In recent years the amount of genomic data obtained from ancient remains has dramatically increased, and we also observed the development of methods and algorithms specifically designed to obtain robust estimates of kinship and ancestry from low coverage data. We now have the unique opportunity to exploit archaeogenomic data to describe, with unprecedented resolution, past population structure and processes such as migration and admixture, but also to shed light on sociocultural dynamics (marriage practice, lineage-based transmission of social status and wealth). The analysis of ancient genomes may therefore become crucial to infer past social dynamics, with the added value of possibly being informative about demographic events that promoted changes in the social structure. Furthermore, the genomic analysis can provide information for the individual characterization, through information about phenotypic traits and pathologies of a single individual. This project is aimed at the reconstruction and analysis of whole genomes from human skeletal remains from Italian archaeological sites from pre-historical, proto-historical and historical times. The goal is to infer the genomic and social structure of past human groups, evaluating possible changes during time. Next Generation Sequencing methodologies, with a shotgun or Whole Genome Enrichment approach will be used, as well as pipelines for data analysis aimed at the characterization at individual and population level.
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[Website Università degli studi di Firenze]