Dear Friends and Colleagues,
In the General Assembly of the Spanish Society of Physical Anthropology, held in Madrid in 2015, it was agreed to trust the organization of the next congress of the society to the Biological Anthropology Unit, from the Department of Animal Biology, Vegetal Biology and Ecology, of the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
We approach the organization of this event with great enthusiasm, especially when coincide with the twentieth Congress of the SEAF. For Biological Anthropology Unit, this represents a challenge that allows us to make a double analysis: on the one hand, to make a balance of the evolution of our field, on the other hand, it signifies a responsibility that powers us to turn our look to the future overcoming the challenges that new technologies faces us.
For these reasons we felt appropriate the development of the congress under the subheading “Physical Anthropology in the Genomic Era”. Under this heading we want to gather the different fields of physical anthropology, and reflect on the new perspectives of research, which certainly offers us this interesting moment of science.
We would like to have the input of everyone, but especially from young people, who ultimately are our future. We hope that new perspectives arise from the discussion and the join work, which allow the continuity and a leading position of Anthropology. We are also organizing a parallel Symposium, Genomics in Anthropology: New Challenges and Opportunities, with invited researchers who will bring us their expertise in the field of genomics applied to Anthropology.
In 2001, at the Bellaterra campus of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, where it is located our Biological Anthropology Unit, we organized the 12th Congress of the SEAF. For us it was a chance to show you our university, its facilities and its potential. This time, however, we have decided to organize the event in the city of Barcelona, which has many attractive and probably will facilitate your stay. The event will take place from 12 to 14 July 2017 at the Alimara Hotel.
We invite you to come to Barcelona and to participate in the congress; to meet again to exchange experiences and together ask ourselves the new challenges for our research and our society.
See you in Barcelona in 2017!
M Pilar Aluja and Assumpció Malgosa
The Organizing Committee
