of these variations to evolution of chemical components along its chain.
outlined a hierarchical classification system led to a shift away from this Aristotelian Closely related species have similar
of all known life that was defined by ranks. viewpoint. By the early 1900s, species sequences. Modern analytical techniques,
Classes – such as reptiles, birds, and were known to be made up of variable coupled with powerful computer
mammals – were split into orders – such as populations and the genetic basis for programmes, can compare DNA among
pigeons, owls, and parrots – and then into this variation was better understood multiple species, generating the statistical
genera (singular, genus). The genus rank (see pp.108–09). likelihood of a relationship between species.
defined the basic form of an organism, such In the 1960s, German biologist Willi Biologists can even use DNA information
as bear, cat, or rose. As was the convention Hennig (1913–76) applied more rigorous to calculate when two organisms diverged
of the day, the specific type (equivalent to evolutionary rules to classifying life. Groups from each other (see pp.170–71). They can
John Ray’s species) was still denoted by a at any rank should contain all species then create cladograms with time estimates
cumbersome Latin description. In 1753, descended from a common ancestor. These applied to each branching point. These
Linnaeus’ Species Plantarum changed this by groups were called clades, the branching “timetrees” of life can be used to map
substituting one-word names for plants, and diagram showing them called a cladogram, evolutionary progress over millions, or
his 1758 tenth edition of Systema Naturae did and the new method called cladistics. billions, of years. It means that taxonomic
the same for animals. For example, the Cladistics has since been universally groups are not only defined in terms of
brown bear – which in 1735 was listed in his adopted as the appropriate way to classify descent, but also by their estimated times
genus Ursus – was now given the specific life – because this method clearly shows of origin and divergence.
name of Ursus arctos. Linnaeus’s 1753 and to what degree one animal is related to
1758 publications mark the beginnings of another. Classification now reflects
recognized scientific names for plants and evolutionary relationships, and taxonomic
animals, respectively. This two-name system groups were redefined on the basis of
descent from common ancestors. Knowing PLANT GROUPS SHOW
how closely related species are is more useful
than knowing they are simply similar. If we RELATIONSHIPS ON ALL SIDES...
know that one plant produces a life-saving
CLADISTIC ANALYSIS SHOWS
drug, and we also know which other plants LIKE THE COUNTRIES ON A MAP.
THAT BIRDS ARE CLOSEST are closely related to it, we can focus our
TO DINOSAURS search for new sources for this drug. Carolus Linnaeus, botanist, 1707–1778
Cladistics changed how taxonomists view
Linnaean groups. Where once taxonomists
understood mammals and birds as groups
became universally adopted in biology: the (classes) of equal rank to reptiles, cladistic
first name (Ursus) denotes the genus, and groupings have reworked this notion. We
the second (arctos) the species. Linnaeus’s now know mammals and birds evolved
taxonomic system is still used today – but from reptiles, and reptiles evolved from
with some modifications and additional amphibians, and so on. Therefore, cladistics
ranks. As our knowledge about the classifies mammals and birds as two distinct
relationships of species grows, many species clades within a larger clade that also
move to other genera, changing their includes reptiles, because they all share
two-word scientific name as they go. a single common ancestor.
Today, taxonomists have a better tool
ORGANIZING LIFE than anatomy for discovering evolutionary
Even in the 19th century, many still saw relationships. Biologists have turned to DNA
variations in individual forms of life as as a source of information ever since they
imperfect deviations from an ideal form. recognized that inherited genes are stored
HOW WE CLASSIFY LIFE 173

HARD EVIDENCE
Atmospheric gases
ICE CORES
Each layer of snow that fell on the Greenland
ice sheet contains gas from the atmosphere that
was trapped as the snow compacted into ice.
Climatologists who compare gas levels inside ice
cores from varying depths can create a timeline
of Earth’s climatic past. The level of carbon
Ice cores capture a wealth of clues indicating a vigorous, and largely dioxide in the atmosphere was stable
natural, back-and-forth of climatic conditions. Similar to animals trapped over the last millennium until the
early 19th century, when it began
in amber, tiny relics from Earth’s past can be held inside ice cores. to increase. It is now 40 per
cent higher than before
the industrial revolution
Earth’s ice sheets are gigantic treasuries of in the atmosphere. This provides long-term (see pp.304–05).
evidence of past climates. These three ice context to the rise in carbon dioxide (CO2)
cores, each 1m (31/4ft) long, are samples from levels seen in recent decades. Research
a long core drilled from the Greenland ice stations in Earth’s polar regions, such as
sheet, which is more than 2,000m (6,600ft) Vostok, Antarctica, have contributed records
thick. As the ice sheet formed from falling of CO2 levels stretching back more than
snow, it captured atmospheric gas and 400,000 years. At Dome C in Antarctica,
airborne particles, which were incorporated drillers extracted an even longer ice core.
into the ice as a record of conditions at the At 3,270m (10,738ft) long, it holds data, such
time. Ice builds up year on year, so as as methane and CO2 levels, from the last “Firn” is a form
of compacted
scientists drill down, they reach older 650,000 years. Ice cores can also capture ice found
and older records. This particular core volcanic ash, dust, sand, and even pollen. between layers
of freshly fallen
documents 111,000 years of climatic history. These clues can tell us about volcanic snow and hard,
glacial ice
Climatologists analyze ice cores to find activity, the extent of deserts, and the spread
clues to Earth’s past climate. If dust trapped of different types of vegetation in the past.
in the ice contains radioactive elements, The drivers behind natural climate
radiometric dating (see pp.88–89) can be change include cyclical changes in Earth’s
This is the uppermost
used to date the sample. Ice cores can reveal orbit and changes to its axis of rotation that ice core, retrieved
what the average temperature was in the are known as Milankovitch cycles. Other from ice 53–54m
(175–177ft) deep. It is
past, and can tell us the proportions of gases natural factors are changes in the Sun itself, about 173 years old
plate tectonics, and volcanism. Scientists
▼ Milankovitch cycles study ice cores to learn about these natural
TOPMOST ICE CORE
Long-term changes in Earth’s orbit and spin are effects on climate and to predict how they
called Milankovitch cycles. The cycles alter the
might interact with the current human
timing and intensity of our seasons and seem to
coincide with regular bouts of climate change, activities that seem to be bringing about
rapid climate change (see pp.352–53).
Extracting ice cores
such as ice ages (see pp.176–77).
Ice cores – long columns of ice – have been

extracted since the 1950s, largely from the
Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. A large
Elliptical Circular Tilt of Equator Axis points team of scientists is required to drill into an ice
orbit orbit changes during Axis in varying
cycle of rotation directions sheet and extract a viable ice core. The cores
are then stored in temperatures below -15°C
(5°F) to preserve them and prevent cracks.
Earth
Sun Axis
Axis tilt varies
from 21.8° of rotation
ECCENTRICITY
to 24.4°
DIRECTION
Present day Present day Present day

24.4°
TILT
21.8°
-200 -100 0 100 -200 -100 0 100 -200 -100 0 100
THOUSANDS OF YEARS THOUSANDS OF YEARS THOUSANDS OF YEARS
The shape of Earth’s orbit changes The angle of Earth’s axis varies by a Earth wobbles because it is not a
from circular to elliptical (more few degrees. With a greater tilt, the perfect sphere – this causes its axis
“eccentric”), under the influence northern or southern hemisphere is to trace out imaginary circles over
of Jupiter and Saturn’s gravity. This inclined further towards the Sun, approximately 26,000 years. This
alters the length of our seasons, which results in more extreme alters the timing of midsummer, Scientists drill into Antarctic ice
changing our climatic patterns. contrasts in our seasons. midwinter, and the solstices.
174 THRESHOLD 5
MIDDLE ICE CORE
This ice core has been recovered
from a depth of 1,840–1,841m
(6,035–6,040ft) and is around
16,300 years old
Sediment, picked up as
ice sheet moved and
Clues about the climate flowed, obscures layers
within ice core
At the time this ice core was made, dust blew over
Greenland from far-off sandstorms, forest fires, and BOTTOMMOST ICE CORE
volcanoes. The dust was compacted along with
freshly falling snow. The Sun vapourized (sublimated)
the surface snow, which concentrated the dust. The
dust shows as dark rings within the ice core. Dark This ice core is from the bottom
rings indicate summer months, and clear rings of the Greenland ice sheet. An
exact date is unknown, but it is
signify winter months. Thick, dark rings show more than 111,000 years old
summers that were particularly long.
ICE CORES 175

EARTH FREEZES
Vast North American ice sheet
extended to the centre of the
continent at its maximum extent
Climate change has been a natural part of Earth’s history since the planet ▶ Glacial period
In our most recent ice age, glaciers
was formed. At its coldest, at the height of Earth’s many ice ages, the
reached their maximum extent
world groaned under vast ice sheets that had a massive impact on life – about 20,000–15,000 years ago.
driving some species to extinction and shaping the evolution of others. Much of Earth’s water was locked
away in ice so sea levels were
lower and the general
climate was drier.
Ice ages happen when the temperature of ICE AGE EVENTS
the Earth’s surface plunges and extensive At least two major ice ages happened before
sheets of ice start to grow. It is likely that the Cambrian explosion of life, 520 MYA .
no single cause is responsible: shifts in In each case, our planet turned into a
Earth’s orbit or atmospheric change both “snowball”, almost completely covered in
play their parts. But the effects can go far ice. Another ice age took place 460–420 MYA ,
beyond climate. Freezing temperatures when fish were filling the oceans. A fourth
came as the first forests grew, 360–260 MYA ,
when the continent of Gondwana drifted
over the South Pole and a polar ice cap
started to spread. The last ice age – starting
EARTH ALMOST COMPLETELY FROZE OVER just over 2.5 million years ago – is better
TWICE IN ITS HISTORY, WITH ICE-SHEETS known, and is ongoing. During this ice age,
ALMOST 1,000 M (3,300 FT) THICK ice sheets that are currently centred over
Greenland in the north and Antarctica in
the south have waxed and waned during
glacial and interglacial periods. Since the ice
lock ocean water into permanent blocks – sheets have not yet disappeared, Earth is still
ice sheets and glaciers – lowering sea in this ice age, albeit in a relatively warm,
levels and merging lands that were once interglacial. The glaciers of the recent
separated. Populations adapted to a past have left their mark in eroded valleys
tropical climate may contract towards and glacial deposits, while changing
the equator or even disappear altogether, temperatures and sea levels have made
while cold-adapted species advance. modern life a product of the glacial age.
▶ Higher sea levels Open Arctic

Neither the North nor South poles Ocean was free
had ice caps 40 MYA . The lack of of permanent ice
polar ice meant that there was a
Greenland
greater volume of oceanic did not have
water – resulting in rising an ice cap
sea levels and flooding of
coastal and lowland areas.
A warm, shallow
sea spread over
much of Europe’s
low landmasses
Most of Florida
was flooded
Northern Africa
submerged by a
shallow sea due
to high sea levels
North and South

America had
yet to collide
40 MYA
176 THRESHOLD 5
Eurasian ice sheet extended across

Pack ice extended as far half of Russia and most of northern
south as northern France Europe at its maximum extent
Smaller ice sheets were

also present on the
Tibetan plateau
▲ Ice age elephant

The origins of woolly mammoths lay with the elephant
family in Africa some 5 million years ago. Elephants
spread northwards around the Earth, evolving shaggy
coats that kept them warm during the advancing ice age.
Grasslands were the main habitat

that encircled the edges of the
ice sheet in Europe and Asia
Dry scrub extended across western

Asia due to drier global climate
The British Isles were

connected to Europe by land
Pack ice
Ice cap over Permanent sea around
Greenland’s ice over Arctic northern
landmass Ocean Russia
▶ Interglacial period
The presence of ice caps in the
Arctic and Antarctic indicates
that we are still in an ice age. Most of
the vast grasslands that encircled the
ice sheets have retreated, replaced
20,000 YA with wetter coniferous forests. TODAY
EARTH FREEZES 177

THRESHOLD
HUMANS
EVOLVE
With our origins in the stars – like
everything else – and sharing a common
ancestor with the other apes, what
makes humans unique? Humans have
a capacity to innovate, learn, and share
experiences like no other species.
Through use of symbolic language, and
by sharing and building on knowledge
collectively, our human ancestors begin
to dominate the landscape.
Modern humans evolved relatively recently, around 200,000
years ago. The ability to communicate using symbols, exchange
ideas, and build on the knowledge of earlier generations
has allowed Homo sapiens to create new levels
of complexity, and become the single most
powerful and influential species on Earth. Natural se
lect
ion
Broadeni act
ng h ing
om on
Evolution ini ap
of n n di
ew e ti
es
Rapidly ge n
shif nu
tin s
cl
gg
ud
lo
es
om
me
ba
o
lc
at a
wi
lim
nd u
h in
ate
crease
nlocks new energy

Mammals diversify What changed?
Tree-dwelling primates evolve
d
A new species – Homo sapiens
about 65 million years ago. Their
c
– evolves with the capacity for
o
large brains, social skills, and
collective learning.
g
manual dexterity allow them
n
to use and develop tools.
itive
cap
ac ity
Diverse habitats
Primates adapt quickly to life
in an unstable climate, surviving
in rainforest and savanna
environments.
Extends range of
Homo sapiens into
colder habitats
Clothing
Hunter-gatherer
lifeways
Tools
NEW Cooking
TECHNOLOGY
Extended
family units
Fire
Fire-stick
farming
COLLECTIVE SOCIAL
LEARNING DEVELOPMENT
Symbols and
story-telling
Affects
environment
and
biodiversity
Cultural
practices and
traditions
BIOLOGICALLY
ADAPT TO NEW
ENVIRONMENT
Language
8 MYA HOMININS 2.6 MYA STONE TECHNOLOGY 2.5 MYA GENUS HOMO 300,000 YA FIRST WEAPONS
APPEAR IS DEVELOPED APPEARS WITH HANDLES
Family connections
Much of human behaviour can be seen
mirrored in other primates, such as the
parental care given to this orangutan baby.
Orangutan young are completely dependent
on their mothers during their first decade.
182 THRESHOLD 6
200,000 YA HOMO SAPIENS 135,000 YA FIRST USE 110,000 YA LAST ICE AGE 41,000 YA EARLIEST PAINTED 12,000 YA LAST ICE
APPEARS OF SYMBOLS BEGINS CAVE ART AGE ENDS
THE PRIMATE
FAMILY
With our large brains, dexterous fingers, and highly complex social
structures, it may seem obvious that we are primates. However, the
primate order is diverse, and while many species share particular
features, it has no single, defining physical characteristic.
Today, about 400 primate species have species of true apes began radiating into
been identified, ranging from minuscule Europe and Asia. These were the first of the
tarsiers to imposing gorillas. Physically modern primate species. DNA suggests that
and genetically Homo sapiens clearly descends the splits leading to orangutans and gorillas
from this order – specifically the line of happened around 16 MYA and 9 MYA
apes – yet even the apes are only a recent respectively, and each had contemporary
branch of the tree. It took 20 million years relatives, like Sivapithecus in Asia and
for the tiny ratlike proto-primate Purgatorius Chororapithecus in Ethiopia. From around
(65 MYA) to evolve into the lemurlike primate 9 MYA , a group of huge Asian apes called
Darwinius. By this time, two major primate Gigantopithecus evolved, some of which may
lines had flourished – one leading to lorises have existed until very recently. One of
and lemurs and another leading to tarsiers. the earliest African species thought to have
By 40 MYA , the anthropoid line had led to the hominin line was Sahelanthropus
appeared, and this led to monkeys, apes, tchadensis (7–6 MYA), which lived around
and eventually humans. These anthropoids the same time that our ancestors are
probably emerged in Asia, and their fossils estimated to have split from chimpanzees.
show that the primate face – which had a Behaviourally, early apes probably
snout – was already shortening. had the same high degree of dexterity,
intelligence, and flexibility as modern
ALMOST HUMAN primates, and probably lived in similarly
By 25 MYA , forest environments were filled diverse communities, featuring strong
with a diverse range of monkeys. The bonds and complex communication. It
tail-less Proconsul, which lived in East Africa is also likely that some of these species
25–23 MYA , had a mixture of ape and used tools, just as various apes and
monkey characteristics, and soon, many capuchin monkeys do today.
HUMAN
ORANGUTAN GORILLA CHIMPANZEE BONOBO
PRESENT Bonobos split from The hominin branch,

chimpanzees leading to humans
The last common ancestor
6.6 MYA between humans and
chimpanzees
Our last common ◀ Our closest relatives

8.9 MYA ancestor with In evolutionary terms, our closest relative
gorillas
is the chimpanzee, with whom we shared
a common ancestor some 7–6 MYA . The
Our last common common ancestor of all primates lived
15.8 MYA ancestor with around 65 MYA .
orangutans
THE PRIMATE FAMILY 183

TIMELINES
HOMININS
EVOLVE
Round
Humans belong to the hominin branch of the primate cranium
family tree. It is a branch that took over 7 million years

to develop and includes all modern humans, extinct
human species, and all our recent ancestors.
When tracing our roots, it is tempting to think that our “advanced”

characteristics, such as the ability to walk on two feet and use tools, A. AFARENSIS
emerged as a result of a single creature becoming ever more complex.
But the truth is that early hominins were diverse, and that these traits
were shared in various combinationts by Homo habilis, the earliest
A. ANAMENSIS
Homo species, and Australopithecus, an earlier hominin genus, and ▲ Australopithecus africanus
probably evolved independently. One of seven known Australopithecus
species, A. africanus was the first early
The fossil record is tantalizing. It reveals that slender hominin to be discovered in Africa.
australopithecines (A. afarensis and A. anamensis) appeared between Dating to around 3–2 MYA , it had a
4 and 3 MYA , and later diversified into more robust forms with small brain but could walk upright.
A. RAMIDUS
heavy-duty teeth. However, the earliest Homo habilis dates to 4,000,000 YA
2.4 MYA , leaving a considerable gap between the species. A possible
bridge was found in Ethiopia in 2015 – a fossil jawbone, dating to
2.8–2.75 MYA . The fossil matches the crucial period, and it shows
some signature Homo features, but without the rest of the skull or
any indication of the size of the brain, it is impossible to determine
which family its owner belonged to.
In evolutionary terms, a key mark of the Homo lineage was
its ability to adapt to different environments by changing its diet. A. KADABBA
The tendency to eat more meat was crucial: this led to a greater
reliance on tools for hunting, which in turn favoured the larger
brains that evolved after 2 MYA (see pp.188–89). This led to shifts
in social organization and ranging patterns, culminating in
the evolution of Homo erectus, probably the first global
explorer; Homo neanderthalis, our closest hominin
O. TUGENENSIS
relative; and finally Homo sapiens.
▶ The hominin family tree

Seven hominin groups, each known as
a genus, have so far been identified,
and some contain several species. The
6,000,000 YA
genus Ardipithecus, for example, has
two species, Ardipithecus kadabba
and Ardipithecus ramidus.
KEY
Sahelanthropus
Orrorin
Ardipithecus
Kenyanthropus
Paranthropus
Australopithecus S. TCHADENSIS
▶ Sahelanthropus tchadensis
Homo Our earliest hominin ancestor,
Sahelanthropus lived at the same time Flat, apelike face
7,000,000 YA as our last common ancestor with other
was probably
protected from
apes – 7–6 MYA . It was about 1m (3ft) UV light by dark
tall and probably walked on two feet. pigments
184 THRESHOLD 6
▶ Homo erectus
The remains of H. erectus, or “upright man”,
have been found in Africa, China, and Indonesia.
It arose just under 2 MYA , and may still have been
alive only 50,000 YA .
PRESENT DAY
P. ROBUSTUS
1,000,000 YA
A. SEDIBA
P. BOISEI
A. AFRICANUS
A. GARHI 2,000,000 YA
K.PLATYOPS
H. ANTECESSOR
P. AETHIOPICUS
H. GEORGICUS H. HEIDELBERGENSIS
H. HABILIS
H. NEANDERTHALENSIS
H. GAUTENGENSIS
A. BAHRELGHAZALI 3,000,000 YA H. ERECTUS
H. SAPIENS
Heavy brow ridge
A. DEYIREMEDA over each eye
H. ERGASTER DENISOVANS
H. FLORESIENSIS
The beginnings
of a forehead
▲ Homo habilis
Small upper This member of the Homo
jaw with genus is known as “Handy
humanlike
man”, referring to its use Large,
teeth
of stone tools. prominent
nose
◀ Homo
THE BORDER BETWEEN NON-HUMAN neanderthalensis

This species lived in
AND HUMAN IS NOT THE SHARP ADAMIC Europe until it was

gradually replaced by a
new wave of hominins
EMERGENCE THAT HAS LONG BEEN FAVOURED. from Africa – Homo
sapiens. It finally died
out around 28,000
Jean-Jacques Hublin, palaeoanthropologist, 1953– years ago.
HOMININS EVOLVE 185

APES BEGIN TO
WALK UPRIGHT
The journey from tree-climbing apes to ground-walking humans involved
major anatomical changes throughout the skeleton. Ancient footprints
show that our ancestors already walked like humans 3.7 MYA, but a further
2 million years of refinement were needed to make us into runners.
Colder, drier climates from 35 MYA led to a what is now Ethiopia 4.5–4.3 MYA . It could the famous Laetoli prints (see below). Now,
change from forests to more varied habitats, walk almost upright, but was not fully H. ergaster and other Homo species had
including open grassland. This has long bipedal, since its feet had opposable toes. become capable runners. They had a short,
been seen as the driving force that around To become fully bipedal, hominins needed wide pelvis that centred the torso above the
7–4 MYA made some tree-climbing apes feet dedicated to walking on the ground, hips, an S-shaped spine to absorb vertical
change into “bipedal” animals that walked with in-line big toes and bones and tendons shocks, and thigh bones angled inwards
primarily on the ground on two legs. The forming a springy arch. Footprints in Africa, towards the knees that improved balance
reality is more complex, since some of the left possibly by Homo ergaster, suggest these and gait. By 1 MYA, hominins were striding
oldest bipedal fossils are from locations that features had evolved 1.5–2 million years after across most of Africa, Asia, and Europe.
were densely forested. Whatever the reasons,
however, a series of fossils offers glimpses of ▶ Down from the trees
Densely forested
the transition to ground dwelling. The transition to bipedal jungle habitat
walking on the ground
can be summarized
ADAPTING TO THE GROUND
by these three
A good model for the starting point of the key stages.
change is Proconsul, an animal close to the
base of the ape family tree. It moved by
either running along branches or climbing,
using hands and feet to grasp tree limbs.
Some fossils from 7 MYA onwards show a
marked contrast. These are the hominins
(see pp.184–85), the group to which humans
belong. The oldest, Sahelanthropus, already
shows evidence of an upright spine, since the
entry point of the spinal cord into the skull is
on its underside, not the back, as in today’s
apes. Soon, another hominin evolved with
more distinctly ground-dwelling features.
This was Ardipithecus ramidus, which lived in
▶ Ancient footsteps
An adult and child
Australopithecus
afarensis made these
fossil prints 3.7 million
Strong,
years ago in what is now opposable
Laetoli, Tanzania. The big toe
3-D contours of the Quadrupedal adaptation
imprints, compared to favours life in trees
those made by modern
humans, suggest that Long,
they walked with a Proconsul was one of the earliest apes, curved
humanlike gait, not found in Africa. It lived 23 million years fingers
the rocking, bent- ago in dense tropical forest, used favour
grasping Small foot
knee gait of apes. quadrupedal (four-legged) locomotion, bones give
and was a good climber. But the lack of flexibility
a tail showed that living in trees was
becoming less important. Hand Foot
186 THRESHOLD 6
▶ A cooler, less predictable planet

The analysis of core samples from ice High WARM PERIOD ICE AGE
sheets (see pp.174–75) and deep-sea
sediments have shown that over the last
GLOBAL TEMPERATURE
6 million years, Earth’s climate has not
only cooled but has also become more
variable. The emergence of new hominin
species seems to coincide with the rising
variability, suggesting that they diversified
due to the pressure of environmental
change. The adaptability of the hominin
KEY
skeleton may have enabled individuals to
Warm period
live in a wide range of habitats, whether
open or wooded, wet or dry. Interglacial period of Ice Age
Glacial period of Ice Age
Low
6 5 4 3 2 1 0
THE ARCHAIC HOMININ
AGE (MILLIONS OF YEARS BEFORE PRESENT)
SAHELANTHROPUS MAY
HAVE WALKED UPRIGHT
7 MILLION YEARS AGO
Open woodland habitat Savannah habitat
Splayed big toe

could grasp
branches Feet adapted
Feet adapted to grasping to walking on Big toe
rather than walking open ground aligned
with
Fingers others
still long
Ardipithecus ramidus was much and curved Homo erectus stood as tall as a modern human. It
closer anatomically to a human than was fully bipedal and its arms were shorter than those Massive
Proconsul. Ardipithecus ramidus of its forest-adapted ancestors. It could cover ground heel bone
had long arms and a grasping foot Robust efficiently in open grassland, with hands free to carry forms an
Flexible foot bones arched
that enabled it to climb in the tools. A few fossils of its hands and feet have been foot
wrist supported
forested environments that joint weight when discovered, and they seem to have approached those Homo sapiens Homo sapiens
it seems to have preferred. Hand Foot bipedal of modern humans in form and function. hand foot
APES BEGIN TO WALK UPRIGHT 187

GROWING A
▲ Meat-fuelled minds? regularly consume meat, this is usually in
This Palaeolithic cave very small amounts. In comparison, the
painting of a bison is
from Altamira in Spain.
hominin archaeological record shows that
LARGER BRAIN
Some theories propose the gut shrank over time as eating meat
that the switch to a diet became more common, indicating that
including meat was fewer hard-to-process plant foods were
the catalyst for the
growth in brain size
consumed. Did extra calories and fats
among hominins. from meatier diets, and eventually cooked
Biologists have studied differences in brain size and intelligence across foods, feed our energy-hungry brains, and
the animal kingdom for over a century. The trend towards increased even drive their evolution? While there
primate encephalization (brain mass relative to body size), most undoubtedly was some impact, the timings
dramatically seen in Homo sapiens, is clearly an adaptive feature. don’t quite add up. Stone-tool technology,
which emerged over 3 million years ago,
gave hominins better access to the high-
Understanding why and how we developed with our globe-like, inflated skulls enclosing energy foods within animal carcasses.
a large brain – an organ that requires lots huge brains for our overall bulk. But over the million years between the
of energy to grow and maintain – involves first australopithecine tool-makers and
considering many aspects of our evolution. FOOD FOR THOUGHT early Homo, the increase in brain size was
Brain size relative to body size seems to be One theory for increasing brain size ratio in quite small, only about 100cm3 (6 cu in).
important: when compared with primates hominins relates to changes in diet. While a Not until 500,000 years ago, in Homo
and other mammals, humans stand out few primate species, including chimpanzees, heidelbergensis, had brain capacity doubled.
188 THRESHOLD 6
THE SOCIAL BRAIN Bigger-brained species, from mammals

More recent theories consider not only the to birds, also tend to show greater levels of
brain’s overall size, but also how its different self-control. They are able to resist impulses
parts changed over time, including areas and delay satisfaction, and instead reflect
vital for communication, visual processing, on other courses of action, based on
planning, and advanced functions such as previous experiences. While in primates
problem solving. Of particular interest is levels of self-control do not necessarily
the link between the size of the neocortex increase with a social group’s size, greater
(the outer part of the brain) and social self-control may have helped hominins
intelligence. The neocortex is involved in to follow rule-based social strategies for
managing status and “getting ahead”
in social groups.
PRIMATE BRAINS ARE NEARLY COMPLEX ANSWERS

TWICE AS BIG AS THOSE OF Ultimately, developing larger brains may
have been the result of many competing
SIMILAR-SIZED MAMMALS pressures on hominins, which cumulatively
demanded greater levels of processing
power. Questions about diet are important,
many brain functions, ranging from motor but perhaps the gradual broadening of the probably cooperative activities, relying on ▲ The social brain
control to perception, consciousness, and hominin diet is more crucial than just the the ability to learn, have self-control, and Today the indigenous
San people of the
language. Primates with a proportionately introduction of meat. As well as plant foods engage in intense social networking. Kalahari work in tightly
larger neocortex live in bigger social groups, and meat, “specialized” foods such as fish While there may be diverse reasons bound social groups,
suggesting that the neocortex provides the began to be exploited by early Homo nearly behind our increased brain size over the just as other hunter-
extra “processing power” the brain needs to 2 million years ago, evidenced by the past 20,000 years, human brains have gatherers usually do.
This facility for complex
keep track of relationships between many eating of catfish and turtles at Koobi Fora, actually started to shrink again. It may interaction was only
individuals. But it’s not just about numbers: Kenya. Wider foraging, and especially be that a better understanding of brain made possible by the
primate social life involves predicting and increased tool use, required a larger base of function among Homo sapiens will show development of a
larger brain.
even manipulating the behaviour of others. motor skills, memory, and overall greater that intelligence is determined not just by
When social networks increased in size in flexibility. In many cases these were brain size but by smarter wiring too.
hominins, this required even greater
investment in the brain.
These ideas link to other aspects of brain
size noted across different species. Animals
with larger eyes, for example, tend to have THE BRAIN IS A MONSTROUS, BEAUTIFUL MESS. ITS BILLIONS
bigger brains, implying that greater visual
acuity needs more processing power. In OF NERVE CELLS... LIE IN A TANGLED WEB THAT DISPLAYS
hominins with increasingly complex social
lives, a highly developed visual sense enables COGNITIVE POWERS FAR EXCEEDING ANY OF THE SILICON
individuals to not only find food and detect
predators, but also to determine the precise MACHINES WE HAVE BUILT TO MIMIC IT.
direction of another’s gaze and observe
subtle gestures. William F. Allman, journalist, 1955 –
Brain a third Larger brain, in a Larger still, in a Brain larger than Smaller human ◀ Evolution of
of the size of creature probably creature that first Homo sapiens’, but not brain, perhaps more the hominin brain
Homo sapiens’ eating more meat harnessed fire necessarily smarter efficiently arranged
Over the last 7 million
years, the hominin
brain has tripled in
size, with most of that
1600 cm3 1450 cm3 growth occurring over
1000 cm3
(98 in3) (88 in3)
650 cm 3
(61 in3) the last 2 million years.
450 cm3
(40 in3) Measurements of
(27 in3)
ancient brains are
based on the size of
skull remains, some
of which preserve
casts of their interiors.
AUSTRALOPITHECUS HOMO HABILIS HOMO ERECTUS HOMO NEANDERTHALENSIS HOMO SAPIENS

4 MYA 2.4 MYA 1.8 MYA 400,000 YA 200,000 YA
GROWING A LARGER BRAIN 189

THE
NEANDERTHALS
The Neanderthals are just one of our close hominin relatives, but for
centuries they have played a special role in our understanding of human
history. Studying these ancient people, who were successful for so long,
has transformed our view of ourselves.
The branch of the hominin tree that led tundra. Many hundreds of Neanderthal sites
to the Neanderthals and Homo sapiens are known, in places as far flung as Wales,
appeared around 600,000 years ago, Israel, Siberia, and Uzbekistan. It is difficult
and the earliest examples of “Neanderthal- to establish which sites are the most recent
like” features appear nearly 400,000 years due to dating complexities, but it seems that
ago. These are revealed in a wealth of the last Neanderthals lived about 30,000
Neanderthal fossils – one of the largest years ago.
collections for any hominin species – which As to their fate, they are no longer
includes parts of more than 275 individuals, considered “extinct”, since analysis of ▲ Eagle talon jewellery
and some reasonably complete skeletons. nuclear genomes shows that humans and Eight eagle talons were found in a 300,000-year-
old Neanderthal cave in Croatia. Friction marks
Anatomically, they differed from us in subtle
suggest that they were once strung together.
ways, having slightly larger skulls, less
prominent chins, but bulkier eyebrow ridges.
INJURIES ON NEANDERTHAL
There were also differences in tooth shape. instead showing regional diversity and
Neanderthals were typically shorter than SKELETONS FOLLOW A development over time. They made blades,
Homo sapiens, and they had more rounded PATTERN SIMILAR TO THAT OF the earliest multi-part tools, the earliest
chests, differently proportioned arms and MODERN-DAY RODEO RIDERS synthetic material (birch bark adhesive),
legs, and larger fingertips. When dressed, and various wooden utensils. They were
however, they would have looked very undoubtedly top hunters too, with a diet
similar to us. Neanderthals interbred repeatedly at that varied according to where they lived
different times and places. There is probably and included many plants and small
WIDE-RANGING HUNTERS more Neanderthal DNA surviving in the game such as tortoises.
Neanderthals are often depicted as Ice Age world today – in humans – than there ever The fact that humans repeatedly had
creatures, but their range was far greater was when Neanderthals walked the Earth. relationships with Neanderthals, and that
than this. They lived through cycles of both Another transformation has been in the resulting children survived, suggests
glacials and interglacials (some even warmer our view of the culture and cognitive that cognitively they cannot have been alien.
than today), and were just as much at home capacities of Neanderthals. Their stone They used red and black pigments, collected
in deciduous forests as in open steppe- tools were far from crude or unchanging, shells, and had a unique interest in the
feathers and claws of birds, especially large
raptors. On the other hand, there is no
Neanderthal art that matches the work
of later Ice Age human populations, and
this could point to a difference in cognitive
ability. As for their disappearance, the
reasons are likely to have been myriad and
complex, including competition for food,
climatic stress, and disease.
▶ The Neander Valley
The Neanderthals take ▶ Another kind of human
their name from the The Neanderthals were
Neander Valley, near remarkably similar to Homo
Düsseldorf, Germany, sapiens, with whom they
where some of the bred for thousands of years.
earliest fossil remains Up to 20 per cent of their
of the species were DNA may survive in
found in a cave in 1856. humans today.
190 THRESHOLD 6
Other than the lower jaw, the skull was
missing. No fragments were found,
which suggests that it was probably
removed by erosion
Neanderthal anatomy
The ribcage shows that Moshe had a barrel-
shaped chest and large lungs. It was thought Thick bones and large joints
that European Neanderthals had developed show that the arms and hands
were muscular and powerful
big lungs as an adaptation to the cold. Living in
cold climates consumes a lot of energy,
requiring more oxygen to fuel energy-releasing
reactions in the body; large lungs also help to The teeth are heavily worn;
warm and moisten inhaled air. But since Neanderthals may have used
Moshe lived in the more-temperate eastern their teeth like a vice to help
them hold animal skins or other
Mediterranean, some scientists now discount objects as they worked
this theory. They suggest that the large lung
size was an existing anatomical feature,
inherited from earlier African hominins, that
equipped Neanderthals for a high-energy The relatively complete ribcage
hunting lifestyle. It probably did, however, help enabled scientists to
them to colonize the cooler parts of Europe. reconstruct the shape of the
thorax (chest area) from the
curvature of the ribs
Dating techniques
Archaeologists employ a range of
techniques to date remains. Two of
these, thermoluminescence (TL) and
electron-spin resonance (ESR), measure
the amount of radiation damage, in the
form of electrons, that accumulates in a
material over time from background
sources and cosmic rays. While TL is
used on stone tools, ESR is applied to
human and animal teeth. Tests on burnt
flints and gazelle teeth found at Kebara
indicate that the skeleton is around
60,000 years old.
A technician conducts TL analysis of a specimen
Kebara 2 Laid to rest

hyoid bone
Skeletons with articulated (connected) bones
and which are found in distinct contexts, such
as pits, are suggestive of intentional burials. In
Moshe’s case, the body parts present were mostly
still correctly joined together, and delicate bones,
such as the hyoid, were unbroken. There were
no carnivore marks, so the body had not been
scavenged or dragged to its resting place by an
animal. Body posture and the fact that the flesh
▲ Unique hyoid seems to have decomposed in situ also imply
Moshe’s hyoid bone is virtually identical to that
that Moshe was deliberately placed in the pit
of Homo sapiens. In modern humans, this bone,
which is rooted in the cartilage surrounding
after his death. Since no grave goods were found,
the larynx, anchors the throat muscles that we cannot infer that there were any rituals (see
facilitate speech. The Kebara hyoid raises the pp.218–19) associated with the burial.
possibility that Neanderthals may also have
had language capabilities (see pp.202–03).
192 THRESHOLD 6
HARD EVIDENCE
KEBARA
NEANDERTHAL
In 1983, a well-preserved skeleton of an adult Neanderthal was
uncovered in Kebara Cave on Mount Carmel, Israel. Such
physical remains, whether fossilized or not, are treasure troves
of information about our hominin relatives.
Remains of up to 17 individuals were Recent studies of Neanderthal teeth

found at Kebara. They included an reveal different information to
infant, known as KMH1 or Kebara 1, analysis of bones, showing that plants
discovered near a wall in what may have may have been consumed more often
been a midden. The adult, called than scientists once thought. Plant
KMH2 or Kebara 2, was lying on its remains in Kebara cave, including
back in a pit, with one arm across its charred peas in hearths, suggest
chest and the other across its abdomen. these Neanderthals consumed a
Bone growth, dental wear, and the range of wild legumes, grasses,
shape of the pelvis showed that it was a seeds, fruits, and nuts, though in
male aged 25–35. Nicknamed “Moshe”, what quantities we cannot be sure.
he was about 1.7m (5ft 7in) tall – slightly While Moshe’s bones show no
taller than the average Neanderthal. evidence of injury, many
Although the skull and most of the legs Neanderthals had healed fractures,
were missing, the skeleton provided the possibly sustained when hunting large
first full sets of Neanderthal ribs and animals at close quarters. As well as
vertebrae, the first complete pelvis, and being an indication of health, signs of
the only Neanderthal hyoid bone, which disease and injury can sometimes
enables speech in modern humans. suggest some level of care between
A clue to diet comes from chemical group members. Shanidar 1, a male
analysis of the ratio of carbon to Neanderthal from Shanidar Cave,
nitrogen in bones. Neanderthal bones Iraq, had received a blow to the skull
have a higher proportion of carbon, that probably blinded him and
indicating that they ate a lot of meat perhaps caused brain damage; he also
(high nitrogen levels signify a more had one withered arm and had lost his
herbivorous diet). This is supported by other forearm entirely. He could only
the many gazelle and deer bones have survived to his estimated
at Kebara that bear the cut marks of age of 40–45 years with the help of
butchery and signs of burning. others in his community.
Burial site
Moshe’s body lay in the cave’s
main living area, which had the
greatest concentration of hearths
and animal bones. It was found in
a shallow grave cut into the thick
black hearth deposits. The grave
contained a yellow sediment that
differed from the surrounding
hearth layer. This is evidence that
the pit had been filled in after the
body was placed inside it.
Kebara Cave, where Moshe was found
KEBARA NEANDERTHAL 193

▼ Spreading around the world

Archaeologists use the distribution of
hominin skeletons and artefacts such as
tools to reconstruct routes of dispersal. Red Deer Cave people Fossils found at
The routes and timings are constantly being Maludong Cave in southwest China are
refined as more evidence comes to light. remarkable because they seem to be from
a species of human that is found nowhere
else and yet they are relatively recent –
KEY
dating from just 14,500–11,500 years ago,
Dispersal route long after modern humans had already
of Homo sapiens reached China.
Homo sapiens
Homo habilis
Homo erectus
Denisovans Manot
Homo antecessor Cave
Homo floresiensis Skhul
Cave Qafzeh 25,000 YA
Unknown species Cave
Neanderthals Kebara
Tabun
The Levant was one of the routes

out of Africa taken by early Ust’Ishim
hominins – some species appear
Happisburgh to have moved in and out of here
as the climate fluctuated
Mal’ta
Pontnewydd Denisova
Feldhofer Okladnikov
44,000–41,000 YA Cave
Neanderthal and Denisovan
Peştera
fragments of bones and teeth, Fossils of a
Saint Cesaire cu Oase dated at 110,000–30,000 YA , subspecies of Homo
Mezmaiskaya have been found here erectus provide 35,000 YA
Gran Dolina evidence of the first
Dmanisi phase of dispersal Xujiayao
Saccopastore Teshik-Tash
from Africa
Shanidar Cave Zhoukoudian
Gibraltar caves
125,000–70,000 YA Lantian
Nanjing
Dar es-Soltan
Fuyan Cave
Maludong Cave
120,000–80,000 YA
Callao Cave
Herto
200,000 YA
Sulawesi
Liang Bua
Wolo Sege
Malakunanja
Homo sapiens
were the first
species of
humans to
reach Australia
Gorham’s Cave This limestone 55,000 YA

cave contains evidence of some
of the most recent Neanderthal
Blombos
occupation, dating from about
Cave
28,000 years ago. It is now on the
Gibraltar shoreline, but when first
inhabited, 55,000 years ago, it was
about 5km (3 miles) inland.
120,000 YA Olduvai Gorge This vast ravine in northern
Tanzania was formed as a stream cut downwards
through lake deposits, volcanic ash, and lava flows.
This cave contains a remarkable Not only do the layers contain the remains of several
record of life about 75,000 years ago hominin species, they can also be accurately dated,
– its inhabitants made art using ochre providing a valuable record of human evolution spanning
and ate a diet that included land
animals, fish, and shellfish a period from about 1.75 MYA to 15,000 years ago.
194 THRESHOLD 6
AT ABOUT 1M (3FT 3IN) TALL, THE HOMININS

DISCOVERED AT LIANG BUA CAVE IN FLORES,
INDONESIA, ARE THE SMALLEST EVER FOUND
Bering Strait For much

of the last 2 million years,
Europe and Asia were
linked by a landmass called
Beringia. But for much of
that time, the route across
18,000 YA it was blocked by vast
ice-sheets.
EARLY HUMANS
DISPERSE
Manis Calgary
Anzick Meadowcroft
Child
Paisley
5-Mile
Point
The first hominins were found only in Africa. Helped
by the ability to adapt to new environments, the various
species of the genus Homo dispersed around the world 15,500 YA
Buttermilk Creek
and inhabited almost all parts of Earth’s land surface. Complex
Yucatan Caves
Early humans probably dispersed from their African savanna
habitat in at least two phases. The first of these may have begun
about 2 million years ago, resulting in fossil finds of a species similar
to Homo habilis at Dmanisi, Georgia, dated at 1.8 million years old.
The same dispersal may also account for fossil finds in China and
Indonesia dated at 1.6–1.1 million years old, although these are
more similar to Homo erectus. A later phase of dispersal followed.
This led to the occurrence in Europe of Homo antecessor in Spain
and Britain at least 900,000 years ago.
These two phases of dispersal placed hominin species in Africa, Huaca Prieta
Asia, and Europe. The populations diversified and new hominin Pedra Furada
species developed. For example, between 500,000 and 400,000 years
Cuncaicha
ago, Neanderthals originated in Europe and, simultaneously, other
species, such as the Denisovans, were emerging in Asia.
Cueva Bautista
At some time between 150,000 and 120,000 years ago, groups of
modern humans (Homo sapiens) left Africa, moving first into Asia and
later into Europe. The demanding sea crossings to New Guinea and
Australia were made by 55,000 years ago, although colonization of Well-preserved remains at this
site include wooden frames, hide
North, South, and Central America had to wait for the traversal of the coverings of huts, medicinal
plants, and the first evidence of
Bering Strait after the peak of the last ice age, about 18,000 years ago. humans using potatoes
Compared with earlier hominins, modern humans dispersed
relatively quickly. Adapting to new environments required them to Monte Verde
exploit new sources of food, adjust to colder, more seasonal climates,
and withstand climate change. Crucial to their survival were the 14,800 YA
abilities to invent new technologies, learn new skills, and exchange
resources and information.
EARLY HUMANS DISPERSE 195

HARD EVIDENCE
ANCIENT DNA
Over the past decade, advances in analyzing ancient DNA – the genetic
material found in cells – have revolutionized our understanding of
human evolution and led to some surprising discoveries.
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a very long “dead-ends”: an individual from Ust’-Ishim,

molecule made up of small individual units. Siberia, dated to 45,000 years ago, had
DNA is found in the cells of all living things. Neanderthal ancestry but did not
The order of the small units is like a set of contribute genetically to later Homo sapiens
coded instructions, genes, that determine populations. Similarly, there were at least
the characteristics of an individual. four large population replacements in
The oldest DNA so far obtained is from Europe between the earliest Homo sapiens
400,000-year-old Neanderthals at Sima colonizers and modern times.
de Los Huesos, Spain, and suggests Homo We have only just begun to decipher
sapiens split from other ancient hominins the details of this ancient DNA and
between 760,000 and 550,000 years ago. understand how genetic differences
This and other samples show that Eurasia between species impacted on their –
was always a melting pot, and that globally and our – success. As techniques
there was more interaction and breeding advance and early DNA is decoded,
between ancient groups and with Homo especially from African and Asian
sapiens than we previously suspected based remains, we can expect to unlock
on evidence from fossils and archaeology. more secrets about our origins,
One 40,000-year-old human from Oase, migrations, and unique genetic
Romania, may be as few as four generations adaptations, and also uncover
removed from a Neanderthal ancestor. further links between different
Other branches of our family were genetic branches of the hominin tree.
Mitochondrial DNA
We inherit mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Maternal lineage of mtDNA
from our mothers. This type of DNA is found
not in the cell nucleus but in other cell
structures called mitochondria. Since
mtDNA only traces the maternal lineage,
studying samples from many thousands of
people has enabled scientists to construct a
genetic “family tree” that indicates a common
female ancestor for everyone alive today.
This “Mitochondrial Eve” had many
contemporaries, but they did not contribute
to our mtDNA. She lived
between 200,000 and
100,000 years ago, and
was probably African
mtDNA is or one of the earliest
circular in Homo sapiens to
shape
colonize Eurasia. Mitochondria are small
capsules inside cells where
Only one female sugar is oxidized to release
mtDNA lineage energy for use in the cell.
is present in Each one has its own DNA
MTDNA people today containing 37 genes that
allow it to function
196 THRESHOLD 6
Nuclear DNA
Nuclear DNA lineage Most DNA is located within the cell nucleus.
Both parents pass on nuclear DNA to their
offspring, so this type of DNA reveals much
more about the relatedness of species,
genetic differences, and adaptive traits.
Recent studies have shown that during early
dispersals from Africa, Homo
sapiens populations interbred
with hominins already living in
Eurasia, but at different times and
places, leaving living humans with
varying amounts of their DNA.
Genes from Neanderthals and
other hominins probably aided
our survival and eventual global
success, such as by improving our
immunity and metabolism.
Double-helix structure
Both sets of
parental DNA
present today NUCLEAR DNA
Extracting DNA
Archaeologists extract DNA from teeth,
bones, and mummified tissues. Mitochondrial
DNA is easiest to recover intact: there are up
to 1,000 mitochondria in every cell, each with
5–10 copies of the short mtDNA strands. The
much longer strands of DNA in a cell’s single
nucleus are more likely to degrade over time
and with changing soil temperature. Often the
best chance of recovering nuclear DNA is from
dental cementum – the mineralized outer layer
of the tooth root. This is because the hard
mineral matrix helps to preserve any cellular
material trapped within it.
Discovering the Denisovans

In 2010, DNA analysis of a 50,000-year- Bone
old fragment of a girl’s finger bone from fragment
Denisova Cave, Siberia, revealed a mystery
hominin population. The “Denisovans” had
brown eyes, hair, and skin, and showed an
ancient relationship to Neanderthals,
whom they lived alongside in Eurasia. By
2015, two further individuals had been
identified at the site, one of whom lived 60,000
years earlier. Studies show that non-Africans
alive today have varying proportions of
Denisovan DNA, up to 4 per cent in the
island populations of Melanesia. This
indicates that only some early Homo sapiens
migrants interbred with the Denisovans, but
where this occurred remains uncertain.
Nucleus, the cell’s
control centre,
Size of Denisovan bone fragment
contains 20,000
to 25,000 genes
ANCIENT DNA 197

▶ Herto skull
This skull from Herto,
Ethiopia, shows slight Typical steep forehead
differences to others
from early Homo sapiens.
Some anthropologists
The brow ridges are
suggest it represents more pronounced
a subspecies, Homo than on most Homo
sapiens idaltu. sapiens skulls
SIDE VIEW
Globe-shaped skull
is a little longer than
usually seen in
Homo sapiens
Homo sapiens have

relatively small jaws
and teeth for hominins
Large, high, rounded

skull to accommodate
increased brain capacity
WE CAN SEE THE FOCUS, THE CENTRE OF EVOLUTION,

Short, flat face with
narrow cheekbones
FOR MODERN HUMANS IN AFRICA APPARENTLY
MOVING AROUND FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER,
DRIVEN BY CLIMATE CHANGES.
FRONT VIEW Chris Stringer, anthropologist, 1947 –
198 THRESHOLD 6
200,000 YA HOMO SAPIENS 135,000 YA FIRST USE 110,000 YA LAST ICE AGE 41,000 YA EARLIEST PAINTED
APPEARS OF SYMBOLS BEGINS CAVE ART
THE FIRST
HOMO SAPIENS
Of all the hominin species, and all the variants of genus Homo, only
Homo sapiens remains today, having survived the challenges of the
last ice age. It did so thanks to its unique anatomy, which came
together in Africa nearly 200,000 years ago.
The distinctive “package” of anatomical BEGINNING THE LONG WALK

features that identify living people today By 120,000 to 80,000 years ago, early
as Homo sapiens developed gradually, Homo sapiens had moved into the Middle
beginning around 500,000 years ago. East and western Asia. The remains of over
Some key characteristics include: globular 20 individuals recovered from the caves at
skulls, very large brains, shorter tucked- Skhul and Qafzeh in Israel still show some
under faces, and smaller teeth, together morphological differences. However, 47
with a more slender, lighter skeleton, distinctly modern teeth, with flat crowns
smaller arm-to-lower-limb proportions, and thin roots, have been found thousands
and narrower ribs. The appearance of of kilometres further east at Fuyan Cave,
these modifications was complex, occurring Daoxian, China. It is clear from this that
at different times and places, and in we are missing fossils from large swathes
different combinations, but brain size of Homo sapiens’ long journey into Asia, and
continued to increase everywhere. that at least some of the stone tools found
The oldest Homo sapiens fossils come along their route in this period, such as in
from Omo Kibish, Ethiopia. Dated to India, were made by anatomically modern
around 195,000 years ago, the fragmented people. It also makes it very likely that the
skulls and skeletons of two individuals oldest stone tools in Australia, dating
show a modern morphology (form and back 55,000 years, were made
structure), but one has less modern features by Homo sapiens, since they had
than the other. Other early modern fossils already been in Asia a long time.
have been discovered at Herto in Ethiopia, We cannot be sure what
Singa in Sudan, Laetoli in Tanzania, Jebel stimulated Homo sapiens’ dispersal
Irhoud in Morocco, and Border Cave from Africa, leading eventually to
and Klasies River Mouth in South Africa. a single global human species. It is
All of these are between 200,000 and unlikely to have been technological
100,000 years old and display modern progress, since their stone tools were little
characteristics, albeit with variation more advanced than those made 100,000
in morphology. years previously. Populations may have
been increasing and climate change may
have played a part, but important
Skhul-Qafzeh
Jebel Irhoud
cognitive and social changes were
also taking place at the time.
Increased symbolic expression
after 150,000 years ago point
Herto to innovations that probably
Singa
Omo Kibish coincided with Homo sapiens
acquiring a brain size similar
▶ African origins
to that of people living today.
Early Homo sapiens fossils Laetoli
have been found at a
variety of African sites. ▶ Sole survivor
Genetic and skeletal Homo sapiens is the last hominin
evidence shows that species, but for long periods it
African populations were Border Cave/ coexisted with other humans,
already regionally distinct Klasies river mouth including Homo erectus, Homo
by 120,000 years ago. floresiensis, and the Neanderthals.
THE FIRST HOMO SAPIENS 199

A family affair
Unlike the young of other primates, human
children spend decades being cared for by
parents, grandparents, and friends of the
family. These prolonged childhoods provide
ample time for learning the ways of the world.
200 THRESHOLD 6
BRINGING UP
BABIES
Changes in the human reproductive cycle played an important part
in the success of Homo sapiens. Increasing brain size probably made
childbirth harder, but it also enabled us to evolve the very culture
we need to rear our relatively undeveloped young.
Homo sapiens labours are long, painful, than expected given our body size. It
and risky. Our infants are large, have may be that the upper limit on pregnancy
big heads, are mostly helpless, and are length is actually metabolic – the point at
born with only 30 per cent of their adult which mothers can no longer biologically
brain size. Pregnancies would need to support a growing baby.
be 16 months long to attain the same
development as newborn chimpanzees. CO-OPERATIVE BREEDING
Our childhood development is also Anatomical changes also affected how we
extended, demanding high levels of care, bring up our young. As australopithecine
not just by parents, but by other family feet lost the “big toe” associated with tree
members and friends. climbing, infants were less able to cling to
To explain these complications, it their mothers, and required greater care.
is often said that greater brain size (see It is possible that the exploitation of animal
pp.188–89) coupled with bipedalism – skins may have been driven more by the
which gave us narrower pelvises – created need to make baby slings and wraps than
a biological trade-off. Potentially fatal a need for warm clothing.
births were avoided by limiting the length Although the length of time spent
of pregnancies, forcing babies to be born breastfeeding was probably comparable
early. It is certainly possible that by to that of other apes – lasting several years,
about 500,000 years ago, hominins were as it does today – the greater demands of
already experiencing tricky births, and a hominin infant may have promoted the
that women may have had some level of evolution of co-operative breeding, by
assistance, or at least company, during which several adults bring up a child.
labour. Other social primates, such as The role of non-related adults and older
bonobos, exhibit similar behaviour. generations in caring for children probably
However, it is also true that non-bipedal became important too, creating a rich
primates have a tight fit in the birth canal, environment in which experienced
that capuchins and chimpanzee babies individuals could be observed finding food
have relatively undeveloped brains, and and making tools – vital skills that were
that human gestation is actually longer then passed on to the next generation.
Large hip bones Small hips centre

support the gorilla’s the human torso for
extensive gut walking on two feet
Large head must turn

Baby’s head sideways to pass
passes through through birth canal
pelvis with
room to spare
▲ Gorilla birth ▲ Human birth

Due to its small brain, a baby gorilla’s The head of a human baby must rotate
head passes through its mother’s birth to descend through its mother’s birth
canal with room to spare, making canal, making childbirth longer and
labour shorter and less risky. more painful.
BRINGING UP BABIES 201

HOW LANGUAGE
EVOLVED
Many animals call to each other with sounds that stand for “Danger!”,
“Food!”, or “Here!”, but only humans can think conceptually – can talk,
2. Broca’s area 3. The motor cortex
for example, about the nature of food or danger. For this, language had plans the controls the muscles
to evolve, and with it came story-telling, information-sharing, and our response used in the response
first attempts at understanding the world.
In evolutionary terms, the ability to

speak emerged as a result of the hominin 1. Wernicke’s area
larynx lowering in the throat, enabling deciphers speech
our ancestors to produce more diverse

sounds than those of any other primate.
The biological price of this was high,
as an elevated larynx had enabled us to
breathe and swallow simultaneously; now, Tongue
we ran the risk of choking when we ate. Hyoid bone
At the same time, the hyoid bone, which
connects the larynx to the root of the 4. Mouth, tongue, Larynx
tongue, also changed position in a and throat articulate
the response
way that helped facilitate vocalization.
Judging from the fossil record, this ▲ How humans process speech
happened between 700,000 and 600,000 The emergence of speech required the evolution
years ago, as Neanderthals and probably of several key stuctures in the throat and brain.
This included the hyoid bone, which is vital in
our common ancestor both had a producing varied vocal sounds.
“modern” hyoid bone. Our exceptional
breath control, essential when speaking,
also seems to date from this time. SYMBOLS AS EVIDENCE
Casts of fossil skulls show that The artefacts left by our ancestors are better
Neanderthals had structures in the brain forms of evidence. Among the most striking
that were equivalent to our own “Broca’s are those created by early Homo sapiens in
South Africa between 100,000 and 50,000
years ago. At Blombos Cave, for example,
TODAY THERE ARE NEARLY red ochre blocks were shaped and carefully
7,000 LANGUAGES, BUT EACH covered with delicate cross-hatch designs
USES ONLY A SMALL NUMBER (see p.207). Even more impressive are the
ostrich eggshells found at Diepkloof Cave,
OF THE SOUNDS THAT A also in South Africa (see p.208). These were
HUMAN BEING CAN MAKE engraved with complex geometric patterns
that show changes over time, hinting at
area”. This area is vital to speaking shifts in meaning. Very much older than
and understanding language, and to these, however, is a seashell from Trinil,
perceiving meaningful gestures. Indeed, Indonesia, which bears the incised zig-zag
gestures may have been key: studies show markings of a Homo erectus who lived some
that chimpanzees repeatedly use hand 540,000–430,000 years ago (see p.206). It
signs when vocalizing, indicating that reveals that the common ancestor of several
early language may not have been purely hominins used graphic symbols, and so had
vocal. However, the functions performed probably developed language – a fact that is
by different parts of the brain can change supported by anatomical evidence.
over time, so even if other hominins had Another type of symbolic evidence comes
brain structures similar to ours, they may from personal ornaments, which often
not have been used for language. communicate social meanings – for instance,
202 THRESHOLD 6
about personal status or group affiliation – from Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany (see ◀ Almost talking
which can only be established through p.208) was carved around 40,000 years ago. Campbell’s monkeys
language. For example, the first use of shell It merges a lion’s head with a human body, from Ivory Coast seem
to be on the verge of
beads occurs at the same time as engravings indicating both an imaginative leap by the speaking. They have
become more common; beads from Skhul artist, and a narrative to give it meaning. a “proto-syntax”
Cave in Israel date from 135,000–100,000 The most striking examples of Palaeolithic composed of alert
calls, which they use to
years ago, while those from Grotte des narrative come from later European cave
communicate detailed
Pigeons in Morocco date from 80,000 years art. One scene painted at Lascaux, France, information – such as
ago. At Blombos Cave, too, groups of beads around 17,000 years ago, features a wounded what type of predator
were excavated from layers dating from bison charging a male figure who lies above is coming and how it
was detected.
around 80,000 years ago, many showing some fallen spears and a line topped by a
areas of polish that suggest they were strung bird. There are many interpretations of the meaning and symbolism, were part of
together, possibly as necklaces. The markings scene, but all of them agree that the man, Palaeolithic life, and likely had been for
also show that the arrangement of the beads the bison, and the bird only make sense in a many thousands of years. They were our
changed over time, suggesting not only that story-telling context. This and other examples first attempts at fathoming the world around
they were symbolic, but that their meanings indicate that rich oral traditions, full of us – of giving it a narrative shape.
evolved, like those of the Diepkloof eggshells.
FROM SYMBOLS TO STORIES

Taken together, the evidence shows that
Homo sapiens had evolved symbolic culture A COMPLEX TRAIN OF THOUGHT CAN BE NO
and language by 70,000 years ago – and
that Neanderthals did this independently. MORE CARRIED OUT WITHOUT WORDS… THAN A
However, the evidence for language being
used in narrative, story-telling senses comes CALCULATION WITHOUT THE USE OF FIGURES.
much later, after 45,000 years ago. For
example, the famous Lion-man ivory statue Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man, 1871
◀ The birdman
of Lascaux
Dating from around
17,000 years ago,
this strange image
of a man – apparently
dressed as a bird – being
charged by a bison is
probably evidence of
story-telling. It may
also show a shamanic
experience.
HOW LANGUAGE EVOLVED 203

COLLECTIVE
LEARNING The Ibex seems to be
giving birth, or possibly
The emergence of language set Homo sapiens apart excreting. The projection
was needed to make a
from other species: with language came the ability durable hook for the spear
to share and store information across generations.

This ensured that new generations could know more
than the last, and so be more effective in the world.
The practice of sharing and storing relationships and

information is called “collective learning”. friendships. However,
At its simplest, this means that we only need humans live in unusually
invent the wheel once, for that knowledge diverse societies, and our
can then be stored and shared publicly. The high level of cooperation is
alternative is to imagine us as a group of a unifying characteristic.
networked computers. Without the network Hunter-gatherer groups, for
– without connectivity – how could human example, typically number between
history unfold? 25 and 50 individuals, but they are usually
part of extended social networks, consisting Hook holds the spear in
SURVIVING COOPERATIVELY of blood relations and other types of kinship. place until it is launched
by the hunter
Humans appear to be predisposed to work Within and between these groups, food,
together to a far greater degree than other labour, and childcare are shared – as is vital ▲ Mas d’Azil atlatl
animals. The roots of this tendency can information about water, predators, and the Found in the Mas d’Azil Cave in the
Pyrenees, France, this exquisite atlatl, made
be seen in primates, the majority of which availability of food. of reindeer antler, is an early example of
live in social groups, with strong kin The evolution of this ability to cooperate mass-produced art. Its mysterious symbolism
can be seen in the archaeological record. was briefly common in the region, proof of
Stone tools began to be transported shared story-telling devices.
increasingly long distances around 200,000
years ago, pointing to expanding social artistic tradition, and probably some level
networks. By then, multi-part tools, such of apprenticeship. Moreover, an atlatl, like
as spears, were being made, probably a bow, is a “tool for using a tool” – in this
collaboratively. More spectacular examples case a tool for propelling spears – which
of these, such as atlatls and bows, came is of a whole new order of complexity. It
▶ Sharing information later, and after 40,000 years ago many of shows that by 17,000 years ago we were
Today, the San people these were lavishly ornamented. The Mas adapting ourselves ever more cleverly to
of the Kalahari make d’Azil atlatl, for example, is one of five our environment – alone of all creatures
fire using knowledge
passed down for tens
almost identical objects found at different through cultural rather than genetic
of thousands of years sites in the Pyrenees. Each is carved into the change. Thanks to collective learning,
by their forebears. shape of an ibex, demonstrating a common human history could begin.
▶ Throwing power
An atlatl, or spear-
thrower, is a device that
uses leverage to amplify MULTI-PART TOOLS ARE EASIER
throwing power. The TO REPAIR, AND SO ARE MORE
spear is kept in place
by a hook at the rear of COMMONLY FOUND IN
the atlatl, and this gains
HARSHER, HIGHER LATITUDES
energy as the hunter
throws the spear. ENERGY GAIN ENERGY INCREASE ENERGY RELEASE
204 THRESHOLD 6
A GROUP CAN POOL THE HARD-WON

Ibex motif is carved
DISCOVERIES OF MEMBERS, PRESENT AND in naturalistic detail

from a single piece
of antler
PAST, AND END UP FAR SMARTER THAN

A RACE OF HERMITS.
Steven Pinker, cognitive scientist, 1954–
Lines represent
changes of colour
in the ibex’s fur
▶ Strange symbolism
There are subtle differences
between the five versions of
the Mas d’Azil atlatl, but all
share the motif of the ibex
looking back at her rear. Its
meaning remains a mystery.
The spear is held

against this side
of the atlatl
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d - c 0 0,0 0 fla “core” n t.
r e p a r e
0 – 5 s h a p e d
o n e p r e v ale
P 0 bl y st ain
550,0 redic ta prepared lso rem
p ma ols a
o o
THE BIRTH OF
ck f r t
s tru
CREATIVITY Sy
Trin mbols a
i l,
ade
re
are mJava, c.5 engrav
4 0, 0 ed o
Handaxe
b 0 n
t h e y H o m o 0 – 43 0, a s e a s h
ap p
eara erec tu 0 0 0 YA . ell at
With the evolution of genus Homo an entirely nce s T
o f H , long b he y
omo ef
new form of complexity appeared – the first s ap i o re
e n s.
to be shaped not by natural selection, but by
intelligence and design – namely culture.
This uniquely creative ability can be traced through

the archaeological record, which itself has been through Engraved shell from
Trinil, Java
a revolution recently. Many “first appearances” have
shifted back in time, and the popular idea that all major
e l
innovations were made over the last 50,000 years – and s ar sr a e
ade and I YA .
H om o h e ide lb e r
The fir st k now nsis. I
b l
only by Homo sapiens – can no longer be supported. The r s t e ny a ,0 0 0
e fi 0
Th de in K0 – 4 0
first hints of symbolic communication can be seen in a
m 0, 0 0 s
c. 5
0 ol na d
Homo erectus, and the oldest synthetic material, birch e to nta un re
n Fo aro e a of
bark pitch, was made by Neanderthals. bo in ay, hes de
nw
d
e d e , It T a
ge
Overall, however, there is a clear trend towards ak a io A . s m l.

Fl re m ucc 0 Y ool eria
o o t was
a an ,00 t t at
de
increasing complexity over time, albeit punctuated R 60 firs ic m

n s pr o
4 he an
by long periods in which creativity seems to pause.
p e ba
t rg
o
ar b
Innovations appear, flourish, and then disappear m

is
ly ade
again for tens of thousands of years, suggesting that u s in
e d Cl
to ac to
H. NEANDERTHALENSIS
the complexity of a culture is determined as much hu n
n t l , UK , by
a r ge
by social conditions as by innate cognitive capacity. gam e
.
400,000 YA
206 THRESHOLD 6
. ,
YA ve
, 0 ul l l
0 0 k h he
0 0 Ca
H. SAPIENS
–1 t S al s
0 0 e a nt
,0 ad e
35 m am
,1 e n
e l ar o r
ra s t
I s e a d f ir s
b he
least 170,00 is invented, at
the gene tic 0 YA , based on
200,000 YA
head
e.
T
under way ting stone tools is
at Pinnacle 165,00 0 YA ,
and body lic
h
craf tsmen process enables
Point, Sout
e with
racy.
analysis of
greater accu
to split ston
Clothing
around
e
Heat-trea
Afric a. Th
Katanda Harpoon
Tw
we o - p a
0 0 , Z ed s
,0 da o n o n
. ir e , t
Ne ap on r t ha
a a
9 0 t an shi r p o
S a an de s are f t e d
c. 2 int-Va r thal mad throw
K a e fa ha
5 0, a s e in g
0 0 st, Fr at Bia by
ar o n e
YA
0Y an c ch
bos C ave, South Afric a, 10
B
A. e, e-
Blom 0
nt in Stick s of ochre pigment are en ,0 0 0 YA
L e va p a i
a s t a l e n t. gr av
ed w , sug g
100,000 YA
Eur o l l o i s p o i e d
They pe 250,0 nts appe t u s r t is t ic ith es t
s y m in g
prep are a re 0 0 –20 0 ar in en of a bo a
f m
g in g
inve ared - cor inement ,0 0 0 YA . i
P er ls .
n te d e o
by H te chn o f t h e w
lo f lo
0 0 a ng
omo
e re c g y
0, u m e i
0 rk ,
t u s.
10 e s b
.
YA
y, n N r i
an i h e
m ed at
2,0 afz al
er n e
0 0 eh
l, 9 t Q uri
G t an L
.
YA
r ae e a n b
t w YA . herl Fran by
, I s ac w
ed It is m nds c e
n t ade o y
, 0 0 N e s in s e d
ve s pl no
re s f
b
.
Ca e t k
9 0 h e t hal ng u
tak ies
f ib
a
i
ar l
an an de i s b e
Levallois
ee
p la
t
points
Th
r
N e in g
St r
0
is t
dt
,
te d
a r e ll e c o li c
ts c o b
e n e l y y m in
gm iv r s Tw
Pi te n s l y f o , a t ,
e x s s ib s i o n b ia
m
po pres , Za YA .
e x ve r s 0 0 0
i
R 00 ,
c. 3
tic
he rk
300,000 YA
y nt ba s t
t s r c h f ir e
f i r s l, b i t h e o l a r y
e ia d o b
T h t e r , an r t t c e d l s a t ,
a ch p a du a l y
m pi t t i - r o t h It a .
ul p der llo, 0 YA
m n
e a i te 0 0
N m p 5 0,
a
C 0 –2
0
0 ,0
30
▶ Prepared-core technology
The ability to visualize a rock Core struck Core struck Core struck a
twice to a third time fourth time
as a material volume in 3D is remove two to re-prepare to produce
a milestone in cognitive Top of core blades surface large point
development. The first such Raw stone nodule prepared by
“prepared core” method striking
appeared about 800,000 YA .
A refinement was the
Levallois technique, in which
tools were struck from
hierarchically organized core
surfaces using a harder stone
as a hammer.
Sides of core
prepared by striking Blade Small point Large point
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6
THE BIRTH OF CREATIVITY 207

Bl
pr omb Pr e
iz
gi v e d o s C s s ur
i n g o u t a ve e f
th of , 75 laki
e c th n
r a e s t ,0 0 0 g o f
f ts o
ma ne YA . S ston
th
e f n gr r a t h m al e b e
in a e a e r l f l gi
l s te r t ha ak e n s
ha c o n a
p e n s t r s are t
o f t r o u ck
t h l ov ,
SCULPTURE AND CAVE ART,
e t er
oo
l. WHICH EMERGED ABOUT
40,000 YEARS AGO, PROVIDE
EVIDENCE OF THE USE OF
Decorated
Be
ma ad n ostrich eggshell SYMBOLS TO REPRESENT IDEAS
S o de a e c k
Formally G r u t h t Blo lac e 70,000 YA
possibly sp worked bone tools, A
M o t te f r ic mb s are
ear Sy
at Blombos tips, are produced o
75 roc des a, an s C
o
eg m
Cave, Sout
h , 0 0 c o P i g d a ve Ro g s h b o l
84,0 00 –76, Afric a, 0 Y , 82 e o t h e , ck e l s ar
00 0 YA . A. ,0 0 n s, Sh ls a e e
0–
10 elte t the ngr
0, r, S D ave
0 0 o ie d
0 – uth pk on
6 0 A lo o Pr oj
e
,0 f r ic f
00 a te c h c til e an d
n
YA , Poin ologies microbl
t, So
u t h A e m e r ge a a d e
A
. 6 4,0
us 5,0 n-w
by o c e
also 0 0 YA . G fric a, 71 t Pinnac
tr 0 or
Pla
5 a
e le
al 0 Y t h
pro d ,0
b e d n t s ar uced ome tric 0 0 –
ia A y
S o u din g e u s e at Sib point
i s , re c a
udu . s are
co q no
t h A are a d t o
f r i c s in c r e a
l o uir e s
n i in .
a, 7 S ib t
7,0 idu, e
ze g
00
d
YA
. 60,000 YA
80,000 YA YA .
ma Flu te s , 0 0 0 , In d o n e sia .
mm c .4 0 s i
o made ,
in S ul a w e
43, G th o pa
0 0 0 e i s s e i v o r y f b ir d l l o , S a ll in
– 42 n k l Ö a r e p b o n s t i ve w
,0 0 s te r r o d e an Ca ca
old 0 YA . T le, G uced d El n a
est e a n o
k n o h e s e a r many t ei d
w re , ad uc e
in s n m u s t h e d
ep m
tru
m e ic al
ro
ar is
nt s
ts t –
.
pr do
nd ed
in
, ha a r
me r t –
a
s a m c a ve
e ti
At a lm o s p a i n t e d
40,000 YA
t the
st
The olde
Figurative sculpture
emerges in Europe,
c.40,0 00 YA . The
Lion-man of the
Hohlenstein-Stadel is
the oldest known work;
the contemporaneous
Hohle fels Venus (see
p.213) is the oldest
human figure.
ay
er w
g i s und imor,
T
ishin lai, E ast 0 0 YA .
an f
O c e t J e r im a 0 0 – 3 8 , 0 e s a r e
a o
42 , 0 i n g c a n u s e d .
o ly
c e an - g p r o b ab
O
c.34 ssoura, G are built
s are t Grot ta ,0 0 0
They 0 0 –32 reece,
dom are the e 0 0 YA .
heat cci, Italy earliest

”.
“ furn rliest
sewing needle is made
nd
iture
, c.32
The earliest known
nd a
in Russia c.34,000–
,0
at Kli hear ths
Pagli his is the f

a
go
proc t food.
grou
essin
O ed a
estic
n
C l ay
,0
30,000 YA .
la
T
p
YA .
a t
Ground stone technology

appears in Jawoyn, Australia,
around 35,000 YA . Tools are made
Lion-man by grinding their surfaces into
sculpture shape rather than by striking them.
208 THRESHOLD 6
Th e L a sc au
in di v i du a
S haman
x Ca
i s m ie d w
ls b
y
a s te d b
ves,
is p
ur
f.
taf
s
os th t
Fra
a n g ge
sib
y s
n
y p prac
u
i
is
l
c e,
ic t is T hi s ds ,
ar e
a ll e . ea
y s d in E u YA
ham r o p e by 26 ,0 0 0 e, b
pa
anic o chr
in
e f fec ts, such a s
te
20,000 YA
d.
M
ny
a
of
du c p o t s
th
n a c ianre n e d a t
ei
0 YA ,
g
ma
.
. 20 don
F i r ge n g a i, E , 0 0
ge
a r e s t c l ay
s
s h - s re a s 0
la hi ala –16
ha
f i s r im 0 0
,0 0
ve
ho cal m t T YA
Je 3,0
st
pro
or y
o k e o a d im .
2
-tell
f ir
ing el
s f ce e a or,
e men t s .
X
o r an t
The
Chi
Woven textile
s,
basketry, ne ts,
and
string are prod
uc
in Pavlov and Do ed
lni
Vestonice, the
Cz
Republic, 28,00 ech
0–
25,00 0 YA . The
lin
tex tiles were pr en -like
obably
made on a loom.
Atlatl
Replica of house made from Orn

built mammoth bones and hide are a t e l y c
s are w
ouse ice, the 17,0 idely ar ved
fi r s t h
on 0 YA . pro 0 0 –12 used in atlatls
The lni Vest 6,0 0 th
c, c.2 o o
of a of st ,0 0 0 Y West (spear
f
in Do Republi f mamm d ppr o e -
e n t r y - t e l . T h e i r n E u r t h r o we
A
h eo te
Czec are mad sibly coa ic e s li r o r s)
h e y p o s h ip. n g , a n d e c o r a p e
T s an d d th
e ir u t i o n i s
bone aub. W
se p
d u s il d
with Pi ed c er
roo
f
P l a ge o i n t e e a l s
n n
H o n t s s , si v a n
m o ar M o e l y d s t
s a e b e r o c , su ar c
p i c o c o ch hy
en m , 1 a
s’ s p
die ing 5,0 0 at G lant
t. a m 0 – r o f o o
ajo 14 t te d
r p ,0 0 de s ar
ar 0 s e
Micr t o YA
o Clovis point arrowheads f .
in Mo blades ar
e appear in New Mexico
using ngolia c.2 produce
8 d c.13,500 YA . These are struck
core a prepare ,0 0 0 YA ,
te chn d- from a stone core, then
ique.
pressure-flaked around the edges.
The dog is
ing 32,0 0 0 YA . The image
domesticated g in n
c.30,000 YA . e d , b e an d s o m e w i t h a s e n s e o s are l
in t i ve , f mo a
pa p ec t v e m r ge l y The bow and arrow is
e , is p er s en of
t. lo widely used in Europe,
c n ca
r an n i la
particularly among the
, F how Ahrensburgian people of
s Germany, 15,000–10,000 YA .
ni
ar e
i c h av
m
e
wh C
al s
o f ve t
,
u
ma Cha
ny
e
Th
The earliest known

fish trap is made in
Dublin, Ireland,
30,000 YA 10,000–9,000 YA .
Fish resources are
Clovis point increasingly
exploited.
10,000 YA
Ancient practices
The San people have been hunting the
landscapes of the Kalahari for thousands
of years. Large game accounts for about
20 per cent of their diet – the remainder
is made up of plants and smaller animals
caught in traps.
210 THRESHOLD 6
HUNTER-GATHERERS
EMERGE
From the earliest times, most hominins survived by gleaning what they
could from the world around them, rather than producing their own food.
The range of items eaten and the ways of sourcing them varied according
to the environment, and demanded high levels of social organization.
Early members of the hominin family had whether the elephants were hunted or
diverse diets – primarily of fruit, leaves, and scavenged. Various plant resources are also
insects – and some probably used cobbles to thought to have been important during the
crack nuts, as primates do today. The first European ice ages, both for Neanderthals
stone tools made food processing easier, and and, later, Homo sapiens, but large amounts
while these were being made by pre-Homo of fat and meat were still vital for survival.
species at least 3.3 MYA , the earliest evidence
of their function comes from around a LEARNED ADAPTABILITY
million years later. Analysis of the surfaces Making the most of varied food resources
of tools found at Kanjera South, Kenya, across different environments required an
shows that plants and meat were being investment in complicated technologies and
processed, probably by Homo habilis. Dating a dedication to preserving knowledge. The
to about 2 MYA , the tools were made using ability to hunt large animals suggests that
an early technology known as Oldowan. hominins from Homo erectus onwards were ▼ Evolving technologies
Homo sapiens spread
At the same site, there is also evidence of learning how to track, probably from early across the globe by
hunting – or at least of scavenging kills made childhood. From 200,000 YA , Neanderthals inventing new
by other animals. Whole carcasses of small were hunting birds, and at least 120,000 YA technologies, such
gazelles were brought in and cut up; because Homo sapiens were exploiting shellfish. Our as this three-pronged
spear used by the
tooth marks from carnivores overlie them, it species colonized the harshest environments, Inuit for fishing in
is clear that hominins had first access. including the Arctic, suggesting that we the Arctic.
Around 1.8 MYA , with the emergence of had especially flexible skills.
Homo erectus and an improved way of making Foragers typically lived in mobile
handaxes, called Achelean technology, communities, which were broadly
hunting seems to have increased. Hundreds egalitarian. However, abundant and
of footprints found at Ileret, Kenya, dating predictable resources, such as fish,
to 1.5 MYA , reveal that small groups of adults could encourage people to stay in
circled the lake shore – just as carnivores the same locations, and even
do. At the very least, it shows cooperative to become semi-sedentary
foraging was under way. – eventually, an
By around 700,000 years ago, diets had alternative to
diversified. At Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, in the hunter-
Israel, there is evidence of nut-cracking as gatherer
well as the exploitation of large animals, way of life
including elephants, although it is unclear would emerge.
THERE WAS NOTHING THAT THEY COULD NOT ASSEMBLE IN

ONE MINUTE, WRAP UP IN THEIR BLANKETS AND CARRY ON
THEIR SHOULDERS FOR A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES.
Laurens van der Post, writer and conservationist, 1906–1996, on the San bushmen of the Kalahari
HUNTER-GATHERERS EMERGE 211

PALAEOLITHIC ART
For many, the word “art” means representational imagery, and “Palaeolithic
art” is shorthand for a purely European tradition. However, Palaeolithic art
is much more diverse than this, and can be traced back to symbolic graphic
creations produced over 100,000 years ago.
Early stirrings of artistic expression can examples are European. The Chauvet Cave soon after (c.28,000 YA), and from 20,000
be seen in the engraved eggshells found in France, for instance, preserves some of the years ago multiple traditions began flowering
at the Diepkloof Rock Shelter in South most stunning images of the era, including across the world. Throughout this time,
Africa (see p.208), dating to over 100,000 representations of nearly 450 animals. They “portable” art was also produced, including
years ago. However, we have no clear were painted in two phases, the first starting a female carved pendant discovered at Hohle
depictions of recognizable figures before nearly 37,000 years ago, the second over Fels, Germany (c.40,000 YA). Known as the
50,000 years ago. Currently, the two oldest 2,000 years later. The walls of the cave Hohle Fels “Venus”, it is the oldest known
paintings in the world (both c.40,000 YA) were carefully prepared by the artists, and depiction of a human being. Other traditions
▼ Painted cave
The Chauvet Cave, are a single red dot found in El Castillo the images show a profound understanding included the carving of ivory, bone, and
in France, features cave, Spain, and a hand stencil found in of movement and perspective. antlers, and, in Eastern Europe, firing clay
huge panels of animals, Leang Timpuseng cave in Sulawesi, Around the same time, a pig-like to make animal and human figurines. The
including bison, horses,
Indonesia. This proves that art was being animal was painted in Leang Timpuseng. meaning of these works can only be guessed
and lions – but not
one single complete practised far beyond Europe at the time, The very first Australian Aboriginal cave at, but their growing significance to the
human being. even though most of the surviving dated painting to have been firmly dated appeared people of the time is beyond doubt.
212 THRESHOLD 6
◀ The Zaraysk bison

This reconstructed figurine from Russia is
a masterpiece of naturalistic carving. Made
from ivoryand rubbed with red pigment, it
was smashed before being buried in a pit.
[ANCIENT ART] MAY BE AN ATTEMPT TO NEGOTIATE...

WITH THE HUMAN INTELLECT AND ITS CAPACITY TO
OCCUPY OFTEN ILLUSORY REALMS DISTINCT FROM
▶ Hohle Fels Venus
This ivory pendant
THE REALITY OF THE REST OF NATURE.
is the oldest known
female figurine.
Jill Cook, archaeologist, 1960 –
PALAEOLITHIC ART 213

THE INVENTION
OF CLOTHING
Clothing protects us from the cold, from sunburn, from insect bites,
and even from certain weapons. In short, it makes us more adaptable.
In Palaeolithic times, it allowed us to live in a range of hostile
environments, and to begin our spread across the globe.
We know from physical evidence that least 80 per cent of their body, especially human led to both the habit of wearing
early Homo sapiens and Neanderthals used their hands and feet. Another clue comes clothes and the spread of these parasites.
pigments and may have worn jewellery, but from the study of parasites. Body lice
the earliest evidence for clothing is mostly are adapted to living in clothes, and the THE FIRST FABRICS
indirect as clothing does not survive well in estimated age for their split from head The earliest clothes were probably animal-
the ground. Biological studies suggest that lice, based on DNA studies, is at least based. Tiny scraps of tannin-soaked organic
during very cold glacial phases hominin 170,000 years ago. That long ago there material were found stuck to a stone tool in
species in the northern hemisphere needed were numerous types of human – including Neumark-Nord, Germany, suggesting that
tailored body coverings. Even the Neanderthals, Denisovans, Homo floresiensis, over 100,000 years ago Neanderthals were
Neanderthals, who are thought to have been and ourselves – and it is possible that tanning skins. They didn’t have needles, but
physically cold-adapted, needed to cover at exchanges between the different types of could have sewn pieces of leather and fur
using existing tools designed for piercing
and threading. Bone tools with rounded
ends have been found in 40,000-year-old
Neanderthal sites, and these were probably
[THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN HEAD AND BODY LICE] “lissoirs” – leather-softening tools very like
the ones still used today. The oldest bone
PROBABLY AROSE WHEN HUMANS BEGAN TO MAKE needles date to 20,000 years ago, but these
were probably used for bead embroidery as
FREQUENT USE OF CLOTHING. much as sewing other materials.
The use of plants for producing fabrics
Mark Stoneking, American geneticist, 1956– seems to begin with Homo sapiens. Dyed
plant fibres have been found at Dzudzuana
Cave in Georgia, dating to 30,000 years
▶ Buried prince ago. Other sites show that from at least
Only the shells remain of 28,000 years ago fabric was being woven.
the clothes worn by the
“Young Prince” found in
Tiny impressions in baked clay fragments
the Arene Candide cave, from the sites of Pavlov and Dolni Vestonice,
Italy. He was buried over in the Czech Republic, show fine textiles
23,000 years ago. comparable to linen, possibly made from flax
or nettle, alongside netting and basketry. We
cannot be sure that these fabrics were used
for clothing, but some of the carved human
figurines from the same region and period
seem to show that plaited or woven caps and
belts were worn. Other carvings from the
Siberian site of Mal’ta, a few thousand years
later, may represent full-body outfits with
hoods, possibly made from fur.
The production of plant-fibre textiles
continued through Mesolithic times, when
bast (from tree bark) was spun into clothes.
However, there is no evidence for their
replacement with softer animal fibres, such
as wool, until the advent of farming.
214 THRESHOLD 6
▶ Prehistoric dress Hair may have been twined together

to form dreadlocks, to keep it easy to
This reconstruction of a prehistoric person is clean and to avoid the potential illnesses
based on remains found in the Abri Pataud site associated with matted hair. Evidence for
in Aquitaine, France. The site contained human caps or simple hats has also been found,
remains, figurines, tools, and cave paintings from as have bandeaux – thin strips of fibre
that hold the hair in place
between 47,000 and 17,000 years ago, a period
during which archaeologists believe clothing
had become relatively sophisticated.
EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT

HUMANS MAY HAVE BEEN
WEARING JEWELLERY AS FAR
BACK AS 75,000 YEARS AGO
Snoods made from fur
would have provided
warmth during winter
and at night
Tunics may have been

made from woven
nettle and hemp fibre
Clothes may have been

dyed, with the dyes
obtained from berries,
roots, and leaves of plants
Elaborate jewellery
made from stone, shell,
bone, ivory, and antler
was worn around the Long string skirts and
wrists and neck, and simple belts may have
sewn onto clothing been common, as were
boots made from animal
skins laced together
TIMELINES
HUMANS
HARNESS FIRE
Birch tar and ▲ Copper weapons
leather lashings Copper was the first metal to be smelted, probably
hold the blade
in place in the Middle East around 5,800 years ago. The first
furnaces were simple holes in the ground, in which
copper was extracted from ores such as malachite.
Blades such as the one belonging to Ötzi the Iceman
The ability to use fire is uniquely human, and may have were then cold-hammered into shape (see pp.282–83).
been a significant source of impetus for the evolution of
genus Homo. However, we may not have fully controlled
it until relatively late in hominin evolution.
a t f ir e i s b e in g
sign t h con
a s ure , a n d e v iden c e s tro
ll e d
r e i n
The earliest evidence of fire comes from Wonderwerk Cave, South h s a
a n i , S p a u g ge
sts .M
r t m t ha any
Africa, where careful analysis of sediments nearly a million years old ea c R o
H i t at h
br le av
reveals that bones and plants were deliberately burnt deep inside the cave. A as
e
be e w
However, it is possible that early hominins took advantage of fires started
ts
en
om
fo
by natural events, such as lightning strikes. The first repeated, controlled
un
e re
d a d at the s a
use of fire dates from just after 800,000 years ago, at Gesher Benot
use
t th
Ya’aqov, Israel, where burnt materials recur over a 100,000-year period,
e Ne
showing that Homo erectus was both making and maintaining fire.
an d e r t hal si te o f
me time.
TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL LIFE
After 400,000 years ago, the increased frequency of sites with deep
layers of ashes, charcoal, and burnt bone reveals a habitual control of
fire. In Europe, this coincides with the appearance of the Neanderthals,
who seem to have been the first to use it for manufacturing purposes. At
the Italian site of Campitello (c.300,000 YA), stone tools were found
covered in birch bark pitch, which was used to make multi-part tools.
Familiarity with fire also changed our social life. Domestic spaces
centred on fires appear by 200,000 years ago, and may have played a key
50 e a n p l a n
N ok , as y
,0 de t
c o o d s d b ain s e t h
role in the development of language. The campfire increased the amount
00 rt
f o o ve g r t e
p r ar ch o n
YA hal
s t un d
of light to work by, but not sufficiently to perform difficult tasks, thereby
fo
creating opportunities for conversation and storytelling. It was also where
A la e c e r t h
s
be
Pa m e h e a
ct o n a
2 0 i t y a hic d o a s
co
i v li t t re re
0, r e s i t e n
the first experiments in cooking took place, nearly 800,000 years ago.
0 0 as s
0 in
From around 35,000 years ago, in eastern Europe, people experimented

YA
with fire and clay for some 5,000 years, producing animal and human
16 at ro ol
H im e t o b y o
5, tre ve -
e
40
to n g m
00 a
figurines; by 20,000 years ago, the first pottery was produced in China.
s t a k i H o in c a
0,
0 tm
o
m rly ns fri
00
p
YA en
From then on, fire drove many new technologies, especially as people co
e a ie A
0
be su n t r E v – 3
sa ut
c o c o id 0
So
p
abandoned hunter-gatherer lifestyles. h l

m a e d e n 0, 0
l t
es s c 0
30 e a t o m i t ch m
m bu use e o 0
N e p t ic
0, n d e a k , t a t e
or rn o f t YA
f ir a r k t h e
0 0 r e h e r ia
m p f i r e s we r e p r o b e c t b f f he
f ir s t c a
b yn
o m o n ir e
0 – t h a b ir f ir l
The abl y
s
f ir e w o ul d b e k e sou m e s, ,
25 l s u c h s t
a ll y, a rce
Typic p t al on
0, s e
i ve df
ro
00
in a
c av m b
0
e, u
YA
w h sh f
er i Ha
e i re s bi
t w th la t t ua 7
as se e lu 8 500,000 YA
e d E v i H o s e o 0, 0 0
at
s s de mo f f 0 Impression made
ha
sh
ug nc e ire YA by wooden haft,

d
el
e s e o re c b
s ta f rom
te
t s f b tu y probably for a knife

re
r te
c o u s.
d
ok r nt
dn
in
g ▲ Birch bark tar
atu
the
This 80,000-year-old piece of birch

r a ll
elem
bark tar comes from Königsaue,

y.
Germany. On its reverse side, it bears

ent s
the thumbprint of a Neanderthal –

.
1 MYA possibly its maker – who used it as an

adhesive to attach a piece of flint to
1 mya a wooden shaft.
Early hominins use fire
occasionally, perhaps
sourced from bush blazes
216 THRESHOLD 6
begins in ibly India
Glass m g ypt and
2,0 0 0 – fac ture
poss
The e f iron sme
anu
E
1,80 0 YA
3,80 0 t evidence
◀ Clay vessels
arlies
o
Clay vessels, such as this pot made by the Jomon
–3,20
people from Japan, greatly enhanced our ability
to cook and store food. Their production became 3,000YA
3000, YA
0 YA
lting
widespread with the adoption of the agricultural
lifestyle, when strong containers for grain and
other foodstuffs were needed.
5,500 YA
5,0 0 y vessels
Pot te wide, wit es
world techniq
varie nufac tur
of m
0 YA
T h p o t te s , m a na
r
con
d
a
e fi
20 k now d
t ain in C
r s t r y foo e
,0 0
13,500 YA
er
5,8 earlies videnc g

35 ay-li mps, cera nes
0 n
T h e ib l e s , m e l t in
f o un
h
u
cr u o p p e r
e
Cl y l a r e d g ur i
YA
of c
,0 0 n e d an mic
cla e s t f i
00
old
hi
c
d
d
0 – he d th
Y A
30 ar t e
,0 0 h s
t
e
s
0Y ,
fi
Skull-shaped helmet
made from a single
piece of bronze
40,000 YA
◀ Clay figurines ▲ Bronze armour
The oldest fired figurine is the “Venus of Bronze was produced by adding tin to copper
Dohlni Vestonice”, from Croatia. Made during the smelting process. It was considerably
some 29,000–25,000 years ago, she is harder than copper, giving bronze-clad soldiers a
proof that her makers were experimenting distinct advantage in battle. This helmet was worn
with fire. by a Greek soldier around 2,650 years ago.
HEARTHS ARE PLACES TO SIT AND EXCHANGE NEWS...

MAKE AND REPAIR STONE TOOLS, DISCUSS THE DAY’S
HUNT, AND MAKE PLANS FOR THE FUTURE.
John McNabb, archaeologist, 1960 –
▼ Making birch bark pitch
Birch bark pitch, the first synthetic substance, was used as an adhesive from
Palaeolithic times onwards. First made by the Neanderthals, it was produced by
“cooking” birch bark in a fire for several hours under controlled temperatures.
The liquefied tar was then collected and allowed to cool. As it was hardening it
was applied like putty to the joints of multi-part tools.
Fire maintained above Bark is packed

348OC (658OF) into pit under fire
Strips of bark Packed earth Spear point

wrapped tightly to retain high
together temperatures
Tar applied
to spear joint
Spear shaft
After 4–8 hours,
all the tar is released
Preparing the bark Extracting the tar Finishing a spear
HUMANS HARNESS FIRE 217

BURIAL PRACTICES
The Palaeolithic period saw the emergence of that most human of
characteristics – having respect, even concern, for the dead. The
rituals of the day were simple, but they foreshadowed a time when
tombs would be built for entire generations of ancestors.
Practices relating to death are important THE FIRST BURIALS

because they point to key intellectual The earliest evidence of hominins
capacities, such as an understanding of acknowledging the dead is the practice
time. The ability to comprehend that an of “caching”, or collecting, bodies.
individual has moved from a living state Around 430,000 years ago, at Sima de
to one of death seems uniquely human, but Los Huesos, Spain, at least 28 hominins
other species show hints of understanding. were deliberately placed in a deep pit,
Elephants, for example, can be reluctant accompanied by a single strikingly
to leave the bodies of dead group members, coloured stone tool. The complete
and chimpanzees show an extraordinary interment of bodies began much later.
range of reactions, from extreme agitation Some 92,000 years ago, a number of
to quietly staying by a body for hours, and Homo sapiens were buried at Qafzeh and
sometimes carrying infants’ corpses for Skhul, in Israel. These included a young
weeks. However, it is impossible to know adult and a child who were buried
if these reactions are simply the effects of together, and a teenager who was
confusion and distress or true expressions interred with antlers covering his chest.
of loss and sadness. After 40,000 years ago, the frequency
of burials increases, as does the number
of bodies buried with objects. At Sungir,
THE FIRST OPEN-AIR BURIALS Russia, around 25,000 years ago, two
children were buried head-to-head in
TOOK PLACE AROUND 40,000 a single grave, accompanied by spears,
YEARS AGO. BEFORE THEN, thousands of beads, and a single adult
ALL FUNERARY PRACTICES femur filled with red pigment. Such rich
TOOK PLACE IN CAVES burials were rare, however. Simpler burials
were common, and isolated body parts
were sometimes interred separately
EATING THE DEAD

Cut marks from stone tools found on both
The area of Neanderthal and Homo sapiens remains
the skull used
as a cup
suggest another facet of Palaeolithic
funerary practices. The marks, which
Cut marks show occur on various bones, were caused by the
that the interior deliberate removal of flesh from the body
of the skull was
cleared of tissue or by cutting the body to pieces. This may
have been a means to interact with or
honour the dead, but may also indicate
that the population had to resort to
cannibalism for nutritional
purposes. A number of such bones
▶ Skull cup
was found at Gough’s Cave, in the
The skull remains found
at Gough’s Cave show all UK, in 1898. Dating to 14,000
the signs of manufacture. years ago, and almost certainly
The meticulous cutting evidence of cannibalism, the bones
and cleaning of the
included several carved “skull cups”
bone suggests that
the skull was used for – the earliest examples of human skulls
ritualistic purposes. being used as drinking vessels.
218 THRESHOLD 6
Ice Age burial

The grave of two Palaeolithic children, buried
head-to-head, was discovered at Sungir, Russia,
in 1955. The bodies were interred at least
25,000 years ago, making it one of the oldest
Homo sapiens burials in Europe.
BURIAL PRACTICES 219

BIG IDEAS
the average size of some shellfish species
decreased around 50,000 years ago, which
indicates that collecting had become more
HUMANS BECOME
intense. This may, perhaps, be due to
changing settlement patterns, with more
humans moving to coastal areas, or may
DOMINANT
have been caused by an increase in the
existing local human population. There
were similar reductions in shellfish size
following the human colonization of Papua
New Guinea 30,000 years ago and southern
The end of the last Ice Age nearly 12,000 years ago marked the beginning California 10,000 years ago.
of the Holocene – our current geological epoch. Climatic change was Most animal populations no doubt
nothing new for the hominin family. However, two things were different: recovered from temporary local pressure
there was now only one surviving human species, and we had already exerted by humans, but our species may
have a deep history of more permanent,
begun to alter the habitats and landscapes around us.
catastrophic impacts on biodiversity. The
so-called megafaunal “overkill” hypothesis
correlates reductions in the diversity of
he end of the Pleistocene brought flora and fauna. These new relationships, in large animal species with evidence of
T warmer, wetter conditions to most turn, started to shape the local environments increasing Homo sapiens occupation towards
of the planet. In many areas grasslands in which Homo sapiens lived. the end of the last Ice Age. This is most
gave way to mixed deciduous forests, and obvious in Australia and North America,
desert areas grew increasingly moist. Over EFFECT ON ANIMAL LIFE where the arrival of humans, 55,000 years
tens of thousands of years, Homo sapiens’ The earliest known examples of hominins ago and 15,000 years ago respectively,
▼ Fire-stick farming dispersal had resulted in settlement all the exploiting marine resources are the
The practice of burning way from the South African coast, through gathering of shellfish by Homo sapiens at
vegetation to create
Eurasia, into Australia and up to the tip Pinnacle Point, South Africa, around MELTING GLACIAL ICE
grassland habitats that
suit the animals humans of South America. The unfamiliar, often 160,000 years ago, and by Neanderthals at
harsh, surroundings they found, along Bajondillo Cave, Spain, some 150,000 years
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE
wish to hunt may have
been in use in Australia with climatic changes, required innovative ago. Such small-scale activity made little HOLOCENE EPOCH CAUSED
for 50,000 years. It can
radically change the
survival strategies. Humans exploited their impact on shellfish populations, but as WORLD SEA LEVELS TO
landscape and even ability to problem-solve and learn skills – harvesting escalated over time it began RISE 35M (115FT)
a region’s climate. including forging new relationships with to have a negative effect. In South Africa,
corresponded with the disappearance even ventured beyond. But not so far back was conducted so systematically that it
of a great number of animal species, in time – within the blink of an eye in could justifiably be described as quarrying.
including the spectacular giant ground geological terms – humans were few in Even if this occurred over a long period
sloths. However, climate changes around number, scattered, and surviving on what of time, the mounds of waste material
the same time may also have played a part, they could find or catch. Yet even during dramatically changed the local landscape.
and certainly Homo sapiens had been present these early stages of our history, we were More subtle open-air artistic traditions
in Europe since before 40,000 years ago making an impact on the world around begin to appear around 40,000 years ago,
with no clear associated mass extinctions. us through our daily lives. sometimes involving the transformation of
THE FACT THAT HOMO SAPIENS IS THE

ONLY HOMINID SPECIES ON THE EARTH TODAY
MAKES IT EASY TO ASSUME THAT OUR LONELY
EMINENCE IS HISTORICALLY A NATURAL STATE
OF AFFAIRS – WHICH IT CLEARLY IS NOT.
Ian Tattersall, British palaeoanthropologist, 1945 –
It may be that in especially challenging By persistent activity at a particular place, entire valleys into outdoor symbolic
environments the arrival of a new, skilled organisms begin to change their arenas, such as the 5,000 engravings at
predator, Homo sapiens, was just enough to surroundings. For hominins, this can Côa, Portugal. The alteration of stone
push particular species into extinction. be seen in the accumulations of detritus on such a large scale foreshadows the
One of the strongest cases to support the within caves. Thousands of caves around oldest megalithic structures, built at
overkill hypothesis is the Caribbean ground the world show deep sediments formed Gobekli Tepe, Turkey. They were made
sloth, which went extinct less than 5,000 from the waste of countless generations. by hunter-gatherers some 11,000 years
years after the arrival of humans; even These unintentional creations were not ago, within a few centuries of the
then, however, the process seems to have limited to caves, but also occurred where beginnings of early agriculture.
taken about 1,000 years. people continually inhabited the same
While there is no evidence of Homo open-air sites, and they provide evidence
sapiens having an extinction-scale impact of how people lived. For example, some
on plant communities at this time, we shell middens (refuse heaps) may have
may have been significantly altering some had symbolic significance. At some sites
environments. Charcoal from sediment they contain human remains, as well as
cores may indicate that people were discarded mollusc shells. One such place
burning forest in Southeast Asia around is Klasies River Mouth, South Africa,
50,000 years ago and also in Australia in a region where very few burials have
between 60,000 and 50,000 years ago. been found.
Although natural causes of forest fires Hominins interacted with cultural
cannot be entirely dismissed, “fire-stick deposits in other ways, too, including
farming”, where forest is burned to increase the digging of burial pits through older
ecological productivity and attract animals, occupational layers left by Neanderthals
is known to have a long history in North and Homo sapiens. They often found
America and Australia, and there is cultural deposits to be a useful resource,
evidence that Mesolithic communities and it became common practice to recycle
may also have developed similar practices old stone tools made centuries earlier. WE ARE PROBABLY THE MOST
in some areas. The overall effect on the landscape
of using vast amounts of rock for stone ADAPTABLE MAMMAL THAT
CULTURAL LANDSCAPES tools over millions of years is hard to
Homo sapiens’ world-spanning civilization calculate, but some sites show intense HAS EVER EVOLVED ON EARTH.
is today easily visible from space; our robotic activity. The exploitation of flint in Israel
craft have explored the Solar System and over 500,000 years ago, for example, Rick Potts, American palaeoanthropologist, 1953–
HUMANS BECOME DOMINANT 221

THRESHOLD
CIVILIZATIONS
DEVELOP
As our highly adaptable and ingenious species
starts to modify nature in order to sustain
itself, we turn from hunter-gatherers into
farmers. This is a pivotal point in the story
of our species. Farming sets us on a path of
expansion. The population grows, and small
nomadic communities turn into permanent
cities, states, and – eventually – empires with
complex new power structures.
Agriculture developed after years of collective learning enabled
humans to extract more resources from their environment. The
ability to innovate and manipulate nature altered both the biosphere
and society itself: larger populations required organization
to function effectively, and new, more complex
power structures began to emerge. Warmer c
lima
te
Populatio
n an
dr
Build up eso
of c ur
oll ce
ec p
Hunter-gatherers tiv
el
re
Armed with information
e
ss
accrued through generations
ur
ar
of collective learning, foragers
es
ni
band together to collect a
ng
of
variety of seasonal foods from large
areas of land. Populations remain
den
small and highly mobile, but
teamwork is important, particularly
ser h
when hunting or trapping large
animals for their meat. What changed?
uman communities
The warmer climate transforms the
landscape, and the food and energy
sources available to humans, reducing
the need to move on. With the elderly,
infirm, and very young no longer left
behind, communities settle, grow, and
learn to cultivate their own food, and
extract more from the environment.
Fire-stick farmers
Hunters with knowledge
of local flora and fauna
use fire to clear land
to create favourable
grassland habitats for
hunting and gathering.
Affluent foragers
Foraging communities
in areas with abundant natural
resources devise methods
of storing food to consume out
of season, and enjoy a more
settled way of life.
Secondary Draught
animal products animals
Wheeled
transport
Trade develops
Domesticate
plants and
animals
Towns
New diet
New
innovations
New
diseases
SETTLED
COMMUNITIES
GROW
Larger exchange
networks
Larger, more
diverse population
Cities and
states develop
Conflict
Trade and
commerce
increase
Empires
emerge
SOCIAL HIERARCHIES
AGRICULTURE AND POWER
STRUCTURES DEVELOP
Specialized
labour
Institutionalized
Surplus religion
food Tributes
Irrigation and taxes
TECHNOLOGICAL
INNOVATIONS
INCREASE
Written laws
Pottery
and codes
Plough
Writing
Metal tools and

equipment
Collective learning
Textiles increases
8000 BCE AGRICULTURE EMERGES 6000 BCE FIRST CITIES 4000 BCE WRITING DEVELOPS 3100 BCE FIRST CIVILIZATIONS
FORM EMERGE
CLIMATE CHANGES
THE LANDSCAPE
From around 9600 BCE, global temperatures rose rapidly, beginning
the current geological period known as the Holocene (“wholly recent”).
Humans were forced to find new ways to hunt and gather. Eventually,
they discovered a very different way of life – one based on farming.
As the climate warmed up, the ice sheets and error, people discovered which plants
melted. This raised sea levels and released were poisonous and which could be made
more water into the atmosphere, which edible. In fact, some coastal regions were
increased rainfall. Asia was cut off from so rich in food resources that hunters and
America, and Britain and Japan became gatherers were able to settle down, for
islands. The wetter climate produced the first time, in permanent villages.
forests, grasslands, and new lakes and Throughout this period, people were
rivers. There was a mass extinction of building up and sharing their knowledge
Ice Age big game, such as the mammoth, about plants and animals, which would
the woolly rhino, and the giant elk. contribute towards the new way of life.
At the same time, there was a dramatic
MESOLITHIC ABUNDANCE rise in the human population, which had
During a transitional period called the by now spread to every inhabitable part
Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age (280,000– of the world. Rising sea levels also meant
25,000 BCE), people adapted to the new that huge areas of land that were once rich
conditions by hunting smaller animals, such hunting grounds were now lost under water.
as deer, using the bow and arrow – a new Our planet may have reached its carrying
invention, ideal for stalking animals in capacity for the hunter-gatherer way of
woodland. They also caught more fish life. Climate change, and the pressure
and learned to eat a wider range of plant of competition for resources, eventually
foods, including grasses and acorns, which led some people, in different parts of the
required processing or cooking. By trial world, to begin farming.
IN MANY PARTS OF THE HABITABLE GLOBE THE

CHANGE IN CLIMATE MUST HAVE BEEN
REMARKABLE EVEN IN ONE LONG LIFETIME.
Geoffrey Blainey, Australian historian, 1930–, A Short History of the World (2000)
▶ Climatic ups and downs

Although the Holocene era has been End of glaciations Post-glacial optimum
generally warm, climatic fluctuations
have occurred within it, as shown on
this chart. The first farmers may have
begun to grow crops in response to
cool and dry periods, when there was
a decline in the availability of wild
4000
6000
8000
3000
5000
2000
7000
2000
1000
1000
1 CE
food plants.
KEY Warmer Cooler BCE CE
226 THRESHOLD 7
1 BCE 1 CE 1300 CE RENAISSANCE 1439 CE PRINTING PRESS SPARKS THE 1600 CE COLUMBIAN
BEGINS INFORMATION REVOLUTION EXCHANGE
A good day’s hunting

This African rock painting shows hunters
using bows and arrows to kill deer. During
the Mesolithic period, Africa’s Sahara –
which is now desert – was a grassland
habitat, and a plentiful source of game.
CLIMATE CHANGES THE LANDSCAPE 227

FORM EMERGE
SUMMER
Hunter-gatherers – Band 1 CAMP
Approximately 20 people ◀ Nomads
who migrate between 23,000–13,000 BCE
summer and winter camps
People are organized into small
family groups (bands) that rely
N on hunting and gathering for
TIO N
RA IO food. They live a nomadic
MI
G AT
GR lifestyle, moving to new sites
RI NG N MI
as the seasons and resources
N O M A DS – F I R S T P H A SE
SP UM
T
AU change. A nomadic lifestyle
puts natural restrictions on
population growth.
Hunting
grounds
▼ Early settlers and

affluent foragers
WINTER 13,000 BCE
CAMP The climate becomes warmer and
SUMMER wetter. Rivers swell, grasslands and
CAMP
forests spread, creating a richer
Hunter-gatherers – Band 2 landscape. Some bands continue
The camps have simple
structures that can be their nomadic lifestyle, but others
moved or rebuilt easily settle in one prime spot.
N
IO
AT
I GR
GM IO
N
IN AT
S PR R
M IG
MN
TU
AU
Wild wheat growing

near a river
Hunter-gatherers – Band 1
Foraging resources at N
the winter camp improve IO
AT
WINTER as the climate warms I GR
CAMP GM
IN
S PR N
IO
AT
I GR
M NM
TU
AU
FORAGERS
WINTER
CAMP
BECOME FARMERS
As the warming climate transformed the landscape, hunter-gatherers
and foragers across the world discovered new ways to boost their food
supplies, most dramatically by farming. Instead of continually moving Settlers – Band 2
This group stops moving
to find food, they could now settle permanently in one place. between winter and summer
camps and settles in one
place, where the river floods
and creates fertile land
Settling down had many unforeseen consequences. Without the need to move on,
technology became heavier and more complicated. This led to quern stones for grinding
grain, looms for weaving, and pottery. More permanent settlements meant children did not
have to be carried over long distances on the annual migrations, and the elderly and infirm
were no longer left behind to fend for themselves until the band returned. As a result, the
birth rate went up and people lived longer, but there were now more mouths to feed.
Gradually, these settled populations came to depend on the limited number of crops they
could grow, rather than the wide but seasonal range of wild foods obtained by foraging.
In many ways, settling down was a trap. Although farming could support significantly SETTLED CAMP
larger populations than foraging, people had to work much harder for their food.
228 THRESHOLD 7
Settlers – Band 1 LAKE

Band 1 stops moving between winter and
summer camps and settles permanently
EARLY FARMING COULD

SUPPORT 50 TO 100 TIMES AS
MANY PEOPLE AS FORAGING
IN A SIMILAR AREA
▶ Growing settlements PERMANENT

6000 BCE CAMP
The population has continued
to rise and people are more firmly
tied to their land: buildings
are permanent and villages are N
EE
defended. With more mouths W
B E T NT S Settlers – Bands 2 and 3
to feed, wild cereal crops are PS E
LO LEM Two bands join together into
deliberately cultivated, and E VE E T T one large settlement, now
ED O S with a population of 100
animals are penned to supply AD W
the community with meat. T R HE T
T
Buildings become
E ARLY more substantial
SE T T and permanent
L ER
SUMMER S–
SEC
CAMP ON
DP
HA
SE
Defensive stone
wall surrounds
the village
LAKE
Land is organized
into cultivated plots
Animals are kept
inside compound
SMALL VILLAGE
G RO E
W IN G HA S
SE T T L E M E N T S – T H I R D P
Settlers – Band 3
An influx of people near ◀ Always on the move
the river creates a new Modern pastoralists continue
permanent settlement
to follow the nomadic way of
PERMANENT
CAMP life, moving with their animals
to find better pasture and
water if climatic conditions
change. This gives them
Wild wheat has a substantial advantage over
spread due to settled farmers, who can lose
harvesting
their crops and animals in
periods of drought.
229
FORM EMERGE
Jomon hunters caught game, including wild boar, Jomon houses were usually This cross-section shows how the huts may have been constructed.
deer, and bears, using pit traps and bows and arrows 3–4m (10–13ft) across The main evidence comes from sunken floors and post-holes for timber
Meat was a vital

food source in
winter, when
fresh plant foods
were scarce
Outlet for
smoke Pots with their bases
Sunken floor, buried in the earth
whose soil sides floor of the hut
provided natural
insulation from
the weather
S ub e J o m
in si
s ur
d
fa c on h
e c ut
m
hi
s, n e y
on al
w h low
ich e d sm ir e s e a l s
. Pots being fired to use
Jom oke om f Smoke escapes Cooking pot enables
o n w t o e s c ap e f r ok ed m for cooking food
o m e n p r o b ab l y c o through channel the Jomon to boil shellfish
below ground and nuts
230 THRESHOLD 7
It is likely that the roofs and sides were The forest was rich in plant foods, such as berries, walnuts,
thatched, helping to ventilate the interior chestnuts, and acorns, which the women gathered in autumn
Life in the village

This is a typical Japanese Jomon village
of c.13,000 BCE . At the time, villages
were small, consisting of around five
pit-houses. Settlements gradually
grew larger until, by 9000 BCE, some
contained as many as 50 or 60 houses.
Salmon drying on a wooden The Jomon fished using

frame. This process involved specialized tools: spears,
many people, and is evidence nets, basket traps, and lines
of community cooperation
Boat made from a

Rivers and lakes yielded salmon and
hollowed-out log
other freshwater fish, while tuna,
mackerel, turtles, and shellfish were
harvested from the sea
AFFLUENT
Acorns and other plant
foods were kept in
pots and storage pits FORAGERS
At the end of the last ice age, climates became warmer
Grinding grain
collected from and wetter, which enabled human communities to stay
wild plants in the same place for longer, while still living as hunter-
gatherers. They are described as “affluent foragers”.
Affluent foragers settled in areas of natural abundance and were

able to live off the fruits of the land. Among the most successful
affluent foragers were the Jomon of Japan, who first settled in
villages around 14,000 BCE . They lived in small communities –
without adopting farming – for more than 13,000 years. The
Jomon lived beside forests, but also stayed close to the coasts, river
estuaries, and lakes. Their mixed environment provided a rich,
varied diet of seasonally available plant foods, fish, and wild
▶ Flame-rimmed vessel animals. This, combined with their more sedentary lifestyle,
Jomon pottery was fired in the allowed affluent foragers to invest more energy in larger specialized
open air, in bonfires. From simple
tools and technology rather than just portable objects. The Jomon
beginnings, Jomon pots grew more
elaborate. This richly decorated vessel were the first people to invent pottery, in around 13,000 BCE , which
dates from the late Jomon period. they used to cook fish, and store food to consume out of season.
AFFLUENT FORAGERS 231

FORM EMERGE
HUNTERS BEGIN TO
GROW FOOD
The first farmers worked the land with wooden digging sticks and
stone-bladed hoes and adzes. This method, called horticulture, was
not productive enough to create a surplus. It was subsistence farming,
in which people grew only enough crops to feed their own families.
The simplest agricultural tool is a digging practical where there are relatively few
stick – a strong, straight, pointed stick, often people and the area of forest is large
hardened in a fire. To remove weeds, farmers enough to support the population’s size.
used a hoe, which had a blade made of stone Slash-and-burn proved unsustainable
or antler set at an angle to the handle. in the cooler, drier latitudes of Eurasia,
Without ploughs or draught animals, people where farming began. The short growing
could grow crops only in light, easily season meant that vegetation took much
worked soils, such as loess, a longer to recover after a fire. As the
fertile topsoil formed by population grew, people were forced to
wind-blown dust. invent new ways to increase the yield from
their fields. Their challenge was to find
FARMING WITH FIRE better tools than the hoe and digging stick,
Long before farming, hunter-gatherers had and new ways to fertilize the soil.
burned forest to create open areas where Despite this, we know that slash-and-
they could hunt grazing animals, and burn was once practised across large areas
encourage the growth of useful plants such of Eurasia. Studies of ancient peat bogs in
as hazel and willow for basket making. The northern Europe show the disappearance of
first farmers used fire in a similar way. After pollen from oak trees, accompanied by a rise
cutting down an area of forest with stone- in pollen from cereal crops along with layers
bladed adzes, they left the vegetation to dry of powdered charcoal – clear evidence of
and then burned it. The ash made the soil slash-and-burn farming.
fertile for planting seeds. But after two years,
the fertility of a field dropped, and farmers FOREST GARDENING
had to move on to create a new one. Human interaction with the forest was not
Using fire to create fields is called always quite so devastating. As people living
slash-and-burn or swidden farming, from beside rainforest rivers and on wet foothills
an old Norse word for “burnt ground”. It is in monsoon regions began to adapt to their
still practised by between 200 million and immediate surroundings, they learned
500 million people worldwide, mostly in which species were helpful to the growth
▲ Wooden adze the tropical rainforests of South America, of food plants, and which were a hindrance.
Flint-bladed tools are South East Asia, and Melanesia. Slash-and- They protected useful plants and removed
remarkably strong.
burn is sustainable in these regions because unwanted species. Later, they introduced
An adze can cut a
large hardwood tree high rainfall and a warm climate permit beneficial plants from elsewhere to these
in a matter of hours. a year-round growing season. But it is only “forest gardens”.
THE PROUD GETAE LIVE HAPPILY, GROWING FREE FOOD

FOR THEMSELVES ON LAND THEY DO NOT WANT TO
CULTIVATE FOR MORE THAN A YEAR.
Horace, Roman poet, 1st century BCE
232 THRESHOLD 7
Destructive harvest
Areas of Laos still follow a tradition of
slash-and-burn cultivation. However, it is
highly destructive to the rainforest – crops
are only grown for one year as they quickly
deplete the soils, and harvests are poor.
The area then has to be left for between
four and six years to regenerate.
HUNTERS BEGIN TO GROW FOOD 233

FORM EMERGE
North East America 2000–1000 bce

In the Americas, native foods
included sunflowers, sumpweed, and
goosefoot, which were gradually
domesticated, even though these
plants were not very nutritious. There
were no potential animal
domesticates in this region
AMERICAS
Mesoamerica 3000–2000 bce
Mesoamerican farmers had
an ideal combination of crops, with
maize and beans grown alongside
each other. Turkeys and dogs were
the only domesticable animals, and
were raised for meat
FARMING
BEGINS Maize became the most important
crop in Mesoamerica. It was easy
to store for long periods and soon
domesticated.
Farming began once people started to store and plant
seeds and tubers. Archaeology shows that within a few
millennia agriculture had emerged separately in different
parts of the world that had no contact with each other.
Reasons for becoming farmers may have varied. In some places,

people responded to a shortage of wild foods, due to climate change
or a rising population. In other areas, they may simply have
preferred one food crop over others. They would not have made a
conscious decision to become farmers – they had no idea what the
new way of life would be like. However, food production could only
begin where there was a source of animals and plants suitable for
domestication. The range varied from region to region and as a
result, farming had different impacts in each world zone. The crops
of eastern North America and New Guinea were much less nutritious
than those of other farming areas, so people continued to depend on
wild foods, and farmers lived alongside hunter-gatherers. It was very
The llama was domesticated in the
different in the Fertile Crescent and China, where agriculture Andes. Llamas were a source of meat
offered such a complete food production package that farmers were and wool, and also beasts of burden.
able to out-compete their hunter-gatherer neighbours.
The Andes 3000–2000 bce

The main crops of the Andes
EACH OF THE FOUR WORLD ZONES WAS ITS region were quinoa, potatoes, and
amaranth – all were highly
nutritious. Only two large animals
OWN WORLD FOR A TIME. were suitable for domestication
in the whole of the Americas, and
both – the llama and the alpaca
– were found in the Andes
Cynthia Stokes Brown, American historian, 1938–
234 THRESHOLD 7
1 BCE 1 CE 1300 CE RENAISSANCE 1439 CE
BEGINS
The Fertile Crescent 9000 bce

The range of plants and animals
available in this region, including
cereals (wheat and barley), EURASIA
cattle, goats, and sheep may
explain why farming emerged
here in very early times
Sheep were first domesticated in the

Fertile Crescent and herding remains
a way of life in Egypt today.
China 7000 bce

The first Chinese farmers grew
rice along the Yangtze River, in the
warm, wet south, and millet along
the Yellow River, in the cool, drier
north. They domesticated water
buffalo, pigs, and chickens
New Guinea 7000–4000 bce

AFRICA In this zone, true agriculture
only emerged in New Guinea,
where the main crop was taro.
This is very low in protein,
which was provided by frogs,
mice, and insects
AUSTRALASIA
Sub-Saharan Africa
3000–2000 bce
The cowpea was first domesticated in
Early crops were sorghum, Polynesia
millet, yam, groundnut, Africa and remains an important and 1400 bce –1100 ce
cowpea, and oil palm. widely cultivated legume there today. Farming was only
adopted after the
settlement of
Polynesia began
▲ Agriculture in the four world zones KEY around 1400 BCE, when
Each zone is an area in which humans people from Southeast
The Americas Australasia Asia moved out into
interacted. This map shows how and
North, Central, and South Australia, the island of Papua the ocean, bringing
when agriculture emerged in each of America, and islands including New Guinea, and neighbouring taro, pigs, and
the four unconnected world zones, and the Caribbean Islands. islands in the Pacific Ocean. chickens with them
reveals that, with the right conditions
and resources, humans have the ability
to innovate and often find similar Afro-Eurasia The Pacific Islands
Africa and the Eurasian Societies such as New
solutions to similar problems.
landmass, including islands Zealand, Micronesia,
such as Britain and Japan. Melanesia, and Hawaii.
FARMING BEGINS 235

FORM EMERGE
WILD PLANTS
BECOME CROPS
Domestication is a process through which plants are brought under
human control. As a result of human selection, plants changed until they
were unable to reproduce successfully in the wild. Domestication was
a two-way process, which benefited plants as well as people.
The most important domesticated plants are

the grass-like grain crops, which offer little
nutrition individually but can be gathered in
bulk. The heads of wild grasses shatter when
ripe, so that the grains can spread in the
wind. However, it was easier for early foragers
to harvest grains that stayed longer on the
plants. Eventually, a new plant developed
with heads that no longer needed to shatter:
domesticated plants wait to be harvested.
The growing season was also changed by
domestication. Wild seeds tend to germinate
piecemeal over a long period, which ensures
that in a changing climate some plants will
survive. Humans created plants that all
germinated at the same time. Domesticated
plants also grew to around the same height,
▼ Held for harvest
The difference between which made them easier to harvest. The
wild and domesticated grains themselves grew bigger and became
wheat grains is subtle, easier to remove from their husks.
but significant. The
These changes were not consciously
change from an easily
breakable rachis (shaft) planned by farmers. They occurred as a
on wild plants to one natural result of selecting seeds from the
that needed to be ▲ Vital commodity
most desirable plants to harvest and sow in domesticated plants. As farming developed, Rice now provides one-fifth of all the calories
threshed meant that
more grain could be
the following year. Yet the more plants were people found themselves forced to spend consumed by humans worldwide. It can be grown
collected – but it took brought under human control, the more long days caring for wheat, rice, and maize. even on steep hillsides, using terraces.
a lot more effort. human lives revolved around the needs of
FIRST CROPS to regenerate itself. Domesticated rice
Domestication of wheat began in the region developed a bigger grain, and lost its awn,
Long awn known as the Fertile Crescent, in the Middle hard husk, and ability to regenerate itself.
(bristle), which East. Here, between 11,000 and 9000 BCE , In the 5th millennium BCE , farmers in
helps seed pull
itself into soil early farmers domesticated two types of southwest Mexico transformed the wild
wheat – wild emmer and einkorn. Then, teosinte plant into maize. Teosinte yields
in Iran around 7000 BCE , domesticated less than 12 kernels, while maize produces
Large seed
emmer wheat crossed with a wild goatgrass up to 600. Teosinte kernels are protected by
to become bread wheat; this has larger a hard outer covering, but maize kernels are
Tight husk grains, easily removable husks, and higher naked. The plants look so different that the
around
small seed
gluten levels, which creates an elastic dough relationship between them was only
(“grain”) that rises to form soft bread. discovered in the 20th century.
Unlike other cereals, rice is a marsh Beans were domesticated 6,000 years
plant, suitable for growing in water. It was ago in Mesoamerica and also in the Andes.
Rough, hard-to- domesticated between 4900 and 4600 BCE in The plants selected produced bigger beans
Smooth, break rachis
brittle southern China, south of the Yangtze River. or better yields and were easier to harvest.
rachis
Domesticated
Wild rice has a long awn, a hard husk, a tiny In the Andes, the plant changed from a tall
Wild wheat wheat grain, and a strong stem, allowing the plant vine to a more productive bush.
236 THRESHOLD 7
Larger, fatter head

with many easily
husked grains
▶ More gatherable grains

Over time, wheat evolved from wild
shattering varieties, with small grains,
to a plant with non-shattering heads
and bigger grains. Farmers also Slim heads with
selected for head size, plant height, small grains Seed head
remains intact
growing season, and grains that were Tight husks until threshing
easy to remove from their husk. make it hard
to remove seed
Scientists have recently begun making
hybrids by crossing modern varieties
with their wild relatives to reintroduce
old characteristics such as resistance
to drought, heat, and pests.
Wild wheat Wild einkorn Domesticated Modern bread wheat

wheat emmer wheat
Pods have to be
shucked by hand
to release beans
▶ Bigger beans Casing splits and

Wild beans were a staple of the flings out beans
Mesoamerican diet because they
contain amino acids that maize does
not have. Wild plants have small pods
Longer pods
that twist when ripe, splitting open contain more
to release their seeds (the beans). or bigger
Domesticated species have more beans
Small pods
beans in bigger pods, but the beans contain 3–4
stay in their pods until humans split small beans
them open. In Mesoamerica, beans
were planted alongside maize, which
acted as a support, and squashes, to
suppress weeds, in what is known as
the “three sisters” planting scheme.
Wild bean Ripe wild bean Domesticated bean Ripe domesticated bean
PLANTS DOMESTICATED HOMO SAPIENS, RATHER

Modern maize
THAN VICE VERSA. has 400–600
kernels arranged
in 16–20 rows
Yuval Noah Harari, Israeli historian, 1976–, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
▶ Gigantic improvement 6–12 kernels Naked kernels Multiple

Teosinte, a wild form of maize, in two interleaved fixed to the stem rows of
rows kernels
has only a few kernels on a head less
than 2.5cm (1in) long. A modern
domesticated maize cob, packed with
kernels, can measure more than 30cm
(12in). The discovery of phytoliths
(plant microfossils) and starch grains
from a number of sites in Mexico
suggests that domesticated forms of
maize may have existed much earlier
than previously thought.
Teosinte Early domesticated Later domesticated Modern maize
maize maize
WILD PLANTS BECOME CROPS 237

HARD EVIDENCE
POLLEN GRAINS The spiny surface of pollen

from the morning glory vine
(Ipomoea) helps it to attach
itself to pollinating insects
Small amounts of plant residue can reveal a wealth of information

about climatic conditions, the history of agriculture, and the lives
of our ancestors thanks to forensic techniques such as pollen analysis.
The study of pollen, plant spores, and Palynologists use an electron microscope to
microscopic plant organisms is known as identify individual pollen grains, counting
palynology. Pollen grains, which are the the grains of each type. Using this data,
male reproductive bodies of flowering they recreate a picture of the climate and
plants, are produced in vast quantities in environment in one area at a particular
nature. Thanks to its hard outer shell, a time. By repeating the study with different
pollen grain can survive for millions of depths of soil deposits, they build up a pollen
years in favourable conditions. Different chronology, which shows how the range of
plants have distinctively shaped pollen plants changed over time. Archaeological
grains, which makes it possible to identify sites can be dated by matching the range of
the plants that produced them. pollen collected with the known chronology.
Pollen survives best in peat bogs, lake Palynology has revealed the huge impact
beds, and cave sediments. Ancient pollen that early farming had on the environment.
associated with humans is also found in mud Wherever it was practised, agriculture was
bricks, storage pits, boats, pottery vessels, marked by a decline in tree pollen and a rise
tombs, preserved bodies, and coprolites in pollen from cereals and opportunistic
(fossil faeces). It can also be detected on the weeds, such as darnel, that are associated
surfaces of grinding stones and stone tools. with their growth.
Orange Primula Geranium

(Citrus sinensis) (Primula sp.) (Geranium sp.)
Scots pine Maize Rapeseed

(Pinus sylvestris) (Zea mays) (Brassica napus)
Travel and trade

Pollen grains from pottery
found on a shipwreck can
identify the ship’s cargo, and
pollen trapped in the resin used
to seal the hull may reveal where
Silver birch Narrow-leaved hawksbeard Wheat the ship was made. The hull of a small,
(Betula pendula) (Crepis tectorum) (Triticum spp.) 2,000-year-old boat wrecked off the
French coast contained pollen that
▲ Pollen gallery showed it was built east of Italy – which
This selection of pollen shows how distinctly shaped the indicates that small boats traded further
pollen from different plants is. Pollen also ranges widely afield than previously thought.
in size, from 5 to 500 microns (1 micron is 0.001 mm).
238 THRESHOLD 7
Pollen evidence in context
The amount of pollen plants produce
varies from species to species, and is
spread in different ways, so the results
of palynology are interpreted alongide
findings from other disciplines such as
archaeology or climate science. The
Ipomoea genus includes plants with
hallucinogenic properties; Ipomoea
pollen in a cave in Belize suggests the
plants may have been taken there by
pre-Mayan people for ritual purposes. Morning glory vine
The tough, rigid, waterproof

shell prevents the pollen grain
from rotting or drying out.
Climate change
Global warming at the end of the Ice
Age caused a dramatic change in
vegetation across northern latitudes.
Pollen collected from lake sediments
in Britain shows that before 9600 BCE
the only trees there were cold-hardy
dwarf birches. As the climate warmed,
birches were replaced by Scots pines,
which in turn gave way to a wider variety
of trees, including hazels, elms, and oaks.
This pollen grain can be identified

as Ipomoea purpurea from its size,
shape, and surface features.
Agriculture and food

Pollen can help us understand what past
peoples farmed and ate. Pollen from grass
and other fodder plants stored in
dwellings tells us how livestock were fed.
Similarly, pollen clinging to grinding stones
used by New Mexico’s Anasazi people
shows that alongside domesticated maize
they also harvested a wide variety of wild
plants. In the American Southwest,
palynologists recreated a prehistoric
individual’s diet from pollen found in
coprolites (fossilized faeces),
while in Scotland pollen on
5,000-year-old pottery
shards was used to
recreate the recipe for
heather ale, drunk by
early Celtic farmers.
Stone quern with

sandstone rubber
POLLEN GRAINS 239

FORM EMERGE
FARMERS
DOMESTICATE ANIMALS
The domestication of animals began at roughly the same time and
in the same areas as the domestication of plants. The process probably
began with men guarding a local herd of animals as it moved, assisted
by dogs. Eventually the herd was enclosed, fed, and protected.
A domesticated animal is one that has are more aggressive, faster, and can leap and long horns, were no longer necessary.
been bred in captivity and has become 1.8m (6ft) into the air. Similarly, zebras Domesticated animals did not have to
modified from its wild ancestor. Some are more aggressive than horses, and have fear predators or search for new sources
animals, such as elephants and bears, better peripheral vision, which makes them of food, and so their brains reduced in size.
can be tamed, but this is not the same as almost impossible to catch with a rope. In the wild, male mammals are much
domestication. Tamed elephants remain Gazelles have a tendency to panic, and are larger than females because they have to
wild animals, and never adapt completely likely to batter themselves to death when compete with other males for mates. This
to their new conditions. placed in an enclosure. competition ended in captivity, because
Animals needed certain characteristics breeding was controlled by humans.
to be suitable for domestication. They HOW ANIMALS CHANGED As a result, male cattle, sheep, and goats
had to be a manageable size and relatively Animals separated from their natural became the same size as the females,
docile with social structures, early sexual environment began to change as farmers aswell as losing their long horns.
maturity, and a high reproductive rate. bred from specimens that met their needs. The willingness of these animals
Herbivores were better than carnivores Because people selected smaller animals to become domesticated ultimately
because they would survive on local plants. that were easier to manage, domesticated ensured their evolutionary success.
Just 14 large mammals met all these cattle became smaller than their wild There are now 1.4 billion cattle
requirements, almost all of them in Eurasia. ancestor, the aurochs. Evolution by natural on the planet – but their wild
Attempts to domesticate other animals selection also played a part – adaptations ancestor, the aurochs, became
failed: bison are related to cattle, but they for survival in the wild, such as intelligence extinct during the 17th century.
DOMESTICABLE ANIMALS ARE ALL ALIKE; EVERY UNDOMESTICABLE

ANIMAL IS UNDOMESTICABLE IN ITS OWN WAY.
Jared Diamond, American scientist, 1937–, Guns, Germs and Steel
▶ Wild at heart
Bees are semi-
domesticated. Through
selective breeding,
humans modified bee
behaviour, making them
less likely to sting and Although warthogs
live in social herds WARTHOG
swarm than wild bees. they can be highly
Although managed by aggressive
humans, bees still
forage for their food
and retain the ability
to survive in the wild.
HIPPOPOTAMUS ELEPHANT
240 THRESHOLD 7
The cat is the only

non-social animal
to be domesticated
DOGS WERE DOMESTICATED
FROM WOLVES 35,000
YEARS AGO COW GOAT DOG CAT
LS
A
IM
N
A
I C
E ST
M ◀ Domesticated animals almost all
O
D changed greatly through human control.
PIG SHEEP HORSE CHICKEN When boars became pigs, they became
less aggressive, lost their tusks and
Domesticated muscular shoulders, and developed
animals tolerate fatter hind quarters. The most extreme
Goats have been humans and other change was in sheep, which developed
selectively bred to farm animals
a thick, woolly fleece.
reduce their horns
AUROCHS BEZOAR GOAT WOLF AFRICAN WILD CAT

LS
A
Przewalski’s is the
Junglefowl were the IM
last surviving wild N
ancestors of the A
horse species E
chicken, now the BL ◀ The wild ancestors of the most
most common bird C A
in the world TI common domesticated animals are
ES the Asian mouflon (sheep), the bezoar
M (goat), the wild boar (pig), the aurochs
O
D
(cattle), and the south Asian
junglefowl (chicken). Most of these
animals had social hierarchies,
WILD BOAR MOUFLON PRZEWALSKI’S HORSE JUNGLEFOWL allowing them to accept human
control. Others that proved
domesticable include camels, yaks,
Undomesticable animals are generally guanacos, turkeys, and donkeys.
too aggressive or flighty to live in close
confinement with other animals
Big cats have courtship

Bison roam over rituals that usually
large territories and involve running over
can be aggressive large distances. They
also need large
quantities of meat
BISON GAZELLE FOX LION
Bighorn sheep
would not accept Some species have
human control been semi-domesticated
LS
but most species are A
too aggressive IM
N
A ◀ Most wild animals are unsuitable
E
BL for domestication, for many different
A
T IC reasons. Swans, zebras, and bison are
AMERICAN BIGHORN SHEEP ZEBRA SWAN
ES too aggressive. Foxes and gazelles are
M easily scared, and will always attempt
O
Hyenas were tamed
Tame baboons -D to escape from humans. Elephants
were kept as N
in Egypt, but never O are unsuitable because of their slow
domesticated
sacred animals N
in Egyptian growth rate – it takes 15 years for an
temples elephant to reach adult size, and two
years to produce a calf.
PANDA HYENA BABOON
FARMERS DOMESTICATE ANIMALS 241

FORM EMERGE
With nutritious crops like

maize and beans arriving
from Mesoamerica, farming
continued to spread through
North America
Maize transformed farming in eastern

North America when it arrived from EASTERN
Mesoamerica in c.2000 BCE . NORTH AMERICA
2000–1000 BCE
FARMING MESOAMERICA
3000–2000 BCE
Squashes, pumpkins, and other
SPREADS
members of the gourd family were
AM
grown in eastern North America

ER I
before maize and beans.

WEST AFRICA
CA
3000–2000 BCE
S
After its original adoption in several areas of the planet,

Farming in Amazonia
farming spread in all directions. The new way of life may have originated
here, or spread here
expanded much more rapidly in Eurasia than in the AMAZONIA from the Andes
Americas, due to the different shapes of each landmass. 3000–2000 BCE
In Africa, farming may

Agriculture spread in two ways. The most common was where ANDES have begun in any of three
farmers were forced to leave their homeland due to the pressures 3000–2000 BCE sub-Saharan regions
of a rising population and competition over land. Moving on, they
took their animals and crops with them. The second, less usual, was
for hunter-gatherers to partly adopt the new way of life. As they
came into contact with farmers, some hunter-gatherers acquired
domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats, and so became herders. Potatoes and
▲ How agriculture spread
quinoa were
The differing rates of spread were determined by the continents’ grown in from 9000–1000 BCE
axes. While Eurasia stretches east to west, the Americas stretch the Andes This map shows how farming spread,
rapidly along the east-west axis
north to south. It was much easier for farmers to move their crops of Eurasia and more slowly along
and livestock within the same latitude, because they found similar north-south axes in the Americas
climactic conditions, seasonality, day lengths, pests, and diseases. and Africa. There is still uncertainty
But for crops to move from one latitude to another – as maize did in about exactly where in sub-Saharan
Africa farming was first adopted.
the Americas – the plant had to evolve to suit different conditions.
KEY
Spread of farming
WHY SHOULD WE PLANT WHEN THERE ARE SO Continental axis direction

Earliest farming regions, Americas
MANY MONGONGO NUTS IN THE WORLD? Earliest farming regions, Eurasia

Earliest farming regions, Africa
Earliest farming regions, China
African Kalahari bushman, quoted by Richard Lee, 1937–, What Hunters Do for a Living Earliest farming regions, Australasia
242 THRESHOLD 7
1 BCE 1 CE 1439 CE PRINTING PRESS SPARKS THE 1600 CE COLUMBIAN
INFORMATION REVOLUTION EXCHANGE
Rice, today one of the

world’s most common
staples, spread throughout
Asia, reaching Europe
during antiquity and the
Americas at the time of
Wheat, evolved from wild grasses European colonization.
in the Fertile Crescent over 11,000
years ago, is the earliest crop to be
domesticated (see p.237).
EURASIA
FERTILE CRESCENT
9000 BCE Farming spread CHINA (YELLOW RIVER
most rapidly from BASIN) 7000 BCE
the Fertile Crescent
Millet and rice farming CHINA (YANGTZE RIVER

spread from China’s BASIN) 7000 BCE
Yellow and Yangtze
River Valleys
SAHEL 3000–2000 BCE
ETHIOPIA 3000–2000 BCE

AFRIC
Ethiopian farmers
adopted aniamls
A
from the north,

including camels, Taro spread from Southeast Asia
domesticated in
sourthern Arabia to Oceania and New Guinea,
where both its root and its leaves
remain popular food staples.
NEW GUINEA
7000–4000 BCE
When Asian pigs reached

New Guinea, farming became
much more productive
Sorghum, a gluten-free cereal rich in nutrients,

was first domesticated in Africa, possibly in
Ethiopia, around 5,000 years ago.
FARMING SPREADS 243

FORM EMERGE
MEASURING TIME
▶ Aztec calendar stone
This carved stone from the late
15th or early 16th century shows
cosmic history as understood
by the Aztecs of Mexico.
Agriculture gave a new importance to keeping track of time, since

farmers needed to know when to plough, sow, and gather the harvest.
With the rise of states, calendars became a means of social control,
regulating work and coordinating the activities of large populations.
Hunter-gatherers knew about time passing festivals and for divination. The ability to
because of seasonal changes, including the predict eclipses was a particularly good way
migrations of animals, birds, and fish, and to keep the populace in line at key moments.
the autumn appearance of fruits and nuts. Written calendars later came to be used for
They could see the passage of time in the more mundane things – when to collect
sky, evidenced by the Moon’s phases, taxes, when to go to war, and to establish
the Sun’s daily journey, and the regular the sailing season for merchant ships.
reappearance of constellations, such as the
Pleiades and Orion, throughout the year. THE WORKING WEEK
Different cultures developed differing
CONTROL BY CALENDAR understandings of the passage of time.
Agriculture requires long-term planning, Mesoamericans, such as the Aztecs, saw
so early farmers built on their astronomical time as a cyclical pattern of recurring
knowledge to invent the first calendars. events, in which the world was
In the northern hemisphere, where people regularly destroyed and recreated.
were especially aware of the Sun’s seasonal Early societies devised a cycle of
movements, standing stones were used to work days and rest days. The week
track the progress of the year from where it was ten days long in China and Egypt,
rose and set on the horizon. Stonehenge in and seven in Mesopotamia. The day
England, for example, was aligned with the was divided into hours measured by
midwinter Sun. clocks, the earliest types being water
There was also a religious motivation in clocks and sundials. As societies grew
the creation of written calendars. Often the more complex, people’s lives were
work of priests – who had the time and skills increasingly ruled by calendars and
to make astronomical observations – such clocks, which measured human, social
calendars were made for the regulation of time rather than the cycles of nature.
Solar disc decorated with motifs ▼ Sun chariot

and patterns on both sides This Danish model, from around 1400 BCE,
imagines the Sun’s journey through the sky as
made by horse and chariot. Markings on the Sun’s
disc have led one archaeologist to suggest that it
may have functioned as a calendar.
The model is made of

bronze; only one side
of the disc is gilded
244 THRESHOLD 7
Symbols around
the edge of the stone
represent aspects of the
heavens, including stars,
the Sun’s rays, and the
planet Venus
▲ Observing the heavens

This curved structure was built in the
1420s as part of Sultan Ulugh Beg’s
Samarkand observatory. It allowed his
astronomers to calculate when sunrise
and sunset would fall each day, as well
as the length of a year.
In the centre is the face of

Tonatiuh, the fifth and present
sun god
Each square around the face

represents a previous era and
sun, named after Jaguar, Wind,
Rain, and Water
The fifth and current era and

sun are represented by the
shape of the frame enclosing
the central signs
This circle shows the 20 signs

used to name the Aztec days
THE GODS CONFOUND

THE MAN WHO FIRST
FOUND OUT HOW TO
DISTINGUISH HOURS.
Aulus Gellius, Roman author, c.125–185 CE, Attic Nights
MEASURING TIME 245

FORM EMERGE
NEW USES
FOR ANIMALS
Animals were first domesticated to provide a ready source of meat
and hides. Later, farmers discovered that animals could also be used
as a renewable resource, to provide milk, wool, and power. This new
way of using animals is known as the secondary products revolution.
The first secondary product was milk. The quality hair for breeding. As a result, sheep
earliest evidence, from the 7th millennium developed thick woolly fleeces between
BCE, is pottery found in Turkey containing 7000 BCE and 5000 BCE .
traces of milk. At the time, adults – unlike
babies – lacked the enzyme needed to break POWER AND MOTION
down lactose, the main sugar in milk. But The most important secondary product
early farmers were able to reduce lactose was animal power, which gave humans their
levels by fermenting heated milk, making first new source of energy since the control
yoghurt and cheese. Fermentation was also of fire. Around 4500 BCE , donkeys were
the best way to preserve and store milk. domesticated as pack animals. Later, people
Around 5500 BCE , people in Central Europe in western Asia harnessed oxen to pull
developed lactose tolerance. They were able loads, at first on simple sleds. Then, in
to digest milk, giving them a rich new about 3500 BCE , the plough was invented
source of protein. Lactose tolerance spread and wheels – devised for turning clay pots –
across Europe and also appeared later in were fitted to sleds to make carts. Horses
West Africa and parts of Asia. Today, about were also domesticated around this time.
a third of humanity can drink milk. Riding horses gave humans their first fast
Another new product that came into use mode of transport. Horses and carts enabled
around this time was sheep’s wool, which people to move with their grazing animals
was spun and woven into textiles. Farmers in and survive on Eurasia’s grassy steppes – an
western Asia selected animals with the best unsuitable environment for growing crops.
▶ Pulling power
Wheeled carts spread so quickly across
Eurasia that it is difficult to know exactly
where they originated. This 4,000-year-old
pottery model of an ox cart comes from the
Indus civilization of India.
THE… REVOLUTION TURNED DOMESTICATED HERBIVORES

INTO EFFICIENT MACHINES FOR TRANSFORMING GRASS
INTO ENERGY USABLE BY HUMANS.
David Christian, Big History historian, 1946–, Maps of Time
246 THRESHOLD 7
Milking time
Early milking scenes often show calves.
In the early days of dairying, the calf’s presence
was needed to make the cow release her milk.
This 7th-century CE carving is from a cave
temple in Tamil Nadu, India.
NEW USES FOR ANIMALS 247

FORM EMERGE
INNOVATIONS
INCREASE YIELDS
Larger, settled populations inevitably needed to produce more food.
Farmers began to innovate and develop new agricultural methods,
such as ploughing and the use of fertilizers. These new technologies
enabled farmers to intensify production and increase yields.
Wooden handle,
With a pair of oxen and a plough, one man The plough was never invented in the which the farmer
used to steer
could prepare a whole field for planting Americas, where there were no domesticated the plough
in much less time than it took a team of animals strong enough to pull such a device.
workers with digging sticks. Ploughs made
it possible to farm in heavier soils, greatly IMPROVING THE SOIL
increasing the area of land available for One great advantage of the use of draught
cultivation. Ploughing is also an efficient animals is that their dung enriches the soil.
way of removing weeds. American farmers, who did not have
The plough was an adaptation of the draught animals, found other kinds of
digging stick, allowing it to be dragged fertilizer. The Incas of Peru collected vast
continuously through the ground. It may amounts of seabird droppings (guano),
have been invented in Mesopotamia, where which they spread on their fields. Guano
images of ploughs have been found dating is an ideal fertilizer because it is rich in
from the 4th millennium BCE . The earliest nitrogen, potassium, and phosphate –
type was the scratch plough, or ard, which all vital nutrients for growing plants. In
had a wooden tip (share) that could cut only ancient China, farmers used human manure
a shallow furrow. To plough efficiently (nightsoil), collected from towns at night.
with an ard, farmers had to cross-plough,
going over the field twice, with the second UNEXPECTED CONSEQUENCES
ploughing at right angles to the first. Later Agricultural intensification had its problems
improvements included metal-tipped shares as well as its benefits. Despite better
and a blade called the coulter, which sliced harvests, which sparked increases in the
the soil in front of the share. population, food remained scarce for most
In the 1st century BCE , the Chinese people. Intensive irrigation and farming
further refined the plough with the addition fields without a fallow period eventually
of the mouldboard – a curved blade that impoverished the soil. Communities
turned over the soil, burying weeds and regularly faced shortages and
bringing nutrients to the surface. Use of periodic famines, which
this plough was carried west across Eurasia, led to malnourishment,
reaching Europe by the 7th century CE . disease, and shorter
Thanks to the mouldboard, farmers no lifespans. Scarcity
longer had to cross-plough. This doubled the also brought
amount of land a plough team could prepare. social disorder
Ploughs could only be used where there and led to war,
were suitable draught animals, such as oxen, mass migration,
water buffalo, horses, mules, and camels. and cultural disruption.
▶ Early plough
OX PLOUGHS COULD NOT BE USED This model of a farmer using an ard, or scratch plough,
comes from an Egyptian tomb of c.2000 BCE . The Nile
IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, BECAUSE floods deposited nutrients on the surface, so the plough did
CATTLE WERE VULNERABLE TO not need to turn over the soil, merely break it up for sowing. Wooden share cut
a shallow furrow
TRYPANOSOMIASIS, A DEADLY through the soil
DISEASE PASSED ON BY THE TSETSE FLY
248 THRESHOLD 7
GET TWO OXEN, BULLS OF NINE

YEARS. THEIR STRENGTH IS UNSPENT
AND THEY ARE BEST FOR WORK.
THEY WILL NOT FIGHT IN THE FURROW
AND BREAK THE PLOUGH.
Hesiod, Greek poet, c.700 BCE, Works and Days
A wooden cross-piece
called a yoke linked the
oxen to the plough
▲ Cutting-edge technology
The Egyptians harvested grain using wooden scythes set with
flint teeth, cutting off the ears and leaving the stalks standing
for livestock to feed on. The quest for higher yields led to the
need for more manpower and, in some places, slave labour.
Draft pole or beam
Oxen not only pulled the

plough but also trampled
the grain seed into the soil.
After the harvest, they
were used to tread the
kernels out of their husks
INNOVATIONS INCREASE YIELDS 249

FORM EMERGE
SURPLUS
BECOMES POWER
Once farmers learned to grow surplus food, they needed ways to store
it for future use. Granaries built to store surplus grain were central to
the creation of early states: these surpluses became a form of wealth
that were taxed by rulers and used for trade or to reward loyal subjects.
To store grain, it must be protected from central control. In Egypt, this was done
rodents and pests, and kept dry so that it by measurng grain by volume, based on
does not rot or germinate. Many societies the hekat, a small barrel holding 4.8 litres
across Africa and Eurasia built granaries (1.1 gallons). The hekat was the standard
with raised floors, which deterred rodents measuring unit used throughout the Eastern
and let air circulate underneath. Egypt’s Mediterranean from 1500 BCE to 700 BCE .
arid climate meant that raised floors were The Chinese measured grain by weight,
not necessary there. The Inca of Peru sited with the basic unit being the amount one
granaries on steep hillsides, exposed to the man could carry on a shoulder pole. In
drying effects of mountain winds. China, archaeologists have found hundreds
Large states needed ways to measure and of vast underground grain silos dating from
record their grain supplies, which required the Sui and Tang dynasties (581–907 CE).
an unprecedented level of organization and The walls of these state granaries bear
inscriptions recording the variety, quantity,
Workers using and source of the stored grain, and the date
measuring
barrels
of its storage.
GRAIN AND STATE POWER

State granaries enabled rulers to feed not only
their armies but also the workers who toiled
on great building projects, such as the
pyramids of Egypt and the Great
Wall of China. Granaries also
provided vital famine relief in
years with a bad harvest. Rulers
knew that the grain supply was
vital to maintain the good will
of the people. Roman emperors
▶ Counting the grain
This model, found in an Egyptian gave a monthly ration of free grain
tomb, shows sacks of grain being to the citizens of their capital city,
brought into a granary. On the which was distributed from the Temple of
right, workers use barrels to measure
Ceres, goddess of grain. It was imported in
the amount of grain, while two
shaven-headed scribes record the great ships from Sicily and Egypt, which the
harvest in ledgers. emperor maintained as his personal estate.
I HAVE HEAPED GRAIN IN THE GRANARIES FOR THE PEOPLE.

IN ORDER THAT THEY MIGHT EAT IN THE SEVEN YEARS OF
EMPTY HUSKS, I HAVE COLLECTED GRAIN FOR THE PEOPLE.
Epic of Gilgamesh, c.2000 BCE
250 THRESHOLD 7
Traditional granaries
The Dogon people of Mali still live in an
agricultural society. They store millet in
tall granaries, built from clay and raised
on rocks, with thatched roofs that protect
them during the rainy season.
SURPLUS BECOMES POWER 251

FORM EMERGE
Pre-agricultural population
growth was slow – it took tens
S
of thousands of years for the
IE
INCREASING POPULATION ▶
IT
population to double
n
io
ill
TI A L
m
N
10
O
LU R I
10,000 BCE
O ST
ES
n
io
E V DU
R
ill
PI
IN
EM
0
10
R
9000 BCE
on
lli
EARLY FARMING ERA
bi
1
Early farming
populations grew
8000 BCE steadily as new
technological
innovations
increased yields
7000 BCE
6000 BCE
The advent of
5000 BCE cities saw more
people crowding
into urban areas
4000 BCE
ERA OF CITY STATES
3000 BCE
Modern estimates
put the number
of people in the
2000 BCE Roman Empire at
80–120 million
By the end of the
1st century CE, the
global population
1000 BCE had reached
300 million
500 BCE
ERA OF EMPIRES
1 CE
500 CE
1000 CE
1500 CE
1600 CE
1700 CE
1800 CE
GLOBAL ERA
1900 CE
2000 CE
2100 CE Intervals between Outbreaks of plague The global population

population increases during the 2nd and 14th reached its first billion
shortened as the era centuries CE reduced in 1804
2200 CE of empires began populations significantly
252 THRESHOLD 7
IN 2015, THE ANNUAL HUMAN POPULATION

STARTS TO RISE
BIRTH RATE WAS MORE THAN
TWICE THE DEATH RATE
The switch to agriculture and the creation of food surpluses led to

population growth: even early farming could support 50 to 100 times
more people than hunting and gathering. Agricultural innovations, such
as the plough and irrigation, accelerated the increase in population.
A
ER
L
BA
on
lli
LO
bi
There are many different estimates for famine and decline. Malthusian cycles often
G
10
early world populations, ranging from 2–10 began with a new innovation: for example,
million in 10,000 BCE to 50–115 million in improved horse collars in Europe allowed
1000 BCE . Whatever the true figures, there animals to pull ploughs that cut deeper
is consensus that the period saw a dramatic soils, and thus improving productivity.
increase in the global population as a result As agricultural innovations spread, the
of farming. As large human populations population rose, which led to larger areas
Predictions for the spread, living in ever denser settlements, they being farmed. Periods of growth stimulated
future vary widely:
some think the
became vulnerable to disease and periodic commercial activity and encouraged towns
population will carry famine. In two periods populations fell to expand – and their populations needed
on climbing; others
think it will decline significantly as a result of famine and to be supplied with food. Larger populations
plague: in the Roman Empire during the exchanged more ideas and innovations, but
2nd century CE and in 14th-century Eurasia. ultimately in the agrarian era population
Changes in population growth are often growth would outpace the rate of change
attributed to “Malthusian cycles”. In the and was followed by a Malthusian crash.
18th century, economist Thomas Malthus
argued that human populations always rise NEW FOODS
Advances in faster than the food supply, which results in The spread of new food crops could also
technology and stimulate population growth. In the 11th
medicine dramatically
increased lifespans and century CE , China adopted a new variety of
crop yields following
the Industrial early-ripening rice from Champa, Vietnam,
Revolution which could produce up to three harvests a
year. This drought-resistant crop could be
The rate of population
grown on higher ground, doubling the area
growth increased available for rice cultivation. This enabled
rapidly throughout
the 20th century the population of China to double from the
after World War II 10th–11th centuries. During the 16th
century, the introduction of American
maize and potatoes – which could be grown
at even higher altitudes than rice – led to
further population growth in China.
◀ Around one in every five people on Earth is

Chinese. There are as many people in China today
as there were in the whole world just 150 years ago.
India is predicted to displace China as the most
populous country in around 2050.
▲ Population growth
Human numbers grew slowly up to 1700 CE .
From around 1750 through to present day,
THE RAGING MONSTER UPON THE LAND

population growth has been rapid, thanks to
farming innovations, industrial production,
and the spread of more productive food
crops, such as manioc and maize, following IS POPULATION GROWTH.
the Columbian Exchange (see pp.296–97).
E.O. Wilson, American biologist, 1929–, The Diversity of Life
POPULATION STARTS TO RISE 253

HARD EVIDENCE
THE FENTON VASE

Pottery is one of archaeology’s greatest resources, as it survives in the
ground when organic materials decay, providing invaluable clues to
the cultures and technologies of ancient civilizations.
The lord’s
name and
This beautifully decorated ceramic pot, Pots can now be dated scientifically using a titles written
in glyphs
discovered in Guatemala in 1904, provides technique that exploits the property of clay
a fascinating glimpse into the life and times to absorb and trap electrons. If the clay is
of the Maya, a pre-Columbian civilization heated in a lab, the electrons are released as
of Mesoamerica. The Maya occupied light. Measuring how much light is released
much of southeastern Mexico and northern indicates when the pot was fired. The Maya
Central America, and this vase dates from probably sourced the clays for their pots
600–800 CE . Like many Mayan vases, it was from river valleys, as their descendants do
placed in the burial of a noble and depicts a today. Chemical analysis of the clays used
scene from court life – here, the offering of provides a “chemical fingerprint”, which
a tribute – providing invaluable evidence helps to identify where the clay was sourced.
Ancient writing
of ritual, belief, and the daily life of the elite. The distribution of a particular style
Dating pottery has become increasingly of pot can also provide clues to trade or Mayan vases often include vital
sophisticated. In the late 19th century, migration. One group of Neolithic peoples, information in the form of hieroglyphs,
archaeologist Flinders Petrie used different who moved into western Europe between a sophisticated writing system that was
styles of Egyptian pottery to invent sequence 2800 and 1800 BCE , made a distinctive unique in Mesoamerica. Sets of glyphs
dating. He recorded the various styles of pot style of pot known as the bell beaker, so used within a scene on a pot record the
names and titles of the key individuals
and arranged them in order according to archaeologists refer to them as the Beaker
portrayed. Some pots also have text
the depths at which they were discovered. people. The beakers found at burial sites around the rims, to dedicate the vessels
Sequence dating is still used to date around Europe have revealed how and list their contents.
archaeological sites. extensively the Beaker people travelled.
Kneeling noble Basket piled Elaborate Glyphs in panels

presents a high with headdress of lord identify figures
Spondylus seashell maize cakes marks his rank shown in scene
The entire scene depicted on the Fenton Vase reveals a lord seated in Scribe records the Figures wear
a palace throne room receiving tribute from Mayan nobles, whose status exchange in a jewellery, elaborate
screenfold book clothing, and
is indicated by their ornate turbans. The five figures are individually named turbans decorated
by the glyphs in the panels beside them. The lord points at a basket filled with flowers
with tamales (maize pancakes) on top of bolts of cloth. Behind him, a scribe
records the details of the tribute.
254 THRESHOLD 7
Red slip used to
paint details
How was it made?

The first pots were made by coiling strips of clay,
or beating clay into slabs. Then, around 3400 BCE,
the potter’s wheel was invented in Mesopotamia.
Early wheels were turned slowly by hand, but later,
the foot-operated kick wheel made it possible to
“throw” pots quickly, enabling potters to produce
ceramics on a large scale. Thereafter, pottery
became a specialized craft, usually practised by
men. The Fenton Vase would have been made by
hand, probably using the coil technique, as the
potter’s wheel was unknown in
pre-Columbian America.
Ancient
Egyptian at
potter’s wheel
Making a mark
The Maya decorated their
pots with coloured clay
slips, fine mixtures of clays
and minerals that fuse to a
pot when it is fired. Black
and red slips were used
on the Fenton Vase. The
earliest designs on pots
such as this European bell
beaker were made using
incised marks. Bell beaker
Food from the past

Pots often contain microscopic traces of the
food kept within them, providing information
about what people ate in the past. Scrapings from
Mayan pots such as the Fenton Vase show that
they were used to hold chocolate. The 4,000-
year-old bowl of noodles shown below was found
in China in 2005. Analysis of the noodles’ starch
grains revealed that they were made of millet.
The world’s oldest noodles
THE FENTON VASE 255

FORM EMERGE
EARLY
This 16cm-high (6½in) clay
figure, found at Catal Höyük,
depicts a woman who is
flanked by two leopards
SETTLEMENTS Figure is thought

to represent a
mother goddess,
As agriculture became more productive, people who controlled the
fertility of the earth
began to live in more dense, permanent settlements.
Alongside farming, they developed impressive crafts,
Strong, colourful
and created regional trade networks. textiles were
woven on looms
The oldest and largest early settlement was Catal Höyük in Central
Turkey, which lasted from around 7300 to 5600 BCE . It covered
13 hectares (32 acres) and had a population of several thousand
people. Catal Höyük was the world’s first true town. Another early
town was ’Ain Ghazal in Jordan, founded around 7200 BCE . ’Ain STONE GODDESS
Ghazal was slightly smaller than Catal Höyük.
LIFE IN THE FIRST TOWNS Wild plants,

such as fruit
The people of these early towns were farmers, who kept large trees, provided
herds – sheep at Catal Höyük, and goats at ’Ain Ghazal. Both towns an additional
source of food
grew wheat, barley, peas, and lentils. They also hunted local wild
animals, including aurochs (wild cattle), deer, and gazelles.
These first towns may have been quite isolated except for their
trading routes. We do not know if they had any contact with
neighbouring hunter-gatherer bands, if these existed. As trade
developed, it prompted the development of new crafts and skills.
Vital new technology – ploughs, wheels, bronze tools – would later
emerge from the specialist artisans living in towns.
The first experiments in urban living, these towns developed
in different ways. Buildings in each were rectangular, and densely
packed together. ’Ain Ghazal had courtyards and narrow lanes
between the houses, which were entered through doorways. By
contrast, at Catal Höyük, the houses were built against each other
without passageways. They were entered through rooftop openings,
reached by ladders.
Houses at ’Ain Ghazal vary considerably in size, which suggests
that some of its inhabitants were wealthier than others. However, at
Catal Höyük, there is no evidence of different classes: there were no
high-status homes, public buildings, or even public open spaces.
People here seem to have lived lives of equality.
Graves for the dead

under house floors. Bodies
THE QUALITY AND REFINEMENT were exposed to vultures
and then the skeletons
were buried
OF NEARLY EVERYTHING MADE DECORATED INTERIORS
HERE IS WITHOUT PARALLEL IN

House walls were
THE CONTEMPORARY NEAR EAST. plastered with white clay
and then painted with
geometric patterns or
images of hunting scenes
James Mellaart, British archaeologist, 1925–2012
256 THRESHOLD 7
▶ Bone tools used for

sewing and weaving
Entrances to houses offered
ventilation. They may have provide evidence of textile
been covered by woven making at Catal Höyük.
awnings to keep off the sun Patterned pottery seals
have also been found,
which may have been
used to print patterns
on fabrics or on people’s
skin for decoration.
BONE TOOLS USED FOR MAKING TEXTILES POTTERY SEAL
Domesticated sheep
were sent out to graze
during the day
House roofs acted

as the town streets
and thoroughfares
Wooden beams
supported a reed
and mud roof
Windows were
thought to have
been set high
in the walls
Walls were made with mud dug

from nearby marshes. This was
moulded into bricks, which were
dried and hardened by the sun
Roof made of
dried reeds ▲ Inside Catal Höyük
Catal Höyük was filled with hundreds of houses
packed together like cells in a beehive. House
sizes varied but averaged 4 x 5m (13 x 16ft). The
houses were built to different heights, which
Pens for oxen and
other tamed cattle allowed people to have small windows at the
tops of their walls. The town had no purpose-
Many houses had a shrine, built defences, although the outermost houses
some featuring the horns
of a wild aurochs, which had thicker perimeter walls.
showed the growing
importance of religion
EARLY SETTLEMENTS 257

FORM EMERGE
▶ Social hierarchy in ancient Egypt

Egyptian society, as in many states, resembled a
pyramid, with the king at the top and different
ranks beneath. There have been many other types The pharaoh (king) was
of social pyramid. In the states of medieval Europe seen as a living god, whose
and Japan, warriors became the dominant class. presence was believed to
ensure the harmonious
Merchants were powerful in the Indus civilization, working of society
but had a lowly position in Imperial China. Some
societies, such as the Roman Empire, depended on
the mass use of slaves, who were people with no PHARAOH
rights and were regarded as property.
The vizier, or
chief minister,
oversaw the
day-to-day
government
SLAVES WERE AT THE
BOTTOM OF ANY SOCIETY IN
WHICH THEY WERE FOUND VIZIER
Egyptian nobles had

senior positions as
regional governors,
chief priests, and
military commanders
NOBLES
Scribes usually came from

the upper classes and were
highly educated
SCRIBES
Merchants created
wealth by exchanging
Egyptian products – such
as grain – for goods from
foreign lands, like ebony
and leopard skins
MERCHANTS
Craftsmen were valued

for their specialist skills,
such as metalworking,
making pottery, and
stonemasonry
CRAFTSMEN
Peasant farmers grew all
the food for Egyptian
society. When there was
no farm work to be done,
they were conscripted
onto building projects
FARMERS
SOCIETY GETS
ORGANIZED
As the population increased, humans had to learn, for the first time, to
live in peace alongside large numbers of strangers. There were new forms
of social organization, ultimately leading to the creation of the state, with
a king at the top presiding over a hierarchy of different classes.
Hunter-gatherers lived in small bands of 25 others to whom they were not related.
to 60 individuals who were related through Powerful chieftains kept the peace, claiming
family and marriage ties. Bands were a monopoly on the right to use force. Tribal
egalitarian: there were no leaders, although members paid tribute to the chief, who
certain members were highly respected redistributed it to his followers. This led to
because of their wisdom or skill at hunting the emergence of different classes. Kinship
or gathering. Men and women were also was still important, but the chieftain’s own
equal, with each contributing food supplies, lineage came to be seen as superior.
▲ Mother and child the men hunting and the women gathering.
Between 100 BCE and 250 CE, the With the advent of agriculture, people THE FIRST STATES
Jalisco people of Mexico made
settled down in larger groups, coming States emerged once populations exceeded
many pottery figures of mothers
with babies, reflecting women’s together as tribes. A tribe is a group of up 20,000 people – too great a number for
primary role in their society. to a few thousand, often united by a belief in kinship to play a role. State organization
their descent from a shared ancestor. Early resembled a pyramid, with an all-powerful
tribal societies remained egalitarian and ruler at the top and a hierarchy of classes
Meticulous record-keeping decisions were made communally. Many below, including priests and administrators.
was essential for the state
to function. Royal scribes tribes had a “big man” whose opinion was The largest class of all was made up of
were rewarded with
wealth and power valued, but his status came through force peasant farmers. They were at the bottom
of personality rather than inheritance. of the pyramid, even though it was their
Once a population reached several hard work that created the surpluses on
thousand, people had to live alongside which the whole system was based.
SOCIETY HAS ARISEN OUT OF THE WORKS OF PEACE:

THE ESSENCE OF SOCIETY IS PEACEMAKING.
Ludwig von Mises, Austrian economist, 1881–1973
PATRIARCHY EMERGES
Egyptian craftsmen
had their own After people switched from hunting and
hierarchies, with
royal artisans having gathering to farming, women gradually lost
a much higher social their equality within the tribe and came
status than ordinary
craftsmen under male control – a system known as
patriarchy. Men now supplied the food or
income, while women were tied to the home,
giving birth and caring for children. Many
states prevented women from owning
property and placed them under the legal
control of husbands or fathers. In some
societies, men were allowed to take multiple
wives. Sons were preferred over daughters,
and there was infanticide of female babies.
FORM EMERGE
War captives
This Mayan wall painting of c.790 CE shows
King Chan Muwan of Bonampak, in the centre,
triumphing over captured warriors from a rival
city. The captives, stripped of their high-status
clothing, have had their fingernails torn out as
a demonstration of his superiority and power.
260 THRESHOLD 7
RULERS
EMERGE
As societies grew larger, power began to shift from consensual kinship
relationships to top-down, coercive rule. The new rulers, called chieftains
or kings, backed up their position with armed force, which they used to
exact tribute from their subjects.
Rulers were able to achieve their positions All over the world, rulers found similar
of power by redistributing the tribute they ways to display their power. They sat on
received. They armed and rewarded elite raised seats (thrones), wore tall headdresses,
groups, creating a class of warriors or and held ornamental staffs called sceptres.
nobles, while disarming the mass of people. The Egyptian pharaohs carried a shepherd’s ▼ King’s coffin
Why did the majority of people allow a crook and a flail, symbolizing the king’s The coffin of Pharaoh
Tutankhamun (c.1327
small minority to rule over them? To begin protective and coercive role as the
BCE) is covered with
with, there may have been a consensual “shepherd” of his people. symbols of the king’s
element, as people willingly gave up power Success in war was also a sign that rulers royal authority and
in exchange for organization, security, and had the support of the gods. In public art, divine status. It was
made of gold, which
protection. Alternatively, the process may kings had themselves depicted triumphing was seen as the flesh
simply have been imposed on them from over enemies, who were often shown naked of the gods, and inlaid
above by forceful and ruthless individuals. to emphasize their powerlessness. with blue enamel.
DIVINE BACKING
Royal authority was usually justified by
supernatural claims, in which the ruler’s The cobra and the
well-being was portrayed as essential to vulture represent the
pharaoh’s supreme power
society. Egyptian pharaohs, for example, and authority over the
were said be the earthly embodiment of Upper and Lower
Kingdoms of Egypt
the sky god Horus, Chinese emperors
claimed to have the “Mandate of
Heaven”, and Mayan kings claimed
descent from divine ancestors, who
were believed to retain power over Striped linen
headdress (nemes)
the living. Subjects who approached was only worn
kings were expected to adopt by the pharaoh
submissive postures, such as
bowing or prostrating themselves.
Polynesian chieftains were Crook signifies
pharaoh as a shepherd,
surrounded by religious taboos or protector
that forbade their subjects from
even touching their shadow. To
do this would be to damage the Ceremonial false
beard was a symbol
chieftain’s sacred power, or mana. of divinity
As the chief’s mana was vital to
maintain the ritual security of
the community, such actions
were thought to place the
entire population at risk.
Flail, a whip used

to goad livestock,
shows the pharaoh’s
power to punish
BIG IDEAS
on a 2.25m (7ft 5 in) high cone-shaped
stele – a stone pillar – set up in the centre
LAW, ORDER,
of Babylon for all to see. Hammurabi’s Law
Code is best known for “If a man put out
the eye of another man, his eye shall be
AND JUSTICE
put out.”
At the top of the stele, Hammurabi
declared that he had been commanded
by the gods “to bring about the rule of
righteousness in the land, to destroy the
Large, complex societies need an objective set of rules to govern conduct wicked and the evil-doers; so that the strong
and resolve disputes peacefully. The earliest law codes were compiled should not harm the weak.” He suggested
by rulers as a means of social control. Later, an ethical sense developed, that any man who felt wronged should
based on the idea that justice should be equally available to everyone. go to the stele and have its laws read out:
“Let him see the law which applies to
him, and let his heart be at rest.”
For kings like Hammurabi, dispensing
he rise in populations following the The earliest surviving law code is that of the justice was a way of winning popularity.
T introduction of agriculture led to Sumerian city of Ur-Nammu, of c.2100 BCE . When they were not fighting wars or
many more opportunities for disputes. It lists various compensation sums for a wide performing religious ceremonies, many
Unlike hunter-gatherers, who had no sense range of specific injuries. For example, “If a ancient rulers spent much of their time
of private ownership, farmers quarrelled man has cut off another man’s foot, he is to listening to appeals and judging disputes.
over land, property, water-rights, pay ten shekels of silver.” According to his biographer, Plutarch,
inheritance, and many other matters. The most famous early law code of all King Demetrius I of Macedon was once on
Before the rule of law developed, it was is that of Hammurabi, king of Babylon from a journey when an old woman approached
the family or kinship group’s responsibility 1792–50 BCE . He had 282 decrees inscribed him and asked for an audience. The king
to avenge wrongs against individual
members. Failure to avenge a wrong, such
as a killing, brought dishonour on the whole
kinship group. This could set in motion a
cycle of violence, a blood feud, that might
last for generations. Blood feuds have been
common in societies throughout history,
and they form the subject of Greek myths,
Icelandic sagas, and Japanese samurai tales.
ROYAL CODES
As states emerged, rulers were quick to
assume a monopoly of the right to use
violence. To resolve disputes peacefully
and prevent feuds, they compiled lists of
punishments for crimes, or compensations
to be paid by perpetrators to victims.
▶ Mark of proof
Evidence has become important to provide a
basis for provable fact. Today’s evidence law is
influenced by Roman legal practices. In early
times, evidence was primarily oral, occasionally
written, and only rarely physical.
LAW IS THE KING OF ALL THINGS,

BOTH DIVINE AND HUMAN.
Chrysippus, Greek philosopher, c.279–206 BCE, On Law
262 THRESHOLD 7
answered that he was too busy, at which she good example of proper behaviour by those The Han dynasty succeeded the Qin. The
shouted, “Then don’t be king!” Stung by in authority. He said, “To govern simply Han Emperor Wu (ruled 141–87 BCE)
the rebuke, he stopped and spent the next by law, and to create order by means of combined Confucianism and Legalism.
few days giving audiences to all who asked punishments, will make people try to avoid Confucianism, with its emphasis on moral
for them, beginning with the old woman. the punishment but have no sense of shame. behaviour and filial duty, became the state
Plutarch concludes, “And indeed there is To govern by virtue, and create order by the philosophy. Yet it was backed up by strict
nothing that becomes a king so much as rules of propriety, will not only give them Legalist punishments. This was summed
the task of dispensing justice.” the sense of shame, but moreover they will up by the saying “Confucian on the outside,
become good.” Legalism within.” Legalism has been at the
DIVINE LAWS core of the Chinese system ever since.
The emergence of moral religions brought
a new attitude to law, with many crimes ANGLO-SAXON LAW CODES ROMAN LAW
or transgressions now being seen as LIST MONIES TO BE PAID FOR The Romans were the first people to treat
offences against God rather than against law as a science, with jurists analyzing
society or individuals. The Hebrew Torah EVERY KIND OF INJURY, DOWN the principles underlying laws and their
(Law) is a collection of instructions for TO A LOST FINGERNAIL application. Roman jurists argued that
every aspect of life, which Jews believe the spirit or intent behind a law was
were handed to Moses by God. The most more important than its precise wording.
important of these instructions were the The Legalists rejected Confucianism. They Another principle was that the accused
Ten Commandments, which were viewed people as innately greedy, self- should be given the benefit of the doubt.
inscribed on stone tablets and kept in interested, and lazy, and they advocated Over centuries, a mass of Roman laws
the central shrine of the Jewish Temple controlling behaviour through strict laws and legal commentaries, often contradictory,
in Jerusalem. and harsh punishments. Legalism was built up, which lawyers and magistrates
Islamic Sharia law is a similar set of adopted by the state of Qin in the 4th were expected to study. This was reduced
commandments for every aspect of life. century BCE . Lord Shang, the chief minister to a manageable form in 528–33 CE by the
Sharia is based on the Koran, traditions of Qin, wrote, “Those who do not carry out Emperor Justinian, who commissioned a
about the Prophet Muhammad, and the king’s law are guilty of death and should team of experts to collect all the existing
fatwas – rulings – by Islamic scholars. not be pardoned, but their punishment Roman laws in one volume – the Corpus Juris
Sharia means “the clear path” in Arabic. should be extended to their family for three Civilis (Body of Civil Law). They created a
In some Muslim countries, Sharia Law generations.” Lord Shang eventually fell out second work, the Digest, by editing the legal
has continued the ancient tradition of of favour and suffered under his own harsh commentaries to remove repetitions and
“an eye for an eye”. In 2009, an Iranian laws. In 338 BCE , he was torn apart by five contradictions. Justinian’s Law Code spread
Sharia court offered a woman, blinded chariots and his whole family was killed. to the West where, from the 11th century,
JUSTICE IS A CONSTANT, UNFAILING

DISPOSITION TO GIVE EVERYONE HIS
LEGAL DUE.
Ulpian, jurist quoted in Justinian’s
Digest, c.533 CE
in an acid attack, the opportunity to pour Legalism enabled the kings of Qin to create the Digest was used to educate generations
acid into the eyes of her attacker. She an authoritarian state and then conquer the of lawyers. The Code itself influenced many
chose to pardon him, saying, “I knew other kingdoms. In 221 BCE , the unification of later ones, including the French Napoleonic
I would have suffered and burned twice China was completed by the First Emperor, Code of 1804. In his 1951 book, Natural Law:
had I done that.” who imposed Legalism on the whole country. An Introduction to Legal Philosophy, the Italian
All Chinese families were organized into author Alessandro d’Entreves declared,
CHINESE PHILOSOPHIES mutual responsibility groups, in which each “Next to the Bible, no book has left a deeper
In China, from the 6th century BCE , two member would be punished for crimes mark upon the history of mankind than the
very different approaches to law developed, committed by another. Confucian books were Corpus Juris Civilis.”
based on contrasting views of human banned. The First Emperor’s rule proved so
nature. The philosopher Confucius argued harsh that the Qin dynasty survived for only
that people will behave well if they are set a four years after his death in 210 BCE.
LAW, ORDER, AND JUSTICE 263

FORM EMERGE
Medieval books were prized for their
THE WRITTEN
decoration, so they survived long after
the Latin language in which they were
written had fallen out of use
WORD
With the spread of farming and trade, the need to keep accurate records
led several early civilizations to invent writing systems. Writing was soon
put to other uses, including setting down laws, composing religious texts,
chronicling events, spreading scientific ideas, and creating literature.
Writing began around 3300 BCE in Egypt shopping lists, and labelling possessions
and Mesopotamia as a way to store vital to indicate ownership.
information. Initially it only benefited the Books were a valuable tool for collective
ruling classes, as the first systems used so learning: knowledge could be shared
many signs that only a small elite group, between cultures, and passed down to future
the scribes, could master them. generations. They were collected in ancient
The Phoenician invention of an alphabet, libraries, the most renowned being the
using less than 30 signs to represent sounds, Great Library of Alexandria in Egypt,
helped to extend literacy beyond just the which was a major centre of Greek learning
scribal classes. In the 1st millennium BCE , from the 3rd century BCE . One of its chief
the alphabet was spread throughout the librarians was the mathematician
Mediterranean by Phoenician traders, and Eratosthenes, who accurately calculated
then adapted by the Greeks and Romans. Earth’s circumference in around 200 BCE .
Writing was increasingly used for everyday That we know about Eratosthenes today
purposes, such as composing letters, making is due to the preservation of Greek and
WE MUST… THANK OUR PREDECESSORS, BECAUSE THEY DID

NOT LET ALL GO IN JEALOUS SILENCE, BUT PROVIDED A
RECORD IN WRITING OF THEIR IDEAS OF EVERY KIND.
Vitruvius, Roman architect, c.80–15 BCE , On Architecture
Latin books through the Middle Ages by the

Roman Catholic Church and the Byzantine
Empire, and also by Islamic scholars, who
translated them into Arabic.
Printing with moveable type, which
allowed books to be cheaply mass produced,
marked the next great advance in the rise
of literacy. The first European printed book
▶ In loving memory was Johannes Gutenberg’s Bible, printed
The invention of writing in 1455 CE . By 1500, presses in Europe were
allowed people’s names turning out 10–20 million volumes a year,
to live on after their
and 35,000 different books were in print.
death. This funeral
stele (memorial stone)
from Yemen bears an ▶ A beautiful read
inscription in the Old Until the coming of printing, only the wealthy could
South Arabian alphabet, afford books, which were designed to be admired as
which was used from objects of beauty as well as read. This 15th-century
the 9th century BCE hand-written prayer book, or “book of hours”, is in
to the 6th century CE . Latin, which limited its readership.
264 THRESHOLD 7
Ornate initial capitals announced Pictures were an aid to Upper and lower case The text was hand
text divisions or highlighted literacy, helping the reader lettering only emerged written before the
important sections of a work to understand the text in the 8th century CE page was illustrated
THE WRITTEN WORD 265

The Indus people invent
a script in 2600 BCE that
is still undeciphered.
0 B CE .
There are around 400 signs,
which are read right to left.
u t 33 0
ab o
EAST ASIA
s ed
tu
writing date ese

surviving Ch
from 2500 BC
The earliest-
ir s
ef
er
,
w
ns
Eg
yp e sig
tia t ur
s
nH pic
in
E.
ier o
gl y p h s ed on
, a s y s te m b a s
form o ped about

ns of
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k k adia
30 0 0
de velo E in Eg ypt.
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E
o t amia uneiform
u s , an
f
o p
Mes fied c r of
BC
AFRICA simpli the numbe .
ing 600
re du c s t o ab o u t
early
sign
3300 BCE
EUROPE
2220BCE
WEST ASIA
by trade with Egypt

The
and is mainly used to
190 0 BCE . It is inspired

keep accounts.
"Linear A" system in

Cre te invent the
The Minoans in
Ros
Hie
r o g E g y p t c a r ve d e t t a S t
l y ph , w i in 1 o n e
s th 9 i
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n
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ing of d
tem l o p f old by
b a s e d ab o u t t e x t.
ed on ns.
pic ture sig
Mayan writing system
develops in 300 BCE, in
Mesoamerica, with signs
1500BCE standing for syllables as
well as ideas.
The Mycen The Ancient Library

The Proto -Sinaitic (als
aean
Linear A in s adapt of Alexandria is built
to create Li 1450 BCE in Egypt around the
earliest fo near B, the 3rd century BCE .
rm of Greek
.
Brahmi script is developed in
India in the 4th century BCE . It
is an “abugida” system that
uses consonant signs
with vowel notation.
o ca
AMERICAS
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o n
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yp re
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al 5 0 L a s . is t o d
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in a n
266 THRESHOLD 7
In Ir e l an
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r i t ana y s te d al t h e
39 4 r ip tio n ow n
n
t h d k a ll a b r y C c r i p a d a
in g ) – m s o
The Chinese invent
n Eg
printing on paper using
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n
insc last-k
t w h c e in e s c r ib
.
carved woodblocks in
E
the 1st century CE .
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s
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e t is
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a c c r a f o o . T in
de
t h t d o e t t e lm, r s t 0 CE in g e .
x
a s l a e it s
e C fir ital ps let t 61 wr rca t is e
T h t h e c a p a c h i z e l s , in t o f we n scriptern Europ ces
lingia s u
ge
e - s t a ar lo
g i t Caro ped in we y. It introd
lar in a p s n d r
develo8th centu words, an
d
a s ll c t h e s e a
c
e
r a is c a in the g be t ween f the most
de sm pe
r o
spacin ces some document
s
up produ nd legible riting.
a w
clear istor y of
h
TIMELINES The Islamic Golden Age
begins around 786 CE,
in the
when scholar s gather in

the court of Harun
al-R ashid to translate m an p ub li s h e r J o h
y G er an
classical text s into Arabic, t ed b ak ing them af fordabl nes G
WRITING
a
re ed, m e , an
thus preserving them. s c c d s u te n
si du pre b e
1000CE r e s - pro ad r g
p in
g as s gl
m i
to in
e
k s rint
te
DEVELOPS
b
r ac
s b pe p
y.
oo
It all le-t y
ow
ab
o ve
T h e f ir s t m
in 14 4 0 CE.
Writing emerged when the earliest civilizations

began to use pictographs to keep economic
records. Sumerian and Egyptian pictographs
could stand for words, ideas, and sounds.
Different styles of writing evolved to suit the materials used.

Sumerian cuneiform used simple wedge shapes, because it
was written by pushing a pointed stylus into soft clay. The
flowing appearance of Chinese writing arose because it was
The Yongle Encyclopedia
originally painted on bamboo strips with a brush. Alphabets is completed in China in
were created when the eastern neighbours of the Egyptians 1408 CE . It is the world’s largest
encyclopedia until Wikipedia,
adapted around 30 hieroglyphs, using them to represent comprising 11,095 volumes and
copies of 7,000 texts.
sounds. The earliest alphabets only contained signs for
1600CE
consonants. Later, the Greeks added vowel signs, too.
Writing systems can be difficult to date because it depends
on the accidental survival of ancient texts. While Sumerian
clay tablets have survived for millennia, early Chinese writing,
on bamboo, has been lost.
WRITING DEVELOPS 267

FORM EMERGE
Sluice gates
Canal at a
▼ Irrigating the fields higher level Reeds were harvested
This reconstruction shows a for roofing and
typical farming village, with its weaving into baskets
irrigation system, in southern
Mesopotamia. It is based on
archaeological evidence, such
as dried up irrigation canals, and Water
Mesopotamian texts, including regulators
instructions for irrigating fields. Tapered controlled the
bank to water supply
R
from the canal
TO
control
water flow
LA
GU
RE
ER
AT Vegetable
W and salad crops
Reed fishing
boat required plenty
Mesopotamian of fresh water Wells
rivers carried a lot provided
of silt and often groundwater
changed course in times of
drought
Fruit trees, such

as apples, olives,
date palms, and
pomegranates, Trees
were grown closest provided
Dyke held back to the canal shade for
floodwaters and crops
prevented deposition
of silt into canal
Peas and chickpeas
fixed nitrogen in
the soil
Shaduf
Small
footbridge
Reservoir
stored water
for emergencies
Weir maintained
upstream water
level of canal Animals provided
a secondary income
from their products
Date palm Fields were allowed

to fall fallow in
alternate years to
Cattle ploughing
reduce salinization
field ready for
planting
Livestock fertilized
fallow fields and acted
Pigs in village as insurance against
compound were drought – farmers could
VILLAGE fed on scraps revert to nomadism
Canal entrance could be blocked

with mud to prevent flooding
DESERT WATERING
THE DESERT
Marginal
fields
The ability to transfer water from rivers to fields and
Wheat is sensitive store it in reservoirs for later use allowed farmers to
to salt, so it was
grown as close to
grow crops beyond the limits of rain-fed agriculture,
the main canal as and even transform desert into fertile land.
possible
Flax was grown
to make linen
Salt-resistant Irrigation was very labour intensive, and called for large-scale
barley was grown
in the areas near social cooperation. The first civilizations – Egypt, Mesopotamia,
the marshes
the Indus, and China – all developed extensive irrigation systems.
Irrigation channels
needed regular Cross section Egypt and Mesopotamia had low rainfall, but benefited from
dredging to prevent to show gradient
silt blocking them
major rivers that flooded every year, depositing nutient-rich silt on
the surrounding fields. In Mesopotamia, where the river flooded at
the wrong time of year to grow crops, the water had to be diverted
and stored for later use.
The plains of
Mesopotamia DYKES AND CANALS
were very flat, To divert and control the water, people dug wide canals alongside
making them
prone to the rivers. They used the excavated soil to build dykes, which
waterlogging
and salinization
protected their fields and villages from flooding. From the larger
canals, smaller channels ran downhill into reservoirs and fields.
Marshes were Weirs and regulators allowed them to adjust the flow from the
used as game canals into the channels.
reserves for
waterfowl and One problem with irrigation is that when water evaporates it
wild boar
leaves behind salt, which builds up in the soil, reducing its fertility.
The Mesopotamians dealt with this by leaving fields fallow to
Canal ebbs into
marshland recover, and by growing barley, which is more salt resistant than
other crops, but overly salty fields were eventually abandoned.
A shaduf was a long, Irrigation demanded a huge amount of work, maintaining
pivoting pole with
a bucket on one dykes and removing silt from the canals. Despite this, the system
end and a weight proved so productive that, in the 4th millennium BCE , the first
on the other, used for
lifting water from city-states grew out of these busy and prosperous agricultural towns.
canals and wells
Farmer stood
here and walked
on the rim
Turning the screw

drew water up
the tube
DYKE
EM
ST
SY
G
N
IF TI ▲ Paddle wheel ▲ Archimedes’ screw
U FL Farmers in China lifted water onto This hand-operated pump consisted
S HAD
their fields using the paddle wheel. of a rotating metal screw inside an angled
Bucket was
The operator stood on the wheel tube. It was said to have been invented by
lowered and
filled by pulling and used the tread of his feet to the Greek scientist Archimedes in the
on a rope make it turn and scoop up water. 3rd century BCE .
DESERT
8000 BCE AGRICULTURE EMERGES
A canal around the

city carried water
from the river to
Livestock
fields inland
The city was

surrounded by huge
areas of irrigated
farmland
Canal
Palaces also
housed craft
workshops,
food stores, Gate Fortress
and ceremonial
courtyards
Street
Fast roads
linked Ur to
other city
states
Some houses had an

Priestesses’ open courtyard and a
palace domestic chapel
Royal palace Temple and
treasury
Temple
North Courtyard
Temple
harbour
Canal
Royal mausoleums
where kings and
queens were buried
with their treasures
Ur was an important
Sumerian centre for
goods imported West
and exported by harbour
sea and river Ziggurat was the highest
point in the city. It
supported a temple for the
patron god of the city. The
people of Ur brought their
agricultural surplus here
The river flooded

each spring,
depositing
nutrient-rich silt
on the land Sacred quarter
Buildings were made of
– walled precinct in
sun-baked bricks. They
northern half of city
didn’t last, so they were
demolished and rebuilt
UR
High defensive
outer wall
EUPHRATES RIVER
▲ Location of Ur
Ur was once a major port close to the mouth of the
Euphrates on the Persian Gulf. The coastline has since
shifted and the site lies far inland, in what is now Iraq.
Palm tree
CITY STATES EMERGE

Walled Around 3500 BCE, farming villages and towns along the Tigris and Euphrates
courtyards
with trees rivers, in southern Mesopotamia, were transformed into the world’s first
were a
feature of cities. In seven other places worldwide, cities emerged independently and
many cities human history entered a new era: an age of agrarian civilizations.
The first cities were more than just the large region of Sumer lacked raw materials, and
villages of the early agrarian era, which the need for resources led to the development
consisted of similar, self-sufficient households. of long-distance trading networks. Sumerian
Temple
These cities saw humanized environments cities exchanged pottery and grain for tin and
emerge with new forms of hierarchy and copper from Anatolia and gold from Egypt.
complexity. One factor that led to the By 3000 BCE, there were a dozen
emergence of cities was rapid population Sumerian cities including Uruk, Ur, and
growth, the result of increases in Lagash, each with a population of between
productivity, after collective learning led 50,000 and 80,000 people. Cities were
Courtyard to the invention of new technologies. complex economic structures that required
Houses and shops inside

THIS IS THE WALL OF URUK, WHICH NO CITY ON EARTH
the city reflected the
rise in artisan traders
and the availabity of
CAN EQUAL. SEE HOW ITS RAMPARTS GLEAM LIKE
new “luxury” goods
COPPER IN THE SUN.
Epic of Gilgamesh, c.2000 BCE
Uruk was the first of several cities that new forms of social organization: kings and
appeared in southern Mesopotamia, or priestly elites emerged and specialized
Sumer. The area was surrounded by desert, occupations developed. This led to the
which led to the development of settlements creation of states with political, social, and
with irrigation systems. This innovation economic hierarchies. During a period of
made it possible to support a larger extraordinary invention, the elements of
population: these cities attracted settlers what we call civilization were born: kingship,
from more arid parts of the region, and social hierarchy, monumental architecture,
became important centres of exchange. The tax collecting, law codes, and literature.
◀ Centre point
Sumerian cities were
Merchant ships
dominated by tall
sailing up and down mud-brick temples
the Euphrates called ziggurats, which
could be seen for miles
around. The size of the
temple displayed the
▲ The city of Ur importance of the local
Ur was built on the eastern bank god and the wealth and
of the Euphrates. This trading hub was power of the city that
a wealthy city with palaces, courtyards, built it. This ziggurat, at
temples, market-places, and many mud-brick Ur, has been partially
houses, where ordinary people lived. reconstructed.
CITY STATES EMERGE 271

FORM EMERGE
FARMING IMPACTS
THE ENVIRONMENT
When farmers reshaped the landscape to make it favourable for growing
food, there were unforeseen consequences. Deforestation, the removal
of tree cover, caused soil erosion and the loss of woodland species, while
irrigation gradually turned the soil so salty that it could not sustain crops.
The pollen record shows a massive Salinization – the deposition of mineral

loss of forests across Eurasia as a result salts when irrigation water evaporates
of farming. Forests were cut down to from fields – also helped to hasten the
provide timber, charcoal for iron working, end of the Nazca culture. The salts
and arable and grazing land. The accumulate at the soil’s surface, making
Mediterranean lost its deciduous forests, it toxic to most plants. By 500 CE , only
leaving thin soils only suitable for olive salt-tolerant weeds grew on what was
trees. In China, felling the trees of the once productive Nazca farmland.
Loess Plateau allowed mineral-rich soil Other American cultures induced
to be washed into the Yellow River, similar crises. The Maya, for example,
giving its waters their distinctive hue. were forced to abandon their cities and
Deforestation has a disastrous impact pyramids after over-intensive use of
in arid lands, where trees have adapted water and land.
to the low rainfall by growing deep roots.
Between 200 and 400 CE in southern EASTER ISLAND
Peru, the Nazca people removed all the When Polynesians arrived at Easter Island
local huarango trees. The huarango has (Rapa Nui) in the Pacific, in about 1200, it
the deepest root system of any tree, which was covered with a thick palm forest. Pollen
helps to maintain the soil’s fertility and studies tell us that by 1650 the last trees had
moisture levels. Pollen samples reveal that been cleared by slash-and-burn farming.
the trees were replaced by cotton and corn. Without wood, the islanders could no longer
Without the anchoring huarango roots, build boats to fish. They managed to survive
Nazca fields were devastated by soil erosion the loss of the trees by scattering rocks over
from high desert winds and seasonal half of their island. Called lithic mulching,
flooding. The land became unsuitable for this system reduces evaporation and soil
agriculture, much of it turning to desert. erosion, and helps replace lost nutrients.
▶ Planting techniques
The deforestation of
Easter Island by the
mid-17th century
resulted in wind-lashed,
infertile fields. The
islanders responded by
building thousands of
planting enclosures
called manavai. These
circular stone walls
preserve moisture in the
soil and protect young
plants from high winds
as well as grazing cattle.
272 THRESHOLD 7
Stripped bare
An aerial view of part of Easter Island
shows signs of the massive erosion
caused by the loss of its palm trees over
three centuries ago. The nutrients in
the soil were washed away by heavy
rainfall and not replaced, which led to
a loss of plant and animal diversity.
FARMING IMPACTS THE ENVIRONMENT 273

BIG IDEAS
BELIEF SYSTEMS
Humans have long believed in the supernatural, but these beliefs have
altered over time in response to changing lifestyles. As hunter-gatherers
became farmers, beliefs shifted from animism to the worship of ancestors
and new gods. Later, as societies grew larger and more complex, universal
faiths were established, most of them monotheistic.
he earliest religion we know of is Europe threw precious bronze swords and The question of what people believed was
T animism or shamanism, which is still shields into lakes and rivers, which were unimportant; some Greek philosophers even
practised by modern hunter-gatherers. This seen as portals to the spirit world. The more questioned whether gods existed. Around
is based on the belief that people, animals, precious the offering, the more effective it 580 BCE , the philosopher Xenophanes stated
and forces of nature all have spirits, which would be. Humans were killed as sacrifices that humans create gods in their own image:
can be contacted through ceremonies. Bad in many cultures, including Bronze and Iron “Ethiopians say the their gods are flat-nosed
weather, sickness, or an unsuccessful hunt Age Europe and Mesoamerica. and dark, Thracians that theirs are blue-
can all be explained by displeased spirits. eyed and red-haired. If oxen and horses had
Religious specialists, called shamans, enter A FAMILY OF GODS hands and were able to draw, horses would
a trance state to contact the spirits, and then Over time, natural forces and abstract draw the shapes of gods to look like horses
perform rituals to appease them. ideas were personified, and families of and oxen to look like oxen.”
With the shift to farming and settled gods emerged. The Indo-Europeans were
communities, there was a new focus on the pastoralists who, from around 4000 BCE , UNIVERSAL RELIGIONS
worship of the ancestors – the spirits of the migrated across western Eurasia, spreading A major shift took place with the rise
dead, who were thought to watch over the family of languages. They carried with of universal religions offering moral
them the worship of a sky and thunder god, teaching, emotional fulfilment, and
called Dyaus Pita in India, Zeus in Greece, salvation. The most important were
and Jupiter in the Roman Empire. He was Zoroastrianism in India, Buddhism
I BELIEVE IN THE FUNDAMENTAL the head and king of a family of gods. in India, Confucianism in China, and
The rise of states went hand-in-hand with Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in the
TRUTH OF ALL GREAT RELIGIONS organized religions, and with temples and Mediterranean world. These were all
priests dedicated to local patron gods. State founded by male teachers, who were thought
OF THE WORLD. religions provided a new common bond, by their followers to be divinely inspired.
uniting large numbers of people who were Universal religions first appeared in the
Mahatma Gandhi, Indian independence leader, 1869–1948
not tied by kinship. This benefited rulers 1st millennium BCE , after the emergence
by creating an ideological framework for the of great empires and the rise of urban life.
transfer of wealth from the masses to elites. They were a response to the human need to
the living. In many farming communities, Farmers were expected to bring tribute to
people even kept the bodies of the dead in offer to the gods at their local temple.
their houses and made offerings to them. Just as hierarchical state systems
The earliest religious structures are great emerged, gods also came to be ranked in
tombs, megaliths, and passage graves, often terms of seniority. Kings justified their rule THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE
built on hilltops. The local people’s claim by claiming to have a unique relationship IS THE WORLD’S
to the land they farmed would have been to the gods, and would intercede on behalf BEST-SELLING BOOK
strengthened by the visible presence of their of the people to obtain successful harvests.
ancestors in the landscape. Polytheistic religion was inclusive and
Farmers also worshipped the Earth, or always open to new gods. The Romans
Great Mother, because it produced new life, thought that the more gods they could find meaning in a world of increasing social
and the Sun, on which they depended for call on, the safer their empire would be. complexity. Historians of religion call this
a good harvest. The Incas of Peru called Visitors to other cities were happy to take period the Axial Age, because it was the
their sun god Inti and the Earth goddess part in ceremonies honouring local gods time when most of today’s religions and
Pachamama, meaning “World Mother”. without feeling disloyal to their own deities. philosophies emerged.
Farmers in the Andes still perform rituals Polytheistic gods also had no concern with In the Americas, there was no Axial Age
for Pachamama before the sowing season. morality. The gods in Homer’s Iliad, which and no universal religion, perhaps because
It was widely believed that the favour of was the closest thing that the Greeks had urban living developed much later than
supernatural forces could be won by offering to a sacred text, behave just as badly as in Eurasia and there was no long-distance
gifts, called sacrifices. People in Bronze Age the human protagonists. trade network that allowed ideas to spread.
274 THRESHOLD 7
CONCERNING THE GODS, I HAVE
NO MEANS OF KNOWING WHETHER
THEY EXIST OR NOT.
Protagoras, Greek philosopher, c.485–415 BCE
On the Gods
ONE GOD Universal religions flourished when they many lands and established an empire that
Most universal religions were monotheistic, were adopted by empires. Christianity and stretched from Spain to India. Missionaries
based on the worship of a single, all-powerful Zoroastrianism became the state religions and merchants went on to carry Islam
God whose primary concern was human of the Roman Empire and Persian Empire around the Indian Ocean.
behaviour. Religions that addressed moral respectively, and Confucianism became the
actions were of use to states in enforcing state philosophy of China. The new religions STRONG BELIEFS
conformity, enabling rulers to claim that the spread widely thanks to the Eurasian trade Unlike the polytheistic religions, the
social order was divinely inspired. Religion networks. From its Indian birthplace, universal monotheistic faiths placed great
offered those who suffered in this life the Buddhism was carried east along the Silk importance on beliefs. The problem was
consolation of an afterlife, and a promised Road to China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. that they offered different interpretations
reward in paradise made people willing to Islam spread even further, thanks to its of what people should believe. This clash
sacrifice their own lives for the greater control of the Mediterranean hub of belief systems caused tensions between
good. This willingness among region. In the century nations and cultures. For the first time,
individuals to sacrifice after the Prophet people went to war over religion.
themselves made the Muhammad’s death, The major conflict was between Islam
state more successful in 632 CE , Muslim and Christianity. As a result of inter-faith
in warfare. armies conquered wars, the Eurasian trade network became
IN 2010, ISLAM HAD 1.6 BILLION

FOLLOWERS, A QUARTER OF
THE WORLD’S POPULATION
divided into rival blocs, with Christian

Europe cut off by the Islamic Ottoman
Empire from the Silk Route to China.
This led, in the 15th century, to the Age of
Exploration, when Christopher Columbus
and other European explorers set off to
discover new maritime routes to the East.
In this way, religion acted as a major
trigger for globalization – the linking up
of the entire world by European Christian
nations as they travelled, traded, and
conquered in the name of faith.
◀ Face of the god

The elephant-headed Ganesh
is one of the best-known and most-
popular deities in the Hindu pantheon.
Known as the Remover of Obstacles,
he is the god of wisdom and learning.
FORM EMERGE
Lord of the dead

This reconstruction of the Lord of Sipán’s
tomb shows his richly dressed body in the
centre, with four people around him. His male
attendants had had their feet cut off, perhaps
to prevent them from deserting their posts.
276 THRESHOLD 7
GRAVE GOODS
People have long believed that death is followed by an afterlife: the
practice of burying the dead with items that would be useful in the next
life goes back more than 30,000 years. The coming of agriculture and
the rise of civilization saw a huge increase in grave goods.
Through grave offerings, we can trace Sharing his tomb were three women,
the rise of different social classes. The two men, a child, two llamas, and a dog.
graves of the first farmers, who were buried They were probably sacrificed to
with simple pots or joints of meat, show no accompany their lord in the afterlife.
signs of social distinction. By the Bronze Human sacrifice was also practised
Age (c.3000 BCE), chieftains had emerged, in the royal tombs of early China, Egypt,
buried under large grave mounds with and Mesopotamia. As the custom died
rich treasures. out, models were used as substitutes for
Grave goods tell us a lot about daily real humans. In Egypt, wooden servants
life and beliefs in the past because they performed work on behalf of the living,
include items considered important or while in China, the First Emperor, Qin
valuable at the time. High-status grave Shi Huang (259–210 BCE), was buried
goods – evidence of technology – include with a complete terracotta
Iron Age British and Chinese chariots army to defend him from
and complete Anglo-Saxon and Viking the angry ghosts of the
ships. They also provide evidence of long- people he had killed
distance trade. The 7th century Anglo- during his reign.
Saxon king buried in his ship at Sutton
Hoo in England had silver bowls and
spoons that had been brought all the way
from Constantinople in the Roman Empire
(now Istanbul, Turkey).
The absence of grave goods is also
significant. It provides evidence of a changed
view of the afterlife, spread by new religions.
The change is most obvious in late Roman
cemeteries, which pagans – buried with
grave goods – shared with Christians, who
were buried without offerings and with their
feet pointing east, towards Jerusalem.
◀ Terracotta guardian
This kneeling warrior
ROYAL GRAVES is one of 7,000 life-
The most elaborate offerings come from size figures buried
royal graves, such as that of the Moche Lord to guard the tomb of
China’s First Emperor.
of Sipán, on the north coast of Peru. He was
The position of his
buried in around 300 CE with 451 precious hands suggests that
objects, made from gold, silver, and feathers. he held a crossbow.
MEMBERS OF THE KING’S HOUSEHOLD ARE BURIED BESIDE

HIM… ALL OF THEM STRANGLED. HORSES ARE BURIED TOO,
AND GOLD CUPS AND OTHER TREASURES.
Herodotus, Greek historian, describing the funeral of a Scythian king, c.484–425 CE
GRAVE GOODS 277

FORM EMERGE
CLOTHING
SHOWS STATUS
The production of textiles dates back to the early days of agriculture,
when skills from basket weaving were first applied to plant and animal
fibres. As textile production developed, fabric became a highly tradeable Clouds represent
the celestial realm,
commodity, and clothing became a new way to demonstrate social rank. signifying rain, luck, and
never-ending fortune
Textiles were invented independently in snail in the eastern Mediterranean. This dye could wear cloth of gold. In China, only
several parts of the world, using various was so highly prized that the people who the emperor and his closest relatives were
materials. The earliest textiles, from about traded in it came to be called Phoenicians, allowed to wear bright yellow.
7000 BCE , were linen made from fibres of meaning “purple people” in Greek. Silk was the most sought-after textile
the flax plant, which was domesticated in because of its lustre, softness, smoothness,
the Near East, and cotton, domesticated STATUS AND SILK and isothermal properties, which made
in India. Later there was wool, which came Clothing became an important way for it cool in summer and warm in winter.
from sheep in Eurasia and from alpacas and people to display status. In both Egypt It was made in China before 4000 BCE from
llamas in South America. The main fabrics and Mesopotamia, linen, which is lighter cocoons of the Bombyx mori moth, the world’s
in Mesoamerica were cotton and ayaté, and smoother than wool, was a high-status only fully domesticated insect. Through
made from the maguey plant. material worn by the wealthy. Many selective breeding the moths lost their ability
societies had laws governing the clothes to fly and the legs of the larvae shrank so
MAKING FABRICS people were allowed to wear. In Tudor that they could not crawl away from the
Weaving began with the development of England, members of the royal family alone trays on which they were kept.
the loom, a device designed to keep warp
(lengthwise) threads tight while weft (cross)
threads are woven between them. In the
Americas, this was achieved by attaching
the loom to the weaver’s back. Eurasian EVEN MEN HAVE NOT BEEN ASHAMED TO
weavers used an upright wooden frame
with weights tied to the warp threads. ADOPT SILK CLOTHING IN SUMMER BECAUSE
Textiles were coloured with dyes from
plants, minerals, insects, and shellfish. OF ITS LIGHTNESS.
The ancient world’s most expensive dye
was purple, produced from the Murex sea Pliny the Elder, Roman scholar, 23–79 CE, Natural History
◀ Chinese silk
This early 12th-century Chinese
painting shows women ironing
silk. This fabric was so valued that
the overland route from Asia to
Europe along which it was traded
became known as the Silk Road.
Until the 6th century CE, China
maintained a monopoly in silk
production by making it a capital
crime to export silkworms or
cocoons. The painting itself
was made on a sheet of silk.
Red and blue are

lucky colours
278 THRESHOLD 7
◀ Dragon lord
This embroidered yellow silk robe
from the 18th century was worn by the
Chinese emperor on festive occasions.
The colour and symbols shown on it
were reserved for imperial use.
Flaming pearl is one of the Eight

Treasures (pearls of wisdom),
which stand for perfection
and enlightenment
Dragon is a symbol of good

fortune and an emblem of rank
and high power. Five-clawed
dragons show that wearer is
an emperor – lower ranks have
three or four claws
Nine dragons appear

in total, as nine is
the number reserved
for the emperor
Dragon flies from the

waves to the heavens,
bringing rain and fertility
Hem of robe
represents the sea
Copper is first extracted from Metal foundries process gold,
its ores by heating over a fire copper, lead, zinc, tin, and iron
(smelting) in Western Europe at Metsamor, Armenia, from
and East Asia c.5000 BCE . 5000 BCE.
The metal is poured into 5000 BCE
moulds to make tools.
D e a t h m go l d f
p ur i f y i
ng
ask
6000 BCE
of T m o
ro
u ta re s
nk , w
1 FIRST METALS
h a hi c
m h
Metalworking began in
un
is
the Fertile Crescent, em ma
er de u
in the Middle East, ge
d i s in g
c.7000 bce, with people n E te c
g y p hniq
in farming communities t c.1 ues for
327
making jewellery from B CE .
naturally occurring
nuggets of gold, copper, Tin bronzes are made at
and lead. These soft Pločnik, Serbia, c.4500 BCE .
metals could be worked Knowledge of the process is
lost when the Vinča culture
without using heat, from the region dies out.
although too much
hammering would make
them brittle.
r ia .
ul ga
a, B
ar n
nV
7000 BCE
yi
er
et
m
W
ce
ld a
or
’s in
o ld
es e ad 4000 BCE
tk ed
PURE METALS no
th
th
wn wi
go l ie d
d tr
easu b ur
re, c.4 6 o un d
0 0 – 42 0 0 B C E , i s f
in c r e a
Tuyer
s e t h e te mp e r a t
e p i p e s , d e p i c e in a
TIMELINES
Coppe
r
lost-wa is cast, using th
xp e
is now Is rocess, in wha
rael c.3 t
70 0 BCE.
te d
ur
USING METALS
h er cr uc
e in ib l
a1 ew
5t h i
h l
nt
ce
e u
sm r y
e l t B CE
Bronze is made by the in g p a i n
The invention of metallurgy was one of the most Sumerians in Western Asia BRONZE co ti
p p ng , are u
er, f sed to
important technological advances in history. Metal c.3500 BCE . Gold and silver,
as native metals, are also
r om
c .4 0 0 0 BCE .
tools can be moulded, hammered into new shapes, exploited in the region.
and resharpened when they grow blunt.

E,
exp ugh the ons c.3 used to
any ensive se are 10 0 BC
0 0 BCE).
2 BRONZE BEGINS
e li te d b y
bronze”
are
casting, ssic bronze” for
but b e us o
armour (c etalwork and

to
tho e weap ts are
of bronze
e
.
Metallurgy developed in stages, as Eurasian people gradually Bronze is a mixture of

.30 0 0 –21
learned how to work harder metals. The earliest metal was copper, copper and another metal,
and “mild
m ak n z e c a s
the
usually tin. Since copper

to
which is a soft metal, so tools needed regular resharpening. Later, and tin ores are rarely
s
m
Two form
la
people learned how to make bronze by adding a small amount of

Br o
found together, tin bronzes

one
for shee t
in use: “c
tin to copper. This produced a harder metal suitable for swords, are evidence of trade.
Most archaeologists date
spears, and shields. Copper and tin are both scarce metals, so the start of the Bronze Age
bronze was mainly used by the elite. to c.3500 BCE, but there is
Iron was the last metal to be worked, because it requires very evidence that tin bronze
was being worked in Serbia
high temperatures to smelt. Yet the use of iron, to make high-status 1,000 years before that.
weapons and low-status tools and nails, would change the lives 3000 BCE
of everyone across Afro-Eurasia. Bronze spearhead
280 THRESHOLD 7
ut r, a, st 0 vin
or s us of y
l a h i c a ll . T E ,
r t w h i oy he
e a p p e a g c a . 33 h a
i f u w a n in g B C
e b c o um b w a x r u c y C
k s ed
b
m it t t st- Pe d
t o l d w ve n h l o s i n n t e
.
go s o i n w i t r k e r i n ve
1000 BCE
al ng wo g i s
alo e t al r in
m lde
So
ak h
reflected in the building of hill
forts and defences.
brings increased warfare,
The European Iron Age
western Europe c.800 BCE .
south c arbon, is an alloy of

Iron working reaches
is exp dia c .550 B ted in

t o t h e E an d
West.
a t c i e s b in C in g
in E r e t a
C
inven
ur o h e
h e d e f o h in
.
i s m n t ur n te d m a k
pe
el,
Gold tumbaga
l p ut . 36 n
o l o i s c i s in v c e , f o
iron w Wootz ste
ba rib (c e i
pectoral
o r te d
o l in g 6
t io t o
gl o o n t ir e l a c
n.
ern In
t e c 0 B CE ir o n, f u r n a
e
rly ), c mp s p e
e
lu
CE n t a k
m w t z B C r r an s ar
in d g e e u s e a n
ith
e
t
i s te ch o f t f r o m g
or . K Wo .33 dite ord
3 6 ma g
c .5 cas blas
e l in
E
E – Ro l t i n
e r i q u ir
w
hn . I t
gy
la t n h e
ak le s t E ,
In r te e r n M e l s
e
t
lo e
th sm
Th
.
p o r k er te
e
st
d - no o 0
ad
BC e
IRON
im l w o e a s t u s s
e
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0
c
e t y sc
g
m e b ma
s w ia d
ad Da
100CE
a
Bronze objects from the
d
m
3 IRON SHIFT Chinese Shang dynasty
become more decorative
Dates given for the start (c.1500 BCE). te d
re a f
i r s t c ple o
of the Iron Age vary, but el is
f
pe o r ie s
iron objects found in n s t e H a y a , c e n t uo n in
b o th e E t i .
Car by c.10 0 roduc urope
C
India and evidence of
steel manufacturing in z a nia re i t s p t r al E
n
Tan be fo Ce
Anatolia, Turkey, date
back to 1800 BCE. Iron
is an abundant metal,
but it requires high Shang dynasty taotie
temperatures to smelt. It (bronze animal mask)
is possible that disruption
in the tin trade forced
the shift in use from
bronze to cheaper iron.
c e,
neck la a grave
d gold Eur
Worke CE, is found in ru. op
c.20 0 0 e T itic ac a, P
e m ea
s t r o a ke r n s wo
B
k ma
near L a tal is made fro gge t, ng sd rd
u su w e r s e ve l -
The me y occurring n hape. w i t c c e s s i e l din g w o r d s o p
ll s h a d ve l
natura mmered into t
d e d a y e r o ge t h y
b
a
cold -h s t r i b e a t in c a r b s o f ir e r
p g on o
t o g s an d o u t t h , o r b n
e t h we l y
er, 7 din in iron
0 0 – g the
80 0 m
CE
.
Ir o s e d
va
nw ep
k
or
ic s
t in p r e
g a ads ek
sm a c re
ith ross
t h is G
at w
a f e s te e re European
or g rn
e w A sia a B CE
. wh iron sword
as l nd the 10 0
a te r Mediterranean, 120 0 –1
The Ram in p a in t
S e d in t h e 6 t e n t ur y B CE .
hc
m i i l ve the Thicket
in n e d r s t a r statuette
A a t Bessemer process for
c. 3 nato nd sms to b
0 0 lia, e making steel, invented
0 – Tu elted Go
l
25 rke t he d and English iron foundries in the 19th century,
0 0 y, s
BC Rammateri ilver a convert cheap coal to has its roots in East
E.
f r o m in t h e al s u s e re am
T dt on
coke and use it instead Asia c.1200 BCE . 1000 CE
Ur, of charcoal in the 1600s,
I r a q h i c ke t o m a k g
, c .2 s t a t e T h to produce cast iron.
550 ue t e
B CE te,
.
W
co est
br un t e r n
p o on z rie M
t o i s o e w s in e d i t
w h s w n in i t h i t ia l e r r Gunpowder weapons,
ich i t ch g f o ar s l y m a n e including the “flying-
i s t o r c e e nic ak a n cloud thunderclap
m us s t , e
o r in h b u eruptor”, a cast-iron
B r un d i d e s e f o h in
e e g em t
x p t in
f o ov nc n C
on a th r b a.
cannon, are invented

en ,
pr ide ng i
z e t D e e ron
e v ak i
si v Cast iron is developed in in China c.1200 CE .

m
e.
k n o n ar l z e
Europe during the 1400s.

i f e g x ie s -
Because it is strong and can

, c ian t
. 2 g,
be cast into tube shapes,

70
Cast-iron late it finds an immediate use in

0B
17th-century the manufacture of artillery.

CE
,
3-pounder gun
USING METALS 281

Health issues Comfortable shoes
Ötzi suffered with arthritis, from a life of hard The outer covering of Ötzi’s shoes
physical work. He was also infested with intestinal was made of deerskin. Inside was a
whipworms, from drinking dirty water, which would woven-grass netting that held an
have given him stomach pains and diarrhoea, and he insulating layer of hay in place. Both
may have had Lyme disease – a bacterial infection parts were fastened by leather Goat leather
caused by tick bites. Growth patterns in his one straps to a bearskin sole. loincloth was
surviving fingernail show that Ötzi had been seriously The shoes would have fastened
with a belt
ill three times during the last year of his life. been warm and
comfortable, but they
Unhealed knife were not waterproof.
wound on right
hand, between
thumb and
index finger
Leather
straps ▶ A museum reconstruction
allows us to visualize what Ötzi
may have looked like. He was
short in stature and had a wiry,
but strong, frame. He lacked a
Inner shoe twelfth pair of ribs and had
no wisdom teeth.
Although all Ötzi’s

fingernails dropped off
after death, one was
found when his body Ötzi reconstructed
was recovered Ötzi’s body was naturally
preserved by freeze-
drying. It is unaltered
by burial rites or other Pollen from the hop
post-death interventions hornbeam tree found
in his body shows that
Ötzi died in spring or
early summer
Analysis of Otzi’s stomach

showed that his last meal
was meat from a wild
goat called an ibex
282 THRESHOLD 7
HARD EVIDENCE
Tools and equipment
Ötzi was well equipped to survive long
ÖTZI THE ICEMAN periods away from home. For hunting he

carried a longbow made from springy yew,
with 14 flint-headed arrows, and a string net
for catching birds and rabbits. He had a
copper-headed axe, for felling trees, and
In 1991, a naturally mummified man was found in the Ötzal Alps, a flint-bladed dagger. His kit also included
between Austria and Italy. Nicknamed Ötzi, items found with him flints for making fire and fungi
with medicinal properties.
tell us that he lived and died around 5,300 years ago.
Ötzi’s body, discovered with 70 items of with a tool pouch, leggings, shoes, a coat,
clothing and equipment, gives us a unique and a cap. The clothes were infested with
and detailed snapshot of one individual fleas. He may have used a piece of grass
who lived and died during the Copper Age matting to shelter from the rain.
(c.4500–3500 BCE), when metal tools were Ötzi died violently. Not long
first used in Europe. before his death he had fought off
Although he belonged to a farming an attacker who had wounded
community, Ötzi was also a hunter. The him in the hand with a knife.
Flint-bladed Tree bark
copper axe he carried was a symbol of the Ötzi escaped but was later dagger sheath
status he held in his community. Ötzi had killed when an arrow struck
the typical health problems of early farming him in the back. His body
peoples, including bad teeth and arthritis. was quickly covered by
Ötzi’s clothing, made from the hides of snow and ice, which Body art or pain relief?
domesticated goats alongside wild deerskin protected it from
and bearskin, consisted of a loincloth, a belt decomposition. Ötzi had 61 tattoos, mostly crosses
and lines. They were made not by needles
but by fine cuts to the skin, into which
soot was rubbed. The tattoos are on areas
of the body where Ötzi would have suffered
from arthritic pain. They may have been
done as pain relief, like acupuncture.
Ötzi is the world’s oldest tattooed mummy.
Ötzi’s teeth were badly

worn. His diet, which was
high in cereals, gave him gum
disease and tooth decay
Cross behind Three lines on inner

right knee right ankle
Ötzi originally had

brown hair, but it all
fell out while he was
in the ice. Particles
of copper in his hair
suggest he may have
been a coppersmith
A wound to the
back of the head
was caused by a
fall or an assault
As well as long head

hairs, shorter, curly
hairs were also found
at the site, indicating
that Ötzi probably
had a beard
ÖTZI THE ICEMAN 283

FORM EMERGE
CONFLICT
LEADS TO WAR
For most of human history the population was small enough to
avoid inter-communal violence on any great scale. Warfare began
as populations rose and demand increased for land and resources.
As communities grew larger, conflicts became ever more deadly.
The earliest evidence of targeted collective THE FIRST ARMIES

violence comes from a cemetery in Egypt, The formation of states led to the creation of
where archaeologists discovered 24 skeletons armies and the development of new military
of hunter-gatherers who had been killed by technologies. These technologies included
flint arrowheads around 13,000 years ago. the chariot, used by elite warriors across
The birth of agriculture led to a steep Bronze Age Eurasia, and the composite
rise in violent conflict. Farmers had land, bow, which combined horn and wood to
goods, and livestock to protect, and they make a small weapon of great power. After
were vulnerable to attack. Groups competed the domestication of the horse had opened
over resources, with conflict intensifying up the steppes of Asia to nomadic
when harvests were poor. Evidence of early pastoralists, swift-moving tribes of mounted
massacres comes from three mass graves nomads armed with these bows became a
found in Germany, from around 5000 BCE , constant threat to the settled civilizations
where the dead were slain with stone adzes. of China and western Eurasia.
Western literature begins with Homer’s
Iliad, a poem glorifying heroic warriors.
In many cultures, warriors were considered
superior to all other classes, with farmers
at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Yet
waging war was only possible thanks to
the work of farmers, who grew the
crops that armies depended on.
The wings flapped as
Military campaigns had to be
the warrior moved planned to coincide with the period when
crops were available to feed the troops.
The Eurasian trade network allowed
military innovations to spread widely.
▶ Dressed to impress
Gunpowder weapons, invented in China
High-ranking Celtic
warriors wore helmets in the 13th century, reached the west in the
for display rather than 15th century. Gunpowder ended the elite
protection. This status of warriors. European knights and
4th-century BCE bronze
Japanese samurai were both vulnerable to
helmet from Romania
has a huge bird of prey guns fired by conscripted peasant soldiers –
as its crest. for so long their social inferiors.
WAR – I KNOW IT WELL, AND THE BUTCHERY OF MEN…

IN CLOSE FIGHTING, I KNOW ALL THE STEPS OF THE WAR
GOD’S DEADLY DANCE.
Homer, Greek poet, c.800–700 BCE, Iliad
284 THRESHOLD 7
Battlefield technology
This Persian painting depicts a cavalry battle
between Persian and Turk forces in 589 CE .
Both sides are armed with small, powerful
composite bows. The Turkish ruler Bagha
Qaghan (right) is killed by an arrow fired by
the Persian general, Bahrām Chōbin (left).
CONFLICT LEADS TO WAR 285

FORM EMERGE
Edge of the empire

Hadrian’s Wall, built by the Romans across
northern Britain in 122 CE, was both a
defensive barrier and a means of controlling
the population on either side. It split the
territory of the local Brigantes tribe in two,
and was used to monitor, and tax, movement
from one side to the other.
286 THRESHOLD 7
AGE OF
EMPIRES
Empires arose as states expanded out of their own regions, conquering
other areas to acquire more resources. In the process, rulers had to work
out how to keep a diverse range of conquered subjects under control,
exact tribute, and govern far-flung lands.
The simplest form of empire is one based same languages (Latin and Greek), clothing,
on indirect rule. In the 15th century CE , and gods throughout its territories. Men in
the Aztecs conquered a huge empire that places as distant as Egypt and northern
stretched from the Pacific to the Gulf of Britain wore the Roman toga.
Mexico, but they did not directly rule any The Romans also offered stable rule,
of its peoples. Instead, the conquered cities known as the Pax Romana (Roman Peace),
were expected to send annual tributes of which encouraged trade. They linked the
LET US PRAY THAT ALL THE GODS AND THEIR

CHILDREN GRANT THAT THIS EMPIRE AND THIS CITY
FLOURISH FOREVER.
Aelius Aristides, Greek rhetorician and Roman citizen, 117–181 CE, The Roman Oration
luxury goods – including textiles, jade, and lands of their empire with a vast network of
feathers – to the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. roads and rid the Mediterranean of piracy.
The disadvantage was that their subjects The rich empire was also a market for goods ▼ The Oxus Chariot
resented Aztec rule and, when the chance from distant lands, including silk from The Persian Empire was
came, rebelled against it. China, Baltic amber, and Indian spices. the first to use a road
system as a means of
Other empires were able to enforce direct Although the Roman Empire finally fell,
governance and
rule by installing governors in conquered it left a lasting legacy in the form of roads, communication. Satraps
cities. In the 540s BCE , Cyrus the Great, towns, literature, architecture, and a and messengers could
founder of the Persian Empire, created 26 template for effective imperial travel quickly on the
royal roads, in chariots
satrapies – local governorships. The Persian governance that would similar to the one
Empire was diverse and multicultural: stone inspire nations and rulers depicted by this tiny
reliefs show people from all over the empire, for millennia. gold model.
in their distinctive dress, bringing tribute to
the Great King. The weakness of this system
was that the conquered had no reason to
remain loyal to Persia, and satraps were able
to create independent power bases.
THE ROMAN EMPIRE

The most effective and long-lasting empire
was that of the Romans, whose innovation
was to open up citizenship to new conquests.
Elites were offered the chance to become
Roman, with all the rights and privileges
that entailed. Unlike the Persian Empire,
Rome offered a shared culture, with the
AGE OF EMPIRES 287

FORM EMERGE
HOW EMPIRES
RISE AND FALL
Throughout history, hundreds of empires have risen and fallen, often
following a similar lifespan – a period of vigorous growth, followed by
a decline. Some empires fragmented into smaller states. Others were
conquered by new rising empires.
Empires were hard to sustain.

Armies had to be funded and ◀ Early emperor
This bronze head is thought to be
maintained. As long as an Sargon of Akkad. He was admired
empire was expanding, the by the Mesopotamian conquerors
expense could be met by new who followed him.
conquests. However, once it
reached its largest size, this founder of India’s first empire.
had to be done by taxing the Greek ideas, art, and culture
population. Empires were greatly influenced the Romans.
vulnerable to external enemies Meanwhile, more than two
and internal conflict, as well hundred theories have been
as environmental factors, put forward to explain why the
such as famine and disease. Roman Empire “fell”. Today,
The earliest empire we historians tend to describe its
know of is that of Sargon of end as a gradual transformation
Akkad, who conquered all of rather than a sudden collapse.
Mesopotamia around 2300 BCE . What is more interesting,
He pulled down the fortifications perhaps, is the fact that while
of conquered cities and installed his sons central rule ended, the Roman Empire,
as governors. The Akkadian Empire like Sargon’s and Alexander’s, left a lasting
broke up around 2150 BCE after a series of legacy, through collective learning. By
rebellions and foreign invasions. Although 1300 CE , universities that were founded in
Sargon’s empire fell, he had set an example many European cities introduced Greco-
that many later Mesopotamian rulers Roman ideas to European intellectual life.
attempted to match. And the Roman legal system, reorganized
by Emperor Justinian, is still the basis of
LASTING LEGACIES legal systems in most of Europe today. Conquers other states
with power vacuums and
The most successful conqueror was valuable economic assets
Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE),
whose empire stretched from Egypt to
Afghanistan. Although his empire did ▶ Rise and fall of empires
Throughout history, empires across every part
not survive his death, Alexander’s of the globe have grown and then collapsed, all
astonishing conquests inspired both the folllowing a similar process with these common Well-governed,
Romans and Chandragupta Maurya, elements contributing to their rise and decline. strong city state
reaches the limits
of its growth
and resources
ANY KING WHO WANTS TO CALL HIMSELF MY EQUAL,

WHEREVER I WENT [CONQUERED], LET HIM GO.
Sargon of Akkad, Emperor of the Akkadian Empire, d.2215 BCE
288 THRESHOLD 7
Fall of the Persian Empire

This ivory shows Alexander the Great’s
defeat of the Persian King Darius, at the
Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BCE.
PEAK OF EMPIRE
Wealth of
empire starts to
Cultural unification fall: population
strengthens the is taxed more
imperial structure to compensate
Difficulties keeping or
Population increases developing new territory;
and becomes wealthier Infighting and weak rulers lose their grip
corruption in state on government
and provinces
Increase in revenue Disease epidemics

from taxes, tribute, reduce population
Taxes pay for larger Tax revenues decline:
army to hold and and trade
it is hard to pay army,
increase territory and inflation sets in
Farmers look to local

landowners rather than
Army develops the state for protection
loyalty to local
generals or
paymasters
Safety within empire

Government imposes Revolutions or
declines: factions and
control and structure, opportunist invaders
civil wars increase
and creates political topple empire
stability
New empire begins
HOW EMPIRES RISE AND FALL 289

FORM EMERGE
▶ Qianlong coin
This coin of China’s Qianlong
Characters around
Emperor (ruled 1736–95) follows the hole are read in this
the model of the First Emperor’s order: top, bottom, right,
coinage. It has a powerful then left. The top and
symbolic design, asserting bottom characters
together give the
the emperor’s universal emperor’s title,
authority. The coin Qianlong
was minted in
denominations
of 1 and 10.
Circle represents
the dome of the
heavens above the
Side characters
world, which is
(read right to left)
symbolized by the
mean “circulating
central square hole
treasure”, signifying
that the coin should
circulate freely
Coin is made
from copper alloy
cast in a mould
Head of
Apollo
▶ Replicated designs Stylized Abstract

horse design
These coins show how
the idea of money spread
across Europe. At left is
a gold Greek coin issued
by Philip of Macedon
(ruled 359–336 BCE).
Philip’s coin was copied
by the Parisii, a Celtic
tribe of northwest
Europe. On later Parisii
coin designs, the imagery 4th century BCE 4th century BCE 1st century BCE 1st century BCE Later Parisii Later Parisii
became less realistic. Greek coin (front) Greek coin (back) Parisii coin (front) Parisii coin (back) coin (front) coin (back)
290 THRESHOLD 7
MAKING One length of rope
MONEY One measure

of wheat
Money is a symbolic token of value, used as a means of exchange.

At first, items that had local significance, such as cowrie shells, feathers,
textiles, or cacao beans, were used as tokens. These were replaced by A jar of oil
more valuable metals, which greatly improved trade between regions.
The earliest form of trade was bartering. content was reduced; by the 270s, it was only A small measure
of grain
The problem with bartering is that both silver-coated copper. This led to inflation
sides in the exchange must have something as traders raised prices in response to what
◀ Symbolic worth
of equivalent value that the other wants. To they perceived as a less valuable currency.
These clay tokens
solve the problem, the earliest civilizations were used by early
invented money. CHINESE COINS Mesopotamian
Currencies that were used for trade over Coins, in the form of miniature cast-bronze merchants to keep their
accounts. Different-
wider areas used metals, especially gold, tools, became widespread in China during shaped tokens stood
silver, and bronze. Gold and silver are most the Warring States period (475–221 BCE). for different goods.
valued because of their scarcity, beauty, The northern and eastern states shaped The tokens were
durability, and the effort needed to extract their coins like knives, while the central One garment often passed between
merchants as bills of
them. At first, weighed silver was used as a states modelled theirs on spades. trade in clay “envelopes”
currency. Then, in the 1st millennium BCE , After uniting China in 221 BCE , the First that recorded how many
as the Eurasian trade network expanded, Emperor introduced a uniform circular MESOPOTAMIAN COUNTING TOKENS tokens were inside.
states began to issue coins – metal tokens
stamped with their values.
The first true coins were made in Lydia,
in what is now Turkey, around 600 BCE .
From Lydia, coinage spread to Greece. WITH THIS PAPER-MONEY THEY CAN BUY WHAT THEY LIKE
Each Greek state minted its own coins,
usually decorated with an image of a patron ANYWHERE OVER THE EMPIRE, WHILST IT IS ALSO VASTLY
god or the god’s sacred animal.
The act of issuing coins was an assertion LIGHTER TO CARRY ABOUT ON THEIR JOURNEYS.
of political authority and the right to rule.
Rulers realized that they could use coins to Marco Polo, Venetian merchant, c.1254–1324, The Travels
promote their public image and spread ideas
or information widely and quickly. Roman copper coin. It had a square hole in the ◀ Stone money
coins combined a portrait of the reigning centre so that coins could be strung together. On the island of Yap in
emperor with news of his achievements – for Copper is not as valuable as bronze, but the Micronesia huge discs
carved from limestone
example, a military victory or the building intrinsic value of the material from which are a traditional form
of a new temple. Similarly, Islamic caliphs the coins were made no longer mattered, of currency (rai). The
issued coins bearing religious inscriptions, because everyone in China was using the discs were quarried on
the islands of Pulau and
such as: “In the name of God, Muhammad same monetary system. The important
Guam and towed on
is the messenger of God.” factor was that the right to mint coins was a rafts to Yap. A stone’s
monopoly held by the imperial government. value depends on its
COINS AS EVIDENCE As trade increased, so did the demand for size, workmanship, and
history – especially how
The distribution of coinage is evidence of money. Around 900 CE , Chinese merchants, difficult or dangerous it
the new trade networks, and the spread who wanted to avoid carrying around was to transport to Yap.
of ideas, across Eurasia. Roman coins found thousands of coins, started trading receipts Ownership is recorded
as far away as Afghanistan and India bear from shops where they had left money or orally, and the stones
often remain in situ
witness to the trade in spices from the East. goods. The government then granted a despite changing hands.
A decline in the quality of coinage is an monopoly to certain shops, giving them the
indication of an empire in economic trouble. right to issue the receipts. In the 1120s, the
The Roman Antonianus was a silver coin, government took over the system, and issued
first issued in 215 CE . Over time, its silver the world’s first paper money.
MAKING MONEY 291

FORM EMERGE
The Triumph of Death

Following the Black Death, The Triumph of
Death became a popular subject in European art.
This wall painting from Sicily, painted in the
1440s, shows Death as a skeleton riding a horse,
shooting down all classes, including emperors,
nobles, and churchmen, with a bow and arrow.
292 THRESHOLD 7
UNHEALTHY
DEVELOPMENTS
Farming could support many more people than hunting and gathering,
but the move to a limited diet proved to be a less healthy way to live.
As the population rose, and communities became denser and more
widely connected, diseases spread rapidly and with devastating effect.
The skeletons of early farmers reveal from rats to fleas to humans. The worst
problems caused by the new way of life. outbreak – the 14th-century Black
Grain-based diets caused scurvy and rickets Death – began in Asia and was then
from a lack of vitamins C and D. Farmers carried west along trade routes, killing
also suffered injuries caused by hard, one-third of Europe’s population.
repetitive work. Female skeletons from the Hunter-gatherers rarely had contact
first farming site, Abu Hureyra in Syria, with rats, but human settlements, with
show damaged lower backs and knees, all their rubbish, made an ideal habitat
and deformed big toes, all caused by for rodents. Drinking water sources were
long hours kneeling to grind grain. often contaminated with human and animal
Periodic famine was an inadvertent faeces. Roundworm infections, and two
consequence of agriculture. People had deadly bacterial diseases – cholera and
replaced their broad hunter-gatherer typhoid, both caused by sewage-polluted
diet with a smaller number of crops and water – were common occurrences. Even
animals, all of which could fail due to something as simple as an infected cut
climate, disease, or pests. In Egypt, farming could prove fatal before the advent of
depended on the annual flooding of the modern medicine.
Nile, which usually reached 8m (26ft) high.
A 7m (23ft) flood would result in a poor
harvest, but anything less would lead to
famine. Repeated failures led to the
collapse of some civilizations.
DEADLY DISEASES
Close proximity made it easier for bacteria
and viruses to change their host species from ◀ Plague carrier
domesticated animals to humans. Measles, Bubonic plague is
an ancient disease of
for example, evolved from the rinderpest
rodents, but humans
virus, a deadly disease in cattle. Diseases caught it only after they
could be passed on by direct contact with began to settle in large
animals, or transmitted by blood-sucking communities. This
20 million-year-old flea,
insects, such as fleas and lice. The most
preserved in amber,
devastating was bubonic plague, caused carries plague bacteria
by the Yersinia pestis bacterium, passed in its mouthparts.
GREAT PITS WERE DUG AND PILED DEEP WITH HUGE HEAPS
OF THE DEAD... AND I, AGNOLO DI TURA, BURIED MY FIVE
CHILDREN WITH MY OWN HANDS.
Agnolo di Tura, Italian merchant and chronicler, c.1347
UNHEALTHY DEVELOPMENTS 293

FORM EMERGE
TRADE NETWORKS
DEVELOP
As agrarian civilizations grew, they were linked together in vast
interconnected networks, where goods, languages, technology, microbes,
and genes were all exchanged. The most important exchange network
of the Agrarian Era is known today as the Silk Roads.
The treeless steppes stretch for 4,800km exchange networks, such as the American from 50 BCE to 250 CE , small early agrarian
(3,000 miles) from eastern Europe to the trade networks of the Andes mountains civilizations had been consolidated into vast
borders of China. For the last 6,000 years, and Mesoamerica, but they were smaller and powerful empires, enabling large-scale
the steppes have been home to nomadic and less varied than the Silk Roads. While exchanges. The four ruling dynasties –
▼ In search of pasture pastoralists. Mounted on horses or camels, warfare played a role in connecting different the Roman, Parthian, Kushan, and Han
Modern Kazakh these people were constantly on the move civilizations, the most influential networks empires – constucted road networks that
nomads, riding horses in search of fresh pastures for their animal were built through trade. connected their territories. Technological
and using camels to
carry their belongings, herds. The extreme mobility of the steppe advances in metallurgy and transport,
herd their flocks on the nomads enabled the creation of the Silk THE SILK ROADS intensified agricultural production, and the
Altai Plain of China, Roads. This collection of routes spanned The Silk Roads included land routes across emergence of coinage all contributed to
which was part of the
the steppes of Eurasia. During the Agrarian China, Central Asia, and the Mediterranean conditions in Afro-Eurasia that allowed for
Silk Roads. Their way of
life has changed very era, they connected the entire Afro-Eurasian and also trade that took place by sea. By unprecedented levels of material and cultural
little in 6,000 years. world zone. Other world zones had early the first major period of Silk Roads trade, exchange. Meanwhile, large and powerful
294 THRESHOLD 7
nomadic communities had appeared across epidemics of the same diseases in both ◀ On horseback
the harsh interior of Inner Eurasia. They Han China and the Roman Empire. Polo, invented in
helped to link up the different civilizations, Over time, this exchange of microbes Central or South Asia,
spread all the way to
and travellers relied on these nomadic allowed the peoples of Afro-Eurasia China along the Silk
people once the Silk Roads formed. to build up resistance to diseases. Road. This pottery Tang
Long-distance trade between China and All these different types of dynasty burial figure
(618–907 CE) features
the Mediterranean flourished from around exchange resulted in Afro-
one of the much-prized
200 BCE , following the Han dynasty’s Eurasia having common “heavenly horses”,
expansion into Central Asia. Merchants technologies, artistic styles, which were traded
crossed the steppes and deserts, carrying cultures, and religions. along the Silk Road.
Chinese silk, jade, and bronze, Roman glass, Through these exchanges, the
Arabian incense, and Indian spices. Control Silk Roads encouraged higher
of the trade brought great wealth to oasis levels of collective learning,
towns in the deserts, and to the cities of which contributed to
Northern Persia and Afghanistan. growth, and innovation.
Even more important were the ideas and
religions, including Buddhism and Islam,
that were carried along the Silk Roads.
In the 550s CE , monks from the Byzantine
Empire reached China, where they managed
to smuggle silkworm eggs back to the
THEY HAD BROUGHT THE EGGS TO BYZANTIUM… THE
West, allowing the Byzantines to begin silk
manufacture and breaking China’s long-held
METHOD HAVING BEEN LEARNED, THUS BEGAN THE ART OF
monopoly of this sought-after fabric. MAKING SILK… IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
The Silk Roads also made it easy for
disease to spread. During the 2nd and
3rd centuries CE , there were deadly Procopius of Caesarea, Roman historian (c.500–560), on the spread of silk production
TRADE NETWORKS DEVELOP 295

FORM EMERGE
EAST
MEETS WEST
BETWEEN 1492 AND 1650 UP TO
Until 1492, people in the “Old World” of Afro-Eurasia and the “New World” 90 PER CENT OF THE NATIVE
of the Americas were each unaware that the other existed. European AMERICAN POPULATION WAS
explorers brought the two worlds together, leading to the “Columbian WIPED OUT BY EPIDEMICS
Exchange”: a transfer of people, animals, crops, diseases, and technology.
NORTH AMERICA
W
ES
TE
Manioc
RN
South American manioc
resists drought and pests,
HE
and thrives even in poor
MIS
soils. It spread around the
◀ The New World
PHE
tropical regions of the world,
where it now provides a basic European explorers arrived in the
RE
diet for over half a billion people. Americas and began to extensively
colonize the entire region after 1492.
They returned to the Old World with
crops and animals from the Americas that
often became desirable luxuries in Europe.
Spanish conquistador
Hernán Cortés took
control of the Aztec
Kingdom in 1521
Tobacco
From the early 1600s, tobacco
was an important cash crop
for the European settlers of In 1500, a fleet led by
North America. It was exported Portuguese navigator Pedro
to Europe and spread quickly Álvares Cabral landed in Brazil
across Afro-Eurasia. and took possession of the land,
claiming it for his country
SOUTH AMERICA
Chilli Spanish
American chillies were conquistador
Francisco Pizarro
easy to grow and spread
conquered the
rapidly across Eurasia. Inca Empire in 1533
They were carried by
Portuguese traders to
Africa, India, and Southeast
Asia, where they added flavour
and spice to local diets.
296 THRESHOLD 7
European explorers made full use of their organizational methods. The power of died out, as people learned to speak
superior technology – horse-riding, guns, governments was enhanced and they began European languages. But Europe lay at the
and steel weapons – to conquer the peoples to expand their territories to increase their heart of the newly created global exchange
of the New World, and the diseases they populations and revenues, resulting in an network, and flows of new information had
carried with them also helped. The increase in human control of the land. the greatest impact here. Surprisingly, this
Columbian Exchange transformed life New global exchange networks emerged, did little to increase rates of innovation. In
across the world. Everywhere, people and the cultural impact of the Columbian 1700, the world was still traditional, but the
benefited from new foods, resulting in Exchange was felt most profoundly in two scale at which existing ideas, goods, people,
global population growth for the next two regions: the Americas and Europe. In crops, and diseases were exchanged had
centuries. Crops and animals spread, along the Americas, it devastated cultural and increased, paving the way for a spectacular
with improved agrarian techniques and new political traditions: American languages burst of innovation in the late 18th century.
Wheat
Eurasian wheat was an
ideal crop for the plains of
North and South America.
Today, the USA and Canada
are among the world's
top wheat producers.
EUROPE
RE
Sir Walter Raleigh’s

ASIA
HE
expeditions to the Americas

encouraged Britain to establish
I SP
Smallpox
colonies in North America
EM
during the 17th century Many diseases, such as

smallpox, typhus, and
NH
cholera, were brought to

T ER
the Americas. Native

Americans had no
E AS
Following in a Christopher Columbus left resistance to Old World

pioneering tradition, Spain in 1492, on a voyage diseases, and populations
Portuguese explorers of exploration that resulted were decimated.
made voyages to the in the accidental “discovery”
Americas and of the New World
eventually colonized
large areas in
South America
Christianity
The European conquerors
AFRICA
were devout Christians.
In the Americas, native
religions died out and there
▶ The Old World were mass conversions
Afro-Eurasia had been to Christianity.
connected for many centuries
through vast and extensive
trading networks. As European
explorers and colonizers
started to make voyages to the
New World, they brought a
variety of goods, technology,
diseases, and ideas with them.
Horses
Horses revolutionized
transportation and agriculture
in the Americas. The North
American Plains Indians became
expert riders and used their
horses to hunt buffalo (bison).
EAST MEETS WEST 297

FORM EMERGE
TRADE GOES
GLOBAL
From the late 15th century, the world became globally connected for the
first time, as European ships traversed the oceans, creating a worldwide
system of maritime trade. Most important was the linking of Eurasia and
the Americas, but the effects of globalization were felt worldwide.
Globalization began in 1492, when ships, navigational devices, and maps – to and there was no incentive to investigate the
Christopher Columbus sailed west across the bring the spices within reach. In this, the wider world. There was one brief period of
Atlantic, hoping to reach Asia. Instead, he countries of northwest Europe had an exploration in the early 1400s, when fleets of
found the Americas, “a New World” whose advantage over Mediterranean nations, junks sailed as far as Africa, but the purpose
existence had not even been suspected in since their coasts faced out into the Atlantic. was to display Chinese power rather than to
Eurasia. Six years later, a Portuguese fleet Europe was then a continent divided by discover new sources of wealth. After 1433,
under Vasco da Gama sailed south and east rivalry and conflict. This spurred European when the emperor called an end to these
to India. Then, in 1519–22, the Spanish countries to conquer lands overseas in expeditions, China became inward looking.
expedition of Ferdinand Magellan sailed all search of riches to fund their frequent wars. There were no long-distance trade routes
the way around the world. Soon the English, While China, too, had the technology to in the Americas; the Aztecs of Mexico and
French, and Dutch were also making explore new lands, the country was unified Incas of Peru were not even aware of each
long-distance voyages.
EUROPEAN MOTIVATION
Why was it Europeans rather than other
▼ The world on an egg
Made in Europe around
peoples who connected the globe? Europe WORLD TRADE [DATES] FROM THE 16TH
was at the wrong end of the Eurasian trade
1500, this is the earliest
known globe to depict network, far from the source of spices and CENTURY … FROM THEN ON THE MODERN
the New World. It was silks, and cut off from the overland route by
carved on two half
the rise of the hostile Ottoman Empire. So HISTORY OF CAPITAL STARTS TO UNFOLD.
ostrich eggs from Africa
– further evidence of Europeans, all too aware of their exclusion,
global connections. set about creating technology – including Karl Marx, German scholar, 1818–1883, Das Kapital
There are 71 place names. On the “Isabel” is La Isabella, Columbus’s

east coast of Asia (not visible here) settlement in what is now the
Asia with the is written Hic sunt dracones, Dominican Republic other’s existence. As a result, the peoples of
Indian Ocean meaning “Here are dragons” the Americas had no idea that other lands
were worth exploring and no reason to build
ocean-going ships.
THE NEW GLOBAL NETWORK

As a result of new global connections, the
focus of trade networks shifted. Northwest
Europe, formerly at the margins of the
Eurasian network, became the centre of
a rapidly expanding new global network.
This is why four of the most widely spoken
languages today are English, Spanish,
Portuguese, and French. The previously
important trading hubs of southern Europe,
such as Venice, went into long-term decline.
European economies changed, as wealth
Africa
poured in from the Americas and other
lands. Power shifted from landholding
South America, Terra Sanctae
Madagascar labelled “Mundus Crucis (“Land of
aristocrats to merchants, marking the birth
OLD WORLD Novus” (New World) NEW WORLD the Holy Cross”) of what would become modern capitalism.
298 THRESHOLD 7
◀ Portuguese trade
In 1543, the first
Portuguese ships,
sailing from Goa, India,
reached Japan. They
exchanged Chinese
silks and porcelain
and Indian cloth for
Japanese metalwork
and artwork. This
Japanese painting
shows a Portuguese
carrack, a type of large
merchant ship.
SOUTH AMERICAN SILVER valuable. Government officials and soldiers 12–25 million Africans crossed the Atlantic,
In 1545, the Spaniards discovered a found they could no longer live on their pay. chained in the holds of slave ships.
mountain of silver ore at Potosi in Bolivia. Despite the flow of silver from the The impact of globalization on the
This was the biggest source of silver ever Americas, the Spanish crown, constantly environment was also catastrophic. The
found. By 1660, about 60,000 tonnes of engaged in wars, was always in debt. The introduction of sheep to Australia and
silver had been shipped to Spain, tripling wealth ended up in the hands of foreign goats to the Pacific Islands, for example,
the amount of the metal in Europe. bankers who serviced the royal debt. resulted in widespread deforestation and the
Silver, sought after by Asian merchants, extinction of many species of native wildlife.
soon became the foundation of the world DESTRUCTIVE IMPACT
economy. Much of it found its way to China, Globalization also spread Eurasian diseases
where it was used to buy silks and porcelain. throughout the world. Their impact on
Spanish galleons, sailing from Mexico, the indigenous peoples of the Americas,
carried the silver across the Pacific to the Australia, and the Pacific Islands was
Philippines. Portuguese ships also went east, especially devastating.
using New World silver to buy cotton and At first, mines and farms in the Americas
spices in India, and porcelain and silks in were worked by Native Americans, but so
China, which they then traded in Japan. many perished as a result of ill treatment ◀ Spanish silver
The flood of silver from America caused and introduced diseases that a new source of Famous for their
widespread inflation in Europe and beyond. labour was required. From 1534, Europeans consistent weight and
purity, Spanish silver
Through trade, Spanish silver coins reached began to transport African slaves – who coins set a standard
the Ottoman Empire, rendering the local had a resistance to Old World diseases – against which other
coinage, with its lower silver content, less to the Americas. Over the next 350 years, coins were measured.
TRADE GOES GLOBAL 299

THRESHOLD
INDUSTRY RISES
Spurred on by the need to feed and care for
a growing population, humans unlock a new
source of energy from the Earth – fossil
fuels. These power the rise of industry and
consumerism, creating a new world order in
which humans become a dominant force for
change on Earth.
In large, diverse, interconnected societies, collective learning
is a powerful force. The journey to our highly complex modern
world began in the 18th century, when new global connections
enriched existing networks of exchange. The pace of change
started to accelerate – as did the human capacity
to control the biosphere. Expanding
netw
ork
Innovativ so
e, pr fe
ob xc
Rapid ac lem ha
cele -so n
Agricultural revolution rat lv
ion in
ge
Commercial methods
begin to transform farming, in
an
co
g
as new technology and
sk
dt
innovations increase the carrying
ills
ren
lle
capacity of the land and use
ct
less human labour. Redundant
dt
ive
farm workers take up crafts
og
and gravitate to urban
lea
centres, creating a potential
loba
rnin
industrial workforce.
lization
g
What changed?
Extensive access to new sources of
energy – first coal, then oil and natural
gas. These fossil fuels replaced wind,
water, human, and animal power,
leading to the production and use
of energy on a new scale.
Population growth
Efficient farming techniques
allow food production to
soar and support larger
populations of potential
factory workers.
Mechanization
Wind, water, and animal power
are used to drive machinery that
can grind grain, pump water,
and transport goods faster and
more efficiently than humans
alone. Entrepreneurs – especially
in the textile trade – look for
ways to replace hand tools and
human labour with mechanical
production methods.
Warfare
Countries
compete to
secure materials
and markets
Require Colonial Global
raw materials Empires connections
increase
Economic
competition
Seek new
markets
Trade
ECONOMIES increases
EVOLVE
Consume
more goods
Military
Manage
economy
Protect
interests
GOVERNMENTS
EVOLVE
Population
grows
Provide
health care
Digital
INDUSTRIAL revolution
REVOLUTION
Compulsory
education
Innovations
Communications
increase
revolution
SOCIETY
EVOLVES
New global
ENVIRONMENT social networks
CHANGES Use more
Global fossil fuels
connections
increase
Climate
change
Global
warming
Transport Generate
heat, light,
and power
Lost equipment
biodiversity
Quest for
sustainable
resources
and to protect
biodiversity
1750 THE INDUSTRIAL 1789 DECLARATION OF 1830 STEAM AGE 1869 DNA 1880 ELECTRICAL 1914 WORLD 1930s GREAT
REVOLUTION BEGINS THE RIGHTS OF MAN ISOLATED AGE WAR I DEPRESSION
THE INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION
In the mid-18th century, after hundreds of years of slow development,
a series of innovations in Britain began a process that would change the
world forever. This process is now known as the industrial revolution.
The industrial revolution transformed commercial projects and rewarded

agrarian societies that discovered how to innovation, as part of an intellectual climate
use fossil fuels like coal to replace human known as the enlightenment.
and animal power in manufacturing, Most of Britain’s national income came
communication, and transportation. It from commerce, which was protected by a
began in Britain, when several factors – strong army and navy, and provided the
both global and local – ushered in an era essential capital needed for industrialization.
of relatively fast technological change. London was an important trade hub; at the
centre of an international trade network
WHY THERE, WHY THEN? connecting Europe and the Americas, Britain
Britain’s industrialization followed a period was perfectly placed to benefit from new
of rapid population growth in Europe. inventions as a result of collective learning.
Innovations in agriculture, such as the In theory, with its large population,
horse-drawn seed drill and the adoption of China could have industrialized at any point
modern farming methods, had combined from the 11th century, when it developed an
to increase the carrying capacity of the land, iron and steel industry, powered by coal. But
fuelling population growth (see pp.252–53). its coalfields were located in the unstable
It was also a time of social change: with north of the country, far from the economic
landowners able to produce twice as much centres, which had moved south after the
food using less labour, many agricultural Mongol invasions in the 13th century. The
workers moved to the cities or took up crafts. political climate was also unfavourable:
Landowners no longer took tribute from the Confucian ideals promoted by the
their peasants, who became wage earners. government emphasized stability, and
For the first time, the structure of society industrialization was seen as disruptive.
[THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION] WAS PROBABLY THE MOST

IMPORTANT EVENT IN WORLD HISTORY… SINCE THE
INVENTION OF AGRICULTURE AND CITIES.
Eric Hobsbawm, British historian, 1917–2012
began to change from an agrarian society A GROWING PROBLEM

to a commercialized one. Britain’s population doubled between 1750
This was a significant change. Rates and 1800. This led to a shortage of wood,
of innovation are slower when social and so coal was increasingly used as a source of
ideological conditions offer no incentives to fuel. As the shortage became acute, demand
innovate, and the political climate played for coal rose. Britain had abundant reserves,
a part in that too. During the 18th century, but they were underground and difficult
Europe’s absolute monarchies stifled to access. This created a need to innovate;
innovation, but Britain had a parliamentary Britain had all the necessary conditions
monarchy with a government that supported for innovation to thrive – and thrive it did.
304 THRESHOLD 8
1939 WORLD 1950s ANTHROPOCENE 1970 DIGITAL 1973 OIL 1989 WORLD WIDE 2001 9/11 2008 GLOBAL FINANCIAL
WAR II EPOCH BEGINS AGE CRISIS WEB INVENTED CRISIS
Working from home

Agricultural workers freed up to work in
cottage industries, such as textiles, boosted
the economy, trade, and exports, helping to
pave the way for industrialization.
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 305

1750 THE INDUSTRIAL 1789 DECLARATION OF 1830 STEAM AGE 1869 DNA 1880 ELECTRICAL
REVOLUTION BEGINS THE RIGHTS OF MAN ISOLATED AGE
▼ Workings of a coal mine Horse-drawn carts were

As Britain began to industrialize, more used for delivery of wood
coal was needed to fuel steam engines and other materials and
the transportation of coal Brick chimney
and furnaces. As a result, coal production
increased, mines got deeper, and the
Steam engine house
industry became more dangerous. Coal for collection
Steam engine also powered

winches to transport miners up
and down one shaft and bring
coal up to the surface
Hot air rising from the upcast had a

lower density than the cold air in the
nearby downcast shaft. The difference
in air pressures pushed fresh cold air
down the downcast
Large piles of wood

support mine shafts
and tunnels
Wooden platform for

simple pulley system
Upcast shaft was

lined with wood
Workers were
winched down to the
pit bottom in large
wicker corf
Workers transported
coal from small coal
seams to the main shaft
Hot air rose up the upcast

shaft, drawing poisonous
and highly combustible
gases from the mine up the
shaft to the surface
Coal was hoisted up to

the pit surface
Water pump pipe extracted

water from below ground.
Miners sometimes worked up to
their waists in water, and mines
were prone to flooding
Coal supply for furnace
Furnace burned coal to ventilate

the mine, removing poisonous
gases, and reducing the chance
of explosions
Worker shovelled
coal into furnace
Cold air pushed down the downcast

shaft ventilated the mine
Horse-drawn coal corves on

wooden wagons were taken to
down-cast shaft
IN 1700, BRITAIN PRODUCED
2.54 MILLION TONNES OF
COAL. IN 1900 IT PRODUCED
Young boys called trappers were in
224 MILLION TONNES charge of opening and closing doors
that controlled ventilation and the
flow of air around the mine
306 THRESHOLD 8
1970 DIGITAL 1973 OIL 1989 WORLD WIDE 2001 9/11 2008 GLOBAL FINANCIAL
AGE CRISIS WEB INVENTED CRISIS
COAL FUELS
Coal shovelled
Miners and their families into boiler to Winding and
lived in tiny cramped power engine Boiler pumping engine
cottages near the mine
INDUSTRY
Spoil tip, the waste
rock removed
during mining
Access to large reserves of coal was the breakthrough
that fuelled the machines of industry and set the
modern age alight. Coal was the first of several fossil
fuels used to power the industrial world.
Coal The history of coal is far older than the mines of 18th-century
supply
Europe. It was used in China as early as 1000 BCE to heat homes,
smelt copper, and fuel blast furnaces to create iron; by the 11th
century CE , the Song Dynasty relied on coal to produce the iron
By the late 18th century, the purpose of
the steam engine was twofold: both to
needed to make weapons and armour. In Britain, coal was used as
pump water from the mine, and also to fuel from the 2nd century CE , when the Romans mined coal near
move the baskets that lowered the miners the surface to heat their forts, fuel furnaces, and burn sacrifices at
and to remove the coal. This required altars in honour of their gods. After the Romans departed in the
giving the steam engine rotary motion.
5th century, the use of coal declined. For most people, wood was
a far more accessible source of fuel, but from the 13th century sea
coal – an abundant resource that washed up on the beaches of
northeast England – was collected and distributed by boat.
Fuel was needed for industrialization, and in Britain coal deposits
were fortuitously located in thick seams, albeit deep underground.
However, early mining was hazardous: pits continually filled with
water, and horsepower removed it too slowly. The steam engine,
Worker in a shallow
coal seam
invented by Thomas Newcomen and developed by James Watt,
was the breakthrough that made it possible to effectively pump
Hurriers, often women or young
children, transported coal away
water out of mines and access more coal at greater depths.
from the pit face. Smaller seams
with height restrictions did not
have tracks or horses ◀ Screening coal
Women and children
Main coal seam sorted the coal and
separated it into
Hewers, usually adult men, different groups
chipped at coal from the pit
face using pick axes. Davy based on size. The
lamps provided illumination sorted coal was
washed and dried,
before being
transported from
the mine.
Wooden props
prevented the roof from
collapsing over areas
from which coal had
been excavated
Coal was loaded onto corves on

shallow wooden carts with iron
wheels and pushed along major
coal seams
Entire families were encouraged to work in

mines, until the 1842 Mines Act prohibited the
employment of children under 10. Men would
typically hew the coal from the rockface and the
women and children would haul it to the surface.
COAL FUELS INDUSTRY 307

STEAM POWER
DRIVES CHANGE
Developed in the 18th century to pump floodwater from mines, the
steam engine was the defining invention of the industrial age. Fuelled
by the newly available coal, steam engines replaced human, animal, and
water power and led to the rise of factories, railways, and steamships.
In 1712, British ironmonger and engineer in coal mines. In 1765, inventor

Thomas Newcomen invented a steam James Watt realized a lot of coal
engine that could pump water with the and steam was going to waste in
power of twenty horses from mines deep Newcomen’s machine and built an ▲ Powering industry
underground. This made it possible to engine with a separate condenser Watt’s improvements to the Newcomen engine
enabled it to power factory machinery, leading to
mine to greater depths and unlock the to eliminate this wastage. the rise of mass-production.
▼ Driving change seemingly endless supply of British coal.
Railways carried
Newcomen’s machine became so popular RISE OF THE FACTORY SYSTEM
passengers, raw
materials, and that by 1755 his engines were installed in Although mining engines relied on an Birmingham’s Soho manufactory, which
manufactured goods. France, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, up-and-down motion, the industrialist produced small metal trinkets and toys.
Steam locomotives Sweden, and the United States. However, Matthew Boulton recognized the potential Like many industrialists of the time,
provided cheap
Newcomen’s engine was large, inefficient, of Watt’s improved design to be adapted to Boulton relied on a waterwheel to power
transportation that
encouraged further and consumed enormous quantities of coal: the rotary motion needed to drive factory his machinery, and when a drought left the
industrialization. without improvements it could operate only machinery. Boulton was the owner of river bed dry, production came to a halt.
308 THRESHOLD 8
Boulton gave Watt the tools and engineers industry and the mass-production of
to build a prototype, and in 1776, Watt’s textiles transformed the British economy.
steam engine was invented, releasing Attaching a steam engine to spinning and
manufacturing from the constraints of weaving machines allowed cotton textiles
natural power. It produced the same to be produced at unprecedented speeds.
amount of power as the Newcomen engine By 1850, Britain was using 10 times more
on a quarter of the fuel, and could be cotton than in 1800, and textiles became
installed anywhere. Soho became the first cheap and widely available. The demand
steam-powered factory in the world and for more American cotton kept the
its employees began toiling on production country’s slave plantations in business.
lines in the new mass-production of goods.
Steam engines enabled the growth of a new THE SPREAD OF STEAM
mode of production: the factory system. Steam engines made it possible to work
The shift to machine-based and produce goods without being reliant
manufacturing began with the textile on proximity to waterways. Towns sprang
industries in Britain, the United States, up around steam-powered factories at the
and Japan. Steam power transformed the turn of the century. To supply these towns
with the necessary amounts of coal, raw ▲ Women weavers

materials, and goods for market, new The power loom was
gradually adopted
transport links were created: turnpike
THOSE WHO ADMIRE MODERN CIVILIZATION
in textile factories.
roads, canals, and then railways. When it became
Railways were part of a second wave more efficient, women
USUALLY IDENTIFY IT WITH THE STEAM ENGINE of industrialization that was made possible and children could
operate the equipment
through the mass-manufacture of iron.
AND THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH. British engineer Abraham Darby learned
and replaced men
as weavers.
how to smelt iron by burning coke in
George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and political activist, 1856–1950 the early 18th century, and Britain’s iron
production rapidly increased thanks to
the new availability of coal. The marriage
of iron and smaller, high-pressure steam
engines allowed for the manufacture
of steam locomotives and tracks to run
them along. During the 19th century,
new railway lines joined up other
industrializing nations too. Iron, coal,
and railways became the central symbols
of the industrial revolutions in Germany,
Belgium, France, and the United States.
Railways were another example of the
incessant drive in the industrial age
to improve existing technologies.
Introducing a turbine system
to the steam engine
allowed the technology to
power ships. The
introduction of a screw-
propeller, which was
more efficient than the
earlier paddle wheels,
enabled a more consistent
propulsion. By 1840,
steamships were making
trips across the Atlantic to transport ▲ Shipping lines
goods and people. By the end of the 19th The Royal Netherland
century, the ironclad warship, a steam- Steamship company
transported goods,
propelled vessel protected by iron or steel
passengers, and mail
plates, showed that the power of steam between Europe and
could also be used as a weapon. the Dutch East Indies.
STEAM POWER DRIVES CHANGE 309

1750 THE INDUSTRIAL 1789 DECLARATION OF 1830 STEAM AGE
REVOLUTION BEGINS THE RIGHTS OF MAN
EFFICIENT
TRANSPORT
NETWORKS
Getting raw materials to
factories and finished goods to
market was an essential aspect of
industrialization. Turnpike roads
Coal were followed by canals and later
railways. Steam ships enabled
fast transport across
the Atlantic.
SOURCE OF ENERGY
Countries industrialized by
harnessing an energy source:
water, coal, oil, or gas. Coal was
the main energy of the Industrial TECHNOLOGICAL
Revolution, used in steam ADVANCES
engines, iron-producing Improvements in steam power
blast-furnaces, and as fuel. technology were constantly
A WORKFORCE made, leading to locomotives and
Population growth created by steam ships. Coal-burning steam
innovations in agriculture led to engines still power the world
the specialization of labour: by producing much of
artisans, craftsmen, weavers, and its electricity.
wage workers were no longer tied
to rural areas and could migrate
to cities to find work in
Oil factories.
Steam engine
INNOVATIVE MINDSET
New machinery, such as the
water frame, cotton gin, and
spinning jenny, allowed goods
to be mass-produced. Large
machines powered by steam
engines led to the rise of the
factory system.
THE PROCESS OF
FREEDOM TO
EXCHANGE IDEAS
The exchange of ideas between
innovators and industrialists led
INDUSTRIALIZATION
to the creation of new
technologies, such as the steam
engine. Industrial espionage and
expanding trade routes enabled
these technologies to spread.
As the first country to undergo an industrial revolution, Britain

provided a template that other nations could follow. Each Iron
country took a unique path, but they all shared common factors.
Industrialization transformed agrarian economies. It produced a series of

STRONG TRADE LINKS
technological innovations that increased the use of natural resources and led to Industry created wealth:
the mass production of manufactured goods. Access to new energy unlocked governments and industrialists
provided the capital. New
a chain of innovation; the invention of machines that increased production but domestic and international
required less human energy to operate allowed work to be organized differently markets were opened to provide
raw materials and buyers for the
in factories, which led to increased specialization and division of labour. As finished products.
science was increasingly applied to industry, new materials like iron contributed
to developments in transport and communication infrastructures.
Eventually, industrialization resulted in political, social, and economic
change as trade expanded, economies grew, governments responded to the INGREDIENTS FOR
needs of the new industrialized societies, and new cities and empires emerged. INDUSTRIALIZATION
310 THRESHOLD 8
◀ How industrialization works

Industrialization was a process that transformed
agricultural societies and economies. Spurred
on by new inventions and technologies, it
resulted in vast social and political changes,
new economic doctrines, and the creation
of powerful industrial empires.
POLITICAL
PARTNERSHIPS
Revolution, the rise of the
middle classes, and political and
social reforms led to new social
contracts between governments
and their citizens, the creation of
the modern state, and the rise
of democracy.
GROWTH OF CITIES
Cities sprang up around
industrial centres. Mass-
urbanization often led to
overcrowding, squalor, and the
spread of disease. Industrial cities SOCIAL REFORMS
were dirty, and provided little In the 19th century,
sanitation or running water for governments began to act
working-class inhabitants. to improve the lives of their
citizens, introducing laws
to control working hours
and child labour; compulsory
public education; health
systems; and instigating
sanitation projects to clean
up cities.
MONEY MANAGERS
Industrial governments began to
manage markets. Financial
institutions were created to
control and accumulate wealth,
including banks, stock markets,
and insurance agencies. POWERFUL MILITARIES
Industrial wealth enabled
governments to create militaries
large enough to compete with
other industrialized nations.
These militaries were sometimes
also used to control vast
colonial empires.
MILITARY
TECHNOLOGY
Building strong militaries was
a major concern of industrial
NEW PRODUCTION powers. Military technology, such
METHODS as machine guns, gave
Factories housing the new governments control over
industrial machines mass- markets and encouraged some
unindustrialized nations to NEW IDEOLOGIES
produced goods. There were As governments of industrial
social consequences, as workers open to trade.
countries adopted the
toiled for long hours, in institutions of the modern state,
terrible conditions and with concepts of nationalism and
very little pay. imperialism developed. Inherent in
imperialist doctrine were the
ideals of supremacy over
peoples and nations of the
unindustrialized world.
ECONOMIC
CONSUMER CULTURE
COLONIAL STRENGTH STRENGTH
The availability of luxury
Industrial powers used their Industrialization drove
products at low cost, an influx
strong armies and navies consumer capitalism, which
of foreign goods through new
to colonize parts of the world created wealth. It resulted in a
trade networks, and higher wages
rich in the raw materials needed growing divide between rich and
led to the rise of the middle
for their factory-made poor citizens, and an even larger
classes. The consumer
products, in a practice known division between industrialized
revolution created capital that
as imperialism. and unindustrialized
could be re-invested.
countries.
REASONS TO CONTINUE NEW INFRASTRUCTURE SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND

INNOVATING AND INSTITUTIONS ECONOMIC CHANGE
Steam engine is developed by James
1 CHANGE BEGINS Watt, 1765. It is more efficient than Soho Manufactory opens, 1766.
British inventors and the Newcomen engine (1712) and It pioneers mass production of a
able to power machines, leading to range of metal and glass goods
innovators lead the way, the rise of the factory system. using steam power.
mechanizing the textile
industry and introducing
the factory system. Using
Crom mill. T
spinni
raw materials from the
overseas colonies and
f or d
ng
the newly mechanized
factory processes to
Mi e sy
mass-produce cheaper
ll, i st
h
goods, Britain begins to
n D em
Spinning jenny lowers
invented in 17
the cost of yarn nd
dominate world trade.
er is
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shire S
k n in 177 evern Rive
s y mb o w 9 r,
ol of t n across t . It become
he Ind h s
ustria e world as Spinn
in
l Re v o a spinn g mule, 1
Fly ore anu outp ers.
lution
is m tile m g the weav
in
1750 . and f g jenny w 779, comb
tex ublin dual
ing wid fac
u in
do ndivi
it
proce lly automa h the wat es the
of i
Sh ely ture t
t e
in of the ss, which le es the wea r frame
ut t a d
ve tex til v
nt Pud a
es ind ds to exp ing
B r i re vo
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le (
ansio
e
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ad in d b l i n . n
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m
e w lut
te od 17 y H g f
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ent by
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a
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ze n al o rel c e i o n r o u in c y C a c e
ed
u
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rs c
t
s tr pe is en n t b g re a o r ,
173
ans ns, 1761. It in y 4 h t s e t

p o r t in 2 0 0 0 ir o s
B r i t ain .
3)
ye p e n
,
ar r
s.
TIMELINES in v
en Thr
te d e s
e f f in 1 h i n g
ici 78 6 ma
en
c y , in c c h i n
in r
f ar e a s e e,
mi s
ng
INDUSTRY
.
GOES GLOBAL
a n d p a ve s t h e w a y f o r
Richard Trevithick u ne w er
Coal gas first used by

Britain’s early industrialization gave the William Murdock to
country a new economic might and an ability light his home in 1792.
Eventually coal gas
to exploit its position on a global scale. Other replaces candles and
oil lamps and is used to
ses s
countries soon tried to emulate its success.

a
light up streets,
houses, and factories.
tea of fas
ml
a
n,
Cotton gi , USA
oc t, e f f
Industrialization arose in Britain as the result of a b

ney
y Eli Wit es
o m ic
inve n te d
parat
combination of unique and unplanned forces, but it could iciently se
1793, e ff eds from fibre;
o t ie n
i ve t t
n se
be replicated by other countries, where it was implemented co tt o demand
ion – and – soar s.
t o r an
product la b o u r
t r sp
by strong governments or by entrepeneurs. The new for slave

an
po
s
industrial societies developed in their own way, each with or r t c

t. oa
l, 1
distinctive features, but they all descended from the British 80
4,
predecessor and shared common elements, such as the BELGIUM
importance of coal, iron, steel, and the textiles industry.
Britain tried to protect her advantage by preventing Cotton gin
st
with Albany via the
k
l
commercial use of
ria
,
connect s Ne w Yo
Steamboat, 18 07
Hudson River. Fir
new technology and skilled workers from leaving, but s t 79 9

steam for river
u
d 1 m
countries determined to compete smuggled out machinery, I n in llia e s
North River
a n in s W i e n n g
transport.
e
p e n av i .
g
sent spies to learn British secrets, and bribed entrepreneurs r o b m a t r in n um
E u t i o n li s h c o n s p e l gi
to set up factories abroad. The first countries to industrialize l u n g r ill uil d B 1800
vo n E c k e o b s in
were the ones that were geographically or culturally similar e
R h e C o w t in e
w la ch
to Britain: Belgium, France, and Prussia were next to iti
sh ma
B r
develop railways and factories essential for industrialization.
312 THRESHOLD 8
James Young begins distilling oil in
1848, to produce petroleum, paraffin,
and kerosene for use in lamps and for
lubricating machinery.
an
ic
t o il i s n d l v a n in T r a k r n m e r
1850
o e e s y o il in D b o A
Pneumatic tyre created
us y
t h nn s w i s ial
in s il c B y
,
e l t ur
r e or 19 185 ille
ed
p o a m o f ia i t u e
by Robert Thompson,
Pe rike Ed str y erc
.
ng os t h 9
e s f u en
we a j t h e in s v
1845, makes travel
s t en du m
w h il in c o m
more comfortable.
o he
.
f
T
in
war ships an steam -powered
n
s.
to trade w force to open Japa
rial nation
1853 and arrive in Tokyo Bay
b e o s t a hich du c t io 6
M a a p o n e by l f re d n s t r u o n .
d f o a ll o e d u c e n
5
we u r o p k e r A h e c o c a n n
s
the steel, ss-pro ss, 18
t o E e l wo r a f te r - c a s t
i n e l a r ge s i t t o
s s m s is G er K r u c t s
s t e 8 47 s t e e l
g w ale
in 1 e f ir s t
.
ork
th
e r in - s c
ith indust
o f e ma r o c e
a n u in t r o m a n p p
w
r
m.
S s
ea
cr S P f ir
fa c du c
U
rp
he
st
e w r in
use nd
y
w
s
-pr ceton, 18 43, was t ed b
Americ
t ur e d
r
ble e m e
use
op e er
eo
ll e d w a r s h ip p o w
s th
ena B e s s
eng
f
c
Fo
Fr u r r
T h an c e ail w
Fr o m b y a y
s y an c e a s B B r i t s b u n
ar ti el
f o s te m d e r a s s i s h il t in -M
L r i n , ve e y e n e n s ve s s t e e s
We aunch o d u w h l o p in gin e m
S i mp r o m ak .
padd stern, 18 f SS Gre str ich s a 18 ee si nd 65
le ste 3
am 7, the
at ial is ra 41 r ces on a r, 18
the A i z a e s il w . p r o du c t i h e ap e
tlant ship to c fir st t io s e n ay p r o it c
ic . St r o ss n . t ia
e
trans revolutioam ships l
p or ta n JAPAN
tion o ize the
f
a n d p go o d s strializ atio
n of
eople
. First rotating electric motor Rapid indu d by the Meiji
n in st itu te
created by Moritz von Jacobi, Japa t in 18 68.
governmen
1834. Four years later, his
improved design was strong
PRUSSIA enough to power a boat.
3 INDUSTRIAL WORLD
s
orie
fa c t nd Driven by the desire to compete,
t e x t i l e , L ill e , a d t h e
ch en an Japan and Russia industrialize
Fren in Rou , 1830, s
n
o p e l h a u s e n t r y d r i ve against a background of
G a s in t
M üh l e in d u s t i o n . domestic social and political

tli en
i a
te x t s t r iali z
i
gu upheaval. European powers also

ng
in d u de n f 60 ,
d ir s t n 18 compete to secure raw materials
tio to , i
H o ra st re d u s e d i ar in the scramble for Africa.
e n g ineer eric a’s fir uce n the A meric an Civi ease
lW .
R ail ships A m o m i s
f r de a t
Allen locomotiv
e hs from war-time d
steam d, 1829. Pennsylvania steelworks built
n
Engla by Scotsman Andrew Carnegie
in 1875. It utilizes the Bessemer
system, and the American steel
FRANCE industry greatly expands.
Fir s
5.
Benz automobile
82
tp
,1
as
on
se
er Fir st automobil
ng
gt
n
tra a r li patented by Ka e is
in oD rl Benz in
r un
s f r o m St o c k t o n t 1886. It is powe
the internal comb red by
us
engine, which run tion
s on
the ne wly availab
le
fossil fuel – oil.
2 THE REVOLUTION SPREADS
Political revolutions in 1830 and 1848
cause social upheaval but spread
liberal ideas and new innovations
across Europe. The USA also starts
to industrialize, capitalizing on the
ion
n. 16
rich natural resources of her newly d U n ay

mon
9
Rich ger R ailw ia,

–1
acquired territories, and the pace 1

en in Tr 89 t
Pass ns in Virg fir st
io
William Cockerill imports of change accelerates after the op an s - S e d 1 li z a

ope It is the ric en i uc t r ia
a Watt steam engine to American Civil War ends in 1865. 88. lec t s u b e r i a n r a i l w ay c o n s t r d u s t
Liege, 1813. Steam power in 18 ul large e stem. p va o in
ess f y sy s t are a
s o f Ru s s i a t
transforms the Belgian coal, succ ee t railwa
s tr
iron, and textile industries.
RUSSIA 1900
INDUSTRY GOES GLOBAL 313

GOVERNMENTS
EVOLVE
Governments soon realized that industrialization could
increase their country’s wealth – and it changed the way
they ruled. They began to work in partnership with THE SUBJECTS OF EVERY STATE OUGHT TO
industry, and this ushered in a new balance of power, as
governments became managers of markets and citizens.
CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS THE SUPPORT OF
THE GOVERNMENT IN PROPORTION TO
The process of industrialization saw the nature of government change.
Structures that served agrarian civilizations either evolved or were THEIR RESPECTIVE ABILITIES.
replaced by new institutions that were developed to manage the wealth
and power of industrial economies. As the first country to industrialize, Adam Smith, Scottish philosopher and pioneer of the political economy, 1723–1790
the British government led the way in facilitating the creation of more
wealth, cooperating with merchants and using its navy to protect their
overseas interests. Successful commerce led to larger markets and even
greater wealth, so the government began to encourage innovations to ▼ Pressures of power
meet demand and increase output. Other countries observed that Industrialization transformed
industrialization produced revenues that could be used to fund their society, distributing wealth
ES ON GOVERNMENT S
militaries, and their governments also became increasingly concerned far more broadly, and P R E S SU R
different groups began to
with trying to support industrialists, control the new economies, and make demands on
manage the growing numbers of wage workers – all of which led goverments.
to more bureaucracy and the creation of the modern state.
The way in which modern states evolved varied dramatically.
France created a completely new bureaucracy after the social and
political revolution of 1789 swept away the institutions associated
with its ancien régime. Britain already had an established
representative assembly and gradually developed other
institutions over time. To ensure the loyalty of their RU
L IN
citizens, leaders began to develop national ideologies, G
CL
and, by 1914, the modern state had begun to shape AS
SE
S
the politics of countries around the world.
Landowning gentry
were wealthy and
powerful with a strong
presence in parliament
Industrialists gained enough

wealth to demand more
representation in government.
They pressed for the adoption of Government
free trade, so they could needed to adapt, in a
accumulate more wealth world increasingly
dominated by commerce,
to appease the different
groups in society who
had conflicting demands
and grievances
Wage workers toiled in the new
factories for long hours with EM
little pay and sometimes in Y ST
YS
dangerous conditions. They OR
attacked the industrial machines, CT
and organized unions and strikes FA
GO
to campaign for better working VE
conditions and wages RN
M
EN
T
1939 WORLD 1950s
WAR II
Military service was

introduced by modern
states, replacing hired
mercenaries with citizen
armies and universal
conscription
▶ The new establishment

Subjects transformed into citizens as
Governments were forced to the power of the modern state reached Income tax had often
adapt to manage the growing far more directly into their lives and been a temporary
wealth and power of industrial they began to participate in government measure in times of war
economies. To do so, they but it was permanently
introduced during the
increasingly developed the 19th century
institutions of modern states:
citizen armies, taxation, and
services that included
infrastructure, protection, The modern state
demanded loyalty and
education, and hospitals. military service from its
citizens. In return, it gave
them the right to vote and
Elections gave citizens GO promised to look after
the right to vote, VE their welfare and health
RN
although universal M
suffrage was a slow and EN
T
uneven process
New services, such as education

and health systems, were provided
by governments to appease and
retain the loyalty of their citizens
TH
E
M
O
D
ER SC
HO
N OL
ST
AT
E
Middle classes, ◀ Wider electorate

including shop owners The French Revolution
and merchants, called
for new rights against
showed governments
aristocratic monopolies, across Europe that
S and electoral reform reforms were needed to
OP
SH appease their citizens.
The British Reform Bill
of 1832 broadened the
property qualifications
for suffrage to include
small landowners and
shopkeepers.
MERCHANT SHIPS
315
CONSUMERISM
TAKES OFF
Industrialization meant that land was no longer the only source of
wealth. It became possible to generate wealth through manufacturing
and trading goods. During the late 18th century, the middle classes
grew, leading to a new emphasis on upward mobility and consumption.
Industrialization brought improvements classes were not a homogeneous group but ▲ Household items for everyone
in transport and manufacturing technology, a broad band of the population, which fell Expansion in the pottery industry increased
consumer choice, and labourers who once ate from
which increased the availability of consumer between the aristocracy and the workers. metal platters dined from Wedgwood porcelain.
products. This, combined with increased At the lower end were the shopkeepers and
▼ Consumer culture
With the advent of the international trade, brought an at the top were the capitalists who owned
department store, unprecedented array of new goods to the companies. They included businessmen the role the government should play in its
customers could buy domestic market. Rising prosperity and and entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers, and management. They wanted an economy
an astonishing array of
social mobility allowed the middle classes teachers. The emergent middle classes all unfettered by government restrictions, as
goods all in one place
and shopping became to increase their ranks and more people had shared a common interest in the expansion they thought this was the best way to foster
a leisure activity. a disposable income to spend. The middle of the economy and held specific ideas about individual achievement. They also shared
316 THRESHOLD 8
common values: they believed that through these status symbols were within the
hard work and self-reliance it was possible financial reach of many. The dizzying
to achieve economic success. array of goods on offer included
The notion of self-improvement was a textiles, furniture, clothes, hats,
key part of middle-class culture. As they rose china, books, jewellery, lace,
up the social ladder, and in order to ensure perfume, and food. Middle-class
the aristocracy no longer had an unfair wives filled their homes with new
advantage, the middle classes campaigned material possessions and purchased
for electoral reform and free trade. These fashionable clothing to display
were seen as the necessary conditions to their husbands’ financial success.
make it possible for anyone to succeed Wages were high in 18th-
through their own efforts. century Western Europe,
In Britain, the middle classes converted especially in Britain, which meant
economic success into political power that even members of the lower
with the 1832 Reform Act, as a more classes could afford some of
aspirational society began to demand these consumer goods. Most
and expect more from the government. 18th-century towns had taverns Cocoa bean
offering cheap meals, and
CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION coffee houses where coffee and ◀ Chocolate
temptations
The middle classes often aspired to the chocolate could be consumed
Once the favoured
consumption patterns of the aristocracy. and ideas could be exchanged. drink of the aristocracy,
Clothing and household possessions were Greater purchasing power chocolate became
a way of communicating one’s social and a gradual fall in prices accessible to the
general public, and
position and by the end of the 18th century led to rising demand for new
manufacturers targeted
consumer products, which in women and children in
turn fuelled the economies of advertising campaigns.
industrializing countries. These
commodities were made affordable department stores, which opened in
by slave labour, with over 11 million Paris in the 1830s, Russia in the 1850s,
slaves producing the goods that flowed and Japan in the 1890s.
into Europe’s ports. These slaves were With the rapid growth of towns and
part of a system known as the “triangular cities, by the 19th century shopping had
trade”: European merchants transported become an important cultural activity, as
slaves from Africa to work on plantations a shift in behaviour meant people began
in the Americas and the Caribbean, and buying for fashion rather than necessity.
then transported the commodities Shop fronts displayed mirrors, bright lights,
produced by the slaves back to Europe. colourful signs and advertisements, and all
of their products to entice shoppers inside.
ADVERTISING AND ASPIRATIONS Many shops tried to appeal to the wealthier
English entrepreneur, Josiah Wedgwood, end of the market, but cheaper mass-
noticed the way aristocratic fashions manufactured goods and an abundance
slowly filtered down through society. of food markets made shopping a cultural
He sold tea services to the British Queen, activity open to every class.
and his “Queen’s Ware” became a must-
have item among the middle classes. ◀ Luxury and slavery
Wedgwood realized that he needed to Imports of raw cotton,
sugar, rum, and tobacco
convince consumers they wanted to buy came from slave
his wares, and that consumers were plantations in the
primarily women. He opened a showroom Caribbean, where
where women were encouraged to meet, African slaves were the
primary source of labour.
drink tea, and be shown his new ranges of
china. His pottery reached every industrial
market in Europe and North America.
He is often considered the father of modern
advertising. Wedgwood’s marketing genius
had a knock-on effect in London and then
abroad, as retail outlets made products
more easily available to the consumer.
This was manifest in the growth of
CONSUMERISM TAKES OFF 317

opular catchcries of the American actions of the revolutionaries launched but it also brought about a general shift in
P and French revolutions, the concepts a sea change in western politics. People consciousness. The existence of universal
of liberty, equality, and fraternity were began to demand freedom from the natural rights became part of a new, more
drawn from 17th and 18th century oppression of absolute monarchies and empathetic world view, which fed into the
Enlightenment ideals of reason, knowledge, imperial overlords and wanted a new development of the modern state.
and the freedom of people to improve their social contract in its place. On a practical
condition. The marriage between the level, this included greater representation INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE
philosophies of the Enlightenment and the in government and the right to own land, These principles were first asserted by
Thomas Jefferson, a key figure in the
American War of Independence and
BIG IDEAS author of the 1776 Declaration of
Independence. The Declaration stated
that all men are born free, are equal
before the law and have natural rights
EQUALITY
to property, life, and liberty – ideas
that remain central tenets of democracy
today. Democracy itself was not a new
AND FREEDOM
concept: it had been established in ancient
Athens around the 5th century BCE , and
was rediscovered during the Renaissance.
The Athenian experience helped inspire
revolutions against absolute monarchies,
Revolutionary ideas promoting liberty, equality, and fraternity were such as in France.
introduced to the industrializing world in the late 18th century, after The Declaration of Independence –
revolutions in France and America dismantled established aristocratic and the American revolution itself – was
regimes. These ideas echoed through the politics of the 19th century heavily influenced by international figures:
English philosopher John Locke argued
and became central to modern beliefs about human rights.
that legitimate governments needed the
consent of the governed; writer and activist
Thomas Paine advocated for the right to
revolt against a government that did not
protect its citizens’ needs. They published
their arguments in polemical pamphlets,
distributed through a revolutionary
exchange network, including men who
200 COPIES OF THE AMERICAN

DECLARATION OF
INDEPENDENCE WERE PRINTED
AND DISTRIBUTED
had participated in both the American

and the French revolutions, such as the
Marquis de Lafayette – a French hero of
the American war. This ensured that ideas,
such as Paine’s Rights of Man (1791), reached
an international audience. The spread of
ideas between America and France was
the most important political exchange
network of the time. America showed the
world what was possible: many Frenchmen
helped in its liberation from British rule
◀ The gift of liberty and returned home influenced by what
The Statue of Liberty was built they had seen. After France’s own uprising,
by a French architect as a gift to
the United States from France.
the Marquis de Lafayette enlisted help
It became an icon of the United from Thomas Jefferson – in Paris at the
States and a symbol of freedom. time – to pen the Declaration of the Rights
318 THRESHOLD 8
of Man and of the Citizen. The American humans have certain inalienable rights.
and French revolutions revealed how The government’s role would be to
powerful uncensored ideas could be. recognize and secure the rights and TO DENY PEOPLE THEIR HUMAN
The exchange of Enlightenment ideas property of its citizens, and it would be
was encouraged among the bourgeoisie, formed by elected, tax-paying citizens. RIGHTS IS TO CHALLENGE THEIR
the middle class who led the French Women, slaves, and foreigners were not
revolution. They were ambitious and included. However, in the aftermath of VERY HUMANITY.
well-read, schooled in the theories of the French revolution a new consciousness
Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Voltaire, began to spread through Europe. Many Nelson Mandela, South African civil rights activist, 1918–2013
the thinkers known as the “philosophes” people developed an empathy with the
who advocated the uncensored exchange plight of others – progressive thinkers throughout the 19th century. Progressives
of ideas and freedom of the press. The called for the reform of prisons, an end across the world believed that the universal,
philosophes spread their views through to harsh sentences, and the abolition of equal, and natural human rights espoused
the Republic of Letters, a community slavery. France was first to abolish slavery in the Declaration would overturn all
of European and American intellectuals in 1794; Britain and America followed undemocratic forms of rule. Simón Bolivar
who communicated through letters, in 1807 and 1808, respectively. By 1842, (1783–1830), the liberator of Spanish
essays, and published papers. the Atlantic slave trade was over. Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and
In the 17th and 18th centuries, The human rights ideal played an Columbia, openly admired the French
Enlightenment thought led to a shift important role in Europe in 1820, 1830, Revolution. Hindu reformer Ram Mohun
away from religious dogma towards and 1848 when revolutionary activity Roy (1772–1833) argued for freedom of
scientific experiment and empirical speech and religion as natural rights in
modes of thought. Scientific progress condemning India’s caste system. And
and technological innovation helped during the late 19th and 20th centuries,
incubate the industrial revolution in educated Asian and African leaders argued
Britain. The exchange of broader 10,000 AFRICAN SLAVES that European colonization contravened
Enlightenment ideas was encouraged WERE FREED AFTER THE the human rights of the indigenous people.
among the middle classes of Europe FRENCH REVOLUTION Eventually the principle became enshrined
through “societies of thought” such as in the first article of the United Nations
reading rooms, coffee houses, Masonic 1948 Universal Declaration of Human
lodges, and scientific academies. Coffee Rights, which set out to protect the
houses became famous meeting places broke out across the continent. Thinkers fundamental rights to which all peoples –
for later revolutionaries such as Karl from both the right and the left, the two no matter where they come from – are
Marx and Friedrich Engels, key figures sides that defined modern politics, echoed inherently entitled.
of the 1848 revolutions in Europe. They the principles of the Declaration of the Rights
harnessed the power of the rotary press, of Man and of the Citizen and argued that
invented in 1843, which enabled the the ideals of universal rights justified their
mass-production of print books and political action. Crucially, the Declaration’s
newspapers. Marx’s own newspaper, the clause that “the source of all sovereignty
Rheinische Zeitung, reported on the events resides essentially in the nation” was
of the 1848 uprisings, and helped to spread evoked constantly during the rise of
the revolutionary message to the masses. nationalism and the formation of the
modern nation states of Europe.
THE LEGACY A key principle of the Declaration of
The American, French, and other the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, that
revolutions of the 19th century were all “all human beings are born free and
based on the Enlightenment idea that equal in dignity and rights”, spread widely
WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE

SELF-EVIDENT, THAT ALL MEN ARE
CREATED EQUAL...
Thomas Jefferson, 1743–1826,
Declaration of Independence
EQUALITY AND FREEDOM 319

NATIONALISM
EMERGES
The second half of the 18th century was a period of immense revolution,
in both social and political terms. These profound changes in the world
order led to the formation of new nation states and a growing sense of
nationalism, as countries began to assert their individuality.
The roots of modern nationalism can be modern nation state as a united community
traced back to the political philosophy of enjoying equal rights under a Constitution.
John Locke in 17th-century England, with The French revolutionaries introduced a
its emphasis on the individual and his rights, centralized administrative bureaucracy
and the human community. It was also with uniform laws, and established French
influenced by the unprecedented social as the common language of the land.
changes brought about by the industrial
revolution and by the liberal ideals of the NEW NATION STATES
Enlightenment philosophers. Essentially, The growing sense of of nationalism in
modern nationalism demanded loyalty Europe sparked struggles for independence
to one’s country and embodied a sense in Greece and Belgium (where there was a
▼ Unifying force
of common identity and history shared successful revolution against Dutch rule). In
In 1871, Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck by rulers and citizens alike. 1848, revolution once again erupted across
finally achieved his Unity under a free and equal democracy Europe, as huge swathes of the populace
aim of bringing 300 was central both to the liberal nationalism of vented their dissatisfaction, demanding
small kingdoms and
principalities together
the American War of Independence of 1776, national unification and constitutional
to form a unified and to the outbreak, in 1789, of the French reform. The Kingdom of Italy was finally
Germany. Revolution, which paved the way for the created in 1861 and Germany in 1871, but
these two unifications came at a cost.
Absolute monarchies were re-established
and liberal institutions such as the popular
press were persecuted. A misplaced blend
of nationalism and beliefs about racial
superiority led European nations to colonize
many countries in the late 19th century.
Culturally, nationalism often took the
form of a celebration of a nation’s history,
culture, and achievements. Proud of their
rapid modernization, the great industrial
nations of the world hosted impressive
international trade exhibitions to show off
their latest manufacturing – the supreme
expression of confidence in their nation.
PATRIOTISM IS WHEN LOVE OF YOUR OWN PEOPLE

COMES FIRST; NATIONALISM, WHEN HATE FOR PEOPLE
OTHER THAN YOUR OWN COMES FIRST.
Charles de Gaulle, former President of France, 1890–1970
320 THRESHOLD 8
Patriotic display
The Great Exhibition of 1851, in Britain, was the
first international exhibition of manufactured
products, as well as a display of national pride.
NATIONALISM EMERGES 321

1750 THE INDUSTRIAL 1789 DECLARATION OF 1830 STEAM AGE 1869 DNA 1880 ELECTRICAL
REVOLUTION BEGINS THE RIGHTS OF MAN ISOLATED AGE
Re s o u r c e s
Privately-owned
manufacturing industry
Tea, sugar, cotton, mass-produces
rubber, silk, gold, goods for foreign
spices, tobacco, and domestic
wood, rice, coffee markets
Crops grown for

export to mother
country
Y
OR
CT
FA
Directly or indirectly-ruled
colonies supplied their
mother countries with raw Profits flow into
materials for use in industrial mother country and Government encourages
manufacture economy expands innovation and
entrepreneurship, and helps
to open new markets
CE
RI
Profit
EE
FF
CO Colonies provide a
cheap labour source
after the abolition of
slavery
ES
IC
SP
Manufactured goods GO
from mother country VE
RN
imported at lower
T ON M
prices to undercut T EN
domestic industries CO T
Textiles, iron, steel,

machinery, guns
M OT H
E R C O U N T RY
ES
T IL s
EX ood
T red g
Manu fa c t u
C O LO N IE S
▲ How the economy works Capitalism

As countries began to industrialize, Capitalism, or a free market
governments took a more active role in economy, is an economic model
Im
po
managing industry and the wealth it where the means of production are s
rt
created. Industrialized nations colonized privately owned. Government control

other countries in order, secure raw can range from minimal to more
materials, to use in the manufacture of heavily interventionist. Communism
goods, and markets for the finished goods. The counterpoint to capitalism,
Trade barriers determined the flow of communism is an economic model If there are trade barriers in
goods between rival industrialized nations. based on state or common ownership place, countries often have
to pay a tariff, or tax, on
of the means of production, the
their imports. Retaliatory
absence of social classes, and an tariffs often stop
even distribution of the profits international trade
from industry.
322 THRESHOLD 8
Mercantilism
Government regulates of BY 1913, THE UNITED STATES,
the economy to secure a
larger share of international GERMANY, THE UNITED KINGDOM,
wealth by maximizing
exports and minimizing
FRANCE, AND RUSSIA PRODUCED
imports through tariffs. 77 PER CENT OF THE WORLD’S
MANUFACTURED GOODS
HIP
TS Protectionism
H AN
ERC Government restricts
M
international trade to
protect domestic industries
from potential rivals – tariffs,
Manufactured TRADE BARRIERS subsidies and import
goods exported to Trade barriers are government quotas, and exclusion
other industrialized restrictions on international trade, from the market.
nations
such as tariffs (to make imported goods
more expensive than domestically-
produced ones), quota limits on the
number of imports, or outright embargos
or bans on trading with certain countries.
These barriers make international
trade more difficult or expensive,
or prevent trade altogether.
Ex
THE INDUSTRIAL
po
rt
s
ECONOMY
The industrial revolution created new possibilities for
When trade barriers
are in place, countries countries to increase their wealth. Nations adapted to cope
aim to sell goods to
competitor countries with the corresponding increase in international trade, and
while buying as little
as possible in return the pitfalls that came with it.
S
ER
R RI
E BA
AD Before the industrial revolution, mercantilism had been the dominant
TR
European economic model. In this approach, a nation encouraged
exports and discouraged imports, with the belief that the world’s
wealth was finite. However, the introduction of mass production on
an industrial scale increased economic output, and showed it was possible
to create new wealth. Industrialists realized they could make more money
by importing cheap raw materials from unindustrialized countries and
manufacturing them into goods they could sell to both foreign and domestic
markets. With this increase in both production and profit, for a time it
became beneficial for countries to trade freely with each other. Industrialists
pressured governments to adopt a policy of free trade – trade without
barriers or government interference, where imports are tariff-free and
R
E TI TO
exports are not subsidized. This was the start of a period of great wealth
FA
CT accumulation, the founding of new financial institutions, and the birth of
OR
Y capitalism – a term coined by economist Adam Smith – which remains the
MP
dominant economic model for industrializing countries today.

CO
However, as well as increasing the flow of goods and wealth between

D
nations, the consequences of free trade can include economic instability,

ZE
exploitation, and clashes over the sources of wealth – colonies, markets,

LI
A
and raw materials. To counteract this, governments create trade barriers

RI
ST to try and protect their interests; this can result in cyclical periods in which
DU trade increases or decreases between nations.
IN
THE INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY 323

Gunboat diplomacy
Samurai warriors row out to meet an
American “black ship”, which introduced
Japan to gunboat diplomacy and made its
17th-century weaponry instantly ineffective.
324 THRESHOLD 8
THE WORLD OPENS

TO TRADE
The 19th century marked a major turning point for world trade, as
industrialized nations sought to expand their commercial reach. It
was not always a peaceful process, but it laid the foundations of the
modern international economy.
In the 1840s, the policy of free trade – trade

without government interference or tariffs
on imports or exports – led to a period in BETWEEN 1809 AND 1839,
which industrializing nations were able BRITISH IMPORTS DOUBLED
to accumulate great wealth. Factories
enabled the cheap and rapid production
AND EXPORTS TRIPLED
of an unprecedented array of products for
domestic and foreign markets, as a rising
demand for consumer goods, in turn, fuelled
more economic growth. This expansion of arrival of the more technologically advanced
world trade by the industrializing powers Americans encouraged Japan’s own
of Britain, and later Western European industrialization and path to modernity.
countries and North America, eventually Following their victories in the Opium
resulted in the need for each world power Wars, the British government imposed a
to protect their own economic position. series of treaties on China that gave Britain
favoured and unequal trading privileges.
CONTROLLING MARKETS Japan signed a similar treaty with the United
The most rewarding and efficient form States, and other industrialized European
of free trade was to control both the raw powers also followed suit, imposing unequal
materials and the markets. This was often treaties on trade with Latin America and the
achieved by force, as the growing disparity Middle East. Countries wishing to trade had
in technologies between industrialized to set low tariffs on European
nations and the rest of the world soon imports and adopt legal
showed. Historically, countries such as Japan measures favourable to
and China had been largely unwilling to European interests.
import European goods: they did not need or
want them. Britain imported tea from China
but – other than silver acquired by selling
slaves from Africa to Spanish colonists in the
Americas – had nothing to offer the Chinese
in exchange. With the abolition of slavery
the supply of silver dried up, so Britain
began selling the Chinese opium instead.
China’s resistance to the exploitation of
its people sparked two Opium Wars in
the mid-19th century.
America also adopted a policy of armed
intervention in the East, regarding Japan ◀ Opium pipe
Imports of British opium
as a backwater where its traders could open
led to widespread
up new markets. In 1853, four American addiction in China,
gunboats entered the prohibited waters resulting in the Opium
of Edo Bay, Japan. Bristling with modern Wars of 1839–42 and
1850–60. After being
weaponry, the black ships intimidated the defeated, China was
Japanese into opening their borders to forced to open more
trade with America and Europe. The ports to foreign trade.
THE WORLD OPENS TO TRADE 325

▼ The Gatling gun Hand crank, or “hopper”, drops

Richard Gatling justified his 1861 fresh ammunition into the gun’s
chambers using gravity. The
invention of the rapid-fire gun on multiple barrels turn with a hand
humanitarian grounds. He claimed crank on the gun’s side and a
it would save lives by reducing the solider feeds the ammunition into
carnage on the battlefield and the top-loading “hopper”
shortening the length of wars.
Cyclic multi-barreled design

allows a cartridge to be
automatically loaded and
fired from each barrel before
being given a brief moment to
cool, enabling rapid fire
without overheating
WHATEVER HAPPENS WE HAVE

GOT THE MAXIM GUN AND
THEY HAVE NOT.
Hilaire Belloc, Anglo-French writer and historian, 1870–1953
326 THRESHOLD 8
WAR DRIVES
INNOVATION
New innovations that increased the effectiveness of war machines
made the “scramble for Africa” possible. This rapid colonization of the
continent by the powers of Europe was justified by racist ideology, and
had the search for raw materials at its heart.
Industrialization and the need for raw powers to annex territory. International
materials and new markets were important rivalries became a factor in the land-grab
drivers of imperialism. Notions of cultural that followed and, in the ensuing scramble,
and racial superiority were also used to the borders of the continent were drawn
justify it; many 19th century Europeans up on maps in European board rooms.
believed they were duty-bound to bring Strong armies were a crucial factor in
civilization to the non-white world. As they European empire-building, and the
increased their power and productivity at development of new military technologies ▲ Colonial control
home, and abroad, European perceptions was a consequence of industrial innovation. Askari soldiers were
African troops hired
of the world begun to change. Racist The machine gun, developed by and trained by European
thinking came to be expressed in scientific Richard Gatling and perfected by powers. Native troops
terms and the Darwinian concept of the Hiram Maxim, showed that in modern were crucial in keeping
survival of the fittest was applied to society. warfare military technology was colonies under control.
In Africa there were
Europeans argued it was natural for them paramount. British soldiers used the often up to 200 Askari
to displace those they considered “inferior” Maxim gun to slaughter over 10,0000 soldiers to every seven
or “backward” races. Sudanese Mahdists in the 1898 Battle European officers.
of Omdurman, in which the British
BATTLEFIELD BREAKTHROUGHS suffered less than 50 casualties of their
Industrialization also provided the means own. The machine gun also provided
for colonization: technological innovations a reminder that the people of Africa
were key. The steamboat and quinine, did not simply acquiesce to imperial
which helped prevent malaria, allowed rule. When Ethiopia successfully repelled
European traders unprecedented access Italian attempts to colonize it in 1896,
to the interior of sub-Saharan Africa. it was the first time a European power
This opened up a treasure trove of raw had been defeated in Africa and a
materials, but trading with local economies wounding blow to the notions of racial
led to crises, which prompted European superiority of Europeans.
◀ Winning weaponry
Ethiopian Emperor
Menilek II decimated
Italian troops in 1896
using modern guns he
had bought in Europe.
eosaes atia.
WAR DRIVES INNOVATION 327

▶ The 20th century imperial world British settlers

In 1800, European powers and their emigrated to Canada
during the 19th century
colonies covered one third of the globe;
by the dawn of the 20th-century, they
had carved up much of the world.
The British Empire was by far
the largest empire in terms
of land and population.
The United States received

immigrants from all over
Europe, particularly Britain. It
supplied European markets
with cotton, tobacco, wood,
rice, and furs
Gold deposits and the promise

of precious and semi- precious
minerals including diamonds,
in West Africa, caused European
coloniststo set up gold and
gem mines.
Palm oil, rubber, and ivory were among

the raw materials European countries
sought to secure from Africa for use in
manufacturing goods. Palm oil was used
in soap, candles, and lubricants.
Brazil was a former

Portuguese colony Sub-Saharan Africa provided
many resources, including tin,
Coffee and other raw materials, including copper, rubber, ivory, iron,
cocoa, bananas, sugar, rubber, silver, and ebony, spices, and molasses
In 1800, much of Latin America
copper, were produced in Latin America was part of the Spanish empire, but
after former Spanish and Portuguese these regions had gained independence
colonies gained independence. by the early 20th century
BRITAIN RUSSIA BELGIUM GERMANY FRANCE

Duration: 1603–1949 Duration: 1721–1917 Duration: 1885–1962 Duration: 1871–1918 Duration: 1870–1946
Britain began its process of At its peak in 1866, Russia Belgium gained independence Germany used its new navy, Bruised by defeat in the
overseas control through had the second-largest from the Netherlands in 1830. built to compete with Britain, Franco-Prussian war of 1870,
trading posts, which led to empire in world history, The Congo was its largest to colonize parts of West France acquired colonial
colonial expansion across with territories in its control colony and was over 75 times Africa and the South Pacific possessions in Africa, the
the world and the largest extending from eastern as big as Belgium itself. during the late 19th century. Pacific, and Southeast Asia
empire in world history. Europe right across Asia. from 1871.
328 THRESHOLD 8
Sugar from Indian plantations

COLONIAL
EMPIRES GROW
became an important export for
the British Empire. Once a luxury
item, as sugar became available to
ordinary people in Europe demand
for it increased.
Raw materials for industry, land for settlers, and

markets for surplus goods were all factors that drove the
imperial expansion of the 19th century, as European
countries began to dominate the world.
Competition between imperial powers was fierce and colonies

became a symbol of prestige. Large areas of arid, sparsely populated
land were often annexed simply to prevent a rival from doing so.
As political rivalries and mistrust grew in Europe, colonial wealth
was used to control the empires and build up arms.
Once colonies were established, the mother country had to work
out how to keep control of its new territory. Often this took the form
of indirect control – collaboration with indigenous leaders in Asia
and Africa was a vital part of European rule. Imperial military
intervention only occurred in unstable regions or places with no
pre-existing central control. However, people living in the Americas,
Nutmeg and cloves were among Africa, India, and Southeast Asia often experienced racial prejudice,
the spices produced in Indonesia
for the Dutch empire, along with political oppression, and violence at the hands of imperial powers.
sugar and coffee. In the Belgian Congo, the families of workers were held hostage and
raped and murdered if the rubber quota was too low. Some indigenous
peoples, including the New Zealand Māori and Australian
Aborigines, were killed, displaced, or fell victim to European diseases.
From the early 20th century, colonized countries began to gain
independence. This process picked up momentum after World
War II, when European nations no longer had the wealth, means,
or inclination to control far-away territories. The newly independent
nations inherited none of the wealth of their past rulers, and were
left to create their own institutions. Some have been highly
successful; others plagued by corruption and poverty.
British settlers emigrated

Cotton produced in to Australia during the 19th
India was shipped to century, easing overcrowding
Britain where it was used
to make textiles. Britain
and social unrest at home EUROPEAN POWERS CONTROLLED
exported its cloth back
to India, undercutting
AROUND 85 PER CENT OF THE
the prices of locally
produced textiles.
WORLD’S LAND BY 1914
ITALY PORTUGAL NETHERLANDS JAPAN SPAIN

Duration: 1861–1947 Duration: 1415–2002 Duration: 1543–1975 Duration: 1868–1945 Duration: 1402–1975
Italy colonized Eritrea, Libya, The first global empire, with Building up indirect colonial Japan demonstrated a growing Spain gained control of large
and part of Somalia. The territories across several control via the Dutch East and military strength by defeating parts of Latin America by the
empire ended in 1947 as Italy continents, Portugal’s was the West India Companies before Russia in the 1904 Russo- 18th century, but by the 20th
was forced to abandon its longest-lasting European 1800, the Dutch empire Japanese war and winning century had lost almost all
colonies in the aftermath of colonial empire, spanning reached its height during the Korea in the process. of its territories.
World War II. almost six centuries. 19th century.
COLONIAL EMPIRES GROW 329

Factory life
The working class laboured on the factory
floor, supervised by their middle-class bosses,
and surrounded by new machines they were
often forced to clean during their lunch break.
330 THRESHOLD 8
SOCIETY
TRANSFORMS
Industrialization changed every aspect of life for working people.
Dangerous and unregulated working conditions existed in factories
and workers often lived in overcrowded slum towns, until widespread
government reforms improved the plight of this new working class.
As factories replaced farms and fields, and unhealthy housing. These conditions all
the men, women, and children of the encouraged the spread of disease, and waves
peasantry seeking employment were of cholera broke out across India, Europe,
exposed to an unprecendented level and North America. An 1832 French study
of social and tecnological change. into cholera showed the link between slums,
poverty, and poor health, and English
THE PLIGHT OF THE POOR physician John Snow demonstrated that
The middle classes were the real winners cholera was spread via contaminated
of industrialization; in Britain, the 1832 drinking water in 1849.
Reform Bill even gave middle-class men Armed with this knowledge, governments
the vote. The labouring classes suffered began to take action, introducing sewage
most. Workers toiled for at least 13 hours systems, running water, and rubbish
a day in factories, and hearing loss, lung collection into cities. Across Europe and
disease, and severe injury were common. North America, other social and political
There was no legal protection for workers: reforms were enacted. Labour laws provided
the middle-class factory overseers and owners protection for workers, with improved safety
were king. It was these brutal economic regulations, and education became
inequalities that stoked the wave of compulsory for children.
revolutionary activity that broke out across
Europe in 1848, mobilized in part by
German philosopher Friedrich Engels,
who described the misery of factory
workers in The Condition of the Working Poor.
THE NEW CITIES

Workers lived in slum towns that grew up ◀ Cholera medicine
around factories. The rise in urbanization By the end of the
19th century, cholera
was everywhere: by 1850, 50 per cent of
epidemics no longer
England’s population were living in cities; appeared in Europe
Germany reached this level by 1900, and North America.
America by 1920, and Japan by 1930. Standards of living
rose, sanitation practices
Industrial cities in every country suffered
improved, and
similar problems: overcrowding, pollution, permanent boards of
a lack of running water, no waste disposal, health were established.
THE WATER… IN FRONT OF THE HOUSES IS COVERED WITH

A SCUM… ALONG THE BANKS ARE HEAPS OF INDESCRIBABLE
FILTH… THE AIR HAS… THE SMELL OF A GRAVEYARD.
Henry Mayhew, journalist and campaigner for better housing, 1812–1887
SOCIETY TRANSFORMS 331

EDUCATION
EXPANDS
Education plays an essential part in collective learning and innovation.
Realizing its importance, many governments introduced widespread
reforms to make education compulsory after the mid-19th century.
By 2000, 80 per cent of the world population could read and write.
The importance of literacy has a long reason, knowledge, and the free exchange
history. European literacy levels had risen of ideas. Individual reformers worked
▲ Textbook learning
steadily from the 16th century, especially to rouse popular support for new The school system in America was largely private
in France, Germany, and Britain. A society government intervention in slavery, public until reforms in the 1840s began to introduce
that valued knowledge and ideas fitted with health, and education. Intervention was public schools and standardized textbooks.
the Age of Enlightenment beliefs that drove needed to appease citizens after the 1848
industrialization. In Britain, hundreds of revolutions; the middle classes demanded
schools were opened in the early 18th reform and the working classes seemed before can read and write – and contribute
century to cope with the rising population. poised to revolt. Governments realized an to growing networks of exchange and
However, there was great disparity between educated nation would keep the military collective learning. However, even today,
people with access to education and those strong, encourage patriotism, and reduce access to education is not equal; illiteracy
without. Education had to be paid for the desire for rebellion. From 1870, is highest in the some of the poorest parts
during the 18th century and therefore compulsory state-run school education of the world, and also among women.
it was not available to the working class. spread across western Europe and into In 2011, three-quarters of all illiterate
Neither was education considered the northeastern states of America. Other adults lived in southern Asia, the
important for women – working-class countries outside Europe set up education Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa.
women were expected to work from systems after 1900, including China, Furthermore, two-thirds of the world’s
childhood, while middle-class women Egypt, and Japan. These were partly 774 million illiterate adults were women.
were only schooled until they married. created to encourage patriotism and also
to imitate the institutions that had helped THE INFORMATION AGE
EDUCATED NATIONS make the western empires so powerful. Education is an important tool in
In the 19th century, ideas about education Improved access to education has disseminating information and knowledge
began to change. This arose partly from allowed world literacy to rise steadily over at an individual level. Throughout human
Enlightenment ideals about the value of the last 150 years. More people than ever history, as collective learning has increased,
MORE THAN 83 PER CENT OF

THE GLOBAL POPULATION
WAS LITERATE IN 2016
networks of exchange have expanded

▶ Improving
child welfare and their power has grown at faster rates,
In Britain, enabling information to accumulate more
industrialization led and more rapidly. Today, we are living
to young working-
class children toiling
in what could be described as the
in factories and mines, Information Age. The Digital Revolution
until government has led to a shift from an economy driven
reforms prohibited by traditional industry to one based
this. The Education
Act of 1880 introduced
on computerized information. In this
compulsory schooling information society and knowledge-based
up to the age of ten. economy, it is flows of information that
332 THRESHOLD 8
◀ Primary education
In 1994, the government
of Malawi, Africa,
introduced free primary
school education, but
drop-out rates remain
high, especially for girls.
This is often the case in
many poor countries
in sub-Saharan Africa,
where children work
to supplement the
family income.
drive profit making. Globalization saw THE PURSUIT OF INNOVATION industrialization, it profited from major
the world zones become connected, Education, as a form of collective learning, scientific and engineering breakthroughs.
and now the control and movement is crucial for innovation. During the 20th In the 19th century, governments and
of information and wealth has started century, for many industrialized societies businesses realized science was a crucial
to blur national boundaries even more. one of the main drivers of innovation was source of innovation, wealth, and power,
Of the top 100 economies of the world the pursuit of innovation itself – often, as in and began to take an active role in
ranked by Gross Domestic Product the past, with the support of governments, promoting and organizing scientific
(GDP) in 2009, 60 are countries and business, and educational institutions. research. By the 20th century, innovation
the rest are companies, many of them During the 17th century, when the first in science and technology had proved to
multinational oil and gas companies such scientific societies were founded in Europe, be fundamental components of military,
as Sinopecand Shell, and technology and the British government offered incentives political, and economic power for
communications companies such as Apple for innovation, and in the first century of industrialized nations.
and Samsung. Never has information
been so important.
◀ Education for all
In recent years, the growth of the This graph shows the
software and biotechnology industries 100 percentage of the population
aged 15 and over that
has placed a new emphasis on the need 90 attended formal education.
for highly skilled labour. Industrialization
80 KEY
created a system like a pyramid, with large Western Europe
amounts of unskilled labour at the bottom 70
Eastern Europe
and a small number of capitalist business
PER CENT (%)
60 United States
leaders and creative classes at the top. Latin America and
50 Caribbean
Education may be the key to moving
East Asia
towards societies in which the pyramid is 40
Sub-Saharan Africa
inverted: if more people have access to a 30
South and Southeast
good level of education, they can 20 Asia
participate in high-value jobs at the top Middle East and
of the pyramid, while automation reduces 10 North Africa
the need for large numbers of people to World literacy rate

perform unskilled tasks. 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 (percentage of population)
EDUCATION EXPANDS 333

TIMELINES
MEDICAL
ADVANCES
Et h e r g i c a l
f or s
From the late 18th century, there was a great acceleration
r is
u
in medical knowledge in industrializing countries, as
u s e a t ie n
scientific research, innovation, and disease prevention
df
p
irs t s, 18
allowed people to live longer and healthier lives.
ta
s a 4 6.
n a It
na is r
e s ep
As expanding trade networks and urbanization brought people
t h la
ic
et
into closer contact than ever before, diseases spread. Edward c e , re
d vo l
by u t
Jenner’s breakthrough smallpox vaccination, in 1796, was warily ch io n
lo i z i
considered a medical miracle. During the 19th century, germ theory ro
f o ng p a
rm in m
and the discovery of bacteria eventually led to safer surgery and an . a nag
eme
understanding of the importance of sanitation in public areas. New nt
innovation gave physicians practical tools to help them diagnose
an t o te u gani ci f i c
ailments. Medical innovation and improved knowledge had a
,
d a pr r, in sm
e
positive impact on health, especially for the very young and very old.
ab e s i s P i f ic o t a sp
. e
hr u c
The 20th century was marked by an explosion in medical
r
f o ur L o u p e c t h a
nt od
ax
technology, as health systems tried to keep up with the epidemics,
ie s o n a s
t io Pa d b y a t a te
famines, and wars of the modern age. Scientific research of the new
in a s ; a t e d b s
Chloroform
s
c c 5 0 t r s e ich
inhaler
millennium led to stem cell research, the sequencing of the human
va e 18 ons cau , wh
r r go
n s s te y
t h em e is r y
genome, and the ability to create new life. The internet made details
is d s e as th eo
d
of these medical breakthroughs widely accessible, as well as an d
e c e l e in
DRUGS AND n u a n g
di r m
e
providing an ever-growing resource for the sharing of medical gi r o d n g e a s in
Ge
ANAESTHESIA hy in t h t i r im n ur a l s .
n g t
knowledge – for both practitioners and patients. s i ar e Ni e C er n spi
rm t- c ce g th od ho
INSTRUMENTS, o
f e n e n in m in
Re a t i l o r d u r t o o n
INNOVATIONS AND p y F 4, a d t i
TECHNOLOGY b 5 , le i t a
18 ar san
s
W d
c ti d h with
d i as ons ei
an
, 18 s
r e a u n w u r ge m e l w
o n an d
.
47
Stethoscope DISCOVERIES AND

e s S em
rin t r ic d,
S
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by g c eliev ine
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BREAKTHROUGHS
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log y ”,
GERMS, DISEASES,
AND VACCINES
m un o
t u ba 0 s y R ol use
o f r i o e lp b e r a
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d y c te , h o e r
e s d 8 8 b ch a
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S m a l l p ox v a c c i n a t i b e c o m
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179 6, and vaccin
334 THRESHOLD 8
Commercial magnetic
resonance imaging
(MRI) scanners, which
use magnets and radio
First “test tube” baby is born, waves to form an
1978, after the in-vitro image of a patient’s
19 9 6. c tion intro control

fertilization of an egg outside the body and organs, aid
HIV in (HA ART) troviral
relate drop in the led to a

marke y 2010 it ha uced,
body, enabling people who could diagnoses of internal
many mor talit y r AIDS -
.
not conceive to have children. abnormalities, 1981.
ate in
ntries
to
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therap ac tive antir
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1953, leadin and Francis Crick, pro d c pac em
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ay
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by ra
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ve r a y
The
sco -
s a r e di t s . X
X-ra y t i e n
p a
e x a min e
1900
German Paul Ehrlich releases
drug treatment for syphilis in
1910 – a major breakthrough
in chemotherapeutic medicine.
The “ABO” blood groups are

described by Karl Landsteiner, 1900,
leading to safe blood transfusions.
Ronald Ross discovers that

mosquitoes carry malaria and
publishes his findings in 1897.
This allows him to develop
“vector control” to help eradicate
malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
MEDICAL ADVANCES 335

THE AMERICAS
PACIFIC ISLAND SOCIETIES
FOUR WORLD ZONES

By the start of industrialization
in the 18th century, European INDUSTRIALIZED ZONE
explorers had already connected UNINDUSTRIALIZED ZONE
the four world zones.
1900
AFRO-EURASIA The four world zones had become two zones:
an industrialized zone, made rich through
Transport
mass-production, and a poorer Falling transportation and communications
AUSTRALASIA unindustrialized zone that was exploited for costs underpin international trade from
raw materials, labour, and land. 1820 onwards. The price of inland
transportation drops by 90 per cent
between 1800 and 1910; transatlantic
transport costs fall by 60 per cent between
1870 and 1900.
ROAD TO
GLOBALIZATION
Trade agreements
Decolonized countries begin to make trade
agreements based on mutual advantage.
Many of these countries adopt a free-trade
model, which leads to a new transnational
economic dynamic.
The merging of the world into two zones resulted in a worldwide

exchange network of trade, capital, migration, culture, and
knowledge in a process known as globalization. LATE 20TH/EARLY 21ST CENTURY
Many unindustrialized nations become
cogs in a global manufacturing machine,
Globalization is not a modern concept: global exchange networks expanded assembling products from raw materials
shipped in from around the world.
greatly after the Age of Discovery, which spanned the 15th–18th centuries
and opened the new world to the old. During this period, money, people,
crops, ideas, and diseases travelled between the two worlds, mostly to the
benefit of the countries of Western Europe. This model of globalization sped
up during 19th-century imperialism, and, by the end of the century, large
colonial empires connected specialized regions of industry and agriculture
within a new world economy focused on accumulating capital.
Alongside industrial technologies, including the telegraph and railways,
the new organizational structures of the modern state were introduced
to the unindustrialized world, including legal systems and state
bureaucracy. As countries in the unindustrialized zone developed
distinctive specializations – like the growing and exporting of tea – they
did so under a system that came with its own rules, regulations, and
language. After decolonization in the 20th century, those colonies able to THE COUNTRY THAT IS MORE
grow their own economies did so with the guidebook left behind by empire.
By the 21st century, innovation in communications technology had DEVELOPED INDUSTRIALLY ONLY
become as important as transportation in creating modern globalization:
cheap and efficient containerization contributed to the rise of China as an SHOWS TO THE LESS-DEVELOPED
economic superpower, and fibre optics and broadband helped establish
India as a global services hub. The innovations continue today, as ever THE IMAGE OF ITS OWN FUTURE.
more advanced smartphones connect the world’s population, and a new
global culture begins to emerge. Karl Marx, German philosopher, economist, and sociologist, 1818–83
336 THRESHOLD 8
1939 WORLD 1950s ANTHROPOCENE 1970 DIGITAL 2008 GLOBAL FINANCIAL
WAR II EPOCH BEGINS AGE CRISIS
Migration
Innovative new forms of
transport help to increase the
migration and movement of
peoples around the world.
The Irish potato famine and
overcrowding in Britain lead to
mass emigration to the colonies,
along with imperial bureaucrats
and migrant workers.
Cultural exchange
Resources The movement of people
In the 19th century, industrial powers creates opportunities for
introduce free-market capitalism to the world. cultural exchange in all areas
Empires seize resources, subordinate labour, of life, including social
and turn the globe into a vast agricultural customs; academic and
resource for western Europe. business culture; religious
and political ideologies;
literature, music, and art;
clothes and beauty; eating
customs and food.
Financial institutions New players Foreign investment

The rise of powerful financial The fall of the Soviet Union Trade agreements encourage
institutions, such as the and the opening of China bring multinational corporations from AFTER WORLD WAR II
International Monetary Fund, new economic players to the industrialized nations to invest directly Modern globalization begins as capitalism and
leads to investment deals for global capital market, resulting in unindustrialized economies. This
liberalizing of trade create new world economies
industrializing countries, which in a surge of international prompts increased privatization and
come with obligations attached. transactions and investment greater foreign ownership of assets in increasingly controlled by multinational
This creates a more integrated in post-communist economies. unindustrialized countries. corporations and powerful financial institutions.
global financial system.
Movement
The removal of trade barriers and
even cheaper transportation expands
human migration for work purposes.
This leads to a larger cultural exchange
and the rising economy of remittances
– money sent from a foreign worker
back to their home country.
Cultural homogeneity Industrial development

The rise of a global services economy, Global capitalism enables the
improvements in communications industrialization of many countries in
technology, and the spread of the unindustrialized zone and the
multinational corporations all help creation of wealth through the
promote cultural homogeneity, where manufacture of cheap consumables
brands, music, television, and food for the market. This leads to more
are found and recognized all over employment opportunities and a
the world. reduction of people living in poverty.
ROAD TO GLOBALIZATION 337

▼ Engine of change
The steering handle
A petrol-fuelled combustion engine was built by turns the front wheel to
Karl Benz to power his “horseless carriage” in 1885. control direction, while
The following year, he created the Benz “Patent- the engine powers the
two back wheels
Motorwagen” – the world’s first automobile. It
shared many features with cars today. The water tank cools the
engine. This new invention,
as well as two others – an
electric ignition and
differential gear – are found
in every car driven today
The surface carburettor,

invented by Benz, is a device that
blends air and fuel. Benz used the
oil byproduct benzine as a fuel
and the carburettor mixed air
with benzine vapour. It could
hold 4.5 litres (1 gallon) of fuel
A crankshaft with a
large horizontal
flywheel that is used to
start the engine
338 THRESHOLD 8
ENGINES SHRINK
THE WORLD
Transport played a key part in the spread of industrialization. In the last
two centuries, railways, steamships, and aeroplanes – and innovations
in communication – have vastly increased the rate and speed at which
people exchange goods, ideas, information, and technology.
By the late 19th century, railway tracks

crisscrossed Europe and America, greatly
accelerating the exchange of goods, people,
and ideas, as well as making travel more
widely available. Rail networks lowered
the cost of moving goods between the
manufacturer, retailer, and buyer, which,
in turn, reduced the cost of consumer goods.
The ability to move raw materials and
manufactured goods across land and sea
at relatively rapid speeds and low costs
was as significant to the success of early
industrial economies as it is today.
NEW TRANSPORT CONNECTIONS

Just as coal fuelled 19th-century railways,
the transport revolution of the early 20th
century would not have been possible
without the wide-scale availability of fossil
fuels. Innovative new uses of oil and gas
included the invention of the internal
combustion engine – which burned oil –
and led to the development of automobiles
and jet planes. In 1913, entrepreneur
Henry Ford devised an assembly line to
mass-produce the first affordable motorcar.
This was the start of consumer capitalism, goods and people. Commercial air travel ▲ Cars for the masses
as workers became the target market for took off after World War II, as wartime The introduction of fast
and efficient assembly
goods they were making, which would aviation experts turned their attentions to lines in factories
once have seemed like luxuries. creating a peacetime aviation industry. This reduced production
Ford’s vision to put a car on every sped up the transport of people and mail. costs and enabled
driveway transformed modern Western People began to travel more for a variety goods, such as the Ford
Model T, to be sold at
society as governments built roads and of reasons, including business and leisure, affordable prices.
traffic systems to accommodate cars. which increased networks of exchange.
In the 1950s, oil-fuelled cars, buses, and Innovations in transportation drove growth
trucks became vital to the transportation of and in turn led to more innovation.
In the early 1960s, humans invented
rockets that could carry them into space.
The Soviet Union was first to launch a
human into space, and in 1969 the United
IF I HAD ASKED PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANTED, States landed a man on the moon. As the
world became increasingly accessible –
THEY WOULD HAVE SAID ‘FASTER HORSES’. with more goods, people, and ideas being
exchanged than ever before – it also began
Henry Ford, American industrialist and founder of the Ford Motor Company, 1863–1947 to appear much smaller.
ENGINES SHRINK THE WORLD 339

British postal delivery service, made
available from 1635, uses horse-mounted
postmen to deliver mail, allowing people
who are living in different places to relay
information at a reasonable speed and Telegraph system developed
with some degree of predictability. TELEGRAPH AND by Samuel Morse, 1837, sends
TELEPHONE messages via electrical
telegraph lines using Morse
code, revolutionizing long-
1780 distance communication.
s
low
, al
8 4 0 nny,
POSTAL SERVICE , 1 pe l
ost ne a
y P r o os t d
e n n n t f o b le p ni te
Royal Mail stage coaches P s e a e U
rm e rd t h
are protected by guards from i f o o b f f o in
1784, creating a more secure Un te r s t g an a o p le an d .
e t i n p e el
l ng t o d Ir
British postal service.
e s e igh t w o r d s a min u te b r i r v ic e m an
nab l t s e gd
o
6 6 , e p e . M e s s a ge s h a d p r e v i o o b e K in
8 o u sl y t r a
l e,1 d Eur t ak n sm
b an
VISUAL ca en i
10 t ted NEWS AND
t ic r ic a
SIGNALLING n
a m
e da
ys BROADCASTING
A
ee l
t w at
n
b e an s
by
sh
Tr
ip .
ec an b sa 17 ted
Typewriter invented by
a st .
tel lags, eyed mes pe, ven
om d y w ge 92
Charles Thurber, 1843,

sy un the vin o
s ap in
ind stemicati first g
becomes widely used

co llow Ch e is
in offices and business

be It a ude hor
tri of th ns
ag e
communication.
o
1800
e.
a ap
by Sem
m is
al
Foreign post offices are

Cl
f nv
opened in Chinese ports in

us
1844 following the Opium

Wars. This lays the
foundation for China’s first
national mail service.
TIMELINES
NEWS TRAVELS
FASTER Signal lamps utilizing
a form of Morse code,
1867, allow British
naval ships to transmit
messages across
long distances.
The desire to communicate and connect with those

around us is an important part of the human story. The
technology we use to do this has changed vastly since
Telephone
our ancestors began painting their stories on cave walls,
largely due to innovations that date from the 18th century. Telephone, patented by
Alexander Graham Bell in
1876, becomes the most
widespread communication
system of the modern age.
The cornerstone of any form of communication is its ability to bring
people closer together, and in the 21st century the World Wide Web
has completely reshaped the way billions of people create and share
information on every topic imaginable. And where early forms of
telecommunication, such as the telephone, allowed for one-to-one
correspondence, today’s online world is geared towards wide –
often global – dissemination. This can include anything from
a concise political comment on Twitter to a lengthy news article
updated in real time.
Ph o t h re
to b
Perhaps more than anything, it is speed that now defines

no
o
s t ic e
gra o r d
communication. News that once took days or even weeks to deliver

du de v
r y.
ph a
c
nv
by letter on a ship or train can now be transmitted via email or a f ir
st
n d e n te
i
h e in
Facebook post in a matter of seconds. Alongside this rapid exchange pl d b , i s t sic Telegraph
ay y 7 u
ba Thomas Edison, 187 he m
of data comes the sheer volume of information: with 24-hour television ck s
o un d, ng t
t r an s f o r mi
news coverage now ubiquitous, and social media in the hands of billions
Wireless telegraph, invented by
of smartphone users, global communication networks today are more Guglielmo Marconi in 1895, is the first step
complex and varied than ever before. towards modern, long-distance radio.
340 THRESHOLD 8
Telstar 1 satellite
beams television, phone
calls, and fax messages
across the Atlantic
Ocean for the first time
L i ve f o o t a i l l i o n T
to over 10 0
e in 1962, opening up new
th and faster methods of
v es
d pa global communication.
an
3,
8 4 r s.
ge o
e , 1 e
m
Rot bl p
ar ail a w s p a Telstar 1
w ay y p r in t in g l y av
f th V v i
e
f o r in press becomes wide lly at n
du s t r ia cia
l - s c a l e p r in t in g , e s p e
e M ew
o o er s
n l ar
an ou
di
Mobile g
n d in 1
n
Pr e
s e r - c e llu phone th 9 6
v
in 1 i c e i s l a r m o ONLINE WORLD e w 9 is
t o d 9 4 6; la un c b i l e or bro
ld.
ay, un he tele ad c as
b ui t h e p h lik e m d in t h p h o n
T h e c t s A v a n c e e r s in e r e d
t
ave genc Res 19 69

in v t h e w N e t w a r c h
l t in o o e e
s i d e n e s w b il e p h US A
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ay f o r k
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ry e rs
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Fi
Radio broadcasts are made
in over 15 countries in 1939,
from Vatican City to the
Soviet Union, leading to a
growing worldwide audience
of radio listeners. Global Positioning
BBC offers first regularly Satellite (GPS) is launched
scheduled television in 1987, making satellite-led The first online transatlantic chat,
service in 1936, which navigation possible. 1988, occurs between users in
includes sports, dramas, Finland and the USA, giving birth
and cartoons. to the modern chat service.
Wi-Fi symbol
World Wide Web, t
ne
launched by Tim er
World’s first national Berners-Lee in 1989, s in t s t h e
broadcasting organization, le s me ng s s .
today allows billions of ir e c o v i c e
the British Broadcasting people to communicate r W , be 9, pa e ac
y
Corporation (BBC), is founded with each other. i, o v i t 9 9 l i n
i - F c ti n 1 on
in 1927, to provide a television W nn e le i o te
and radio service. h c o ail a b r e m WikiLeaks, a
ar c av y t o “whistle-blowing”
e t s e e d in wa
e r n ch er website, releases
in t a un w i d y thousands of classified
First true television images
e , t h e e , i s l in g a a b ili t s . documents about
l s
are projected in 1926 by o g e n gin r o m i h c a p p e e d
Go c s world governments
inventor John Logie Baird.
9 8 , p s e ar s te r in 2010.
19 ata d fa
d an
s
n 1879 allow
al
gu d
in d e e
2000
i
t nl
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ch ide na
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p u d s g te a g
i k s e d a ll o m t
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over one billion

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b e t w h o n e c o n tin e n
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in f l e t
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e
k
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phon
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n in a
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1900
em
A
BBC television iPhone

First radio broadcast of station, 1936
voice and music is transmitted
by inventor Reginald Fessenden
in the USA, 1906.
SOCIAL NETWORKS
EXPAND
The first telephone, invented in 1876, connected two callers across seas
and continents. Today, innovation has led to the creation of the smart-
phone, which can connect to wireless internet. This technology has
resulted in the largest and most complex exchange network ever created.
The late 20th and early 21st centuries 3.2 billion online users, 2.1 billion had against the leaders of Tunisia,
saw the arrival of breakthrough digital social media accounts. At the most Egypt, Bahrain, and Libya. In
and communications technologies, each basic level, people use social media to Tunisia, in 2011, spontaneous
of which plays an important function keep in touch or to share their views protests broke out when street
in connecting people and spreading with the world, but it has also grown vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set fire
information and ideas. The internet to support diverse networks and even to himself after being harassed by
disseminates news and information; social protest movements. government officials and mobile phone
media connects individuals and enables Unlike conventional news channels, the footage of the protest was posted on
them to organize; mobile phones make spread of ideas and images via social media Facebook. Sharing this footage encouraged
it possible to photograph and record what can be beyond any authority’s control. others to join in, and the subsequent riots
is happening and share it with a global Social networks can be used to motivate were coordinated via Twitter.
audience. Social networking has become individuals to support a collective. This Countries with less developed transport
a global phenomenon: in 2015, of the was seen during the Arab Spring uprisings and communications infrastructures are
also able to access social networks. They
not only benefit from this technology but
are able to innovate using it. In Kenya,
an application called M-Pesa was invented
BY GIVING PEOPLE THE POWER TO SHARE WE ARE MAKING to allow users to transfer, deposit, and
withdraw funds via their smartphone.
THE WORLD MORE TRANSPARENT. This enables them to send money directly
to their village or remote family in minutes
Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook, 1984– rather than the days it would take to travel.
▼ Expanding networks
Since the invention of
the first mobile phone
in 1973, the speed of Multimedia messaging enables
technological innovation people to send colour Cheaper mobile phones
increased and resulted messages and animations, and connect people in
in the creation of an array eventually photos and videos developing countries
of devices that connect
people all over the world
in different ways.
TEXT
1973 1992 1996
CALLS
INTERNET
Mobile phones become Text messaging makes it

small enough to hold in possible to communicate Mobile phones become mini
one hand, making them in situations when voice computers with increased
The invention of the much more portable calls are not available functionality that allows users
mobile phone makes to connect to the internet
it possible to make
calls anywhere
342 THRESHOLD 8
◀ Crowdfunding initiatives
Social media platforms have provided a new way
for groups and individuals to secure investment.
Crowdfunding has supported anything from
arts projects to innovative new products,
such as a 3D printer.
▲ Political activism
Social media provides direct access to history-
making events as they occur. It played a central role
in the 2011 Occupy protests around the world from
Wall Street, in New York, to Hong Kong as activists
used social media both to organize themselves and
to keep the world updated.
▲ New opportunities
Cheap mobile phones in countries with little
or no landline infrastructure transformed
◀ Saving lives
communications. In Africa, 3G internet
Medical appeals, such as campaigns for organ
coverage has enabled new trade, online
donation, often receive a generous response. In
banking, and access to information about
2016, a plea on social media dramatically increased
health and medicine, reducing the need for
the stem cell donor list when internet users united to
people to travel long distances.
help a girl with leukemia, using the hashtag “Match4Lara”.
Smartwatches, such as the

Apple Watch, allow wearers
to make calls and send
e-mails from their wrist
Blackberry Messenger
enables video and voice calls
4G internet enables faster
as well as instant messaging
E-mail is available on data transfer speeds,
via the internet
smartphones, meaning enabling people to send and
people can send e-mails receive information quicker
on the move Apple’s iPhone, 2007, uses a than ever before
multi-touch screen allowing
users to zoom in and view
content in more detail
2000
CAMERA
Amazon’s Kindle, originally
designed for reading
eBooks, connects to
wireless internet
Laptops, like Apple’s Macbook

Pro, are able to make video calls
Cameras make it possible using free applications, such as
to photograph and video Skype, connecting people
events as they occur across the world
SOCIAL NETWORKS EXPAND 343

GROWTH AND
CONSUMPTION
The 20th century was characterized by the sharp acceleration in
the pace and scale of change. Industrialization and economic growth
increased the ecological power of humans over the biosphere and led to
extraordinary population growth and consumption of Earth’s resources.
The extraordinary pace of change during years, the human population has been collective control over the resources
the 20th century marked an entirely new through a period of spectacular growth: of the biosphere. The acceleration of
period in human history and in the history in 1800, there were 900 million people in technological change is the primary
of human relations with other species and the world; by 1900 there were 1.6 billion; cause of this transformation: innovation
with Earth itself. Population growth is a by 2000 there were 6.1 billion; and today has made it possible to provide enough
measure of a species’ ecological power, the world population has reached over resources to sustain a growing population.
as it is dependent on there being enough 7 billion. At the same time, people started One area where innovation and
resources to support it. Over the last 250 living for longer and the average life technological change has been crucial
expectancy doubled during the 20th is food production.
century. This exceptional growth is partly
PAL AEOLITHIC ER A 2,0 0 because new innovation has increased our INNOVATIONS IN FOOD
0 KILO
C ALO Since 1900, food production has outpaced
R IE S
population growth and there has been a
AGRICULT ▼ Unlocking more energy six-fold increase in grain production. This
UR A L New innovations in the early 20th century made
ER A is because crops began to be farmed on an
10,0
0 0 –1 it possible to harness the power of oil and natural
2 ,0
00 gas, making more energy cheaply available than
industrial scale: massive fossil-fuel-driven
MODERN ER A 20 0,0 0 0 KILOC K IL
OC ever before. Compared to our ancestors in the machines dug dams and irrigation canals.
ALOR
IE S AL
OR Palaeolithic era, our energy consumption is Chemical fertilizers increased the
IE S around 100 times higher, and most of productivity of the land and enabled an area
this energy comes from fossil fuels.
of arable land to produce around three times
more food. Scientific innovation in the 1970s
led to the creation of genetically modified
grains that were engineered with useful
genes from other species to produce crops
that need less fertilizer or contain natural
protection against pests.
In the agrarian era, most people were
farmers and only a tiny elite – less than
5 per cent of the populatiOn – consumed
luxury goods. Today, around 35 per cent
of the global workforce works in agriculture
and produces enough food to support the
non-farming communities in industrialized
nations, where a new, much larger global
middle class enjoys unprecedented wealth
and consumer goods.
AS A SPECIES WE ARE USING

24 TIMES AS MANY RESOURCES
AS WE USED 100 YEARS AGO
▶ Fuel consumption
Population growth has 8 800
increased steadily in line
with global energy use 7 700
as humans unlocked the
EXAJOULES OF ENERGY
power of new forms of BILLIONS OF PEOPLE 6 600
energy over time.
5 500
4 400
KEY
Wood
3 300
Coal
Oil 2 200
Natural gas
Hydro-electric 1 100
Nuclear
Population growth
1800 1850 1900 1950 2000 Today
RISING CONSUMPTION encouraged investment in produ ction and 12 times from 1913 to 1998. However,
During the second half of the 20th century, research. For example, the synthesis of this growth has not always been equal: by
rates of innovation accelerated so rapidly, plastic, a cheap new material, cut the costs 1900, the world had been divided into those
and were so widespread, that the world of production. As more people were able to countries that had industrial economies
was entirely transformed. One consequence purchase once-expensive consumer goods, and those that did not (see pp.336–37).
of this change was consumer captialism: the cost of production fell, and even more Industrialization raised the wealth of
populations of industrialized regions people were able to buy them. Europe and North America but led to a
enjoyed high levels of wealth and material Today, not only are there more people rapid decline in the wealth of East Asia. ▼ Waste products
In 1900, the world
affluence. In 1900, oil lamps, steam- than at any other point in human history, Meanwhile, resources such as food are
produced about 0.5
powered trains, and unrefrigerated goods but they are also consuming more than not distributed equally: 800 million people million tonnes (0.55
were the norm. Within just 50 years, pipes ever before: the average consumption of in the world, mostly people living in poor million tons) of solid
and cables brought electricity into homes, each individual person is rising dramatically, undeveloped countries in Asia and sub- waste per day. In 2000,
this had increased six-
providing light and heat and powering all made possible by the energy from fossil Saharan Africa, do not have enough to eat.
fold to around 3 million
domestic technologies that have transformed fuels. Meanwhile, consumer products are At the same time, around one-third of all tonnes (3.3 million
modern life: washing machines, dishwashers, cheaper, easier to purchase, and more food produced each year is wasted. tons) per day.
INFINITE GROWTH OF MATERIAL

CONSUMPTION IN A FINITE WORLD
IS AN IMPOSSIBILITY.
Ernst Friedrich Schumacher, German economist, 1911–77
radios, televisions, stereos, telephones, and disposable, all of which leads to huge
computers gradually became everyday items amounts of waste. This waste includes
that were frequently marketed and sold to materials such as plastics and electronic
the workers who produced them. Advertising waste from computers, mobile phones, and
(see pp.316–17) and marketing convinced televisions. The mass-manufacture of these
consumers to buy these products and bank items produces greenhouse gas emissions,
loans made them available to those who and more emissions are created during
could not otherwise afford such goods. the process of disposing of them.
The fossil fuel revolution also
brought electricity into factories, where UNEQUAL GROWTH
further technological innovation meant One widely accepted measure of growth
that methods of production became is Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which
cheaper. This made goods more affordable measures the total production of all
and expanded markets, which, in turn, countries. World GDP increased almost
GROWTH AND CONSUMPTION 345

Burning coal can

cause acid rain,
which damages soil
◀ Coal
Coal is cheaper to extract than the other
fossil fuels and still relatively abundant: around
70 countries worldwide have coal reserves that
Burning coal are financially worth recovering. The biggest
produces greenhouse
gases and contributes
reserves are in the United States, Russia, China,
to global warming and India. However, burning coal releases
greenhouse gases that damage the environment
and contribute to global warming.
AL
IC N
C TR TIO
E
EL BSTA
SU
Used in steel and

cement production
▼ Oil
The most versatile fossil fuel, oil is also the one
scientists predict we are running out of the
FA
CT fastest: some estimates say resources will run
OR
Y dry in just 55 years if we continue to use it at
the current rate. Top producing oil countries
include Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United States,
Iran, and China.
Dangerous
to mine N
CT OF OIL
IMPA
IO
AT
ST
Used to generate ER
electricity for W
PO Used for diesel
domestic use to fuel vehicles,
Cleaner burning which can
More abundant pollute cities
than the other than coal but still
fossil fuels releases harmful
greenhouse gases
Oil is manufactured
to make chemicals,
I NE synthetic rubber
M and plastics
AL
CO
FA
CT
OR
Y
I M PAC T O F C OA L
Used for
central heating
systems
JUST AS FOSSIL FUELS FROM CONVENTIONAL

SOURCES ARE FINITE… THOSE FROM
DIFFICULT SOURCES WILL ALSO RUN OUT.
David Suzuki, Canadian scientist and environmental activist, 1936–
346 THRESHOLD 8
2001 9/11 2008 GLOBAL FINANCIAL
Cleanest-burning fossil CRISIS
fuel, emitting 70 per cent
less carbon dioxide than
oil or coal
Used in the
manufacture of
plastics and
chemicals ◀ Natural gas and shale gas
These two types of natural gas are found
O RY in many countries worldwide. The highest
CT
FA reserves of natural gas are located in
Qatar, Iran, Russia, the United States, and
Saudi Arabia. Leading producers of shale
gas are China, the United States, Mexico,
Australia, Argentina, Canada, and Algeria.
Shale gas is widely Gas could alleviate dependence on foreign
available and drilling
for it could bring countries to supply energy but there are
ES environmental and safety concerns about
US down the cost of
HO natural gas overall its extraction, and shale gas is not a
renewable resource.
Burned as a domestic
fuel for heating and Drilling, or
cooking and to "fracking", for
shale gas can cause Soil
generate electricity
explosions as the gas
is highly flammable
Water
Natural gas is found

close to the surface and
is sometimes associated
with oil deposits
GA
SW
EL
L Shale gas is natural gas found
deep underground in sediment
rock that is hard to reach and
more dangerous to extract
Water and chemicals
used in fracking can
contaminate the
water table and
aquatic habitats
Used as a jet fuel IM PA C T O F G A S

FINDING THE
Drilling for oil on
offshore oil rigs can
ENERGY
be dangerous for
workers
The control and consumption of energy, in the form
of fossil fuels, has driven the growth of industrial societies
and powered technological innovations. However, burning
Oil spills can be
fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases that are harmful
O
catastrophic for to the environment. These fuels also exist in finite quantities,
IL marine life
RI
G creating a need to find alternative sources of energy.
Coal, oil, and natural gas are the three major fossil fuels – they are
derived from plant and animal fossils that are millions of years old and
take millions of years to form (see pp.148–49). Starting with coal, these
fuels powered modern industrialization, but they are being depleted at
an ever increasing rate. In the 20th century, when oil replaced coal as
R
N KE the world’s leading fossil fuel, governments and industrialists joined
TA
forces to find and control new oil fields. The interdependence between
governments, energy companies, and the supply and control of oil shapes
Easy to store and
transport, especially world politics today. Meanwhile, shale gas, a form of natural gas, is
in liquid form predicted to become an important new source of energy. It is found
domestically in many countries, and may reduce or even eliminate
their potential dependence on foreign nations for energy.
FINDING THE ENERGY 347

NUCLEAR
OPTIONS
During the 20th century, a global network of scientists discovered
ways to harness nuclear energy, and in World War II deployed it with
devastating immediate and long-term effects. In 2016, nuclear power
provided almost 15 per cent of the world’s electricity.
Warfare often drives innovation. ◀ Radioctive energy source

The atomic bombs dropped Uraninite is a highly radioactive ore of
uranium that is mined to provide
on the Japanese cities of an energy source that powers
Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear plants.
in 1945 demonstrated the
terrifying power of the
world’s ultimate weapon. in 56 countries worldwide,
It remains the most where they were used for
devastating technology research and training,
unleashed by one materials testing, medicine,
industrialized power on another, and industry.
and the fear it inspired – that any nation
with a bomb could destroy another at the ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS
touch of a button – helped to create the The pros and cons of nuclear power
Cold War that dominated the late remain a topic of heated debate.
20th century. There are concerns that any country
building a nuclear reactor has the power
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCE to create a nuclear weapon. Arguments
During the 1950s, concerns about an that nuclear power stations have lower
overreliance on fossil fuels brought emissions than those run by fossil fuels
peacetime usage of nuclear energy to are met by concerns about the disposal
the fore. The first electricity-producing of radioactive waste and the toxic
nuclear power plant opened in the Soviet pollution created by mining uranium.
Union in 1954 and the industry spread Safety is also a concern, after serious
rapidly in the 1960s. Nuclear power accidents occurred in Fukushima, Japan,
became even more politically important in 2011, and Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986.
when skyrocketing prices brought about Chernobyl affected over 16,316,900
by the Middle East oil crises of the 1970s hectares (40,320,000 acres) of land and
caused countries, such as France and there are 148,274 invalids on the
Japan, to reduce their reliance on fossil Chernobyl registry, while Fukushima
fuels. By the year 2000, nuclear power displaced over 160,000 people. Nuclear
accounted for 80 per cent of France’s accidents also devastate rural areas, as
electricity and 40 per cent of Japan’s. contaminated land can no longer be used
Nuclear power has other important for agriculture. Engineers are working on
civil and commercial uses. By 2016, 240 developing safer and more efficient power
smaller nuclear reactors were in operation stations for the future.
A WORLD FREE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE SAFER

AND MORE PROSPEROUS.
Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, 1944–
348 THRESHOLD 8
Atmospheric weapons test

Nuclear weapons have been tested above
ground, underground, and underwater. Over
2,000 nuclear explosions were detonated
worldwide between 1945 and 1996.
NUCLEAR OPTIONS 349

BIG IDEAS
Following the Ice Age, people started
to settle in communities and began to
ENTERING THE
develop agriculture. Scientists believe that
deforestation to clear land for crops around
8,000 years ago released greenhouse gases
ANTHROPOCENE
into the atmosphere and created a spike in
carbon dioxide (CO2) levels. The effects of
farming also changed the land; geologists
can find agriculture’s signature in European
rock dating back to 900 CE.
Human activity has become the most influential factor shaping life During industrialization in the 19th
on Earth. The impact of industrialization and the pressures exerted century, Europe once again left an
by humankind have led to changes to the atmosphere, ecosystems, environmental mark and Crutzen believed
and biodiversity, while depleting many of Earth’s resources. This that the Anthropocene started at this time.
Other scientists suggest the Anthropocene
has led scientists to propose that we have entered a new geological
began in the atomic era of the 1950s and
epoch: the Anthropocene. the “Great Acceleration” that followed,
which saw the rapid growth of economies,
populations, and energy consumption.
▼ Burning fossil fuels n 2000, Dutch scientist Paul Crutzen a fossil record for future generations to The Great Acceleration came after the
Industrialization was I coined the term “Anthropocene” to discover. Population growth, more intensive detonation of the atomic bomb, the first
powered by the burning
of coal, which released
describe a new geological epoch. He argued agriculture, the destruction of biodiversity, nuclear weapon, which left a radioactive
billions of tonnes of that the biosphere had been transformed by and industrialization are among the marker in sediments across the world,
carbon dioxide into the humans rather than by natural geological main causes of environmental damage: and marks the rise of truly global impacts
atmosphere. After the and climatic processes that defined previous they have completely reshaped Earth’s caused by humans on the planet.
1880s, oil and gas drove
further economic
epochs. Earth bears permanent signs of this ecology and biology.
growth and released human activity: airborne black carbon – The history of Earth is divided into INDUSTRIAL IMPACT
more carbon dioxide. the main component of soot produced by geological time scales: epochs are periods While there is still some debate about
burning fossil fuels and biomass – is trapped spanning thousands of years. If the the Anthropocene, few dispute the impact
in glacial ice; fertilizer chemicals linger in Anthropocene is officially accepted it will of industrialization upon the environment.
the soil; and plastics pollute both earth follow the Holocene epoch, which began Even in the early stages of Britain’s
and water. All of these are likely to leave after the last Ice Age around 11,700 years industrial revolution, thick smog from
ago, when humans colonized new territories the coal-burning factories spread into the
and populations first began to grow. As the atmosphere and created widespread health
species at the top of the food chain, humans problems. These issues continued into the
began to make their mark on the world’s 20th century: a 1952 coal-fog left 4,000
fauna 50,000 years ago when they hunted dead from respiratory diseases in London
many large mammals to extinction. in four days. In the United States, smog
SINCE THE INDUSTRIAL

REVOLUTION, THE LEVEL
OF CO2 ON EARTH HAS
INCREASED BY 34 PER CENT
caused by car exhausts in California led

to the discussion of a new environmental
term: greenhouse gases.
Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide
and water vapour, occur naturally in small
quantities in Earth’s atmosphere and prevent
heat escaping into space. Without them,
Earth would be a frozen, arid planet. But in
the last 250 years, intensified human activity
– primarily burning fossil fuels for use in
industry or electricity and transportation –
has led to the highest concentrations of CO2
in the atmosphere for around 800,000 years.
Carbon dioxide levels remained below 280 fertilizers and sewage can leak into recovery from natural disasters. Even the
parts per million for thousands of years, but waterways and contaminate freshwater, extinction of a creature as small as a bee has
since the industrial revolution, they have which eventually flows into the sea where a knock-on effect. Bees are the major
risen at an increasing rate. Accelerating it can create a dead zone. This is where pollinator of around one third of the world’s
after the 1950s, they reached around 400 algae form: when they sink to the sea floor food crops, but their numbers are in decline
parts per million in the early 21st century. and decompose, oxygen is removed from and severe food shortages are predicted as
This is the main cause of global warming: the water. The low levels of oxygen cause result of their dwindling populations.
a gradual increase in Earth’s average marine animals to leave or die. At the same
temperature. More greenhouse gases trap time, around 80 million tonnes (88 million
more heat in the atmosphere and prevent tons) of plastic litter have been dumped in
it escaping into space. the world’s oceans, and around eight million SINCE 1992, THE NUMBER
Scientists suggest a 50 per cent reduction more are added daily. Millions of animals OF PROTECTED SITES
in global CO2 emissions is needed by 2050 and birds die annually when they mistake
WORLDWIDE HAS INCREASED
to prevent a global warming catastrophe. this plastic for food.
Global warming has already had serious Every day, species’ extinctions are TWENTY-FOLD
effects, including glacial melting, a rise in continuing at up to 1,000 times or more
OUR PLANET IS BEING TRANSFORMED –

NOT BY NATURAL EVENTS, BUT BY THE ACTIONS
OF ONE SPECIES: MANKIND.
Sir David Attenborough,
1926–
sea levels, ocean acidification, warming the natural rate due to human population REVERSING THE DAMAGE
surface temperatures, extreme weather, growth, habitat conversion, urbanization, Attempts are being made to help undo the
and the destruction of ecosystems. and over-exploitation of natural resources. centuries of human environmental damage.
Ecosystem destruction is also caused by In 2015, a study by the International Union Since the 1970s, hundreds of environmental
widespread deforestation that began during for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assessed protocols and treatises have been adopted
the 19th century to provide wood and raw 80,000 animal species and found nearly internationally; the countries signing up
materials for industrialization. Trees were 25,000 of them to be under threat of to them have agreed to implement targets
replaced with crops, such as coffee and tea, extinction. If current trends continue, the linked to environmental concerns, but with
which could be grown on one plot of ground Earth is on course for a sixth mass extinction varying degrees of success.
over consecutive years. Today, deforestation on a scale not seen for 65 million years, More recently, a set of 17 Sustainable
accounts for around one fifth of greenhouse since the extinction of the dinosaurs. Development Goals were adopted by the
gas emissions, as plants and trees absorb The threat to biodiversity is the result of United Nations in 2015, which are expected
CO2 during photosynthesis. Halting land-use changes, pollution, climate change, to frame the policies of 193 nations until
deforestation and replanting forests would and rising CO2 concentrations, and is now 2030. They aim to “end poverty, protect
help to reduce CO2 levels. a matter for serious concern. Each creature the planet, and ensure prosperity for all” by
has a supporting role in Earth’s biosphere, promoting “sustainable industrialization”.
DECLINING BIODIVERSITY which is an interdependent global This may become a defining theme for
Chopping down forests has destroyed ecosystem. This ecosystem provides essential future generations to ensure that
various ecosystems. As humans increasingly services such as clean water, fertile soils, environmental sustainability and protecting
exploit the land, we leave less to sustain all pollution absorption, storm protection, and the world’s ecosystems remain top priorities.
other species, leading to a decline in wildlife
diversity and abundance. Large numbers
of plants and animals were destroyed in
Africa, India, and the Pacific Islands in the
19th century during deforestation for THE CLIMATE CRISIS IS THE GREATEST
industrialization.
Meanwhile, increasingly high levels of CHALLENGE HUMANITY HAS EVER FACED.
pollutants in the world’s oceans have
devastated marine life. Agricultural Al Gore, American politician and environmentalist, 1948–
ENTERING THE ANTHROPOCENE 351

HARD EVIDENCE
CLIMATE CHANGE
Earth’s climate has fluctuated dramatically throughout its 4.5 billion
year history, but scientists can now prove that human activities – such
as burning fossil fuels and clearing land for agriculture – are also
contributing to climate change.
Climate change is a long-term shift in scientists try to predict the future impact of
weather conditions identified by changes global warming. Climate-change data is
in temperature, precipitation, winds, and gathered by chemists, biologists, physicists,
other indicators. Climate science began oceanographers, and geologists. They
over 100 years ago, when scientists first compare statistics on Earth’s temperatures,
suggested that burning fossil fuels may weather, and greenhouse gases by feeding
cause global warming, which, in turn, data into computerized climate change
contributes to climate change. In 2016, models. Air samples are analyzed to gauge
humans emitted carbon dioxide (CO2) into the level of CO2 in the atmosphere caused
the atmosphere 10 times faster than at any by natural sources compared to that of
point in the last 66 million years, causing fossil fuels. Similar readings made from air
Earth to be at its warmest for 1400 years. bubbles trapped in Antarctic ice cores that
The effects of global warming have been are hundreds of thousands of years old tell
monitored for decades: they include global us about past changes in Earth’s climate
temperature rises, the shrinking of glaciers (see pp.174–75). Plant fossils from Earth’s
and ice sheets, the thinning of the ozone crust tell us about species distribution
layer, acidification and warming of the during different atmospheric periods,
oceans, and rising sea levels. By comparing which may indicate how they could react
data on these events with past records, to higher levels of CO2 in the future.
ozone hole
increased during
1980s
Global temperature rise
To record global temperatures scientists

take air measurements from satellites,
ships, and meteorological stations and then
analyze the data. These measurements reveal
that the average global temperature is 0.8°C
(1.4 ºF) warmer than it was in 1880. In 2015,
this caused heatwaves in Asia and Europe,
1979 1987 flooding in Africa, droughts in South America,
and an increase in extreme weather events:
global storms, cyclones, and typhoons.
Rising sea levels
Tidal gauge readings, ice core

samples, and satellite measurements
1998 2015 have shown the global mean sea level
has risen by 7cm (23 ⁄4 in) in the last
century. This rise is due to melting
▲ Ozone depletion
The ozone layer stretches across the Earth’s upper
glaciers and polar ice caps, and the
atmosphere and absorbs most of the Sun’s ultraviolet expansion of sea water as it warms.
radiation. In the 1970s, robotic satellites showed a hole Rising sea levels have devastated
in the ozone layer. In 1987, the Montreal Protocol agreed The Maldives are low-lying coastal habitats, including
to prohibit ozone-depleting chemicals, but the ozone at risk a number of Pacific Islands.
hole is only predicted to return to 1980 levels by 2070.
352 THRESHOLD 8
Shrinking sea ice
Satellite images of the ice caps in

Greenland and Antarctica reveal that as
temperatures rise they are shrinking at a
rate of 13.4 per cent per decade. Sea ice
reflects sunlight back into space. Without
sea ice, the ocean absorbs 90 per cent of
the sunlight, which warms the water, adds
to the Arctic temperature rise, and causes
more melting in a process known as a
positive feedback loop.
Sea ice at the smallest extent recorded, 2012
Ocean acidification
Scientists study ice core samples and

the chemical composition of fossilized
sea creatures assess the ocean’s acidity
over time. The acidity of the ocean’s
surface has risen by 30 per cent over
200 years, as increased CO2 in the
atmosphere has been absorbed by the
sea. Acidification prevents creatures such
as corals, mussels, and oysters from
absorbing the calcium carbonate they
need to maintain their skeletons.
Warming oceans
Using robotic floats, scientists are able to

show that the world’s oceans have warmed
by around 0.11ºC (0.2 ºF) between 1971
and 2010. This has led to the destruction
of ecosystems such as coral reefs. In 2016,
warming ocean temperatures caused a
global coral bleaching event. This is where
coral lose the colourful algae that give
them pigmentation and provide them with
oxygen and nutrients. If the stress
continues, the bleached coral will die.
Bleached coral
CLIMATE CHANGE 353

▼ Endangered elements
The periodic table of endangered
elements shows the 44 elements facing Lithium is used for the
supply restrictions in the future as well lithium-ion batteries
as the 17 Rare Earth Elements, three of that power personal
which are also endangered. electronics and electric
cars today because they
store more energy (in the
KEY
same amount of space)
Limited availability – future risk to supply
than other technologies
Rising threat from increased use
Serious threat in the next 100 years
Rare Earth Element
Hafnium has a very high melting point,

which is why it is used to make control
rods for nuclear processors and nuclear
submarines. It is also used as an
insulator in microchips and found in
computer circuitry.
Neodymium is used in the magnets that

power mobile phones, electric car
engines, and wind turbines. Without it,
magnets would be 90 per Cent weaker and
up to 100 per cent larger, making green
energy less efficient.
354 THRESHOLD 8
ELEMENTS
UNDER THREAT IN 2010, CHINA PRODUCED
95 PER CENT OF THE WORLD’S
RARE EARTH ELEMENTS
The chemical elements that make up Earth occur on our planet in
finite quantities. Of the 118 elements that have so far been identified,
around 44 are considered endangered because demand for use in
technology is predicted to outstrip supply.
Coal and oil are not the only natural resources at risk from current demand.
Supplies of elements – including Rare Earth Elements (REEs) with magnetic,
luminescent, and electrochemical properties vital for the latest technology – Indium is used to make the
are also under threat. The reasons vary: some, like helium, occur in finite non- touch-screen glass found in
smartphones. It comes from zinc
renewable quantities. Others are hard to access: REEs are often widely dispersed
mines as it occurs in such small
and mixed with other minerals, which makes mining an expensive proposition, amounts that mining it is
and refining them can create quantities of toxic waste. In addition, countries with impractical. If the demand for zinc
economically viable mines may prefer to secure these resources for domestic use declines, it will have an impact on
the availability of indium.
in medical and military equipment rather than export them to competing nations.
As with oil, these countries are in a strong position to manipulate prices and
protect their market share by controlling availability; it is possible to recycle REEs
from old or obsolete electronics, such as computers and phones, but cheaper to extract
them afresh. Technology may not work as well without them, but high prices and
low supplies give manufacturers an incentive to innovate and create alternative
products that use fewer – or no – REEs and endangered elements, and
promote the sustainable use of what we have left.
Phosphorus is an important ingredient in
agricultural fertilizers. It is also used in
everyday items, such as matches. Europe has
started recycling phosphorus as a step towards
a more sustainable supply.
Helium is the second

most abundant element
in the Universe, but on
Earth our extractable
supplies are declining. It
has many uses, including
in MRI scanners
355
Solar-powered supertrees
Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay, an innovative
and energy-efficient space, contain supertrees
inspired by their natural counterparts. They
contain photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight
into energy and use it for lighting.
356 THRESHOLD 8
THE QUEST FOR

SUSTAINABILITY
Coal, oil, and gas have powered over 250 years of industrial progress, but
these fossil fuels are in limited supply. Switching from non-renewable to
renewable sources of energy could lead to greater energy security and
help to protect the environment.
In 2013, more than 80 per cent of the ◀ Electric car

world’s energy came from coal, gas, and Instead of running
on oil, electric vehicles
oil, while only 19 per cent came from are powered by a
renewable energy sources. Researchers rechargeable battery,
are seeking new forms of renewable which means they emit
energy as a matter of urgency. less carbon dioxide.
GREEN TECHNOLOGY
The most common sources of renewable
power are water, solar, wind, geothermal –
which harnesses heat from Earth, such
as hot springs – and biomass fuels created of Denmark’s energy comes from wind
by burning decaying plant or animal power, over 26 per cent of Germany’s
material. Each has limitations. The power comes from renewables, and some
construction of wind farms, solar panels, Chinese and Indian villages heat biomass
hydroelectric dams, and tidal barriers material to generate electricity. In 2016,
is expensive, and geothermal power is over 60 per cent of global energy
only available in volcanic areas. Burning investment went into renewables, and green
biomass emits carbon dioxide, but it energy is predicted to overtake electricity
is carbon neutral when it is part of generated by fossil fuels by 2030.
a sustainably managed programme – Renewable energy could create
for example, if new trees are planted hundreds of thousands of jobs. It could
to absorb the carbon dioxide released. also enable many countries to develop
Furthermore, new renewable technologies the long-term domestic energy security
are developing fast and costs are coming essential in the industrial world, and
down. With knowledge and experiences insulate them from the fluctuating
shared through global networks we may prices of imported fuels. However,
be able to innovate to overcome the industrializing countries, such as China
current limitations. and India, continue to rely on coal.
Many countries already use renewable Fossil fuel subsidies are often high, which
energy. In Brazil, sugar cane is made makes them cost effective. Despite these
into the biofuel ethanol; the country’s barriers to investment, renewables are
gasoline includes a blend of 18–27 catching up and, in some cases, are
per cent ethanol. Nearly 40 per cent already cheaper than fossil fuels.
WE NEED TO ULTIMATELY MAKE CLEAN,

RENEWABLE ENERGY THE PROFITABLE
KIND OF ENERGY.
Barack Obama, President of the United States (2009–2017), 1961–
THE QUEST FOR SUSTAINABILITY 357

WHERE NEXT?
Big History provides a unique perspective on the trends and themes
that connect the story of humans. Can we use them to predict the future?
Nothing is certain, but the themes of population growth, innovation,
energy, and sustainability look set to recur for the next hundred years.
Population growth and innovation are age. Today we are on the cusp of the sixth
the signatures of our success as a species. wave: sustainability, the great theme of our
Our 18th-century ancestors combined time. It aims to provide a high standard
thousands of years of collective learning of living for the rising global population
with new agricultural technologies to – predicted to reach 10 billion by 2050 –
put an end to the Malthusian crises that while reducing our reliance on fossil fuels
periodically reduced agrarian populations. and using remaining resources efficiently.
Astonishing industrial innovation gave The ability to harness new forms of energy
many people access to goods, services, and has defined past thresholds of human
a quality of life previously unimaginable. history; now our relationship with energy
Technological growth in the last century may determine the fate of our species.
has outstripped that of all human history. There are signs that trends are shifting.
Many of today’s innovations, such as Population growth rates have slowed in
smartphones and the internet, would have industrializing countries, such as India and
seemed impossible as recently as the early China. This may be because economically
1980s. These technologies have connected developed countries tend to produce fewer
the world in the most complex collective children. But these children tend to be
network ever known. more highly educated, and as they join
However, progress has come at a cost. the billions of potential innovators already
It has led to increasing consumption of connected through the modern global
the dwindling resources of water and communications network, this may be
BIG HISTORY STUDIES THE HISTORY OF EVERYTHING,

OFFERING A WAY OF MAKING SENSE OF OUR WORLD AND
OUR ROLE WITHIN IT.
David Christian, Big History historian, 1946–
fossil fuels; it has brought about the mass- the key to saving our planet. Never before
extinction of many plant and animal has collective learning been so accessible,
species; and it has led to an exponential integrated, and important.
rise in greenhouse gas emissions. It is now The collective hub has already created
up to the global collective to reverse this important green innovations: electric cars,
damage and develop a less environmentally biofuels, solar-powered desalination of
harmful existence for future generations. water, and zero-emission buildings, whose
total energy consumption does not result in
A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE greenhouse gas emissions. In this sense, the
The industrial revolution is sometimes near future is a place of limitless potential.
described as the first in a series of waves of The 21st century may be remembered as
innovation: the first era of mechanization the dawn of global sustainability, attained
was succeeded by innovations from the through green innovation and powered
steam age, the electrical age, the aviation by renewable energies. In a future still
and space age, and most recently the digital unwritten, all things are possible.
358 THRESHOLD 8
Innovation to predict climate change

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory detects
where carbon dioxide is absorbed and how
much is in the atmosphere, with the aim of
improving predictions of climate change.
WHERE NEXT? 359

INDEX
References in italics refer to illustrations and American War of Independence 318, 320 Asia
photographs, those in bold indicate the main Americas, the (world zone) colonization of 329
information for the topic. colonization of 329 development of writing 266
development of writing 266–267 early farming in 243
A
early farming in 234, 242, 248 early human dispersal into 195
early human dispersal in 195 trade routes through 294–295
exploration of 297, 298 Askari soldiers 327
aardvarks 168 globalization in 299, 336 aspirin 334
Aborigines, Australian 212, 329 Mesoamerica 234, 244, 294 asteroids
acacia trees 168 “New World” 296–297, 298, 298 asteroid belt 74, 75
accretion, of planets 71, 78 religion in 274 meteorites 72–73, 86
acetate 106 amino acids 59, 102 strikes 78–79, 80, 103, 154
Acheulian technology 211 ammonia 102 Astraspis 132
acid rain 346 amniotes 132–133, 147, 147 astronomical clocks 20–21
acidity, of ocean’s surface 353 amoebas 114, 115, 122 Atlantic Ocean 94
advertising 317, 345 amphibians 141, 141, 153 atlatls 204, 204
adzes 232, 284 evolution of eggs 147 atmosphere, planetary 71, 74
aerobic respiration 116 extinction of 162–163 on Earth 80, 81, 102, 102
Aetiocetus 171 anatomy, of prehistoric man 190, 199 atomic bombs 348, 349
affluent foragers 230, 231 Ancient Library of Alexandria 264, 266 atomic mass 63
Africa Andromeda Galaxy 30 atoms 22, 28–29, 34, 102
colonization of 327, 328–329 anaesthetic 334 inside stars 44, 58
continental drift 90, 158, 159 angiosperms 160 radiometric dating 88
development of writing 266 Anglo-Saxons 277 Australasia (world zone) 235, 336
early human species in 182, 194–195, 199 Antarctica 158, 174, 176 Australia 158, 195, 220, 299
education in 332, 333 Anthropocene Era 350 Aborigines 212, 329
farming in 235, 242–243 antibiotics 112, 335 Australopithecus 184, 184, 186,
habitats of 168 antimatter 29, 39 189, 206
metallurgy in 280 antiparticles 34 automobiles 313, 338, 339
modern day 343, 345 apes 183, 186–187 aviation industries 339
“scramble for” 327 Apple Inc. 341 Axial Age 274
see also slave labour Aptian extinction event 163 axis, Earths 174
Afro-Eurasia (world zone) 235, 294, 336 Arab Spring uprisings (2011) 342 ayaté 278
“Old World” 296, 297, 298 Arabic records 264 Aztec empire 244, 244–245,
afterlife 275, 277 Araucaria araucana 145 287, 298
Age of Discovery 336 archaea 112, 113, 114
Age of Enlightenment 304, 319, 332 archaeological techniques 192, 197, 238
B
Age of Exploration 275, 296–297 Archaeopteryx 156, 157
Age of Fish 132 Archean era 84, 85
Age of Reptiles 154 Archimedes of Syracuse 23, 269
aggression, in animals 240, 241 Archimedes’ screw 269 babies 201, 259
Agrarian Era 271, 294, 314, 344 archosaurs 154 Babylon, Mesopotamia 262
’Ain Ghazal 256 Ardipithecus ramidus 186, 187 back-boned animals see vertebrates
air pollution 352 ard ploughs 248, 249 bacteria 112–113, 114, 115
air travel 339 arid habitats 147, 152, 153, 272 evolution of 118
Akkadian Empire 288 aristocracies 317 reproduction of 120–121
Alexander the Great 288, 289 Aristotle 22–23, 86, 172 Bagha Qaghan 285
algae 100, 115, 115, 122, 137 armadillos 167 Bahrām Chōbin 285
allantois 146, 147 armour 284 bartering 291
Allen, Horatio 313 art, prehistoric 204–205, 212–213 basket weaving 278
Almagest, Ptolemy 23 see also cave art bathymetry 94, 95
alphabets 264–267 arthritis 282, 283 bats 109, 142, 142, 143
amber 150–151, 293 arthropods 127, 128, 140, 142–143 Bay of Fundy, Canada 82–83
Ambulocetus 170, 171 articulated bones 192 BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) 341
360 INDEX
Beaker people 254 Britain cars (automobiles) 313, 338, 339
beans, domesticated 236, 237 coal reserves in 307 electric 357
Becquerel, Henri 86 colonization by 328 cartilage 130, 132, 135
bees 165, 240, 351 education reform 332, 332 carts 246, 246
Beg, Ulugh 23, 23, 245 government 304, 314, 325 carvings
Belgian Congo 329 industrialization in 304, 310 art 214, 218, 291
Belgium 312–313, 320, 328 manufacturing industry 308–309, 312–313 calendars 244–245
belief systems 274–275 see also Reform Bill (1832) caves 204–205, 212, 213
religions 86, 263, 295 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) 341 CAT scanners 335
Benz, Karl 338 British Empire 328 Catal Höyük, Turkey 256–257
Bering Strait 195, 195 Broca’s area (brain) 202 Catholic Church 24, 25, 264
Bessel, Friedrich 29 bronze 217, 280–281, 291 cattle 240
Bethe, Hans 58 Bronze Age 20–21, 280, 284 cave art 208, 209 212–213
Bible 111, 264 bubonic plague 292, 293, 293 depicting hunting scenes 188, 227
Big Bang theory 34–35, 37, 38–39 Buddhism 274, 275, 295 story-telling through 203
binary systems 57 Burgess Shale, Canada 101, 129 cells
biodiversity 220, 350, 351 burial practices 207, 218–219, 221 complex cells, evolution of 100, 118-119, 120
biomass fuels 357 see also grave goods multicellular organisms 100, 122–123
bipedal animals 142, 156, 186, 201 Byzantine Empire 264, 295 protocells 106, 106, 107
birch bark tar 207, 216, 217 single-cell organisms 112–113, 119
birdman of Lascaux 202–203 reproduction of 120–121
C
birds 133, 147 centipedes 140
evolution of wings 142–143, Cepheid variables 29, 30, 30
156–157 cetaceans 170
birth control 335 Cable News Network (CNN) 341 Chaco Canyon 60
Bismarck, Otto von 320 “caching” (bodies) 218 Chalicotherium 133
bismuth 59 calendars 18, 20–21, 244–245 Chandragupta Maurya 288
Black Death 292, 293 Cambrian-Ordovician extinction 162 Chan Muwan, King of Bonampak 260
black holes 47, 49, 56 Cambrian period charcoal 149
blood feuds 262 beginning of life in 128–129, 128 chariots 284, 287
blood groups 335 evolution of animals 130, 140, 158 Chauvet Cave, France 212, 212–213
blueshifts 29, 29 Cambridge University 105 chemical elements 62–63, 354–355
blue whales 171 cameras 343 Chernobyl nuclear disaster 348
Bohr, Niels 29 Campbell’s monkeys 203 chieftains 259, 261, 277
Bolivar, Simón 319 canals (water) 268, 269, 309, 312 childbirth 201
Bolivia 299 cannibalism 218 child labour 306–307, 309
bone (tools) 206, 207, 208, 214 capitalism 322, 323, 337 chillis 296
bones 130, 192–193, 218 consumerism 316, 345 chimpanzees 170, 183
hyoid bones 192, 202, 202 carbolic acid 334 China 253, 336
jaws 135 carbon 89, 102, 148–149 astronomy in 18, 60
limbs, hands and feet 141, 186–187 within stars 56, 58–59 coal reserves 307
wings 143, 157 carbon dioxide (CO2) 80 conflicts in 284, 325
bonobos 183 from burning of coal 149 development of law 263
Book of Genesis 18 levels in atmosphere 174, 350–351, 352 development of writing 266, 267
Boulton, Matthew 308–309 in photosynthesis 114 education reform 332
bows 209, 284, 285 carbon emissions 348, 352, 357 emperors of 261, 278, 279
brachiopods 138 Carboniferous period 140, 148, 152, 158, 176 farming in 235, 248, 250, 269
Brahe, Tycho 25 climate change in 176 industrialization 304
brain 126–127, 202 continental shift in 158 money used in 290, 291
size in Hominins 188–189, 201 Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse 163 religion in 275
Brazil 357 Carey, Samuel 91 renewable energy in 357
breastfeeding 201 carnivores 154, 156, 188, 211 social status in 277, 277, 278, 278
breathing, during speech 202 see also diets trade in 298, 299, 325
Bridgwater Canal 312 Carolingian script 267 Silk Road 294–295, 275
INDEX 361
chlorophyll 114 communication technology 336, 340–341, 342–343 cuticle 140
chloroplasts 100, 118, 118 Digital Revolution 332 cyanobacteria 112, 114–115, 115
choanoflagellates 122 communism 322 cynodonts 166, 167
chocolate 317 compensation 262 Cynognathus 159
cholera 293, 331, 331, 334 complex cells, evolution of 100, 118-119, 120 Cyrus the Great 287
chorion 147 multicellular organisms 122–123 cytoplasm 113
Christianity 274, 275, 297 composite particles 34
views on afterlife 277 Computerized axial tomography (CAT) scanners 335
D
views on evolution 110 computers 341, 343
Cigar Galaxy 60 Condition of the Working Poor, The, Engels 331
citizenship 287, 315 Confucianism 263, 274, 275
city states 269, 270–271, 252 Confuciusornis 156 Dalton, John 28, 28
clades, of species 173 constitutions 320 Darby, Abraham 309
classification of species 172–172 consumerism 311, 316–317, 339 dark energy 38
clay 216, 217, 254 leading to waste 345 dark matter 38, 38, 44, 48
climate change continents Darwin, Charles 86, 110–111, 172, 173
prehistoric era 153, 158, 174–175, 187 formation of 84–85, 92 Darwin, George 86, 90
early human dispersal, due to 195, 199, 221 shift of 90–91, 150, 158, 159 dating techniques 72, 86–87, 192
ice ages 176–177, 220, 226 convergent evolution 142 days, within calendars 244
leading to extinction 162 convergent plate boundary 92, 93, 95 De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium,
modern era 350, 352–353, 359 cooking, discovery of 216, 217 Copernicus 25
clocks 244 Copernican Revolution 23 death
see also calendars Copernicus, Nicolaus 25 burial practices 207, 218–219, 221
clothing 214–215, 282, 283 copper 216, 280, 291 grave goods 21, 254, 276–277
as status symbol 278–279, 317 Copper Age 283 of Ötzi, mummified man 282–283
CNN (Cable News Network) 341 coprolites 238, 239 see also diseases
CO2 (carbon dioxide) 80 corals 120, 138, 139 Declaration of Independence (1776) 318
from burning of coal 149 core samples 187 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen,
levels in atmosphere 174, 350–351, 352 Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law) 263 Lafayette 318–319
in photosynthesis 114 Cortés, Hernán 296 decomposers 112, 115
coal Cosmic Dark Ages 44, 44 deep-sea vents 106, 106
formation of 148–149 cosmic microwave background (CMB) 38, 38–39 see also ocean habitats
in industrialization 304, 310, 312, 350 cosmological principle 39 deforestation 221, 272, 299, 351
mining 306–307, 308 cotton 278, 309, 329 Deinonychus 157
reserves 307, 346, 347 cowpeas 235 Demetrius I, King of Macedon 262
coastal habitats 152, 158 Cran Nebula 60 democracy 318
coastal settlements 220, 226 cratons 84, 85 Denisovans 194, 197, 214
Cockerill, William 313 Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction 163 Denkania 145
coevolution 165 Cretaceous period 154, 156 Denmark 357
coffee 328 Crick, Francis 105 deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) see DNA
coins 291 crickets (katydids) 109 department stores 316, 317
Cold War 348 crinoids 139 deserts
collagen 130 crocodiles 163 creation of 152, 153, 272
collective learning 204–205, 288, 332 Cromford Mill 312 irrigation of 268–269
colonization 311, 328–329 crops deuteron 58
exploitation of, for trade 311, 322, 336 domestication of 236–237 Devonian period 135, 137, 141, 162
opposition to 319, 327 grain 238–239, 250, 293 diapsids 153, 154
pre-industrialization 296–297 production and harvest of 249, 344 diets
Columbian Exchange 297 maize 234, 242, 253 of early farmers 293
Columbus, Christopher 297, 298 rice 243, 253 of Mayans 255
combustion engines 338, 339 Crowdfunding 343 of prehistoric man 184, 188, 189
comets 72, 74, 80 crust, Earth’s 80–81, 84–85, 92–93 hunter-gatherer groups 211
commandments 262, 263 Crutzen, Paul 350 Neanderthals 190, 193
commercial air travel 339 crystals 73, 88–89 differentiation 78, 79, 80, 85
communication see language currencies see money Digest 263
362 INDEX
digestive systems 112, 115, 169 earths (elements) 63 erosion
Digges, Thomas 25 Easter Island 272, 273 of fossils 150
digging sticks 248 Ebola 335 of rock 86, 87, 88
Digital Revolution 332 eclipses 20 of soil 272
Dimetrodon 147 economic strength ethanol 357
dinosaurs 133, 154, 155 global 322–323, 336, 337 ether 112
therapods 156, 157 from industrialization 310, 311, 345 Ethiopia 198, 199, 327, 327
diseases see also money Euglena 118, 118–119
amongst early human species 193, 282 ecosystems 140, 145, 351 eukaryotes 100, 113, 118, 120
from food shortages 248, 253 see also habitats Eurasia
plague 292, 293 Ediacaran period 128, 128 conflicts in 284
presence of bacteria 112, 112 education 331, 332–333, 358 continental shift 158
prevention of 334, 350 eggs farming in 235, 242–243, 250
spread of 295, 299, 331 evolution of 146–147 metallurgy in 280
disposable income 316 in reproduction 120, 124, 124, 145 plague 253
divergent plate boundary 92, 93 Egypt trade networks in 291, 294–295
divine laws 263 astronomy in 18 see also Afro-Eurasia (world zone)
divine rights 274 development of writing 266, 267 Europe
DNA 102, 104–105, 120–121 education reform 332 development of writing in 266
analysis of 173, 196–197 farming in 249, 250–251, 269, 293 early farming in 246, 253
of simple and complex cell organisms 112, 118 pharaohs of 258, 261, 261 imperialism in 288, 327, 328–329
see also genetics social hierarchy 258, 278 plague in 293
Döbereiner, Johann 63 tombs of 277 political and social reform 319, 320, 331, 332
dogs 167 written records in 264 metallurgy in 281
domestication Ehrlich, Paul 165, 335 trade markets in 317, 325
of animals 234, 240–241, 242 Einstein, Albert 28, 32, 47 world exploration by 296–297, 298
secondary products 246 El Gordo galaxy 38 European Industrial Revolution 312
of plants 234, 236–237 electoral reform 315, 317 European Organization for Nuclear Research
donkeys 246 electric cars 357 (CERN) 37
double helix 104, 104–105 electricity 345 European Space Agency (ESA) 76–77
dragons 279 electrons 28–29, 34, 44 evolution, of life 108–109, 128, 141
draught animals 246, 248 electron-spin resonance (ESR) 192 of eggs 147
drilling, for oil and gas 347 elements, chemical 58–59, 62–63 history and theories of 110–111, 173
droughts 269 embryos 122–123, 146, 147 of internal skeletons 130, 135
Dunkleosteus 134, 135, 135 emissions, carbon 348, 352, 357 of mammals 169, 170–171
Dutch colonies 329 Empedocles 22 of humans 184, 189, 201
dwarf galaxies 45 empires 328–329 of plants 140, 145, 160, 165
dwarf planets 75 populations of 252 of winged animals 142, 156
dwarf stars 56, 57 rise and fall of 287, 288–298 see also natural selection
dyes (textile) 214, 215, 278 see also colonization exoplanets 76, 77
dying stars 59 endangered elements 355 “experimental” animals 100
dykes 268, 269 End-Silurian extinction event 162 export trades 323
Engels, Friedrich 319, 331 extinction 150, 162–163, 351
engines due to continental shifts 158
E
combustion engines 338, 339 due to ice ages 176
steam engines 307, 308–309 due to volcanic activity 154
Enlightenment, Age of 304, 319, 332 of Hominin species 190, 221
Earth Entreves, Alessandro d’ 263 of languages 297
formation of 71, 74, 75, 78–79 enzymes 114, 114, 116
origin theories 18–19, 46 epidermis 137
F
movement of 23, 24–25 Epoch of Recombination 44
layers 80–81, 84–85, 92–93 equality 318–319
meteorites found on 72 women, loss of 259, 259
calculating the age of 86 Eratosthenes 264 fabrics see textiles
earthquakes 80, 92 Erithacus 156 Facebook 341
INDEX 363
factory production 308–309, 310, 312, 345 fruit, for plant reproduction 145, 160 globalization cont.
assembly lines 339 fuel consumption 344, 345 through religion 275
workers conditions 330, 331 Fukushima nuclear disaster 348 and trading 298–299
famine 248, 253, 293 fundamental particles 34 Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) 341
farmers, hierarchy of 258, 259 funeral stones 264 global warming 239, 351, 352
fats 114 fungi 115, 120, 124 Glossopteris 159
feet, evolution of 186–187 fur, for clothing 214, 215 gluons 34, 37
female organisms 124, 240 fusion, nuclear 45, 56, 58 gods and goddesses 18, 256, 274–275
Fenton Vase 254–255 gold 281, 328
fermentation 246 cloth 278
G
Fertile Crescent 234–235, 236, 280 trading of 291
fertilization (farming) 240, 344, 350 Gondwana 158, 159
fertilization (reproduction) Google 341
of plants 145, 160, 165 Gaia satellite 76–77 Gorham’s Cave 194
of protocells 107 Galápagos Islands 110, 111 gorillas 183, 201
sexual 111, 120–121, 124 galaxies Gould, John 111
fibres (textiles) 278 creation of 38, 45, 48–49 governments 311, 314–315
financial institutions 311, 323, 337 discovery of 30, 33, 47, 50–51 authority of 291, 316, 318, 323
fire Galileo Galilei 25, 26, 46 in Britain 304, 325
creation of 216–217 Gama, Vasco da 298 within empires 287, 289
use in farming 232, 233 gametes 145 see political hierarchies
fire-stick farming 220, 221 Ganesh 275 GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) 341
slash-and-burn farming 232, 233, 272 Ganow, George 32 grain crops
First Keck Telescope 27 Gardens by the Bay, Singapore 356 diet of 293
fish 130–131, 132, 141 gas (elements) 63 domestication of 236, 237
extinction of 162–163 gas (fossil fuel) 347 measurement of 250
jawed 134–135 gaseous planets 71, 75 pollen analysis 238–239
“fishapod” 141, 141 Gatling gun 326, 327 production and harvest of 236, 249, 344
fishing 189, 206, 208, 231 gazelles 168 granaries 250, 250, 251
exploitation of reserves 211, 220 GDP (Gross Domestic Product) 333, 345 Grande Coupure 163
flagellum 113 General Theory of Relativity 32, 38, 47, 47 grasses and grassland habitats 168, 169
flatworms 126–127 genetics 104–105, 111 grave goods 21, 254, 276–277
fleas 293 analysis of 196–197 see also burial practices
flightless birds 158 and reproduction 120–121, 124 gravitational lensing 47
flippers 142 see also DNA gravity 46–47, 71, 71, 76
flooding 269, 272, 293 genus, of species 173 Earth’s gravitational pull 78, 80
flowering plants 101, 160, 161, 165 geocentrism 24–25 Moon’s gravitational pull 82, 83
Flying Shuttle 312 geothermal energy 357 stars, gravitational collapse of 44, 56
food chains 115, 135 germ theories 334 Sun’s gravitational pull 68
food shortages (famine) 248, 253, 293 Germany 320, 320, 331 grazing animals 169
foragers 211, 220, 230–231 imperial power of 328 Great Acceleration 350
Ford, Henry 339 germination 145, 236 Great Britain see Britain
Ford Model T 339 gestures (communication) 202 Great Dying 101
forest habitats 141, 150, 186 gills 130, 135 Great Exhibition (1851) 321
deforestation 221, 272, 299, 351 glacial periods 176–177 Great Library of Alexandria 264, 266
fossil fuels 345, 346–347, 348, 350 ice ages 220, 226 Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event 162
leading to climate change 352, 357, 358 glaciers 152, 176, 352 Great Oxygenation Event 100, 116
coal 149, 307 glass 217 Great Wall of China 250
fracking 347 gliding birds 156 great white sharks 130–131
France 313, 328, 348 global economies 322–323, 336, 337 Greece
revolution 314, 318, 320 global exchange networks 297 astronomy in 18
fraternity 318 globalization 333, 336–337 coinage in 291
free trade 317, 323, 325 communication 342–343 development of alphabet 264, 266, 267
freedoms 318–319 of industry 312–313 independence of 320
French Revolution (1789) 314, 318, 320 populations during 252 influence on Romans 288
364 INDEX
green energy 357 Holocene period 220, 226, 350 Hutton, James 86
greenhouse gases 345, 350–351, 352 Homer 284 Huxley, Thomas Henry 111
Greenland 174, 176 Hominins 184–185, 211, 220–221 hydroelectric energy 357
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 333, 345 breeding of 196, 197, 201 hydrogen 38, 63
guano (fertilizer) 248 burial practices 218 formation in stars 44, 56, 58–59
gunboat diplomacy 324 dispersal from Africa 194–195 formation of life 102, 114
gunpowder 284 evolution of 186–187, 189, 202 hyenas 168
Gutenberg, Johannes 264 within the primate family 183 hyoid bones 192, 202, 202
Guth, Alan 34 Homo antecessor 194, 195
Homo erectus 184, 185, 187, 216
I
brain size of 189
H
dispersal of 194, 195
intelligence of 202, 206, 207, 211
Homo ergaster 186 Iapetus Ocean 138
habitable zones (planets) 77 Homo floresiensis 185, 199, 214 ice ages 176–177, 220, 226
habitats 112, 116, 140, 186–187 Homo habilis 184, 185 Bering Strait 195
arid 147, 152, 153, 272 brain size of 189 ice cores 174–175
coastal 152, 158 dispersal of 194, 195 Iliad, Homer 274, 284
grasslands 168, 169 intelligence of 206, 211 “Imilac” meteorite 72
ocean 128, 128–129, 154 Homo heidelbergensis 188, 195 imperialism see colonization
marine 351 Homo neanderthalensis 184, 189 import trades 323
reef 138, 139 see also Neanderthals Inca Empire 248, 250, 274
rainforest 158, 233 Homo sapiens 198, 199, 199 India
swamp 148, 153 burial practices of 218, 221 continental shift of 158
Hadean Era 78, 79, 82, 102–103 clothing of 214 development of writing 266
Hadrian’s Wall 86, 286 culture and language of 202, 203, 204 and globalization 336
hafnium 354 dispersal of 194, 195 imperialism in 288
Haikouichthys 130 evolution of 189, 189, 201 renewable energy in 357
haloes (dark matter) 48 intelligence of 206, 207, 220 worship in 274, 275, 319
Hammurabi, King of Babylon 262 interbreeding with other Hominins see also Indus civilization
hands, evolution of 142, 143, 186–187 190, 196–197 indium 355
Han dynasty 263, 294–295 within primate family 183, 183 Indohyus 170, 171
harvests 20, 233, 236, 249 honeybee 165 Indus civilization 246, 266, 269
hearths 216 hoofed mammals 167, 168, 170, 171 industrialization 304, 305, 308–309,
Heezen, Bruce 91, 94 Hooker Telescope 30, 31 310–311
hekat 250 horses 169, 246, 297 effects on environment 350
heliocentrism 24–25 domestication of 284 globalization of 312
helium 38, 63, 355 use in trade 295 leading to consumerism 316–317
formation in stars 44, 56, 58 horticulture 232 social impact of 331
Hennig, Emil Hans Willi 173 household possessions 316, 317 wealth of industrialists 314, 323
herbivores 115, 135, 169 Hoyle, Fred 32 inflation (cosmology) 35
dinosaurs 154 huarango trees 272 inflation (economics) 291, 299
herding animals 169 Hubble, Edwin 29, 30, 32, 33 Information Age 332
Herschel, William 26 Hubble Space Telescope 27, 50–51 inner core, Earth’s 80, 80
Herto skull 198 Human Genome Project 335 insects 142, 143
Hess, Harry Hammond 91 human rights 318–319 pollination by 160, 164–165
hierarchy, of society 258, 259 human sacrifices 277 interglacial periods 176, 177, 190
hieroglyphs 254, 267 humans see Homo sapiens internal combustion engines
Higgs boson particles 34, 37, 37 hummingbird hawk-moth 164 338, 339
high mass stars 57 hunter-gatherer groups 210, 211 internet 341, 342
Hinduism 18, 19, 275 belief systems of 274 interstellar cloud 68
Hipparcos Satellite 27 competing with farmers 232, 242 invertebrates 135, 141, 158
hippopotamus 170–171, 171 diet and health of 190, 293 marine 162
Hohle Fels Venus 212, 213 social networks within 204 iron, as raw material 217, 280, 281
Holmes, Arthur 91 settlements of 228, 230–231 Iron Age 281
INDEX 365
L
irrigation systems 248, 268–269, 271 Locke, John 318, 320
Islam 274, 275, 295 London 304
Islamic Golden Age 267 looms 278, 309
islands, formation of 84, 85, 93 labour (birth) 201 Lord of Sipán 276, 277
isotopes 38, 72 labour laws 331 low mass stars 57
Israel 216 lactose tolerance 246 Lyell, Charles 86
Italy 320, 329 Lafayette, Gilbert du Motier, Lystrosaurus 159
Marquis de 318
Lagerstätte 138
J M
Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste 111
land ownership 262, 274, 314
language 202–203, 216, 320
Jack Hills, Australia 88, 89, 89 capabilities of Neanderthals 192 machine guns 326, 327
James Webb Space Telescope development of 204 Magellan, Ferdinand 298
(JWST) 27 extinction of 297 magma 79, 84, 92, 94
Japan 331, 348 Large Hadron Collider (LHC) 36, 37 magnesium 59
Buddhism in 275 Large Magellanic Cloud 60 magnetic field 80, 81, 91
development of writing 267 larynx 202 magnetic resonance imaging
education reform in 332 Last Universal Common Ancestor (MRI) scanners 335
imperial power of 329 (LUCA) 113 magnolias 160
industrialization in 309, 313 Late Devonian mass extinction 135 Maillet, Benoît de 86
Jomon civilization 230–231, 231 Late Heavy Bombardment 75, 80, 100 maize 234, 242, 253
trade markets 299, 324, 325 Latin 173, 264, 287 domestication of 236, 237
jawless fish 130 Lau event 162 malaria 327
jaws, evolution of 132, 134, 135 Laurasia 158 male organisms 123, 124, 240
Jefferson, Thomas 318 lava 102 Malthus, Thomas 253
jellyfish 126 Lavoisier, Antoine-Laurent de 63 Malthusian cycles 253
Jenner, Edward 334 law and order 262–263 mammals 147, 166–167
jewellery 190, 208, 214 Law of Octaves 63 extinctions of 163
by metallurgy 280, 281 layers, rock 86, 87 evolution of 133, 142, 147
Jomon civilization 230–231, 231 leather 207, 214 for domestication 240
Judaism 274 Leavitt, Henrietta Swan 28, 29 hoofed 168
Jupiter 74, 75 Legalism 263 manioc 296
Jurassic period 154, 163 Lemaître, Georges 32 mantle, Earth’s 80, 84, 92
justice 262–263 liberty 318 manufacturing industries
Justinian, Roman Emperor 263 Lidgettonia 145 308–309, 310, 312, 345
life expectancy 344 assembly lines 339
light 32, 47, 50 workers conditions 330, 331
K
from stars 44–45, 60 manure 248
see also telescopes manuscripts 267
light-years 29, 50 Māori people 18, 329
Kaapvaal Craton 85 lignin 137, 141, 148 mapping, world 90
Kalahari bushmen 189, 210 lignite 148 Mariana Trench 94
katydid 109 limbs marine habitats 351
Kenya 211, 342 evolved from fins 132, 141 marine life 140, 158, 351
Kepler, Johannes 25 wings evolve from 142, 143 Mars 24, 74
Kepler-452 system 77 linen 214, 278 marsupials 158, 167
keratin 153 Linnaeus, Carolus Marx, Karl 319
kings 261, 262–263, 271, 274 (Carl von Linné) 172 mass spectrometer 88
pharaohs 258, 261, 261 lions 168 Maxim, Hiram 327
grave goods of 277 literacy 267, 332, 333 Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics,
kinship 204, 262 lithic mulching 272, 272 Germany 61
Koran 263 lithium 354 Maya civilization
Kuiper Belt 75 llamas 234 astronomy in 18
Kushan Empire 294 lobe-finned fish 141 rulers of 260, 261
366 INDEX
Maya civilization cont. milk Neanderthals cont.
technologies of 254–255 production, in mammals 166, 167 language capability 202, 203
writing system 266 as secondary product 246, 247 skeletal remains of 192–193
Mayr, Ernst 111 Milky Way Galaxy 30, 50, 59 use of fire 216
measles 293 Miller, Stanley 102 Neander Valley 190
measuring time (calendars) 18, 20–21, 244–245 millipedes 140 Nebra Sky Disc 20–21
measuring volumes 250 minerals 114 nebulae 29, 29, 30, 56
meat-eaters (carnivores) 154, 156, 188, 211 mining industry 306–307, 308, 346, 355 neocortex 189
medical advances 334–335, 343 mitochondria 118, 118, 196 neodymium 354
Medieval records 264, 265 mobile phones 341, 342 neon 59
megalithic structures 221 “molecular clock” 170–171 Neptune 75, 75
meiosis 120 molecules 102, 102, 104, 106 nervous systems 126, 126–127
membrane 102, 106, 107, 112, 118 see also DNA Netherlands 329
amnion 147 molten rock (magma) 79, 84, 92, 94 neutrons 34, 35, 58–59
Mendel, Gregor 111 monarchies 304, 318, 320 neutron stars 56
Mendeleev, Dmitri 63 money 290, 291, 298 New Guinea 235
mercantilism 298–299, 315, 323 monkey puzzle tree 145 “New World” 296–297, 298, 298
Mercury 47, 74 monkeys 183 see also Americas the (world zone)
Mesoamerica 234, 294 monotheistic religions 275 Newcomen, Thomas 307, 308
Aztec empire 244, 244–245, 287, 298 monotremes 167 Newlands, John 63
Maya civilization Montsechia vidalii 160 news broadcasting 340, 342
astronomy in 18 Moon 20, 51, 78, 82–83 Newton, Isaac 25, 46, 46
rulers of 260, 261 morganucodonts 166 Nice Model 75
technologies of 254–255 Moschops 153 nickel 80
writing system 266 Moshe, Neanderthal skeleton 192–193 Nishinnoshima 85
Mesolithic period 221, 226, 227 moths 278 nitrogen 112
Mesopotamia 271, 288 motion, laws of 46, 47 noble gases 63
early farming in 248, 269 mouldboard (plough) 248 nomadic groups 228, 295, 294–295
pottery production in 255 mountain ranges, formation of 90, 92 warfare by 284
tombs of 277 MRI scanners 335 non-domesticable animals 241
trade tokens in 291 multicellular organisms 100, 122–123 non-metals 63
written records in 264 complex cells, evolution of 118-119, 120 non-renewable elements 355
Mesosaurus 159 multituberculata 163 non-renewable energy see fossil fuels
Mesozoic Era 154, 158 mummified tissues 197 North America 158, 234
Messel Lake, Germany 101, 138 musical instruments 208 see also United States of America (USA)
metallurgy 280–281 mutations, of genes 108, 120, 170 North Pole 176
meteorites 72–73, 86 natural selection 111, 135, 142, 165 see also polar regions
see also asteroids mutualism 165 North River Steamboat 312
methane 102 notochord 130, 130
N
microbes 100, 112–113, 114, 116–117 nuclear power 348
evolution to complex cells 118, 120, 122 nuclear weapons 348, 349
evolution onto land 140 nuclei, atomic 29, 34, 45
see also bacteria Nagaoka, Hantaro 28 fusion 45, 56, 58
micrometer 26 NASA 50 nuclei, cell 118
middle classes 315 nationalism 320, 321 nuclear DNA 197
and consumerism 316–317, 344 Native Americans 297, 299 nucleic acids 104, 105
demanding social reform 319, 331, 332 natural gas 347
Middle East oil crisis 348 Natural Law: An Introduction
O
Middle Stone Age 226 to Legal Philosophy, d’Entreves 263
Mid-Ocean Range 91 natural selection 111, 135, 142, 165
migration 337 Nazca people 272
Milankovitch cycles 174, 174 Neanderthals 190–191, 198–197, 218 oceanic crust 84–85, 92
military power brain size 189 oceans
in empires 284, 288 clothing 214 climate change effects on 176, 352, 353
technology 284, 311, 326, 327 dispersal of 194–195 and continental shift 158
INDEX 367
oceans cont. pain relief 283 plate tectonics 82, 84, 94–95
floor 94–95 Palaeolithic Era 203 continental shift of 91, 92–93
oceanic crust 84–85, 92 art 188, 212–213 early theories of 86
formation of 78, 80, 81, 89 burial practices 218–219 Pleiades star cluster 20, 21
habitats 128, 128–129, 154 clothing 214–215, 214 Pleistocene 220
see also tides Paleo-Tethys Ocean 153 plough, invention of 248
oil (fossil fuel) 313, 346–347, 348 Palissy, Bernard 86, 86 Plutarch 262, 263
Oldowan technology 206, 211 pallasite meteorite 72 Pluto 27
Olduvai Gorge 194 palynology 238 polar regions 158, 174, 176,
“Old World” 296, 297, 298 Pangaea 152, 153, 154, 167 352–353
Afro-Eurasia (world zone) 235, 294, 336 continental shift 158, 163 political hierarchies 271
online communication 341 paper money 291 political reforms 320, 331
On the Origin of the Species, Darwin 86, 111 parasites 112, 214 political revolution 314
On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, parchment 266 French revolution 314, 318, 320
Copernicus 25 Parisii 290 pollen grains 145, 160, 238–239
Oort Cloud 75 Parthian empire 294 pollination 145, 160, 165
Opabinia 129 particle accelerators 36, 37 pollution 348, 351
Opium Wars 325, 325 patriarchy 259 see also emissions
orangutans 182, 183 Pax Romana 287 polo (sport) 295
orbit, planetary 47, 71, 75, 76 peat 148 Polynesia 235, 261, 272
of the Earth 24–25, 174 pelvis 201 polytheistic religions 274, 275
of the Moon 83 penicillin 335 population growth, humans 252–253,
orbital velocity 82 pentaquark 37 344–345, 351
Orbiting Carbon Observatory 359 periodic table 62–63, 354–355 early species 195, 196, 199
orders, of species 173 Permian period 153 farming, effects on 228, 234, 248
Ordovician-Silurian extinction events 162 Permian-Triassic mass extinction 163 first states 259, 271
origin stories 86 Persian Empire 275, 285, 287, 295 spread of disease 293
Orion Nebula 59, 59 fall of 289 pores, plant 136
Ortelius, Abraham 90 Peru see Inca Empire “portable” art 212
Orthoceras 139 Petrie, Flinders 254 Portugal 297, 299, 329
ostracoderms 130 pharaohs 258, 261, 261 postal services 340
ostrich 158 Philip of Macedon 290 pottery 209, 231, 231, 254–255
Ottoman Empire 275, 298, 299 “philosophes” 319 predators 115, 135, 135
Ötzi, mummified man 282–283 Phoenician civilization 264, 266, 278 natural selection by 109
outer core, Earth’s 80, 80 phonographs 340 predatory birds 163
“overkill” hypothesis 220, 221 phosphorus 355 pregnancy 201
ovules 145 photons 34, 38, 44 prepared-core technology 206, 207
oxen 246, 249 photosynthesis 114, 115, 116, 116–117 primates 182, 183, 201, 204
oxygen in bacteria 112, 118 apes 186–187
formation on Earth 102, 116, 116–117, 148 Pilbara Craton 85 brain size 188, 189
formation in stars 58–59 pilus 113 see also Hominins
high levels leading to extinction 135, 162, 351 Pinwheel Galaxy 60 primordial crust 84, 84, 85
low levels in water 351 Pizarro, Francisco 296 Principia, Newton 25
in photosynthesis 114 placentalia 167 Principles of Biology, Spencer 111
ozone layer 352, 352 placentas 147 printing press 264, 267, 341
placoderms 135 prison reforms 319
plague 252, 253 Proconsul 186, 186
P
planetary nebula 56 prokaryotes 112, 113
planetesimals 71, 71, 72, 73 protectionism, by governments 323
planets 70, 71, 76 proteins 102, 104, 114
Pacific Islands 235, 272, 299, 336 see also Earth, formation of protocells 106, 106, 107
Pacific Ocean 94 plankton 129 protocontinents 85
paddle wheel 269 plasma (matter) 58 protons 34, 35, 37
paganism 277 plasmid 113 proton-proton chain 58
Paine, Thomas 318 plastics 345, 350 Proto-Sinaitic 266
368 INDEX
protostars 56 Relativity, General Theory of 32, 38, Russia 328
protosuns 68, 68 47, 47 see also Soviet Union
Prototaxites 101 religions 86, 274–275, 295 Russian Chemical Society 62
protowings 143 attitudes to law 263 Rutherford, Ernest 28, 29
Prussia 312, 312 renewable energy 357
pterosaurs 142, 142, 143 reproduction
S
Ptolomy, Claudius 22–23, 24, 25 of plants 145, 160, 165
Puerto Rico Trench 94, 94–95 of protocells 107
pumpkins 242 sexual 111, 120–121, 124
pure metals 280 reptiles 153, 154–155, 162–163 sacrifices
pyramids, Egypt 250 evolution into birds and mammals 156, 167 human 277
evolution of eggs 147 religious 274, 275
winged 142 Sahelanthropus tchadensis 183, 184, 186
Q
Republic of Letters 319 salinization 272
reservoirs 268, 269 Samurai warriors 324
respiratory systems 114, 137 San bushmen 189, 210
Qianlong coin 290 respiration, aerobic 116 sanitation 334
Qin dynasty 263 retail 316, 317 Sargon of Akkad 288, 288
Qin Shi Huang, Emperor 277 revolution, political 314, 318, 331 satellites (communication) 341
quantum mechanics 28, 47 Rheinische Zeitung 319 Saturn 74
quarks 34, 35, 37 rhizoids 137 sauropods 154
quasars 38 ribosome 113 savanna habitat 168
rice 243, 253 scala naturae 172
domestication of 236, 236 scanning electron micrograph (SEM) 136
R
Richmond Union railway 313 Schrödinger, Erwin 29
rickets 293 screw pump (Archimedes’ screw) 269
Rights of Man, Paine 318 scribes 258
racism 320, 327 ritualistic burials 218 sculpture 208, 212
radiation 38, 45, 49 RNA 104, 104–105, 106 see also carvings, art
from the Sun 68, 69, 114 road networks 287, 287, 294, 339 scurvy 293
radioactive waste 348 rock erosion 86, 87, 88 sea crossing, earliest 195, 206
radioactivity 86 rock (cave) paintings 208, 209, 212–213 sea-floor spreading 91
radio broadcasts 341 depicting hunting scenes 188, 227 sea levels 86, 176, 352
radiometric dating 72, 86, 88, 88 story-telling through 203 seasons 82
radio telescopes 26 rocky planets 71 secondary products, of animals 246
railways 308–309, 313, 339 “rogue” planets 75 seeds 101, 158, 160
rainforest habitats 158, 233 Roman alphabet 264 in early farming 236
Raleigh, Sir Walter 297 Roman Catholic Church 24, 25, 264 evolution of 144–145
Ram Mohun Roy, Raja 319 Roman Empire 286, 287, 294 seismic waves 80
Rare Earth Elements (REEs) 355 coal mining in 307 seismology 95
Raven, Peter 165 development of laws and justice 263 semaphore 340
Ray, John 172, 173 fall of 288 semi-domesticated animals 240
records, written 264–265 food and famine in 250, 253 Semmelweis, Ignaz 334
calendars 244 religion in 274, 275 sensory organs 126
recycling 221, 355 trade in 291, 294 settlements
Red Deer Cave people 194 views on afterlife 277 city states 270–271
red giant (stars) 57 Rosetta Stone 266 towns 256–257
redshifts 29, 29, 30 Ross, Ronald 335 villages 220, 228–229, 230–231
reef habitats 138, 139 royal authority 261, 262–263 sexual reproduction 111, 120–121, 124
reflectors (telescopes) 26, 26 Royal Mail 340 shaduf lifting system 269
Reform Act (1832) 317 r-process 59 shale gas 347
Reform Bill (1832) 331 rule of law 262 shamanism 209, 275
reforms, social 311, 320, 331 rulers 261, 262, 291 Shang Yang, Lord 263
refractors (telescopes) 26 chieftains 259, 277 Sharia law 263
re-ionization 45 monarchies 304, 318, 320 sharks 130–131, 135, 162
INDEX 369
sheep 235, 246 solar wind 74, 80, 81 story-telling 203, 202–203
shelled eggs 146–147 soldering 281 stromatolites 100, 114–115, 115
shipping industries 309, 309 solstices 20 subatomic particles 34, 37
shopping 316, 317 sonar subducting plates 84, 94
signalling (communication) 340 in bats 109 sub-Saharan Africa 235, 328
silica 169 for ocean mapping 91, 94 subsistence farming 232
silicon 59, 102 Song Dynasty 307 Sudan 327
silk, production of 278–279, 287, 295 sorghum 243 suffrage 315
Silk Road 294–295, 275 South America 158, 232, 296 sugar cane 329
silos 250 trade in 299 sugars, natural 104, 114, 246
silver 281 South Pole 176 Sumer 267, 271, 271
for trade 291, 299, 299, 325 see also polar regions Sun 56–57, 58, 68, 69
single-cell organisms 112–113 Soviet Union 339, 348 as energy source 114
evolution into complex cells 119, 122, 122 spacetime 47 and formation of planets 71, 74–75
reproduction of 120–121 space travel 339 origin theories 18, 22, 24–25
skeleton see vertebrates Spain 299, 299, 329 use in calendars 20, 244
“skull cups” 218 special relativity 46 see also stars
Skype 341 Species Plantarum, Linnaeus 173 sunboat 21
slash-and-burn farming 232, 233, 272 specimens 172 sundials 244
fire-stick farming 220, 221 spectroscopes 26 supermassive black holes 49
slave labour 299, 309, 317, 317 speech 202, 202 supernatural beliefs 261, 274
abolition of 319 see also language supernovas 45, 56–57, 61, 68
in ancient Egypt 249 Spencer, Herbert 111 early documented 25, 60
Slipher, Vesto 29, 30 sperm 120, 124, 124 new elements in 59
slum towns 331 spices, trade of 298, 329 superpowers 336, 337
smallpox 297, 334 spinal cords 130, 131, 186 surgical reforms 334
smartphones 342 spinning machines 312 sustainability 351, 357, 358
smartwatches 343 sponges 122, 122, 138, 162 Sutton Hoo ship burial 277
smelting 281 spores 145, 158, 238 swamp habitats 140, 148, 153
Smith, Adam 312, 323 squashes 242 swidden farming 232, 233
smog 350 Standard Model 34 swim bladders 130, 131, 141
s-neutron-capture process 59 stars sword making 280, 281
Snider-Pellegrini, Antonio 90, 90 calculating distances of 29, 76 symbolism 204–205, 221, 261
Snow, John 331 clusters 48–49 of freedom 318
social groups 189, 189, 204, 241 early theories on 24–25 of money 291
social mobility 316–317 elements formed in 58–59 symbols
social networks 342–343 formation of 44–45, 46–47 as language 202, 203
Facebook 341 life cycles of 56–57, 60, 61 written 206, 208
social reforms 311, 320, 331 mapping of 20, 22–23 see also writing systems
social status 258, 259, 277, see also Sun synapsids 153, 166
278–279, 317 Statue of Liberty 318 Syria 293
societies status, social 258, 259, 277, Systema Naturae, Linnaeus 173
laws and justice 262–263 278–279, 317
organization of 258, 259 steam engines 307, 308–309
T
prehistoric rulers of 261 steamships 309, 309, 313
Soho Manufactory 308–309, 312 steel 281, 313
soil stellar parallax 29
analysis of 238 stems 137, 137 taming, of animals 240
soil erosion and contamination 272 stethoscopes 334 see also domestication,
solar energy 356, 357 stomata 137 of animals
solar-powered organisms 115, 117 stone, as raw material tanning (leather) 214
Solar System money 291 taphonomy 139, 150
calculating distances within 76–77 from stone 204, 211, 218, 221 taro 243
formation of 71, 71, 72, 74–75 of early human species 188, 190, 199 tattoos 283
mapping of 23, 24 Stonehenge 244 taxation 288, 315
370 INDEX
tectonics, plate 82, 84, 94–95 trade networks cont Universe cont.
continental shift of 91, 92–93 international 298–299, 316, 320 formation theories 19, 22–23, 23
early theories of 86 post-industrialization 322–323, 336 galaxies within 30, 48–49
teeth 135, 184, 192, 283 pre-industralization 20, 256, 275 light within 44
telecommunication 340 transform plate boundary 92, 93, 95 Ur, Mesopotamia 270–271
telegraph systems 340 transplants, surgical 335 uranium 88
telephones 340, 341 transportation 337, 338 Uranus 75, 75
telescopes 26–27 canals (water) 268, 269, 309, 312 urbanization 311, 331, 334
televisions 341 early modes 246, 297 Urey, Harold 102
temperatures networks 310 Uruk, Mesopotamia 271
due to climate change 351, 352 railways 308–309, 313, 339 USA see United States of America (USA)
Earth’s core 80 roads 287, 287, 294, 339 Ussher, Bishop James 86
ice cores 174 Trans-Siberian railway 313 USS Princeton 313
of oceans 353 trees 137, 140, 150 USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) 339, 348
of stars 44–45, 56, 58 formation of coal 148–149 see also Russia
of the Sun 68, 68 Trevithick, Richard 312
of Universe, at Big Bang 35 “triangular trade” 317
V
termites 168 Triassic period 154
Terracotta Army 277 Triassic-Jurassic extinction 163
“test tube” babies 335 tribal societies 259
tetrapods 101, 132–133, 141, 141 see also nomadic groups Vaalbara 85
text messaging 342 trilobites 128, 138, 139 Varanops 133
textiles 256, 278–279 triple alpha process 58 variations (mutations), of genes 108, 120, 170
manufacturing of 305, 309, 312, 313 tuberculosis 334 vegetation 137, 153, 169
prehistoric 209, 214, 246 Tudor, House of 278 Venus 74
tools for 257 Turkey 256–257 vertebrates 130, 131, 132–133
Tharp, Marie 91, 94 Tutankhamun, Pharaoh 261, 280 evolution of jaws 135
therapsids 166 Twitter 342 evolution of wings 142
Thermoluminescence (TL) 192 Tycho’s supernova 60 move onto land 141, 153
theropods 154, 156 typewriters 340 Very Large Array (VLA) 27
Thomas, J.J. 28 typhoid 293 Vesalius, Andreas 172
Thompson, William 86 villages, development of 228–229
tidal energy 357 settlements 230–231, 268
U
tidal gauge readings 352 visible light telescopes 26
tides 82, 83 visual signalling 340
Tiktaalik rosae 141 vizier 258
tin 280 Ugaritic script 266 volcanic activity 92, 92, 93, 174
Toarcian turnover 163 ultraviolet radiation 44, 45, 352 effects on life 103, 106, 153, 163
tobacco 296 unionization 314 formation of continents 85, 85
tokens (money) 291 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics formation of Earth 80
tombs 276, 277 (USSR) 339, 348 underwater 94, 106
tongues 202 see also Russia Voyager 1 (space probe) 60
tool making 206–208, 214, 231 United Nations (UN) 319, 351
agricultural 232, 246, 248 United States of America (USA)
W
for hunting 283 American War of Independence 318, 320
from metal 280 education reform 332, 332
from stone 204, 211, 218, 221 industrialization in 312–313, 331
of early human species 188, 190, 199 manufacturing industry in 309 Wallace, Alfred Russell 111
for textiles 257 space travel 339 warfare 284, 285
toothless beaks 157 trade by 324, 325, 328 for religion 275
Torah 263 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) 319 modern 327
tracking (hunting) 211 Universal Law of Gravitation 46 warriors 261, 284, 284
trade networks 287, 294–295, 310 Universe waste materials 221, 345
agreements within 325, 336 Big Bang theory 34–35, 37, 38–39 management 331
improved by formation money 291 expansion of 30, 32, 33, 38 toxic 348, 355
INDEX 371
X
water, creation of 80, 102, 106 Wikileaks 341
see also oceans Wikipedia 267, 341
water contamination 293, 331, 351 wildebeest 168
water lilies 160 wind energy 357 XDF (Hubble eXtreme Deep Field) 50–51
watering holes 169 wings, animals 142–143 Xenophanes 274
Watson, James 105 evolution in birds 156, 157 X-rays 49, 335
Watt, James 307, 308–309, 308 wireless telegraphy 340
Y
wealth women
in early societies 250, 256, 258 education of 332
of middle classes 316–317, 344 loss of equality 259, 259
of nations and empires 298–299, 314, 329 in workforce 309 Yantarogekko 150–151
after industrialization 323, 325, 345 wood Yerkes Refractor 27
see also economic strength as fuel 304, 307 yolk sacs 147, 147
Wealth of Nations, The, Smith 312 for toolmaking 190, 232, 249 Yongle Encyclopedia 267
weather 352 wool 246, 278 Young, James 313
see also climate change woolly mammoths 177
weaving 214, 278, 309 working classes 330, 331, 332
Z
spinning machines 312 World War II 337, 339
Wedgwood, Josiah 316, 317 World Wide Web 340, 341
weeks, within calendars 244 worship 274–275
Wegener, Alfred 90, 90 see also religions Zaraysk bisons 213
weirs 268, 269 writing systems zebras 169, 240
Wenlock limestone 138–139 development of 266–267 ziggurats 271
whales 170–171, 171 written symbols 206, 208 zircon crystals 88–89
WhatsApp 341 written records 264–265 Zoroastrianism 274, 275
wheat, domesticated 236, 236, 237 calendars 244
Wi-Fi 341 Wu of Han, Emperor 263
372 INDEX
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The publisher would like to thank the Big History de Chile), and K. Ng (University of California, Davis) (bl). 89 Alamy Stock Photo: B Christopher (tr); World History
Institute for their enthusiastic support throughout 38–39 ESA: and the Planck Collaboration (t). Archive (br).
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Andrew McKenna, David Christian, and Elise Bohan.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 373
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162–163 Alamy Stock Photo: dpa picture alliance (c). levallois_Beuzeville_MHNT_PRE.2009.0.203.2.fond.jpg 246–247 Alamy Stock Photo: India View.
163 Dorling Kindersley: Jon Hughes (cra); Natural (cla). João Zilhão (ICREA/University of Barcelona): (tr). 248–249 The Trustees of the British Museum.
History Museum, London (tc). Science Photo Library: 208 Alamy Stock Photo: Heritage Image Partnership Ltd 249 Alamy Stock Photo: The Art Archive (tl).
Mark Garlick (cb). (cl). Getty Images: Field Museum Library (crb). Pierre- 250 Photo Scala, Florence: Metropolitan Museum
164–165 123RF.com: Timothy Stirling. Jean Texier: (tc). of Art (cl).
165 FLPA: Biosphoto / Michel Gunther (b). 209 akg-images: Pictures From History (bc). Alamy 250–251 Alamy Stock Photo: Bert de Ruiter.
166 Roger Smith: Iziko South African Museum (cl). Stock Photo: Arterra Picture Library (tl, tr); Natural 252–253 Alamy Stock Photo: Yadid Levy.
167 Dorling Kindersley: Jon Hughes (tl). History Museum, London (cra). Joel Bradshaw, 253 Getty Images: AFP (cb).
172 Alamy Stock Photo: Natural History Honolulu, Hawaii: (ca). Dorling Kindersley: 254 The Trustees of the British Museum.
Museum, London (b). University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology 254–255 The Trustees of the British Museum.
173 TopFoto.co.uk: Ullsteinbild (ca). and Anthropology (br). 255 akg-images: Erich Lessing (cra). Bridgeman Images:
174 Getty Images: National Geographic / Carsten 210–211 Alamy Stock Photo: John Warburton-Lee Tarker (cr). Reuters: Chinese Academy of Science (br).
Peter (br). Photography. 256 Getty Images: De Agostini (tc, cb).
176 Colorado Plateau Geosystems Inc: © 2016 211 Alamy Stock Photo: Cindy Hopkins (crb). 257 Corbis: Nathan Benn (tc);
Ron Blakey (b). 212–213 Alamy Stock Photo: EPA / Guillaume Ottochrome / Nathan Benn (tr).
182–183 Getty Images: Andrew Rutherford. Horcajuelo (b). 259 Artemis Gallery: (tl).
184–185 Kennis & Kennis / Alfons and 213 Paleograph Press, Moscow: (tr). © urmu: © uni 260–261 Alamy Stock Photo: Dennie Cox.
Adrie Kennis: (all). tübingen: photo: Hilde Jensen (cla). 261 Corbis: Sandro Vannini (br).
186 123RF.com: Stillfx (cr). Science Photo Library: 214 Getty Images: De Agostini (bl). 262 Alamy Stock Photo: Glasshouse Images (br).
MSF / Kennis & Kennis (bl). Lyudmilla Lbova: (tr). 264 Alamy Stock Photo: Prisma Archivo (bc).
187 123RF.com: Oleg Znamenskiy (cl). Alamy Stock 215 Science Photo Library: S. Entressangle / E. Daynes 264–265 Alamy Stock Photo: The Art Archive.
Photo: RooM the Agency (cr). 216 Alamy Stock Photo: Penny Tweedie (bl). Institut 266 Alamy Stock Photo: Eye35 (tl). Bridgeman Images:
188 Alamy Stock Photo: Heritage Image Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social: (ca). Louvre, Paris, France (cb). Corbis: Gianni Dagli Orti (clb).
Partnership Ltd (t). 216–217 Bridgeman Images: (t). Getty Images: De Agostini (bl).
189 Alamy Stock Photo: Nature Picture Library (tr). 217 Alamy Stock Photo: EPA (cla). Dorling Kindersley: 267 Alamy Stock Photo: Holmes Garden Photos (tc).
190 Alamy Stock Photo: dpa picture alliance (bl). Board of Trustees of the Armouries (cra). Rex by Bridgeman Images: British Library (tr). Wikipedia: (br).
Luka Mjeda: (cra). Shutterstock: Isifa Image Service sro (bl). 270 Alamy Stock Photo: Interfoto (b).
191 Science Photo Library: S. Entressangle / E. Daynes. 218 Science Photo Library: Natural History 272 Alamy Stock Photo: age fotostock (b).
192–193 Alamy Stock Photo: Natural History Museum, London (bc). 272–273 Getty Images: Yann Arthus-Bertrand.
Museum, London. 218–219 Kenneth Garrett. 275 Alamy Stock Photo: imagebroker (b).
192 Kenneth Garrett: (clb). Djuna Ivereigh www. 220 Ardea: Jean-Paul Ferrero. 276–277 Alamy Stock Photo: Heritage Image
djunapix.com: (c). 226–227 Alamy Stock Photo: Archivio World 4. Partnership Ltd.
193 Getty Images: National Geographic / Ira Block (br). 229 Corbis: John Warburton-Lee Photography Ltd / 277 The Trustees of the British Museum: With kind
194 Alamy Stock Photo: National Geographic Creative Nigel Pavitt (br). permission of the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion
(bc). Darren Curnoe: (cra). Science Photo Library: 231 Alamy Stock Photo: Peter Horree (bc). Centre, photo by John Williams and Saul Peckham (cb).
MSF / Javier Trueba (clb). 232 Dorling Kindersley: Museum of London (cl). 278 Corbis: Burstein Collection (b).
197 Robert Clark: (b). 232–233 SuperStock: Universal Images Group. 278–279 Bridgeman Images: Museum of Fine Arts,
198 Alamy Stock Photo: age fotostock (t); Hemis (bl). 234 Getty Images: Bloomberg (ca); Morales (crb). Boston, Massachusetts, USA / Julia Bradford Huntington
199 Kennis & Kennis / Alfons and Adrie Kennis. 235 Alamy Stock Photo: Nigel Cattlin (clb); Danita James Fund.
200–201 Alamy Stock Photo: Pim Smit. Delimont (tr). Dreamstime.com: Jaromír Chalabala (cla) 280 akg-images: (tr); Erich Lessing (cr). Alamy Stock
202–203 Getty Images: Print Collector (b). 236 Getty Images: Markus Hanke (ca). Photo: Edwin Baker (ca).
203 Alamy Stock Photo: Premaphotos (t). 238 Corbis: Imagebroker / Frank Sommariva. Science 281 Alamy Stock Photo: Ancient Art & Architecture
204 Alamy Stock Photo: Arterra Picture Library (clb). Photo Library: Ami Images (clb); Steve Gschmeissner Collection Ltd (c). Bridgeman Images: Museo del Oro,
204–205 RMN: Grand Palais / Gérard Blot. (bl); Scimat (cb, bc). Bogota, Colombia / Photo © Boltin Picture Library (tr).
205 RMN: Grand Palais / Gérard Blot (crb). 238–239 Science Photo Library: Ami Images. Dorling Kindersley: Gary Ombler (c) Fort Nelson (bc);
206 Dorling Kindersley: Natural History Museum, 239 Dreamstime.com: Fanwen (tr). University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and
London (cr); Robert Nicholls (tr). Getty Images: EyeEm / 240 Alamy Stock Photo: Kip Evans (bl). Anthropology (clb). Dreamstime.com: Xing Wang (cla)
Daniel Koszegi (cb). Wim Lustenhouwer / Vrije 242 Alamy Stock Photo: Chuck Place (cra). 282–283 Bridgeman Images: South Tyrol Museum of
Universiteit University Amsterdam: (crb). Museum of Dreamstime.com: Branex | (tl). Archaeology, Bolzano, Wolfgang Neeb (b).
Anthropology, University of Missouri: (cla). Science 243 123RF.com: Samart Boonyang (cr). Alamy Stock 282 South Tyrol Museum Of Archaeology – www.
374 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
iceman.it: (ca); Reconstruction by Kennis & Kennis © 313 Alamy Stock Photo: (cb); North Winds Picture BgZ548 (6/b); roach/https://www.flickr.com/photos/
South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, Foto Ochsenreiter Archives (cla). Getty Images: Hulton Archive (ca). mroach/4028537863/sizes/l (4/b). Science & Society
(3) (tr). Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.: LC-USZ62- Picture Library: Science Museum (1/b, 2/b).
283 Bridgeman Images: South Tyrol Museum of 136561 (br). Science & Society Picture Library: NRM / 343 123RF.com: Adrianhancu (8/b); svl861 (ca);
Archaeology, Bolzano, Wolfgang Neeb (cra). South Tyrol Pictorial Collection (clb). Norman Kin Hang Chan (5/b). Alamy Stock Photo:
Museum Of Archaeology – www.iceman.it. 315 Alamy Stock Photo: The Print Collection (br). D. Hurst (4/b); Visions of America, LLC (tl); Frances
284 Getty Images: De Agostini (clb). 316–317 TopFoto.co.uk: The Granger Collection (b). Roberts (cra); Oleksiy Maksymenko Photography (3/b,
284–285 Alamy Stock Photo: 505 Collection. 316 akg-images: Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris / Jean 6/b). Amazon.com, Inc.: (7/b). Getty Images: Business
286–287 Alamy Stock Photo: Clearview. Tholance (tr). Wire (2/b). Rex by Shutterstock: Langbehn (1/b).
287 The Trustees of the British Museum. 317 Alamy Stock Photo: Granger, NYC (br); Science Photo Library: Thomas Fredberg (c).
288 Photo Scala, Florence: (ca). Pictorial Press Ltd (tc). 344 ESA: NASA.
288–289 Alamy Stock Photo: Peter Horree. 318 Corbis. 345 Getty Images: Yann Arthus-Bertrand (br).
290 Dorling Kindersley: University of Pennsylvania 319 Corbis: (bc). 348 Science Photo Library: Dirk Wiersma (c).
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (t). 320 Alamy Stock Photo: Lebrecht Music 348–349 Getty Images: Galerie Bilderwelt.
Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG: Auction 92 and Photo Library. 350 Getty Images: EyeEm / William McClymont (bl).
Pt 1 Lot 152 (bl); Auction 59 Lot 482 (bc); Auction 72 320–321 Alamy Stock Photo: Chronicle. 351 Rex by Shutterstock: London News Pictures.
Lot 281 (br). 324 The Art Archive: British Museum, London. 352 Alamy Stock Photo: Global Warming
291 Alamy Stock Photo: Anders Ryman (b). RMN: 325 Science & Society Picture Library: Images (bc). NASA.
Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Franck Raux (tr). Science Museum (br). 353 Alamy Stock Photo: Reinhard Dirscherl (br). NASA:
292–293 Bridgeman Images: Galleria Regionale della 327 akg-images: Interfoto (tr). Bridgeman Images: Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualisation
Sicilia, Palermo, Sicily, Italy. Private Collection / Archives Charmet (b). Studio (cra).
293 Corbis: Demotix / Demotix Live News (cb). 328 123RF.com: Saidin B. Jusoh (crb); Pornthep 354 Alamy Stock Photo: fStop Images GmbH (tr).
294–295 Getty Images: AFP (b). Thepsanguan (cl). Photoshot: John Cancalosi (ca) Getty Images: Davee Hughes UK (bl).
295 Dorling Kindersley: Durham University 329 Corbis: Richard Nowitz (clb). Getty Images: 355 123RF.com: Andrii Iurlov (cra). Dreamstime.com:
Oriental Museum (tc). John Wang (tl). Emilia Ungur (cb).
296 Alamy Stock Photo: John Glover (bl). Getty Images: 330–331 SuperStock: ACME Imagery. 356–357 Alamy Stock Photo: Sean Pavone.
De Agostini (cla); Clay Perry (clb). 331 Science & Society Picture Library: Science 357 Alamy Stock Photo: Oleksiy Maksymenko
297 Alamy Stock Photo: Melvyn Longhurst (crb). Getty Museum. Photography (ca).
Images: EyeEm / Cristian Bortes (cra); Tim Flach (br). 332 Alamy Stock Photo: Granger, NYC (tr); Thislife 358–359 Alamy Stock Photo: Stocktrek Images, Inc.
Science Photo Library: Eye of Science (cr). Pictures (b).
298 Courtesy of The Washington Map Society 333 Getty Images: Aldo Pavan (t).
www.washmapsociety.org: original research published 334 Alamy Stock Photo: North Winds Picture Cover images: Front: 123RF.com: Andrey Armyagov
Fall 2013 issue (#87) of The Portolan, journal of the Archives (tr); Photo Researchers (bc). Science & Society fcrb, Igor Dolgov crb; Alamy Stock Photo: Granger,
Washington Map Society (b). Picture Library: Science Museum (ca, crb, clb). Science NYC. cb/ (Map); Bridgeman Images: Biblioteca
299 Bridgeman Images: Pictures from History (t). Photo Library: Science Source / CDC (bl). Monasterio del Escorial, Madrid, Spain cb; Dreamstime.
The Trustees of the British Museum. 336 Science & Society Picture Library: com: Constantin Opris crb/ (Industry), Imagin.gr
304–305 Getty Images: Robert Welch National Railway Museum (tr). Photography clb/ (Acropolis), Sergeypykhonin cb/
307 Alamy Stock Photo: North Winds Picture 337 Alamy Stock Photo: The Art Archive (tc); Lebrecht (Steam); Neanderthal Museum: clb; Science Photo
Archives (br). Music and Photo Library (tl); David Wells (bl); Cultura Library: Pascal Goetgheluck; Back: 123RF.com:
308 Science & Society Picture Library: Science Creative (RF) (br). Getty Images: The LIFE Images Nikkytok fclb, Pablo Hidalgo crb, Sergey Nivens fcrb;
Museum (tr). Collection / James Whitmore (cl). NASA: cb/ (Solar system), JPL-Caltech / UCLA cb,
308–309 SuperStock: Science and Society Picture 338 Alamy Stock Photo: Motoring Picture Library. JPL-Caltech / University of Wisconsin-Madison / Image
Library (b). 339 Alamy Stock Photo: Motoring Picture Library (cr). enhancement: Jean-Baptiste Faure clb; Science Photo
309 Alamy Stock Photo: Granger, NYC (tr). 340 Alamy Stock Photo: Granger, NYC (bc). Corbis: Library: Pascal Goetgheluck.
Getty Images: Transcendental Graphics (br). Araldo de Luca (br). Science & Society Picture Library:
310 123RF.com: Jamen Percy (cla). Alamy Stock Photo: Science Museum (cb). TopFoto.co.uk: All other images © Dorling Kindersley.
Granger, NYC (c, bc); Historical Art Collection (HAC) The Granger Collection (ca). For further information see: www.dkimages.com
(tr). Dorling Kindersley: The Science Museum, 341 Alamy Stock Photo: The Art Archive (clb); Granger,
London (cra). NYC (tl); Everett Collection Historical (bc); D. Hurst
311 Alamy Stock Photo: Chronicle (cr); Niday Picture (br). Getty Images: Bloomberg (cra). NASA: (tr).
Library (cl); North Winds Picture Archives (cb); Photo Science & Society Picture Library: National
Researchers (cla). Museum of Photography, Film & Television (cb);
312 Alamy Stock Photo: Liszt Collection (tr). Getty Science Museum (ca).
Images: Bettmann (cb); SSPL (ca). 342 Alamy Stock Photo: Annie Eagle (5/b).
312–313 Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery, Flickr.com: Portal GDA/https://www.flickr.com/
Merthyr Tydfil: © Mervyn M. Sullivan (c). photos/135518748@N08/23153369341/in/photolist-
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 375

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What is the purpose of the Big History Institute?

What is the purpose of the Big History Institute?

What roles do David Christian and Andrew McKenna play in the Big History Institute?

What roles do David Christian and Andrew McKenna play in the Big History Institute?

FOREWORD BY DAVID CHRISTIAN

First published in Great Britain in 2016 by

A WORLD OF IDEAS: SEE ALL THERE IS TO KNOW

Big History Institute Consultants Contributors

1 THE BIG BANG

2 STARS ARE BORN

3 ELEMENTS ARE FORGED

348 NUCLEAR OPTIONS

BILL GATES, WWW.GATESNOTES.COM

BIG HISTORY HELPS US TO QUESTION EVERYTHING

BIG HISTORY IS A TRULY

Before the Big Bang

ENERGY AND Energy

Protons and neutrons

THERE WAS NEITHER NON-EXISTENCE

Pleiades Arcs added, one

PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3

▲ Phases in construction The disc was made

Sunset point at Sunrise point

Sunset point at Sunrise point at Gold nugget

Stars and dust in the Pleiades

Golden arcs span the angle

The Nebra hoard

Bronze Age sword from the Nebra hoard

Gold crescent may signify

Blue-green patina, caused

THE NEBRA SKY DISC 21

These thinkers – initially concentrated in number of indivisible particles called atoms.

Sun’s rays main points of evidence. Chief among them

THE SIZE AND AGE OF THE UNIVERSE

the spheres themselves, but to circles called

THE COPERNICAN MODEL

EARTH ORBITS THE SUN 25

star clu by Charles

se aph 183 obj ien

ph tro ing n an eco

ea alla 183 and ring .

g The telescope, and a lesser-known instrument,

reflectors. In the 19th century, the spectroscope – which can be used to it

1895. The largest refracto

ever used for research,

galaxies are studied by William

and Margaret Huggins, 1860s.

They measure the redshifts of stars,

showing how fast they are moving.

PROBING MATTER AND ENERGY

Electrons Positively Positively Electrons orbiting

Cloud density varies

Tiny, very dense, Nucleus as in Cloud region Nucleus as

THE ATOM AND THE UNIVERSE 29

THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY IS A HISTORY OF

The world’s largest telescope

THE UNIVERSE GETS BIGGER 31

Hubble released his findings

20,000 Each disc represents At a local scale,

▲ The Hubble Constant