Long-term demographic trends and spatio-temporal distribution
of past human activity in Central Europe : Comparison of
archaeological and palaeoecological proxies

J 2022

Long-term demographic trends and spatio-temporal distribution of past human activity in Central Europe : Comparison of archaeological and palaeoecological proxies

KOLÁŘ, Jan, Martin MACEK, Peter TKÁČ, David NOVÁK, Vojtěch ABRAHAM et. al.

Basic information

Original name

Long-term demographic trends and spatio-temporal distribution of past human activity in Central Europe : Comparison of archaeological and palaeoecological proxies

Authors

KOLÁŘ, Jan (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution), Martin MACEK (203 Czech Republic), Peter TKÁČ (703 Slovakia, belonging to the institution), David NOVÁK (203 Czech Republic) and Vojtěch ABRAHAM (203 Czech Republic)

Edition

Quaternary Science Reviews, Oxford, PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2022, 0277-3791

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Článek v odborném periodiku

Field of Study

60102 Archaeology

Country of publisher

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

fulltext

Impact factor

Impact factor: 4.000

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14210/22:00127388

Organization unit

Faculty of Arts

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107834

UT WoS

000880807900004

Keywords in English

Palaeodemography; Prehistory; Radiocarbon summed probability; Quantitative archaeology; Palaeoecology; Farming; Woodland management; Spatial archaeology; Population dynamics; Czech Republic

Abstract

V originále

Estimating past population dynamics has become a major research topic for archaeology, which uses several proxies for studying past demography. The Czech Republic represents a unique region with abundant digital archaeological and palynological datasets comprising tens of thousands of records covering the whole Holocene. We used these datasets to quantify long-term demographic trends and to delimit past human activity in space and time. Our results, based on large data from both disciplines, are one of the first quantitative results covering the whole Czech Republic. Through summed probability distributions of radiocarbon dates and spatio-temporal modelling of human activity based on archaeological sites, we identified four major demographic events and processes between 10,000 BCE and 1000 CE – the beginning of the Neolithic at 5400 BCE, the Eneolithic/Bronze Age transition in the 3rd millennium BCE, Bronze Age expansion after 1500 BCE, and mediaeval expansion after 500 CE. We identified two settlement cores in the lowlands, with additional inner and outer peripheries with different demographic histories. Our study clearly shows that prehistoric and early historic population dynamics were not a homogenised process and were regionalized according to local environmental and social conditions. The comparison of archaeological results with pollen-based vegetation proxies also showed regional aspects in human-vegetation interactions. Agro-pastoral communities dwelling in the lowlands mostly influenced the openness of the landscape, used for fields and pastures, whereas contemporary communities with a similar economic mode residing in a different region are more visible in pollen records through species and structural changes in woodlands. The agro-pastoral subsistence strategy did not start everywhere with the onset of the Neolithic: in some regions it failed after several centuries, in others, the foraging lifestyle persisted significantly longer, and farming became a major economic strategy much later. Our study shows that archaeological site-based and 14C-based demographic proxies cannot be utilized for all periods and regions due to several limitations. Only the combination of different quantitative and qualitative archaeological proxies for population does reveal important details.

Citovat

KOLÁŘ, Jan, Martin MACEK, Peter TKÁČ, David NOVÁK and Vojtěch ABRAHAM. Long-term demographic trends and spatio-temporal distribution of past human activity in Central Europe : Comparison of archaeological and palaeoecological proxies. Quaternary Science Reviews. Oxford: PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2022, vol. 297, No 107834, p. 1-17. ISSN 0277-3791. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107834.

@article{2238078,
   author = {Kolář, Jan and Macek, Martin and Tkáč, Peter and Novák, David and Abraham, Vojtěch},
   article_location = {Oxford},
   article_number = {107834},
   doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107834},
   keywords = {Palaeodemography; Prehistory; Radiocarbon summed probability; Quantitative archaeology; Palaeoecology; Farming; Woodland management; Spatial archaeology; Population dynamics; Czech Republic},
   language = {eng},
   issn = {0277-3791},
   journal = {Quaternary Science Reviews},
   title = {Long-term demographic trends and spatio-temporal distribution of past human activity in Central Europe : Comparison of archaeological and palaeoecological proxies},
   url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379122004656?via%3Dihub},
   volume = {297},
   year = {2022}
}

TY  - JOUR
ID  - 2238078
AU  - Kolář, Jan - Macek, Martin - Tkáč, Peter - Novák, David - Abraham, Vojtěch
PY  - 2022
TI  - Long-term demographic trends and spatio-temporal distribution of past human activity in Central Europe : Comparison of archaeological and palaeoecological proxies
JF  - Quaternary Science Reviews
VL  - 297
IS  - 107834
SP  - 1-17
EP  - 1-17
PB  - PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
SN  - 02773791
KW  - Palaeodemography
KW  - Prehistory
KW  - Radiocarbon summed probability
KW  - Quantitative archaeology
KW  - Palaeoecology
KW  - Farming
KW  - Woodland management
KW  - Spatial archaeology
KW  - Population dynamics
KW  - Czech Republic
UR  - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379122004656?via%3Dihub
N2  - Estimating past population dynamics has become a major research topic for archaeology, which uses several proxies for studying past demography. The Czech Republic represents a unique region with abundant digital archaeological and palynological datasets comprising tens of thousands of records covering the whole Holocene. We used these datasets to quantify long-term demographic trends and to delimit past human activity in space and time. Our results, based on large data from both disciplines, are one of the first quantitative results covering the whole Czech Republic. Through summed probability distributions of radiocarbon dates and spatio-temporal modelling of human activity based on archaeological sites, we identified four major demographic events and processes between 10,000 BCE and 1000 CE – the beginning of the Neolithic at 5400 BCE, the Eneolithic/Bronze Age transition in the 3rd millennium BCE, Bronze Age expansion after 1500 BCE, and mediaeval expansion after 500 CE. We identified two settlement cores in the lowlands, with additional inner and outer peripheries with different demographic histories. Our study clearly shows that prehistoric and early historic population dynamics were not a homogenised process and were regionalized according to local environmental and social conditions. The comparison of archaeological results with pollen-based vegetation proxies also showed regional aspects in human-vegetation interactions. Agro-pastoral communities dwelling in the lowlands mostly influenced the openness of the landscape, used for fields and pastures, whereas contemporary communities with a similar economic mode residing in a different region are more visible in pollen records through species and structural changes in woodlands. The agro-pastoral subsistence strategy did not start everywhere with the onset of the Neolithic: in some regions it failed after several centuries, in others, the foraging lifestyle persisted significantly longer, and farming became a major economic strategy much later. Our study shows that archaeological site-based and 14C-based demographic proxies cannot be utilized for all periods and regions due to several limitations. Only the combination of different quantitative and qualitative archaeological proxies for population does reveal important details.
ER  -

KOLÁŘ, Jan, Martin MACEK, Peter TKÁČ, David NOVÁK and Vojtěch ABRAHAM. Long-term demographic trends and spatio-temporal distribution of past human activity in Central Europe : Comparison of archaeological and palaeoecological proxies. \textit{Quaternary Science Reviews}. Oxford: PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2022, vol.~297, No~107834, p.~1-17. ISSN~0277-3791. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107834.

Detailed Information on Publication Record