Project description
Modern engineering helps understand Paleolithic tools
Stone tools have played a key role in the survival of the human species for millions of years. Their ability to cut, pierce and scrape materials opened new ecological niches, facilitating the exploitation of novel resources and human survival in hostile environments. The EU-funded EDGE programme will integrate advanced engineering analytical techniques, principles and design theory with large-scale archaeological experiments to investigate how the morphology, microgeometry, and raw material choice of stone cutting tools influenced their performance and fracture mechanics. This groundbreaking integration process will provide a fundamental shift in how ongoing archaeological experiments are performed.
Objective
For over 3 million years, stone tools were central to the survival of hominins (fossil and modern humans). Their ability to cut, pierce and scrape materials opened new ecological niches, facilitated exploitation of novel resources, and allowed hominins to survive in hostile environments. Accordingly, there were strong pressures for stone tools to be effective, reliable, durable, and efficient. Modern cutting tools are produced according to similar principles and there is >80 years of research dedicated to designing mechanically-optimised tools and understanding the principles of cutting. However, Palaeolithic stone technologies have yet to be investigated with similar mechanical or theoretical rigour.
EDGE will integrate advanced engineering analytical techniques, principles and design theory with large-scale archaeological experiments to investigate how the morphology, microgeometry, and raw material choice of stone cutting tools influences their performance and fracture mechanics. In archaeological firsts, EDGE includes controlled cutting tests, empirical analyses of stone tool sharpness, and finite element analysis (FEA) of cutting processes. Palaeolithic artefacts will be examined to assess whether our hominin ancestors actually designed mechanically-optimised tools, or, alternatively, whether other factors (e.g. cultural variation) underlie the tool type, form and raw material variability observed across the Palaeolithic archaeological record.
The ground breaking nature of EDGE is its integration of advanced engineering techniques and principles with archaeological experiments and artefact analyses to address fundamental questions concerning early human behaviour. Results will provide a fundamental shift in how functional archaeological experiments are performed, establish fracture mechanics theory and FEA within archaeological research, and present a robust mechanically defined framework necessary for understanding artefact variation across the Palaeolithic.
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.
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering
- social sciences sociology anthropology physical anthropology
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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.
2311 EZ Leiden
Netherlands
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.