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Origins and spread of viticulture and winemaking in Italy

Project description

The beginnings of grape cultivation and winemaking in Italy

The EU-funded VITALY project will study the beginnings of viticulture and the adaption of winemaking in Italy using macroremains such as grape seeds, charcoal and the analysis of ancient organic residues trapped in pottery. An interdisciplinary approach will be used, combining morphometric analysis of archaeological grape seeds by computer vision techniques, charcoal analyses and chemical analysis of ancient organic residues trapped in archaeological materials. The investigation of Italian archaeological sites will cover the period between the 6th and the 1st millennium BC. VITALY's findings will highlight the timing of the emergence and the duration of the domestication of grapevines to provide new insights into prehistoric vineyards.

Objective

This project deals with one of the big knowledge gaps in prehistory in Italy regarding the evidence of grape domestication. Plants have been of fundamental importance for human societies across the planet. However, there is a gap when it comes to archaeological evidence of the domestication process of fruit trees during the majority of prehistory and protohistory. This work aims to investigate the beginning of the study of the origins of the cultivation of grapes and adoption of winemaking in Italy. The main objectives are: 1) to investigate the beginning of viticulture in Italy; 2) to determine the time of adoption of winemaking. Materials are represented by macroremains such as grape seeds and charcoal remains to which is added the analysis of ancient organic residues trapped in archaeological materials (pottery). The investigation will be applied to archaeological Italian sites and will cover an extensive chronology: between the 6th and the 1st millennium BC. The challenge of the work is to obtain archaeological visibility of the grape domestication process and adoption of winemaking through an interdisciplinary approach that combines morphometric analysis of archaeological grape seeds by computer vision technique charcoal analyses and chemical analysis of ancient organic residues trapped in archaeological materials. As a whole, the proposed project aims to be on the cutting-edge of existing efforts in the field to produce reliable data and original interpretations on the origins of viticulture and winemaking. Furthermore, it will allow us to highlight the timing of the emergence of domestic traits and the duration of the domestication episode of grapevine and provide new information on agriculture related to prehistoric vineyards.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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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.

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.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020

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Coordinator

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 196 707,84
Total cost

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.

€ 196 707,84
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