So I was thinking about this a little in the context of the book club discussion I had Wednesday about David Reich’s (and others) recent work as a “so what’s been happening since 2002?” update to Mapping Human History. With the explosion of DNA and protein sequence information coming out, I can envision a “flip-flop” in our understanding of ancient history from archeological information that is largely behavior and cultural (garbage heaps seem to be a common treasure trove) to genetic information that provides biological linkages. Hopefully it means we gain a richer view of the past and what it means to be human, but I do worry a little about losing the idea of kinship and the importance of non-biological relationships in history.
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