Reading Time: 4 minutes

Yuval Noah Harari’s Breakthrough debut in 2011 talks about why language has been key to our evolution as modern humans as well as how the advent of Fiction is what led to Humans dominating the world today as overlords.

“Sapiens – A Brief History of Humankind” has been one of the most popular nonfiction books of this decade and launched its author Yuval Noah Harari to undeniable stardom. The book asks a very interesting question – How did our species survive the battle for world dominance among all the other human species? The answer it provides is equally mesmerizing and will change the way you view the world.

According to Sapiens, animals much like humans first appeared 2.5 million years ago in East Africa. And during most of their existence, all the species that qualified to be called “Humans” were unimportant animals with no grander role or destiny.

“The most important thing to know about prehistoric humans is that they were insignificant animals with no more impact on the earth than gorillas fireflies and Jellyfish..”
Yuval Noah Harari

The author lays out a picture of what life was like 2.5 million years ago. Apparently, our place in the food chain was at the bottom at that time. Then how did we rise to the very top of the food chain, wipe out all other human species, and reign supreme now over the entire earth’s ecosystem?

We assume that a large brain, the use of tools, superior learning abilities, and complete social structures were the reason we outshined all other primates. But the authors suggest that Homo Sapiens and all other human species have enjoyed these advantages for 2 million years, during which they remained weak and marginal creatures. Thus humans who lived a million years ago, despite their big brains and sharp stone tools, dwelt in constant fear of predators, rarely hunted large game, and subsided mainly by gathering plants, scooping up insects, stalking small animals, and eating the carrion left behind by other animals.

One of the most common uses of early stone tools was to crack open bones in order to get into the marrow. Why marrow? Suppose you observe a pride of lions take down and devour a giraffe. You wait patiently until they’re done but it’s not turned yet. First, the hyenas and jackals scavenge the leftovers – only then would you and your band dare approach the carcass.
It was only 400,000 years ago that several species of humans started hunting big game on a regular basis. Only been 100,000 years since Homo Sapiens jumped at the top of the food chain. The question now is HOW?

When Homo Sapiens Landed in the Arabian peninsula 70,000 years ago, most of Eurasia was already settled by other human species. But in our modern era, we see no one but homo sapiens roaming on earth.

What happened to these prehistoric human species?

There are two leading Theories:

The Inbreeding Theory

According to this theory, when Sapiens reached the Middle East and Europe, they met Neanderthals. Similarly, when Sapiens reached East Asia, they interbred with the local Homo Erectus. That would mean that Eurasians are not pure Homo Sapien. They’re a mix between Sapiens and Neanderthals. Similarly, the Chinese and Koreans are a mixture of Homo Sapiens and Homo Erectus.

The Replacement Theory

According to this theory, Sapiens and other humans had different anatomizes. Had little to no sexual interest in each other. And even if they mated, their offspring would be sterile – like mules. According to this theory, humans replaced all other human species without merging with them and we’re all pure Homo Sapiens.

Even if we take solace in the replacement theory, that there is no genetic difference between different races – this theory is actually the more disturbing of two – if Sapiens did not mate with other humans, if killed them off. We committed mass genocide on entire species of human beings.

The last remains of Homo solensis are dated 50, 000 years ago. Homo denisova disappeared shortly thereafter. Neanderthals, the most famous of the other human species, died out 30,000 years ago. The last dwarf-like humans vanished from Flores Island 12,000 years ago. They left behind some bones, a few stone tools, and the last of the human species. Homo Sapiens.

What Was The Sapiens’ Secret To Success?

How did we manage to settle so rapidly in so many distant and ecologically different habitats? How did we push all other human species into oblivion? Why didn’t even the strong, big-brained Neanderthals survive our onslaught?

There are many debates as to what could be the probable cause but the most likely answer, according to the author, is the very thing that makes this debate possible –

Homo Sapiens Conquered the world Thanks above all to its unique language

The languages that we speak aren’t the first in this world. Every animal has some kind of language. Even insects have ways to communicate sophistically about the whereabouts of food. Neither was it the first vocal language. Many animals and all monkeys and apes have vocal language. In the Author’s words, “Whatever advantage Albert Einstein has over a parrot, it’s not vocal.”

The most common answer is that our language is amazingly supple – We can connect a limited number of sounds and signs to produce an infinite number of sentences, each with a distinct meaning. We can thereby ingest, store and communicate a prodigious amount of information about the surrounding world.