Bernhard Paul Weninger

University of Cologne | UOC · Institute of Prehistory and Early History

Close examination of the geographic position of Early Neolithic settlements in SE-Europe shows that the oldest sites are almost exclusively situated in some very specific biogeographic areas. These earliest Neolithic settlements are all concentrated in a region that Pavle Cikovac calls the Sub-Mediterranean-Aegean (SMA) biogeographic region. It cov...

The construction of the Iron Age Mediterranean chronology began in the Levant based on historical evidence and has been additionally supported in recent decades by means of radiocarbon analysis, although with variable precision and ratification. It is only in recent years that new evidence in the Aegean and the western Mediterranean has opened disc...

CalPal is scientific freeware for 14C-based chronological research for Holocene and Palaeolithic Archaeology. Programming language is Fortran 95. Operating system is Windows. CalPal has a standard Graphic User Interface (GUI) that makes extensive use of the Winteracter Fortran-language toolset which also supports 14C-database management and chronol...

Pollen data were collected from a one-meter peat succession recovered from the top of the Tropea Promontory (Calabria), a territory continuously inhabited throughout Prehistory and Protohistory. The peat was deposited in a small pond/marsh that was gradually filled up. Six ¹⁴ C dates allowed the peat growth to be constrained to between ca. 3000 and...

This special issue of Quaternary International contains a selection of contributions from the international Conference entitled “LBK & Vinča - Formation and Transformation of Early Neolithic Lifestyles in Europe in the second half of the 6th millennium BC” held from 21st to 23rd of March, 2019 in Tübingen (Germany).

Following some 30 years of radiocarbon research during which the mathematical principles of 14C-calibration have been on loan to Bayesian statistics, here they are returned to quantum physics. The return is based on recognition that 14C-calibration can be described as a Fourier transform. Following its introduction as such, there is need to reconce...

A new method for automated construction of 14C-based archaeological chronologies, called Barcode Seriation (BS), is introduced. The application of BS is demonstrated for medium-sized (N~50 sites) datasets of the early Neolithic cultures Starčevo/Körös/Criş, LBK-I, and Vinča A. The BS-method is easy to apply, but nevertheless allows construction of...

This special issue of Quaternary International contains a selection of contributions from the international Conference entitled “LBK & Vinča - Formation and Transformation of Early Neolithic Lifestyles in Europe in the second half of the 6th millennium BC” held from 21st to 23rd of March, 2019 in Tübingen (Germany).

Mediterranean Early Iron Age chronology was mainly constructed by means of Greek Protogeometric and Geometric ceramic wares, which are widely used for chronological correlations with the Aegean. However, Greek Early Iron Age chronology that is exclusively based on historical evidence in the eastern Mediterranean as well as in the contexts of Greek...

In this report, we present the contributions, outcomes, ideas, discussions and conclusions obtained at the PaleoMaps Workshop 2019, that took place at the Institute of Geography of the University of Cologne on 23 and 24 September 2019. The twofold aim of the workshop was: (1) to provide an overview of approaches and methods that are presently used...

The region of the upper Neckar and Ammer river valley is situated on the south-westernmost periphery of the overall distribution area of the earliest LBK in Europe. In a small side valley of the Ammer, we have been able to investigate in the past few years the two sites ‘Lüsse’ and ‘Unteres Feld’ which have provided important information about the...

In contemporary archaeological research, the domestication of plants and animals in the Near East during the Early Holocene is alternatively interpreted as an overall slow and gradual, or else as rapid process. Both positions are supposedly supported by 14C-radiometric data, but which is of generally low quality. A recent re-analysis (Weninger, 201...

Palaeomaps Workshop Cologne 23.-24. Sep 2019 (c/o Christian Willmes). Auto-amplification and climatic resonance as major drivers of the abrupt Wild-Domestic Transition at 10.2 ka calBP in the eMed and its Equivalent in the wMed.

This is a reformatted CalPal-runable Version of the primary (original) 14C-Database published by Andrew Bevan, Sue Colledge, Dorian Fuller, Ralph Fyfe, Stephen Shennan, and Chris Stevens, 2017. Holocene fluctuations in human population demonstrate repeated links to food production and climate,” November 20, 2017; 10.1073/pnas.1709190114 (Proc Natl...

The First Book of Incomplete 14C-Site Chronologies from Europe, the Near East, and North-Afrika. North African, Saharan, and Sub-Saharan Site Chronologies Foreword to the Fourth Edition, 30th July 2019 In its present Fourth edition, the First Book has been extended to include the site chronologies frrom altogether 12 African countries. In the Boo...

This pdf-file provides the complete HELP-documentation for climate records integrated in CalPal-software (Edition 2019.3). It contains a merged (unsorted) listing of the individual HELP-files (htm-format) for the available N=395 climate records. The present pdf-version is for rainy-day-viewing. In the installed CalPal program, the HELP html-functio...

Looking back into the now ca. 60 year history of 14C-referenced European Neolithic chronology we can recognise, in a variety of details, how creative, talented, often quarrelsome, yet imaginative many of the participating scientists have been, also in producing chronological results that we know today are often wrong. The exceptions are all the mor...

A repeating pattern of multi-centennial-scale Holocene climate events has been widely (globally) documented, and they were termed Rapid Climate Change (RCC) events. Non-seasalt potassium ion (K ⁺ ) series in Greenland ice cores provide well-constrained timings for the events, and a direct timing relationship has been inferred between these events a...

The primary focus of this technical study is to simultaneously evaluate ("test") the influence of the shape of the selected 14C-age calibration curve in CalPal-software on the calibrated output ages, as well as the proper functioning of numeric algorithms, for different 14C-age calibration curves, over an extended time-scale, under extreme conditio...

In this contribution we expand on the hypothesis that the emergence of the Neolithic lifestyle within the Fertile Crescent, as well as its subsequent geographic dispersal, was not an overall slow and gradual process, as assumed in Wave-of-Advance Modelling. In many aspects, the emergence and spread of the Neolithic is better described as Event Sequ...

Although geographically widely separated, the Formation of the Linear Pottery culture (LBK) in the Pannonian Basin and the Transformation from Starčevo to Vinča in Southeast Europe are chronologically largely parallel. Structurally they are very different. The LBK encompasses geographic expansion, as well as socially homogeneous and egalitarian set...

Saharan dust proxies recovered at Lake Sidi Ali, Morocco

In the following paper, we present the main results of our now completed studies of the Varna I cemetery, based on the excavations undertaken by Ivan Ivanov in the years 1972-1991. The richness of the assemblages is singular in Old World prehistory. To tackle the question of its internal , chronological development, we applied correspondence analys...

In the following paper, we present the main results of our now completed studies of the Varna I cemetery, based on the excavations undertaken by Ivan Ivanov in the years 1972–1991. The richness of the assemblages is singular in Old World prehistory. To tackle the question of its inter­nal, chronological development, we applied correspondence analys...

In contemporary archaeological and anthropological research, the domestication of plants and animals in the Near East during the Early Holocene is alternatively interpreted as an over­all slow and gradual, or as a rapid process. The present reanalysis of published archaeobotanical and archaeozoological data shows that the wild-domesticate-transitio...

In contemporary archaeological and anthropological research, the domestication of plants and animals in the Near East during the Early Holocene is alternatively interpreted as an over­all slow and gradual, or as a rapid process. The present reanalysis of published archaeobotanical and archaeozoological data shows that the wild-domesticate-transitio...

Statistical analysis of Carl Blegen's pottery sequence using Correspondence Analysis (CA) suggests a gap of 100–200 years between his Troy III and IV periods. From the Manfred Korfmann excavations three stratigraphic sequences hitherto assigned to Troy IV and V appear to bridge it. This allocation is based on stratigraphic/architectural grounds and...

The Sahara is the world's largest dust source with significant impacts on trans-Atlantic terrestrial and large-scale marine ecosystems. Contested views about a gradual or abrupt onset of Saharan aridity at the end of the African Humid Period dominate the current scientific debate about the Holocene Saharan desiccation. In this study, we present a 1...

Presentation (ppt) held at Workshop 11-12th May 2017 at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Wien on ’Late Bronze Age Chronology and Connections in the eastern Mediterranean’, organised by Katherina Streit and Felix Höflmayer. Since a dating precision of +- 20 yrs is already now achieved simply by application of Correspondence Analysis to pottery da...

We provide a detailed chronological framework for the Early Neolithic of the Eastern Rif of Morocco. Neolithic innovations such as pottery and domestic plants begin ca. 7.6 ka calBP, at which time plant cultivation is clearly documented for cereals (Triticum monococcum/dicoccum, Triticum aestivum/durum, Hordeum vulgare) and pulses (Lens culinaris,...

The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive climate-archaeological platform for precipitation-related Early Neolithic archaeological, archaeozoological and archaeobotanical studies in the Near East. To begin, a review of Near Eastern and Southern European (cold-climate) archaeology is given for two topics (1) climate-related end of the Neol...

Climate-Archaeology of the Near Eastern Early Neolithic with details of the Near Eastern Moist Period.

The process of Near Eastern neolithization and its westward expansion from the core zone in the Levant and upper Mesopotamia has been broadly discussed in recent decades, and many models have been developed to describe the spread of early farming in terms of its timing, structure, geography and sociocultural impact. Until now, based on recent inten...

The geographic distribution of humans largely depends on both the demographic history of populations and the climatic and ecological settings of the regions populated. In global perspective, it seems that humans had not overcome some climatic constrains before the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ~25–20 ka and the beginning of the Late Glacial...

This paper explores the possible links between rapid climate change (RCC) and social change in the Near East and surrounding regions (Anatolia, central Syria, southern Israel, Mesopotamia, Cyprus and eastern and central Sahara) during the ‘long’ 4th millennium (~4500e3000) BC. Twenty terrestrial and 20 marine climate proxies are used to identify lo...

This paper contains a description of discrepancies between true sample ages and calibrated 14C-ages that may occur, depending on analytical method, due to the non-commutative (quantum theoretical) algebraic properties of 14C-ages. The paper also contains examples of historical wiggle matching studies in Egypt for the New Kingdom. Although this an e...

This ppt illustrates the contents of the paper published in World Archaeology, 2015, Vol 47, Issue 4

One of the greatest challenges of contemporary archaeology is to synthesize the large amount of radiocarbon and archaeological data into a useful dialogue. For the late Epipaleolithic and the Early Neolithic of the Near East, many 14 C ages have been published without precise stratigraphic documentation. Consequently, for archaeological age models...

Recent advances in palaeoclimatological research combined with new radiocarbon data from West and Northwest Anatolia, the Aegean, and Southeast Europe have led us to the formulation of a new hypothesis for the temporal and spatial dispersal of Neolithic lifestyles from their core areas of genesis. This hypothesis, which we term the ‘Rapid Climate C...

Investigations of a balk in the centre of the prehistoric settlement of D∫uljunica-SmərdeΠ comprised a sequence of archaeological deposits from the very onset of Neolithisation in Southeastern Europe throughout the end of the Early Neolithic. The arrival of Neolithic lifeways in the region coincides with the end of a period for which palaeoclimate...

Given the near-perfect coincidence of the end of Troy VIIb with the ~3.0 ka calBP RCC interval, along with the apparent brevity (~ 70 yrs) of the ~ 3.0 ka calBP RCC-event as documented in the GISP2 nss-K+-record , there are good chances that the widely acknowledged partial (in my judgement: complete) desertion of Troy at the end of LBA has its back...

We present results pertaining to the potential impact of the 4.2 ka calBP event in the eastern Mediterranean, with special focus on the Early Bronze Age (EBA) in north-western Anatolia, the southern Aegean, and Italy.

During a small-scale test excavation at the multi-period site of Foeni-Gaz in Banat, Romania, in 2009, a settlement find of the Late Baden Culture was partially excavated, which was disturbed by a well shaft of the Early Bronze Age. Geomagnetic surveys and a surface survey indicated that a settlement also existed on the site in the Early Neolithic...

In the past few years advances in palaeoclimatology have provided a range of new perspectives for climate-archaeological research both in the Pleistocene and Holocene. In recent contributions (Weninger et al. 2006, 2009, 2011; Clare et al. 2008; Clare 2013) we have repeatedly indicated the existence of some interesting coincidences between the timi...

In extension of the recently established ‘Rapid Climate Change (RCC) Neolithisation Model’ (e.g. Clare 2013), in the present paper we demonstrate the existence of a remarkable coincidence between the exact (decadel-scale) entry and departure dates of the Neolithic into/from the Aegean (~6600/6050 calBC) with begin/end of RCC-conditions.

'Ain Ghazal is among the earliest large population centers known in the Middle East. A total of four major stratigraphic cultural units have been identified: 1) The oldest Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (MPPNB) unit (10.2 to 9.5 cal ka BP) clearly corresponds with the early Holocene maximum Dead Sea levels. 2) The second unit consists of Late Pre-P...

Due to its diverse geographic and climatic conditions, the Iberian Peninsula is well suited for studies into the relationship between climate, environment and hunter-gatherer adaptation. With focus on the archaeological record, this paper examines to what extent diachronic variations in site density on the Iberian Peninsula are related to climate v...

This lecture provides an introduction to the Palaeoclimatology and Archaeology of Rapid Climate Change (RCC sensu Paul Mayewski and Eelco Rohling) and also covers the 4.2 ka calBP event (sensu Harvey Weiss) with a presentation on old and new data.

One of the greatest challenges of contemporary archaeology is to synthesize the large amount of radiocarbon and archaeological data into a useful dialogue. For the late Epipaleolithic and the Early Neolithic of the Near East, many 14C ages have been published without precise stratigraphic documentation. Consequently, for archaeological age models w...

One of the greatest challenges of contemporary archaeology is to synthesize the large amount of radiocarbon and archaeological data into a useful dialogue. For the late Epipaleolithic and the Early Neolithic of the Near East, many 14C ages have been published without precise stratigraphic documentation. Consequently, for archaeological age models w...

This paper focuses on the influence of conflict and violence on Neolithisation and Neolithic dispersal in the Eastern Mediterranean. While the transition from hunter-gathering to Neolithic economies in the early Holocene is generally regarded as solely practicable at times of peace and harmonious relations between communities, we ask whether the su...

Previous studies of the impact of Rapid Climate Change (RCC) on prehistoric communities have often been restricted in their explanatory power due to the lack of an appropriate analytical tool capable of combining palaeoclimate data with archaeological culture. In this paper, we seek to remedy this shortfall by introducing theoretical-methodological...

ABSTRACT. One of the greatest challenges of contemporary archaeology is to synthesize the large amount of radiocarbon and archaeological data into a useful dialogue. For the late Epipaleolithic and the Early Neolithic of the Near East, many 14C ages have been published without precise stratigraphic documentation. Consequently, for archaeological ag...

In this paper we explore the meaning of the word probability, not in general terms, but restricted to the field of radiocarbon dating, where it has the meaning of ‘dating probability assigned to calibrated 14C-ages’. The intention of our study is to improve our understanding of certain properties of radiocarbon dates, which – although mathematicall...

Only a precise chronological/stratigraphical framework can enable an understanding of the dynamics of change underlying the replacement of Neanderthals by Anatomically Modern Humans and the emergence of what are recognized as Upper Palaeolithic technologies and behaviour. This paper therefore examines the European radiocarbon-based chronometric rec...

The Gruta Nova da Columbeira is recurrently mentioned in the literature concerning the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition in Iberia as documenting the persistence beyond 30 000 calendar years ago of a Neanderthal-associated Mousterian. This claim is based on conventional radiocarbon dates obtained in the 1960’s and the 1970’s. In order to asse...

ABSTRACT – In this paper we explore the meaning of the word probability, not in general terms, but restricted to the field of radiocarbon dating, where it has the meaning of ‘dating probability assigned to calibrated 14C-ages’. The intention of our study is to improve our understanding of certain properties of radiocarbon dates, which – although ma...

Construction of a Stratigraphic Model for the Radiocarbon Dates from Pietrele, Romania: Excavations at the Copper Age tell settlement of Pietrele (Romania) have provided two independent series of 14C-ages from separate excavation areas (Areas B and F). Both 14C-series cover the youngest house-phases on-site. The two excavation areas provide a seque...

In this paper a stratigraphically-referenced database capable of precise and accurate dating of pottery assemblages from the Late Bronze Age (LBA) at Troia (Periods VI–VII) is presented. The database is constructed from information provided in the excavation reports of Carl F. Blegen, Cedric G. Boulter, John L. Caskey, and Marion Rawson (Blegen et...

The disappearance of Neanderthals from the Palaeolithic record in Europe remains an enigma, even after more than 150 years of research. This paper identifies Rapid Climate Change during the Glacial period as a major factor that influences a variety of cultural, economic and demographic processes during the European Palaeolithic. In particular, and...