Probleme und mögliche Lösungen bei der Schätzung von Bevölkerungsdichten im Paläolithikum

Abstract

Recent interest in the demographic development of human populations has intensified research efforts in this regard. This is likely because population size and distribution are crucial aspects within many fields of research, including network dynamics, the spread of innovations, and the migration processes. The working group led by Andreas Zimmermann makes substantial contributions to this topic by providing regionally distinguished estimates of population densities for many periods from the Palaeolithic up to the present. However, there are two main problems related to the Palaeolithic that impair the reliability of such estimates. On the one hand, taphonomic loss of sites influences the calculation of settlement areas, and on the other hand, a partly insufficient database on raw material procurement negatively affects the reliability of the calculation of the number of groups per settlement area. Since both factors – settlement areas and raw material procurement – are crucial for demographic estimates, we propose the use of local correction curves for the former, and discuss possible calibration methods and an alternative estimation parameter for the latter.

Keywords: population dynamics, Paleolithic, hunter-gatherer, settlement density, raw material catchment areas

Resources

• Kretschmer_Maier_Schmidt_2016_Festschrift_Zimmermann.pdf

Bibliography

Kretschmer, I., Maier, A., Schmidt, I. (2016): Probleme und mögliche Lösungen bei der Schätzung von Bevölkerungsdichten im Paläolithikum. Habelt, Alles was zählt. Festschrift für Andreas Zimmermann, Vol. 285, Bonn