Project description
Sustainable agricultural strategies in Neolithic societies
The archaeological findings of wild cereal and non-cereal grasses’ seeds in Neolithic sites raises questions concerning the dawn of cultivation activities. The analysis of the association between arable weeds and unmanaged wild cereal habitats is crucial. It is important to know whether 'weed seeds' were incorporated into harvest in early agricultural societies. The EU-funded NICHE project aims to trace the origins of wild cereals and the development of sustainable strategies in agriculture in early Neolithic societies. The task joins examinations on the taxonomic structure, isotopic signature, economic exploitability and role in ecosystem of wild grain habitats in the Near East.
Objective
The project combines analyses on the taxonomic composition, isotopic signature, economic exploitability and functional ecology of wild cereal habitats in the Near East, which will create a data basis that allows to more reliably trace the origins of arable weeds and the development of subsistence strategies at the dawn of agricultural societies. During the past decades, archaeobotanical research on early cultivation has strongly focused on the wild cereals, their experimental cultivation, and on identifying arable weeds in archaeobotanical assemblages for tracing the first cultivation activities. However, little is known about the origins of arable weeds and their association with unmanaged wild cereal habitats, putting doubt on their reliability to indicate the beginnings of cultivation. In addition, medium- and large-seeded wild grasses that grow together with wild cereals in modern stands occur abundantly at Early Neolithic sites. Reconstructing subsistence developments during the Neolithic transition must therefore consider the exploited “non-cereal” grasses more thoroughly. The project aims to address these research gaps by (1) investigating the association of potential arable weeds with unmanaged wild cereal habitats, (2) analyse the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of the different grass taxa in order to test whether these signatures significantly differ between habitats and (3) test the harvesting efficiency of medium- to large-seeded wild grasses in relation to the wild cereals. The harvesting experiments will also show whether unwanted “weed seeds” become incorporated into harvests from unmanaged stands, falsely indicating cultivation activities. Finally, we will combine these investigations with an analysis of the functional traits of the recorded species, linking taxonomic and structural variability to environmental gradients.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture industrial crops fodder
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture grains and oilseeds cereals
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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-EF-ST - Standard EF
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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.
OX1 2JD Oxford
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.