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When the World’s Population Took Off

The Springboard of the Neolithic Demographic Transition

Bibliographic Data

ID23356463
AuthorsJean-Pierre Bocquet-Appel (CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research), UPR2147 and EPHE (Practical School of High Studies), 44, rue de l'Amical Mouchez, Paris 75014, France.), Jean‐pierre Bocquet‐appel (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume333
Issue6042
Pages560-561
Publication date2011-07-29
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScience (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0036-8075 • E-ISSN: 0193-4511
PublisherAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1126/science.1208880
PMID21798934
OpenAlexW2054858175
LanguageEN
Citations received136
References cited20

During the economic transition from foraging to farming, the signal of a major demographic shift can be observed in cemetery data of world archaeological sequences. This signal is characterized by an abrupt increase in the proportion of juvenile skeletons and is interpreted as the signature of a major demographic shift in human history, known as the Neolithic Demographic Transition (NDT). This expresses an increase in the input into the age pyramids of the corresponding living populations with an estimated increase in the total fertility rate of two births per woman. The unprecedented demographic masses that the NDT rapidly brought into play make this one of the fundamental structural processes of human history.

Archaeology · Biology · Birth rate · Demographic history · Demographic transition · Fertility · Foraging · Geography · Population · Sociology · Transition (genetics) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Demography · Ecology · Genetics · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

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Unique citing works136
Citations per year9,07
Citation span2011 - 2026 (16)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedYes
Citation typesNeutral: 130
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