Palynological studies shed new light on the Neolithisation process in central Europe

A precisely dated, high-resolution palynological profile shows that around 5680 BCE a community that grew crops and raised livestock settled on the northern periphery of the area later covered by the LBK colonisations. This indicates that pioneer farmers reached this region around 300 years earlier than estimated by recognised models of the Neolithisation process. These findings point to the need for a revision of the Neolithisation model, not only regarding dating but also in terms of reassessing the role played by demographic pressure. The authors believe that the impact of the latter is widely overestimated, because the migration could also be caused by conflicts resulting from ethnic diversity and competition for prestige and access to the most valuable lands. Cooperation with hunter-gatherer communities could have been an additional factor that may have been particularly significant during the period of pioneering colonisation. The paper discusses the role of palynology in contemporary research on Neolithisation.