Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA) and the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) participated in an an international round table entitled “Archaeogenetic Journey into the Past”. The meeting was organized by the Department of Archaeology, Ethnology and Museology of KazNU and hosted by the Farabi Scientific Library.
Collaboration on Ancient DNA and Archaeology
The meeting brought together researchers from the MPI-EVA in Leipzig and KazNU in Almaty to share their latest research combining archaeology and ancient biomolecules to understand the human past.
Scientists from both institutions presented recent work to an audience including the leadership of the Faculty of History, the department staff, scientists from the A.Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology, the Institute of Genetics and Physiology, as well as masters and doctoral students. Will Rendu, Director of the International Research Center for Central Asian Studies "MIL ZooStan" at KazNU presented the center’s plans for the analysis of archaeozoological material. Research Fellow at the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology at KazNU presented the latest identification of archaeological material using a collagen fingerprinting approach. MPI-EVA researchers Matthias Meyer and Elena Essel presented their research showing how ancient DNA can be recovered from archaeological sediments and even Paleolithic ornaments providing detailed information about ancient humans, and Janet Kelso discussed new insights into Denisovans in the Altai obtained from a 200,000 year old Denisovan genome.
Following the presentations the audience discussed the study of ancient DNA and prospects for future work between the groups.
Contact:
Sandra Jacob
Press Officer
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig
+49 341 3550-122
jacob@[>>> Please remove the text! <<<]eva.mpg.de