Open AccessAn exercise in archaeological demography: estimating the population size of Late Neolithic settlements in the Central Balkans
Author(s) -
Marko Porčić
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
documenta praehistorica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1854-2492
pISSN - 1408-967X
DOI - 10.4312/dp.38.25
Subject(s) - human settlement , population size , population , geography , settlement (finance) , archaeology , population growth , demography , physical geography , sociology , world wide web , computer science , payment
This paper reflects on the methodology for estimating population size from settlement data. Archaeologists are faced with a static record of houses, which is the result of dynamic processes of population growth and house use. There is no simple relationship between the total number of houses and population size. In order to produce more realistic estimates of population size, a quantitative model is presented which takes into account population dynamics and the dynamics of house accumulation. The model is used to estimate the population size of three Late Neolithic settlements in Southeast Europe: Gomolava, Divostin and Uivar