Plenary speakers

Dr. Allowen Evin, Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution-Montpellier, CNRS, France

Allowen is a bioarchaeologist working at the interface of evolutionary biology and archaeology. She specializes in domestication and phenotypic evolution, and is interested in identifying and contrasting the various factors that shape morphological variation. She is particularly interested in the phenotypic changes that occurred during domestication when populations evolved under human control. Allowen’s current interest focuses on the northwestern Mediterranean basin, where domesticed species have evolved for 8000 years outside of a core domestication center.

Prof. Naomi Sykes, Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, UK

Naomi is Lawrence Professor of Archaeology at the University of Exeter. Her research focusses on human-animal-environment interactions and how they inform on the structure, ideology and environmental impact of societies, past and present. Her approach is to integrate archaeological data with wider scientific evidence (especially DNA and stable isotope analysis) and discussions from anthropology, cultural geography, (art) history and linguistics. Together these ancient data represent a powerful tool for contextualising modern problems facing humanity and for communicating difficult issues in a palatable format.