Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past by David Reich is an excellent survey of some of the recent advances in DNA technology. As Reich convincing shows, we are in the middle of a DNA revolution. Human pre-history is being peeled back by some very clever and rigorous science.
Yet the title is misleading. This book does not tell us who we are. That is more a religious or philosophical question. What are homo sapiens? Reich’s book does not address that; if anything, it throws the concept of humans as a distinct species in crisis. If we could breed with other hominids, then is there really a difference between us and Neanderthals? It appears we are headed toward a definition of ‘human’ that is more fluid; which exists across a continuum.
How we got here is not addressed. We got here from Africa. But why did hominids even exist in Africa? What special conditions brought this about? Why was Africa the cradle of all Great Apes and Hominids?
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