Multi-agent simulations of the trajectory of the LBK Neolithic
Résumé
A modelling approach is presented in which archaeological data on the first farmers in central and western Europe, called the Linearbandkeramik (LBK; 5600–4900 cal BC), are cross-analysed with the corresponding environmental data. The purpose of this approach is to reconstruct the geographical expansion and subsequent dissolution of the LBK culture, and to gain insights into the reactiveness and resilience of this sociocultural system to climatic impacts. The socio-natural data are cross-analysed at multiple scales (from micro-regional to continental), via multi-agent modelling of the LBK farming system, based on ethno-archaeological inferences and integrating palaeoenvironmental and bioarchaeological disciplines, cultural archaeology, palaeodemography and economics.