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Reconstructing human prehistory through ancient DNA genomics

12.01.2018

How did people look like, interact, migrate and bond 15,000 years ago? Anthropologist Ron Pinhasi finds answers to these and other questions by reconstructing past genes and genomes from ancient human DNA. uni:view interviewed the researcher on the occasion of his public lecture.

Examining human skeletons, selecting the best skeletal tissue and sampling teeth and bones – what might sound like the opening scene of a horror movie is Ron Pinhasi's daily business. The anthropologist analyses ancient DNA that he extracts from human remains. "What we do with DNA is counter-intuitive to what people think the DNA should tell us. For us, the DNA is a medium to get information about social processes that happened in the past: mating patterns, changes of population sizes, migration, physical growth, nutrition habits or kinship between individuals," the researcher explains. [read more]

see also: Analyse alter DNA änderte Menschheitsgeschichte