News 2020

Exotic Asian spices such as turmeric and fruits like the banana had already reached the Mediterranean more than 3000 years ago, much earlier than previously thought. A team of international researchers in Germany and the US has shown that even in the Bronze Age, long-distance trade in food was already connecting distant societies. (Press release of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich) more

Archaelogy Magazine has selected the study "Origin and health status of first-generation Africans from early colonial Mexico" as one of the ten most exciting archaeological research papers of 2020. more

Johannes Krause, Director at MPI-EVA and Acting Head of the Department of Archaeogenetics at MPI-SHH in an interview with Gert Scobel (ZDF) about the fact that races do not exist, the role that pandemics have played in human history - and what all this may have to do with the current pandemic. (Video in German) more

The Rise of Altai Mountain Pastoralism Project (RAMPP) will investigate the enigmatic Afanasievo culture in the Altai region and the spread of dairying and herding practices more

In a new study published in Cell, researchers seek to understand the genetic, sociopolitical and cultural changes surrounding the formation of the eastern Eurasian Steppe’s historic empires. The study analyzes genome-wide data for 214 ancient individuals spanning 6,000 years and discusses the genetic and cultural changes that preceded the rise of the Xiongnu and Mongol nomadic pastoralist empires. more

To what extent does climate impact human behavior? more

New research proves the feasibility of retrieving bacterial DNA from ancient latrines more

The award for outstanding research contributions and achievements concerning human origins and evolution will be presented on September 25, 2020 by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei more

August 14, 2020 - Bishop Peder Winstrup of Lund, Sweden passed away in the winter of 1679 at the age of 74 and was interred in a crypt at Lund Cathedral. Three centuries later, his astonishingly well-preserved remains provide insights to the origins of tuberculosis. more

August 13, 2020 - Press Release with the University of Zurich more

June 12, 2020 - Ancient DNA documents the population changes of foragers, herders and farmers in central and eastern Africa from the Neolithic to the Iron Age more

June 11, 2020 - Genomic analysis of plague victims from a mass burial in Lithuania identifies a medieval woman who was also infected with yaws – a disease today found only in the tropics more

June 04, 2020 - According to a new study, an international team of researchers from the Caribbean, Europe and North America, the Caribbean was settled by several successive population dispersals that originated on the American mainland. more

May 29, 2020 - Analyzing the first archaeogenetic data from the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Western Europe, a team of French and German researchers documents levels of admixture between expanding early Neolithic farmers and local hunter-gatherers seen nowhere else in Europe. more

Mai 28, 2020 - Archaeogenomic analysis of Anatolia, Northern Levant and the Southern Caucasus sheds light on population dynamics from the Neolithic to Bronze Age. more

May 20, 2020 - Newly sequenced genomes from prehistoric hunter-gatherers in the region of Lake Baikal reveal connections with First Americans and across Eurasia more

Apr. 30, 2020 - An interdisciplinary study into the origins and health status of three African skeletons unearthed in Mexico shows evidence of forced migration, physical trauma, and the introduction of infectious diseases from Africa. more

Genetic analysis of 96 ancient individuals traces the arrival and demographic structure of peoples with Steppe-related ancestry into late Neolithic, early Bronze Age Switzerland. more

Apr. 17, 2020 - CoproID Reliably Predicts Sources of Ancient Poop more

Apr. 3, 2020 - For her outstanding dissertation titled “Insights into microbial evolution and ecology from genetic analysis of diverse archaeological materials,” Dr. Susanna Sabin, 25, will be awarded the 2019 Dieter Rampacher Prize of the Max Planck Society. more

Febr. 24, 2020 - Scientists present the first ancient DNA that links the spread of farming culture in ancient Eurasia to the emergence of human-adapted pathogens more

Febr. 20, 2020 - Analysis of ancient DNA details the population history of the Italian island, providing new insight into its unique history and ancestral connections to other peoples of the Mediterranean more

Date: February 6, 2020
Location: MPI-SHH Jena
Room: Villa V14
Host: Department of Archaeogenetics

Jan 27, 2020 - HORIZON magazine’s Science in Society takes a close look at research by Professor Christina Warinner and the DAIRYCULTURES group at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, revealing how ancient dairy products can help us understand the rise in food intolerance and allergies more