Archaeologists and geochemists have announced a major breakthrough in archaeological dating techniques with the application of 'Argon-39/Argon-40' refinement to Neolithic hearth sediments. This new methodology, detailed in the Journal of Archaeological Science, allows for the dating of carbonized remains with an unprecedented decadal precision, effectively solving the century-long debate over the speed of the Cardial Culture's maritime expansion across the Western Mediterranean.
By calibrating the thermal release of argon isotopes from scorched clay foundations, the team was able to map the migration of these early farmers from the Italian peninsula to the Iberian coast within a window of just 45 years. This high-resolution timeline proves that the transition from foraging to farming in the region was a rapid, pulse-like event driven by advanced seafaring capabilities, rather than a slow, terrestrial diffusion. This technique is expected to redefine the chronology of coastal civilizations globally.