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 our 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.
For hundreds of thousands of years, our ancestors depended on wild plants and animals to stay alive—until they began to tame them. Domestication has led to the building of civilizations 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, brilliantly 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 she introduces each domestication, Professor Alice Roberts uncovers its astounding global implications, giving readers a fresh understanding of human history.
“A masterpiece of evocative scientific storytelling.”—Brian Cox, author of Why Does E=MC2?
“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
“[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, Robers provides fascinating insights into domestication, offering anecdotes from past and present that link genetic and archaeological findings.”—Book of the Month, BBC Wildlife Magazine
“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
