Project description
Ancient DNA may shed light on European social relationships in the Iron Age
DNA has become a topic of everyday conversation. Now, the study of ancient DNA is ramping up, thanks to recent technological breakthroughs. Discoveries are reshaping understanding of the past, including the movements and interactions of people in the ancient world. Of course, getting enough ancient DNA samples for a large study is complicated, which is what makes COMMIOS so unique. Scientists are studying DNA from about 1 250 people who lived in the UK and continental Europe during the Iron Age. Combined with isotope analysis and archaeological methods, they plan to shed light on population movement and social relationships including families, gender-specific mobility, and social inequalities. There is a lot to be learned about people from their ancient DNA.
Objective
Recent breakthroughs in ancient DNA and isotope analysis are transforming our understanding of diversity, mobility and social dynamics in the human past. COMMIOS integrates these cutting-edge methods on a scale not previously attempted, within a ground-breaking interdisciplinary framework, to provide a radically new vision of Iron Age communities in Britain (800 BC – AD 100) within their wider European context.
At the broad scale, we will conduct the first concerted programme of genome-wide ancient DNA analysis on Iron Age populations anywhere in the world (c. 1000 individuals in the UK, 250 in Europe), mapping genetic clusters to shed light on ancient populations themselves and on their relationships to modern genetic patterning. Together with isotope analysis, and underpinned by both osteoarchaeological and cultural archaeological approaches, this will also enable us to directly address critical issues of population movement and inter-regional connectivity in Iron Age Europe. We will utilise the power of these new scientific methods to examine the structure and social dynamics of Iron Age societies in Britain, including household and kin-group composition, the identification of familial relationships, gender-specific mobility, and the development of social inequalities. Previously the preserve of cultural anthropologists studying recent societies, we will draw these questions into the archaeological domain, opening up new areas of enquiry for prehistoric societies.
The scope and scale of the project represents a new departure for European archaeology, made possible by the coming-of-age of new analytical methods. Many of these have been pioneered by the project team, which comprises world-leaders in the fields of ancient DNA, isotope analysis, osteoarchaeology, chronological modelling and cultural archaeology. Although focussed on Iron Age Britain, the project will establish a new benchmark for future analyses of other regions and periods in Europe and beyond.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- humanities history and archaeology archaeology bioarchaeology
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
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.
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.
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.
ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2018-ADG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
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.
YO10 5DD YORK NORTH YORKSHIRE
United Kingdom
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.