Overview

The rise of the multi-billion dollar ancestry testing industry points to one immutable truth about us as human beings: we want to know where we come from and who our ancestors were. John H. Relethford and Deborah A. Bolnick explore this topic and many more in this second edition of Reflections of Our Past. Where did modern humans come from and how important are the biological differences among us? Are we descended from Neandertals? How should we understand the connections between genetic ancestry, race, and identity? Were Native Americans the first settlers of the Americas? Can we see even in the Irish of today evidence of Viking invasions of a millennium ago? Through engaging examination of issues such as these, and using non-technical language, Reflections of Our Pastshows how anthropologists use genetic information to suggest answers to fundamental questions about human history. By looking at genetic variation in the world today and in the past, we can reconstruct the recent and remote events and processes that have created the variation we see, providing a fascinating reflection of our genetic past.

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9780813349466

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Reviews

Reflections of Our Past is an engaging and accessible work about the genetic history of humankind expressed without the confusing jargon so often found in the literature in this field. -Gerrell Drawhorn, CSU-Sacramento For anyone curious about the science behind the DNA ancestry tests whose commercials inundate our TVs, this book is a must read. -Justin Garcia, Millersville University of Pennsylvania [A] readable, relevant, accurate book by two top-notch, trustworthy researchers on an important and often misunderstood topic. -Sheela Athreya, Texas A&M

"""Reflections of Our Past is an engaging and accessible work about the genetic history of humankind expressed without the confusing jargon so often found in the literature in this field."" —Gerrell Drawhorn, CSU-Sacramento ""For anyone curious about the science behind the DNA ancestry tests whose commercials inundate our TVs, this book is a must read."" —Justin Garcia, Millersville University of Pennsylvania ""[A] readable, relevant, accurate book by two top-notch, trustworthy researchers on an important and often misunderstood topic."" —Sheela Athreya, Texas A&M"

I've never read a better popular exposition of science than this. John Relethford, a major contributor to research in this field, writes with exceptional clarity and authority. Anyone seeking to understand how human history might be resurrected from present patterns of genetic variability will find this book immensely satisfying. --Ken Korey, Dartmouth An important contribution to the literature on human origins. --Booklist

[A] readable, relevant accurate book by two top-notch, trustworthy researchers on an important and often misunderstood topic.--Sheela Athreya, Texas A&M For anyone curious about the science behind the DNA ancestry tests whose commercials inundate our TV sets, this book is a must read.--Justin Garcia, Millersville University of Pennsylvania Reflections of Our Past is an engaging and accessible work about the genetic history of humankind expressed without the confusing jargon so often found in the literature in this field.--Gerrell Drawhorn, CSU-Sacramento I've never read a better popular exposition of science than this. John Relethford, a major contributor to research in this field, writes with exceptional clarity and authority. Anyone seeking to understand how human history might be resurrected from present patterns of genetic variability will find this book immensely satisfying. --Ken Korey, Dartmouth An important contribution to the literature on human origins. --Booklist

Author Information

John H. Relethford is Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of Anthropology, SUNY College at Oneonta, where he has received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has published extensively on human population genetics, biological variation, and the origin of modern humans. Dr. Relethford has served as President, Past-President, Vice President and as a member of the Executive Committee of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. He has also served as Vice President and President of the American Association of Anthropological Genetics. Deborah A. Bolnick, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin and one-time President of the American Association of Anthropological Genetics. She is also affiliated with the Population Research Center and the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB) graduate program at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of anthropology and genetics. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on how human genetic variation is shaped by culture, language, history, and geography.

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