Harvard geneticist: No population’s DNA is ‘pure’
Examination of ancient DNA can provide profound insights into human history, according to David Reich, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School. His talk at the Science Center on Wednesday, “A Tale of Two Subcontinents: The Parallel Prehistories of Europe and South Asia,” was drawn from his new book, “Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past,” showing what recent studies have revealed about the prehistory of Europe and southern Asia. Reich “reshaped our understanding of human prehistory,” according to a New York Times profile last year, with the publication of DNA from the genomes of 938 ancient humans — more than all other research teams working in the field combined. This research, the story noted, has shed light on the spread of agriculture and the peopling of the planet. Reich began his lecture by explaining how his work is done: With...