Archaeogenomics

During the past two decades, we have explored the biological and cultural history of archaeological populations from different parts of the world. This work has used a range of methods from the archaeological tool kit to understand the past lives of these groups, and now employs ancient DNA analysis to further delve into the ancestry, kinship and lived experiences of the individuals interred at these archaeological sites. This analytical approach has yielded new insights into the prehistory of Eurasia and Siberia, as well as generated new understandings of the population dynamics of colonial America, including the African diaspora.

Anson Street African Burial Ground Project

Reinterment ceremony for the Anson Street Ancestors, 4 May 2019
Photo credit: T.G. Schurr

Chesapeake Genetic History Project

A 1635 Map of Colonial Maryland and Chesapeake Bay
Image Source: ClassicStock/ Alamy Stock Photo

Baikal Archaeology Project

Left: Kurma XI burial at Lake Baikal; Right: Drawing of Baikal Hunter-Gatherers
Photo Credit: Andrzej Weber; Image Source: A.P. Okladnikov (1955) The Neolithic and Bronze Age of the Cis-Baikal, Parts I and II, p.163, fig. 71.

St. Mary’s Basilica Project

The interior of the basilica while under renovation
Photo credit: Brian Palmer (brianpalmer.photos)

Historic Christ Church Project

View of the front of the church during drainage renovations
Photo credit: T.G. Schurr

Eurasian Steppe Cultures

A drawing of Khazar warriors
Source: The Khazars: A Judeo-Turkish Empire on the Stepps, 7th-11th Centuries, by Mikhail Zhirohov & David Nicolle, Illustrations by Christa Hook

Laboratory of Molecular Anthropology
University of Pennsylvania
421 University Museum
3260 South Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6398
Tel: 215-573-2656

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