Modelling the earliest north-western dispersal of Mediterranean Impressed Wares: New dates and Bayesian chronological model

Abstract

The authors attempt to specify the diffusion pattern of the Impressed-Ware Neolithic (Impresso-cardial complex, ICC), from south-eastern Italy onto the French Mediterranean coasts. Using ChronoModel® software, a Bayesian model was built with sets of dates obtained on well-contextu-alised, short-lived samples. The results highlight a clear tightening of the chronology in the so-called nuclear area (Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria) and a pioneer dispersal at record speed in the Tyrrhe-nian Basin. Moreover, they question the origins and initial developments of the Impressed-Wares techno-complex.