Bees, chimpanzees, crows and whales all pass learned behaviour from one individual to another, so culture is not unique to humans. Scientists once thought humans alone could build on one another's inventions over generations, a process called cumulative culture. Now studies show animals can also make small improvements that accumulate, and some groups maintain traditions for long periods, such as swamp sparrows using the same song syllables for centuries. The researcher argues that the human difference is open-endedness: our cultures cover almost every area of life, from clothing and language to space travel and games, rather than a few survival behaviours. Chimpanzees use stones to crack nuts, but only humans realised a stick could add leverage and create hammers, which opened new fields of invention.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.