JOLABOKAFLOD—ANCIENT DNA. Mary Jane and I were so excited by the scientific breakthroughs with ancient DNA that we jointly gave ourselves for Christmas WHO WE ARE AND HOW WE GOT HERE by David Reich and ANCESTRAL JOURNEYS by Jean Manco. Ancient DNA is a term for DNA which is extracted from ancient bones. In the last ten years, there have been remarkable advances in the ability to extract that DNA. Reich says (p.xvi) that the first 5 ancient human genomes were published in 2010;in 2014, DNA from 38 individuuals was published; in 2015, DNA from 249 individuals was published. By August, 2017, Reich’s lab had generated data for more than 300 ancient samples.
Masses of new data!
I would love to read these books someday too. You know me: DNA and archaeology! What’s not to like? I hope it is engagingly written. Over the years I have gotten more picky about that.