Lecture: Archaeological Roadsigns of Human Dispersals
Annual Speaker Series on Human Origins, Calendar of Events, news_one, Paleoanthropology
Dr. Ofer Bar-Yosef, professor of Prehistoric Archaeology at Harvard University and Curator of Palaeolithic Archaeology at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
The dispersal routes of modern humans from Africa through Eurasia and into Sahul (Australia and New-Guinea) are partially known from scant isolated fossils, current genetics and ancient DNA studies.
The abundant archaeological evidence to be presented facilitates the recognition of these routes, which are marked by the discarded stone tools found, in rare cases with bone, antler and ivory objects, in sites dated to 55-45,000 years ago.
The process of colonization by the new people resulted in the demise of the local Neanderthals in Europe, western and northern Asia, and the Denisovans in Asia. However, interbreeding between the older and new populations was detected as a low percentage of Neanderthal and Denisovans genes carried by today’s people who occupy the entire vast terrestrial continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts and the islands.
Saturday, March 24, 2012 at 1:00 PM
The Field Museum, Chicago, IL
Free with museum admission; call 312.665.7400 to reserve your seat.
Generous support provided by Wells Fargo Bank.