In recent times studies addressing human diversity and its evolution through the possible relations among linguistic, biological and socio-cultural differences have multiplied. This workshop aims to explore how diverse strands of evidence — languages, genes, and cultures — can be combined to better understand human populations. We wish to discuss methods for collecting and comparing data across these domains, and examine how their integration can shed light on the histories of specific communities and humanity as a whole.
Possible topics include (but are not limited to):
Methods for collecting and representing linguistic, genetic, and socio-cultural datasets
Metrics of distance and similarity across populations (lexical, phonological, genetic, social, etc.)
Comparative frameworks for aligning heterogeneous data sources
Computational and statistical approaches to integrating language, biology, and culture
Case studies of population histories revealed by multiple domains of evidence
Language shift and replacement in relation to biological or social continuity
Theoretical challenges in triangulating data across different timescales and resolutions
Broader implications for understanding human evolution and cultural history
Phylogenetic and phylogeographic tools in linguistics and human genetics
The workshop will consist of 6 presentations of 25 minutes each + discussion (5 minutes) and a final panel discussion.