The Environmental Archaeology of Water: Reconstructing Early Human Occupation of Coastal Landscapes

Please join us as we kick off our Fall 2025 Colloquium Series with a talk led by Dr. Ilaria Patania, Assistant Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Anthropology at WashU. 

This talk will explore the limits of human adaptability to challenging marginal environments, at time of climate change. Dr. Patania will present two case studies from her own geoarchaeological research, one from the Ordos desert and one from Sicily, where presence or absence of water dictated human arrival, occupation patterns, and subsistence strategies during interglacial and glacial periods. The data Dr. Patania will discuss has wider implications for themes of human dispersal, including discussions of cultural transmission and possible connections with other hominin groups like Neanderthals and Denisovans.

This event is free and open to all! A light reception will follow.