Late Holocene hunter-gatherer interaction through oxygen and strontium isotopes: cautionary tales, machine learning and mobility in Patagonia

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• Alejandro Serna (University of Glasgow)
• Friday 14 March 2025, 13:15-14:00
• Seminar Room, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Downing Site.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Qin-Qin Lü.

Summary/Blurb:

The way that hunter-gatherer groups interact with each other and build their networks is one of the hottest topics in archaeology worldwide. The study of mobility offers the unique opportunity to tackle it focusing on the actors. This talk is meant to share the experiences of using widely used biomolecular tools (oxygen and strontium isotopes), powerful analytical approaches (machine learning isoscaping and probabilistic assignment), and material culture to study paleomobility in the southernmost region of America, the Patagonia region.

Bio:

Alejandro Serna is an Argentinian archaeologist, part of the Museum of La Plata in Argentina. He has a deep interest in South American past, biomolecular methods, and quantitative techniques applied to various records. During his PhD research on hunter-gatherer ethnicity, he received laboratory and analytical training at institutions worldwide, including the University of Cape Town, the University of Utah, and the University of Ottawa. After conducting isotope forensics on US soldier remains at the University of Utah, he joined the University of York to pursue his Marie Curie project on early Patagonian technological development and dispersion through organic residue analysis. He is currently a Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Glasgow and is transitioning to a position at the British Museum, where he will engage in the biomolecular analysis of African forager pottery.

Please join us in-person in the McDonald Institute seminar room or join online.

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZDc2MDk1ZGQtNmNkZC00M2U2LTliYjMtN2EyZWE0MDI5ZTAz%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2249a50445-bdfa-4b79-ade3-547b4f3986e9%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%227c42dde3-f200-49ed-9a81-5aa7e67f945e%22%7d

This talk is part of the Pitt-Rivers Archaeological Science Seminar Series series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• AUB_Cambridge Seminars
• Pitt-Rivers Archaeological Science Seminar Series
• Seminar Room, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Downing Site

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