Bread, Wine and Genes

Human civilization is anchored on domesticated crops that we started to develop more than 9,000 years ago. Hear how archaeology and genomics are helping unlock the nature of domesticated plants, and the lessons we can learn about evolution.

Domesticated species are a cornerstone of modern human civilization, providing food resources for human societies. Domesticated crops are also a model we can use to understand the nature of evolution — as Darwin himself noted “a careful study of domesticated animals and cultivated plants would offer the best chance of making out this obscure problem”.

Taking a look at food species as diverse as rice and date palm, we will discover recent research into crop species that combines archaeology with evolutionary biology and genomics.

Entry to the talk is free.