Project description
Neolithic weaning in the context of urbanisation
The first permanent villages date back to Neolithic times – a period of transition from hunting and gathering to farming and settlement. Gradually, these villages became the first densely-populated urban centres. The mother-child relationship provides an excellent window on biocultural cause and effect. WEAN-IT is studying weaning age in Italy during this critical transition to determine if weaning age had differed for girls and boys. Analyses of bones and teeth from skeletons of that time will also help inform modern society about weaning and its relation to bone growth.
Objective
Weaning age directly reflects the way infants are cared for within a human society. It is linked to female fertility, maternal and non-maternal care strategies, social stratification, infant growth and even adult heath. Yet, we know almost nothing about the way weaning age developed during recent human evolution. This project focuses on a critical period in human evolution in Italy that led to major socio-economic changes as Neolithic farming economies gave way to the first cities. The goal in this project is to reconstruct weaning age in extensive collections of human skeletons that span these periods of transitions. I will integrate microstructural, histological and chemical signals of weaning in bones and teeth. Using recently developed cutting edge methodology I will determine for the first time if weaning age differed between the sexes. I will use this information to re-assess existing ideas and hypotheses about the biocultural consequences accompanying the Neolithic revolution and the origins of urbanism to bring a new understanding to this debate. This project adds value and competitiveness to the bioarchaeological research landscape in Europe, thanks to its innovative multi-methodological approach. Not only will my project be of interest to a broad range of academics within the social sciences but it can inform present day public health policy as I will directly measure the effect of weaning on bone growth. Results will be published in high-impact scientific journals and presented at international conferences. Particular attention will be dedicated to dissemination through the media to reach a broader non-academic audience.
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.
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health
- social sciences political sciences political transitions revolutions
- social sciences sociology demography fertility
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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)
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.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
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.
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.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2018
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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.
CT2 7NZ Canterbury, Kent
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.