Unstoppable Us, Volume 1: How Humans Took Over the World

Ancient Sapiens lived differently from modern humans, yet their experiences have influenced our lives because we “often follow habits that were formed by our Stone Age ancestors in the savannahs of Africa” (77). For example, many unhealthy foods taste better to us than healthy ones because “our bodies think we’re still living in the Stone Age, and back then it made perfect sense to binge on sweet and fatty food” (77). Humans needed to acquire as many calories as they could when food was available because they could not be sure of their next meal. Archeological findings of female sculptures with large figures, like the Venus of Willendorf, show that “body fat was a sign of health and success” (79).

Scholars make educated guesses about how ancient humans lived. For instance, perhaps they lived in one large group, or maybe individual families lived together. Many non-scholars think that Stone Age people lived in caves because of surviving cave art, like the horse found painted on the wall of Lascaux Cave in France, or the remnants of stone tools. However, they probably only used caves for temporary shelter and usually lived outdoors in temporary huts or tents made from wood and animal skins.