This paper responds to a resurgence of interest in constructing long-term time proxies of human activity, especially but not limited to models of population change over the Pleistocene and/or Holocene. While very much agreeing with the need for this increased attention, we emphasize three important issues that can all be thought of as modifiable reporting unit problems: the impact of (i) archaeological periodization, (ii) uneven event durations and (iii) geographical nucleation-dispersal phenomena. Drawing inspiration from real-world examples from prehistoric Britain, Greece and Japan, we explore their consequences and possible mitigation via a reproducible set of tactical simulations.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Cross-disciplinary approaches to prehistoric demography’.

这篇论文回应了人们对构建人类活动的长期时间代理的兴趣的复苏，特别是但不限于更新世和/或全新世的人口变化模型。虽然非常同意这种增加关注的必要性，但我们强调三个都可以被认为是可修改的报告单位问题的重要问题：(i) 考古分期的影响，(ii) 不均匀的事件持续时间和 (iii) 地理成核- 分散现象。我们从史前英国、希腊和日本的真实案例中汲取灵感，通过一组可重复的战术模拟探索其后果和可能的缓解措施。

本文是主题问题“史前人口学的跨学科方法”的一部分。