Professor Greger Larson

larson
Director Palaeogenomics & Bio-Archaeology Research Network
+44 (0)1865 611745
greger.larson@arch.ox.ac.uk

Research Interests

Evolutionary Genomics; Ancient DNA; Domestication; Human and Animal dispersal; Phylogenetics.

Research Profile

Research Activites

Current Grants

  • Cultural and Scientific Perceptions of Human-Chicken Interactions
  • Arts and Humanities Research Council (AH/L006979/1)
  • Unifying Domestication and Evolutionary Biology through Ancient DNA (UNDEAD)
  • European Research Council (ERC-2013-StG 337574-UNDEAD)           
  • Deciphering dog domestication through a combined ancient DNA and geometric morphometric approach
  • Natural Environment Research Council, UK (NE/K005243/1 and NE/K003259/1)

Education

  • D. Phil., Henry Wellcome Ancient Biomolecules Centre, Dept. of Zoology, University of Oxford 2006
  • Ph.D. student, Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado 2002
  • M. St., World Archaeology, Dept. of Archaeology, University of Oxford 2000
  • BA., Environment, Economics, & Politics, Claremont McKenna College, California 1996

Links

Publications

  • Brain Size Does Not Rescue Domestication Syndrome

    Lord, KA, Larson, G, Karlsson, EK
    December 2020
    |
    Journal article
    |
    Trends in Ecology & Evolution

  • Genomic Adaptations and Evolutionary History of the Extinct Scimitar-Toothed Cat, Homotherium latidens

    Barnett, R, Westbury, MV, Sandoval-Velasco, M, Vieira, FG, Jeon, S, Zazula, G, Martin, MD, Ho, SYW, Mather, N, Gopalakrishnan, S, Ramos-Madrigal, J, de Manuel, M
    ,
    et al
    December 2020
    |
    Journal article
    |
    Current Biology

  • Tracking the Near Eastern origins and European dispersal of the western house mouse

    Cucchi, T, Papayianni, K, Cersoy, S, Aznar-Cormano, L, Zazzo, A, Debruyne, R, Berthon, R, Bălășescu, A, Simmons, A, Valla, F, Hamilakis, Y, Mavridis, F
    ,
    et al
    December 2020
    |
    Journal article
    |
    Scientific Reports

  • Origins and genetic legacy of prehistoric dogs

    Bergström, A, Frantz, L, Schmidt, R, Ersmark, E, Lebrasseur, O, Girdland-Flink, L, Lin, AT, Storå, J, Sjögren, K-G, Anthony, D, Antipina, E, Amiri, S
    ,
    et al
    October 2020
    |
    Journal article
    |
    Science
    <jats:p>Dogs were the first domestic animal, but little is known about their population history and to what extent it was linked to humans. We sequenced 27 ancient dog genomes and found that all dogs share a common ancestry distinct from present-day wolves, with limited gene flow from wolves since domestication but substantial dog-to-wolf gene flow. By 11,000 years ago, at least five major ancestry lineages had diversified, demonstrating a deep genetic history of dogs during the Paleolithic. Coanalysis with human genomes reveals aspects of dog population history that mirror humans, including Levant-related ancestry in Africa and early agricultural Europe. Other aspects differ, including the impacts of steppe pastoralist expansions in West and East Eurasia and a near-complete turnover of Neolithic European dog ancestry.</jats:p>

  • Genomes of Pleistocene Siberian Wolves Uncover Multiple Extinct Wolf Lineages

    Ramos-Madrigal, J, Sinding, M-HS, Carøe, C, Mak, SST, Niemann, J, Samaniego Castruita, JA, Fedorov, S, Kandyba, A, Germonpré, M, Bocherens, H, Feuerborn, TR, Pitulko, VV
    ,
    et al
    October 2020
    |
    Journal article
    |
    Current Biology
More
Teaching

Postgraduate teaching

Course lecturer in Ancient DNA for the MSc in Archaeological Science.