Modeling the role of voyaging in the coastal spread of the Early Neolithic in the West Mediterranean

Abstract

The earliest dates for the West Mediterranean Neolithic indicate that it expanded across 2,500 km in about 300 y. Such a fast spread is held to be mainly due to a demic process driven by dispersal along coastal routes. Here, we model the Neolithic spread in the region by focusing on the role of voyaging to understand better the core elements that produced the observed pattern of dates. We also explore the effect of cultural interaction with Mesolithic populations living along the coast. The simulation study shows that (i) sea travel is required to obtain reasonable predictions, with a minimum sea-travel range of 300 km per generation; (ii) leapfrog coastal dispersals yield the best results (quantitatively and qualitatively); and (iii) interaction with Mesolithic people can assist the spread, but long-range voyaging is still needed to explain the archaeological pattern.T he Neolithic transition in Europe spread at an average rate of about 1 km·y −1 (1, 2). This process can be modeled by the socalled wave-of-advance model, which describes a progressive land-based expansion due to population growth and short-range migratory activity (3). Ancient DNA studies provide support for a mainly demic expansion in many parts of Europe (4), involving two main pathways: one up the Danube, connected with the spread of the Linearbandkeramic (LBK) culture (5, 6), and the other along the Mediterranean shores (7).Current radiocarbon dates indicate a coastal spread in West Mediterranean Europe taking place at a much faster rate (above 5 km·y −1 ) than one would expect on the basis of the classical wave-of-advance model. An alternative approach is needed to explain this process. The maritime pioneer colonization model (8, also refs. 9, 10) postulates a sea-based expansion that involves voyaging along the coast in the form of cabotage (with the possibility of making a short stop here and there along the way). This model drew upon new and more reliable carbon-14 dates [including accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) determinations on short-lived samples to avoid the old wood effect], and is consistent with a demic expansion and the observed pattern (alternative approaches to the West Mediterranean spread are discussed in ref. 11). During the past 15 y, quality dates for the Early Neolithic in the West Mediterranean have continued to come in. As a result, the overall pattern is now more refined but remains consistent with the maritime pioneer model.Voyaging during the Early Neolithic is well documented in the Eastern Mediterranean (e.g.,. From the distribution of obsidian artifacts in the Cyprus, Aegean, and Tyrrhenian basins, we know that its quantity tends to fall off with distance from a given source and that long-distance crossing of the open sea between these three basins is extremely rare (15). In short, it is fair to say that early voyaging in the eastern and central parts of the Mediterranean was kept on a comparatively short leash. In the West Mediterranean, obsidian is far less common at Early Neolithic sites; it occurs in small...

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