Ancient Biomolecules and Our Past

This course provides an overview of the biomolecular techniques used by archaeologists and anthropologists to understand the past. These methods now form the basis for some of the highest impact research in our field. The course will explore the ethics of biomolecular research, and the principles underlying the main stable isotope, DNA, proteomic and lipid residue methods used within these fields. It will discuss how these are used to investigate questions about our past. For example, how stable isotopes have been used to understand early farming practices and how aDNA has revealed interbreeding between different species of hominins. Where possible students will be given the opportunity to visit laboratories at the ANU, and will be taught the fundamentals of data analysis. The course will focus on evaluating the quality of a dataset and whether it can answer specific archaeological/ anthropological questions.