Current Research Postgraduates

Miss Jenny Marshall

Research Topic

Missing links: demic diffusion and the development of agriculture in the Central Iranian plateau.

Abstract

The aim of my research is to test the validity of the Neolithic ‘wave-of-advance- model (Ammerman & Cavalli-Sforza) against the archaeology of western Asia, Iran and South Asia. The ‘wave’ is a mathematical model, supplemented by linguistic and genetic patterns (Renfrew 1987) used to hypothesize the spread of Neolithic populations when mapped over archaeological sites, however, the chronologies from these sites were based on individual samples calibrated twenty years ago. Since then new sites have been discovered, and dating resolution has increase greatly, yet the new sites and dating techniques have rarely been utilized to test the strength of the model.

My research has three objectives: to test the ‘wave’ model by re-examining site chronologies; to search for variations in settlement patterns, zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical remains; and to undertake fresh survey of aceramic Neolithic sites in the Central Iranian plateau. The significance of this research is that, by combining survey work with a fresh analysis of existing data, it will bridge the gap in our knowledge of the emergence of agriculture on the Central Iranian plateau thus, completing the picture of the spread of agriculture across Eurasia.

Research Groups

• Landscapes of Complex Society Research Group