NEMIC – Neolithic Microcultures: Unraveling Early Regional Cultural Variations
The aim of the NEMIC project is to generate region-specific insights into cultural variation among the first farming communities in what is now Belgium. This will be achieved through a multi- and interdisciplinary analysis of archaeological, paleontological, and anthropological assemblages, combined with state-of-the-art analytical techniques such as proteomics and isotope analysis.
By integrating high-resolution biochemical data with material culture and human remains, the project will identify localized patterns in diet, mobility, health, and ritual practices. These patterns are interpreted as expressions of “microcultures”—culturally distinct subgroups that emerged within broader Neolithic communities.
To interpret this variation, the project adopts a theoretical framework that draws on:
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Ethnology: to provide comparative models of cultural variability and organization across small-scale societies;
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Niche Construction Theory (NCT): to explore how Neolithic groups actively shaped and responded to their environments (e.g., through farming, animal domestication, and landscape modification);
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Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES): to understand how cultural practices, developmental plasticity, and gene-culture feedback loops contributed to human variation beyond genetics alone.
In addition, Integrative Anthropology—which combines archaeological, biological, and cultural data—is used to bridge the gap between empirical evidence and theoretical interpretation. NEMIC aims to move beyond pan-European models of the Neolithic by reconstructing the lived experiences and internal diversity of early farming populations at a fine-grained, regional scale.