Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

It’s interesting how Harari starts this book by introducing how humans are linked to archaic humans. We know that this topic isn’t truly accepted by some people yet. It is said that about 2 million years ago, in Africa, our ancestors were living lives not much different from those of common humans today. What are they doing, but not more than what animals are doing, though? Biologically, we are not the same. There are several parts that distinguish between our ancestors and us. However, some of these similarities suggest that we have a kinship with them. And if we want to pull the thread even further, then we also have a kinship with animals. Like it or not, biologically, humans and animals have several similarities. Just as animals consist of several species and genera, we humans also have several types based on this book. Today’s modern humans are known as Homo sapiens, and there are also our ancestors, Neanderthals, Homo soloensis, Homo erectus, etc.
One of the things that makes us similar to our ancestors is the size of our brains. Humans have extraordinary brain size compared to other animals. But as a consequence, humans must pay more for it. Humans will have difficulty carrying it, and of course, it consumes a lot of energy, so as a result of the cost, they will have to spend more time in search of food, or even worse, their muscles will atrophy. Fortunately, modern humans today pay nicely for it; even though our brains are big, we can get food easily without spending much energy. The interesting fact is that the human brain can be used as a thinking machine, while animals can’t. However, the reason is not in size, because some animals also have brains bigger than humans, but none of them can cook meat. Now, the question is: why are only humans capable of thinking within the animal kingdom? Why don’t animals do the same?
Our ancestors took some significant steps by using fire on a daily basis. Especially the use of fire for cooking. Cooking food enables humans to eat more kinds of food. This also opened the first significant gulf between man and other animals. Animals cannot control fire as well as humans can. When humans domesticated fire, they gained control of an obedient and potentially limitless force.
Although humans have thinking machines and can start fire, at that time, archaic creatures were marginal creatures. Homo sapiens did exist on Earth at the same time as archaic humans. In fact, there was an overlap in the timeline of Homo sapiens and various archaic human species, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans. This overlap allowed for interactions and, in some cases, interbreeding between these different human species. This then raises the question of where did those archaic humans go? There are several theories that can answer this question based on this book. The first, 'interbreeding theory’, refers to the idea that Homo sapiens interbred with other closely related human species, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans, when these species coexisted. This theory is supported by genetic evidence that suggests that modern humans share a small percentage of their DNA with Neanderthals and Denisovans. On the other hand, 'Replacement Theory' said that Sapiens replaced all the previous human populations without merging with them. Some of the reasons might include incompatibility, revulsion, and possibly even genocide.
Now, we know that in today’s world, humans are the highest on the food chain. In fact, physically, we are not stronger than Neanderthals or Chimpanzees. So what actually made Homo sapiens reach the highest place in civilization so quickly? What differentiates us from archaic humans and other animals? Harari explained that the first thing that differentiates us from humans and other animals is language. Homo sapiens can produce language that is so complex and flexible compared to others. We are social creatures who always gossip. However, this is what has kept us able to survive.Gossip is the act of modifying information in such a way that sapiens can make up something that did not actually happen. Or known as imagination. With imagination, humans can create great civilizations that can suppress other animals. Humans can imagine a place containing millions of people, and then there is someone who leads it with rules that humans and other animals cannot follow. Humans can imagine a piece of paper with numbers written on it that can be used to buy goods that have very different real values. Harari also said that religion is a product of human imagination. But we all know that the chances of this world being created by chance are very small. Scientists themselves cannot prove it. This indicates that the existence of God is a fact that everyone must accept. And the rules revealed by God (religion) through His prophet are not mere fiction.