<TitleType>01</TitleType> <TitleText>The Molecule Hunt</TitleText> <Subtitle>Archeaology and the Search for Ancient DNA</Subtitle>

Arcade Publishing 20100903 eng

GCDS-9781559706117 03 01 Arcade Publishing 01 GCOI 55970100966790 02 1559706112 03 9781559706117 15 9781559706117 BB <TitleType>01</TitleType> <TitleText>The Molecule Hunt</TitleText> <Subtitle>Archeaology and the Search for Ancient DNA</Subtitle> 1 A01 Martin Jones Martin Jones has been a leader in bio-archaeological research for twenty-five years. He is the George Pitt-Rivers Professor of Archaeological Science at Cambridge University and was chairman of the five-year International Ancient Bio-molecule Initiative. He lives in Cambridge, England. 01 eng 02 eng 272 01 In The Molecule Hunt,a leading expert at the forefront of bio-archeology--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.A revolution is underway in archeology. 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 bio-molecules in human skeletons, sediments and fossilized plants, dinosaur bones, and insects trapped in amber. Their amazing discoveries have influenced the archeological debate at almost every level and continue to reshape our understanding of the past.Devising a molecular clock from a certain area of DNA, scientists were able to determine that all humans descend from one common female ancestor, dubbed "The Mitochondrial Eve," who lived around 150,000 years ago. Extracting DNA from Neanderthal bones, they used the same clock to measure how closely we are related to the Neanderthals. Employing different techniques on other molecules recovered from grinding stones and potsherds, they have been able to reconstruct ancient diets and posit when such practices as dairying and boiling water for cooking began. From the traces of blood proteins on an arrowhead, they can identify its animal source and the prey of the long-dead hunter. They have reconstituted the beer left in the burial chamber of pharaohs and know what the Iceman, the 5,000-year-old hunter found in the Alps several years ago, ate before his last journey. They have not only revised the date for when the first humans crossed the Aleutian land-bridge to America but also have determined what fellow creatures, both domesticated and bacterial, must have accompanied them.The cracking of the genetic code has opened a whole new window on the past for archeologists. Here, told from the vantage of a pioneer in the field, is the first comprehensive account of the major breakthroughs in bio-archeology for the last quarter century. Conveying both the excitement of innovative research and the sometimes bruising rough-and-tumble of scientific debate, Martin Jones has written a work of profound importance. The Molecule Huntis science at its most engaging. 02 A leading expert at the forefront of bio-archaeology--the discipline that gave Michael Crichton the premise for Jurassic Park--explains how this science is rewriting history and unlocking stories of the past that could never have been told before. 08 An engaging and well-written account of the scientific underpinnings that inspired Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park . . .Thanks to elegant prose and a straightforward approach, the "hard science" in this tale of bio-archaeology's coming of age remains well within the grasp of the layman. Kirkus Reviews 08 [Jones] presents science as a detective story, and the spirit of discovery he and his group manifest when analyzing a fossilized seed or piece of rice is infectious. . . . Sans reanimated dinosaurs or Neanderthals, Jones makes ancient history less fictional and really no less fantastic. Will Hickman Booklist 08 The Molecule Huntis an amazing and informed glimpse into how the disciplines and technologies of science can connect ancient mysteries with modern marvels. . . . [It] is a serious, authoritative, highly accessible introduction for the non-specialist reader. Wisconsin Bookwatch 08 This book represents the first comprehensive account of the major breakthroughs in bio-archaeology for the last quarter century. Conveying the excitement of innovative research and the sometimes bruising rough-and-tumble of scientific debate, Martin Jones has written a work of profound importance. The Molecule Huntis science at its most engaging. Popular-Science.net 08 Professor Jones's book will stimulate the interest of anyone with even the slightest interest in the distant human past. Anthony Daniels London Sunday Telegraph 08 Jones writes with clarity and marvelous control, and with elegance and wit. He thus makes his detailed account of bio-archaeology very readable, palatably delivering a great deal of important science . . . and large helpings of brilliance. A.C. Grayling Financial Times 08 The Molecule Huntis a mine of information about a fascinating and relatively new field of scientific enquiry. . . . You should come away enlightened and inspired. The Guardian 08 Over the last twenty years or so archaeologists and molecular biologists have been focusing their combined skills on human origins and the fast-changing lives of our ancestors. In The Molecule Hunt,Martin Jones brings together, for the first time, the story of the spectacular achievements of a generation of scientists from around the world. It is a story told with all the enthusiasm of one who has been among the pioneers. The birth of molecule archaeology is a scientific revolution that is transforming our concepts of the past. Barry Cunliffe, author of The Ancient Celts 08 Refreshing and lively . . . Martin Jones captures the flavor of the chase and the enthusiasm of the researcher using some of the remarkable new techniques now available for the investigation of the remote human past. Colin Renfrew, Director, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and Disney Professor of Archaeology, Cambridge University 08 A century ago, an earlier generation of archaeologists focused their eyes on objects the size of the Pyramids of Giza, or the Parthenon of Athens. Half a century ago, they began to focus on carbonized grains of wheat. In the twenty-first century, as this fascinating book by Martin Jones makes clear, archaeologists will learn a lot by focusing on molecules. Kent B. Flannery, James B. Griffin Professor of Anthropological Archaeology, University of Michigan 08 Do you want to understand where we came from, DNA, and the perils of being large? Or find out if you really are what you eat? If the answer is yes, then The Molecule Huntis a must. Julian Richards, BBC 08 In The Molecule Hunt,Martin Jones, an expert in bioarchaeology, provides an intriguing explanation of how the discipline has evolved and its particular worldview in dealing with discoveries on the molecular level. . . . The Molecule Hunteffectively tells how a new scientific field has evolved in recent times. Bookwatch 08 A comprehensive review. Archaeology Magazine 08 Jones' recounting of the unraveling tale of the ripening of this new field of science reads like a good piece of detective fiction. . . . Conveying both the excitement of innovative research and the sometimes bruising rough-and-tumble of scientific debate, Martin Jones has written a work of profound importance. The Molecule Hunt is science at its most engaging. Biology Digest 08 The Molecule Hunt is a modern book that examines new scientific techniques in DNA research. Fossil News 04 02 72 01 http://www.arcadepub.com/resources/titles/55970100966790/images/55970100966790L.gif 07 02 72 01 http://www.arcadepub.com/resources/titles/55970100966790/images/55970100966790S.gif http://www.arcadepub.com/book/?GCOI=55970100966790 01 Arcade Publishing http://www.arcadepub.com 04 Penguin UK US 04 20020501 Arcade Publishing 01 IP 01 25.95 USD