The Problematic Role of DNA Testing in Unraveling Human History

Authors

John L. Sorenson

Keywords

Book of Mormon, Criticism, DNA

Abstract

Over the last century, new techniques of scientific analysis have been developed that have been applied with the intent to clarify the course of human history. Immediately after World War II, blood group data seemed to provide a magic key to open up the history of the world’s populations, but by the 1960s such studies were shown to be unrealistic and misleading. The new tool in human biology and anthropology is DNA analysis. Despite cautions from the best scientists about the limits the new findings have for interpreting human history, some enthusiasts continue to claim too much for DNA study.

BYU ScholarsArchive Citation

Sorenson, John L. (2000) "The Problematic Role of DNA Testing in Unraveling Human History," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies: Vol. 9: No. 2, Article 11.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol9/iss2/11