Genotemporality: The DNA Revolution and The Prehistory of Human Migration; A Review of David Reich, Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past

Abstract

am attracted to big books that promise a gold mine of research data. Several years ago I ran across a second-hand, mint-condition volume at extraordinarily reasonable cost: Luca CavalliSforza’s magnum opus, The History and Geography of Human Genes (1994), an enormous book: 9 1⁄2 by 11 1⁄4 inches, 2 1⁄2 inches thick, 1088 pages. It was rich in charts and statistics, with maps that traced out the spread of agriculture from its origins a few thousand years ago across whole continents. Cavalli-Sforza (1922-2018) spent the second half of the 20th century attempting to work out prehistoric human migrations from differences in the genes of today’s human population, enriched “by bringing in as many relevant disciplines as possible, from historical demography to archaeology, paleoanthropology and linguistics, and perhaps ethnography, together with population and molecular genetics” (Cavalli-Sforza, 272). It was an ambitious and impressive goal—and ultimately beyond the capabilility of genetic science of the day; his work was done before the revolution in genetics that we might date from the complete sequencing of the human genome in 2001. Though Cavalli-Sforza’s work has been eclipsed by a tsunami of studies based on genetic sequencing, David Reich respectfully begins his book, Who We Are and How We Got Here (2018) honoring him: “This book is inspired by a visionary, Luca CavalliSforza,” noting that The History and Geography of Human Genes was the “high water mark” of his career. He was a pioneer in his early recognition of Genotemporality: The DNA Revolution and The Prehistory of Human Migration A Review of David Reich, Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past. New York: Pantheon Books, 2018, 335 pp. Barry Wood University of Houston