Current Trends in Human Diversity 7.5.2025
What: New Human Diversity tenure track professors
When: May 7th 2025 at 12:00–14:00
Where: in Natura, lecture hall IX and in Zoom https://utu.zoom.us/j/61515345616
We are delighted to present the three new tenure-track professors in Human Diversity! Based on their extensive expertise in key aspects of research in Human Diversity, they will give a joint talk focusing on genetic, cultural, linguistic, health and life-history diversity in humans
Evolution of Human Diversity in Finland through Genes, Languages and Diseases
ELINA SALMELA
Associate Professor in Archaeogenomics
Department of Biology, Department of Archaeology
University of Turku
OUTI VESAKOSKI
Associate professor in Evolutionary Language Science
School of Languages and Translation Studies
University of Turku
MIRKKA LAHDENPERÄ
Associate Professor in Evolutionary Health
Department of Biology
University of Turku
No registration needed, welcome everyone!
Abstract
The Human Diversity profiling area at the University of Turku studies how human contacts and communication networks have produced the past and current human diversity and how they will shape it in the future. The three tenure-track professors tackle this central question from complementary perspectives, utilizing unique datasets from past and present-day Finland and nearby areas. In this talk, Assoc. Prof. Elina Salmela will first describe how contemporary and ancient genomes have illuminated human migration, diverse population contacts in Northern Eurasia, and the life histories of ancient individuals. Second, Assoc. Prof. Outi Vesakoski will discuss how language data carries cultural memory that can be used to reconstruct the spatio-temporal spread of Finnish or Finno-Ugric languages, and how ecological boundaries shape the linguistic landscape. Third, Assoc. Prof. Mirkka Lahdenperä will introduce how social contacts have shaped life-histories, health and disease susceptibilities in historical and contemporary Finnish people. At large, this provides a unique viewpoint on human history and diversity in Northeastern Europe.
