In this presentation we will report on an ongoing initiative to chart a novel roadmap for next-generation archaeogenetic approaches to social organization and identity in the deep past. In March 2026, a diverse group of researchers in archaeology, archaeogenetics, other biomolecular archaeologies, and data modelling met at the Sankelmark Academy in northern Germany for a workshop sponsored by the CfAS and the Kiel Center for Collaborative Synthesis in Archaeology (CCSA). The purpose of this meeting was twofold; first, to discuss potential designs of future research collaborations that use genetic and cultural data to generate more nuanced interpretations of social networks and cultural identities across multiple scales, ranging from kinship to supra-regional cultural affiliation networks; and second, to initiate collaborative outline of one or more proposals seeking funding to implement such a longer-term research effort. We reflect on the process so far as well as the wider, strategic challenge of identifying and integrating existing archaeogenetic and cultural datasets and developing the theoretical approaches and methodological techniques needed to advance archaeogenetic research in archaeology.

First Author: Niels Johannsen

Co-Authors: Kent Johnson

Keywords:
Archaeogenetics
Social identity
Kinship
Populations
Scales of analysis