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Talks of the Past (ToP) Open Seminar, Nov 6th, 2024: New linguistic and archaeogenomic perspectives on the origin and spread of the Germanic languages, speaker Guus Kroonen

Blåsenhus, UU, lärosal 21:136 von Kraemers allé 1, Uppsala, Sweden

Synopsis The Germanic languages, including English, German and the Nordic languages, are widely assumed to have dispersed from Southern Scandinavia after the Pre-Roman Iron Age. However, the demographic processes behind their diversification are not yet fully understood. In addition, it is currently not known when and from where the Germanic language group arrived in Scandinavia. […]

Carina Schlebusch inaugural lecture: “Mapping Human History through African Genetics”

Lecture Hall IX, Uppsala University Main Building Biskopsgatan 3, Uppsala, Sweden

“In my research I use genetics as a tool to investigate human history. My special interest and expertise in the population history of Africa allow me the opportunity to investigate both recent population movements, associated with farming, as well as deep human history, which is rooted in Africa. My research group is positioned in the Human […]

Talks of the Past (ToP) Open Seminar, Dec 4th, 2024: The Language Families of the World: Current State and Future Perspectives, speaker Harald Hammarström

Blåsenhus, UU, lärosal 21:136 von Kraemers allé 1, Uppsala, Sweden

Abstract The approximately 7,000 languages of the world is currently divided into no less than 422 lineages (= families + isolates) by the orthodox evidential criteria of Glottolog (glottolog.org). Should we believe this number?  To what extent is it subjective, consistent in meta-properties and dependent on the amount of research and documentation? The time-depth of […]

Talks of the Past (ToP) Open Seminar, 5th Feb, 2025: 6000 years of ancient foodways in NE Baltics: biomolecular methods and social implications, speaker Ester Oras

Blåsenhus, UU, lärosal 13:028 (plan 1)

Abstract Biomolecular archaeology has taken a leading role in ancient dietary reconstructions. The molecular- and isotopic-level information gained from ancient skeletal remains and pottery can reveal a more cohesive but also nuanced picture of past foodways, thanks to its higher-resolution analytical capacities in terms of both obtained information and context-specific interpretations. This talk will exemplify […]

Talks of the Past (ToP) Open Seminar, 5th Mar, 2025: Prehistoric plant DNA and the agricultural history of the Canary Islands, speaker Jenny Hagenblad

Blåsenhus, UU, lärosal 13:028 (plan 1)

Abstract The intimate relationship between humans and crop plants means that traces of human cultural practices become embedded in the crop genome. Aspects of past cultures not documented in written records can consequently be studied with genetic analyses of archaeological crop remains. Such analyses, however, come with their own particular set of challenges, not the […]

Talks of the Past (ToP) Open Seminar, 2nd Apr, 2025 – speaker Outi Vesakoski

Blåsenhus, UU, lärosal 13:028 (plan 1)

Outi Vesakoski is an associate professor of Finnish, Finno-Ugric, and Scandinavian languages at the University of Turku, Finland. She is also a vice-director of the Human Diversity Consortium. Areas of expertise BEDLAN, Evolutionary ecology, Environmental (cultural) adaptations, Language evolution, Cultural evolution, Genetic evolution, Human past studies, Human diversity Finnish dialects, Lauri Kettunen, Uralic language speaker area, UraLex – Uralic basic vocabulary, UraTyp – Uralic typological […]

Talks of the Past (ToP) Open Seminar, 7th May, 2025 – speaker Mehmet Somel

Blåsenhus, UU, lärosal 13:028 (plan 1)

Mehmet Somel is a professor of biology at the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, and the Human Past Senior Fellow 2024-25. He will deliver the ToP seminar on his current research project. You can read about the fellowship projects here. The title and abstract will follow.