I received my bachelor’s degree in 1996 from Claremont McKenna College, a small liberal arts college in California. I read just about everything Stephen J Gould ever wrote over the following three years while I wandered the deserts of Turkmenistan and worked for an environmental consultancy in Azerbaijan. Deciding that evolution was cooler than oil, I studied at Oxford and the University of Colorado before receiving my PhD in Zoology in 2006. I then spent two years in Uppsala, Sweden on an EMBO postdoctoral fellowship before starting a job in the department of archaeology at Durham University. I then moved to Oxford University to become the Director of the Palaeogenomics & Bio-Archaeology Research Network Greger where I am continuing my focus on the use of ancient DNA to study the pattern and process of domestication. I rarely wonder what my salary would be had I stuck to oil.

I am a Professor of Evolutionary Genomics, whose work centres on understanding the pattern and process of domestication, and I lead the PalaeoBARN Laboratory at the University of Oxford in the School of Archaeology.

The Palaeogenomics and Bio-Archaeology Research Network (PalaeoBARN) is an internationally recognised centre for the study of ancient DNA and the deep history of human–animal interactions. Led by Professor Greger Larson, the group focuses on unravelling the evolutionary processes that have shaped wild and domestic animal populations over the past ~30,000 years. By combining cutting-edge genetic analyses with a wide range of complementary archaeological and biological methods, PalaeoBARN has rewritten the histories of key species including dogs, pigs, and chickens.
At the heart of the group’s work is the generation and analysis of DNA from ancient remains, museum collections, and modern individuals. These genetic data are integrated with diverse forms of evidence such as radiocarbon dating, stable isotope analysis, and geometric morphometrics. The lab’s bespoke, purpose-built, ancient DNA facility at Oxford provides the controlled environment needed to recover the often homeopathic quantities of DNA fragments remaining in archaeological specimens. The research team then deploys a suite of bioinformatic tools to track how DNA and morphological variation have shifted through time and space, revealing both the fine-scale dynamics and long-term patterns of domestication.

PalaeoBARN thrives as a collaborative network. Although its core facility is based in Oxford, the group works closely with archaeologists, geneticists, museum curators, and conservationists around the world. This global network allows the lab to access rare specimens, develop and test new analytical approaches, and both lead and contribute to large-scale international projects. Such collaborations have enabled the team to challenge long-standing assumptions about where and when domestic animals first appeared, and to reveal the complex and often non-linear processes by which humans and animals shaped each other’s evolutionary trajectories.
Training the next generation of researchers is central to the lab’s mission. More than ten doctoral students have either completed or are currently pursuing their research within PalaeoBARN, alongside a vibrant community of postdoctoral researchers, Master’s students, visiting fellows, and international collaborators. The lab provides these scholars with hands-on experience in ancient DNA methods, interdisciplinary research design, and the communication of results to both academic and wider audiences.

The group’s research has been supported by a wide range of funders, including the European Research Council, UK Research Councils (NERC and AHRC), Brasenose College, and the University of Oxford. This support has enabled the development of innovative methods and the pursuit of ambitious projects that cross disciplinary and geographical boundaries.

By integrating genomic data with archaeological and palaeontological evidence, PalaeoBARN addresses some of the most fundamental questions about the origins of the modern world. Its discoveries reveal not only the histories of humans, animals and pathogens, but also on the ways in which human societies have been transformed by domestication, mobility, and the creation of new ecological niches. In doing so, the lab offers a long-term perspective on pressing issues of biodiversity, sustainability, and the intertwined fates of humans and animals.

http://www.palaeobarn.com