Our instinct to care about other people, whether they are close family or strangers,
can seem unimportant in today’s competitive societies.
However, in this volume Penny Spikins argues that compassion lies at the heart of what makes us human.
She takes us on a journey from stone age societies living millions of years ago to those of Ice Age Europe,
using archaeological evidence to illustrate the central role that emotional connections had in human evolution.
Drawing on the latest research from primatology, psychology, neuroscience and social anthropology
as well that from the material record Penny describes a new story of human origins –
one where feelings come first, and where the smallest things, often overlooked,
played a key role in our unique story.
