Ancestors

I loved in particular, the end of this book, where she stretched out a view to the magnitude of our interconnectivity- the vast numbers of anscestors we have, how dna gets lost in generations within lineage, what it means to be alive now. It was so inclusive and fascinating. I loved the “make no assumptions” approach to deep history, and the many different pictures of worlds then. The image of a Neanderthal era human buried with flowers (maybe) and the view of flowers maybe as technology (how do we mark the passing of our loved ones, how does our mind broaden to the possibility of beyond?) just really interesting. I think starting “searching for magic eels” on the back of this book really highlighted how much science is underestimated by those who think of science as fixed dry facts rather than a process. Alice’s audiobooks are very good and easy to listen to- my partner falls asleep to them, which is a happy peaceful thing and possibly not what Alice was after, but nonetheless in this household, high praise.

Tremendous overview of the prehistory of Britain and the discipline of archaeology. Very readable. The descriptions of the seven burials are used as a stepping-off point for discussions of, for example, the development of archaeology from a science that tried to reconcile itself with the Bible (including a recent flood), the different approaches to cultural change through 'invasion', and a well-done discussion of sex and gender in burials. Highly recommended.

So this was a great read. I didn't really have any expectations going into this and was pleasantly surprised by how accessible and compelling it was.

While I'm vaguely aware of what's involved, it was interesting to hear the process and how many disciplines are involved in putting together pieces of the past. Feels like being a forensic detective trying to solve a crime but, like, many thousands of years ago.

I think I will ensure I'm buried with some randomly selected grave goods so they'll have to find this review to explain why.