Mortality is a major influence in evolution and ecology, and the timing and causes of death can drive many aspects of adaptation. In prehistoric hunter-gather societies the relation between resource availability and disease has been a major mortality parameter.

However, there is increasing evidence that traumatic causes of death such as predation, accidents, and inter- and intra-specific violence, play a significant role in demography and adaptive response during our evolution. During the talk we will explore how different “death scenarios” among prehistoric humans shaped our behaviour and how we are able to study them through taphonomy, palaeopathology and experimental approaches.

Talk is hybrid. To join online, please register here: https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMtdemtpzsjEtbfDnyhXH3i7Rel-...