MATRIX ERC Project

The MATRIX project – Into the Sedimentary Matrix: Mapping the Replacement of Neanderthals by early Modern Humans using micro-contextualized biomolecules – is a European Research Council (ERC) starting grant attributed to Dr. Vera Aldeias.

The demise of Neandertals and the peopling of Europe by anatomically modern humans occurred, geologically speaking, in the blink of an eye. While we know that Neandertals and anatomically modern humans interbred, how and where this interaction occurred remains unresolved. Now that humans can be fingerprinted from the ancient DNA they left behind in sediments, high-resolution site formation studies are essential to establish microstratigraphic integrity and to reconstruct the human past at finer scales.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

MATRIX will zoom into the sedimentary matrix at an unprecedented resolution using aDNA, but also proteins and lipids stored in archaeological sediments, in order to:

  1. Determine the degree of microstratigraphic integrity of key archaeological deposits. Establish the microstratigraphy, depositional environments, and post-depositional processes to ascertain the context of biomolecules from the time of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in Eurasia.
  2. Identify the makers of the archaeological assemblages and when they occupied each site. Assess the distribution, frequency, and preservation of sediment aDNA and proteins sampled to map the presence and the biological identification of specific hominins in selected layers dated between ~50 and 40 ka (WS3, WS4).
  3. Obtain data on the paleoenvironment and site uses. Assess the microstratigraphic and biomolecular record to gain high-resolution, site-specific paleoenvironmental and behavioural data (e.g., diet, use of fire).

Pioneering the application of microarchaeological techniques linked with contextualized molecular data, while setting a rigorous basis for their interpretation, MATRIX aims to improve our understanding of the migration of anatomically modern humans into Eurasia and, eventually, to our inhabiting of the entire world.

MATRIX

Grant agreement ID: 101041245
Horizon 1.1 – European Research Council (ERC)
PI. Vera Aldeias
DATES: 1 october 2022 – 30 september 2027