Angela
Elite member
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- 21,823
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- Ethnic group
- Italian
John Hawks has written a review about Reich's book.
See:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/who-we-are-and-how-we-got-here-review-ghosts-in-the-genome-1523399111
Frankly, I think it's much ado about nothing. Reich could have been more diplomatic about the hesitancy of indigenous people to give permission for some of these remains to be used, but honestly, we're talking about an ear bone! How are we forgetting about the humanity of this individual human being by grinding up a small piece of his ear. I think we're honoring it. We'll learn far more about him and about our shared humanity from analyzing it in this way than by putting it on a shelf and looking at it the way physical anthropologists do.
Obviously, I think we should treat the remains with respect and dignity. I mentioned on this thread that I didn't like the way Zink was handling the remains of Oetzi and the way he spoke about him.
The only thing with which I agree is that David Reich is very naive about how "political", and yes, agenda driven some people are about these remains and any potential results. He thinks most people are objective or try to be, but he's wrong about that. He gives them too much credit.
See:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/who-we-are-and-how-we-got-here-review-ghosts-in-the-genome-1523399111
Frankly, I think it's much ado about nothing. Reich could have been more diplomatic about the hesitancy of indigenous people to give permission for some of these remains to be used, but honestly, we're talking about an ear bone! How are we forgetting about the humanity of this individual human being by grinding up a small piece of his ear. I think we're honoring it. We'll learn far more about him and about our shared humanity from analyzing it in this way than by putting it on a shelf and looking at it the way physical anthropologists do.
Obviously, I think we should treat the remains with respect and dignity. I mentioned on this thread that I didn't like the way Zink was handling the remains of Oetzi and the way he spoke about him.
The only thing with which I agree is that David Reich is very naive about how "political", and yes, agenda driven some people are about these remains and any potential results. He thinks most people are objective or try to be, but he's wrong about that. He gives them too much credit.