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Cultural transmission and technological evolution in southernmost Africa c. 44 – 12 kcal. BP

Objective

CulTech proposes a probabilistic and spatially explicit simulation-based study to test the roles of population fragmentation and coalescence to explain variability in the southern African late Pleistocene lithic record. It focuses on the interval c. 44 – 12 kcal. BP relevant to onset and maturation of the Later Stone Age (LSA). The project asks three key questions: Q1) To what extent is the degree to which southern African late Pleistocene LSA lithic assemblages differ as a function of space and time? Q2) Are these patterns of similarity/dissimilarity consistent with expectations derived from simulated population coalescence and fragmentation scenarios? Q3) How do these patterns change through time across the period c. 44 – 12 kcal. BP? It draws on a multi-variate dataset including radiocarbon dates and lithic technological data to develop a series of simulation and model-based approaches to examine the possible demographic dimensions of late Pleistocene technological variability in southern Africa.

CulTech builds on a growing field of computational modelling and simulation-based approaches applied to studies of prehistoric cultural transmission. Simulation based approaches are efficient and can accommodate several variations in population size, density, structure, rates of interaction and mechanisms of cultural transmission. The project draws its principle datasets from southern Africa’s long history of LSA lithic research to evaluate the degree of fit between patterns in the region’s site spatial distribution, lithic data, and expectations from a series of simulations to generate expected population coalescence/fragmentation patterns and their effects on the lithic data.

The outcomes of these models will contribute significantly to discussions about cultural transmission and population processes in hunter-gatherer societies. These topics are of relevance not just to southern Africa, but to human evolution and global archaeology in general.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2017

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Coordinator

THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
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.

€ 195 454,80
Address
TRINITY LANE THE OLD SCHOOLS
CB2 1TN CAMBRIDGE
United Kingdom

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Region
East of England East Anglia Cambridgeshire CC
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.

€ 195 454,80
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