Book excerpt: What happened to the ancient Egyptians? The Persians? The Romans? The Mayans? ARE WE THEIR DESCENDANTS? Recent genetic discoveries are uncovering surprising links between us and the peoples of old—links that rewrite race, ethnicity, and human history. Today’s Native Americans descend from Central Asians who arrived in the early A.D. era. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob still have clearly identifiable descendants, albeit rare ones. Every people group on earth can genetically trace their origins to Noah and his three sons.