Archeology Series Presentation: Carter Clinton, “Soil Genomics: Ancestry, Health, and Community-Engaged Science”

Carter Clinton is a genetic anthropologist, is an Assistant Professor at N.C. State University, where he directs the Ashes (Ancestry, Soil, Health, and Evolutionary Studies) Lab. His research integrates ancient DNA, burial soil genomics, and African diaspora population genomics to investigate ancestry, identity, and health in African American communities. His lab pioneers non-destructive metagenomic methods that recover human, microbial, plant, and pathogen DNA from burial soils without disturbing ancestral remains. Current work applies evolutionary medicine and whole-genome sequencing to identify ancestry-derived disease markers associated with complex diseases, immune gene variation, and cardiometabolic conditions leveraging temporal comparisons between pre-admixture burial soil genomes and living descendant communities to build ancestry-informed frameworks that move beyond race as a biological proxy. A National Geographic Explorer and Cosmos Scholar, he centers descendant communities as active research partners across all phases of his work.