Martin Jones.
Unlocking the Past: how archaeologists are rewriting human history with ancient DNA: revised edn.
Arcade Publishing. 2016
In Unlocking the Past, Martin Jones, a leading expert at the forefront of archaeology—the
discipline that gave Michael Crichton the premise for Jurassic Park—explains
how this pioneering science is rewriting human history and unlocking stories of the past that could never have been told before.
For the first time, the building blocks of ancient life—DNA, proteins, and fats
that have long been trapped in fossils and earth and rock—have become widely accessible to science.
Working at the cutting edge of genetic and other molecular technologies,
researchers have been probing the remains of these ancient biomolecules
in human skeletons, sediments and fossilized plants, dinosaur bones, and insects trapped in amber.
Their amazing discoveries have influenced the archaeological debate at almost every level
and continue to reshape our understanding of the past.
Conveying both the excitement of innovative research and the sometimes bruising rough-and-tumble of scientific debate, Jones has written a work of profound importance. This updated edition includes maps in every chapter to accompany a revised and updated text.