Ancient Human Reconstructions and Adna Is There an Ethical Dilemma?

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Ancient Human Reconstructions and Adna Is There an Ethical Dilemma? Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia Ancient Human Reconstructions and aDNA Is there an ethical dilemma? Anna Sointula Kandidatuppsats 15 hp i arkeologi VT 2020 Handledare: Helene Martinsson-Wallin Campus Gotland Abstract Sointula, A. 2020. Ancient Human Reconstructions and aDNA – Is there an ethical dilemma? The Department of Archaeology and Ancient History. Sointula, A. 2020. Forntida Mänskliga Rekonstruktioner och aDNA – Finns där ett etiskt dilemma? Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia. In recent years, archaeogenetic studies have been widely discussed in popular media and they have raised many questions, especially regarding cultural identity and ethnicity. This thesis discusses reconstructions based on ancient human remains and how they are related to the current academic hegemony and political circumstances in Europe. People of Britain have reacted particularly strongly to the reconstruction of the Cheddar Man, exhibited in the Natural History Museum in London. Based on this and few other reconstructions of ancient individuals, the ethical issues behind human reconstructions are analyzed and how museums and popular media as the public spaces displaying these pieces of art should deal with such issues as cultural heritage, human origins, and identity. Under de senaste åren har arkeogenetiska studier diskuterats allmänt i populära media och de har väckta väckts många frågor speciellt kring kulturell identitet och etnicitet. Denna studie diskuterar rekonstruktioner baserat på forntida mänskliga kvarlevor och hur de är relaterade till den nuvarande akademiska hegemonin och den politiska omständigheter i Europa. Människor i Storbritannien har reagerat särskilt starkt på rekonstruktionen av Cheddar-mannen, utställd i ”Natural History Museum” i London. Med utgångspunkt i denna och ytterligare några rekonstruktioner av forntida individer analyseras etiska frågor bakom mänskliga rekonstruktioner och hur museer och populära medier ska hanterar frågor om kulturarv, mänskligt ursprung och identitet. Keywords: Human and Facial reconstructions, Ethics, Ethnicity, Race, Cultural identity, Archaeogenetics, aDNA Nyckelord: Människo och ansiktsrekonstruktioner, Etik, Etnisitet, Ras, Kulturell Identitet, Arkeogenetik, aDNA Kandidatuppsats i Arkeologi 15 hp. Handledare: Helene Martinsson-Wallin. © Anna Sointula Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia, Uppsala universitet, Campus Gotland, Cramérgatan 3, 621 67 Visby, Sweden Acknowledgments I would like to express my gratitude towards my thesis advisor, Helene Martinsson-Wallin, who has helped me with the structure of this thesis and been patiently correcting my grammatical errors. Without this guidance, this thesis would have not become complete. I am also very grateful for my mother and friends who have provided me with their love and support during this process. Table of contents 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 5 1.1. Aim and research questions ..................................................................................................... 5 1.2. Method and material ................................................................................................................. 6 1.2.1. Source criticism.................................................................................................................. 6 1.2.2. Delimitation ....................................................................................................................... 6 1.3. Theory ....................................................................................................................................... 7 1.3.1. Definitions of ethics, ethnic group and cultural identity .................................................... 7 1.3.2. Postcolonialism .................................................................................................................. 7 1.3.3. Agency and practice ........................................................................................................... 8 2. Background ....................................................................................................................................... 9 2.1. History of human reconstructions ........................................................................................... 9 2.2. Archaeogenetics ........................................................................................................................ 9 2.3. Ethics of museum displays ..................................................................................................... 10 3. Material presentation ....................................................................................................................... 12 3.1. Cheddar Man .......................................................................................................................... 12 3.2. Whitehawk Woman ................................................................................................................. 13 3.3. Cro-Magnon Man ................................................................................................................... 13 3.4. Myrtis ....................................................................................................................................... 14 4. Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 16 4.1. Nobel whiteness and savage darkness? .................................................................................. 16 4.2. aDNA – problem or possibility? ............................................................................................. 18 4.3. Human reconstructions of Ancient people at Museums and Popular Media ...................... 20 5. Discussion ....................................................................................................................................... 23 6. Results ............................................................................................................................................. 26 6.1. Future studies ......................................................................................................................... 27 7. Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 28 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................ 29 Illustrations .......................................................................................................................................... 33 1. Introduction Facial reconstructions have always managed to fascinate many people. The older the depicted individual is and the more precise details the reconstruction contains, the better. Recently, there have been a growing number of headlines in public media focusing on the latest results in the art and science of human reconstructions and it seems that people today have a growing interest in what their ancestors might have looked like and their origin. Therefore, archaeologists today are also facing many new and important questions. The results of the latest ancient DNA studies have proved helpful in making human reconstructions more precise. However, these recent studies in the field of archaeogenetics have caused a lot of controversy regarding ethnicity and cultural identity, for example. The results regarding the skin and eye colour of these ancient people are the results which people have seemed to be surprised by and some scholars have even deemed the methodology behind these studies questionable (Furholt 2019) and have argued that there might be a danger of people drawing overly hasty conclusions and wrongly using this scientific data (Niklasson 2014). This thesis discusses the ethics of human reconstructions of ancient people, which is a relevant and important topic due to those recent results and discoveries of ancient DNA studies. There are as yet no common ethical guidelines which especially touch on the issue of ancient DNA sampling (Austin et al. 2019). This makes it important to question how these studies should be interpreted and employed for the benefit of the general public and how ancient human reconstructions should be interpreted and displayed in public spaces, such as museums and popular media. 1.1. Aim and research questions The aim of this thesis is to give new points of view on the ethical concepts and issues that the field of archaeology faces today. There is a great need for bringing information and awareness to the public as well as the academic community on how to interpret and communicate scientific results regarding archaeogenetics. When carrying out reconstructions of ancient human skeletal remains it is important to discuss which information is important for research and if there is a risk for misuse of this scientific data. In addition, the ways that ethnicity and cultural identity and their relation to human origins in Europe are represented through ancient human reconstructions should be considered. The aim of this study was to find out whether there was an ethical dilemma in relation to human reconstructions of ancient people, especially concerning those constructed based on the results from ancient DNA studies. In order to fulfil the aim of
Recommended publications
  • Research on Ancient DNA in the Near East Mateusz Baca*1, Martyna Molak2 1 Center for Precolumbian Studies, University of Warsaw, Ul
    Bioarchaeology of the Near East, 2:39–61 (2008) Research on ancient DNA in the Near East Mateusz Baca*1, Martyna Molak2 1 Center for Precolumbian Studies, University of Warsaw, ul. Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28, 00-927 Warsaw, Poland email: [email protected] (corresponding author) 2 Institute of Genetics and Biotechnology, University of Warsaw, ul. Pawińskiego 5a, 05-106 Warsaw, Poland Abstract: In the early 1990s, when studies of ancient DNA became possible, new perspectives of analyzing archaeological data also developed. Nowadays, because the methodology related to ancient DNA research is well developed, it has been used to reveal several aspects of human history and interaction. Here we review the basic concepts, methodologies, and recent developments in the fi eld of ancient DNA studies with a special refe- rence to the Near East. Th is includes not only human but also animal and bacterial DNA. Key words: archaeogenetics, aDNA, mtDNA, tuberculosis, animal domestication Introduction Human genomes accumulate mutations gradually over time. Th e forces of genetic drift and natural selection either cause these changes to disappear or to become established in the popu- lation. By the end of the 1990s, Amorim (1999) introduced the term “archaeogenetics” in reference to using information regarding genetic diff erences between humans to understand demographic events that took place in the past. Pioneering studies of human genetic diversity date back to 1970s when Cavalli-Sforza published a report on the diversity of European populations based on classic protein mark- ers (see Cavalli-Sforza et al. 1994 for a review). In the mid-eighties, great opportunities for studying human diversity arose with the invention of polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
    [Show full text]
  • CHRISTINA “TINA” WARINNER (Last Updated October 18, 2018)
    CHRISTINA “TINA” WARINNER (last updated October 18, 2018) Max Planck Institute University of Oklahoma for the Science of Human History (MPI-SHH) Department of Anthropology Department of Archaeogenetics Laboratories of Molecular Anthropology Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07743 Jena, Germany And Microbiome Research (LMAMR) +49 3641686620 101 David L. Boren Blvd, [email protected] Norman, OK 73019 USA www.christinawarinner.com [email protected] http://www.shh.mpg.de/employees/50506/25522 www.lmamr.org APPOINTMENTS W2 Group Leader, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany 2016-present University Professor, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany 2018-present Presidential Research Professor, Univ. of Oklahoma, USA 2014-present Assistant Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of Oklahoma, USA 2014-present Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Periodontics, College of Dentistry, Univ. of Oklahoma, USA 2014-present Visiting Associate Professor, Dept. of Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark 2015 Research Associate, Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of Oklahoma, USA 2012-2014 Acting Head of Group, Centre for Evolutionary Medicine, Univ. of Zürich, Switzerland 2011-2012 Research Assistant, Centre for Evolutionary Medicine, Univ. of Zürich, Switzerland 2010-2011 EDUCATION Ph.D., Anthropology, Dept. of Anthropology, Harvard University 2010 Thesis Title: “Life and Death at Teposcolula Yucundaa: Mortuary, Archaeogenetic, and Isotopic Investigations of the Early Colonial Period in Mexico” A.M., Anthropology, Dept. of Anthropology, Harvard University 2008 B.A., with Honors, Anthropology, University of Kansas 2003 B.A., Germanic Literatures and Languages, University of Kansas 2003 SELECTED HONORS, AWARDS, AND FELLOWSHIPS Invited speaker, British Academy, Albert Reckitt Archaeological Lecture (forthcoming) 2019 Invited speaker, EMBL Science and Society (forthcoming, Nov.
    [Show full text]
  • Genetik Bilimi Ve Kimlik Genetics and Identity
    GENETİCS AND IDENTITY 75 GENETİK BİLİMİ VE KİMLİK GENETICS AND IDENTITY Ömer GÖKÇÜMEN* ÖZET Biyoloji ve kimlik arasındaki ilişkiyle ilgili akademik çalışmalar uzun zamandır süregelmektedir. Özellikle ırksal kategoriler, hem akademik çevrelerde, hem de akademi dışında insan gruplarının biyolojik çeşitliliğini anlamada önemli yer tutmuşlardır. Ancak, son yıllarda bilim dünyası kimlik kavramının sabit bir yapı olarak anlayan tutumunu terk etmiştir. Genetik bilgi de, bu çaba içerisinde sabit biyolojik kimliklerin geçerliliğinin çürütülmesinde önemli rol oynamıştır. Bu gelişmelere rağmen, akademi dışında, genelde populasyon genetiği çalışmalarının etnik gruplara özgü `genleri' araştırmakta olduğu düşünülmektedir. Bazı etnik gruplar genetik araştırmaları coğrafi köklerini, etnik kökenlerini ve hatta grup kimliklerini `bilimsel' olarak meşrulaştırmak için kullanmaktadırlar (örn. Amerikan yerlileri, Lemba, Hindistanlı dokunulmazlar ve Afrika kökenli Amerikalılar). Bu çalışmalar gerçekten de bilimsel olarak değişik grupların tarihlerini anlamamıza ciddi katkılar sağlayacaktır. Ancak, etnik merkezli ve hatta ırkçı diskurs aynı verileri çarpıtarak kendi gruplarına avantaj sağlayacak şekilde çarpıtılabilir. Bu yüzden moleküler antropoloji çalışmalarının daha derin ve *Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, 325 University Museum 3260 South Street Philadelphia, PA. 19104-6398. e-mail: [email protected] 76 ÖMER GÖKÇÜMEN geniş olarak anlaşılmasını destekleyecek adımların atılması önemlidir. Bunun sonucunda oluşacak diyalog, genetik
    [Show full text]
  • The Global History of Paleopathology
    OUP UNCORRECTED PROOF – FIRST-PROOF, 01/31/12, NEWGEN TH E GLOBA L H ISTORY OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 000_JaneBuikstra_FM.indd0_JaneBuikstra_FM.indd i 11/31/2012/31/2012 44:03:58:03:58 PPMM OUP UNCORRECTED PROOF – FIRST-PROOF, 01/31/12, NEWGEN 000_JaneBuikstra_FM.indd0_JaneBuikstra_FM.indd iiii 11/31/2012/31/2012 44:03:59:03:59 PPMM OUP UNCORRECTED PROOF – FIRST-PROOF, 01/31/12, NEWGEN TH E GLOBA L H ISTORY OF PALEOPATHOLOGY Pioneers and Prospects EDITED BY JANE E. BUIKSTRA AND CHARLOTTE A. ROBERTS 3 000_JaneBuikstra_FM.indd0_JaneBuikstra_FM.indd iiiiii 11/31/2012/31/2012 44:03:59:03:59 PPMM OUP UNCORRECTED PROOF – FIRST-PROOF, 01/31/12, NEWGEN 1 Oxford University Press Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With o! ces in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland " ailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © #$%# by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. %&' Madison Avenue, New York, New York %$$%( www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. CIP to come ISBN-%): ISBN $–%&- % ) * + & ' ( , # Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 000_JaneBuikstra_FM.indd0_JaneBuikstra_FM.indd iivv 11/31/2012/31/2012 44:03:59:03:59 PPMM OUP UNCORRECTED PROOF – FIRST-PROOF, 01/31/12, NEWGEN To J.
    [Show full text]
  • Course Outline of Record Los Medanos College 2700 East Leland Road Pittsburg CA 94565 (925) 439-2181
    Course Outline of Record Los Medanos College 2700 East Leland Road Pittsburg CA 94565 (925) 439-2181 Course Title: Introduction to Archaeology Subject Area/Course Number: ANTHR-004 New Course OR Existing Course Instructor(s)/Author(s): Liana Padilla-Wilson Subject Area/Course No.: Anthropology Units: 3 Course Name/Title: Introduction to Archaeology Discipline(s): Anthropology Pre-Requisite(s): None Co-Requisite(s): None Advisories: Eligibility for ENGL-100 Catalog Description: This course is an introduction to the fundamental principles of method and theory in archaeology, beginning with the goals of archaeology, going on to consider the basic concepts of culture, time, and space, and discussing the finding and excavation of archaeological sites. Students will analyze the basic methods and theoretical approaches used by archaeologist to reconstruct the past and understand human prehistory. This includes human origins, the peoples of the globe, the origins of agriculture, ancient civilization including the Maya civilization, Classical and Historical archaeological, and finally the relevance of Archaeology today. The course includes an analysis of the nature of scientific inquiry; the history and interdisciplinary nature of archaeological research; dating techniques, methods of survey, excavation, analysis, and interpretation; cultural resource management, professional ethics; and cultural change and sequences. The inclusion of the interdisciplinary approach utilized in this field will provide students with the most up to data interpretation of human origins, the reconstruction of human behavior, and the emergence of cultural, identity, and human existence. Schedule Description : Do you want to be an archaeologist? Have you always wanted to do real life archaeological excavations? In this course you will play a detective, but the mysteries are far more complex and harder to solve than most crimes.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae Johannes Krause
    Curriculum vitae Johannes Krause Born 1980 in Leinefelde, Thuringia, Germany Contact Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Department of Archaeogenetics Deutscher Platz 6 04103 Leipzig, GERMANY E-mail [email protected] Webpage https://www.eva.mpg.de/archaeogenetics/staff.html Research Focus • Ancient DNA • Archaeogenetics • Human Evolution • Ancient Pathogen Genomics • Comparative and Evolutionary Genomics • Human Immunogenetics Present Positions since 2020 Director, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Department of Archaeogenetics since 2018 Full Professor for Archaeogenetics, Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Research, Friedrich Schiller University Jena since 2016 Director, Max-Planck – Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean (MHAAM) since 2015 Honorary Professor for Archaeo- and Paleogenetics, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Eberhard Karls University Tuebingen Professional Career 2014 - 2020 Director, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Department of Archaeogenetics 2013 - 2015 Full Professor (W3) for Archaeo- and Paleogenetics, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Eberhard Karls University Tuebingen 2010 - 2013 Junior Professor (W1) for Palaeogenetics, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Eberhard Karls University Tuebingen 2008 - 2010 Postdoctoral Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Leipzig, Germany. Research: Ancient human genetics and genomics 2005 -
    [Show full text]
  • Palaeolithic and Pleistocene Sites of the Mendip, Bath and Bristol Areas
    Proc. Univ. Bristol Spelacol. Soc, 19SlJ, 18(3), 367-389 PALAEOLITHIC AND PLEISTOCENE SITES OF THE MENDIP, BATH AND BRISTOL AREAS RECENT BIBLIOGRAPHY by R. W. MANSFIELD and D. T. DONOVAN Lists of references lo works on the Palaeolithic and Pleistocene of the area were published in these Proceedings in 1954 (vol. 7, no. 1) and 1964 (vol. 10, no. 2). In 1977 (vol. 14, no. 3) these were reprinted, being then out of print, by Hawkins and Tratman who added a list ai' about sixty papers which had come out between 1964 and 1977. The present contribution is an attempt to bring the earlier lists up to date. The 1954 list was intended to include all work before that date, but was very incomplete, as evidenced by the number of older works cited in the later lists, including the present one. In particular, newspaper reports had not been previously included, but are useful for sites such as the Milton Hill (near Wells) bone Fissure, as are a number of references in serials such as the annual reports of the British Association and of the Wells Natural History and Archaeological Society, which are also now noted for the first time. The largest number of new references has been generated by Gough's Cave, Cheddar, which has produced important new material as well as new studies of finds from the older excavations. The original lists covered an area from what is now the northern limit of the County of Avon lo the southern slopes of the Mendips. Hawkins and Tratman extended that area to include the Quaternary Burtle Beds which lie in the Somerset Levels to the south of the Mendips, and these are also included in the present list.
    [Show full text]
  • Who Are We As Historical Beings? Shaping Identities in Light of the Archaeogenetics ‘Revolution’
    Who Are We as Historical Beings? Shaping Identities in Light of the Archaeogenetics ‘Revolution’ Alexandra Ion Abstract There is a human fundamental need to know who we are and where we come from. In an age when myths, legends and family memories are starting to fade or become obsolete, science is brought in to fill the gaps and answer these questions. This article introduces a special theme section dedicated to critical reflections on the relationship between the disciplines of archaeology and archaeogenetics. It gives a summary of the ‘Can science accommodate multiple ontologies? The genetics revolution and archaeological theory’ workshop held in Cambridge in 2018, followed by an introduction to the papers in this theme section. Lastly, I evaluate archaeogenetic narratives in terms of their target audience, knowledge obtained (or not) and future directions. Keywords: aDNA, archaeology, identity, narratives, reductionism, slow science Institute of Anthropology ‘Francisc I. Rainer’ of the Romanian Academy Email: [email protected] CURRENT SWEDISH ARCHAEOLOGY VOL. 27 2019 | https://doi.org/10.37718/CSA.2019.01 11 Alexandra Ion To wake up immersed in pure genetics data, faced with a story which will open unknown paths. Who are we? And how much does the image we construct about ourselves matter?1 (Iusuf 2018) With these lines, Romanian journalist Selma Iusuf gives voice to the feel­ ings many share in the face of the new DNA technologies and their impact on traditional identity narratives. This type of opinion piece has become frequent in newspapers in recent years, with various authors (scientists, fic­ tion writers, journalists) commenting on the latest DNA news (e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • AIA Bulletin, Fiscal Year 2005
    ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA A I A B U L L E T I N Volume 96 Fiscal Year 2005 AIA BULLETIN, Fiscal Year 2005 Table of Contents GOVERNING BOARD Governing Board . 3 AWARD CITATIONS Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement . 4 Pomerance Award for Scientific Contributions to Archaeology . 5 Martha and Artemis Joukowsky Distinguished Service Award . 6 James R . Wiseman Book Award . 6 Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award . 7 Conservation and Heritage Management Award . 8 Outstanding Public Service Award . 8 ANNUAL REPORTS Report of the President . 10 Report of the First Vice President . 12 Report of the Vice President for Professional Responsibilities . 13 Report of the Vice President for Publications . 15 Report of the Vice President for Societies . 16 Report of the Vice President for Education and Outreach . 17 Report of the Treasurer . 19 Report of the Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of Archaeology . 24 Report of the Development Committee . 26 MINUTES OF MEETINGS Executive Committee: August 13, 2004 . 28 Executive Committee: September 10, 2004 . 32 Governing Board: October 16, 2004 . 36 Executive Committee: December 8, 2004 . 44 Governing Board: January 6, 2005 . 48 nstitute of America nstitute I 126th Council: January 7, 2005 . 54 Executive Committee: February 11, 2005 . 62 Executive Committee: March 9, 2005 . 66 Executive Committee: April 12, 2005 . 69 Governing Board: April 30, 2005 . 70 R 2006 LECTURES AND PROGRAMS BE M Special Lectures . 80 TE P AIA National Lecture Program . 81 E S 96 (July 2004–June 2005) Volume BULLETIN, the Archaeological © 2006 by Copyright 2 ARCHAEOLOgic AL INStitute OF AMERic A ROLL OF SPECIAL MEMBERS .
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient DNA in Physical Anthropology: a Review Jacqueline E Broida
    Ancient DNA in Physical Anthropology: A Review by Jacqueline E Broida B.A., Miami University, 2006 A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment Of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Anthropology 2011 This thesis entitled: Ancient DNA in Physical Anthropology: A Review Written by Jacqueline E Broida Has been approved for the Department of Anthropology X Dennis Van Gerven X Darna Dufour X Herbert Covert Date _________ The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we Find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards Of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. Broida, Jacqueline E (Masters, Biological Anthropology) Ancient DNA in Physical Anthropology: A Review Thesis directed by Full Professor Dennis VanGerven The field of ancient DNA began in 1984 with the sequencing of quagga—an extinct member of the horse family—DNA and the development of PCR (Higuchi et al., 1984). Since then, ancient DNA has been used in physical anthropology. Ancient DNA has a variety of applications in anthropology including phylogentic relationships and human evolution, movement and migration, the study of hominin ancestors, sex determination, agriculture, animal domestication, nutrition, diseases, historical kinships, and primate conservation. In particular aDNA technology has given anthropologists the opportunity to study the history and pre-history of the agricultural expansion in the Pacific as well as the ability to learn more about the Neanderthals: what their mitochondrial genome was like, how much their genome differed from the modern human genome, their pigmentation, and their position in hominin phylogeny.
    [Show full text]
  • The Reemergence of a Biological Conceptualization of Race in Research on Race/Ethnic Disparities in Health
    Back with a Vengeance: the Reemergence of a Biological Conceptualization of Race in Research on Race/Ethnic Disparities in Health Reanne Frank Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard University Department of Sociology, Ohio State University Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America. Los Angeles California, March 30-April 1, 2006. Over the last five years, literature on the role of race in biomedicine has exploded. Articles detailing differences in allele frequencies between ‘racial’ groups have become commonplace in the journal Nature-Genetics . The clinical relevance of race/ancestry groupings has been debated in the pages of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and in the Annals of Internal Medicine . The latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine contained a full feature article, one letter and one commentary, all positing a genetic connection between race and disease. The recent approval by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) of BiDil, a heart failure medication patented exclusively for African-Americans, likely marks the beginning of new era of race-based pharmaceuticals and clinical care. It would not be an exaggeration to say that we are currently on the forefront of a new wave of scientific endeavors, fueled largely by developments in the Human Genome Project (HGP), which will alter the fields of anthropology, population genetics, epidemiology, demography, and medicine for years to come. But to argue that the current developments aimed at elucidating a genetic basis of race/ethnic disparities in health, constitute an entirely new phenomenon, would be to ignore the weight of history connecting race, genes, and disease.
    [Show full text]
  • EAA2021 Sessions 14 July-1.Pdf
    ORGANISERS 27th EAA Annual Meeting (Kiel Virtual, 2021) - Sessions Names, titles and affiliations are reproduced as submitted by the session organisers and/or authors. Language and wording were not revised. Technical editing: Kateřina Kleinová (EAA) Design and layout: Kateřina Kleinová (EAA) Design cover page: Janine Cordts (Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte Universität Kiel) European Association of Archaeologists Prague, June 2021 © European Association of Archaeologists, 2021 Tuesday 7 September 2021 #EAA2021 5 UNDERSTANDING PREHISTORIC DEMOGRAPHY Time: 9:00 - 16:30 CEST, 7 September 2021 Theme: 5. Assembling archaeological theory and the archaeological sciences Format: Regular session Organisers: Armit, Ian (University of York) - Damm, Charlotte (University of Tromso) - Črešnar, Matija (University of Ljubljana) ABSTRACTS 9:00 INTRODUCTION 9:15 THE COLOGNE PROTOCOL: ESTIMATING PAST POPULATION DENSITIES Schmidt, Isabell (University of Cologne) - Hilpert, Johanna (Kiel University - CAU) - Kretschmer, Inga (Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Stuttgart) - Peters, Robin (Landschaftsverband Rheinland) - Broich, Manue - Schiesberg, Sara - Vo- gels, Oliver - Wendt, Karl Peter - Zimmermann, Andreas - Maier, Andreas (University of Cologne) 9:30 DWELLINGS, SETTLEMENT ORGANISATION AND POPULATION FLUCTUATIONS: A MULTI-SCALAR CASE STUDY FROM ARCTIC NORWAY Damm, Charlotte (Arctic University of Norway) 9:45 EXPLORING LOCAL GEOGRAPHICAL CONDITIONS UNDERPINNING REGIONAL DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE AMONG HUNTER-FISHER-GATHERERS IN SOUTHWEST COASTAL NORWAY (11,500-4300 CAL BP) Lundström, Victor - Bergsvik, Knut (University Museum, University of Bergen) 10:00 TERRITORIES, STRATEGIES AND TWO GENERATIONS Odgaard, Ulla (Independent researcher) 10:15 POPULATION DYNAMICS AND THE EXPANSION OF AGRICULTURE. ASSESSING THE RADIOCARBON GAPS DURING THE NEOLITHIZATION PROCESS IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN Cortell-Nicolau, Alfredo (Departament de Prehistòria, Arqueologia i Història Antiga. Universitat de València) - Crema, Enrico (Department of Archaeology.
    [Show full text]