The Wrong Stuff

boxes stacked inside a storage unit or boxtruck
From self-sufficient primates to nonstop shoppers

By one estimate the average American home has 300,000 objects. Yet our ancient ancestors had no more than what they could carry with them. How did we go from being self-sufficient primates to nonstop shoppers? We examine the evolutionary history of stuff through the lens of archeology beginning with the ancestor who first picked up a palm-sized rock and made it into a tool. 

Guest:

Featuring music by Dewey Dellay and Jun Miyake

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