Until recently, the study of human prehistory relied on the material collected by archaeologists and palaeontologists. Bones, stones and pottery are not the only evidence now available to prehistorians, however: the DNA of living humans contains a record of the DNA of their ancestors. Molecular genetic techniques, developed originally in medical, agricultural and industrial research, have been seized on by scientists interested in the history of our species, and have led to spectacular advances in our understanding of human evolutionary history.

LRB 20 November 2003 | PDF Download