Both Helena Malmström and Torsten Günther received research grants! Congratulations!
Alvastra – archaeogenetics, archaeology and cultural interactions
Research Project grant from VR Humanities and Social Sciences, 2018-21
PI Helena Malmström
The archaeological record show two major cultures, the so called Funnel Beaker (TRB) farmers and Pitted Ware (PWC) hunter-gatherers, which coexisted for a long time in Stone Age Sweden. They exhibit clear differences in cultural expressions, dietary patterns and in genomic ancestry. These groups have been much studied on their own, but the art and level of interaction between them remains elusive. The proposed four-year project aim to study the dynamics behind this interaction in the unique borderland setting of Alvastra, where ample artefacts associated with both cultural groups is present. Human remains from a megalithic tomb (typically associated with TRB) and from a unique pile-dwelling construction (with artefacts from both TRB and PWC) will be investigated. A multi-disciplinary approach will be used, combining the specific archaeological contexts with osteological and taphonomic investigations, stable isotope analyses, radiocarbon dating, and state-of-the-art ancient DNA-analyses. This project will provide both individual life-history information (including health, diet, biological sex, kinship and mobility) and population demographic information (genomic ancestry, gene-flow, sex-specific demography and population size fluctuations) within a known chronological frame-work. This will greatly improve our understanding of Stone Age contacts and interactions between TRB and PWC spheres, and likely aid in bridging the gap between archaeogenetics and archaeology.
Population genomics of domestication and its consequences using ancient DNA
Starting grant from VR Natural and Engeneering Sciences, 2018-21
PI Torsten Günther
Products made from livestock and plants changed human lifestyle fundamentally, from hunter-gatherers to large and sedentary social groups. Domestication and breeding transformed wild populations into a wide range of genetically and phenotypically diverse breeds, and this process has long been recognized as a model for evolution driven by strong directional selection pressures. Although the outcome of domestication is fairly well documented, how, when and where human actions and environmental factors have genetically changed the populations of domesticates remains elusive. Ancient DNA is an excellent tool to disentangle these selective and neutral demographic processes. During this four-year-project, genomic data will be obtained from a geographically and temporally distributed sample of sheep remains. This population genomic study of one of the first domesticated animals will offer the unique opportunity to (i) model the demographic history of the domestication process, (ii) study the genome-wide variation before the development of highly specialized modern breeds, (iii) understand the timing and geographic origin of artificial selection on agricultural traits, and (iv) trace the migrations of the humans associated with the animal remains. This project will substantially improve our understanding of how populations respond to bottlenecks, migrations, and strong artificial selection on multiple traits, and how humans impact the evolutionary trajectories of other species.