Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Short History of Nearly Everything, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Science, Discovery, and Mystery
Writing, Wonder, and Inspiration
Progress, Sexism, and Dogma
Existence, Awe, and Survival
Summary
Analysis
About 1.5 million years ago, some hominid took a stone and used it to shape another, creating a teardrop-shaped axe: the first piece of advanced technology in the world. Scientists find thousands of these in Africa, suggesting that hominids even made them for fun. The absence of human fossils makes it extremely difficult to piece together this early history, and there are many mysteries. The traditional view holds that humans spread out of Africa in two waves: the first, Homo erectus, left and evolved into Neanderthals. Then, about 100,000 years ago, a smarter species—Homo sapiens—arose and spread, displacing Neanderthals (though the method of displacement—whether murder, disease, or sheer competition for resources—is unknown).
Bryson reemphasizes that nearly all of early human history is a complete mystery to scientists. The amount of speculation, once again, indicates that this scientific endeavor is only in its infancy. The fact that there are multiple hominid species competing for resources in this early period of history—including Neanderthals and Homo sapiens (us)—shows how easily humans might not have existed at all. Though it’s unclear why Neanderthals disappear, there’s a good chance that luck (for Homo sapiens) has something to do with it.
Themes
Curiously, scientists know less about early Homo sapiens than “almost any other line of hominids.” The earliest record of Homo sapiens dates back to 100,000 years ago in modern-day Israel. Neanderthals were surprisingly hardy, survived in harsh cold climates, and had much larger brains than modern humans. Some scientists even suggest that Neanderthals didn’t so much disappear as blend in with us. Alan Thorne’s multiregional hypothesis holds that ancient Homo erectus left Africa for Asia and Europe, and then each region evolved independently. Opponents reject this idea because it encourages the view that some modern races are superior to others—something that Carleton Coon controversially argues.
Bryson continues to stress how little scientists know about the early history of humans. He also unveils further mysteries that continue to elude us about our past as we learn more about it, such as how to account for the larger brains of Neanderthals compared to humans. The disappearance of the Neanderthals could also serve as a cautionary tale for humans, reminding us of how easily we ourselves might disappear—though even this speculation, like everything else, is tentative.
Themes
Anomalies continue to arise. DNA sampling of a 62,000-year-old “Mungo Man” fossil of Australia shows that it’s distinct from human DNA. This evidence questions the idea that all humans came from Africa. Other genetic discrepancies continue to arise, and geneticists don’t know what to make of these anomalies. Population geneticist Rosalind Harding thinks “we’ve barely begun” unraveling the history of our species. Harding also explains that it’s extremely easy to contaminate a specimen with more modern DNA, so she thinks radical claims should be “treated dubiously.”
The more data scientists uncover, the more questions they have. This indicates that the task of scientific discovery may, in fact, never reach a point of completion, since more information yields more anomalies that need to be continually accounted for. The high margin for error also shows how fallible scientific claims can be, further indicating that there is always work for scientists to do.
Themes
Bryson visits Rift Valley in Kenya and sees ancient tool beds from 1.2 million years ago. Bryson’s guide, Jillani Ngalli, explains this area was an ancient factory for turning stones into tools—but nobody knows which hominids are responsible for it. Ngalli concludes that “it’s all a mystery.”
As Bryson draws his story about early hominid history to a close, he’s left with no other conclusion than the fact that all scientists know for sure is, paradoxically, how little they know—the “mystery” remains to be solved by future scientists.
Themes
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