Human Past Interdisciplinary Retreat – Impressions


The primary purpose of the retreat was to strengthen collaboration between geneticists, archaeologists and linguists in exploring the last 10,000 years of human history. The retreat, networking and team-building event at Sigtuna Stiftelsen offered an opportunity to learn about each other’s research through presentations and discussions and to lay the groundwork for future joint projects.
The day plan included short talks, ample time for discussion in between, and group work on designing joint interdisciplinary projects.

The registered participants were tasked to deliver research questions they were interested in but could not answer without input from other disciplines. These questions provided a starting point for the discussions and group work.

Thank you all for attending!


  • Mattias Jakobsson receives an award from the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of Uppsala

    Mattias Jakobsson receives an award from the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of Uppsala

    The 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…

  • Gut microbes that trace ancient human journeys

    Gut microbes that trace ancient human journeys

    The 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…

  • The unknown origins of humans on Swedish radio

    Mattias 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…