Objective
To establish the variation and magnitude of palaeoclimatic
conditions manifest in cultural and natural contexts in the
middle Aguas from Middle Holocene until present day; subsequently
to construct a Geographical Information System (GIS) in which
environmental data (geology, soils, vegetation) and
archaeological data (settlement patterns, exploited resources,
trends in socio-economic organization) will be included.
The workplan involves several steps:
Firstly, an archaeological survey involving the use of GPS
(Global Positioning System) as a means of identifying the
natural, pedological and human-modified sediments in the middle
Aguas during the selected chronological period.
Secondly, the sampling of the natural and archaeological
pedo-sedimentary deposits in order to perform different analysis:
Concerning the sedimentology and micromorphology of soils
granulometry, pH, cation-exchange capacity, electrical
conductivity, CaCO3 content, mineralogy of clays and
thin-section interpretation (scanning electron microscopy and
EDXRA) will be performed. Concerning the hydrology, isotopic
analysis (18O, 13C, 14C and 2H) will be used.
For the botanical aspects, polen, charcoal, seeds and fitolith
analysis are forseen and for the malacology, isotopic analysis
(18O/16O). Concerning the artifact characterization,
petrography, mass spectometry, X-ray difraction will be used and
for the chronometry C14 and optical luminiscence. (XRD) and
fluorescence analysis.
Thirdly, the development of a Geographic Information System (GIS)
based on the digitalization of the following three types of
information :a) Cartographic data: This comprises contemporary
topographical and geological maps, as well as the georeferenced
data obtained in the GPS survey. b) Ecological data: This
includes the results of the hydrological, micromorphological,
botanical and archaeological samples obtained from the survey. c)
Archaeological data: This includes information from settlement
patterns, resource utilization and patterns of exploitation in
the different periods of the human occupation of the middle
Aguas.
Finally, modelling of the coevolution of the socio-natural
systems with respect to different temporal scale, so as to
evaluate the relationships between stability, sensitivity and
resilience in metastable ecosystems.
The data-set will provide a framework to evaluate existing
models of human-ecological interaction and to build a new
interpretarive modelling of long-term dynamics of human
settlement and land-use.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeologysedimentology
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronics
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesphysical geographycartographygeographic information systems
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsmicroscopyelectron microscopy
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeologypetrologypetrography
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
08193 Barcelona
Spain