Vaupés to Vanuatu: an interdisciplinary workshop on linguistic diversity

From May 15th to 17th, the DLCE will be hosting a workshop exploring the evolution of linguistic diversity in two very different areas of the world, the Vaupés of Amazonia and the Pacific islands of Vanuatu. The primary aim is to develop a comparative understanding of linguistic diversity from both recent and (pre-)historical perspectives, using an interdisciplinary approach.

Schedule

Please note that Thursday afternoon and Friday all day are closed discussion sessions. 

Wednesday, May 15

9:00-9:30 Registration

9:30–9:40 Welcome, Russell Gray (MPI-SHH)

9:40–10:10 The ecological drivers of variation in global language diversity,
Simon Greenhill, MPI-SHH

10:10-10:40 Linguistic diversity of Vanuatu [PDF],
Mary Walworth, MPI-SHH

10:40-11:10 Coffee Break

11:10–11:50 Linguistic diversity of the Vaupés [PDF],
Thiago Chacon, Universidade de Brasília, Collegium de Lyon, & MPI-SHH

11:50–12:30 From the Amazon to the South Pacific: Challenges of linguistic fieldwork in two culturally different contexts,
Iveth Rodriguez, Universidade de Brasília & MPI-SHH

12:30–13:30 Lunch Break

13:30–14:00 Introduction to Areal Talks,
Thiago Chacon, Library Reception Area

14:00–14:40 The archaeology of the Northwest Amazon,
Manuel Arroyo-Kalin, University College of London

14:40–15:20 Cultural Interactions and Population Dynamics in Northwestern Amazonia: Insights from genetic data of modern native Amazonian groups from Colombia,
Leonardo Arias Alvis, MPI-EVA

15:20 – 15:40 Coffee Break

15:40 – 16:20 Religious and intercultural connections in Tukanoan and Northern Arawakan histories [PDF],
Robin M. Wright, University of Florida (remote talk)

16:20 – 17:00 The formation of social units among the Eastern Tukanoans [PDF],
Luis Cayon, Universidade de Brasília

 

Thursday, May 16

9:30–10:00 Continuity and interactions: the integration and influence of Polynesian communities in central and south Vanuatu [PDF],
Aymeric Hermann, MPI-SHH

10:00-10:30 Investigating the genetic signal of Polynesian Outliers,
Kathrin Nägele, Emilie Bertolini, Cosimo Posth, Johannes Krause, MPI-SHH

10:30 – 10:50 Coffee Break

10:50–11:30 Exploring linguistic diversity in Malekula Island [PDF]
Lana Takau, MPI-SHH

11:30 – 12:10 Cultural homogeneity & linguistic diversity: evidence from the islands of Northeast Malekula, Vanuatu [PDF],
Stuart Bedford, Australian National University

12:10 – 12:50 Linguistic and cultural diversity in Central Vanuatu [PDF],
Chris Ballard, Australian National University

13 – 14 Lunch Break