Project description
Cultivation of ancient crops in Iberia
Little is known about the cultivation of broomcorn and foxtail millet during the second millennium BC despite its occurrence at archaeological sites. The EU-funded MILLET project will therefore produce evidence from ancient and modern samples from sites in the Iberian Peninsula to better understand its role in agricultural systems. A detailed reconstruction of growing conditions and production techniques will also be recreated by combining stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values with functional weed ecology. The aim is to gain a fresh perspective on the agroecology of these crops, thereby advancing the study of past and present agricultural systems. The project's findings will also inform work on climate change, food, genetic diversity and sustainability associated with traditional knowledge.
Objective
In the middle of the second millennium BC, the spread of two new Asian crops (broomcorn and foxtail millet) throughout Europe led to major socio-economic changes. However, despite its abundance in archaeological sites, we know very little about its cultivation techniques and uses. Millets can be traced through multiple archaeological approaches (seeds, phytoliths, biomolecular markers) providing great potential for their investigation. In order to understand their importance in agricultural systems this project aims to produce new evidence from modern and archaeological samples from western Europe. To provide innovative perspectives, the project will focus on an interdisciplinary approach that combines ethnobotany, archaeobotany, stable isotopes and experimental agriculture to reconstruct cultivation techniques and environmental constraints. Combining stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values with functional weed ecology – an approach pioneered at Oxford – will allow detailed reconstruction of growing conditions and production regimes. The fellow will receive training in these techniques, which will enable comparison between present-day millet-growing systems and archaeobotanical assemblages from 24 sites in the Iberian peninsula. Determining the agroecology of millet cultivation will provide a fresh perspective on current theories regarding their adoption in late prehistory and will contribute to major advances in the study of past and present-day farming systems. The results will also articulate with work on climate change, food, genetic diversity and sustainability associated with traditional knowledge, placing this research at the forefront of the current scientific context of agrarian studies.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- humanities history and archaeology history prehistory
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture agroecology
- natural sciences biological sciences botany
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
OX1 2JD Oxford
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.