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Tom Booth

@boothicus.bsky.social

5.5K followers 3.3K following 1.3K posts

Bioarchaeologist. Amateur Scarecrow. Ancient DNA Lab @ The Francis Crick Institute Associate Lecturer in Quantitative Archaeology and Later European Prehistory @ UCL Institute of Archaeology

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Tom Booth @boothicus.bsky.social · Sep 11

I wrote something swift with Dig It! about ancient DNA, migration and genetic change in prehistoric Britain, and specifically how to interpret ‘population replacement.’ Hint: it is not synonymous with ‘invasion’.

www.digitscotland.com/what-can-arc...

What Can Archaeology Tell Us About Prehistoric Migration in Scotland? - Dig It!

Migration has been a hot topic in archaeology since its beginnings. Antiquarians and archaeologists of the 19th and 20th centuries often interpreted changes in the archaeological record as representin...

www.digitscotland.com

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Reposted by Tom Booth

The Francis Crick Institute @crick.ac.uk · 17h

This image shows neurons being grown on a surface with tiny patterns that resemble human tissue to ‘steer’ their growth.

Models like this allow us to learn more about our nervous system and conditions like motor neurone disease.
Image credit: Cathleen Hagemann and @andreaserio.bsky.social

Four large circular bulbs are spread out like a square. Between the colourful bulbs, and in the background, are long, differently-coloured tendrils, which take up most of the rest of the image.

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Reposted by Tom Booth

Joana Valdez-Tullett @joanavaldez.bsky.social · 14h

A few years ago I was invited to take part in the History Hit documentary "Mysteries of Prehistoric Scotland". I thought you'd need a subscription to watch the whole episode, but it just randomly appeared as a suggestion for me to watch on YouTube. But you can watch the whole thing here...

The Lost World Of Prehistoric Scotland: Inside Kilmartin Glen's Tombs

YouTube video by Odyssey - Ancient History Documentaries

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Tom Booth

Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 1d

A fabulous new VSI on travel and mobility in Early Medieval Europe, put together by @francescatinti.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1...

Beyond migrations: travel and mobility in the early Middle Ages: Early Medieval Europe

Early Medieval Europe is an interdisciplinary medieval studies journal covering European history from the fall of the Roman Empire up until the 11th century.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Reposted by Tom Booth

Greg Jenner @gregjenner.bsky.social · 1d

Delighted to say my new children’s audiobook is out today!

Totally Chaotic History: The Stone Age Runs Wild is a wild, funny rampage through 34 million years of human evolution and global prehistory. Cowritten with archaeologist @brennawalks.bsky.social, it’s out now!

youtu.be/OULXpXL6Tek?...

Totally Chaotic History: The Stone Age Runs Wild! by Greg Jenner | Book Trailer

YouTube video by Walker Books

youtu.be

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Reposted by Tom Booth

Aylwyn Scally @aylwyn-scally.bsky.social · 2d

Really exciting work from @mattneville.bsky.social, @r-rahbari.bsky.social and their colleagues at @sangerinstitute.bsky.social and @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social .

Matthew Neville @mattneville.bsky.social · 2d

Now published! Our paper on:
(1) Accurate sequencing of sperm at scale
(2) Positive selection of spermatogenesis driver mutations across the exome
(3) Offspring disease risks from male reproductive aging
[1/n]
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Sperm sequencing reveals extensive positive selection in the male germline - Nature

A combination of whole-genome NanoSeq with deep whole-exome and targeted NanoSeq is used to accurately characterize mutation rates and genes under positive selection in sperm cells.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Tom Booth

James Harland @jmharland.bsky.social · 6d

At the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies we are offering 10 fellowships for scholars at any stage in their careers to stay with us for up to 6 months (PhD candidates and senior academics) or 12 months (postdocs) to complete a research project:

www.dependency.uni-bonn.de/images/pdf-f...

www.dependency.uni-bonn.de

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Tom Booth @boothicus.bsky.social · 2d

Is there no end to the man’s talents!?

Tom Booth @boothicus.bsky.social · 2d

“Are We Ready for the Next Pandemic?”

open.spotify.com/episode/5cw0...

Possibly a question they were also asking in Britain in the middle of the 2nd Millennium BCE.

Are We Prepared For The Next Pandemic?

Spotify video

open.spotify.com

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Reposted by Tom Booth

Kevin Daly @gingerhowley.bsky.social · 2d

The Animal #aDNA Research Community is looking for new members to its steering committee!

If you are an ECR and interested in the field, we would love to have you on board. We particularly would value committee representation from outside of Europe.

@aarc-community.bsky.social

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Reposted by Tom Booth

Ken Follett @kenfollettauthor.bsky.social · 3d

I had the pleasure of speaking to Amy Matthews & Dr Jennifer Wexler about my latest book, #CircleOfDays, on the English Heritage Podcast. You can listen to the full episode here: playlist.megaphone.fm?e=EHE4085886...

Megaphone Embeddable Player

playlist.megaphone.fm

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Reposted by Tom Booth

Dr Tess Machling @tessmachling.bsky.social · 3d

My thoughts...

#Archaeology 🏺 #Gold #Torcs #Robbery

bigbookoftorcs.com/2025/10/07/s...

Solid-gold rant incoming…

by Tess Machling [A download/print PDF version can be found at the end of the paper] Before I go any further, I want to state that the theft and destruction of heritage across the world is not unco…

bigbookoftorcs.com

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Tom Booth @boothicus.bsky.social · 3d

Parley with Pääbo.

Dr Ross Barnett @deepfrieddna.bsky.social · 3d

english.elpais.com/science-tech...

Svante Pääbo, father of paleogenetics: ‘The reason for the Neanderthals’ extinction lies in how numerous we’ve become’

The Nobel Prize winner in Medicine is investigating genetic changes that could have given our species a competitive advantage, and the possibility of extracting the genome of the Flores hobbit

english.elpais.com

Reposted by Tom Booth

Dr Alan Montgomery @classicalalan.bsky.social · 3d

This is my ink drawing of Wayland's Smithy, a Neolithic long barrow close to the Ridgeway in Oxfordshire. It is said that if you leave your horse there with a coin then Wayland will magically reshoe it.
The original artwork is now available on my Etsy shop here: shorturl.at/HDzSI
#TombTuesday

A black and white ink drawing of the neolithic tomb known as Wayland's Smithy

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Reposted by Tom Booth

Dr Tess Machling @tessmachling.bsky.social · 4d

Awful news! Following the theft of the Ely Bronze Age torc & a Bronze Age bracelet in 2024,now more Bronze Age gold has been stolen from St Fagans Museum in Cardiff. 😔

#Archaeology 🏺 #Gold #Torcs

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Bronze age gold jewellery stolen in raid on St Fagans museum in Cardiff

South Wales police issue public appeal for information after burglary at one of Wales’s most beloved museums

www.theguardian.com

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Tom Booth @boothicus.bsky.social · 4d

As always with C14, you’ll get what you’re given!

Tom Booth @boothicus.bsky.social · 4d

Radiocarbon date day!

You get a radiocarbon date!

You get a radiocarbon date!

You get a radiocarbon date!

oprah winfrey is wearing a red dress and holding a microphone in her hand .

ALT: oprah winfrey is wearing a red dress and holding a microphone in her hand .

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Tom Booth

The Megalithic Portal Ancient Sites & Stones @megalithic.bsky.social · 5d

Druids Circle (Penmaenmawr): This fantastic ring of around 30 stones #StandingStoneSunday stands on the headland of Penmaenmawr above Conwy, close to a prehistoric trackway and three other stone circles.

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Tom Booth @boothicus.bsky.social · 5d

Oof this hits a sweet spot for me

Dr Ross Barnett @deepfrieddna.bsky.social · 5d

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Art meets archaeology in new exhibition about Wiltshire landscape - BBC News

Artist and archaeologist Dr Rose Ferraby's exhibition aims to show Wiltshire's influence on art.

www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Tom Booth

Dr Susan Greaney @suegreaney.bsky.social · 6d

Chuffed that the project I nominated has been shortlisted! Fingers crossed for the award night now🤞

Council for British Archaeology @archaeologyuk.bsky.social · 6d

We are thrilled to reveal the shortlist for the #ArchaeologicalAchievementAwards 2025. 🎉

Every shortlisted project demonstrates how archaeology connects people and places, and how it can spark fresh ideas about our shared past and future.

Congratulations to all shortlisted! 👉 shorturl.at/DbaPk

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Reposted by Tom Booth

Patrick Wyman @patrickwyman.bsky.social · 8d

Today's the big day, friends - my new book, Lost Worlds: The Rise and Fall of Human Societies from the Ice Age to the Bronze Age, is available for preorder! Smash that link and purchase from your retailer of choice, if that's the kind of thing you're into. www.harpercollins.com/products/los...

Lost Worlds

The creator of the hit podcast Tides of History offers a new look at humanity’s deep past, showing us how our world was built not by inevitability, but by t...

www.harpercollins.com

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Reposted by Tom Booth

Matt Willemsen @mattotcha.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 7d

How Copper Smelters Accidentally Sparked the Birth of the Iron Age
https://scitechdaily.com/how-copper-smelters-accidentally-sparked-the-birth-of-the-iron-age/

How Copper Smelters Accidentally Sparked the Birth of the Iron Age

Copper smelters once used iron oxide to refine copper, unintentionally advancing the path toward iron metallurgy. Research conducted at Cranfield University provides new insight into the shift from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, suggesting that copper smelters experimenting with iron-rich rocks may have unintentionally paved the way for the invention of iron. The [...]

scitechdaily.com

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Reposted by Tom Booth

Maria C. Codlin @mcodlin.bsky.social · 7d

Excited to share our new study in @natcomms.nature.com. It reveals surprising protein variability in birds 🐦, reshaping how we use ancient proteins to reconstruct the past. Curious about the implications? Read the paper here: rdcu.be/eJi3h. With @beademarch.bsky.social

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Reposted by Tom Booth

Durotriges Dig @durotrigesdig.bsky.social · 8d

The chunky, tile-embedded stone bastions of Roman ANDERITVM (Pevensey in East #Sussex) date from the late 3rd century AD

Today, these towers of the coastal fort protrude menacingly out into the road, threatening unwary motorists

📷 May 2010

#RomanFortThursday

Towers of a huge stone and tile wall with a tarmac road and central white painted line in front. Red car and small modern buildings in the distance

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Reposted by Tom Booth

The Francis Crick Institute @crick.ac.uk · 8d

Are you a researcher at @ucl.ac.uk, @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social, or @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social looking to keep up with the Crick?

Sign up to our monthly newsletter for researchers at our partner universities to hear about events, opportunities and news ➡️ www.crick.ac.uk/research/res...

Four scientists in lab coats in a laboratory space, talking and listening.

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Tom Booth @boothicus.bsky.social · 9d

Was this podcast generated by AI? Listen and assess!

The Francis Crick Institute @crick.ac.uk · 10d

NEW EPISODE: Can we harness AI for good?

Join our expert panellists as they answer audience questions about the future of cancer research and treatment.

Listen on your favourite podcast platform: lnk.to/AQOSAIBB

Panel discussion promotional image titled ‘How Can We Harness AI for Good?’ featuring several speakers with microphones.

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