Project description
Ancient stone toolkits from north-western South Asia
Lithic tools represent one of the most significant findings for archaeological research. They are considered evidence of early technological innovation and have been traditionally and uncritically associated with male labour. The EU-funded PAST project will study the lithic toolkits from human communities in north-western South Asia during the Copper Age by developing a sound methodology that will provide an understanding of the role of specific tools and their socio-cultural effects as well as knowledge about gender roles in technological innovation. The project will increase understanding about the experience during agricultural transition, associated, socio-ecological dynamics and the archaeological significance of diverse types of tools during such historical changes.
Objective
Very often disciplinary and historical inertias drive current research, producing contradictions between available data and their interpretation. Lithic tools, constituting one of the most important archaeological record, are understood as a primary evidence of technological innovation and have been traditionally associated with male labour. Yet to extract information about behaviour and ways of life from these tools is difficult. Thus, the aims of PAST are, 1) to develop a sound methodology for understanding the role of specific tools and the socio-cultural aspects related to the tool use (e.g. raw material exploitation, gender division of labour), 2) to further our knowledge of the socio-ecological dynamics of the Chalcolithic communities of north-western South Asia (4th-2nd millennium BCE) by adding the information extracted from the study of lithic assemblages of key-sites, 3) to understand the change in the types of tools and their archaeological significance (are there typological or functional changes with the changing life styles of people from hunting and gathering to agriculturalists?)
Through an interdisciplinary approach, PAST integrates systematic sampling with laboratory techniques in microbotanical remains extraction and the analysis and ethnographic research on gender roles in lithic production and use, aiming at providing critical frames of reference. The interdisciplinary nature of the work provides a holistic understanding of the context, involving new strategies for sampling in the field and different cutting-edge laboratory techniques of microfossil analysis. PAST is thus expected to enhance understanding about agricultural practices and socio-ecological dynamics of past societies during a transitional time in human history and to pioneer the understanding of how technological innovation is approached by means of analysing the gender division in lithic production and use.
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.
You need to log in or register to use this function
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
See all projects funded under this programme
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)
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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-2019
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
28006 Madrid
Spain
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.