Project description DEENESFRITPL A closer look at Homo species’ ability to adapt Humans are an adaptive species. Early hominins conquered Eurasia along a rapid ‘Out of Africa’ movement long before modern humans. However, they did not populate Western Europe for almost 1 million years. Western Europe faced several environmental constraints during this period. Nevertheless, archaeology in Asia and the Levant reveals that hominins overcome changing climatic conditions and geographies. The EU-funded LATEUROPE project will question human migrations and peopling. It will investigate why the arrival of the earliest hominins to Western Europe occurred after Eurasia. The project will use datasets of interdisciplinary and behavioural materials enriched by future fieldwork in several specific sites and biomes before 500 ka to question the adaptation ability of the Homo species in harsh environments. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective The project aims to question human migrations and peopling: why the earliest hominins did occupy Western Europe later than other portions of Eurasia? Early Hominins, conquered Eurasia, long before Modern Humans, the single Homo species living now on the earth. They conquered Eurasia along a rapid “Out of Africa” movement but left Europe empty during almost 1 million years. Western Europe did indeed face environmental constraints. This subcontinent is in a remote corner of Eurasia but other large Eurasian peninsulas are dead-ends as well. Certainly, Western Europe mixture of various environments and topographies did change a lot over time and the succession of climates, then causing favorable territories for human occupations to fluctuate. However, archaeology in Asia and the Levant shows that hominins did overcome variable climatic conditions and geographies.Investigating why Western Europe have remained out of the “Oekoumen” for so long is our research proposal LATEUROPE, that we base over datasets of interdisciplinary and behavioral materials enriched by future fieldworks in several specific sites and biomes on the key period before 500 ka. This will question at the local, regional and continental scale, the environmental, geographic and climatic conditions of Europe as compared to the rest of Eurasia and the characteristics of the hominin occupations and behaviours, or/and if a minimum degree of cognition was required to thrive in these lands. Databases will input multiple scenarios combining migration patterns and internal evolution mechanisms, using conceptual modeling and spatial agent-based simulations. This formalized combination of modeling and field methodologies is an epistemological advance for bringing interdisciplinarity to reality, allowing us to deeply question the ability of Homo species to adapt themselves to harsh environments, to face environmental shocks and changes on a long term scale. Fields of science natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesdatabasesnatural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyplanetary sciencesplanetary geologyhumanitieshistory and archaeologyarchaeologysocial sciencessociologydemographyhuman migrationssocial sciencessociologyanthropologyphysical anthropology Programme(s) HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2021-ADG - ERC ADVANCED GRANTS Call for proposal ERC-2021-ADG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme HORIZON-AG - HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based Coordinator CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS Net EU contribution € 2 558 250,00 Address Rue michel ange 3 75794 Paris France See on map Region Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00
