The UMMAA Brown Bag Lecture Series is pleased to present a lecture by Alicia R. Ventresca-Miller, director of the Ancient Protein and Isotope Laboratory, associate professor of anthropology, and associate curator of archaeological sciences at UMMAA. Her lecture, "Domesticated: Unlocking inter-species integration via biomolecules," will be held on Friday, September 19, 12:00-1:00 p.m. in the School of Education Building, Room 1322.
Over the last two decades, archaeological research across north-central Asia has led to a clarification of the timing of the introduction of domesticated animals and plants. As economies in this region shifted from foraging to the use of ruminant livestock, to horse dairying and riding, and finally to the cultivation of grains, these marked major thresholds in human history. As part of Dr. Ventresca-Miller's forthcoming book, a new model is proposed for the stages of integration of cultivated species into societies—from the initial introduction of domesticated animals or plants to their acceptance, solidification or complete incorporation, and finally intensification. The delineation of these varied stages depends on novel biomolecular techniques to refine these broader narratives, including proteomics, ancient DNA, and isotopic analyses. Resulting findings suggest that there were multiple trajectories and timelines for cooperation between species, as domestic species were integrated into societies there were shifts in landscape use, knowledge systems, and the structures of social systems that encompassed cultivated species.
The Museum's Brown Bag Lecture Series is free and open to the public.
