My European Family: the first 54,000 years - Karin Bojs

Set as a personal genealogy explored through a DNA history of Europe from the Neolithic period.  (The personal setting doesn't sit so well with the scientific basis, in my mind anyway.  Would have been better as a straight out popular science book.)
Brings up a number of interesting points about European history and also about archaeology as a discipline.
First, DNA evidence seems to indicate that farming was carried into the whole of Europe by immigrants from modern day Syria and Turkey ie.  the place where farming seems to have originated.  Early farmers have radically different DNA from the local hunters and gatherers in the period where farming first moved into areas in Europe.  Later, the groups seem to have mixed as the hunters moved into the farming communities.

Many people carry a small amount of Neanderthal DNA, so Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon people mated in some way.  The fact that so many carry a small part of this DNA would indicate that the early mixed individuals had a better survival rate than those without the Neanderthal DNA.  Perhaps some adaptation to cold climates, as the Neanderthals had been living in this kind of environment for millennia.

Every living human being's mitochondrial DNA comes from a single female way back in history! Apparently, at some point we almost died out as a species?

There were several waves of immigration into Europe from Africa, but only two waves seemed to have been able to survive in the long run, the Neanderthal and the Cro-Magnon.

Europe's population was formed by essentially three waves of immigration - two from Africa, and a last one from Central Asia during the Iron Age.

DNA analysis has upset a lot of theories about social development and migration that have been developed over the years.  Many older archaeologists couldn't accept the validity of DNA-based information as it blew their pet theories and their careers out of the water.  So much for disinterested science.  Some also seem to have objected to the DNA-based conclusions on essentially racist grounds. (There is no such thing as 'disinterested' thinking....)

Worth reading for the nice summary of current DNA research in archaeology.

1177 B.C. - The Year Civilization Collapsed - Eric H. Cline

An interesting overview of the late Bronze age and the mysterious collapse of most of the powerful Bronze Age civilizations/states over a relatively short period of time - Cyprus, Minoans, Mycenae, Hittites, Mitanni.  Egypt struggled, but managed to hang on.   This book is essentially an overview of what is known about the last stages and final collapse of each of these civilizations.  At the time, they created a tightly woven set of interdependent centres, trading food and other essentials (especially tin and other metals used for the creation of weapons) as well as luxury goods for the elites.   They all used some form of writing for record-keeping, for letters and other communication both for government and for business - in fact, Akkadian was the Latin or English of the day.Within a hundred year period though, all of them collapsed, followed by a 300 to 400 year period of reorganization and renewal or establishment of new centres and cultures.

Cline also provides an overview of the various causes that have been considered by various academics.  His conclusion is that the collapse was caused by the interaction of several factors over time.  Earthquakes - the whole area was shaken by numerous earthquakes over a period of several decades, and "earthquake storm", which destroyed several key cities.  Climate change - around 1177 B.C. the whole Mediterranean basin seems to have entered a drier period, which would have lowered ground water and affected agriculture.  Internal revolts - in some places, the elites and power centres within cities seem to have been destroyed.  This may have been related to famine and economic hardship.  Economic disruption - as these centres had developed a highly interdependent economic trade system, disruptions in one part could have serious economic effects on other centres, especially the centres that relied largely on trade for their economy - leading to rebellions also.  Warfare - there is some sign of invasion and destruction of some major centres by marauding bands, perhaps pushed to migrate by drought or economic failure.  These sites are usually not resettled after the destruction.

After this period of collapse, writing systems seem to have fallen out of use, states became much smaller, and economic activity more local and more limited.  As the author points out, this is a pattern that repeats itself in history in every part of the world where large empires come and go.  Interesting to think of ourselves in this cycle...