How ancient DNA is rewriting the history of human diet and disease
Go behind the scenes of the OI Museum collections to explore how genomic technology reveals the true origins of our food. This talk examines how the domestication of plants and animals fundamentally reshaped human biology and health.
Postdoctoral researcher Hannah Moots uses bioarchaeological and genomic evidence to investigate the links between environmental shifts and human health. The presentation explores how the Neolithic transition—marked by changes in mobility, pathogen burden, and dietary shifts—impacted the human species.
The session delves into specific mysteries of the ancient world, such as the appearance of early watermelons, the varieties of Roman wine, and the revival of an extinct date palm species after more than 1,000 years. Crucially, Moots addresses the evolving science of lactase persistence. While long considered a primary example of gene-culture co-evolution, new evidence is now refining our understanding of when and how the ability to digest milk into adulthood actually emerged.
Source: Hannah Moots | From Wheat to Watermelon: Clues from Ancient DNA about Food and Diet
