THE NEOLITHIC TRANSITION IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 26/09/2020

Author(s): MANEN, Claire (CNRS) - Procome Project (http://www.anrprocome.com), Member of the (CNRS)

Radiocarbon data play a major role in research focusing on the Eurasian agricultural transition. In this framework, high-precision chronologies are essential for modelling the speed of expansion and the spatio-temporal development of new techno-economic traits. This contribution proposes to discuss the emergence dynamics of the Neolithic in the Western Mediterranean, based on a renewed corpus of dates taken as part of the “PROCOME project” (www.procome.com). Three main points will be highlighted:
- The fast speed of diffusion of the Neolithic economy from the core area in South Italy, linked with the maritime movements of pioneering groups, at the very beginning of the 6th millennium BCE.
- The non-correlation between time and space in this dynamic, which reflects dispersal mechanisms that we need to investigate.
- An early “continental” pathway and a very variable rhythm of diffusion within the Western Mediterranean zone probably linked with
the variety of social and environmental contexts involved in this process.
These new data highlight a complex and far less unidirectional dissemination process than that envisaged so far. In conclusion, we
would also like to discuss the fact that the radiocarbon dates cannot be studied solely for their intrinsic value, without detailed contextualization (in particular the economic and technical system). Thus, if we superimpose data from the characterization of technical systems with audited and contextualized radiocarbon data, it becomes possible to bring to light complex and multi-facetted processes of the emergence and development of the Neolithic economy and to deliver a much more informative historical narrative.