Demographic dynamics between 5500 and 3500 calBP (3550–1550 BCE) in selected study regions of Central Europe and the role of regional climate influences

Abstract

With their rich Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age archives, the Circumharz region, the Czech Republic/Lower Austria region, and the Northern Alpine Foreland are well-suited for research on potential links between human activities and climate fluctuations of this period with pronounced archaeological changes. In this paper, we reconstruct the rate and density of the available 14C data from 5500 to 3500 calBP (3550–1550 BCE). We ask to what extent population patterns varied over time and space, and whether fluctuations in human populations and their activities varied with local/regional climate changes. To answer these questions, we have compiled an extensive list of published radiocarbon dates and created 14C sum calibrations for each region. We also compare population dynamics with local and regional palaeoclimate records derived from high-resolution speleothems. At the regional scale, the results suggest a causal relationship between regional climate and population trends. Climate and associated environmental changes were thus at least partly responsible for demographic trends. These results also allow us to question the motivation for the construction of so-called “Early Bronze Age princely tombs” in the Circumharz region during a period of population decline. Among other things, it can be argued that the upper echelons of society may have benefited from trade relations. However, this process was accompanied by ecological stress, a cooling of the winter climate, a decline in the total population and an increase in social inequality.

Archaeology, rapid climate changes in the Holocene, and adaptive strategies

“…The most recent approach is based on the assumption that more people = more sites = more 14 C dates, and on the statistical correlations between population fluctuations and palaeoclimate records derived from high-resolution speleothems in Central Europe from the Late Neolithic to the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age (5500-3500 cal BP) (Großmann et al 2023). The authors suggest that they found statistical correlations between population fluctuations and climate.…”

Pottery spilled the beans: Patterns in the processing and consumption of dietary lipids in Central Germany from the Early Neolithic to the Bronze Age

“…In the continental but at the same time relatively arid conditions of Central Germany from the Holocene Thermal Maximum to the 4.2kyr event [21][22][23][24], the consumption of lipids through fat-rich food may have been more critical for human nourishment than in more temperate and southern regions, where a broader array of plant resources was available since the beginning of the Neolithic [25,26]. Amongst the existing lipid-rich resources in the Central German Neolithic, the existing faunal analyses show that cattle were the most important domesticate across time while sheep, goat, and pig were of secondary importance and hunting played only a minor role [27].…”