1 TIMELINE OF HISTORY

WHY THE WORLD ISN'T FAIR

为什么世界不公平

To all beings—those gone, those living, and those still to come. Our ancestors made the world what it is. We can decide what the world will become.

献给所有的生命——逝去的，活着的，还有将要到来的。 我们的祖先创造了这个世界。 我们可以决定世界将会变成什么样子。

UNSTOPPABLE US VOLUME 2 A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR In the first volume of Unstoppable Us, we followed the adventures of humans from the time we were insignificant apes in the African savannah, terrified of cheetahs and hyenas, until humans became the most powerful animals on the planet, hunting down even the biggest bears and mammoths. In the second volume we explore how humans learned to control animals like dogs, chickens, and cows— and how some people also learned to control other people. Why did some humans get to be kings and queens while others had to clean their palaces and do their laundry for them? What are kings and palaces even for? Human history is vast and fascinating. And that's why for thousands of years people have been trying to understand where we came from. We can learn about the lives of ancient people by studying what those people left behind—the ruins of ancient palaces, a broken pot, a bone of a long-dead skeleton, and even the notebooks of schoolchildren who lived long ago. This book covers some events for which we have a lot of evidence—yes, even ancient notebooks! It also covers events for which we have little evidence. Scientists fill in the gaps using educated guesses. There are many things we don't know, and there are many things about which scientists disagree. This book is based on the latest findings, but our knowledge of the past is constantly evolving as we discover the remains of another ancient palace or another long-dead skeleton. To present the latest scientific discoveries in a simple and fun way, this book sometimes uses fictional conversations between fictional characters. Obviously, these conversations never happened.

在《不可阻挡的我们》的第一卷中，我们跟随人类的冒险经历，从非洲大草原上微不足道的猿猴，害怕猎豹和鬣狗，直到人类成为地球上最强大的动物，甚至捕猎最大的熊和猛犸象。 在第二卷中，我们探讨了人类是如何学会控制狗、鸡和牛等动物的，以及一些人是如何学会控制其他人的。 为什么有些人成为国王和王后，而另一些人却不得不为他们打扫宫殿和洗衣服？ 国王和宫殿有什么用？ 人类历史博大精深。 这就是为什么几千年来人们一直试图了解我们来自哪里。 我们可以通过研究古人留下的东西来了解古人的生活——古代宫殿的废墟、一个破碎的罐子、一具早已死去的骨架的骨头，甚至是生活在很久以前的小学生的笔记本。 这本书涵盖了一些我们有很多证据的事件——是的，甚至是古代的笔记本！它还涵盖了我们几乎没有证据的事件。 科学家们利用有根据的猜测来填补空白。 有很多事情我们不知道，也有很多事情科学家不同意。 这本书是基于最新的发现，但随着我们发现另一个古代宫殿的遗迹或另一个长期死亡的骨架，我们对过去的了解也在不断发展。 为了以简单有趣的方式呈现最新的科学发现，这本书有时使用虚构人物之间的虚构对话。 显然，这些对话从未发生过。

But the events they describe really took place, and these events have shaped the world in which we still live today.

但他们描述的事件确实发生过，这些事件塑造了我们今天仍然生活在其中的世界。

IT'S NOT FAIR! "It's not fair!" How many times have you heard that? Or said it yourself? Probably a lot. Some people are incredibly rich. They live in mansions with swimming pools, fly around in private jets, and never wash any dishes or clean their room—because paid help does it for them. Other people are very poor. They live in huts without toilets, wait in the rain for the bus to come, and wash somebody else's dirty dishes. Some people are extremely powerful. They make the rules, give lots of big speeches, and tell everyone what to do. Other people are far less powerful. They have to follow the rules, clap when the leader speaks, and do as they're told. Is that fair? Kids are often asked, "What would you like to be when you grow up?" But in many countries all over the world, kids don't get to choose. You might want to be president, but if you're born to a poor family, the closest you are likely to get to the president's palace is if you are told to sweep the street in front of the gate. Was it always like this? Were humans always divided into rich and poor, masters and servants? Some people say that this is just the natural order of the world. Everywhere you look, the strong always rule, and the weak must obey. Movies and video games about the past are also full of kings and queens living in huge castles, ruling vast kingdoms, and giving orders to millions of others. But in fact, originally there were no kings or kingdoms, certainly not ones with millions of inhabitants. Until about 10,000 years ago, humans lived in small bands and tribes, numbering a few thousand individuals at most. Back then, there was often someone around who wanted to become chief and tell everybody what to do. But even the biggest chief didn't have much power. There just weren't enough people yet

这不公平！“这不公平！”这话你听过多少次了？ 还是你自己说的？可能很多。 有些人非常富有。 他们住在带游泳池的豪宅里，坐私人飞机到处飞，从不洗碗或打扫房间——因为有有偿的帮手帮他们做这些。 其他人很穷。 他们住在没有厕所的小屋里，在雨中等公共汽车来，洗别人的脏盘子。 有些人非常强大。 他们制定规则，发表大量的演讲，告诉每个人该做什么。 其他人的权力要小得多。 他们必须遵守规则，在领导讲话时鼓掌，并按照他们所说的去做。 这样公平吗？孩子们经常被问到：“你长大后想做什么？”但在世界上许多国家，孩子们没有选择的权利。 你可能想当总统，但如果你出生在一个贫穷的家庭，你离总统府最近的一次可能就是被告知清扫总统府门前的街道。 一直都是这样吗？人类总是被分为富人和穷人，主人和仆人吗？ 有人说这是世界的自然规律。 放眼望去，强者总是统治，弱者必须服从。 关于过去的电影和电子游戏也充斥着国王和王后住在巨大的城堡里，统治着广阔的王国，并对数百万人发号施令。 但事实上，最初并没有国王或王国，当然也没有拥有数百万居民的王国。 直到大约1万年前，人类生活在小部落和部落中，最多只有几千人。 那时候，周围经常有人想当主任，告诉大家该怎么做。 但即使是最大的酋长也没有多少权力。 只是还没有足够的人