Objectif Sustainability of societies in a restricted or fragile environment forms a perpetual question, past and present underpinning questions of the rise and fall of civilisation. Today, the eroded Maltese islands support one of the densest human populations in the world. When first colonised in the 6th millennium BC, pristine soil and forest covered the landscape, but within centuries the landscape was bare and under intensive cultivation. The Neolithic perpetrators of the original clearance developed a sophisticated if isolated island civilisation in the face of the precarious environment and limited natural resources. Their megalithic temples focused on ritual feasting whilst complex social organisation controlled food distribution. Over centuries, Malta maintained an intensive subsistence economy and a controlled population, but 2500 years after the first settlement that socio-economic system seems to have imploded resulting in the collapse of its island civilisation.What precise conditions led to this collapse, and was there complete or only partial economic and cultural failure? Did external factors - episodes of climatic instability, sea-level change, disease, invasion – impact irreversibly on the island inhabitants, or did over-intensification cause internal political and economic failure? Were the islands abandoned or was life sustained on them? Were other small islands affected in similar ways? These questions underpin my investigation which aims to extract eroding and fragile environmental and archaeological evidence from rapidly deteriorating landscapes. The goal is to understand the relationship between environmental change, stress and cultural continuity or collapse. I will address these questions through application of modern interdisciplinary environmental sciences (including palynology, climate studies, dating, dietary isotopes and landscape archaeology) to establish the impact of environmental change on island populations. Champ scientifique natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencesnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencespalaeontologypalynology Programme(s) FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Thème(s) ERC-AG-SH6 - ERC Advanced Grant - The study of the human past Appel à propositions ERC-2012-ADG_20120411 Voir d’autres projets de cet appel Régime de financement ERC-AG - ERC Advanced Grant Institution d’accueil THE QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST Contribution de l’UE € 1 451 405,20 Adresse UNIVERSITY ROAD LANYON BUILDING BT7 1NN Belfast Royaume-Uni Voir sur la carte Région Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Belfast Type d’activité Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Chercheur principal Caroline Ann Tuke Stoddart (Dr.) Contact administratif Rory Jordan (Mr.) Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Coût total Aucune donnée Bénéficiaires (6) Trier par ordre alphabétique Trier par contribution de l’UE Tout développer Tout réduire THE QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST Royaume-Uni Contribution de l’UE € 1 451 405,20 Adresse UNIVERSITY ROAD LANYON BUILDING BT7 1NN Belfast Voir sur la carte Région Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Belfast Type d’activité Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Chercheur principal Caroline Ann Tuke Stoddart (Dr.) Contact administratif Rory Jordan (Mr.) Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Coût total Aucune donnée THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE Royaume-Uni Contribution de l’UE € 402 751,20 Adresse TRINITY LANE THE OLD SCHOOLS CB2 1TN Cambridge Voir sur la carte Région East of England East Anglia Cambridgeshire CC Type d’activité Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Contact administratif Renata Schaeffer (Ms.) Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Coût total Aucune donnée HERITAGE MALTA Malte Contribution de l’UE € 124 159,20 Adresse EX-ROYAL NAVY HOSPITAL TRIQ MARINA KKR 1524 Kalkara Voir sur la carte Région Malta Malta Malta Type d’activité Public bodies (excluding Research Organisations and Secondary or Higher Education Establishments) Contact administratif Olivianne Briffa (Ms.) Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Coût total Aucune donnée UNIVERSITA TA MALTA Malte Contribution de l’UE € 332 359,20 Adresse TAL OROQQ 2080 MSIDA Voir sur la carte Région Malta Malta Malta Type d’activité Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Contact administratif Mark Debono (Mr.) Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Coût total Aucune donnée SUPERINTENDENCE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE-SOVRINTENDENZA TAL PATRIMONJU KULTURALI SCH Malte Contribution de l’UE € 169 153,20 Adresse TRIQ SAN KRISTOFRU 173 VLT 1467 Valletta Voir sur la carte Région Malta Malta Malta Type d’activité Research Organisations Contact administratif A A Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Coût total Aucune donnée UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH Royaume-Uni Contribution de l’UE € 11 940,00 Adresse DRAKE CIRCUS PL4 8AA Plymouth Voir sur la carte Région South West (England) Devon Plymouth Type d’activité Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Contact administratif Suzanne Ash (Ms.) Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Coût total Aucune donnée