Gonzalo Oteo García is an archaeogeneticist that uses ancient DNA to study the past. His research is focused towards understanding how populations change over time, how they relate to the world we see today or why they went extinct.
Host University: Sapienza Università di Roma
Host research group or department: Parducci’s group at Department of Environmental Biology
Co-host University: Stockholm University
Secondment institution: To be defined
Advisor: Prof. Laura Parducci
Co-advisor:Prof. Anders Götherström
Secondment mentor: To be defined
My research
V2O- Vrbis to Orbis: uncovering the forgotten history and genetic past behind Valencia (Spain), from its birth as a Roman colony
to the fall of Islamic madina and the rise of the modern city
I propose investigating the history of the settlement that today
constitutes the modern city of Valencia (Spain) through a biomolecular approach that will rest on three legs: paleogenomics, stable isotopes and environme ntal/sedimentary DNA. The outcome of the investigation will generate immaterial cultural heritage for the region whose only other comparable precedent to date is the city of Rome (Italy). Along the way I will deal with the challenges posed by the fragmentary nature of ancient DNA (aDNA) thanks to the special techniques developed ad hoc in the last decades, which have been the subject of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2022. I will sequence ancient genomes covering the time-period from 100 BC until 1500 AD, aiming at reconstructing past mobility, admixture, modeling social dynamics, and determining fine-scale population structure through time.
Taking advantage of previous research efforts with some newly generated I will also aim to identify and model dietary trends and shifts using stable isotopes. In addition, we will reconstruct the local ecology through the centuries by analyzing environmental aDNA from sediments sampled in the marshes that surround the city. Since its foundation in 138 BCE at the mouth of river Turia, the city has been shaped by numerous cultures. Valencia offers a unique opportunity to understand the impact social upheavals can have on an urban settlement. The project will provide insight into the population dynamics of the city during the Roman Republican period as well as the more cosmopolitan Imperial times, the Visigothic rule, and the Islamic era with its Arab and Berber influences. The biomolecular approach will reveal unanticipated truths that cannot be predicted by history or archaeology, as well as forgotten facts and will improve our historical knowledge. To integrate information across disciplines, I will work closely with our collaborators in anthropology, history, archaeology,
mathematics and visual arts. A strong point of the project is that I already completed the task of collecting remains over the past few years (around 200 samples), and the collection is now ready for analysis, which ensures its feasibility. This makes the project a rare scientific opportunity.
Date started – Date End
01.02.2024 - 31.01.2026
