PDF-(BOOK)-Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past

Massive technological innovations now allow scientists to extract and analyze ancient DNA as never before and it has become clearin part from David Reichs own contributions to the fieldthat genomics is as important a means of understanding the human past as archeology linguistics and the written word Now in The New Science of the Human Past Reich describes just how the human genome provides not only all the information that a fertilized human egg needs to develop but also contains within it the history of our species He delineates how the Genomic Revolution and ancient DNA are transforming our understanding of our own lineage as modern humans how genomics deconstructs the idea that there are no biologically meaningful differences among human populations though without adherence to pernicious racist hierarchies and how DNA studies reveal the deep history of human inequalityamong different populations between the sexes and among individuals within a population. Science and Technology Egyptians made advances in calendars geometry medicine and other areas Belief Systems Egyptians believed in many gods and a happy life after death Work and Family Life ESSENTIAL QUESTION How did work and social roles affect pe Culture Historians use a variety of methods to help them answer questions about what happened in the past Culture Historians examine evidence and draw conclusions as they answer historical questions Understanding the Past ESSENTIAL QUESTION What que Science and Technology Archaeologists have found evidence that tells us a great deal about early humans Culture Human culture developed during the prehistoric period known as the Stone Age Finding Clues to the Past ESSENTIAL QUESTION How do archaeol Archaeological Illustration and the Ancient Americas JOANNE PILLSBURY Editor DUMBARTON OAKS RESEARCH LIBRARY AND COLLECTION Washington, D.C. is publication was made possible in part by a gi from th 1. Ancient Astronomy. Many ancient cultures took a keen interest in the changing nighttime sky. The records and artifacts that have survived until the present make that abundantly clear. . 2. Ancient Astronomy. 95It is a holistic discipline which means that anthropologists study the similarities and dix00660066erences in biological and cultural adaptations and features across the globe throughout all of huma In language accessible to non-scientists, Deadly Voyager tells the story of how an extraterrestrial event many thousands of years ago changed earth and human history — and how a scientific claim can be thoroughly rejected, only to re-emerge strengthened. Centered in the Dordogne region of southwestern France, one of Europe’s most concentrated regions for Neandertal and early modern human occupations, writer Beebe Bahrami follows and participates in the work of archaeologists who are doing some of the most comprehensive and global work to date on the research, exploration, and recovery of our ancient ancestors. In Café Neandertal, Bahrami follows this compelling riddle along a path populated with colorful local personalities and archaeologists working in remote and fascinating places across Eurasia, all the while maintaining a firm foothold in the Dordogne, a region celebrated by the local tourist office as a vacation destination for 400,000 years. Who were the Neandertals? Why did they disappear around 35,000 years ago? And more mysteriously, what connections do they share with us moderns? Neck-deep in Neanderthal dirt, Bahrami takes us to the front row of the heated debates about our long-lost cousins. Café Neandertal pulls us deeply into the complex mystery of the Neandertals, shedding a surprising light on what it means to be human. In Unlocking the Past, Martin Jones, a leading expert at the forefront of bioarchaeology—the discipline that gave Michael Crichton the premise for Jurassic Park—explains how this pioneering science is rewriting human history and unlocking stories of the past that could never have been told before. For the first time, the building blocks of ancient life—DNA, proteins, and fats that have long been trapped in fossils and earth and rock—have become widely accessible to science. Working at the cutting edge of genetic and other molecular technologies, researchers have been probing the remains of these ancient biomolecules in human skeletons, sediments and fossilized plants, dinosaur bones, and insects trapped in amber. Their amazing discoveries have influenced the archaeological debate at almost every level and continue to reshape our understanding of the past.Devising a molecular clock from a certain area of DNA, scientists were able to determine that all humans descend from one common female ancestor, dubbed “The Mitochondrial Eve,” who lived around 150,000 years ago. Employing different techniques on other molecules recovered from grinding stones and potsherds, they have been able to reconstruct ancient diets and posit when such practices as dairying and boiling water for cooking began. They have reconstituted the beer left in the burial chamber of pharaohs and know what the Iceman, the 5,000-year-old hunter found in the Alps in the early nineties, ate before his last journey. Conveying both the excitement of innovative research and the sometimes bruising rough-and-tumble of scientific debate, Jones has written a work of profound importance. Unlocking the Past is science at its most engaging. A groundbreaking book about how ancient DNA has profoundly changed our understanding of human history. Geneticists like David Reich have made astounding advances in the field of genomics, which is proving to be as important as archeology, linguistics, and written records as a means to understand our ancestry.  In Who We Are and How We Got Here, Reich allows readers to discover how the human genome provides not only all the information a human embryo needs to develop but also the hidden story of our species. Reich delves into how the genomic revolution is transforming our understanding of modern humans and how DNA studies reveal deep inequalities among different populations, between the sexes, and among individuals. Provocatively, Reich’s book suggests that there might very well be biological differences among human populations but that these differences are unlikely to conform to common stereotypes. Drawing upon revolutionary findings and unparalleled scientific studies, Who We Are and How We Got Here is a captivating glimpse into humankind—where we came from and what that says about our lives today. One of our true superstars of nonfiction (David Foster Wallace), Lewis Hyde offers a playful and inspiring defense of forgetfulness by exploring the healing effect it can have on the human psyche. We live in a culture that prizes memory--how much we can store, the quality of what\'s preserved, how we might better document and retain the moments of our life while fighting off the nightmare of losing all that we have experienced. But what if forgetfulness were seen not as something to fear--be it in the form of illness or simple absentmindedness--but rather as a blessing, a balm, a path to peace and rebirth?A Primer for Forgetting is a remarkable experiment in scholarship, autobiography, and social criticism by the author of the classics The Gift and Trickster Makes This World. It forges a new vision of forgetfulness by assembling fragments of art and writing from the ancient world to the modern, weighing the potential boons forgetfulness might offer the present moment as a creative and political force. It also turns inward, using the author\'s own life and memory as a canvas upon which to extol the virtues of a concept too long taken as an evil.Drawing material from Hesiod to Jorge Luis Borges to Elizabeth Bishop to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, from myths and legends to very real and recent traumas both personal and historical, A Primer for Forgetting is a unique and remarkable synthesis that only Lewis Hyde could have produced. How ancient Egyptians understood quantum theory • Investigates the history of how modern religion and the Age of Science were inspired by the sacred science of the ancients • Examines how quantum theory explains that the cosmos arises from consciousness • Reveals the unanimity between Schwaller de Lubicz’s “sacred science” and the science of a cosmos governed by quantum mechanics Since the dawn of the Age of Science humankind has been engaged in a methodical quest to understand the cosmos. With the development of quantum mechanics, the notion that everything is solid matter is being replaced with the idea that information or “thought” may be the true source of physical reality. Such scientific inquiry has led to a growing interest in the brain’s unique and mysterious ability to create perception, possibly through quantum interactions. Consciousness is now being considered as much a fundamental part of reality as the three dimensions we are so familiar with. Although this direction in scientific thought is seen as a new approach, the secret wisdom of the ancients presented just such a view thousands of years ago.Building on René A. Schwaller de Lubicz’s systematic study of Luxor’s Temple of Amun-Mut-Khonsu during the 1940s and ’50s, Edward Malkowski shows that the ancient Egyptians\' worldview was not based on superstition or the invention of myth but was the result of direct observation using critical faculties attuned to the quantum manifestation of the universe. This understanding of reality as a product of human consciousness provided the inspiration for the sacred science of the ancients--precisely the philosophy modern science is embracing today. In the philosophical tradition of Schwaller de Lubicz, The Spiritual Technology of Ancient Egypt investigates the technical and religious legacy of ancient Egypt to reveal its congruence with today’s “New Science.” Dig into the science of ancient times and unearth amazing discoveries! * Have you ever wondered where paper comes from, who made the first known maps, or how the ancient Egyptians were able to build the pyramids? * Would you like to make your own sundial, discover how to detect earthquakes, or learn to write in hieroglyphics? * Are you looking for great ideas for your next science fair project? If you answered Yes to any of these questions, then Ancient Science is for you! From Greek lighthouses and Roman bridges to Chinese kites and Mesopotamian soap, you\'ll investigate some of the greatest scientific discoveries and the people who introduced them to the world. Dozens of fun-packed activities help you see for yourself how the earliest humans cultivated plants, why instruments make different sounds, how fireworks get their explosive power, and much more. All of the projects are safe and easy to do, and all you need is everyday stuff from around the house. So step back in time and take an amazing journey with Ancient Science! The age of haplogroup D was found to be ~37,000 years. Fig. 6 Four possible scenarios of genetic mixture involving Neandertals.. R E Green et al. Science 2010;328:710-722. Published by AAAS. Figure 1 .