Biological Exchange in the Anthropocene: Archaeological and Genetic Perspectives

Human trade, travel and transport have led to the movement of a vast number of plants, animals and pathogens, and the creation of cosmopolitan assemblages of organisms across all continents. Perhaps the best-known example of large-scale human-mediated translocation is the Columbian Exchange, which famously led to the exchange of a diverse array of domesticates, weeds and diseases between the Old and New Worlds in the decades after 1492. Archaeological and genetic research have nonetheless begun to reveal the earlier roots of biological exchange in various global contexts. This session will adopt a multidisciplinary perspective, exploring biological exchange in the Anthropocene using the latest techniques in archaeology and genetics.