Book Club: December 4, 2023, 2-4pm – Fellows and External Fellows – Zoom only
- This event has passed.
December 4, 2023 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
December 4, 2023, 2-4pm – Fellows and External Fellows
Jennifer Raff, Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas (2022)
Discussion Leader: Susan Pfeiffer
Where did the Indigenous people of the Americas come from and what were the patterns of migration by which they came to populate the continents? Although the title refers to genetics, such as what is being learned from ancient DNA, this very readable book also details theories based on interpretation of tools and other artifacts from sites of pre-European settlements. The approach represents a culture change for researchers interested in the peopling of the Americas. It includes both archaeological and genomic evidence from North and South American contexts, summarized clearly. This area has seen ideological controversies. The author argues that much of it stems from assumptions about how “primitive” early Americans must have been and how they arrived here. The frequent reluctance of contemporary Indigenous North Americans to participate in genomic research is said to reflect their response to anthropologists ‘ appropriation of human remains and artifacts that rightfully belong to them. (Available in all formats; 276 pages plus notes)
The link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/2wGPm9cPBB
The deadline to register is the Monday before the event at 8:00am. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only.
If you have any questions, please contact the organizer – Linda Hutcheon at l.hutcheon@utoronto.ca.
