AGRIPOP exhibition – Paleogenetics and archaeology – Neolithic revolution and migration

Exhibition at Université Paris Cité, Hall A of the Grands-Moulins, from November 14 to December 16, 2024

This exhibition opens the doors of the CNRS “Epigenome & Paleogenome” research laboratory at the Institut Jacques Monod, Université Paris Cité.

In 2010, the first Neanderthal genome was sequenced. This marked the birth of paleogenomics. Since then, paleogenomics – the analysis of ancient DNA preserved in archaeological bones – has become a rapidly expanding field of research. It provides information on the genetic identity of individuals from the past – humans and animals – on kinship relationships, genealogies, migrations, interbreeding and certain characteristics of their physical appearance. This information enables scientists to reconstruct more accurately the reality of a given moment in the past.

From Çatalhöyük, in Anatolia, to the Aisne valley, the AGRIPOP exhibition invites you to follow the discoveries of archaeologists and paleogeneticists to understand how humans evolved towards the sedentary lifestyle of producers-farmers that is still our present.

Accessible to all, this exhibition highlights the collaborative and interdisciplinary practices of researchers on an international scale. Above all, it makes more tangible our knowledge of the settlement of northern France in the Neolithic by the first farmers of Anatolian origin (modern-day Türkiye) 7,000 years ago. AGRIPOP sheds new light on the origins of the way our societies function today. The texts in the exhibition are in French but the accompanying booklets are also provided in English.