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The arrival of Homo sapiens in northwestern Europe: a multi-proxy investigation of regional diversity in the Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician (LRJ)

Objective

In 1826, the first LRJ blade point in Britain was found at Kent’s Cavern. ARRIVAL will return to the cave 200 years later to answer the fundamental questions we still ask about these tools - who made them and when?

Ground-breaking advances in archaeological science methods over the past decade enable us to study the dynamics of the Neanderthal-Homo sapiens transition in unprecedented resolution but few sites have been explored with the full suite of methods. New findings from Ranis, Germany, have recently proven that Homo sapiens were present in northern Europe between 47,500 - 43,000 years ago, much earlier than previously suspected. These people made stone tools known as the Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician (or LRJ), which are found at more than 40 sites across northern Europe and were previously thought to have been made by Neanderthals. Only one high-resolution dataset (Ranis) exists for the LRJ. The lack of additional datasets prevents us from investigating variations between LRJ occupations. ARRIVAL will bring together an international, interdisciplinary team to investigate key LRJ sites using a multi-proxy approach, combining new excavations, chronometric dating, non-destructive collagen screening, palaeoproteomics, isotopic and aDNA analysis with traditional lithic and palaeoecological analysis. ARRIVAL will focus on newly excavated material to produce robust new datasets whilst providing better contextualisation for legacy collections. New methods will be developed to improve the accuracy and reliability of 14C dating in this crucial time-period, enabling us to produce the first robust chronological framework for the LRJ. ARRIVAL will determine if the LRJ can now be considered a reliable proxy for Homo sapiens across its entire range and provide the first high-resolution, regional investigation of LRJ sites to explore the nature and extent of LRJ occupations and the arrival of Homo sapiens in northwestern Europe.

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Topic(s)

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HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) ERC-2025-STG

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Host institution

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL
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.

€ 2 119 801,00
Address
BEACON HOUSE QUEENS ROAD
BS8 1QU BRISTOL
United Kingdom

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Region
South West (England) Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath area Bristol, City of
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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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.

€ 2 119 801,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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