Upcoming ISAW Library Public Events
11/06/2025 05:30 PM
ISAW Lecture Hall
Beyond the Silk Road
Or, Why One Rhinoceros Fewer from India Would Not Have Hurt the Ancient Economy
Sitta von Reden
This lecture will take place in person at ISAW. Prof. von Reden will offer alternative ways of thinking about why we find Chinese silk in Palmyra, Egyptian glass vessels in Afghanistan, and Roman coins in Thailand and Vietnam.
RSVP
12/04/2025 05:30 PM
ISAW Lecture Hall
Nature’s Greatest Success
How Plants Evolved to Exploit Humanity
Robert N. Spengler
The domestication of plants in prehistory allowed humanity to demographically expand, form dense population congregations (urbanism and social hierarchies), and advance the arts and sciences. For millennia, humans drove the evolution of domestication traits in crops and animals. Archaeologists, ecologists, and geneticists are all working to develop new theories about how domestication in antiquity occurred; one of these theories – the ecological release hypothesis – suggests that crops and animals evolved traits of domestication as a response to humans simply removing predators and herbivores. Dr. Spengler will briefly explore a few key themes in this theory and the rich history of domestication and culture, which he traces in his recent book, Nature's Greatest Success: How Plants evolved to Exploit Humanity.
RSVP