14C calendar chronologies and cultural sequences in 5th millennium BC in Slovenia and neighbouring regions

Abstract

In the paper, Bayesian analysis of 14C dates implemented in the OxCal program is used to develop calendric time-scale chronologies of individual sites and archaeological cultures of the 5th millennium calBC in Slovenia and Croatia. Case studies are presented in which 14C dates are analysed and reinterpreted with the aid of contextual archaeological data. At the site level, stratigraphic sequences are used in models to constrain and then precisely date activities within them. At the regional level, the results of the chronological modelling of archaeological cultures are used to present them on a calendric time-scale and within a broader spatial framework of Central and Southeastern Europe. Special emphasis is placed upon critical comparison of modelled calendar and cultural sequences. On the basis of this comparison, some inconsistencies and contradictions in the relative chronological schemes of periods and archaeological cultures are presented.