Ancestors
A Prehistory of Britain in Seven Burials
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $33.85
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Alice Roberts
-
Written by:
-
Alice Roberts
About this listen
‘This is a terrific, timely and transporting book - taking us heart, body and mind beyond history, to the fascinating truth of the prehistoric past and the present’ Bettany Hughes
We often think of Britain springing from nowhere with the arrival of the Romans. But in Ancestors, pre-eminent archaeologist, broadcaster and academic Professor Alice Roberts explores what we can learn about the very earliest Britons, from burial sites and by using new technology to analyse ancient DNA.
Told through seven fascinating burial sites, this groundbreaking prehistory of Britain teaches us more about ourselves and our history: how people came and went and how we came to be on this island. It explores forgotten journeys and memories of migrations long ago, written into genes and preserved in the ground for thousands of years.
This is a book about belonging: about walking in ancient places, in the footsteps of the ancestors. It explores our interconnected global ancestry, and the human experience that binds us all together. It’s about reaching back in time, to find ourselves, and our place in the world.
CRYPT, THE FINAL BOOK IN ALICE ROBERTS' BRILLIANT TRILOGY, IS OUT NOW.
©2021 Alice Roberts (P)2021 Simon & Schuster UK
You may also enjoy...
-
Crypt
- Life, Death and Disease in the Middle Ages and Beyond
- Written by: Alice Roberts
- Narrated by: Alice Roberts
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her previous two bestsellers, Professor Alice Roberts has powerfully and evocatively revived people of the past through examining their burial rites, bringing a fresh perspective on how they lived. In Crypt, Professor Roberts tells the story of modern Britain from 1066 to the present day - by exploring changing methods of honouring the dead.
Written by: Alice Roberts
-
Kindred
- Written by: Rebecca Wragg Sykes
- Narrated by: Rebecca Wragg Sykes
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Kindred, Neanderthal expert Becky Wragg Sykes shoves aside the cliché of the shivering ragged figure in an icy wasteland and reveals the Neanderthal you don’t know, who lived across vast and diverse tracts of Eurasia and survived through hundreds of thousands of years of massive climate change. Using a thematic rather than chronological approach, this book will shed new light on where they lived, what they ate and the increasingly complex Neanderthal culture that is being discovered.
-
-
Thought-provoking, riveting book
- By cellarpat on 2021-01-09
Written by: Rebecca Wragg Sykes
-
The Rise and Reign of the Mammals
- A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us
- Written by: Steve Brusatte
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We humans are the inheritors of a dynasty that has reigned over the planet for nearly 66 million years, through fiery cataclysm and ice ages: the mammals. Our lineage includes saber-toothed tigers, woolly mammoths, armadillos the size of a car, cave bears three times the weight of a grizzly, clever scurriers that outlasted Tyrannosaurus rex, and even other types of humans, like Neanderthals.
-
-
Excellent Follow Up That Stands On It’s Own
- By Sebastian on 2022-07-12
Written by: Steve Brusatte
-
The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being
- Evolution and the Making of Us
- Written by: Dr Alice Roberts
- Narrated by: Dr Alice Roberts
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice Roberts uses the latest research to uncover the evolutionary history hidden in all of us, from the secrets found only in our embryos and genes - including why as embryos we have what look like gills - to those visible in your anatomy. This is a tale of discovery, exploring why and how we have developed as we have. This is your story, told as never before.
Written by: Dr Alice Roberts
-
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England
- A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
- Written by: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Imagine you could travel back to the 14th century. What would you see? What would you smell? More to the point, where are you going to stay? And what are you going to eat? Ian Mortimer shows us that the past is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived. He sets out to explain what life was like in the most immediate way, through taking you to the Middle Ages. The result is the most astonishing social history book you are ever likely to read: evolutionary in its concept, informative and entertaining in its detail.
-
-
With ease didst i survive thanks to thy most excellent guide!
- By Liam on 2020-12-03
Written by: Ian Mortimer
-
A Short History of Humanity
- A New History of Old Europe
- Written by: Johannes Krause, Thomas Trappe, Caroline Waight - translator
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Johannes Krause is the director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and a brilliant pioneer in the field of archaeogenetics - archaeology augmented by DNA sequencing technology - which has allowed scientists to reconstruct human history reaching back hundreds of thousands of years before recorded time. In this surprising account, Krause and journalist Thomas Trappe rewrite a fascinating chapter of this history, the peopling of Europe, that takes us from the Neanderthals and Denisovans to the present.
-
-
archeogenetics changes everything
- By Jesse Bongfeldt on 2022-11-10
Written by: Johannes Krause, and others
-
Crypt
- Life, Death and Disease in the Middle Ages and Beyond
- Written by: Alice Roberts
- Narrated by: Alice Roberts
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her previous two bestsellers, Professor Alice Roberts has powerfully and evocatively revived people of the past through examining their burial rites, bringing a fresh perspective on how they lived. In Crypt, Professor Roberts tells the story of modern Britain from 1066 to the present day - by exploring changing methods of honouring the dead.
Written by: Alice Roberts
-
Kindred
- Written by: Rebecca Wragg Sykes
- Narrated by: Rebecca Wragg Sykes
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Kindred, Neanderthal expert Becky Wragg Sykes shoves aside the cliché of the shivering ragged figure in an icy wasteland and reveals the Neanderthal you don’t know, who lived across vast and diverse tracts of Eurasia and survived through hundreds of thousands of years of massive climate change. Using a thematic rather than chronological approach, this book will shed new light on where they lived, what they ate and the increasingly complex Neanderthal culture that is being discovered.
-
-
Thought-provoking, riveting book
- By cellarpat on 2021-01-09
Written by: Rebecca Wragg Sykes
-
The Rise and Reign of the Mammals
- A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us
- Written by: Steve Brusatte
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We humans are the inheritors of a dynasty that has reigned over the planet for nearly 66 million years, through fiery cataclysm and ice ages: the mammals. Our lineage includes saber-toothed tigers, woolly mammoths, armadillos the size of a car, cave bears three times the weight of a grizzly, clever scurriers that outlasted Tyrannosaurus rex, and even other types of humans, like Neanderthals.
-
-
Excellent Follow Up That Stands On It’s Own
- By Sebastian on 2022-07-12
Written by: Steve Brusatte
-
The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being
- Evolution and the Making of Us
- Written by: Dr Alice Roberts
- Narrated by: Dr Alice Roberts
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice Roberts uses the latest research to uncover the evolutionary history hidden in all of us, from the secrets found only in our embryos and genes - including why as embryos we have what look like gills - to those visible in your anatomy. This is a tale of discovery, exploring why and how we have developed as we have. This is your story, told as never before.
Written by: Dr Alice Roberts
-
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England
- A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
- Written by: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Imagine you could travel back to the 14th century. What would you see? What would you smell? More to the point, where are you going to stay? And what are you going to eat? Ian Mortimer shows us that the past is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived. He sets out to explain what life was like in the most immediate way, through taking you to the Middle Ages. The result is the most astonishing social history book you are ever likely to read: evolutionary in its concept, informative and entertaining in its detail.
-
-
With ease didst i survive thanks to thy most excellent guide!
- By Liam on 2020-12-03
Written by: Ian Mortimer
-
A Short History of Humanity
- A New History of Old Europe
- Written by: Johannes Krause, Thomas Trappe, Caroline Waight - translator
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Johannes Krause is the director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and a brilliant pioneer in the field of archaeogenetics - archaeology augmented by DNA sequencing technology - which has allowed scientists to reconstruct human history reaching back hundreds of thousands of years before recorded time. In this surprising account, Krause and journalist Thomas Trappe rewrite a fascinating chapter of this history, the peopling of Europe, that takes us from the Neanderthals and Denisovans to the present.
-
-
archeogenetics changes everything
- By Jesse Bongfeldt on 2022-11-10
Written by: Johannes Krause, and others
What the critics say
What listeners say about Ancestors
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2022-08-15
Fascinating overview
I'm a Time Team fan and wanted to take a look at Alice Robert's book. I really enjoyed the format, she takes a chronological approach to different burials found in Britain throughout the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. She also discusses how archeological approaches have changed over time and the importance of being aware of bias even if it can't entirely be removed.
I'd recommend for anyone interested in these subjects; I certainly want to read more from her!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Aimee Bailey
- 2023-05-09
Fantastic
Overall it was a fantastic read. The scope is more narrow than most anthropological books I’ve listened to but very interesting, there is a lot of detail and explanation. The book also had great narration!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anastasia
- 2024-05-09
Excellent!!!
This lady is the real deal. She is knowledgeable and friendly and I think she can explain anything.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!