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For hundreds of thousands of years, our ancestors depended on wild plants and animals for survival. They were hunter-gatherers, consummate foraging experts, but taking the world as they found it. Then a revolution occurred – our ancestors' interaction with other species changed. They began to tame them. The human population boomed; civilization began.
In her new book, Tamed, Alice Roberts uncovers the amazing deep history of ten familiar species with incredible wild pasts: dogs, apples and wheat; cattle; potatoes and chickens; rice, maize, and horses – and, finally, humans. Alice Roberts not only reveals how becoming part of our world changed these animals and plants, but shows how they became our allies, essential to the survival and success of our own species – and to our future.
Enlightening, wide-ranging and endlessly fascinating, Tamed is an epic story, encompassing hundreds of thousands of years of history and archaeology alongside cutting-edge genetics and anthropology. Yet it is also a deeply personal journey that will change how we see ourselves and the species on which we have left our mark.
Alice Roberts is an anthropologist and Professor of Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham. She has presented several landmark BBC series including The Incredible Human Journey, Origins of Us, Coast and The Celts. Her latest book, The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being, was shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize in 2015.
"A masterpiece of evocative scientific storytelling."
– Professor Brian Cox
"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
"Epic and joyous, a landmark in the story of us."
– Adam Rutherford
"There are plenty of facts in Tamed that make the familiar well worth exploring afresh. But it's the fascinating stories that explain how these were unearthed that make this book such a joy to read."
– Tristan Gooley
"Two recent pioneers of the history of humanity are Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs and Steel, and Yuval Noah Harari, in his book Sapiens. It is a teeming subject, about which Roberts is multiply qualified to write, as an anatomist, archaeologist, anthropologist, paleopathologist and professor of public engagement in science. Roberts remains composed, engaging and undogmatic throughout [...] Tamed is an excellent point of entry for anyone who wants to understand the new deep human history and what it portends."
– Peter Forbes, Guardian
"Tamed may be the title of Alice Roberts' latest book, 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."
– Liz Kalaugher 'Book of the Month', BBC Wildlife Magazine
"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
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