Demic diffusion

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Demic diffusion is an archaeological term that refers to population diffusion into and across an area previously uninhabited by that group, possibly displacing, replacing, or intermixing with a pre-existing population (e.g. as has been suggested for the spread of agriculture across Neolithic Europe, and what occurred with the European colonization of the Americas).

It has been hypothesized that the spread of agriculture into Europe, for example, occurred by the expansion and spread of agriculturists consistent with the demic diffusion model.

[edit] References

  1. Chicki, L; Nichols, RA; Barbujani, G; Beaumont, MA. 2002. Y genetic data support the Neolithic demic diffusion model. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 99(17): 11008-11013.