How did Homo sapiens arise? How did some populations adapt to warm climates, others to cold climates, and others still to living at high altitudes? Why do some genetic disorders offer better chances at survival under certain conditions? How can we interact with the environment in order to obtain food in a sustainable way? This book explores human diversity and addresses the wide array of biological and cultural strategies that our species has used to adapt to different environments, sometimes changing them extensively according to our needs. Nutrition, climate, and pathogen complexes are the three challenges, to which we have reacted with genetic, physiological, and cultural adaptive strategies that have allowed us to achieve our current situation.

Giorgio Manzi teaches Paleoanthropology, Human Ecology and Natural History of Primates at "La Sapienza" University in Rome, where he heads the Giuseppe Sergi Anthropology Museum.

Alessandro Vienna teaches Health and Nutrition Education at "La Sapienza" University in Rome.