Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CERAM (First ceramics of Atlantic Europe: manufacture and function)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2015-10-01 al 2017-09-30
One of the traits traditionally associated with the transition to farming in Europe is the introduction of pottery technology, using it as proxy for the shift to the new subsistence practices. However, the role of pottery in the transition to farming is unclear. In other parts of the world, there are examples of both pre-farming pottery production and aceramic farming analysis. Currently, the application of organic residue analysis allows understanding the use and function of pottery and linking this technology to farming. Few studies, however, have investigated the role of pottery technology in the Southwest of the coast of Europe. CerAM project addressed this challenge though the application of the latest chemical and molecular analysis. The design of our project comprised the study of several pottery assemblages along the Atlantic coast of South Europe from Portugal to Normandy (Figure 1 and 2). CerAM aims to reconstruct the use of pottery during this key transition in this geographical region and to test the hypothesis that the earliest pots in this region were used for processing domesticated resources. To address these research questions, CerAM established four main objectives: i) to complete the first survey of the use of early pottery in this region by chemical and microscopic analysis of food residues; ii) Assess whether pot contents reflect the shift in subsistence strategy observed in the stable isotope of archaeological human record in this area or whether this region also experienced a similar transition in subsistence strategy to that observed in on the North Atlantic coast; iii) To determine whether variability in the use of different vessels within an assemblage corresponds to differences in shape, size, decoration, manufacturing technique or depositional context; and iv) establish the regional context for the transmission process of pottery technology on the western European coast.
The project included an ambitious strategy for dissemination both for academic and non-academic audiences (WP9). CerAM have collaborated to disseminate cutting-edge science into the broader public with the collaboration in several webpages (Early Pottery Research Group, Researchgate) in different languages (English, French, Spanish and Portuguese), blog posts (Blog ""1, 2, 3....Explore"" of the Spanish Researchers in UK Association -CERU/SRUK-; ""Postdoc Researcher in Focus"" of the Department of Archaeology, University of York), radio interviews (""En Fase Experimental"" by CERU/SRUK; Noticias de la Universidad de Cantabria), social events (Researcher's Night, Pint of Science) and press releases. Likewise, the Experienced Researcher has acted as Marie Curie Ambassador in different Marie Curie actions (MCAA, facebook) and collaborations with the Spanish Ministry in UK.
Results have been disseminated in different national and international conferences, as well as a series of invited talks in United Kingdom and Spain. Publications on organic residue analysis of Early Neolithic pottery in the South Atlantic Europe are currently on preparation. However, during the project the Experienced Researcher published important articles focused on the transition between last hunter-gatherers and first farmers, the analysis of different Neolithic pottery assemblages and the recording of new Mesolithic sites in the north of Spain.
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