'Ancestors' by Alice Roberts - Review

My mum and I were reading this book at the same time in interims because neither of us wanted to sacrifice it. Also, to persuade myself to put it down, I had to fall asleep with 'Digging for Britain' episodes in the background; so yes, I have been in a chokehold, and a new obsession is unlocked.

Alice Roberts strikes a balance between conversational and informative as she takes a reader through a history of prehistoric Britain using seven burial sites. She uncovers the history around them, and the individuals in them, and speculates what they mean about our past and future. Centralising the seven sites, Roberts isn't sparing with her extensive archaeological knowledge to reveal dialogue and debates around the sites and academic speculations around them. She covers the time and space between and around the sites, explaining what they tell us about the buried, and the people that occupied the earth alongside them. She also engages in a sort of Meta-Archaeology. Revealing the history of the archaeology of the sites, she tells of the developments in archaeological practices and knowledge over the more recent past. She unpacks previous conclusions on the sites and the people that discovered them originally. Through this, she shows us the far-reaching abilities and developments of modern archaeology.

Specific archaeological processes are revealed and walked through, such as analysing isotopes in the teeth to see the minerals in the water consumed, allowing knowledge of travel and location using different rock types. A reader understands the acute details of how conclusions are drawn about the people of the past. Roberts’ acute knowledge of human anatomy helps a reader to visualise and understand what the structure of bones and the body can indicate. How to analyse and make conclusions from the establishment of muscle attachments to bones, evidence of overwork in certain positions, or grip strength, is explained. She is aware that this knowledge is key to understanding her descriptions of, and conclusion on, the skeletons.

Roberts is also careful not to over-conclude. She often will point to the beautiful mysteries surrounding a burial site, hinting at the secrets only known by the people who last saw the grave many years ago. Informed speculations are worked through using her vast knowledge of burials and burial trends, but she involves herself in debates with her own dialogue. This allows a reader to understand the speculative and mysterious practice of archaeology, despite the expertise required of the occupation. A reader leaves the book feeling both informed and fulfilled but contemplative and pondering. Using what has been spared from decomposition, she conjures up imagery of clothing, secured with bone fasteners or metal belt loops to personalise an individual's last years and appearance as much as findings allow.

She also paints vivid pictures of the moments the graves were created and covered, such as pig bones that suggest a hog roast at the burial. Where grave goods are specifically placed within the grave indicates whether they were placed next to the body as personal items, or tossed in as final ceremonial gestures – creating an even more vivid picture of a moment through the capsule of the burials.

Magically, she draws an invisible thread between herself and the last person to place down grave goods. Holding pots in her hand, she expresses her wonder and this space-and-time-defying link with the mother or friend that last held it. This invisible thread is given to the reader, as her descriptions of location and finds, past and present, create a sense of presence in discovery, even in reading.

Amazing book.