Built on bones : 15,000 years of urban life and death

One of the things that makes Homo sapiens so unique as a species seems so mundane, so everyday, that we rarely stop to question it. But seen from the perspective of every other animal on the planet, our long childhood is an extreme outlier. We remain children longer than any of them. To put us in perspective, we spend about the same time growing up as bowhead whales – perhaps 25-odd years. However, bowhead whales are many times our size and can live for hundreds of years; we’re not taking between five and 10% of our lives out to be children, but almost a quarter.The city has killed most of your ancestors, and it's probably killing you, too - this book tells you why The city has killed most of your ancestors, and it's probably killing you, too - this book tells you why. Imagine you are a hunter-gatherer some 15,000 years ago. You've got a choice – carry on foraging, or plant a few seeds and move to one of those new-fangled settlements down the valley. What you won't know is that urban life is short and riddled with dozens of new diseases; your children will be shorter and sicklier than you are, they'll be plagued with gum disease, and stand a decent chance of a violent death at the point of a spear. Why would anyone choose this? This is one of the many intriguing questions tackled by Brenna Hassett in Built on Bones . Using research on skeletal remains from around the world, this book explores the history of humanity's experiment with the metropolis, and looks at why our ancestors chose city life, and why they have largely stuck to it. It explains the diseases, the deaths and the many other misadventures that we have unwittingly unleashed upon ourselves throughout the metropolitan past, and as the world becomes increasingly urbanised, what we can look forward to in the future. Telling the tale of shifts in human growth and health that have occurred as we transitioned from a mobile to a largely settled species. Built on Bones offers an accessible insight into a critical but relatively unheralded aspect of the human story: our recent evolution. "Imagine you are a hunter-gatherer some 15,000 years ago. You've got a choice--carry on foraging, or plant a few seeds and move to one of those new-fangled settlements down the valley. What you won't know is that urban life is short and riddled with dozens of new diseases; your children will be shorter and sicklier than you are, they'll be plagued with gum disease, and stand a decent chance of a violent death at the point of a spear. Why would anyone choose this? This is one of the many intriguing questions tackled by Brenna Hassett in Built on Bones. Using research on skeletal remains from around the world, this book explores the history of humanity's experiment with the metropolis, and looks at why our ancestors chose city life, and why they have largely stuck to it. It explains the diseases, the deaths and the many other misadventures that we have unwittingly unleashd upon ourselves throughout the metropolitan past, and as the world becomes increasingly urbanised, what we can look forward to in the future"--Publisher's description The city has killed most of your ancestors, and it's probably killing you, too - this book tells you why Imagine you are a hunter-gatherer some 12,000 years ago. You've got a choice – carry on foraging, or plant a few seeds and move to one of those new-fangled settlements down the valley. What you won't know is that urban life is short and riddled with dozens of new diseases; your children will be shorter and sicklier than you are, they'll be plagued with gum disease, and stand a decent chance of a violent death at the point of a spear. Why would anyone choose this? But choose they did. Why? This is one of the many intriguing questions tackled by Brenna Hassett in Built on Bones . Based on research on skeletal remains from around the world, this book explores the history of humanity's experiment with the metropolis, and looks at why our ancestors chose city life, and, by and large, have stuck to it. It explains the diseases, the... Imagine you are a hunter-gatherer some 15,000 years ago. You've got a choice Â? carry on foraging, or plant a few seeds and move to one of those new-fangled settlements down the valley. What you won't know is that urban life is short and riddled with dozens of new diseases; your children will be shorter and sicklier than you are, they'll be plagued with gum disease, and stand a decent chance of a violent death at the point of a spear. Why would anyone choose this? This is one of the many intriguing questions tackled by Brenna Hassett in -- Built on Bones offers an accessible insight into a critical but relatively unheralded aspect of the human story: our recent evolution The City Has Killed Most Of Your Ancestors, And It's Probably Killing You, Too - This Book Tells You Why. Chapter 1: Papa Was A Rolling Stone -- Chapter 2: Feed Me (seymour) -- Chapter 3: What's New Pussycat? -- Chapter 4: Revolution -- Chapter 5: Power Of Equality -- Chapter 6: Oops Upside Your Head -- Chapter 7: Under My Thumb -- Chapter 8: War! What Is It Good For? -- Chapter 9: Under Pressure -- Chapter 10: Bring Out Your Dead -- Chapter 11: Tainted Love -- Chapter 12: Take This Job And Shove It -- Chapter 13: Panic ... -- Conclusion: Karma Police. Brenna Hassett. Includes Index.