NEANDROOTS (EN)

Project link: https://sites.google.com/unife.it/neanderoots/home

Project leaders: Marie-Hélène Moncel

Funding body: ANR (duration: 2019–2022)

GEOPS member involved: Alison Pereira

NEANDROOTS is an interdisciplinary project that aims to: (1) compile a comprehensive archaeological database covering the period between 450 and 350 ka, (2) to enrich and standardise chronological site data and environmental data, (3) to develop methodological approaches to identify regional traits and propose models of innovation diffusion, (4) to model the role of population size and structure, and (5) to test the impact of climate change on human adaptation (iLOVECLIM and ECNM models). This multidisciplinary study concerns a key yet poorly understood period in human history and aims to: (1) propose models of human responses to new (and varied) environments based on the disappearance and acquisition of tools and expertise, (2) understand the mechanisms of cultural transmission over time and the processes through which innovations and inventions develop and are maintained. The aim is to contribute to an understanding of the earliest European regionalisation cycle, which predates the contemporary one associated with the end of the Neanderthals (MIS 4–3). This approach has never been applied to the early Neanderthal period. The development of a unified chronostratigraphy will help situate new behaviours, technological advances and anatomical changes in hominids within their climatic and environmental context. The creation of high-resolution synthetic maps will enable the correlation of climatic, environmental and archaeological data. This detailed analysis of the interactions between humans and their environments could serve as a model for understanding analogous developments, linking past and present. Finally, we are examining the resilience of societies in the face of climate change. The close integration of physical mechanisms with climatic and archaeological data will push the boundaries of the methods used to date.
This interdisciplinary project involves seven French teams, each with complementary expertise: MNHN, LSCE, EPOC/PACEA/University of Bordeaux, IGE, LMD, LGP and the University of Lille. A broad European network is also contributing to this project, bringing together prehistorians, an anthropologist, traceologists and a specialist in palaeodemographic modelling.