Project description
Subsistence strategies in the Bolivian Monumental Mount Region
Changes in sociopolitical complexity in past societies are often linked to shifts in subsistence strategies, though the causal mechanisms are typically inferred. Scholars continue to debate the roles of hierarchical versus heterarchical processes in pre-Hispanic New World societies. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the MONUFEAST project will evaluate different scenarios in the Monumental Mound Region of the Llanos de Moxos in the Bolivian Amazon, with a focus on Loma Cotoca. It will collect paleoethnobotanical and edaphological data using a combination of soil coring and 3D cross-hole electrical resistivity tomography. The project will explore past environments and subsistence practices, and map soil layers in areas not directly sampled. Ultimately, the project will uncover ancient subsistence strategies and environmental shifts.
Objective
Changes in the sociopolitical complexity of past societies are generally associated with shifts in subsistence strategies. However, the causal mechanisms are generally inferred rather than being directly measured. As a result, scholars of pre-Hispanic New World societies often disagree in the importance of top-down (hierarchical) versus bottom-up (heterarchical) processes driving such pivotal transitions. MONUFEAST will evaluate these posited and alternate scenarios in the Monumental Mound Region of the Llanos de Moxos of the Bolivian Amazon. Monumentality is generally considered an important indicator of high degrees of sociopolitical complexity, however archaeological research of such structures--particularly in lowland tropical settings--is difficult, logistically complex, costly, and time-intensive. MONUFEAST will focus on the largest such monumental mound in the Llanos de Moxos (Loma Cotoca), employing a novel combination of soil coring and 3D cross-hole electric resistivity tomography (ERT). Soil cores will be used to obtain both paleoethnobotanical data relating to paleoenvironment and subsistence, and edaphological data to determine the internal stratigraphy at cored locations. Each hole generated by the coring process will then be used to perform 3D cross-hole ERT (a first in archaeology) to extrapolate the soil layers to areas that were not cored. Since different theories of political development imply different sequences of events regarding the start of monumentality and transitions in subsistence strategy--and different material abundances of cooking wares and cultigen microfossils--a chronology of mound construction and subsistence can be used to falsify competing theories. The results will have significant impact to the descendent communities of the Llanos de Moxos whose identity strongly centers on indigenous histories. Moreover, the project will benefit the applicant in developing a macroregional, continental-scale perspective on social evolution.
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-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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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.
08193 Cerdanyola Del Valles
Spain
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.