The Molecule Hunt

A revolution is underway in archaeology. For the first time the molecular record of past life, emtombed for millennia in archaeological and geological material, has become widely accessible to science. Miraculous-seeming techniques now allow ancient remains to speak volumes about a past we thought lost. Working at the cutting edge of genetic and other molecular technologies, researchers have been probing the remains of the building blocks of life - DNA, proteins and fats - in sediments, fossilized plants and ancient animal remains, including human skeletons, sacrificial llamas, dinosaur bones and 26-million-year-old insects preserved in amber. The faint traces on the tip of an ancient arrowhead are now enough to reveal its intended prey. Molecular signatures abound on primitive tools and in prehistoric bodies: from the arrow's tip to the cooking pot, from the remains of an ancient meal to the hair, flesh, teeth and bones of our ancestors. As a result many stories about our history have been rewritten, and others narrated for the first time. How different are we from the Neanderthals? Who first domesticated wild horses and who were history's first farmers?
When was cabbage first boiled, and who milked the first cow? How far did ancient people travel, and how were strangers received? How did humans first get to the New World, and what animals and diseases did they bring with them? Who first tackled the vast ocean journeys to remote Pacific islands? What were the rules of marriage in pre-history? How far back in time have our ancestors been plagued with terrible episodes like the Black Death? For 25 years, Martin Jones's work has involved shifting the emphasis within archaeology from inert material objects to fragments of the living, breathing past. "The Molecule Hunt" uses Jones's perspective at the forefront of bio-archaeology to show how pioneering science is rewriting human history.