MatrixERC StG works across archaeological sites from all over Europe, following the microscopic traces of late Neandertals and the first modern humans. We study intact sediment samples, checking whether the archaeological layers are truly preserved and looking for ancient DNA, proteins, and lipids.

Meet the ERC Matrix Project team! We introduce Sofia Kouki, PhD student working on archaeoinformatics at @icarehb.bsky.social. Sofia applies computational methods to micromorphological analysis and explores how artificial intelligence can complement the work of micromorphologists.

We worked hard in 2025, will be super busy in 2026 and you will hear all about it. For now, we are ready for a break and wish you all the best of holidays! #MatrixERC #ICArEHB #Neanderthal #Paleolithic #HumanEvolution #Prehistory #AncientDNA #Biomolecules #SedimentDNA #Geoarchaeology

Meet the team behind the ERC Matrix Project! We introduce Carli Peters, researcher and biomolecular archaeologist at icarehb.bsky.social Carli studies ancient human–animal interactions using palaeoproteomics and ZooMS to extract and identify ancient proteins from bone fragments.

New paper is out! We and welkergroup.bsky.social show that proteins from resin-impregnated sediment blocks can reveal faunal diversity at the microscale. We thank and congratulate all coauthors! #paleoproteomics #geoarchaeology erc.europa.eu icarehb.bsky.social academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...

👥 Meet the team behind the ERC Matrix Project! We introduce Hussein Kanbar, postdoc researcher and experimental geochemist at @icarehb.bsky.social Hussein explores how DNA moves, binds, and survives in soils and sediments. His work builds bridges between archaeology, geochemistry, and genetics.

🔎 Artifacts lie in soils and sediments. Geoarchaeology reveals how these deposits formed, transformed, and preserve traces of past human life. Our facilities include: 🪨 ArchaeoDirt Lab 🔬 MICROLab 🧬 A new clean room for ancient DNA & proteins (coming soon!) 👉 matrix.icarehb.com/archaeomatri...

👥 Meet the team behind the ERC Matrix Project! 🔬 Today: Vera Aldeias, PI of Matrix and a geoarchaeologist decoding past human behaviour through sediments. 🧬 Vera’s team uses ancient DNA & proteins in soils to trace modern humans’ arrival in Europe & Neanderthals’ disappearance.

The ERC Project MATRIX explores one of the big questions in our past: how Neanderthals disappeared as modern humans spread across Europe. Meet the team behind it and learn more about our research on sediments, ancient DNA, proteins, lipids & human evolution 👉 matrix.icarehb.com

The MATRIX Project, ERC Starting Grant, led by @veraaldeias.bsky.social and based at @icarehb.bsky.social, explores the replacement of Neanderthals by early modern humans by analyzing intact blocks of sediment as archives of ancient DNA, proteins, and lipids. Follow us and visit matrix.icarehb.com