Modifiable reporting unit problems and time series of long-term human activity

This paper responds to a resurgence of interest in constructing long-term time proxies of human activity, especially but not limited to models of population change over the Pleistocene and/or Holocene. While very much agreeing with the need for this increased attention, we emphasize three important...

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Published inPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences Vol. 376; no. 1816; p. 20190726
Main Authors Bevan, A, Crema, E R
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England The Royal Society 18.01.2021
Subjects
Part I: Theory and Method
archaeology
radiocarbon
research bias
population
settlement
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Summary:This paper responds to a resurgence of interest in constructing long-term time proxies of human activity, especially but not limited to models of population change over the Pleistocene and/or Holocene. While very much agreeing with the need for this increased attention, we emphasize three important issues that can all be thought of as modifiable reporting unit problems: the impact of (i) archaeological periodization, (ii) uneven event durations and (iii) geographical nucleation-dispersal phenomena. Drawing inspiration from real-world examples from prehistoric Britain, Greece and Japan, we explore their consequences and possible mitigation via a reproducible set of tactical simulations. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cross-disciplinary approaches to prehistoric demography'.
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content type line 23
One contribution of 18 to a theme issue ‘Cross-disciplinary approaches to prehistoric demography’.
Electronic supplementary material is available online at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5182144.
ISSN:0962-8436
1471-2970
DOI:10.1098/rstb.2019.0726