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Our colleague, Axel Palmér has just published a book Indo-Slavic Lexical Isoglosses and the Prehistoric Dispersal of Indo-Iranian. Axel I. Palmér, Ph.D. (2024, Leiden University), is currently a Human Past Junior Fellow at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS) in Uppsala, Sweden. His research focuses on the origin and development of the Indo-European languages…
In response to the article The genetic origins of the Indo-Europeans, recently published in Nature, Jenny Larsson was one of the researchers interviewed by the popular science magazine Forskning & Framsteg. The text, Den Indoeuropeiska språkgåtan kan vara löst, based on the interviews, is available to the subscribers (in Swedish). Genetic researchers have cracked a…
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Abstract Ilin Island, located off the southern coast of Mindoro, possesses favourable geological features, such as numerous caves and rock shelters, that enhance the preservation of archaeological materials. Recent surveys and excavations have revealed a complex settlement history, highlighting the adaptive strategies of human populations in response to climatic and environmental fluctuations. Evidence includes a…
The Fellowships are a joint initiative of the Center for the Human Past (CHP) and the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS). Deadline for applications: 2 June 2025. The fellowship aims to attract researchers interested in the human past, combining methods and materials from different disciplines. The primary focus is research on three major migration…
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Joshua Akey, Professor, Lewis-Sigler Institute, Princeton University, USA, and Carina Schlebusch, Professor, Human Evolution, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Sweden, are the Editors-in-Chief. The Human Population Genetics and Genomics Journal (HPGG; ISSN 2770-5005) is an international peer-reviewed Open Access journal published quarterly by Pivot Science Publications. This journal aims to publish discoveries and recent breakthroughs…
The new paper by Fortes-Lima, Diallo, Janoušek, Černý, and Schlebusch (2025) was published last week in The American Journal of Human Genetics. Researchers have uncovered the origins and genetic diversity of the Fulani, one of Africa’s largest pastoral populations. The study reveals a complex genetic ancestry with influences from North and West Africa, shaped by historical migrations that have left a…
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Mehmet Somel is a professor of biology at the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, and the Human Past Senior Fellow 2024-25. The abstract will follow.
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Abstract Mehmet Somel will present some recent results on the first steps of the Neolithic expansion westward, “out-of-Anatolia”. For this study, his group generated 30 new paleogenomes from six settlements in West and Central Anatolia dating to c.10,000-8,000 years ago. The researchers further compiled a digitalized material culture dataset comprising 58 cultural elements, from architecture…
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Carina’s project, “Prehistoric DNA reveals the spread of agriculture,” will continue thanks to the prolonged Knut and Alice Wallenberg Academy grant. Carina Schlebusch is analyzing the DNA of prehistoric farmers from different parts of Africa to map how cultivation and herding technology spread south of the Sahara. According to Carina, “Genetics is a fantastic tool…
Wellcome Connecting Science is the organizer of the conference, with Carina Schlebusch in the scientific programme committee. It’s mission is to enable everyone to explore genomic science and its impact on research, health and society. Recent archaeological and palaeontological discoveries and the application of genomic analysis are reshaping the understanding of human evolution and history.…