Principles and methods in Molecular Anthropology. Genetic markers in human populations. Inferences about demographic history of human populations. Genetic typing of ancient and modern human samples. The genetic history of human populations. Genes and cultures. Molecular paleopathology.
Antropologia Molecolare, David Caramelli, 2009, Firenze University Press, Firenze
An Introduction to Molecular Anthropology, Mark Stoneking,
2016, Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN: 978-1-118-06162-6
Articoli Scientifici
Learning Objectives
Knowledge acquired:
Notion of genetic variability in human populations. Genetic history of human populations. Methods for genetic characterization of human samples.
Competence acquired
Identifying correct experimental approaches for genetically characterizing human samples.
Skills acquired (at the end of the course):
Molecular and bioinformatics methods applied to the genetic characterization of modern and ancient human samples.
Prerequisites
Anthropology
Teaching Methods
Frontal lessons
Further information
Agli studenti verranno fornite le slides presentate durante le lezioni e gli articoli scientifici discussi durante il corso
Type of Assessment
Oral examination. Open questions with request to substantiate the answers. Comprehension and oral presentation of at least one scientific paper.
Course program
Principles and methods in Molecular Anthropology: an overview. From classical markers to DNA analysis. Basis of human population genetics.
Sampling populations and individuals. Genetic markers. Ancient DNA. Analysis of genetic data from individuals and populations. Inferences about demographic history of human populations.
Methods in Molecular Anthropology. Genetic typing of ancient and modern human samples. Molecular Anthropology in the genomic era. WGS and genome-wide analysis. Bioinformatic tools for managing NGS data. Contamination and authenticity estimate in sequencing data from ancient samples.
The genetic history of ancient human population. Peopling of the continents, local selection and adaptation of human population. Population size change, migration and admixture.
Genes and culture. How human genetic variation can be directly influenced by cultural practices. Genes and languages. Historic human migrations. Molecular paleopatology.
Behind human genome. How domestication processes have affected the genes of animals and plants. Evolution of oral microbiome and paleo-diet reconstruction by analyzing ancient dental calculus.