Why Did Expansion of the Körös–Starcevo Culture Stop in the Centre of the Carpathian Basin?
Róbert Kertész, Pál Sümegi
From the 1960s onwards multiple working hypothesis (CHAMBERLIN 1965: 756-757) became one of the most important methods in time sciences, one of the major approaches to the study of the past (SÜMEGI 1998: 367; SÜMEGI - KERTÉSZ 1998a). According to this principle, science and scientific thought does not begin with unchangeable, categorical and unbiased statements about the past (BELL - WALKER 1992: 11-12), but with research work which eventually offers several alternatives for a better understanding of the past. The principle of multiple working hypothesis implies that, based on the largest body of empirical data and on several models, as many explanations as possible should be proposed for the explanation of a phenomenon and that these hypotheses should be tested against each other in order to reject erroneous ones. The main goal of this method is to eventually construct an explanation which stands closer to reality than if only a single theory had been considered. This method inspires researchers to search for facts and solid evidences which allow the rejection of all but one theory. This method can be regarded as a basic philosophical principle in Quaternary environmental research which focuses on the interaction between prehistoric man and his environment and which synthesizes the findings of archaeology, geology and palaeontology (BIRKS - BIRKS 1980; BUTZER 1982: 6-8, 14-16), as well as geological and palaeontological research which, in turn, incorporates the related disciplines of palaeomorphology, palaeohydrology and palaeoecology (WATSON 1969: 489-492).
In this study we shall focus on one of the most controversial problems of the development of Quaternary palaeoenvironment, as well as of archaeology and geoarchaeology in the Carpathian Basin, namely the appearance, settlement and expansion of Early Neolithic population groups and the reconstruction of the process of neolithization. Our basic goal is to present a model which, in contrast to previous archaeological and palaeoenvironmental models, incorporates to a much greater extent the palaeoenvironmental characteristics of the Carpathian Basin and the interrelation between Neolithic knowledge, technology and environment.
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