Rise and fall: Settlement dynamics of LBK groups in the Middle Belgium loess belt (5150–4950 cal. BC) based on the new Meuse ceramic chronology

Abstract

In this paper, ceramic chronology based on analyses of decorations (rim, main and secondary motifs) is used to approach population dynamics in the Middle Belgium loess belt at a high degree of resolution. The ‘Meuse chronology’, a new ceramic seriation recently established for the Belgian LBK, allows indeed to propose a first sketch of settlement evolution in the Early Neolithic. It highlights two phases of migration on a regional scale rather than one stated in previous studies. The mapping also clarifies the progressive regression announcing the end of the Belgian LBK accompanied, in Hesbaye, by the emergence of enclosures. The social status of the ‘pioneer’ and the decline of the LBK occupation are then questioned on the basis of available data on raw material supply (ceramic and flint).