Theme:
4. Persisting with Change: Theory and Archaeological Scrutiny
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
The archaeogenetics of ancient Italy: socio-cultural changes, interaction and mobility from Prehistory to the Middle Ages
Content:
Italy’s unique position in the Mediterranean and its diverse geographical features, including the Alps and the Apennine range, have shaped its complex history and demography. In recent decades, archaeogenetics has revolutionized our understanding of population dynamics, social structures, and kinship networks in ancient Italy, revealing patterns of ancestry and social organization that traditional archaeology alone could not un cover. This interdisciplinary approach has also prompted critical discussions reg arding interpretative models and the association between genetics and culture. This session aims to explore how the integration of archaeogenetics with traditional archaeological methods can deepen our understanding of Italy’s past, from prehistory to the Middle Ages. We focus on the intricate relationship between genetic and cultural variations across the Italian peninsula and the broader Mediterranean region. Seeking to foster dialogue among researchers working on different aspects of Italy’s archaeological and genetic heritage, we invite papers that leverage multidisciplinary methods, integrating archaeogenetics with studies on diet, mobility, demographics, and anthropology. Contributions should provide new perspectives on population genomics in ancient Italy, exploring themes such as continuity and change in social organization, kinship, social stratification, gender, and ethnicity. We encourage submissions that present fine-tuned case studies, innovative models of past population patterns, and critical analyses of big data modeling’s impact on our perception of past population genomics. By integrating diverse approaches and datasets, we aim to offer fresh insights into the archaeological discipline and the role of the Italian peninsula in the ancient Mediterranean world, addressing questions of cultural and genetic interplay at various scales, from site-specific to interregional analyses. In addition to the primary proponents, this session will benefit from the co-organizational expertise and support of Dr. Serena Aneli (University of Turin) and Dr. Alissa Mittnik (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and Harvard University).
Keywords:
Ancient DNA, Archaeogenetics, Social organization, Kinship practices, Ancient Mediterranean archaeology, Bioarchaeology
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
Main organiser:
Francesco Fontani (Italy) 1,2
Co-organisers:
Serena Sabatini (Sweden) 3
Stefania Vai (Italy) 4
Gabriele Scorrano (Denmark) 5
Affiliations:
1. Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
2. Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna
3. University of Gothenburg
4. Department of Biology, University of Florence
5. University of Copenhagen
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