Project description
Early farming and environmental change in the Mediterranean
While human activity has influenced the Mediterranean landscape for thousands of years, the ways early farming communities changed ecosystems and used natural resources are not fully understood. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the NEOLANDSCAPE project aims to reconstruct Neolithic landscapes in northeastern Spain via pollen analysis, archaeobotanical evidence, palaeogenomics and modelling land cover. Specifically, it will uncover the impacts that these early farming societies had on Mediterranean ecosystems in relation to land use, vegetation shifts and resource exploitation.
Objective
NEOLANDSCAPE aims to reconstruct Neolithic landscapes in northeastern Iberia (7500–6000 cal BP) by developing an innovative, multi-scalar framework combining palynology, archaeobotany, palaeogenetics and quantitative land-cover modelling. It addresses how early farming societies transformed Mediterranean ecosystems, offering new insights into land use, vegetation change and resource management.
The project is structured around three interconnected Research and Innovation Objectives (RIOs):
- RIO1 implements quantitative regional land-cover modelling using the REVEALS model and newly calibrated Iberian Relative Pollen Productivity (RPP) estimates to reconstruct spatial patterns of land-cover transformation associated with Neolithic human activity in NE Iberia.
- RIO2 refines local-scale reconstructions by integrating archaeopalynological and archaeobotanical datasets and using the LOVE model and piloting the BACKLAND framework in the Lake Banyoles area.
- RIO3 applies sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) analysis at La Draga, an exceptionally preserved Neolithic site, to detect cultivated, gathered, and managed plant taxa often invisible in traditional records. Combined with coprophilous fungal spores and mammal sedaDNA, this will also enable intra-site spatial analysis of livestock presence and management.
By linking off-site palaeoecological records with on-site archaeological data, NEOLANDSCAPE will produce high-resolution reconstructions of early farming landscapes. Its interdisciplinary methodology is replicable and transferable to other regions and periods. The project contributes to methodological innovation in landscape archaeology and promotes open science practices, while providing long-term perspectives on sustainability and human–environment interactions in the context of global change.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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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.
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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.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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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.
75794 Paris
France
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