mAARiTIME is a highly interdisciplinary project, which brings together the fields of Archaeology, Biology, Chemistry, Geochronology and Quaternary Sciences. Through protein geochronology (amino acid racemisation dating, AAR), it seeks to answer two specific but vital questions: when did early humans become “modern”, and is “modern” behaviour unique to our own species?Behavioural modernity has fortuitously left traces in the archaeological record as molluscan remains, one of the best substrates for AAR dating. Molluscs were exploited as a food resource and shells were used as personal ornaments, providing some of the earliest evidence of symbolic thinking displayed by early humans. These appear between 160-70 ka ago, a period which falls tantalisingly outside that of many commonly applied dating techniques. AAR is able to yield direct age information for mollusc shells, and its broad temporal span (the whole Quaternary, 0-2.6 Ma) makes it the ideal method for framing chronologically the debate over the origins of modern human behaviour.mAARiTIME will focus on the Mediterranean rim, which is key to the development of behavioural modernity. By applying a novel (closed-system) method of AAR dating, mAARiTIME will build chronological frameworks able to provide reliable dating control for this area. The method will be rigorously tested by laboratory experiments on different molluscan taxa as well as by comparing the AAR data with independent age information. A detailed investigation of protein breakdown will also be performed by applying state-of-the-art proteomics and imaging techniques.Other than producing important advances in geochronology and archaeological sciences, mAARiTIME will enable the development of long-lasting collaboration between a network of researchers in Northern and Southern Europe, coordinated by the applicant, and with the long-term goal of establishing a AAR dating facility in Southern Europe.