Inheritance

The Evolutionary Origins of the Modern World

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‘Insightful and breathtaking’ YUVAL NOAH HARARI, author of Sapiens
‘Bold and sweeping’ PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk Roads
‘Profoundly thought-provoking’ KATE RAWORTH, author of Doughnut Economics

How has humans' evolutionary inheritance shaped global society?

Why are humans everywhere prone to believe in ghosts?
How might our tendency to imitate one another be contributing to the climate catastrophe?
And does our deep evolutionary past impel us to vote for strongmen?

In 1987, Harvey Whitehouse went to live with an indigenous community deep in the Papua New Guinea rainforest. His experiences there convinced him that, far from being wildly different, humans are fundamentally alike: their beliefs and behaviours rooted in a set of evolutionary urges that can be found in any society, anywhere.

Here, Whitehouse roves across twelve millennia and five continents to uncover how these evolved urges have both shaped and been reshaped by human history. Along the way, he shows that this ancient inheritance does not just hold the key to explaining the modern world – but perhaps also to changing it.

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‘Ranges widely across disciplines and timescales to formulate an exhilarating narrative of human history . . . Enthralling and mind-expanding’ IRISH TIMES

‘Profoundly important . . . Whitehouse shows how evolution sculpted our psychological make-up, how we overcame its limitations over the course of world history, and how we can wield this knowledge to face the challenges of the future’ LEWIS DARTNELL, author of Being Human

‘A very powerful, provocative and inspiring analysis of the human condition . . . Compelling and highly readable, this book shows why anthropology matters’ GILLIAN TETT, Financial Times columnist and Provost of King’s College, Cambridge

‘A thought provoking look at social forces, and the ways ordinary people can change the world’ GUARDIAN

A bold and sweeping analysis that ranges widely through time, across geographies and through different kinds of human societies. A book of rare ambition and scope.
PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk Roads

A profoundly important book, of breathtaking scope. Whitehouse shows how evolution sculpted our psychological make-up, how we overcame its limitations over the course of world history, and how we can wield this knowledge to face the challenges of the future. Full of deep insights into human nature, this is a work of compelling conviction by a master in the field.
LEWIS DARTNELL, author of Being Human

A very powerful, provocative and inspiring analysis of the human condition which seeks to explain where our societies are going wrong today - and how to put them right. Whitehouse bravely takes an ambitious interdisciplinary view that captures the sweep of history, tackling topics ranging from social media and modern political polarization to ancient religious cults, nomadic societies and more. His arguments about the three core features shaping humans - conformity, religiosity and tribalism - are thought-provoking, and offer an excellent lens to frame events today. Compelling and highly readable, this book shows why anthropology matters.
GILLIAN TETT, Provost of King's College, Cambridge

About Harvey Whitehouse

Professor Harvey Whitehouse is Chair of Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford and Director of the Centre for the Study of Social Cohesion.

One of the world’s leading experts on the evolutionary basis of human culture, Whitehouse has spent four decades studying some of the most extreme groups on earth: from the battlefields of the Arab Spring, via millenarian cults on Pacific islands, to violent football fans in South America. Along the way, he has undertaken research at some of the world’s most important archaeological sites, brain-scanning facilities, and child psychology labs – all with a view to pioneering a new, scientific approach to the study of human society.

Whitehouse’s work has featured in the Telegraph, Guardian, Scientific American and New Scientist, and he has delivered talks at the World Economic Forum and the United Nations. He lives in Oxford.

Details

Imprint: Penguin
Published: 06/03/2025
ISBN: 9781529159158
Length: 368 pages
Dimensions: 197mm x 22mm x 128mm
Weight: 258g
Price: £10.99

All editions

Inheritance

The Evolutionary Origins of the Modern World

Format:

Buy the book from:

A bold and sweeping analysis that ranges widely through time, across geographies and through different kinds of human societies. A book of rare ambition and scope.

A compelling, thoughtful, nuanced, and ultimately hopeful new perspective on our history, present crises, and future potential . . . This book is a masterpiece – important, thought-provoking, and great fun to read.

This fascinating book combines ground-breaking research with compelling storytelling to reveal how humanity’s deepest tendencies towards conforming, believing and belonging have profoundly shaped our many histories and current realities . . . Profoundly thought-provoking – dive in.

Remarkably readable . . . A powerful argument that the behaviour change we need is more likely to occur if we make use of our evolved human nature, rather than seek to transcend it.

An insightful and breathtaking exploration of humanity’s evolutionary baggage that explains some of our species’ greatest successes and failures.

This lucid and original book is important not only as a guide to underlying dynamics in contemporary society but also as an exemplary interweaving of approaches from the natural and social sciences.

A brilliant synthesis of insights from psychology, anthropology, and big historical data analytics that throws penetrating light on the evolutionary trajectories of human societies, and on how we collectively can shape a better future for humanity.

If you spend a lot of time thinking the world seems to have gone mad, bad and dangerous, this thoughtful and thought-provoking book won't just help you work out why that might be – it will also help you see a better path forward.

About Harvey Whitehouse

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