In the last decades, Molecular Anthropology, a discipline which uses
Molecular Biology and Genetics in anthropological research, has increasingly
contributed to the reconstruction of the origin and history of human populations,
traditionally studied through Paleontology and Archaeology. Human genetic
variability, at both protein and DNA level, has been investigated by our
research group starting in the early seventies. These data were used in
order to explore the evolutionary history of populations living in various
geographical areas, providing a quantitative and temporal framework that
is generally unavailable form other types of evidence. This is particularly
true for studies of origin, microevolution, diversification, migration
and adaptation of human populations in the Americas and the Mediterranean
Basin.
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