Conclusion
The use of SPD for inferring past population dynamics has recently sparked debate, raising questions concerning the reliability of the underlying data and its general validity as a proxy (e.g. [45,74–76]). As it stands, the advantages provided by SPD over alternative methods outweighs its potentials limitations. We however stress that no proxy provides a unique and definitive portrait of prehistoric demography, and that when possible, multiple lines of evidence [70,77,78] should be assessed in comparative fashion. Continue reading “S1 Fig. Time-series of pithouse and site counts”