e 1-star, the author's atheist/ anti-church droning and never missing an opportunity to inject wokeness. The scale and the detail of the Thousand Ancient Genomes project, which is collaborating with archaeologists across the UK, could transform our understanding of prehistoric Britain, especially as regards mobility and migrations. It explores our interconnected global ancestry, and the human experience that binds us all together. For example, one chapter revolves around the ways in which the presence of Stonehenge has distorted our theories about the surrounding landscape -- every settlement turns into "where the builders of Stonehenge lived"; even Mesolithic remains are evaluated in the context of their proximity to Stonehenge!

Archeology and science working together to elucidate history and separate it from superstition and belief. The blending of hunter gatherers with farmers was troubling, at least in some regions where evidence exists. But in Ancestors , pre-eminent archaeologist, broadcaster and academic Professor Alice Roberts explores what we can learn about the very earliest Britons, from burial sites and by using new technology to analyse ancient DNA.Perhaps it would have been much better if the sites remained in situ, undiscovered until the author appeared.

Alice Roberts argues in Ancestors that we need to consciously set aside our own bias and try to evaluate archaeological remains on their own terms.Ancestors well worth reading with a sophisticated intelligent engagement with the past, and how perceptions and ideas change through time and not to just look through the cultural lens of the present. Interesting as the content was, the fluidity with which (in places) she shifted from technical analysis, to dialogue, to whimsy made it difficult to enjoy. They intend to fully sequence a thousand ancient genomes, which it is hoped will reveal the connectedness, the shared ancestry, of people across Britain and beyond: “Ancient DNA bears clues to forgotten journeys – memories of migrations long ago, written into genes. But in Ancestors, pre-eminent archaeologist, broadcaster and academic Professor Alice Roberts explores what we can learn about the very earliest Britons, from burial sites and by using new technology to analyse ancient DNA.

It explores forgotten journeys and memories of migrations long ago, written into genes and preserved in the ground for thousands of years. Across millennia, generations of people have flowed through regions and continents like water over rock: the landscapes remain, as do the burials – fixed coordinates amid the flux of time. In her book, Roberts takes seven different prehistoric burials and explores who they may have been and what they reveal about their communities. The language of the Beaker People was a variant of Proto-Indo-European, which had two linguistic genders -- animate and inanimate. Indeed the grave itself contained nearly a hundred items – including copper knives, gold objects, boars’ tusks and a shale ring – making it the most richly furnished grave from the period that had ever been discovered in Britain.For the deep history/archaeology diver, there's nothing like experiencing the landscape to focus the mind's eye. Roberts is a prolific TV presenter, and Ancestors skilfully deploys the arts of screen storytelling: narrative pace, a sense of mysteries being unfolded. Although Roberts does draw on genomic evidence to show the migration of peoples in prehistory, what is so fascinating about this book is the way it weaves together scientific and cultural interpretation. And the best overview history of the classical world The Classic World The Epic History of Greece and Rome by Robin Lane Fox. Together with two stone wrist guards, or bracers, they formed the largest collection of bronze age archery equipment ever found.