INTRODUCTION: SCIENTIFIC DATING AND CENTRAL - WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN PREHISTORY

The previous two decades have witnessed a more widespread application of absolute scientific dating methods in Mediterranean prehistory. This surge in research has resulted in an ever-growing body of radiocarbon data in particular, enabling new understanding of the chronology and tempo of archaeological change in Mediterranean prehistory. This paper will introduce the session theme, before providing an overview of the state-of-the-art of absolute dating in the central-western Mediterranean using a database of ca. 3500 radiocarbon dates. We demonstrate how patterns of growth and decline can be identified, quantified, and mapped out, thus developing models of cultural evolution and economic fluctuation, and providing a backdrop for other archaeological and scientific narratives of population change and palaeodemographics. We also identify the geographic areas and time periods that need further work, assessing the quality of the radiocarbon data for the region through a quantification of what materials have been dated, and place the data within a wider European and North African comparative framework.
Author(s): McLaughlin, Rowan (Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution - IPHES) - Parkinson, Eóin (University of Cambridge)

Видео INTRODUCTION: SCIENTIFIC DATING AND CENTRAL - WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN PREHISTORY канала European Association of Archaeologists