Institut Jacques Monod Seminar – Beniamino Trombetta

Invited by the Guichet Lab, Beniamino Trombetta will present an Institut Jacques Monod seminar on the theme:

Ancient DNA: techniques, data, and new perspectives on human biological and cultural evolution

Abstract:

Over the past decade, the fields of genomics and archaeogenomics have undergone remarkable advances, enabling the recovery and analysis of genetic information from a vast number of ancient remains spanning prehistory to the present. These datasets are providing unprecedented insights into genomic variation through time and, when integrated with archaeological and paleontological evidence, are profoundly reshaping our understanding of human evolutionary history as well as the trajectories of numerous other species. Building on the pioneering contributions of Nobel Laureate Prof. Svante Pääbo, my presentation will discuss recent methodological developments in ancient DNA analysis for reconstructing human population history and migratory dynamics. Specifically, I will address the interactions between anatomically modern humans and other hominins, including Homo neanderthalensis and Denisovans. In addition, I will examine the formation of the European genetic landscape, with a particular focus on the demographic processes shaping pre-Roman Italy.