6533b7d8fe1ef96bd126b3ec

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Combined spatial Radiocarbon density maps and refined SCPD method to explore food production spread through the central and western mediterranean

subject

description

The neolithisation process in Europe constitutes a fundamental issue of interest in social evolutionary studies. The pioneer work of Ammerman and Cavalli-Sforza (1984) has been considered the basis for discussing the mechanisms involved in the expansion of farming and herding practices in a continental scale, assuming their spread from the Near East domestic core area. From an evolutionary perspective the introduction of agriculture and livestock implies major shifts in social dynamics including changes in demographic patterns as well as in settlement distribution and cultural models. Spatial analysis together with the use of radiocarbon data as a demographic proxy maybe one of the keys to better understand population dynamics involved in the neolithisation process. We compare if the evidence of domestic plants and animals expansion through central and western Mediterranean fit with the summed calibrated radiocarbon probability distributions (SCPD) calculated for the whole area and if the same is true for regional areas. We try to overcome the limits of the SCPD method that have criticized like sometime as imprecise and others as biased because we believe that, despite criticism, summed calibrated radiocarbon probabilities are the bare bone of any well funded paleo demographic approach to the arrival to the agriculture way of life to central and western Mediterranean. The neolithisation process in Europe constitutes a fundamental issue of interest in social evolutionary studies. The pioneer work of Ammerman and Cavalli-Sforza (1984) has been considered the basis for discussing the mechanisms involved in the expansion of farming and herding practices in a continental scale, assuming their spread from the Near East domestic core area. From an evolutionary perspective the introduction of agriculture and livestock implies major shifts in social dynamics including changes in demographic patterns as well as in settlement distribution and cultural models. Spatial analysis together with the use of radiocarbon data as a demographic proxy maybe one of the keys to better understand population dynamics involved in the neolithisation process. We compare if the evidence of domestic plants and animals expansion through central and western Mediterranean fit with the summed calibrated radiocarbon probability distributions (SCPD) calculated for the whole area and if the same is true for regional areas. We try to overcome the limits of the SCPD method that have criticized like sometime as imprecise and others as biased because we believe that, despite criticism, summed calibrated radiocarbon probabilities are the bare bone of any well funded paleo demographic approach to the arrival to the agriculture way of life to central and western Mediterranean.