Chronological Modeling on A Calibration Plateau: Implications for the Emergence of Agriculture in the Dutch Wetlands

Short-duration archeological sites situated entirely within plateaus in the radiocarbon calibration curve pose unique challenges for our understanding of past processes at regional and global scales. This paper aims to overcome these limitations by leveraging the specific characteristics of two depositional contexts, the Early Neolithic Swifterbant Culture sites S3 and S4, located in the Dutch wetlands. These sites are of exceptional significance as they provide the earliest conclusive evidence of crop cultivation and animal husbandry outside the expansion of Linearbandkeramik (LBK) farmers in north-western Europe. Here, we present a customized approach that combines radiocarbon dating and Bayesian modeling, predicated on vertical sequences of short-lived plant remains. Our innovative approach enables us to determine, at a fine scale, the temporal position and duration of the prominent archeological contexts at S3 and S4, and explore the chronological relationship between the two sites. Through our analysis, we propose a new chronology for the onset of Neolithization in the Dutch wetlands.