Neolithic Transition and Agricultural Expansion in the Western Mediterranean

The Neolithic transition in the Western Mediterranean marks a fundamental shift from foraging to farming societies, beginning around the sixth millennium BCE. Originating in the Near East, early farmers introduced cereals, pulses and domesticated animals via maritime corridors and coastal enclaves, notably through Impressed-Cardial and related ceramic traditions. In Iberia and southern France, the arrival of seafaring colonists triggered both demographic influxes and cultural exchanges with enduring Mesolithic communities. This expansion unfolded unevenly across diverse ecological zones—coastal wetlands, river valleys and upland plateaux—resulting in a mosaic of subsistence practices and settlement patterns. Over subsequent centuries, innovations in irrigation, pastoralism and crop rotation underpinned the consolidation of agro-pastoral economies, while regional interactions fostered new social networks. Today’s research emphasises non-linear diffusion, punctuated by episodes of network reorganisation and local adaptation, and highlights the variable roles of population movement, knowledge transfer and environmental change in shaping early agricultural landscapes.

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Neolithic Transition and Agricultural Expansion in the Western Mediterranean publication trend

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Technical terms

Demic diffusion: Spread of farming via migration and population growth of early farmers.

Cultural diffusion: Adoption of agricultural practices by indigenous groups without substantial gene flow.

Radiocarbon dating: Determination of the age of organic remains through measurement of carbon-14 decay.

Bayesian statistical modelling: Probabilistic framework for refining chronological sequences using prior information.

Social Network Analysis (SNA): Quantitative study of relationships and information flow between archaeological communities.

Geometric microliths: Small, standardized stone implements used as projectile points, often diagnostic of Neolithic cultures.

References

1. Weaving social networks from cultural similarities on the neolithisation process in the Western Mediterranean: Evolutionary trajectories using projectile tools. PLOS ONE (2024).
2. The Neolithic Transition in the Western Mediterranean: a Complex and Non-Linear Diffusion Process—The Radiocarbon Record Revisited. Radiocarbon (2018).
3. Potential interactions between Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and Neolithic farmers in the Western Mediterranean: The geochronological data revisited. PLOS ONE (2021).
4. The spread of agriculture in Iberia through Approximate Bayesian Computation and Neolithic projectile tools. PLOS ONE (2021).