Gerritson Uses aDNA Results to Discuss Migration and Dispersal of Agriculture in Near East

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The Department of Anthropology at the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences presents the fall 2017 Robert L. Stigler Lecture in Anthropology and Archeology featuring Fokke Gerritsen, director of the Netherlands Institute in Turkey, and professor at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, in Gearhart 026.

Gerritsen will address the origins of farming in the Near East and southwestern Turkey and its subsequent rise to become the dominant subsistence economy of Europe and beyond. A reception will follow his talk. 

Excavations at the seventh millenium site of Barcın Höyük show how a Neolithic community in northwestern Turkey developed from a pioneer settlement to a node in a well-established regional culture. New aDNA evidence provides strong clues that migration was a major factor in the dispersal of farming. This lecture traces this saga, highlighting the innovations that contributed to the successful colonization of Anatolia and Europe by Neolithic farmers.

The lecture is a part of the Robert L. Stigler Lecture in Anthropology and Archeology series. The series is supported through a trust established by Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Stigler of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in their son's memory. Its purpose is to bring distinguished scholars to address the university community and the public on diverse archeological topics. The Stiglers' generous endowment of this lecture series is an especially fitting memorial to their son, who enjoyed a wide-ranging professional career in archeology, and provides opportunities for all to share in the knowledge of past peoples and cultures.