The Handshake
Friends do it, strangers do it and so do chimpanzees - and it's not just deeply embedded in our history and culture, it may even be written in our DNA. The humble handshake, it turns out, has a rich and surprising history. So let's join palaeoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi as she embarks on a funny and fascinating voyage of discovery - from the handshake's origins (at least seven million years ago) all the way to its sudden disappearance in March 2020. Drawing on new research, anthropological insights and first-hand experience, she'll reveal how this most friendly of gestures has played a role in everything from meetings with uncontacted tribes to political assassinations - and what it tells us about the enduring power of human contact.
1139965765
The Handshake
Friends do it, strangers do it and so do chimpanzees - and it's not just deeply embedded in our history and culture, it may even be written in our DNA. The humble handshake, it turns out, has a rich and surprising history. So let's join palaeoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi as she embarks on a funny and fascinating voyage of discovery - from the handshake's origins (at least seven million years ago) all the way to its sudden disappearance in March 2020. Drawing on new research, anthropological insights and first-hand experience, she'll reveal how this most friendly of gestures has played a role in everything from meetings with uncontacted tribes to political assassinations - and what it tells us about the enduring power of human contact.
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The Handshake

The Handshake

by Al-Shamahi Ella
The Handshake

The Handshake

by Al-Shamahi Ella

Overview

Friends do it, strangers do it and so do chimpanzees - and it's not just deeply embedded in our history and culture, it may even be written in our DNA. The humble handshake, it turns out, has a rich and surprising history. So let's join palaeoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi as she embarks on a funny and fascinating voyage of discovery - from the handshake's origins (at least seven million years ago) all the way to its sudden disappearance in March 2020. Drawing on new research, anthropological insights and first-hand experience, she'll reveal how this most friendly of gestures has played a role in everything from meetings with uncontacted tribes to political assassinations - and what it tells us about the enduring power of human contact.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781788167819
Publisher: IPS - Profile Books
Publication date: 11/02/2021
Edition description: Main
Pages: 176
Product dimensions: 5.07(w) x 7.79(h) x (d)

About the Author

Ella Al-Shamahi is a National Geographic Explorer, palaeoanthropologist, evolutionary biologist and stand-up comic. Specialising in in Neanderthals, caves and expeditions in hostile, disputed and unstable territories, she is also a TV presenter, a TED speaker and has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She has degrees in Genetics, Taxonomy and Biodiversity, and is currently undertaking her PhD in Palaeoanthropology.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 Origin Story: "Where Does the Handshake Come From? 9

2 Symbolism: What Does the Handshake Mean? 33

3 Finger Snaps and Penis Shakes: Handshakes, Greetings and Cultures 57

4 A Step-by-Step Guide to the Handshake 79

5 The Hand of Destiny: History's Best Handshakes 89

6 The Hand of Doom: History's Worst Handshakes 99

7 Demise: Is This the End of the Handshake? 113

Epilogue 129

Acknowledgements 137

Notes 141

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Social Sciences
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Social Sciences
Anthropology & Archaeology
Socio-Cultural Anthropology
Socio-Cultural Anthropology - General & Miscellaneous

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