Molecular Environmental Archaeology: Ancient DNA Applications to Environmental Studies

With today's widespread concern over the effects of climate change, eroding biodiversity and human-induced environmental degradation, researchers are turning increasingly to archaeological data to reconstruct past ecosystems. Environmental archaeology can provide not only baseline data on the past abundance and distribution of plants and animals, but can elucidate the complex and dynamic interactions between humans and their environments. Ancient DNA analysis is fast becoming an indispensible new tool in environmental studies, due to its ability to combine the specificity of genetic analyses with the time depth of archaeology. Ancient DNA techniques can reveal how anthropogenic pressures such as hunting, harvesting and controlled breeding have affected the distribution and diversity of past species, as well as how past human societies responded to natural shifts in species' behaviour. Moreover, as modern conservation biology becomes more reliant on molecular markers, ancient DNA data from archaeological remains can provide a direct link between past and present populations.

Through a series of case studies, this talk will highlight some of the many contributions ancient DNA analysis can make to the field of Environmental Archaeology. Camilla Speller will discuss how ancient DNA analysis of archaeological turkey bones from the American Southwest and Mexico has broadened our understanding of New World animal domestication, and the growing control exerted by past peoples over their environments. Through her work on Pacific herring and North American elk, this talk will emphasize how ancient DNA techniques can help reconstruct paleo-environments and ecosystems, identify the long-term effects of over-harvesting, and provide meaningful data that can be applied to contemporary environmental issues.

Refreshments: Reception will follow

Speaker: Camilla Speller, Post-doctoral Fellow, Archaeology, University of Calgary