Project description
Predictive approaches to understand South America’s cultural diversity
Human dispersals drive cultural diversity and are reflected in stone tools. Key questions in archaeology focus on how and when the first populations arrived in South America, as existing models fail to explain the continent’s cultural variability. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the MAPS project will integrate cultural transmission theory with computational methods, using agent-based and predictive modelling of lithic technological data from 15 000 to 11 000 years ago. It will determine whether cultural diversity results from single or multiple entry routes. Additionally, the project will develop a predictive tool to identify Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene sites for future surveys and excavations.
Objective
Human dispersals are among the key drivers of cultural diversity, shaping the exchange, adaptation, and innovation of technologies and traditions. In turn, this cultural diversity provides a record through which past dispersals can be reconstructed, most visibly in stone tools—the most abundant and durable archaeological evidence. A major open question in archaeology is how and when the first populations entered South America, and through which routes. Despite Brazil’s rich archaeological record, existing models cannot account for the continent’s full cultural variability, leaving the timing and mechanisms of early dispersals unresolved.
MAPS addresses this challenge by integrating cultural transmission theory with advanced computational approaches. The project will apply agent-based and predictive modelling directly to lithic technological data from 15,000–11,000 years BP to test whether cultural diversity reflects single or multiple entry routes, or long-term regional trajectories. Building on these results, MAPS will develop a transferable predictive tool to identify high-potential final Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene sites, guiding future surveys and excavations.
By combining archaeology and computational modelling MAPS offers a truly multidisciplinary framework. Its dual strategy will generate the first empirically tested integrated modelling approach to cultural transmission and dispersal in South America. Beyond advancing scientific understanding, the project will deliver predictive tools for sustainable fieldwork planning, heritage management, and socio-economic benefit, while establishing a methodological benchmark applicable to global contexts.
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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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.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global 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.
40126 Bologna
Italy
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.