In August 2026, Luca Fiorenza was invited to deliver a Plenary Lecture at the 22nd Congress of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) in Melbourne, Australia.
In his presentation, “Learning from the past: a journey into Evolutionary Dentistry”, Luca explored how the study of teeth can provide unique insights into the relationship between diet, environment and human evolution. Drawing on evidence from living primates, archaeological populations and fossil hominins, the talk highlighted how dental morphology, histology, elemental mapping and ancient biomolecules can be used to reconstruct aspects of diet, breastfeeding, environmental exposure and health across human evolutionary history.
The lecture also examined some of the assumptions underlying the modern Paleo diet movement, using evidence from Neanderthals and early agricultural populations to illustrate the complexity and flexibility of ancient human diets.
The IFAA Congress, hosted by the Australian and New Zealand Association of Clinical Anatomists (ANZACA), brought together anatomists and researchers from around the world under the theme “Anatomy for Everyone.”
It was a wonderful opportunity to share the work of the Palaeodiet Research Lab with an international audience and to highlight the contribution of dental anthropology to understanding human evolution.
