Jekyll2026-05-19T13:58:49+00:00https://pliodis.github.io/feed.xmlPLIODISUnderstanding hominin dispersal to southern Africa during the Plio–Pleistocene.FWO Infrastructure Award for AMGC — Benefiting PLIODIS2026-05-01T00:00:00+00:002026-05-01T00:00:00+00:00https://pliodis.github.io/2026/05/01/goderis-fwo-awardCONGRATULATIONS to Professor Steven Goderis for leading and securing a competitive FWO infrastructure award of nearly €890,000 for the project entitled Clumped and Curious: Isotopic Tales from the Microscale.

The funding will support a major upgrade of the light stable isotope facilities at AMGC, including a latest-generation isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) with multiple peripherals. The renewed IRMS lab will benefit a wide range of research projects, including PLIODIS.

By measuring the isotopic ratios of light elements such as C, H, O, N, and S, Clumped and Curious will help reveal the hidden stories preserved in rocks, fossils, plants, ancient bones, water, and air. Its applications range from reconstructing paleotemperatures from carbonates to retracing the life paths of historical individuals, solving forensic puzzles, and testing the authenticity of regional products such as cheese.

With this new infrastructure, AMGC will further position isotope biogeochemistry as a powerful tool for a new generation of multidisciplinary, society-relevant research.

Professor Steven Goderis FWO award
]]>PlioDis Project Officially Launched at VUB2026-03-01T00:00:00+00:002026-03-01T00:00:00+00:00https://pliodis.github.io/2026/03/01/project-launchThe PlioDis project has officially launched within the Archaeology, Environmental Changes & Geo-Chemistry group at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. This ERC‑funded project sits at the intersection of anthropology, environmental sciences, and geology, aiming to open a broader window onto human evolution and hominin migration. By integrating geological archives, paleoenvironmental reconstructions (climate and vegetation), and hominin functional morphology, PlioDis seeks to develop a novel and comprehensive approach to paleoanthropological studies.

Integration framework
The PLIODIS integration framework combining geological, environmental and morphological datasets.
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