Ancient World Seminar: Leonard Rutgers (University of Utrecht): ‘The Third Revolution in Archaeology: aDNA in Ancient and Medieval Jewish Archaeology.’

On behalf of the Mortuary Ritual Network

Abstract

This paper explores the ramifications of the biomolecular revolution in archaeology by talking about advances in the study of ancient DNA. After a general introduction that seeks to contextualize said revolution and that talks about new possibilities as well as associated obstacles, it presents a case study that focuses on recent work at the medieval Jewish cemetery of Erfurt. In doing so, it talks the audience through the actual findings, the methodologies used, and the results attained. In all of this, special emphasis will be paid to the question of what the study of archaeogenetics brings to the table from the perspective of archaeology and history.

About the speaker

Prof. Dr. Leonard V. Rutgers is an archaeologist and historian of religion, holding the chair in Late Antiquity at Utrecht University. His research focuses on the history and archaeology of the Jewish Diaspora in Europe, the origins of early Christianity, and the history of Jewish-Christian relations. He is particularly interested in migration, diaspora studies, historical demography, cultural interactions between different populations, the integration of religious minorities, identity formation, quantification, language use, epigraphy, using archaeology as a source to study history, heritage management, archaeological ethics, and the analysis of rhetorical strategies used in dealing with "the other."