Archaeology

Archaeology academics work published in Nature

Staff of the Archaeology subject area are co-authors on two papers on ancient DNA in the international journal of Science, Nature. (Published 22 February, 2017)

Dr Kath McSweeney and Professor Clive Bonsall, with former PhD graduate Laura Bonsall, are co-authors on two major articles published in Nature.

The articles present the results of two major ancient DNA studies that help to resolve some of the “big” questions of European prehistory - how farming came to Europe and the processes involved in the pan-European expansion of the Beaker complex in the third millennium BC. These studies were led by geneticists from Harvard University but involved over a hundred archaeologists from Europe and North America, including academic staff and former doctoral students from Archaeology in Edinburgh who are at the forefront of research in these fields and whose contributions were of crucial importance to the research.