Paleoanthropology
Palaeoanthropology aims at identifying the populations of the past through the study of human bones. It includes the approach of a series of issues: palaeodemography, health status, activities, links between populations and genetic links, diet, origins and mobility of people.
The methods currently developed by our research team are the following: markers of activities, non-metric or epigenetic traits, isotope analysis (strontium, oxygen, carbon) as well as the excavation of burials.
The bone collections – about13'000 skeletons stemming from the cantons of Geneva, Valais, Vaud as well as from Sudan – constitute a privileged basis for studies and comparisons. In parallel, the establishment of a reference collection of modern skeletons stemming from vacations of cemeteries in the canton of Vaud – more than 500 individuals to date (collection SIMON) – is part of the actual approach.