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The Inner Asian gap: the Afanasievo breakthrough permlink
If you read this weblog you are aware that I have a fascination with the intersection of human history and human evolutionary genetics. There are many questions I have about the finding from evolutionary genomic studies that light skin evolved...Posted on April 25, 2008 11:02 PM • 7 Comments
The pagan Reformation permlink
I read Christmas: A Candid History walking home last night. It's a small compact book so walking and reading works well. In any case, there was some surprising information here. The basic outline that Christmas, as we understand it, is...Posted on March 18, 2008 2:34 PM • 10 Comments
Pygmy & Bantu ethnogenesis in Central Africa permlink
A few weeks ago, I posted some stuff about what genetics an tell us about the Slavic expansion into the lands of Finno-Ugric tribes. Obviously, I don't think this is a line of inquiry is specific to that situation; and...Posted on January 26, 2008 10:16 AM • 3 Comments
Must read book! permlink
Genes, Culture, and Human Evolution: A Synthesis, Linda Stone, Paul F. Lurquin and L. L. Cavalli-Sforza....Posted on January 22, 2008 3:37 AM • 1 Comments
Overturning assumptions: why genes matter in history permlink
Martin had a comment below: You equate language groups with ethnic, even political, groups. That's quite a stretch. Western archaeologists abandoned that idea in the 1970s. I think I should expand a bit on my comment where I address Martin's...Posted on January 11, 2008 6:20 PM • 5 Comments
Russia is all about location permlink
My post which sketched out the model of Slavic expansion northeast into the lands of the Finnic peoples generated a fair number of comments. I tend to agree with those who suggest that Slavic access to more efficient or superior...Posted on January 11, 2008 7:57 AM • 16 Comments
From where came the Slavs? permlink
In my previous post I contended that biology is an important causal factor to keep in mind when we model the behavioral ecology (a.k.a., history) of H. sapiens. A separate, but complementary, tack is to use genetic data to supplement...Posted on January 9, 2008 7:19 PM • 16 Comments
A germ's eye view of history permlink
When I was a teenager I read William H. McNeill's Plagues and Peoples, an attempt to sketch out a brief history of the world shaped by the parameter of disease (I also recommend The Human Web: A Bird's-Eye View of...Posted on January 9, 2008 5:28 AM • 17 Comments
When the Norse ditched Greenland permlink
The Christian Science Monitor has a nice piece highlighting the role of forensic anthropologists in exploring the question of the fate of the Norse of Greenland: "You don't find bodies in and around the ruins," says William Fitzhugh, director of...Posted on January 5, 2008 4:00 PM • 2 Comments
Tocharians within the last 6,000 years? permlink
From Different Matrilineal Contributions to Genetic Structure of Ethnic Groups in the Silk Road Region in China: Although our samples were from the same geographic location, a decreasing tendency of the western Eurasian-specific haplogroup frequency was observed, with the highest...Posted on December 23, 2007 6:11 AM • 2 Comments
10 questions for Greg Clark permlink
Over at my other blog Herrick posts a response to 10 questions for Gregory Clark. Clark is an economic historian whose most recent book Farwell to Alms is making a splash. I read the book recently, but because I'm not...Posted on August 28, 2007 6:02 PM • 3 Comments
Who were the ancient Hungarians? permlink
We know that the Magyars originated from Inner Eurasia. They were one of the long line of steppe peoples who conquered and settled central Europe, the Avars being their local predecessors. But unlike the Avars, or the Bulgars or the...Posted on July 18, 2007 1:24 PM • 2 Comments
Lydians & Etruscans permlink
In response to the Etruscan story comments like this keep popping up: The articles in the press keep mentioning the Etruscans coming from Lydia. Lydian was an indo-european language. So, although there may be a linguistic link to Lemnos and...Posted on June 19, 2007 5:49 PM • 6 Comments
The fall of Rome permlink
I have a review up over at my other weblog of the book The Fall of Rome: And the End of Civilization....Posted on April 18, 2007 1:31 PM • 0 Comments
Historical perspective permlink
I'm reading The Fall of the Roman Empire by Peter Heather. Most people know I'm a classical history buff (e.g., I've read a fair number of the late Michael Grant's works). Now, one thing that always strikes is this: 2,000...Posted on December 24, 2006 12:57 PM • 14 Comments
Look to Westphalia, yo! permlink
Ali is talking about Andrew Sullivan using his "30 years War:Sunni vs. Shia, etc., in Iraq" analogy. All the talk is cool, but there's a serious problem with the analogy: no one knows anything about the 30 Years War! You...Posted on December 15, 2006 2:32 PM • 11 Comments
