The 2020 Meeting

January 29-31, 2020 in Aix-en-Provence (Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l’Homme)

Theme 1: Migrations, Cultural and Biological Exchanges in the Mediterranean

Invited Speaker: Ornella Semino, Reconstructing the genetic history of Italian populations: from Y chromosome to biparental markers

Migration is an adaptive strategy for many animal species, and humans are no exception. Throughout history, humans have moved from place to place in search of food, to avoid dangers, and to protect themselves from environmental changes. In the past, legends and narratives informed us of these movements; today, anthropological sciences offer us multiple substitutes and intermediaries to study and understand these phenomena. For example, genetic, biochemical, patronymic, linguistic, and cultural data (lithic and ceramic productions, weapons, clothing, jewelry, religions, “customs and traditions”), as well as the study of pathogenic agents, can be considered through a demographic lens. The accumulation of these, sometimes concordant, results can lead to a re-evaluation of the history of human migrations over the centuries, and thereby reveal the cultural and biological exchanges that resulted from them.

The objective of this session is to provide an interdisciplinary overview of current research on the past and present mobility of human groups in the Mediterranean region.

Keywords: migration, dispersion, settlement, demography, DNA, isotopes, material culture, linguistics, paleoanthropology, Mediterranean region

Theme 2: “The First 1000 Days of Life” in Past and Present Populations

Invited Speaker: Philipp Mitteröker, The dilemma of human childbirth: evolution, society, and public health

This session aims to review current knowledge and the various methods of biological anthropology used to understand the “first 1000 days of life” of an individual, i.e., the period from conception until the end of the 2nd year after birth. This concept is currently a focus of attention in various research and public health fields and has recently been the subject of diverse longitudinal studies involving numerous populations. Environmental, social, and cultural factors associated with the early periods of ontogenesis indeed have a decisive influence on somatic, physiological, and psychological conditions, as well as on living conditions and health status in adulthood. Works dedicated to fertility, pregnancy, parturition, breastfeeding-weaning, growth, the development of toddlers, age estimation, and childcare (by the mother, family, or group), approached through different methods (e.g., surveys, observations, osteological, biogeochemical, genetic analyses, medical imaging, confrontation of archaeological, textual, and iconographic data), will aim to propose an integrated approach to this very first part of an individual’s life within their population context, from Prehistory to the present day.

Keywords: parturition, parental care, growth, development, and age estimation of very young immatures

Theme 3: Research News

This theme will bring together recent achievements in the discipline, whether unprecedented discoveries or methodological advances.