On the basis of new examination of ancient DNA and craniometric analyses, Neolithic dispersal in Central Europe has been recently explained as reflecting colonization or at least a major influx of near eastern farmers. Given the fact that Neolithic dispersal in Central Europe was very rapid and extended into a large area, colonization would have to be associated with high population growth and fertility rates of an expanding Neolithic population. We built three demographic models to test whether the growth and fertility rates of Neolithic farmers were high enough to allow them to colonize Central Europe without admixture with foragers. The principle of the models is based on stochastic population projections. Our results demonstrate that colonization is an unlikely explanation for the Neolithic dispersal in Central Europe, as the majority of fertility and growth rate estimates obtained in all three models are higher than levels expected in the early Neolithic population. On the basis of our models, we derived that colonization would be possible only if (1) more than 37% of women survived to mean age at childbearing, (2) Neolithic expansion in Central Europe lasted more than 150 years, and (3) the population of farmers grew in the entire settled area. These settings, however, represent very favorable demographic conditions that seem unlikely given current archaeological and demographic evidence. Therefore, our results support the view that Neolithic dispersal in Central Europe involved admixture of expanding farmers with local foragers. We estimate that the admixture contribution from foragers may have been between 55% and 72%.

• MeSH
• analýza přežití MeSH
• antropologie fyzická MeSH
• biologické modely MeSH
• dějiny starověku MeSH
• DNA analýza   genetika   MeSH
• emigrace a imigrace MeSH
• kefalometrie MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• parita MeSH
• populační dynamika dějiny   MeSH
• regresní analýza MeSH
• stochastické procesy MeSH
• zemědělství MeSH
• Check Tag
• dějiny starověku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• historické články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Evropa MeSH

It is assumed that the transition from the Late Eneolithic to the Early Bronze Age in Central Europe was associated with substantial changes in subsistence and the perception of gender differences. However, the archeological record itself does not entirely support this model. Alternatively, this transition may be interpreted as a continuous process. We used asymmetry in external dimensions, and asymmetry in size and distribution of cortical tissue of humeri to elucidate the nature of this transition with respect to differences in manipulative behavior. The total sample of 67 individuals representing five archaeological cultures was used. The results indicate that the pattern of asymmetry of the humeral external measurements and the cross-sectional parameters taken at 35% of humeral biomechanical length remain stable during the Late Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age. However, females of both periods show fluctuating asymmetry for all of the cross-sectional parameters, but directional asymmetry for biomechanical length. Males are nonsignificantly shifted from the line of equivalence for biomechanical length, but exhibit directional asymmetry for the cortical area and polar moment of area. Only distal articular breadth yields fluctuating asymmetry for both females and males in both periods. Thus, the transition from the Late Eneolithic to the Early Bronze Age can be seen as a continuous process that probably affected only a limited part of human activities. We interpret the differences between females and males of both periods as evidence of gender-specific activities; males might have been associated with extra-domestic agricultural labor that resulted in asymmetrical manipulative loading and females with domestic labor with symmetrical manipulative loading in both periods. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

• MeSH
• chování fyziologie   MeSH
• humerus anatomie a histologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mechanický stres MeSH
• pohlavní dimorfismus MeSH
• zatížení muskuloskeletálního systému MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• srovnávací studie MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Evropa MeSH