Humans

Life for our earliest ancestors was demanding, dangerous and short, with only the fittest surviving. Homo sapiens triumphed over other related species, creating productive agricultural societies, which grew in scale and complexity until we reached our current state of civilisation.

This human story is simple and well accepted. It is also wrong.

Humans challenges this linear narrative of inevitable human progress and offers a radical re-examination of our global past. Professor Chris Gosden reveals the sheer scale and depth of human difference, charting the alternative paths human societies have followed across time – exploring some of our ancestors' challenging rituals, collaborative communities, and rich emotional lives.

And, by reinterpreting our deep past, Gosden radically reimagines our future, showing how modern issues like wealth inequality and environmental degradation weren't predetermined, and arguing that our current system of profit-driven capitalism may not always dominate.

He uses a lifetime's research across archaeology, geology and anthropology, presenting ground-breaking discoveries, from the study of ancient tooth plaque to advanced climate models, and compelling storytelling, in a remarkably ambitious, one-of-a-kind journey through our collective human history.