Description du projet
Comprendre les facteurs à l’origine de la disparition des Néandertaliens en Europe
Nos connaissances sur la disparition des Néandertaliens et l’expansion fructueuse de notre espèce sur un seul et énorme bloc de terre appelé Eurasie sont plus approfondies que jamais. Cela dit, l’évaluation du déroulement de ces évènements sur cette gigantesque masse terrestre comporte son lot de défis. Afin de relever ces défis, le projet FINISTERRA, financé par l’UE, concentrera ses études sur la péninsule ibérique, qui est considérée comme l’une des dernières zones de refuge des Néandertaliens. Il présentera des données de haute résolution sur les événements à l’origine de l’extinction des Néandertaliens, étudiera l’existence de signaux d’alerte précoces de leur disparition et se penchera sur d’autres hypothèses tâchant d’expliquer comment ils ont perdu leur résilience (progressivement ou soudainement).
Objectif
In recent years, knowledge of the processes involved in the disappearance of the Neanderthals and the successful expansion of our species across Eurasia has substantially increased. Still, the spatiotemporal variability of the presumed mechanisms behind Neanderthals’ demise – climate change, fragile demography, inter-species competition – makes it very challenging to evaluate the replacement at a continental scale. The Iberian Peninsula, due to its cul-de-sac position and the role of its southern regions as one of the last refugia for the Neanderthals, represents an ideal natural setting for testing models of cultural and demographic trajectories leading to the final disappearance of those populations. FINISTERRA seeks to expand this framework by implementing an integrative, interdisciplinary, multi-scale approach to the archaeological and paleoenvironmental records associated with late Neanderthals in southwestern Iberia. Supported by an unprecedented combination of geoarchaeological, chronological, and paleoecological evidence, FINISTERRA will specifically (1) provide a detailed characterization of late Neanderthal adaptive systems, presenting high-resolution data on the timeline of events leading to their final disappearance; (2) investigate the presence of the so-called early warning signals of Neanderthals’ collapse through the use of cutting-edge quantitative analyses of cultural and demographic trajectories; (3) explore alternative hypotheses of a gradual or sudden loss of Neanderthals’ resilience by considering the impacts of climate change and the spread of modern humans into western Eurasia. The results of this project will have crucial implications for our understanding of the factors contributing to the demise of our sister species, which ultimately were key components for our own success and uniqueness.
Champ scientifique
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Régime de financement
HORIZON-AG - HORIZON Action Grant Budget-BasedInstitution d’accueil
8005 139 Faro
Portugal