Project description DEENESFRITPL Technical and social invention in the Caucasus The civilizations of Ancient Mesopotamia gave birth to many important advances in science and technology. The oldest wheel, for example, was discovered in the particular region, used for chariots some 5 000 years ago. The EU-funded ARCHCAUCASUS project challenges this theory, prevalent in the world of science and archeology, creating space for alternative hypotheses: that new technologies and techniques claim to have been discovered in Mesopotamia were actually adaptation from different ‘peripheries’. The ARCHCAUCASUS study will expand on this by probing four axial innovations: wheel and wagon, metal alloys, silver metallurgy and woolly sheep. The project is multidisciplinary, making use of the most up-to-date analytical methods. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective This project leads to one of the most dynamic regions in prehistory: the Caucasus of the 4th and early 3rd mill. BC. During this vibrant time, basic innovations emerged, which were crucial until the 19th century: wheel and wagon, copper alloys, the potter’s wheel, new breeds of woolly sheep, domestication of the horse, and others. At the same time, massive migrations from the East European steppe during the early 3rd mill. BC changed the European gene pool.The project challenges the still predominant narrative that all technical achievements stemmed from urban centres in Mesopotamia. New studies have created space for alternative hypotheses: possibly it was not the development of new techniques, but instead their adaptation from different ‘peripheries’ and their re-combination and re-configuration that formed the basis for the success of these ‘civilisations’.The Caucasus, linking Mesopotamia to the Eurasia and Europe, is for the first time in the focus of a study on innovation transfer. The study will make a major contribution by investigation of four axial innovations: wheel and wagon, metal alloys, silver metallurgy and woolly sheep. 40 wheels will be analysed by computer tomography and strontium isotopes. Some 300 copper alloys artefacts and 200 silver objects will be examined using mass spectrometry with laser ablation. 400 aDNA genom-wide analyses of humans from burials in the North Caucasus will offer the unique chance of elucidating the role of migrations for the spread of innovations. The pottery in the region, often linked to Mesopotamia, will be studied under technical aspects and is a complementary path to shed light on migration and the transfer of knowledge. Excavations in settlements will allow building up a chronology using 400 AMS 14C analyses. The project is multidisciplinary, making use of the most up-to-date analytical methods. Our long experience and reputation on both sides of the Caucasus is the ideal background for cutting-edge research. Fields of science humanitieshistory and archaeologyhistoryprehistoryhumanitieshistory and archaeologyhistoryancient historynatural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrytransition metalsnatural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistryalkaline earth metalsnatural scienceschemical sciencesanalytical chemistrymass spectrometryengineering and technologymaterials engineeringmetallurgy Keywords Innovation Technologies Caucasus Bronze Age Paleogenetics Material Studies Transfer of Knowledge Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2018-ADG - ERC Advanced Grant Call for proposal ERC-2018-ADG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant Host institution DEUTSCHES ARCHAOLOGISCHES INSTITUT Net EU contribution € 2 487 875,00 Address PODBIELSKIALLEE 69/71 14195 Berlin Germany See on map Region Berlin Berlin Berlin Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 2 487 875,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all DEUTSCHES ARCHAOLOGISCHES INSTITUT Germany Net EU contribution € 2 487 875,00 Address PODBIELSKIALLEE 69/71 14195 Berlin See on map Region Berlin Berlin Berlin Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 2 487 875,00
