This project proposes an interdisciplinary approach to agricultural change and its causes during the Neolithic, particularly in connection to climate fluctuations. The study region includes the territories between the Po Valley, the High Rhine and the Ebro Valley. New research will be done in selected sites (unique in each of their regions) with optimal preservation conditions, with an emphasis on wetland sites.
Integrated approaches to palaeoecology and palaeoeconomy will be performed combining archaeobotany, archaeozoology and entomology. Large databases will be produced with the available archaeobotanical data, radiocarbon dates and underground storage features in the study region. A radiocarbon dating program will be combined with carbon isotope measurements to eventually approach agricultural change from a multi-proxy perspective and reach a better understanding of agricultural decision-making among early farmers.