Into the Sedimentary Matrix: Mapping the Replacement of Neanderthals by early Modern Humans using micro-contextualized biomolecules

Informations projet

MATRIX

N° de convention de subvention: 101041245

DOI

10.3030/101041245

Date de signature de la CE 10 Mars 2022

Date de début 1 Octobre 2022

Date de fin 31 Mai 2029

Financé au titre de

• European Research Council (ERC)

Coût total

€ 1 955 213,50

Contribution de l’UE

€ 1 955 213,00

Coordonné par

UNIVERSIDADE DO ALGARVE
Portugal

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MATRIX (Into the Sedimentary Matrix: Mapping the Replacement of Neanderthals by early Modern Humans using micro-contextualized biomolecules)

Période du rapport: 2022-10-01 au 2025-03-31

Résumé du contexte et des objectifs généraux du projet

In Western Eurasia, Neanderthals were replaced by members of our human lineage, Anatomical Modern Humans (AMH), ~45,000 to 40,000 years before Present (BP). The capacity to retrieve genetic data from archaeological bones has brought to light several events of admixture between AMHs and Neandertals, suggesting that this transition was more than a simple encounter/replacement process. Yet, our ability to further reconstruct this shift is hampered by issues of contested stratigraphic integrity and limited by the paucity of human fossils, with current datapoints being few and far apart. Importantly, this transition lasted a couple of thousands of years, at most. While this might be ample of time for several generations of humans to move and meet, the thickness of archaeological sediments and assemblages of such diasporas or encounters is limited.

The MATRIX project investigates the interactions between Neanderthals and AMHs by looking at the microstratigraphic sedimentary record, extracting the wealth of information stored beyond the macroscopically visible record. The project focuses on analyzing the micro and molecular record preserved in archaeological sediments to systematically assesses the microstratigraphy of archaeological deposits between ~50 to 40 ka BP using undisturbed micromorphology samples. These intact highly contextualized samples are then directly targeted for biomolecule studies on ancient DNA (aDNA) and proteins, while retaining a micro-scale stratigraphic control. MATRIX aims to 1) find the identity of past hominins in well-preserved micro-contexts, 2) reconstruct both their behaviors (diet, use of fire) and environments they lived in, and 3) contribute to rewriting what happened at the time of Neandertal disappearance by integrating high-resolution molecular and microscopic records.
The project strives to achieve an integration of biological, behavioral, and environmental information of archaeological deposits at a mm- and sub-mm stratigraphic scale to improve our understanding of the migrations of AMH into Eurasia.

Travail effectué depuis le début du projet jusqu’à la fin de la période considérée dans le rapport et principaux résultats atteints jusqu’à présent

Matrix has made progress towards its objectives in several ways.

The core research team is assembled, and it gathers diversified expertise that reflect the need for transdisciplinary approaches to answer the project’s aims. The core team members come from different backgrounds, namely from archaeology, computer sciences, proteomics, geochemistry, and biochemistry. The established MATRIX laboratory straddles a unique niche between the scientific fields of Archaeology, Geoarchaeology and Molecular Archaeology.

In this first period, research has focused on fieldwork and determining the degree of the microstratigraphic integrity of key archaeological deposits. We have now gathered and are analyzing samples from diversified archaeological settings across Europe – from Portugal, to Spain, France, Bulgaria, and Georgia. Site formation studies on the depositional and post-depositional processes at play at each site/layer are in an advanced state and we have published and presented preliminary results on several of the MATRIX core sites. In addition, we have consolidated and increased our network of collaborators, providing the potential for additional material of interest to be analyzed.

We are currently developing novel methodologies that combine traditional thin section descriptions with automated convolutional neural models to overcome bias, standardize descriptions and quantify components in micromorphological thin sections.

We have begun extracting proteins and aDNA samples from resin impregnated slabs at a microstratigraphic resolution and are pursuing our collaborations on lipids from archaeological sediments. We have made significant steps in the extraction of ancient proteins from archaeological materials encased in resin.

In this first period of the project, we have also been focusing on further experimental work on the impact of heat and taphonomic processes on the preservation and mobility of both proteins and aDNA. These baseline experiments aim to better understand where to find DNA hotspots and assess the microstratigraphic integrity of the (often) complex sedimentary matrix of archaeological sites.

Progrès au-delà de l’état des connaissances et impact potentiel prévu (y compris l’impact socio-économique et les conséquences sociétales plus larges du projet jusqu’à présent)

Important methodological advancements have already been achieved by the MATRIX project, particularly in linking the microstratigraphy with sampling for the molecular record in archaeological sediments. In the upcoming period, MATRIX expects to deliver significant results on the preservation, hotspots, and microstratigraphic context of ancient biomolecules in sediments associated with the transition from Neanderthals to AMHs in Eurasia.
During this first period, we have also published an opinion piece where we synthesize the ways in which genetic data from archaeological sediments can be a key advance in the study of the human past. More importantly, we also go beyond the state-of-the-art by pointing out the need for depositional context rooted in geoarchaeological analysis for the correct interpretation of genetic data from archaeological sediments. By advocating for a microcontextual approach for sedimentary ancient DNA research, we provide specific guidelines and pathways to significantly advance the ways in which aDNA is used to understand the past.

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