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An “epic and joyous” (Adam Rutherford) history of our species, using recent scientific discoveries to explore humanity’s domestication of the ten most essential plants and animals—from wheat, corn, and potatoes to dogs, horses, and cattle—that allow human civilization to thrive
Dogs became companions.
Wheat fed booming populations.
Cattle gave us meat and milk.
Corn fueled the growth of empires.
Potatoes brought feast and famine.
Chickens inspired new branches of science.
Rice promised a golden future.
Horses gave us strength and speed.
Apples allowed harvestable sweetness.
Humans tamed them all—while also steering our own collective fate.
For hundreds of thousands of years, our ancestors depended on wild plants and animals to stay alive—until the former began to tame the latter. Domestication has led to the building of civilizations that our prehistoric ancestors never could’ve imagined. Tamed draws on the findings of geneticists, evolutionary biologists, archaeologists, paleontologists, and anthropologists working at the cutting edge of their disciplines to vividly recount ten essential processes of this vital human invention.
Dogs, our first natural ally, first aided Ice Age–era hunters and gatherers in Europe and Asia 15,000 years ago. Then, around 12,500 years ago, Natufians in the Southern Levant became some of the first humans to settle down, using recently discovered rock mortars to grind barley grains into flour—thus becoming an early example of a settled civilization reliant on a singular crop.
When ideas of domestication spread, so did the possibilities for cities, nations, and empires to flourish. The reliability of corn gave rise to unprecedented civilizations in South America; horses led to new ideas about hunting and combat in the Eurasian Steppe. As Professor Alice Roberts introduces each domestication, she uncovers its astounding global implications, giving readers a fresh understanding of human history.
★ An Economist and Mail on Sunday Book of the Year
“A masterpiece of evocative scientific storytelling.”—Brian Cox, author of Why Does E=MC2?
“A lively exploration of how human culture depends on partnerships with the plants and animals we have domesticated. . . . Thoroughly readable. . . . Popular science at its best.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Epic and joyous, a landmark in the story of us.”—Adam Rutherford, author of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived and The Book of Humans
“An excellent point of entry for anyone who wants to understand the new deep human history and what it portends.”—Guardian
“For fans of Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens.”—Mail on Sunday
“[A] lively work of popular scientific history.”—Observer
“Tamed may be the title . . . but the writing is anything but tame. Lyrical storytelling untangles the current thinking on how we’ve entwined our lives with those of plants and animals. From dogs to apples to potatoes to chickens, Roberts provides fascinating insights into domestication, offering anecdotes from past and present that link genetic and archaeological findings.”—BBC Wildlife magazine, Book of the Month
“A fascinating look at thousands of years of history, and readers can easily dip in and out to their liking.”—Woodburn Independent
“Superb: fascinating, intimate biographies of the species that have shared our white-knuckle ride to the present and have helped to make us what we are. Read if you want to know what and why you are.”—Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast
