Space Competition and Time Delays in Human Range Expansions. Application to the Neolithic Transition

Authors: Isern, N., Fort, J. and Vander Linden, M.

Journal: PLoS ONE

Volume: 7

Issue: 12

eISSN: 1932-6203

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051106

Abstract:

Space competition effects are well-known in many microbiological and ecological systems. Here we analyze such an effect in human populations. The Neolithic transition (change from foraging to farming) was mainly the outcome of a demographic process that spread gradually throughout Europe from the Near East. In Northern Europe, archaeological data show a slowdown on the Neolithic rate of spread that can be related to a high indigenous (Mesolithic) population density hindering the advance as a result of the space competition between the two populations. We measure this slowdown from a database of 902 Early Neolithic sites and develop a time-delayed reaction-diffusion model with space competition between Neolithic and Mesolithic populations, to predict the observed speeds. The comparison of the predicted speed with the observations and with a previous non-delayed model show that both effects, the time delay effect due to the generation lag and the space competition between populations, are crucial in order to understand the observations. © 2012 Isern et al.

Source: Scopus

Space competition and time delays in human range expansions. Application to the neolithic transition.

Authors: Isern, N., Fort, J. and Vander Linden, M.

Journal: PLoS One

Volume: 7

Issue: 12

Pages: e51106

eISSN: 1932-6203

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051106

Abstract:

Space competition effects are well-known in many microbiological and ecological systems. Here we analyze such an effect in human populations. The Neolithic transition (change from foraging to farming) was mainly the outcome of a demographic process that spread gradually throughout Europe from the Near East. In Northern Europe, archaeological data show a slowdown on the Neolithic rate of spread that can be related to a high indigenous (Mesolithic) population density hindering the advance as a result of the space competition between the two populations. We measure this slowdown from a database of 902 Early Neolithic sites and develop a time-delayed reaction-diffusion model with space competition between Neolithic and Mesolithic populations, to predict the observed speeds. The comparison of the predicted speed with the observations and with a previous non-delayed model show that both effects, the time delay effect due to the generation lag and the space competition between populations, are crucial in order to understand the observations.

Source: PubMed

Space Competition and Time Delays in Human Range Expansions. Application to the Neolithic Transition

Authors: Isern, N., Fort, J. and Vander Linden, M.

Journal: PLOS ONE

Volume: 7

Issue: 12

ISSN: 1932-6203

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051106

Source: Web of Science (Lite)

Space competition and time delays in human range expansions. Application to the neolithic transition.

Authors: Isern, N., Fort, J. and Vander Linden, M.

Journal: PloS one

Volume: 7

Issue: 12

Pages: e51106

eISSN: 1932-6203

ISSN: 1932-6203

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051106

Abstract:

Space competition effects are well-known in many microbiological and ecological systems. Here we analyze such an effect in human populations. The Neolithic transition (change from foraging to farming) was mainly the outcome of a demographic process that spread gradually throughout Europe from the Near East. In Northern Europe, archaeological data show a slowdown on the Neolithic rate of spread that can be related to a high indigenous (Mesolithic) population density hindering the advance as a result of the space competition between the two populations. We measure this slowdown from a database of 902 Early Neolithic sites and develop a time-delayed reaction-diffusion model with space competition between Neolithic and Mesolithic populations, to predict the observed speeds. The comparison of the predicted speed with the observations and with a previous non-delayed model show that both effects, the time delay effect due to the generation lag and the space competition between populations, are crucial in order to understand the observations.

Source: Europe PubMed Central