title: The biological basis of human history.
abstract: Well-known physiological peculiarities of human bodies had much to do with raising our ancestors to the top of the food chain: erect posture, binocular vision, an unusually efficient cooling system, and an omnivorous diet. But these capabilities pale beside the advantages that accrued to proto-humans and then to humans from expanding and more precise modes of communication: first dance, then language. Still later, transportation and communication transcended limits set by human muscles with the invention of wind-propelled flotation and animal caravans, while writing overcame limits of personal memory and face-to-face dissemination of information. Contacts across local social and cultural boundaries tended to propagate best practices, making humankind a uniquely dangerous, constantly changing parasite upon other forms of life.
authors.affiliation: 36 Schoolhouse Road, P.O. Box 45, Colebrook, CT 06021-0045, USA.
authors.forename: William H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: McNeill
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D000885:Anthropology, Physical; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003468:Cultural Evolution; D003615:Dancing; D004463:Ecology; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D002679:Pan troglodytes