Modelling the Neolithic dispersal in northern Eurasia

Authors

  • Pavel Dolukhanov School of Historical Studies, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
  • Anvar Shrukov School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4312/dp.31.3

Keywords:

Neolithic, LBK, pottery-making, expansion rate, radiocarbon, statistical analysis

Abstract

Comprehensieve lists of radiocarbon dates from key Early Neolithic sites in Central Europe belonging to the Linear pottery Ceramic Culture (LBK) and early pottery-bearing cultures in the East European Plain were analysed with the use of the x2 test. The dates from the LBK sites form a statistically homogeneous set, with a probability distribution similar to a single-date Gaussian curve. This implies the rate of expansion of the LBK in Central Europe being in excess of 4 km/yr. Early potter-bearing sites on the East European Plain exhibit a much broader probability distribution of dates, with a spatio-temporal trend directed from the south-east to the north-west. The rate of spread of pottery-making is in the order of 1 km/yr, i.e., comparable to the average expansion rate of the Neolithic in Western and Central Europe.

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Published

31.12.2004

How to Cite

Dolukhanov, P., & Shrukov, A. (2004). Modelling the Neolithic dispersal in northern Eurasia. Documenta Praehistorica, 31, 35–47. https://doi.org/10.4312/dp.31.3

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Section

Articles