Since 20 years, the candidate has been working as an archaeologist and anthropologist. The AIDE project - Archaeology, Inequalities and DiEt: Archaeology assisted by stable isotopes - will enable her to acquire additional and innovative skills to respond to a rapidly developing scientific issue: research on social inequalities and their evolution over time. This will allow her to progress in her career, with a promotion in her institute, and to make a valuable and original contribution to research. Thanks to the study of compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) of carbon and nitrogen, the determination of food intake of past populations is more accurate. However, food, like health, is a result of cultural factors. The location of graves in a funeral space is also the result of cultural parameters. By confronting a heuristic and epidemiological approach, the candidate thus intends to model differences between individuals, to reveal the social inequalities of the past. The establishment of a network of researchers in Europe (biochemists, archaeologists and anthropologists) will make it possible to study more closely the remains of the past for a better knowledge of our common history. The transfer of biochemical knowledge from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver (Canada) to INRAP (Paris, France) via the candidate will improve the quality of samples taken from archaeological excavation sites and thus ultimately improve the results obtained.

Neanderthals disappeared ~40 000 years ago; although they have received significant public and academic attention, their evolution and behavioural diversity remain little known. Quina Mousterian designates a singular Neanderthal lithic industry; it is often associated with specific, large game seasonal hunting (herds of reindeer). Particular mobility patterns and elaborate carcass processing suggest an image of a complex, intriguing cultural entity. Outside its core area (SW France), Quina Mousterian is also mentioned in different parts of Europe. My project will first aim at testing the hypothesis that a Quina cultural entity existed, i.e. that the occurrences of Quina Mousterian correspond to a short period of time and can thus be attributed to affiliated or connected groups of Neanderthals. A widely interdisciplinary consortium will then aim at defining the characteristics of the assumed Quina entity, how it evolved in time and potentially diffused in space across Europe. High-resolution OSL dating, based on new Bayesian models allowing cutting-edge uncertainties (~2-3%) for periods beyond the radiocarbon dating range, will be implemented to obtain a tight chronological framework and tie the archaeological record with palaeo-environments. Tool production and use, as a function of raw material availability and procurement, will be studied based on a technological and techno-functional approach. The influence of varying climates and environments on the Quina subsistence strategies – approached in terms of both food acquisition and storage – will be deciphered. Palaeo-anthropological and genetic studies will aim at defining the biological identity of the makers of Quina Mousterian, and possible human migrations associated with its diffusion. Eventually, the Quina World project will allow discussing the potentially oldest regionalisation and cultural diffusion patterns of Europe, and shed new light on the array and complexity of Neanderthal behaviours.

PHENOMENA aims at unravelling the composition and dynamics of marine and terrestrial communities of French Guiana during the Late Pleistocene–Early Holocene (125–8 ka), through the study of coastal and fluvio-lacustrine series. Data will result from already-collected material and new fieldwork in targeted areas. It will provide first-hand data on both the paleo-biocenoses and landscapes of French Guiana, and details about their spatiotemporal dynamics. These ancient ecosystems open an unprecedented window on a timespan devoid of any human-induced disturbance at a regional scale. Moreover, the Last Interglacial is an accurate analog for current climate change, at least in terms of sea-level rise and warming speed. Another goal is to unveil the earliest phases of human settlement and anthropogenic ecological disturbance in the territory, especially in under-surveyed forested areas. The project will exploit synergies between specialists of a wide range of related fields to explore remote areas and train local actors in research and conservation. PHENOMENA is organized in five work packages (WP): team coordination and risk assessment (WP0, PI), reconstruction of paleo-landscapes and sediment sources in the last 200 ka (WP1: geologists and geomorphologists), assessment of Pleistocene–Holocene paleobiodiversity of French Guiana (WP2: biologists, paleobiologists, and paleogeneticists), reconstruction of Pleistocene-Holocene ecosystems of French Guiana over space and time (WP3: same scientists plus archaeologists), and return to society (WP4: coordinators of WP1-3). The questions to be addressed fit the research issues of the theme “Living Earth”, which covers fundamental knowledge on biodiversity and spatial and temporal dynamics of continental ecosystems. The consortium includes 26 permanent scientists from 12 French and Surinamese institutions, led by a palaeomammalogist with a broad expertise in the evolution of Cenozoic Neotropical faunas and floras.

The classification of ancient coins, the numismatic foundation of studies on exchanges and economies, is at a standstill due to the difficulty of adopting a method and collective standards. Over the past 4 years, exploratory work has been carried out to formalise methodological perspectives and put them to the test on a limited panel of coins. The contribution of the life sciences is crucial, both for the classification methodology and for the quality of the works made available to the scientific community. The aim of the ClaMoMed project is threefold: (1) to establish consolidated numismatic classification standards, (2) to carry out a scientific classification of a large panel of medieval coins (5th-15th centuries) from the current French area using digital tools, (3) to complete a publishing project designed to invent and produce new tools providing easy access to rigorous information on these coins. The partnership formed for this project brings together medieval numismatists from the teams of three French UMRs (CRAHAM, IRAMAT, IDEES) and France's leading archaeological operator (INRAP), as well as the Digital Document Unit of the MRSH in Caen and the Presses universitaires de Caen.