Dear all, see below for a symposium in the USA:


The Science of the Human Past

An Invitation to a Symposium on the Scientific Study of the Human Past

A unique opportunity

*December 5, 2008*

*9 AM-5:30 PM*

**Broad Institute at MIT-Harvard**

*          Ongoing research in the natural and physical sciences is
reconfiguring our understanding of the human past. Advances in human
genetics, work on ancient DNA, studies of migration and dietary history,
computational linguistics and palaeoenvironments is creating new knowledge
of both the human present and historical past.*

*            For the first time ever at Harvard University and the Broad
Institute, the Symposium brings together a group of leading researchers in
the scientific investigation of the human past to present their recent work
and to launch a dialogue that bridges the natural and social sciences and
the humanities. The Symposium will be a unique opportunity for researchers
and students of diverse backgrounds to learn what is being discovered today
about the human past in laboratories around the world and to imagine how
those discoveries might be pursued in the areas of investigation as diverse
as genetics, archeology, historical migrations, epidemiology, and computer
sciences.*

*            Speakers and themes include:*

Michael Hammer, University of Arizona
Michael McCormick, Harvard University
Svante Pääbo, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Leipzig
Nick Patterson, Broad Institute
Pardis Sabeti, Harvard University
Beth Shapiro, State University of Pennsylvania
Stuart Shieber, Harvard University
Mark Thomas, University College, London
Noreen Tuross, Harvard University
Tandy Warnow, University of Texas at Austin
Steve Weiner,  Weizmann Institute of Science

*Genetic history from genome-wide data; dietary differences among past
populations; the destruction of the megafauna; mathematical methods for
detecting contact events between linguistic groups and human history;
alleles and technological diffusion; atomic disorder and the archaeological
record.*

* Date and location*

*The Symposium will be held on Friday, December 5, 2008, from 9 AM until
5:30 at the Broad Institute and is open to the public. Registration is
required.*

*The Auditorium, Broad Institute
NE30-1154, 7 Cambridge Center
Cambridge MA*

*One block from the Kendall Square/MIT station on the Red Line. *

*To register go to http://www.broad.mit.edu/registration/ and scroll down to
this event.*

*A registration fee of $25 in cash or check ($10 for students) will be
collected from registered participants at the entrance on December 5.
Registration will cover a continental breakfast served from 8 AM, coffee
breaks, a box lunch, and the concluding reception for all participants at
5:30 PM.*

*Sponsored by Harvard University, Office of the Provost, and the Broad
Institute*

*Organized by the Initiative for the Scientific Study of the Human Past,
Harvard University*
*Michael McCormick, Nick Patterson, David Reich, Stuart Shieber, Noreen
Tuross, Walter Willett**
http://www.broad.mit.edu/events/publicevent/1131*





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