PALPROX Doctoral Network Begins with Kick-off Meeting in Tarragona and Launch of New Project Website

The PALPROX Doctoral Network – Proxies from Small Vertebrates in Prehistoric Archaeology officially began its activities on 21 October 2025 with the celebration of its Kick-off Meeting, hosted by IPHES-CERCA in Tarragona (Spain). This event marked the formal start of the four-year European project funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions – Doctoral Networks (MSCA-DN) under the Horizon Europe programme, with a total budget of € 2,537,094.96 million (Project link).

The event brought together representatives from all partner institutions – CNRS-UM 6282/EPHE UB (France), University of Warsaw (Poland), University of Porto (Portugal) – as well as associated partners Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Université de Bourgogne Europe, Transmitting Science, and Paleoymás. During the meeting, the consortium discussed the network’s management structure procedures, training programme, and initial communication strategy.

“PALPROX represents a unique opportunity to connect archaeology and paleoecology with today’s key environmental challenges, such as climate change and biodiversity loss”, said Dr Juan Manuel López García, Scientific Coordinator of PALPROX and researcher at IPHES-CERCA and URV.

In the coming months, PALPROX will open nine fully funded PhD positions to train a new generation of researchers specialising in the study of prehistoric small vertebrates – including rodents, birds and bats – as indicators of past climate and environmental change. The training programme will combine classical palaeontological methods with cutting-edge approaches such as geometric morphometrics, geochemical analyses, ancient DNA studies, and ecological niche modelling.

The Kick-off Meeting concluded with a visit to the IPHES-CERCA facilities and a discussion on the project’s first communication milestones, which include the launch of the official website and social media channels.

Launch of the Official Website

PALPROX is pleased to announce the release of its official website: www.palprox.eu.

The website serves as the main platform for sharing information about the project’s objectives, partners, training activities, and research progress. It will also feature updates on upcoming events, open PhD positions, and outreach initiatives related to archaeology, paleoecology, and climate change.

Developed and coordinated by IPHES-CERCA (Spain), the website provides access to detailed information about the nine doctoral research projects that will train a new generation of researchers to use small vertebrates as proxies for reconstructing the environment in the past.

Visitors will find dedicated sections introducing the consortium partners, the training programme, news and events, and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions that support this European Doctoral Network. The site will be continuously updated throughout the project’s four-year duration (2025–2029), including multimedia content, publications, and outreach materials.

PALPROX on Air: Interview at Arran de Mar

To celebrate the launch of the project, members of the PALPROX coordination team were invited to speak on the radio programme Arran de Mar (Tarragona Ràdio). During the interview, Dr Juan Manuel López-García introduced the goals of the Doctoral Network, its European dimension, and the importance of small vertebrates as indicators of past environmental change.

The conversation brought the project closer to the general public by highlighting the value of archaeological and palaeoecological research in helping us to understand today’s climate and biodiversity challenges through learning from the past.

Listen to the programme here (in Catalan)

About PALPROX

PALPROX aims to train a new generation of interdisciplinary researchers capable of reconstructing past ecosystems and contributing to understanding Late Pleistocene climate adaptations.

Visit our website to find out more and follow us on Instagram to stay up to date! www.palprox.eu @palprox_dn

Funded by the European Union under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions – Doctoral Networks (Grant Agreement No. 101226472).