Author
Tim Kerig
Other affiliations: University of Kiel, University College London, University of Cologne
Bio: Tim Kerig is an academic researcher from Leipzig University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Population & Radiocarbon dating. The author has an hindex of 7, co-authored 13 publications receiving 665 citations. Previous affiliations of Tim Kerig include University of Kiel & University College London.
Topics: Population, Radiocarbon dating, Prehistory, Bronze Age, Chronology
Papers
More filters
••
TL;DR: It is shown that the introduction of agriculture into Europe was followed by a boom-and-bust pattern in the density of regional populations, and the results suggest that the demographic patterns may have arisen from endogenous causes, although this remains speculative.
Abstract: Following its initial arrival in SE Europe 8,500 years ago agriculture spread throughout the continent, changing food production and consumption patterns and increasing population densities. Here we show that, in contrast to the steady population growth usually assumed, the introduction of agriculture into Europe was followed by a boom-and-bust pattern in the density of regional populations. We demonstrate that summed calibrated radiocarbon date distributions and simulation can be used to test the significance of these demographic booms and busts in the context of uncertainty in the radiocarbon date calibration curve and archaeological sampling. We report these results for Central and Northwest Europe between 8,000 and 4,000 cal. BP and investigate the relationship between these patterns and climate. However, we find no evidence to support a relationship. Our results thus suggest that the demographic patterns may have arisen from endogenous causes, although this remains speculative.
543 citations
••
TL;DR: The largest analysis of European cemeteries to date with an independent line of evidence, the summed calibrated date probability distribution of radiocarbon dates (SCDPD) from archaeological sites supports the unique contribution of SCDPDs as a valid demographic proxy for the demographic patterns associated with early agriculture.
Abstract: Analysis of the proportion of immature skeletons recovered from European prehistoric cemeteries has shown that the transition to agriculture after 9000 BP triggered a long-term increase in human fertility. Here we compare the largest analysis of European cemeteries to date with an independent line of evidence, the summed calibrated date probability distribution of radiocarbon dates (SCDPD) from archaeological sites. Our cemetery reanalysis confirms increased growth rates after the introduction of agriculture; the radiocarbon analysis also shows this pattern, and a significant correlation between both lines of evidence confirms the demographic validity of SCDPDs. We analyze the areal extent of Neolithic enclosures and demographic data from ethnographically known farming and foraging societies and we estimate differences in population levels at individual sites. We find little effect on the overall shape and precision of the SCDPD and we observe a small increase in the correlation with the cemetery trends. The SCDPD analysis supports the hypothesis that the transition to agriculture dramatically increased demographic growth, but it was followed within centuries by a general pattern of collapse even after accounting for higher settlement densities during the Neolithic. The study supports the unique contribution of SCDPDs as a valid demographic proxy for the demographic patterns associated with early agriculture.
70 citations
••
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the relation between land cover and demographic change in a regionally restricted case study and found that human impact was a key driver for vegetation change in the Neolithic.
Abstract: The transformation of natural landscapes in Middle Europe began in the Neolithic as a result of the introduction of food-producing economies. This paper examines the relation between land-cover and demographic change in a regionally restricted case study. The study area is the Western Lake Constance area which has very detailed palynological as well as archaeological records. We compare land-cover change derived from nine pollen records using a pseudo-biomisation approach with 14C date probability density functions from archaeological sites which serve as a demographic proxy. We chose the Lake Constance area as a regional example where the pollen signal integrates a larger spatial pattern. The land-cover reconstructions for this region show first notable impacts at the Middle to Young Neolithic transition. The beginning of the Bronze Age is characterised by increases of arable land and pasture/ meadow, whereas the deciduous woodland decreases dramatically. Changes in the land-cover classes show a correlation with the 14C density curve: the correlation is best with secondary woodland in the Young Neolithic which reflects the lake shore settlement dynamics. In the Early Bronze Age, the radiocarbon density correlates with open land-cover classes, such as pasture, meadow and arable land, reflecting a change in the land-use strategy. The close overall correspondence between the two archives implies that population dynamics and land-cover change were intrinsically linked. We therefore see human impact as a key driver for vegetation change in the Neolithic. Climate might have an influence on vegetation development, but the changes caused by human land use are clearly detectable from Neolithic times, at least in these densely settled, mid-altitude landscapes.
56 citations
••
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compare radiocarbon dates for a series of European Neolithic cultures with their generally accepted ‘standard’ date ranges and with the greater precision afforded by dendrochronology, where that is available.
Abstract: Archaeologists have long sought appropriate ways to describe the duration and floruit of archaeological cultures in statistical terms. Thus far, chronological reasoning has been largely reliant on typological sequences. Using summed probability distributions, the authors here compare radiocarbon dates for a series of European Neolithic cultures with their generally accepted ‘standard’ date ranges and with the greater precision afforded by dendrochronology, where that is available. The resulting analysis gives a new and more accurate description of the duration and intensity of European Neolithic cultures.
40 citations
••
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the regional archaeological settlement history and present the hitherto richest European Bell Beaker-associated collection of palaeobotanical macro-remains, together with their high-resolution palynological work on annually laminated lake sediments.
Abstract: The Europe wide spread of what has been called the Bell Beaker phenomenon remains an enigma of European prehistory. While most of the recent research stresses the ideological aspects of using Bell Beaker material culture, here we take a regional and economical perspective. We look for the chronological relationships and the economic choices of the Bell Beaker phase and of its closest neighbours in time and space: the Late Neolithic Corded Ware and the Early Bronze Age. We focus on the regional archaeological settlement history and present the hitherto richest European Bell Beaker-associated collection of palaeobotanical macro-remains, together with our high-resolution palynological work on annually laminated lake sediments. These different lines of evidence are tied together by an absolute chronology derived from new radiocarbon accelerated mass spectrometry (AMS) dates (now more than 200) and from the dendrodates from the World Heritage wet preserved pile dwellings. We show the preceding Late Neolithic, ...
23 citations
Cited by
More filters
••
TL;DR: Genome-wide data from 400 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans is presented, finding limited genetic affinity between Beaker-complex-associated individuals from Iberia and central Europe, and excludes migration as an important mechanism of spread between these two regions.
Abstract: From around 2750 to 2500 bc, Bell Beaker pottery became widespread across western and central Europe, before it disappeared between 2200 and 1800 bc. The forces that propelled its expansion are a matter of long-standing debate, and there is support for both cultural diffusion and migration having a role in this process. Here we present genome-wide data from 400 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans, including 226 individuals associated with Beaker-complex artefacts. We detected limited genetic affinity between Beaker-complex-associated individuals from Iberia and central Europe, and thus exclude migration as an important mechanism of spread between these two regions. However, migration had a key role in the further dissemination of the Beaker complex. We document this phenomenon most clearly in Britain, where the spread of the Beaker complex introduced high levels of steppe-related ancestry and was associated with the replacement of approximately 90% of Britain's gene pool within a few hundred years, continuing the east-to-west expansion that had brought steppe-related ancestry into central and northern Europe over the previous centuries.
479 citations
••
TL;DR: The oldest direct evidence of Yersinia pestis identified by ancient DNA in human teeth from Asia and Europe dating from 2,800 to 5,000 years ago is reported and is found to be at least two times older than previous estimates.
367 citations
••
Estonian Biocentre1, University of Tartu2, University of Cambridge3, Arizona State University4, University of California, Berkeley5, Armenian National Academy of Sciences6, Russian Academy of Sciences7, University of Auckland8, Pennsylvania State University9, University of Winchester10, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute11, University of Copenhagen12, Kazan Federal University13, Bashkir State University14, Georgia Institute of Technology15, University of Pennsylvania16, Centre national de la recherche scientifique17, Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology18, Massey University19, University of Dhaka20, Aarhus University21, Griffith University22, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek23, Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan24, Kuban State Medical University25, Nazarbayev University26, L.N.Gumilyov Eurasian National University27, North-Eastern Federal University28, Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom29, Anthony Nolan30, University College London31, University of St Andrews32, University of Kharkiv33, International Burch University34, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus35, Radboud University Nijmegen36, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology37, Stanford University38, University of Arizona39, Stony Brook University40, University Hospital of North Norway41, Estonian Academy of Sciences42
TL;DR: A study of 456 geographically diverse high-coverage Y chromosome sequences, including 299 newly reported samples, infer a second strong bottleneck in Y-chromosome lineages dating to the last 10 ky, and hypothesize that this bottleneck is caused by cultural changes affecting variance of reproductive success among males.
Abstract: It is commonly thought that human genetic diversity in non-African populations was shaped primarily by an out-of-Africa dispersal 50-100 thousand yr ago (kya). Here, we present a study of 456 geographically diverse high-coverage Y chromosome sequences, including 299 newly reported samples. Applying ancient DNA calibration, we date the Y-chromosomal most recent common ancestor (MRCA) in Africa at 254 (95% CI 192-307) kya and detect a cluster of major non-African founder haplogroups in a narrow time interval at 47-52 kya, consistent with a rapid initial colonization model of Eurasia and Oceania after the out-of-Africa bottleneck. In contrast to demographic reconstructions based on mtDNA, we infer a second strong bottleneck in Y-chromosome lineages dating to the last 10 ky. We hypothesize that this bottleneck is caused by cultural changes affecting variance of reproductive success among males.
325 citations
••
TL;DR: In this paper, a human population dynamics model by adding accumulated wealth and economic inequality to a predator-prey model of humans and nature is proposed, and four equations describe the evolution of Elites, Commoners, Nature, and Wealth.
268 citations
••
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors put cities and urban regions at the very centre of the processes of innovation and entrepreneurship, and argued that innovation does not simply take place in cities but in fact requires them.
Abstract: The city as innovation machine. Regional Studies. This paper puts cities and urban regions at the very centre of the processes of innovation and entrepreneurship. It combines the insights of Jane Jacobs and recent urban research on the role of the city with the literature on innovation and entrepreneurship going back to Joseph Schumpeter. Innovation and entrepreneurship and their geography privileges the firm, industry clusters and/or the individual and poses the city as a container for them. By marrying Jacobs’ insights on cities to those of Schumpeter on innovation, it is argued that innovation and entrepreneurship do not simply take in place in cities but in fact require them.
267 citations