Marc Vander Linden

Millets across Eurasia: chronology and context of early records of the genera Panicum and Setaria from archaeological sites in the Old World.

We have collated and reviewed published records of the genera Panicum and Setaria (Poaceae), including the domesticated millets Panicum miliaceum L. (broomcorn millet) and Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv. (foxtail millet) in pre-5000 cal b.c. sites across the Old World. Details of these sites, which span China, central-eastern Europe including the Caucasus, Iran, Syria and Egypt, are presented with associated calibrated radiocarbon dates. Forty-one sites have records of Panicum (P. miliaceum, P. cf. miliaceum, Panicum sp., Panicum type, P. capillare (?) and P. turgidum) and 33 of Setaria (S. italica, S. viridis, S. viridis/verticillata, Setaria sp., Setaria type). We identify problems of taphonomy, identification criteria and reporting, and inference of domesticated/wild and crop/weed status of finds. Both broomcorn and foxtail millet occur in northern China prior to 5000 cal b.c.; P. miliaceum occurs contemporaneously in Europe, but its significance is unclear. Further work is needed to resolve the above issues before the status of these taxa in this period can be fully evaluated.

Investigating Archaeological Cultures: Material Culture, Variability, and Transmission

The concept of an archaeological culture rarely features in any surveys of the literature of modern archaeology, especially in the Anglo-American world. When it does appear, “cultures” are treated as an anachronism – a remnant of an archaic and long-dismissed stage of the discipline. Kent Flannery’s Parable of the Golden Marshalltown provides an exemplary formulation of the unfashionable status of the archaeological culture, when the Old Timer archaeologist was sacked by his own department for his continued but apparently outdated belief in this concept (Flannery 1982). Both introductory textbooks (e.g. Johnson 1999; Hodder and Hutson 2003; Renfrew and Bahn 2008) and theoretical compilations (e.g. Preucel and Hodder 1996; Hodder 2001; Van Pool and Van Pool 2003; Funari et al. 2005; Meskell and Preucel 2006) communicate the same message: the concept of archaeological cultures is deeply flawed and, as a consequence, should no longer be applied or even discussed.

Modelling the neolithic transition in the near east and Europe

Abstract For the Neolithic transition in the Near East and Europe, this paper compares the isochrones predicted by computational models to those obtained by interpolating the archaeological data. This comparison reveals that there is a major inconsistency between the predictions of the models and the archaeological data: according to the models, the Neolithic front would have arrived to Greece in less than half the time interval implied by the data. Our main new results are as follows, (a) This inconsistency can be solved by including only Pre Pottery Neolithic B/C (PPNB/C) sites in the Near East; (b) the model that yields the lowest mean error per site in the arrival time of the Neolithic across the Near East and Europe is obtained by allowing for sea travels up to distances of 150 km; and (c) Mountain barriers have a negligible effect on the spread rate of the Neolithic front at the continental scale.

Investigating Archaeological Cultures

This work will be valuable to all archaeologists and cultural anthropologists, particularly those studying material culture.

Space Competition and Time Delays in Human Range Expansions. Application to the Neolithic Transition

Space competition effects are well-known in many microbiological and ecological systems. Here we analyze such an effect in human populations. The Neolithic transition (change from foraging to farming) was mainly the outcome of a demographic process that spread gradually throughout Europe from the Near East. In Northern Europe, archaeological data show a slowdown on the Neolithic rate of spread that can be related to a high indigenous (Mesolithic) population density hindering the advance as a result of the space competition between the two populations. We measure this slowdown from a database of 902 Early Neolithic sites and develop a time-delayed reaction-diffusion model with space competition between Neolithic and Mesolithic populations, to predict the observed speeds. The comparison of the predicted speed with the observations and with a previous non-delayed model show that both effects, the time delay effect due to the generation lag and the space competition between populations, are crucial in order to understand the observations.

For equalities are plural: reassessing the social in Europe during the third millennium bc

The impact of evolutionary thought is fundamental to the archaeological perception that the third millennium bc in Europe is a period of highly developed social hierarchy. Following a critique of previous uses of the evolutionary frame of reference to model understandings of the material culture for this period, I suggest an alternative reading on the basis of a polythetic analysis of several categories of data (funerary practices, ceramics, settlement pattern). The two major archaeological complexes involved are characterized by the widespread diffusion of categories of artefacts and associated ideas. The networks therefore established are paralleled by a series of other interaction processes indicated by regionally homogeneous patterns in material culture. In sum, this entire system functions because it draws on a relationship of equality between the involved partners, individuals or communities, rather than social hierarchy.Abstract The impact of evolutionary thought is fundamental to the archaeological perception that the third millennium bc in Europe is a period of highly developed social hierarchy. Following a critique of previous uses of the evolutionary frame of reference to model understandings of the material culture for this period, I suggest an alternative reading on the basis of a polythetic analysis of several categories of data (funerary practices, ceramics, settlement pattern). The two major archaeological complexes involved are characterized by the widespread diffusion of categories of artefacts and associated ideas. The networks therefore established are paralleled by a series of other interaction processes indicated by regionally homogeneous patterns in material culture. In sum, this entire system functions because it draws on a relationship of equality between the involved partners, individuals or communities, rather than social hierarchy.

Social dynamics and pottery distribution in the Faro Department, Northern Cameroon

Ethnoarchaeological studies have constantly emphasized the complexity of pottery distribution and its close ties with other aspects of social life. It is argued here that, among the Dowayo of northern Cameroon, pottery exchange is not regulated by preferential economic relationships between producers and consumers but rather by mechanisms such as fashion or the reputation of the artisans.De récentes études ethnoarchéologiques ont constamment mis en avant la complexité des processus de distribution de la poterie et les liens étroits que ceux-ci entretiennent avec les autres aspects de la vie sociale. Il est démontré dans cet article que, chez les Dowayo du Nord-Cameroun, les échanges de poterie sont structurés par une absence de lien privilégié entre producteurs et consommateurs et sont dès lors régulés par des mécanismes tels que la mode ou la réputation des artisans.

Population history in third-millennium-BC Europe: assessing the contribution of genetics

ABSTRACTSeveral recent high-profile aDNA studies have claimed to have identified major migrations during the third millennium BC in Europe. This contribution offers a brief review of these studies, and especially their role in understanding the genetic make-up of modern European populations. Although the technical sophistication of aDNA studies is beyond doubt, the underlying archaeological assumptions prove relatively naive and the findings at odd with more ‘traditional’ archaeological data. Although the existence of past migrations needs to be acknowledged and fully considered by archaeologists, it does not offer either a robust explanatory factor or an enduring platform for interdisciplinary dialogue between archaeology and genetics. Alternative hypotheses are briefly explored.ABSTRACT Several recent high-profile aDNA studies have claimed to have identified major migrations during the third millennium BC in Europe. This contribution offers a brief review of these studies, and especially their role in understanding the genetic make-up of modern European populations. Although the technical sophistication of aDNA studies is beyond doubt, the underlying archaeological assumptions prove relatively naive and the findings at odd with more ‘traditional’ archaeological data. Although the existence of past migrations needs to be acknowledged and fully considered by archaeologists, it does not offer either a robust explanatory factor or an enduring platform for interdisciplinary dialogue between archaeology and genetics. Alternative hypotheses are briefly explored.

A composite window into human history

Better integration of ancient DNA studies with archaeology promises deeper insights Over the past decade, the ability to recover whole genomes from ancient remains has emerged as a powerful tool for understanding the human past. From a strictly biological perspective, the sequencing of ancient genomes has resolved the dispute over our evolutionary relationship with Neandertals, revealed the extent of gene flow within and between modern and archaic humans, shed light on genetic and health consequences of this admixture, and uncovered genomic changes in recent human evolution (1). More generally, the results have made clear that over the course of human history, moving and mating have been more the rule than the exception. The possible benefits of ancient DNA (aDNA) research for archaeology are enormous. Why, then, have aDNA approaches to archaeological questions occasionally raised eyebrows among archaeologists (2, 3)?

Making time work: sampling floodplain artefact frequencies and populations

The expansion of large-scale excavation in Britain and parts of Continental Europe, funded by major development projects, has generated extensive new datasets. But what might we be losing when surfaces are routinely stripped by machines? Investigation by hand of ploughsoils and buried soils in the Fenlands of eastern England reveals high densities of artefacts and features that would often be destroyed or overlooked. These investigations throw new light on the concept of site sequences where features cut into underlying ground may give only a limited and misleading indication of the pattern and timing of prehistoric occupation. The consequential loss of data has a particular impact on estimates of settlement density and population numbers, which may have been much higher than many current estimates envisage.