Staff
Dr Greger Larson
(email at greger.larson@durham.ac.uk)
Education
D.Phil, University of Oxford, UK, Zoology - 2006
Ph.D student, University of Colorado, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology - 2002
M.St., University of Oxford, UK, World Archaeology - 2000
BA, Claremont McKenna College, California, Environment Economics & Politics - 1996
Research Interests
At the most general level I am interested in change. Evolutionary biology presents the best system for understanding how and why change happens within and between various level of organization. I am therefore interested in virtually everything to do with evolutionary change, but my primary model for studying evolution is domestication.
Investigating domestication is rewarding not only because modern civilization could not exist without it, and thus the study of domestication is the study of who we are as a species, but also because the process of domestication has radically altered both the physical features and genetic constitutions of numerous plants and animals.
Exploring the results of this large-scale natural experiment has, and will no doubt continue to shed light on the origins of our modern world, as well as the processes which have lead to the diversity of life on earth.
For more information, including a complete list of publications and a more detailed discussion of our research, visit our lab website at the link under personal web pages above.
Research Groups
Research Projects
- Bioarchaeology of pig domestication and husbandry
Publications
Journal papers: academic
- Larson, G., Albarella, U., Dobney, K., Rowley-Conwy, P., Schibler, J., Tresset, A., Vigne, J-D., Edwards, C. J., Schlumbaum, A., Dinu, A., Balacsescu, A., Dolman, G., Tagliacozzo, A., Manaseryan, N., Miracle, P., Van Wijngaarden-Bakker, L., Masseti, M., Bradley, D. G. & Cooper, A. 2007. Ancient DNA, pig domestication, and the spread of the Neolithic into Europe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104(39): 15276-15281. (Additional information) (View publication online)
- Edwards, CJ, Bollongino, R, Scheu, A, Chamberlain, A, Tresset, A, Vigne, JD, Baird, JF, Larson, G, Ho, SYW, Heupink, TH, Shapiro, B, Freeman, AR, Thomas, MG, Arbogast, RM, Arndt, B, Bartosiewicz, L, Benecke, N, Budja, M, Chaix, L, Choyke, AM, Coqueugniot, E, Dohle, HJ, Goldner, H, Hartz, S, Helmer, D, Herzig, B, Hongo, H, Mashkour, M, Ozdogan, M, Pucher, E, Roth, G, Schade-Lindig, S, Schmolcke, U, Schulting, RJ, Stephan, E, Uerpmann, HP, Voros, I, Voytek, B, Bradley, DG & Burger, J 2007. Mitochondrial DNA analysis shows a Near Eastern Neolithic origin for domestic cattle and no indication of domestication of European aurochs. Proceedings Of The Royal Society B-biological Sciences 274(1616): 1377-1385. (Additional information) (View publication online)
- Larson, G. , Cucchi, C. , Fujita, M.,, Matisoo-Smith, E., Robins, J., Anderson, A. Rolett, B. Spriggs, M. Dolman, G. Kim, T.H. Thuy, N.T. Randi, E. Doherty, M. Awe Due, R. Bollt, R. Djubiantono, T. Griffin, B. Intoh, M. Keane, E. Kirch, P. Li, K-T. Morwood, M. Pedriña, L.M. Piper, P. Rabett, R. Shooter, P. Van den Bergh, G. West, E. Wickler, S. Yuan, J. Cooper, A. & Dobney, K. 2007. Phylogeny and Ancient DNA of Sus Provides Insights into Neolithic Expansion in Island South East Asia and Oceania. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104(12): 4834-4839. (Additional information) (View publication online)
- Binladen, J, Wiuf, C, Gilbert, MTP, Bunce, M, Barnett, R, Larson, G, Greenwood, AD, Haile, J, Ho, SYW, Hansen, AJ & Willerslev, E 2006. Assessing the fidelity of ancient DNA sequences amplified from nuclear genes. Genetics 172(2): 733-741. (Additional information) (View publication online)
- Dobney, K & Larson, G 2006. Genetics and animal domestication: new windows on an elusive process. Journal Of Zoology 269(2): 261-271. (Additional information) (View publication online)
- Ho, SYW & Larson, G 2006. Molecular clocks: when times are a-changin'. Trends In Genetics 22(2): 79-83. (Additional information) (View publication online)
- Peter Bellwood,, Peter White;, Greger Larson,, Keith Dobney,, Umberto Albarella,, Elizabeth Matisoo-Smith,, Judith Robins,, Stewart Lowden,, Peter Rowley-Conwy,, Leif Andersson, & Alan Cooper 2005. Domesticated pigs in eastern Indonesia-Response. Science 309(5733): 381-381. (Additional information) (View publication online)
- Larson, G. , Dobney, K. , Albarella, U. Fang, M. Matisoo-Smith, E. Robins, J. Lowden, S. Finlayson, H. Brand, T., Willerslev, E. Rowley-Conwy, P. , Andersson, L. & Cooper, A. 2005. Worldwide phylogeography of wild boar reveals multiple centers of pig domestication. Science 307(5715): 1618-1621. (Additional information) (View publication online)
