The population boom-and-bust during the European Neolithic (7000-2000 BC) has been the subject of lively discussion for the past decade. Most of the research on this topic was carried out with help of summed radiocarbon probability distributions. We aim to reconstruct population dynamics within the catchment of a medium sized lake on the basis of information on the presence of all known past human activities. We calculated a human activity model based on Monte Carlo simulations. The model showed the lowest level of human activity between 4000 and 3000 BC. For a better understanding of long-term socio-environmental dynamics, we also used the results of a pollen-based quantitative vegetation model, as well as a local macrophysical climate model. The beginning of the decline of archaeologically visible human activities corresponds with climatic changes and an increase in secondary forest taxa probably indicating more extensive land-use. In addition, important social and technological innovations, such as the introduction of the ard, wheel, animal traction and metallurgy, as well as changes in social hierarchy characterizing the same period.

Department of Archaeology Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra Hodžova 1 SK 94974 Nitra Slovakia

Department of Botany Faculty of Science Charles University Prague Benátská 2 CZ 12801 Praha 2 Czech Republic

Department of GIS and Remote Sensing Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences Zámek 1 CZ 25243 Průhonice Czech Republic

Department of Vegetation Ecology Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences Lidická 25 27 CZ 60200 Brno Czech Republic

Institute of Archaeology and Museology Faculty of Arts Masaryk University Arne Nováka 1 CZ 60200 Brno Czech Republic

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