Project description DEENESFRITPL Homo sapiens evolution in South-East Europe The early history of Homo sapiens remains largely unknown. Increasingly, it is viewed as a dynamic process of population expansions and contact among human lineages, occurring in concert with the Pleistocene climatic oscillations, which influenced the probability of human survival as well as the availability of land bridges enabling expansions. As such, dispersals and population contact may have played a central role in human evolution. South-East Europe emerges as an area of sustained and successive contact. In this context, the ERC-funded FIRSTSTEPS project will apply a pioneering interdisciplinary investigation to recover new evidence and connect existing evidence across sites, regions and periods. The findings will take paleoanthropological research in South-East Europe to the next level. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Despite recent discoveries in human evolution, the origin of our species, Homo sapiens, and the process through which it expanded and became established around the globe remain murky. Increasingly, it is viewed as a dynamic process of population expansions and contact among human lineages, occurring in concert with the Pleistocene climatic oscillations, which influence the probability of human survival as well as the availability of land bridges enabling expansions. Dispersals and population contact, therefore, may have been the norm in human evolution and may have played a greater role in shaping our species than previously recognised. In such a model, South-East Europe emerges as a likely area of sustained and / or repeated contact, making this region critical for testing hypotheses about European deep prehistory. Despite this crucial role, however, paleoanthropological research there remains in its infancy, with little existing data and no overarching interpretive framework. FIRSTSTEPS aims to fill this research gap by applying inter-disciplinary cutting edge investigation to recover new and connect existing evidence across sites, periods and regions. Key sites / finds from South-East Europe (Greece, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia, Romania) and Italy — whose better documented record has yet to be connected to its counterparts to the East and will provide a crucial comparative perspective — will be included. In-depth analysis of important fossil / cultural assemblages from specific chrono-cultural periods ca. 200-30 ka, will be conducted to identify patterns of biological and cultural variation. In parallel, regional and supra-regional perspectives will be constructed beyond individual sites /countries. By addressing this crucial research gap FIRSTSTEPS will take paleoanthropological research in this important region to the next level and squarely place it on the paleolithic map of Europe. Fields of science social sciencessociologyanthropologyphysical anthropologypaleoanthropology Keywords Human evolution dispersals adaptation Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2020-ADG - ERC ADVANCED GRANT Call for proposal ERC-2020-ADG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant Host institution EBERHARD KARLS UNIVERSITAET TUEBINGEN Net EU contribution € 2 583 562,00 Address GESCHWISTER-SCHOLL-PLATZ 72074 Tuebingen Germany See on map Region Baden-Württemberg Tübingen Tübingen, Landkreis Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 2 583 562,00 Beneficiaries (2) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all EBERHARD KARLS UNIVERSITAET TUEBINGEN Germany Net EU contribution € 2 583 562,00 Address GESCHWISTER-SCHOLL-PLATZ 72074 Tuebingen See on map Region Baden-Württemberg Tübingen Tübingen, Landkreis Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 2 583 562,00 ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNA Italy Net EU contribution € 722 500,00 Address VIA ZAMBONI 33 40126 Bologna See on map Region Nord-Est Emilia-Romagna Bologna Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 722 500,00
