Thursday 10 February, 4 PM CET
PROF. DR. MARTA COSTAS RODRIGUEZ
ABSTRACT: The lifeways of modern humans as hunter-gatherers in between the final Palaeolithic (Late Glacial) and Mesolithic (Early Holocene) is a crucial phase for better understanding the permanent re-colonization of northern Europe after the last ice age. The Belgian middle-Meuse valley is an ideal region along the North Sea basin to study human displacements and adaptations during the final Paleolithic and Mesolithic, as there is a unique fossil assemblage within NW Europe (mainly dating back to the Mesolithic period). Little is known about these last hunter-gatherers: where they came from, who they were, and how they lived? For answering these questions, an inter- and multi- disciplinary research is crucial, and aimed at in the ROAM project. Within this specific research, the use of isotope ratios (such as δ13C, δ15N, δ34S and 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio) are an interesting approach for revealing new insights.