This Is Not An Artifact

The manipulation of life is one of the oldest and most popularly neglected forms of cultural production. Yet it is evident in prehistoric cave dwellings, organic vegetable gardens, concentrated animal feeding operations, and myriad other sites and scenes. PostNatural History is the study of the origins, habitats, and evolution of organisms that have been intentionally altered by humans through captivity, breeding, or engineering. These lifeforms relay stories that challenge and transform our understanding of human culture. Featuring hundreds of entries for collection specimens organized under the postnatural categorical matrix of ‘Isolating, Breeding, Engineering, and Leaking’, this book-as-exhibition makes the exceptional collection of the Center for PostNatural History available to a global audience for the first time.