Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History

The Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena targets fundamental questions of human history and evolution since the Paleolithic. With three interdisciplinary research departments – the Department of Archaeogenetics, the Department of Archaeology, and the Department of Cultural and Linguistic Evolution – the MPI-SHH pursues an integrative approach to the study of human history that bridges the traditional divide between the natural sciences and the humanities. By assembling experts from research areas as diverse as palaeogenetics, proteomics, bioinformatics, anthropology, archaeology, history, and quantitative linguistics, the MPI-SHH seeks to join and advance a broad range of methods, approaches, and datasets to explore big questions of the human past. Using state-of-the-art analytical techniques and technologies, the MPI-SHH tackles topics such as human modification of ecosystems, the spread and diversification of human-associated microbes and infectious diseases, and the co-evolution of genes and culture, amongst others.