Early Human World

A fun wildlife adventure book set in the Northland wilderness. March, under the Eagle Moon, the tale sparks to life. Our hero, Gruff, a black bear cub, blinks open his eyes to the world for the very first time. Born within the secure confines of a cavern atop a sturdy ridge, Gruff carefully ventures forth with his mother, Jezebel, an aging but knowingly adaptable bear. Together, they explore the unspoiled expanse of the Northland, its blooming springs, lush forests, and wealth of flora, bracing numerous trials of daily survival. With every passing day marked by beetle battles or encounters ...

The human species is relatively new to the planet in geologic terms. With origins reaching back only a few million years, the rise of humans from primate ancestors is a remarkable evolutionary success story. Early Humans traces the beginnings of the human species, its success and adaptability, and the development of such innovations as human language and culture.

Most scientists believe the evolution of humans has a history nearly as long as life itself. Anatomically modern humans and all other life that has existed on the planet first came about from the single-celled microorganisms that emerged approximately four billion years ago. Through the processes of mutation and natural selection, all forms of life developed, and this continuous lineage of life makes it difficult to say precisely when one species completely separates from another.

Technically speaking, slavery was not legal in the English-speaking world before the mid-17th century. But long before race-based slavery was entrenched in law and practice, English men and women were well aware of the various forms of human bondage practiced in other nations and, in less systematic ways, their own country. In wide-ranging detail, Slaves and Englishmen demonstrates how slavery shaped the ways the English interacted with people and places throughout the Atlantic world. As this revealing history shows, the implications of slavery were closely connected to the question of what it meant to be English.