The agricultural economy of the Aegean Dark Ages through machine learning-powered 3D cereal grain morphometrics

Good news to start the year! The resolution of the Ministry of Science and Innovation (Spanish Government) granted our new R&D project:

DarkAegean. The agricultural economy of the Aegean Dark Ages through machine learning-powered 3D cereal grain morphometrics (01/09/2023 – 31/08/2026)
Agencia Estatal de Investigación (PID2022-139907NB-I00)

The DarkAegean project, led by Ramón y Cajal researcher Alexandra Livarda, explores the innovative hypothesis that the shape of plant seeds reflects their growth conditions.

Building on the success of the DarkRevisited project (which studied the role of barley in ancient agricultural economies), DarkAegean will focus on wheat, another fundamental crop, to provide a more comprehensive understanding of cereal cultivation in the past.

The project’s interdisciplinary methodology includes using geometric morphometrics assisted by machine learning in 3D and stable isotope analysis to correlate specific wheat shapes with particular agricultural management practices.

This innovative methodology will be applied to studying the transition between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the Aegean (Greece), addressing a historically poorly documented period known as the “Dark Ages.”

DarkAegean has the potential to significantly impact the field of Archaeobotany, offering new perspectives on Ancient diets and agricultural economies, while also influencing cultural heritage management and the maintenance of plant biodiversity for food.

Alexandra Livarda

Stay tuned for news on the project!

• Title: DarkAegean: The agricultural economy of the Aegean Dark Ages through machine learning-powered 3D cereal grain morphometrics (PID2022-139907NB-I00) 
• Leading researcher: Alexandra Livarda 
• Research team: Michael P. Wallace, Merkouris Georgiadis, Charlotte Diffey, Pagambam Sendash Singh, Toby C. Wilkinson, Federica Riso, Francesc C. Conesa, Patricia Vandorpe. 
• Budget: € 100.000,00
• Timing: 3 years (01/09/2023 – 31/08/2026) 

The project DarkAegean. The agricultural economy of the Aegean Dark Ages through machine learning-powered 3D cereal grain morphometrics (PID2022-139907NB-I00) is funded by MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033/ and by “FEDER Una manera de hacer Europa”.