Book Launch - ANU Visiting Fellow Dr Paul Burke
Book launch
Anthropologist and ANU Visiting Fellow Paul Burke is hosting a book launch to celebrate the release of 'An Australian Indigenous Diaspora: Warlpiri, Matriarchs, and the Refashioning of Tradition'. The launch will begin at 5pm, and the official proceedings will commence at 5:30pm, with…
Sexual selection and the evolution of the human beard
Seminar
The evolution of reduced body hair distinguishes humans from other anthropoid primates. However, humans retain marked patches of hair on the face and body, of which beardedness is highly sexual dimorphic. Darwin suggested that facial hair reflects effects of sexual selection during the course of…
Ancient microbial DNA in dental calculus: a promising tool for studying past human movements
Seminar
Thirty years ago, Keith Dobney and Don Brothwell discovered that ancient dental calculus from humans and other animals contains calcified microorganisms. Today, technological and analytical improvements have given us an opportunity to investigate the DNA of these ancient microorganisms and harness…
Peaceful neighbours? Intergroup behaviour in wild bonobos
Seminar
Intergroup violence and parochial altruism are both prominent traits in human society. However, differences in behaviour towards in-group members and extra-group individuals are also widely documented in other group-living animals. Renowned for their peaceful nature and amicable temperament,…
Beyond sequence comparisons - studying human evolution in the age of functional genomics
Seminar
Much of humans' evolutionary past is documented in our genomes. Traces of our contact with close relatives like Neandertals, exposure to selective forces like malaria and even the adoption of cultural behaviours such as dairying have all shaped our DNA in readily detectable ways. Looking deeper in…
Beyond sequence comparisons - studying human evolution in the age of functional genomics
Seminar
Much of humans' evolutionary past is documented in our genomes. Traces of our contact with close relatives like Neandertals, exposure to selective forces like malaria and even the adoption of cultural behaviours such as dairying have all shaped our DNA in readily detectable ways. Looking deeper in…
Getting to Know the Gozitans: Bioarchaeological approaches to exploring fragility and sustainability in Neolithic Malta (ca. 4400-2200 BC)
Seminar
Human history is punctuated by the succession of changing cultures and civilisations, many of which emerged and disappeared within decades or centuries. But why did some cultures manage to sustain themselves for centuries or millennia, while others collapsed in response to changing conditions in…