Published November 6, 2019 | Version v1
Conference paper Open

Neolithic Demographic Transition in the Central Balkans: population dynamics reconstruction based on new radiocarbon evidence

  • 1. BioSense Institute, Novi Sad
  • 2. Department for Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade; BioSense Institute, Novi Sad
  • 3. BioSense Institute, Novi Sad; Laboratory for Bioarchaeology, University of Belgrade

Description

The use of summed calibrated radiocarbon probability distributions method(SCPD) has been widely used in palaeodemographic reconstructions of population dynamics worldwide. Recent application of the method in the Central Balkans, based on published C14 dates, has shown partial correspondence with the predictions for the first phase of the Neolithic demographic transition, but instead of detecting one episode of major population increase in the population proxy curve, as we would expect based on the theory, the resulting pattern was a bimodal curve suggesting two episodes of population increase and two episodes of decrease.In order to clarify the situation andmake a robust and valid reconstruction of the Early Neolithic population dynamics in the Central Balkans,more than 200 new radiocarbon samples were collectedin a probabilistic manner from the Early Neolithic sites in Serbia by the ERC funded project BIRTH - Births, mothers and babies: Prehistoric fertility in the Balkans between 10000-5000 cal BC.We present and discuss the new results based on the new set of samples taken specifically and exclusively to meet the requirements of the SCPD method.

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Funding

BIRTH – Births, mothers and babies: prehistoric fertility in the Balkans between 10000 – 5000 BC 640557
European Commission