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Photograph: David Naylor.
Center for the Human Past
Latest news
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New VR grants for Mattias Jakobsson and Carina Schlebusch
Read more →: New VR grants for Mattias Jakobsson and Carina SchlebuschSearching for sapiens-specific evolution Mattias Jakobsson receives new funding from the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet, VR) to “develop a statistical, machine-learning–based framework that jointly analyses genomes from archaic humans, ancient southern Africans, and present-day populations.” In the next four years, the project expects to identify genomic regions and biological pathways that evolved rapidly during the…
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RJ funds a new program, “From Milk to Mead – Indo-European Food Culture in Prehistory”, co-led by Jenny Larsson
Read more →: RJ funds a new program, “From Milk to Mead – Indo-European Food Culture in Prehistory”, co-led by Jenny LarssonRiksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ) is an independent foundation that supports research in the humanities and social sciences essential to understanding and addressing society’s current challenges, both nationally and globally. Through its funding, the foundation aims to promote basic research of the highest scientific quality. It also responds to the need for long-term, stable research funding. This…
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Complex maternal genetic landscape in the Koṅkaṇī population of India
Read more →: Complex maternal genetic landscape in the Koṅkaṇī population of IndiaSequeira, J. J., Kumar, L., van Driem, G., Thangaraj, K., & Mustak, M. S. (2026). Complex maternal genetic landscape in the Koṅkaṇī population of India. Heredity, 1-11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-026-00896-9 A new genetic study sheds light on the maternal ancestry and historical demographic dynamics of the Konkani population along the southwest coast of India. The research…
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Mattias Jakobsson receives an award from the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of Uppsala
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Read more →: Mattias Jakobsson receives an award from the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of UppsalaThe 2026 prize for an interdisciplinary achievement of outstanding quality is awarded to Mattias Jakobsson for his distinguished research into human origins and prehistory. By linking Stone Age genomic data with archaeology and linguistics, Jakobsson has shown that there were different populations that engaged in farming, and hunting and gathering. Read more about the Royal…
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Gut microbes that trace ancient human journeys
Read more →: Gut microbes that trace ancient human journeysThe newest piece in Nature’s News & Views, co-authored by our PI, Carina Schlebusch and Maja Vukovikj from Human Evolution Program at Uppsala University discusses the study by Carter et al. exploring what our gut microbiomes can tell us about human population history. Humans have never travelled alone. When our ancestors spread out of Africa…
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The unknown origins of humans on Swedish radio
Read more →: The unknown origins of humans on Swedish radioMattias Jakobsson was featured on Swedish Radio’s morning program (Förmiddag i P1) today, 29 Sept 2026. His conversation with Nicke Nordmark, the program leader, is available at: https://www.sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/manniskans-okanda-ursprung (in Swedish). They talked about Homo Sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovans and their coexistence; the unknown DNA in our genes; and the possibility that humans as we know…