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Name: A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived
Rating: 4.5 (186 reviews)
Author: Adam Rutherford

Adam Rutherford

The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes

4.5 (186 Bewertungen)

22 Min.

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Anthropology Race Change & Evolution Life Sciences Natural Sciences Culture

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What’s in it for me? Take a trip through time on the genetic railroad.

Just about everyone has fantasized about traveling back through time and seeing what the world was like during a different era. Well, modern science may have just made this voyage possible. No, time travel hasn’t been invented, but genetics can take you on a tour of history that’s just as riveting.

New scientific approaches can explain how culture developed and was transmitted, the patterns of human migration, and even such socially charged concepts as race and ancestry. Interestingly enough, as we peer deeper into this world, many of the preconceptions we hold about our species and society begin to disintegrate. The truth is, far from setting us apart from one another, genetics prove just how similar we all really are.

In these blinks you’ll learn:

how every person is descended from royalty;
why genetic tests to determine Native American ancestry are unscientific hogwash; and
why race has no scientific basis.

Genetic analysis opens a window into the past.

When you open a history book, everything seems to be set in stone. But in reality, much of human history is foggy. And the longer you travel back in time, the hazier our knowledge becomes. While historians are pretty confident about what happened in ancient Greece, as you delve back further, it becomes difficult to put your finger on the truth.

The good news is that genetic analysis has enabled science to look deeper into the past, truly uncovering the ancient history of humanity. This technology rests on the discoveries of nineteenth- and twentieth-century scientists like Gregor Mendel, Francis Crick and James Watson, who slowly unraveled the mysteries of DNA and the human genome.

Thanks to their work, scientists at the Human Genome Project finally deciphered a full set of human DNA in 2000, following a Herculean effort. Now medical science can analyze the genes of living humans. But it can also extract DNA from archeological samples to study the genes of our ancient ancestors. This new field is called paleogenetics and it uses DNA to tell an exciting story.

Modern humans are known as Homo sapiens or “wise man.” But before we evolved, other Homo species existed, like Homo neanderthalensis, Homo habilis, Homo ergaster, Homo heidelbergensis and Homo erectus.

Homo erectus was one of the early upright apes. The species evolved into existence some 1.9 million years ago on the African continent before spreading across the globe. Homo sapiens, our own species, likely evolved in Africa as well, specifically in the eastern part of the continent, around 200,000 years ago. As the first Homo sapiens left Africa and entered Eurasia, they encountered another species of human, Homo neanderthalensis, more commonly known as Neanderthals.

As it turned out, the encounter was a happy one. Our two species had sex – actually, a lot of sex.

In fact, through genetic analysis, we now know that the average European shares around 2.7 percent of her genetics with Neanderthals. So, while they may be a separate species that eventually died out, they never truly went extinct. A more accurate description is that they merged with our species.

Changes in cultural practices and the environment leave genetic marks.

You now know that genetic analysis can help us get a better read on human evolution. But it can also shine a light on the development of culture. That’s because changes in cultural practices impact our genes, leaving clues to their existence.

Oddly enough, the best example here is milk. For instance, while some people drink it every day and with pleasure, most adults in the world are lactose intolerant and can’t digest the stuff. So, why is a small group capable of metabolizing dairy?

Native American people share similar genes, but DNA analysis can’t confirm tribal heritage.

When Columbus arrived in the Americas, he was certainly not the first outsider to make the trip. In fact, five hundred years prior, Viking warriors had landed on American shores and decided not to bother the people living there.

Native Americans had been calling the continent home for at least 20,000 years when Columbus landed. Interestingly, genetic analysis can also help us understand why they moved to America and how their different nations are related to one another.

All people descend from royalty.

Have you heard of Charlemagne? Well, this ninth-century king and Holy Roman Emperor may just be your ancestor.

In fact, everyone comes from noble ancestry; it’s just a matter of mathematics.

Racism may be real, but race is not a scientific category.

It’s hard to talk about genetics without getting into the thorny subject of race. What does science really have to say on the topic?

Well, in the past there have been attempts to justify racism through genetics. In 2013, Nicholas Wende, a former science editor at the New York Times, published a book called A Troublesome Inheritance. The book not only claimed that race could be defined genetically, but it also said that the DNA of a population accounted for its culture. He went so far as to claim that Jews have genes that are “adapted for success in capitalism.”

Deciphering the human genetic code has unraveled several myths.

Do you remember June 26, 2000? Well, it was a historic day, but probably not one to which many people paid attention. US President Bill Clinton invited the head scientists at the Human Genome Project to the White House to publicly announce that the entire human genome had been deciphered for the first time.

Naturally, this feat was groundbreaking. The Human Genome Project was one of the largest scientific enterprises ever attempted; in just eight years it had successfully read the three billion letters of DNA that compose the human genetic code.

Genes perform many interactions, and traits acquired during life can be passed onto your offspring.

If you search Google for the phrase, “scientists discover the gene for…” you’ll get an endless list of shocking results. For instance, you might stumble upon a 2008 article from the Guardian, entitled, “Scientists discover the gene for cocaine addiction.”

Despite the reputability of the source, such claims are unscientific nonsense. So, why the confusion?

Although natural selection has slowed down, humans are still evolving.

In science-fiction movies like X-Men, mutants utilize superhuman powers to accomplish all kinds of extraordinary feats. So when are humans going to evolve to the point where we actually develop such powers?

Well, the shocking answer is, we already have. We have invented airplanes, night-vision goggles and all manner of other things that increase our abilities. The best part is, there’s no need to grow huge wings or odd-looking feline eyes.

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Worum geht es in A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived?

A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived (2016) tells the story of humanity through genetics. These blinks explain how humans evolved, the role that genes played – and continue to play – in our development, and the ways in which our genetic past can shine a light on the present.

Bestes Zitat aus A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived

As far as genetics is concerned, race does not exist.

—Adam Rutherford

Wer A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived lesen sollte

Historians, archaeologists, geneticists and biologists
Anyone interested in the history and biology of human life
Students fascinated by evolution, genes and DNA

Über den Autor

Adam Rutherford is a science writer and broadcaster who earned his doctorate in genetics at University College London. He’s the creator of such award-winning BBC programs as Inside Science, The Cell and Playing God.

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