Using ancient DNA to understand Indian history
A public lecture on how the genetic makeup of modern Indian populations came to be.
#The revolutionary ability to sequence genetic material from skeletal material thousands of years old has allowed us to study human history in a way never possible before. The speaker will discuss recent results from ancient DNA extracted from the Indus Valley Site of Rakhigarhi as well as from the Iron Age and other historical settlements at Gandhara in the Swat Valley. By comparing their relationship to other samples from Central Asia and modern genomes from across India, one can understand how the genetic makeup of modern Indian populations came to be. Finally, these results provide insight about the demographic plausibilities for the spread of language in the ancient world.