Human Genetics in Europe 40,000 years ago

Monday, May 11, 2026 - 6 pm MT (Hybrid)

Speaker: Dr. Jamie Hodgkins, Associate Professor of Anthropology,

University of Colorado, Denver

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Location: Englewood Public Library, Perrin Room, 1000 Englewood Parkway, Englewood, CO 80110. The library is located on the first floor of the Englewood Civic Center Building (Google Map Link). The Civic Center Building can be reached via S. Broadway, W. Hampden Ave and S. Santa Fe Drive. There is free parking accessible from S. Inca Street (enter the building on the 1st floor) and S. Jason Street (enter the building on the 2nd floor and take stairs/elevator to 1st floor). Public transit is also available at the nearby Englewood Light Rail Station and Bus Transfer Loop (Parking and Public Transit Link). For public transit information, please visit RTD's Trip Planner Web Page.

Abstract: Genomic research is transforming our understanding of Neandertals. High‑coverage genomes now reveal that Neandertal populations were small, regionally structured, and surprisingly interconnected with other hominins, including Denisovans and early Homo sapiens, through repeated episodes of gene flow.  In addition, ancient DNA from Middle Pleistocene fossils has exposed unexpected diversity: lineages splitting earlier than we assumed, ghost populations contributing genes to later groups, and a dynamic landscape of migration, replacement, and interbreeding. The new information provides deeper context about the tempo of human evolution, revealing a world where Neandertals and their contemporaries were part of a complex, interwoven human network. Yet, by 39,000 years ago Neandertals disappeared from the fossil record. In this lecture we will explore what we know about Neandertals and other groups alive at the time, and what might have happened 39,000 years ago.

Bio: Jamie Hodgkins is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Colorado Denver. Her research focuses on the origins, evolution, and ecology of modern humans and Neanderthals. Much of this work is concentrated on reconstructing the ecology and behavior of these humans by studying their patterns of hunting and butchery as well as analyzing the mobility of their prey species through isotopic analysis. She is a project director for excavations at the late Pleistocene and early Holocene site of Arma Veirana (https://chei.ucsd.edu/arma-veirana-cave/) in northwestern Italy. Her fieldwork has also included projects in France, Spain, Bulgaria, Morocco, South Africa, and Croatia.