Did you know that each of us can count Charlemagne among our ancestors? That Neanderthals are by no means a separate species, that genetically speaking, such a thing as race does not exist, and that redheads, despite all the doomsaying, will not go extinct? Where do we come from? What is humanity? Since the genome, the complete set of human genetic material, has been sequenced hundreds of thousands of times, genetic research is conquering more and more fields. The latest development: because our genome also encodes the evolution of our species, geneticists are now writing human history alongside archaeologists and historians. They have made surprising discoveries. And much of yesterday's knowledge has turned out to be myth, especially since the genetic material of very old bone finds can now also be "brought to life." A science read for everyone.