Descrizione del progetto
Informazioni chiave sulle comunità palafitticole dell’Europa centrale
Gli insediamenti dei laghi alpini, noti per aver preservato artefatti in legno e organici di altro tipo, costituiscono importanti archivi archeologici della preistoria umana. Sono presenti oltre 1 000 siti noti, di cui 111 fanno parte dell’elenco del patrimonio mondiale dell’UNESCO. Il progetto ALPGEN, finanziato dall’UE, esplorerà la storia delle popolazioni degli insediamenti lacustri in un arco temporale che spazia dal 5 000 a.C. al 500 a.C. Nello specifico, il progetto sequenzierà DNA antico e altre biomolecole provenienti da un’antica «gomma da masticare» rinvenuta presso gli insediamenti lacustri intorno alle Alpi. Ciò farà progredire la nostra comprensione in relazione alle interazioni, alla demografia e alla cultura delle comunità alpine. Il progetto offrirà inoltre nuove informazioni relative allo stato di salute di questi popoli e alla composizione del loro microbioma orale, tra le altre.
Obiettivo
The prehistoric pile dwellings in and around the Alps constitute one of the most important archaeological archives of human prehistory. Dating from around 5000 to 500 BC, there are over 1000 known sites in the region, 111 of which are listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The sites are mainly located under water, on lake shores, along rivers, or in wetlands, offering exceptional conditions for the preservation of organic materials like wood, plant remains, animal bones, artefacts, and even textiles. Because of their exceptional preservation, the archaeological remains from those sites give us a unique window into the lives of prehistoric people and the development of early agrarian societies in Central Europe. However, despite the rich material evidence from the settlements, we know relatively little about the people who lived there. This is because there are no burials directly associated with the lake settlements, which has precluded the study of ancient DNA, for example. Luckily, there are other sources of ancient DNA, including ancient “chewing gums” which provide a rich of ancient human and host-associated microbial DNA as we recently demonstrated. In this project we will sequence ancient DNA and other biomolecules from ancient “chewing gums” found at lake settlements in and around the Alps to shed new light on the lives of the Alpine communities that settled there between 5000 and 500 BC. With access to over 300 specimens from archaeological sites north and south of the Alps, we have the unique opportunity to study their interactions and the demographic and cultural changes that characterised the transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age in Central Europe. In addition, the project promises to offer new insights into peoples’ health and the composition of their oral microbiome, as well as their diet and subsistence strategies. Together, the proposed research will provide us with a richer understanding of the pile-dwelling communities of Central Europe.
Campo scientifico
Programma(i)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
ERC - Support for frontier research (ERC)Istituzione ospitante
1165 Kobenhavn
Danimarca