Resequencing the Middle Ages through Archaeogenetics

Patrick J. Geary is Professor Emeritus of History at the Institute for Advanced Study and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at UCLA, USA. He is the author of fifteen books and many articles and edited volumes.

• List of Illustrations Introduction: The Genetic RevolutionChapter One: The Dangerous Legacy of Racialized HistoryChapter Two: Genetic Data as Historical DataChapter Three: Making Sense of Genomic DataChapter Four: Ancient DNA and the Early Medieval TransitionConclusionNotes BibliographyIndex

Resequencing the Middle Ages is an excellent and accessible introduction to the use of ancient genomic data for historical research. Suitably critical and reflective about the research process, the book helpfully lifts the lid on how genomic data are actually produced and what they can and cannot tell us, demystifying a field that scholars of various fields have too often approached with either uncritical enthusiasm or blanket suspicion. The book synthesises many of the fine-grained population histories across Europe in the late antique and early medieval periods that have been published in recent years into a coherent narrative, showing just what a contribution genomic data can make. Essential reading for historians and archaeologists working in this period or grappling with what the genomic turn means for their disciplines.