This volume has been published

by the fnancial support of

Dipartimento di Scienze dellAntichit
e del Vicino Oriente Centro Studi Ricerche Ligabue
SOCIET PER LA PREISTORIA E PROTOSTORIA
DELLA REGIONE FRIULI-VENEZIA GIULIA
QUADERNO - 12
A SHORT WALK THROUGH THE BALKANS:
THE FIRST FARMERS OF THE CARPATHIAN BASIN
AND ADJACENT REGIONS
Proceedings of the Conference held at the Institute of Archaeology UCL
on June 20
th
- 22
nd
, 2005
Edited by
Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi
TRIESTE
2007
ISSN 1124-156X
SOCIET PER LA PREISTORIA E PROTOSTORIA
DELLA REGIONE FRIULI-VENEZIA GIULIA
QUADERNO 12 - 2007
c/o Museo Civico di Storia Naturale
Piazza Hortis 4 - 34123 Trieste (Italia)
REDATTORE
Paolo Biagi
Fotografa di copertina: the Iron Gates from the Romanian bank of the Danube (photograph by M. Spataro)
5
CONTENTS
Preface ...................................................................................................................................................
1. Nandris, J. - Adaptive mediation in the FTN: the nature and rle of the First Temperate
European Neolithic .......................................................................................................................
2. Colledge, S. and Conolly, J. - The Neolithisation of the Balkans:
a review of the archaeobotanical evidence ...............................................................................
3. Kozowski, J.K. - Western Anatolia, the Aegean Basin and the Balkans
in the Neolithisation of Europe ...................................................................................................
4. Bonsall, C. - When was the Neolithic transition in the Iron Gates? ....................................
5. Draovean, F. - Regional aspects in the process of Neolithisation of the Banat
(south-western Romania): the settlement of Foeni-Sla .......................................................
6. Luca, A.S. and Suciu, C. - Migrations and local evolution in the Early Neolithic
in Transylvania: the typological-stylistic analysis and the radiocarbon data ..................
7. Nikolova, L. - Toward an evolutionary model of gradual development of social complexity
among the Neolithic pottery communities in the Balkans
(cultural-chronological and cultural-anthropological problems) ..................................
8. Tasi, N. - Tell-tale squares ..........................................................................................................
9. Korkuti, M. - The Early Neolithic of Albania in a Balkan perspective ................................
10. Gatsov, I. - The Neolithisation process between Anatolia and the Balkans:
a lithic perspective from the region around the Sea of Marmara ........................................
11. Biagi, P., Gratuze, B. and Boucetta, S. - New data on the archaeological obsidians
from the Banat and Transylvania ................................................................................................
12. Spataro, M. - Everyday ceramics and cult objects: a millennium of cultural transmission
13. Mller, J. - Demographic variables and Neolithic ideology ..................................................
14. Minichreiter, K. - The first farmers of northern Croatia .......................................................
15. Nikolov, V. - Problems of the early stages of the Neolithization in the southeast Balkans
16. Bacvarov, K. - Jar burials as early settlement markers in southeast European Neolithic
17. Chapman, J. - Engaging with the exotic: the production of early farming communities
in south-east and central Europe ...............................................................................................
18. Bnffy, E., Juhsz, I. and Smegi, P. - A prelude to the Neolithic in the Balaton region:
new results to an old problem .....................................................................................................

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223
7
PREFACE
This book records the proceedings of a conference held at the Institute of Archaeology, University College Lon-
don, on June 20
th
-22
nd
, 2005, organised by myself, in collaboration with Stephen Shennan and Paolo Biagi.
The subject of the conference, and of most of the papers given, was the earliest Neolithic FTN complex found
in the central Balkans, the Starevo-Cri material culture. I was then a research fellow at the Institute, working on
pottery from nineteen Starevo-Cri sites in Romania, Serbia, and eastern Croatia (Spataro), which allowed me to
travel in all three countries, meeting many local archaeologists and seeing sites and museum collections. I decided
to organise the conference when I realised that archaeologists often knew each others archaeological assemblages
mainly through publications rather than by direct observation, and that there was therefore the need for more discus-
sion and presentation of recent discoveries. I also wanted to thank the many colleagues who had generously helped
my project by lending artefacts, and to show them the results of this research.
The aim of this symposium was to give an up-to-date picture of what is known about the Starevo-Cri
Culture, by showing the sites and materials that archaeologists are currently working on, including those in
countries surrounding the central Balkans, such as Albania, Bulgaria, and Hungary, and involving both lo-
cally-based archaeologists and those from other countries. Proposed session topics included the origin and
spread of the Neolithic, settlement patterns and subsistence strategies of the first farmers, their technology
and material culture, and their ideology and social organisation. These topics were discussed in the context
of excavations carried out in the last 20 years throughout the region. Central themes of discussion at the
conference included the absolute chronology of the diffusion of the Neolithic way of life in the Balkans,
the relationships between the last hunter-gatherers and the first farmers in this region, the chipped stone as-
semblages produced by both groups, the settlement geography of the first farmers, and pottery production
and the circulation of flint and obsidian in the Early Neolithic. It is great to be able to publish a book from
this symposium, which allows different points of view to be expressed, regardless of whether they happen
to be shared by the editors.
There is broad agreement now about the timing and speed of the Neolithisation of the Balkans (Bonsall;
Draovean; Luca and Suciu; Mller; Nikolova; c.f. Whittle et al., 2000; Biagi et al., 2005), even if not
about the nature of the process. Broadly speaking, there remains a spectrum of opinion among archaeologists,
between indigenists and migrationists, the former emphasising the contribution of indigenous Mesolithic
hunter-gatherers to the Neolithisation of the Balkan peninsula, and the latter stressing that the main driver of
Neolithisation was the growth and dispersal of existing Neolithic communities. The continuing lack of evidence
of Mesolithic settlements in much of the region has reinforced the migrationist position. Where there is clear
evidence of Mesolithic settlement, in the Iron Gates region of Serbia and Romania, Bonsall argues that pottery
appeared more or less contemporaneously with agriculture, in about 6000 cal BC, at about the same time that
Neolithic sites began to appear in the surrounding areas.
The so-called 8.2 ka event (Alley et al., 1997), which has been cited as a potential trigger for Neolithisa-
tion of the Balkans (Weninger et al., 2005), may in fact have acted as a brake on the spread of the Neolithic
(Bonsall; Nikolova), which seems to have appeared almost throughout the peninsula in the century either side
of 6000 cal BC. The emphasis placed on exogenous factors, such as climate change, is not surprising, and inevi-
tably there are demographic implications. The demic diffusion model (Ammerman and Cavalli-Sforza, 1973)
is implicitly accepted in many contributions, according to which higher rates of population growth in farming
communities were responsible for the Neolithisation of the Balkan peninsula, through the gradual dispersal of
immigrants from adjoining areas (the Aegean rim and Anatolia) where farming was already practised. A varia-
tion on this model is leapfrogging colonisation (Biagi et al., 2005), in which these movements were relatively
rapid and long-distance, following the major river valleys - an adjustment necessary to reconcile the apparent
speed of Neolithisation with the population growth predictions of the demic diffusion model.
Demographic data are not available, and it is difficult to even estimate population density in this period.
Nandris characterises Mesolithic and Neolithic populations using the terms K-selection and r-selection (used
in biology to denote low and high potential growth rates respectively), but only for the purpose of analogy.
Mller provides some realistic estimates of increasing population density during the Early Neolithic in Thessaly,
but finds that not enough is known about settlement patterns in the rest of the Balkans to be able to generalise
from this example. A case study of a small area of Bosnia in the Late Neolithic suggests that a comparable
population density was reached there by c. 4700 cal BC. If population density in Thessaly continued to grow
over the course of the Neolithic, it is more difficult to make the case that the spread of the Neolithic into the
central Balkans was caused by excess population along the Aegean rim. It is also feasible that the adoption of
8
food production and a shift to sedentism may have permitted exponential population growth of the indigenous
population, rather than the replacement of indigenous hunter-gatherers by immigrant farmers.
Bonsall notes evidence of continuity across the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition in aspects of the Iron Gates
archaeological record, a sign that indigenous populations were involved in Neolithisation. Kozowski and Gatsov
each identify the persistence of local Epigravettian traditions in Early Neolithic flint assemblages from sites in
the Aegean and Thrace, which also may be used to argue for an indigenous contribution to Balkan Neolithisa-
tion. Bnffy et al., while favouring migration as the mechanism for the spread of Starevo groups, emphasise
the growing body of indirect evidence for Mesolithic sites in the Balaton region of Hungary. Nevertheless, there
is still little clear evidence of widespread Mesolithic settlement in the interior of the peninsula, outside of the
Iron Gates area. As well as further field surveys, better publication of lithic assemblages from Early Neolithic
sites would help to show whether there are any traces of Mesolithic traditions in this region.
One of the interesting aspects discussed in this volume is the existence of strong links between Anatolia
and the Balkans in the Neolithisation process. Gatsovs detailed analyses of the lithic assemblages from sites
on both sides of the Sea of Marmara show that they share a common technological tradition, bullet core produc-
tion, and that the bullet core technique has local antecedents. Future research should aim to show whether this
technique was also used in the central Balkans. Similarities in the archaeobotanical record from Asian aceramic
and European ceramic Early Neolithic sites suggest routes of contacts, as well as climatic factors; the finds of
rye grains, in particular, reinforce the correlations between Bulgaria and Anatolia (Colledge and Conolly).
Tasi finds a link between Anatolia and the Balkans in the use of the same geometric motifs on ceramics and
in the constant application of white painted decoration, which he argues is indicative of direct communication
between these areas. Nikolov, on the other hand, suggests that the diversity of pottery decoration in the Balkan
Early Neolithic makes the search for exact parallels in Anatolia extremely difficult.
Nikolovs paper highlights the complexity of the Early Neolithic archaeological record, with nine dif-
ferent stylistic groups defined on the basis of pottery decoration in the south-central Balkans alone. These
groups share many elements, however, such as vessel forms, and seem to have a common origin in Anatolia.
The Neolithisation process, Nikolov argues, consisted of a series of migrations from Anatolia to Thrace, with
rapid local differentiation in pottery styles. Luca and Suciu advocate a similar model for the Neolithisation
of Transylvania, in which Lazarovicis (1993) four typological phases represent consecutive pulses of im-
migration. Draovean also associates changes in pottery decoration with population movements in Roma-
nian Banat. Nevertheless, as Spataro shows, these changes in pottery style are not associated with changes
in the technology of pottery production. On the contrary, a picture of these Early Neolithic communities as
a coherent cultural group comes out of several papers, noting the consistency of the technological formula
used in pottery production (Spataro), the use of the same decorations and ornaments (Nandris; Tasi), the
use of the same surface treatments of pottery in Albania (Korkuti) as in Transylvania (Luca and Suciu) and
further north in Slavonia (Minichreiter).
Another indication of the degree to which there was communication between Early Neolithic communi-
ties throughout the Balkans is the presence of exotic raw materials imported from the same sources. In the
first extensive study of obsidian provenance in this region, Biagi et al. discuss the chemical characterisation
of obsidian artefacts found at sites throughout the peninsula, and find that from the start of the Neolithic, these
were sourced from two outcrops, in Hungary and Slovakia. By contrast, everyday raw materials, such as flint
(Kozowski) and clay (Spataro) were apparently obtained locally.
Chapman, extending the definition of the exotic to include raw materials of rare colours and textures,
discusses the intentional deposition of brightly-coloured objects at Early Neolithic sites, where their context
may indicate their symbolic inclusion or exclusion; similar depositional patterns are noted at sites throughout
the Balkans, presumably reflecting a consistent world-view. By contrast, Bacvarov discusses what appears
to have been (at least in the Early Neolithic) a localised mortuary practice, the use of jars for infant burials in
one region of Bulgaria. Not enough is known about mortuary practices in the rest of the Balkans at this time,
but the only contemporary parallels are found in the ceramic Neolithic of the Levant, and the practice does not
appear in Anatolia until later.
In summary, the symposium and the discussions that took place there were fundamental to the definition of
a picture of the current state of knowledge of the Early Neolithic in the Balkans. Differences in opinion about
the nature of the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition persist, but the combination of different viewpoints with the
presentation of new results from studies of different archaeological materials and phenomena (lithics, pottery,
chronology, settlement patterns etc.) was extremely productive. It is to be hoped that the meeting, and this
publication, will encourage the application of new approaches to archaeological assemblages from different
9
regions of the Balkans over the next decade, in order to distinguish between local variation in human behaviour
and gaps in our knowledge of the archaeological record. A better understanding of the Early Neolithic in the
Balkan peninsula is required to explain the origins of the first farming communities in Central Europe, and the
extent to which the last hunter-gatherers participated in the Neolithisation of Europe.
Finally, it is necessary to mention that the conference would not have taken place without the generous
support of the AHRC Centre for the Evolutionary Analysis of Cultural Behaviour (Institute of Archaeology,
UK), British Academy (London, UK), Dipartimento di Scienze dellAntichit e del Vicino Oriente, Ca Foscari
University (Venice, Italy), International Centre for Albanian Archaeology (Tirana, Albania), Ligabue Founda-
tion (Venice, Italy), and UCL Futures (London, UK).
I would like to thank all the contributors and conference speakers, the Institute of Archaeology and the
Director Stephen Shennan, and Ca Foscari University, Venice, the Societ per la Preistoria e Protostoria della
Regione Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trieste, for publishing the book, and in particular Dr. John Meadows (Institute
of Archaeology, UK), who was extremely helpful with the editing of this volume.
R E F E R E N C E S
Alley, R.B., Sowers, T., Mayewski, P.A., Stuiver., M., Taylor, K.C. and Clark, P.U. 1997 - Holocene climatic instability: a prominent,
widespread event 8200 yr ago. Geology, 25 (6): 483-486.
Ammerman, A.J. and Cavalli-Sforza, L.L. 1973 - A population model for the diffusion of early farming in Europe. In Renfrew, C. (ed.)
The Explanation of Culture Change. Models in Prehistory: 343-358. Duckworth, London.
Biagi, P., Shennan, S. and Spataro, M. 2005 - Rapid Rivers and Slow Seas? New Data for the Radiocarbon Chronology of the Balkan
Peninsula. In Nikolova, L., Fritz, J. and Higgins, J. (eds.) Prehistoric Archaeology & Anthropological Theory and Education. Reports
of Prehistoric Research Projects, 6-7: 41-50. Salt Lake City - Karlovo.
Lazarovici, G. 1993 - Les Carpates Mridionales et la Transylvanie. In Kozowski, J. (ed.) Atlas du Nolithique Europen. LEurope
Orientale, Vol. 1. ERAUL, 45: 243-284. Lige.
Weninger, B., Alram-Stern, E., Bauer, E., Clare, L., Danzeglocke, U., Jris, P., Kubatzki, C., Rollefson, G. and Todorova, H. 2005 -
Die Neolithisierung von Sdosteuropa als Folge des abrupten Klimawandels um 8200 cal BP. In Gronenborn, D. (ed.) Klimavernderung
und Kulturwandel in neolithischen Gesellschaften Mitteleuropas 6700-22 v.Chr. RGZM-Tagungen, Band 1: 75-117.
Michela Spataro
London July 4
th
, 2007
11
Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 11-23
JOHN NANDRIS*
ADAPTIVE MEDIATION IN THE FTN:
THE NATURE AND RLE OF THE FIRST TEMPERATE EUROPEAN
NEOLITHIC
SUMMARY - Adaptive mediation in the FTN: the nature and rle of the First Tempered European Neolithic. This essay or after-
thought is not an exhaustively referenced update. It is a re-assertion of the basic concept of the First Temperate (European) Neolithic;
and an examination of some possible ways of thinking about the explanatory framework. The main emphasis is on the coherence of the
FTN phenom enon as a whole, while recognizing the variety and differenti ation, which is found within that entity. The FTN presents
a polythetic continuum of relata, which share in a number of ongoing processes under the general headings of diffusion and differenti-
ation. It takes up the behavioural opportun ities offered by the developing Altithermal for the establishment of the Neolithic in Europe,
at a time when long-established Mesolithic K-strategists were also having to adapt to this rich directionally-changing environment.
It is suggested that the emergence of the Neolithic in Temperate Europe was initially carried through by r-strategists. These are not
absolute distinctions, and the question is not whether they should be labelled Mesolithic or Neolithic. The FTN has to be recognized as
a coherent phen o men on partaking of this dynamic situation; or it will continue to remain an incoherent congeries of labels for regional
and national archaeologies.
RIASSUNTO - Modelli di adattamento nellFTN: la natura ed il ruolo del pi antico Neolitico dellEuropa Temperata (FTN). Questo
lavoro, o meglio ripensamento, non un aggiornamento di altri precedenti sullargomento, bens una riasserzione del concetto fonda-
mentale di Primo Neolitico dellEuropa Temperata, oltre che un esame di alcuni modi possibili di valutarne linterpretazione. Viene
enfatizzata la coerenza del fenomeno nel suo complesso, pur riconoscendone variet e differenziazioni al suo interno. LFTN un
insieme politetico di situazioni relazionabili, che condivide in una quantit di processi che si sviluppano nei modelli principali di dif-
fusione e differenziazione; raccoglie lopportunit offerta dalle nuove condizioni altitermiche, favorevoli alla diffusione del Neolitico
in Europa, nel periodo in cui le K-strategie dei mesolitici dovevo adattarsi alle nuove condizioni ambientali. Si suppone che il Neolitico
nellEuropa temperate sia stato inizialmente introdotto da r-strategie. Queste non sono distinzioni assolute, ed il problema non tanto
quello di defnire se debbano essere chiamate Mesolitico o Neolitico. LFTN deve essere riconosciuto come un fenomeno coerente,
parte di questa condizione in via di sviluppo, altrimenti rimarr sempre confnato ad una congerie incoerente di etichette ad uso delle
archeologie regionali o nazionali.
INTRODUCTION
To name and to periodize is not to explain: but the defnition of the First Temperate Neolithic as the
outcome of the initial Neolithic penetration into Europe, is an assertion of its essential unity, its European and
indeed wider priority, and its adaptive validity.
We all aim to fnd better explan at ions for the emergence and transmission of the Neolithic mode of be-
haviour in Temperate Europe. It would have been preferable not to refer mainly to my own limited work on
various aspects of the phenomenon over the last forty years. It is not possible to document every argument
in such an overview, but there is a need to offer some sources for the arguments, the fgures and the keys to
the maps. The reader must unfortunately refer back to the listed publications in the frst instance, and I do
apologize for this.
Nationally defned labels such as Starevo, Cri, Krs, Bug-Dniester, Karanovo I and II, or Kremiko-
vci, are artefacts of early research. They do not entirely comprise some other aspects such as the Albanian or
Macedonian relata. The fullest signifcance of the FTN as an adaptive mediation between Mediterranean and
Temperate Europe, and indeed between Early Neothermal and Anathermal modes of behaviour, lies in its bio-

* Cantemir Consultancy, Oxford, UK

12
social dimensions. Already at atal Hyk (Hodder, 1999) postulates new emergent forms of consciousness
and social order, in explanation of the Neolithic phenomenon (fg. 1).
The overall distribution of the FTN can best be understood in relation to its adaptat ions, for example:
1) to Highland and Lowland zones, higher and lower latitudes,
2) to the Adriatic and Steppic littorals of the Balkan Peninsula,
3) to Mediterranean or temperate zones and their intermediary ecotones,
4) to special environments, such as the Danube Gorges,
5) to developmental issues of regional and chronological variation.
The FTN is not delimited by rigid boundaries, whether chronological or geographical, but it does lie with-
in a region bounded north-south by Mediterranean and Temperate Europe; and east-west by the wet Adriatic
and dry Steppic littorals of southeast Europe. Its extension into the Adriatic littoral in Albania and Serbia is of
interest, but it notably avoided the dry Pontic littoral in favour of the forest-steppe. Within these boundaries it
participated in the overall European post-Glacial dynamic, the whole sense of which was an extension north-
wards of the regions within which it became advantageous to adopt frst the Mesolithic and then the Neolithic
modes of behaviour. Initially both were restricted in their distribution, but later the evolutionary success of the
Neolithic is confrmed by its wide distribution and duration.
The extension northwards of an originally Mediterranean economy necessitated adaptations to latitude, and to
the different rainfall patterns and growing seasons of Temperate Europe. This could have been achieved through
FTN exploitation of the Balkan highland zone. Alternatively, in the Ove Polje we fnd Mediterranean patterns of
precipitation carried further north into an upland basin, the settlement of which facilitated pre-adaptation to the pen-
etration of Temperate Europe. The region is particularly suitable for sheep rearing, and was so used during the FTN.
Perhaps surprisingly, so too was the Krs region, while FTN spoons from Bos primigenius metacarpals are also
abundant there (Nandris, 1972a). In the Moldavian FTN there is an emphasis on cattle, in a region where late hunt-
ing-cultures had intensively exploited a great variety of herding animals, and probably continued to do so (fg. 2).
Fig. 1 - FTN and Early Greek Neolithic sites within 500 miles of the Danube Gorges bounded by the wet Adriatic littoral (2, with
sporadic FTN) and the dry Pontic Steppe littoral (3, with the Bug-Dniester; 5, on the forest steppe). Zones 1 (the Macedo-Bulgarian
ecotone) and 4 respectively mediate between Mediterranean and Temperate Central Europe (after Nandris, 1977: fg. 4).
13
The egligovo in the north of the Ove Polje region is the almost imperceptible watershed between the
Aegean drainage of the Vardar, and the Danubian/Black Sea drainage of the Morava. The exploitation of sheep
on any scale during the warmer conditions of the Anathermal, especially in Thessaly, would hardly have been
possible without some mechanism of seasonality, and some exploitation of canine territoriality to protect
against predators. Both these were also necessary elements of any Near Eastern and Anatolian pastoral techno-
complexes, which almost certainly were infuential in the Greek Neolithic and the FTN.
r- AND K- STRATEGIES
One way to understand the behaviour, which we fnd in the Early Neolithic is in terms of the r- and K- re-
productive strategies (Nandris, 1988) which we shall consider below. There seems to be a regional dichotomy
in the FTN between an emphasis on cattle, and one on sheep (fg. 3), although care is need in moving from bone
evidence to conclusions about an economy. In any case it is not helpful to use terms such as the Starevo-Cri
Culture at one moment to refer to the FTN as a whole, and at another to mean particular regional incarnations.
Long-term trends in the FTN during the Altithermal show a reduction in the variety of species being exploited,
and using fewer tool types of larger dimensions to do so. The FTN also possesses an essentially blade-and-
trapeze lithic industry, albeit macrolithic. This takes its place in the long-term trends in Early Neothermal lithic
technology in southeast Europe (Nandris, 1978) (fg. 4).
An example of a lost opportunity to exploit the rich harvest of comparative ethno archae ology comes
from the Danube Delta. A century ago its fshing settlements were strung out along the levees, with houses
raised on piles, exploiting fsheries with small boats and nets. Regrettably they were not published or de-
Fig. 2 - The Ove Polje and Pelagonia (as defned by the annual 500 mm isohyet) carry Mediterranean patterns of precipitation to a
higher latitude, allowing new adaptations to emerge further north (after Nandris, 1977: fg. 5).
14
scribed in detail before vanishing, but what we know about these Delta settlements suggests some analogies
with the settlement pattern of the Krs group of the FTN along the Tisza, Krs and Mure (fg. 5), whose
sites sometimes extended in the same way many tens even hundreds of metres along the levees of those riv-
ers. Sites are located in relation to drainage and ground water, able both to fsh and exploit the long-vanished
gallery forests, free from fooding, and able to beneft from the seasonally replen ished fsh stocks trapped in
fooded ox-bow lakes. Flooding today has radically altered river regimes following two centuries of regula-
tion and embankment of the rivers of the Carpathian basin, notably by Count Szechenyi in the 19
th
century.
It is notable that in the fooding of towns and villages along the Mure in Romania during the 1970s no
Neolithic sites were fooded.
The importance of the Neolithic village is that it effectively continued from its small-scale beginnings, and
its quite large-scale Climax Neolithic sites, through historical accretion and differentiation across the middle ages,
to underpin European civilization. The demography, economy and technology of its settlements supplied a fertile
medium for the fowering of European complexity. Its bio-social elaborations on the themes of domesticity and
domestication gave rise to some of the most highly-polished cultural and political forms on the planet, and have
been widely emulated. This evolutionary success cannot be dismissed as a Eurocentric construct, since it created
conditions for the free expression of individual potential to which much of humanity aspires.
The FTN was the most signifcant transmitter into central Temperate Europe of a Neolithic mode of be-
haviour commonly agreed to have evolved in the Mediterranean and the Near East. It constitutes an adaptive
mediation both geographically and chronologically between the antecedent Early Neothermal, the early Greek
and Anatolian Neolithic, and the emergence of the Linearbandkeramik (BK or LBK). It embodies both the dif-
fusion of the Neolithic mode of behaviour and its differentiation, not merely either one or the other.
Fig. 3 - Evidence for sheep (dark circles)
and cattle in Greece and the FTN (after
Nandris, 1978: fg. 7, listing the sites).
15
Fig. 4. - Relations between tool types, dimensions, and the range of species exploited (after Nandris, 1978: fg. 9, listing the sites).
The observable facts we see before us in the well-defned archaeol ogical culture of the FTN are not in
process of becoming. There is more than one mechanism of differentiation. The archaeology of the FTN does
not, at the moment, document at all well its pre-adaptations and the process of its initial formation. It does doc-
ument its regionalisation and sub sequent differentiation, but there is for example no serious claim for a PPN,
which in the Greek case was a conceptually incoherent attempt to claim an indigenous process of becoming.
The FTN as such is already fully-defned, a social phenomenon, which is richly interconnected both internally
and externally. Its overall unity is variegated, with recognizable intra-regions of social differ entiation attested
by archaeo log ical traits.
The most notable are those, which are socially-defned. For example, fgurine material implies some
commonality or acceptability of belief, such as the acceptance of the highly specifc decorated FTN Rod
Heads into a Greek context with conventionally quite distinct pottery archaeology (Nandris, 1970a). Horned
pendants defne a micro-region centred around the Banat and Danube Gorges in both FTN and hunter-fsher
contexts, from Lepenski Vir and elsewhere. An unusual example of a micro-region based on fgurine mate-
rial is found at a few sites across the northern Hungarian basin within the later Alfld and Tiszadob LBK
(eg., from Tiszavsvari-Paptlekht and Fuzsbony-Ketthalom). Here sites 150 km apart yielded identi-
cal face sherds carrying an extraordinary incised design of a quasi-anthropomorphic fgure clamping down
across the face and nose, which is suggestive of social cheiropractice or drugged vision or both (Bachmayer
et al., 1972).
16
Fig. 5 - Sites of the Krs FTN,
in relation to ground water (af-
ter Nandris, 1970: fg. 3).
17
The FTN enjoyed a notably varied series of external connections and relationships; for example with the
ecotonal LBK sites of the Transylvanian basin; with the Mesolithic forest-steppe sites of the Bug-Dniester;
with northwestern Anatolia. The FTN inter-penetrates into the sites of the wet Adriatic highland littoral, espe-
cially in Albania, which is an intriguing anomaly and surely awaits an interesting explanation. The FTN con-
trives somehow to remain in contact with the Mediterranean environment from which it originated, eg., with
the fgurines and the Temperate European Impressed Wares of Nea Nikomedeia in Macedonia, and later with
the Sesklo Culture of Thessaly. Mobility in Neolithic Europe was astonishing, and even the Bandkeramik was
still able to acquire Spondylus gaederopus (Sfriads, 1994).
Contact between the FTN and the Mediterranean is attested by the well-defned Rod Head fgurine
with its fan-shaped top-knot (fg. 6). The type is exclusively favoured by the FTN, but in undecorated form
it probably originates among the many other fgurine types, which are found at Nea Nikomedeia (we can-
not pursue other antecedents here). Later the narrowly-defned decorated FTN form is found stratifed in
Sesklo contexts, and even crops up on Halonnesos an island of the northern Sporades well into the Aegean
(Efstratiou, 1985).
Fig. 6 - The extension of FTN Rod
Heads into Greece (after Nandris,
1970a: fg. 2).
18
A trait with non-utilitarian symbolic functions is thus stratifed in quite distinct archaeological contexts,
themselves based on functional ceramic classifc ations, over a huge geogr aphic al and environmental range,
across which for example the functional but also potentially symbolic Melian obsidian did not reach.
FTN Rod Heads document a non-utilitarian function in social exchanges over a huge area. They symbol-
ize a mutually acceptable belief-pattern, which cuts across archae ol ogical cultures. They testify to the scale
of movement and social inter change, since without social acceptance such symbolic objects would inevitably
have been rejected. The specifcity of these images, over an area reaching from the Moldavian and southern
Romanian Cri to the Krs Culture on the Tisza, and through the Macedonian sites, is another confrmation of
the essential relata of the FTN, a testimony to the shared belief and behaviour as if (Nandris, 1990), which
contributed to the cohesion of a diverse and adaptive techno complex.
It was perhaps on the geographical margins of the FTN and the BK in Europe such as the Bug-Dniester in
the forest steppe, or in the Dutch LBK, that the clearest hints about the immensely signifcant role of aboriginal
hunter-fshers are seen; or in such specialized environments as the Danube Gorges at Lepenski Vir. We have
mitochondrial DNA from the teeth and bones of 24 skeletons at 16 Central-European LBK and Alfld BK sites
in Germany, Austria and Hungary (Haak et al., 2005), which seems to suggest that, while the contribution of
early farmers to the European gene pool could be close to zero, their legacy of agriculture was nevertheless
of outstanding importance. In any case the BK and FTN do not necessarily embody the same demographic
mechanisms.
The Mesolithic and the Neolithic in Europe were coevals, occupying the same environment, for perhaps
two millennia (fg. 7). The various permutations of their possible relationships need more exhaustive exami-
nation than is possible in this paper. There are some analogies from the biology of ecological speciation. We
would need to establish whether these were discrete social groups exploiting the same environ ment in different
ways, or different aspects of the same environment, or separate contemp or ary environments, or one related
group exploiting different niches in the same environment, or whether we are seeing the activities of seasonal
sub-groups.
Fig. 7 - Contemporaneity of hunter-fshers and FTN in the Danube Gorges (after Nandris, 1988: fg. 1).
19
The Danube Gorges are signifcant in documenting the long and uninterrupted perspective of Early
Neothermal culture, and the ways in which it runs into what we understand as the Early Neolithic. Sites such
as Lepenski Vir give us some archaeologically-based insights into the relationship between local hunters
and the FTN (Nandris, 1972). For example the V-based bone spoon, which is usually seen as an exclusive
type-fossil of the FTN (Lepenski Vir III) was actually being manufactured in the hunter-fsher settlement
of Lepenski Vir II. This begs the interpretations both of the site stratigraphy, and the relationship between
the peoples of the erdap at the time. The type was formed from a metacarpal of Bos primigenius (fg. 8),
and probably of other species. It is distributed outside the Mediterranean zone, within the animals forest
habitat. While it is widespread in the FTN, the concentration in the Krs group is noticeable, perhaps as
an artefact of research.
The FTN is not a series of nationally-based archaeological cultures, but a coherent and integrated phen-
omenon of the highest importance for the subsequent history of Europe. As happened previously in Palaeolithic
studies, terms of limited regional signifcance have been far too carelessly applied to wider phenomena in the
Neolithic as if they had explanatory value. For example, the so-called PPN. The FTN itself was not undifferen-
tiated, yet its component labels still continue to be applied inconsistently without integr ation. Starevo-Cri
is often used as if it embraced the whole phenomenon. This isolationist tendency obscures the actual regional
variety and overall signifcance of a mode of behaviour, which was central to the emergence and establishment
of the Neolithic in southeastern Europe, and more widely in Europe.
Fig. 8 - V-based FTN bone
spoons derived from Bos
primigenius metacarpals (af-
ter Nandris, 1972: fg. 1, for
reference to sites).
20
It is not enough merely to describe the component elements of the FTN, such as its dating, or the supposed
phases of its pottery typologies. We cannot use descriptions and labels as if they were explanations. The Neo-
lithic is nothing if not a mode of behaviour. Indeed there is support from ethnoarchaeological case-studies such
as that of the Jebaliyeh Bedouin of Sinai (Nandris, 1990) for the view that membership of the human group
may be defned by behaviour as if the affliate belongs to the group.
The archaeological remains of a culture may be seen instead as the tangible outcome of human behaviour,
made accessible through scientifc method. The Comparative Ethnoarchaology practised since the 1970s in
the Highland Zone Ethnoarchaeology Project (Nandris, 1985) sought to integrate behaviour with its material
outcome, and to facilitate its archaeological interpret ation. It could be concluded that archaeology is not prima-
rily about the past. Like all scientifc endeavour, it is in good part the outcome of a consensus among its coeval
modern practitioners concerning long-term questions; for example what it is that constit utes the identity of a
human group? The answer is certainly not assemblages of sherds.
Ethnoarchaeology bring us into contact with the beliefs of which behaviour is an outcome. These are not
usually accessible to archaeology. It is a hidden factor, reminiscent of the substantial organic element in prehis-
tory, which is not usually archaeologically accessible. We may be grateful for rare accidents of preservation,
like Similaun man who has given us some sort of insight into Neothermal underwear, but the organic compo-
nent of the FTN is sadly defcient. Ethnoarchaeology gives us other examples of hidden factors to consider,
e.g., the rle of periodical or seasonal social gatherings such as fairs or markets, in the distribution of products
such as Rod Heads or obsidian, or in the sharing of ideas such as farming technology, or even in the search
among widely scattered communities for mates.
The Neolithic needs to be placed in a testable explanatory framework of long-term processes of
change. We need to ask the question Change in what? . Archaeology is the study of long-term proc-
esses of change in human behaviour. Changes in the bio-social medium comprise both topics in social
archaeology, and the more narrowly physical and biological emergence of the human species itself. These
may be integrated with the other media in which change takes place, notably the environment, and human
economy and technology.
The economy of a culture is the means of exploiting the environment within a given set of behavioural or
cultural premises, in course of which social and religious factors play their part. The technology of a culture
is largely the means to economic ends but, like other economic indicators it can sustain non-utilitarian social
functions, for example the social signals of status or identity. The changing bio-social medium integrates de-
liberative cultural choices made in technology and in the economic exploitation of the environment. Human
choice rather than economic determinism lies at the centre of human behaviour.
The changing environment is the setting for changes in the behaviour of plants and animals as well as of man,
and itself constitutes a legitimate topic of research, but it is not literally causal. Changes in the media of long-
term change in human behaviour such as environment, economy, technology and the bio-social media must of
necessity be studied individually. The explanatory framework which can integrate them is reticulate; a network of
operations rather than a hierarchy. Even the social hierarchies, which are found without exception in every human
society are also reticulate, analogous to the interdependence found in ecological relationships between plants and
animals. Such an approach offers statistically-based rather than literalist understanding, and probabilistic rather
than single-factor explanations. It is polythetic in nature, sampling from a possible list of defnitions, and can ac-
commodate both-and as well as either-or explanations.
A consistent trend from Palaeolithic times onwards has been to exploit the most readily accessible
features of the environment, and having exhausted these to move down-market. The exploitation of plant
resources, or the control of reproduction in animals, had a reciprocal impact on long-term natural changes
in the environment. The establishment of the Greek Neolithic and the FTN, and their reproductive strate-
gies, can be related to the energetics of succession, and the productivity of the Altithermal forest in Europe
(Nandris, 1978).
The FTN can be interpreted as r- strategists, while later so-called Copper Age cultures, such as Cucuteni
or Gumelnia, are better characterized as Late Neolithic K- strategist Climax cultures. These cases can best
be understood in relation to the environments to which they were adapted, and this must include the social
environment. The distinction between r- and K- can be envisaged as an expression of the proportion of energy
expended in reproduction. The behavioural strategies of the r- and K- model constitute a spectrum not a sim-
ple dichotomy. A population may be r- strategist in one context and K- strategist in another. The distinction
is between r-strategist societies, which could be described as opportunist; and K-strategist societies, whose
behaviour is adapted to stability and homeostasis (fg. 9).
21
r-strategists are adapted to make use of or colonize a rapidly fuctuating or directionally develop-
ing environment. They are using the intrinsic rate of increase r- of a population to exploit directionally
changing or ephemeral resources by discovery, rapid reproduction and dispersal. This suits the case of
the FTN emerging in the highly dynamic and productive Anathermal and continuing into the developing
Altithermal.
K-strategists occupy stable environments at or near carrying capacity (K-). They can compete success-
fully in crowded circumstances, with a low reproductive rate, and are able to monopolise the extraction
of energy from a particular part of the environment. This corresponds more to the densely settled Cu-
cuteni-Tripolje or Gumelnia Climax Neolithic cultures, and probably to the hunter-fshers of the erdap
before Vlasac and Lepenski Vir.
TOWARDS A SOUTHEAST CLIMAX NEOLITHIC
The idea of a southeast European Climax Neolithic, which took the Neolithic mode of behaviour as far
as it could go without becoming something else (Nandris, 1978), was put forward by analogy with climax
vegetation. This is perhaps more important than whether these cultures were Chalcolithic or not, by virtue of
their use of copper and gold, although southeast Europe again led the way in European terms in this technologi-
cal development. This Climax Neolithic nevertheless incorporated the necessary pre-adaptations for the metal
ages, and even distantly for proto-urbanism. For example the huge settlement at Majdanetskoe in the Tripolje
Culture (Shmaglii, 1982), has unconfrmed claims for a population in fve fgures, much larger than could be
directly supported by the accessible surrounding resource-zones; this would be one element in a defnition of
urbanism.
Fig. 9 - A model of the FTN in
the energetics of the Altither-
mal succession. Comparison
of energetics of succession in
a forest (A) and a laboratory
microcosm (B) (after Odum,
1969). P
G
) gross production,
P
N
) net production, R) total
community respiration, B)
total biomass (after Nandris,
1978: fg. 1).
22
There are reciprocities between what we call the EBA and the Medithermal relapse in climate; but as
with all the developments which we are discussing, single-factor explanations are inadequate. The environ-
ment or the economy are no more causal than is the use of metal. Choice of the best behavioural strategy
led ultimately to evolutionary success, rewarded by representation in the archaeological record. In the Danube
Gorges we see the late hunter-fshers of the Early Neothermal, with long antecedents as K- strategists reaching
back into the late Glacial, having to operate in the same rapidly changing environment as coeval FTN peoples
who were exploiting it as r-strategists. A particular group may be r- strategists in one niche, and K-strategists
in another set of circumstances, whether seasonally, or operating as geographically-based sub-groups. All this
goes against the grain of literalist stages of development such as Mesolithic or Neolithic, whatever may be
the illusory convenience of those labels. To paraphrase a very well known dictum of Daryll Forde: people do
not live at economic or behavioural stages; they possess their own economies and modes of behaviour.
The idea of archaeological cultures as modes of behaviour corresponding among other evolutionary im-
peratives to certain reproductive strategies ought to be testable, for example by their correlates, in settlements,
distributions, economy, mortality, demography, and other material data recoverable by feldwork. In the real
world of archaeology it is sometimes a tall order to set out to recover adequate data to answer such questions;
but data-collection is hopeless without meaningful research questions in mind. The analogy with the adaptation
of animal populations to different environmental states, and to directionally-changing or to climax vegetations,
is applicable to the growth and decline, spatial distributions, and behavioural strategies of the FTN in a rapidly
developing Neothermal environment. The FTN is an entirely coherent and intriguingly diversifed phenom-
enon, and it deserves to be considered as a whole.
23
R E F E R E N C E S
Bachmayer, F., Ruttkay, E., Melichar, H. and Schultz, O. (eds.) 1972 - Idole. Prhistorische Keramiken aus Ungarn. Wien.
Efstratiou, N. 1985 - Agios Petros - A Neolithic Site in the Northern Sporades. Aegean Relationships during the Neolithic of the 5
th

Millennium BC. BAR International Series, 241. Archaeopress, Oxford.
Haak, W., Forster, P., Bramanti, B., Matsumura, S., Brandt, G., Tnzer, M., Villems, R., Renfrew, C., Gronenborn, D., Alt, K.W.
and Burger, J. 2005 - Ancient DNA from the First European Farmers in 7500-Year-Old Neolithic Sites. Science, 310 (5750):
1016-1018.
Hodder, I 1999 - Symbolism at atal Hyk. In Coles, J., Bewley, R. and Mellars, P. (eds.) World Prehistory. Studies in Memory of
Grahame Clark. Proceedings of the British Academy, 99: 177-191. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
[See also eg., www.smithsonianmag.com/issues/2005/may/seeds_civilization.php]
Hutchinson, R. and Williams, M., 2006 - Representing the Other in Modern Japanese Literature: a Critical Approach. Routledge,
London.
Nandris, J.G. 1970 - Ground Water as a Factor in the First Temperate Neolithic settlement of the Krs Region. Zbornik Narodnog
Muzeja, VI: 59-71. Belgrade.
Nandris, J.G. 1970a - The Development and Relationships of the earlier Greek Neolithic. Man, 5 (2): 192-213.
Nandris, J.G. 1972 - Review of Srejovi D. 1972. New Discoveries at Lepenski Vir. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 38:
426-429.
Nandris, J.G. 1972a - Bos primigenius and the Bone Spoon. Bulletin of the Institute of Archaeology, London University, 10: 63-81.
Nandris, J.G. 1975 - Some factors in the Early Neothermal Settlement of south-east Europe. In Sieveking, G. de G., Longworth, I. and
Wilson, K.E. (eds.) Problems in Economic and Social Archaeology: 549-556. Duckworth, London.
Nandris, J.G. 1977 - The Perspective of Long-term Change in south-east Europe. In Carter, F. (ed.) A Historical Geography of the
Balkans: 25-57. Academic Press, London.
Nandris, J.G. 1978 - Some Features of Neolithic Climax Societies. Studia Praehistorica, 1-2: 198-211. Sofa.
Nandris, J.G. 1985 - The Stna and the Katun: foundations of a research design in European Highland Zone Ethnoarchaeology. World
Archaeology, 17: 256-268.
Nandris, J.G. 1988 - The r- and K-strategy Societies of Lepenski Vir in Early Neothermal Perspective. Rivista di Archeologia, XII:
5-13. Venice.
Nandris, J.G. 1990 - The Jebeliyeh of Mount Sinai and the Land of Vlah. Quaderni di Studi Arabi, 8: 45-80. Venice.
Odum, E.P. 1969 - The strategy of ecosystem development. Science, 164 (3877): 262-270.
Sfriads, M.L. 1994 - Spondylus Gaederopus: the Earliest European Long Distance Exchange System. Poroilo o raziskovanju
paleolitika, neolitika in eneolitika v Sloveniji, XXII: 233-256. Ljubljana.
Shmaglii, N.M. 1982 - Krupnie Tripolskie poseleniia v mezhdurece Dnepra i iuzhnogo Buga. In Semaines Philippopolitaines de
lHistoire et de la Culture Thrace. Tracia Praehistorica. Pulpudeva, supplementum 3: 62-69. Bulgarian Academy of Sciences,
Sofa (in Russian).
Authors Address:
JOHN NANDRIS, Cantemir Consultancy, The Old School UK - MERTON, OXON., OX25 2NF
e-mail: nandris@cantemir.u-net.com
25
Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 25-38
SUE COLLEDGE* and JAMES CONOLLY**
THE NEOLITHISATION OF THE BALKANS:
A REVIEW OF THE ARCHAEOBOTANICAL EVIDENCE
SUMMARY - The Neolithisation of the Balkans: a review of the archaeobotanical evidence. Minimal emphasis has hitherto been
placed on the potential for analysing archaeobotanical datasets to explore the origin and spread of Neolithic farming; in this paper we
present the results of such analyses which are based on the amalgamated records from c. 250 southwest Asian and European aceramic
and Early Neolithic sites. We demonstrate the similarity of crop diversity on sites at the origins and at the focus of the earliest dispersal
events and also the notable disparity in diversity between Early Neolithic sites in the different regions of the Balkans, once farming
spread further westwards towards central Europe. We account for these variations in the crop package in terms of both the routes of
contact via which farming reached southeast Europe and also climatic factors that predetermined which species were better suited to
cultivation according to the different regions.
RIASSUNTO - La Neolitizzazione dei Balcani: una revisione.delle testimonianze archeobotaniche. Poca attenzione stata finora posta
alle possibilit che possono derivare dai risultati delle analisi archeobotaniche per studiare lorigine e la diffusione dellagricoltura. In
questo lavoro vengono presentati i risultati di queste analisi, basati sulle informazioni raccolte in circa 250 siti aceremici e del Neolitico
antico dellAsia sud-occidentale e dellEuropa. Vengono dimostrate le somiglianze nelle diverse modalit di coltivazione nei siti ubicati
alle origini ed al centro del fenomeno di dispersione pi antica, ed anche la notevole disparit nelle differenze che si notano tra i siti
del Neolitico Antico nelle diverse regioni balcaniche, una volta che la lagricoltura si diffuse pi ad occidente, verso lEuropa centrale.
Queste variazioni vengono interpretate come pacchetti di coltivazione sia come percorsi di contatto attraverso i quali lagricoltura ha
raggiunto il sudest europeo, sia come fattori climatici che predeterminavano quali specie erano pi adatte alla coltivazione a seconda
delle diverse regioni.
INTRODUCTION
In this paper we consider the spread of the earliest crops into Europe and assess the significance of simi-
larities and differences between the use of domestic species found on aceramic sites in southwest Asia and on
Early Neolithic sites in the different regions of the Balkans.
Our aim is to increase understanding of the subsistence systems that supported the earliest Neolithic
populations of southeast Europe. We discuss the ancestry of the agricultural strategies practiced in the Bal-
kans, and identify the specific changes in crop use that occurred as part of the Neolithisation process in this
region.
Our dataset consists of archaeobotanical records from c. 250 southwest Asian and European aceramic
and Early Neolithic sites.
Charred plant remains (with very few taxa preserved by mineralisation, waterlogging or as impressions)
identified at each site (and phases of each site) were recorded in a database; records include the complete
range of plant types found on the sites, e.g. crops as well as wild and weed taxa.
All the information is taken from published reports in which the archaeobotanical samples were assigned
to phased and dated contexts.
The records in the database are thus both spatially and chronologically referenced (for more details about
the database see Colledge et al., 2004; 2005).

** Institute of Archaeology, UCL, London, UK

** Department of Anthropology, Trent University, Ontario, Canada
26
THE EVOLUTION OF THE FOUNDER CROPS
The earliest domesticated plant species (the founder crops: Zohary, 1996) first appear on Aceramic
Neolithic sites in southwest Asia, and from there they spread by human agency, via coastal Mediterranean and
inland Anatolian routes, into Europe (Colledge et al., 2004). The complete crop package of the eight founder
species - three cereals: emmer (Triticum dicoccum), einkorn (Triticum monococcum), hulled barley (Hordeum
vulgare); four pulses: lentil (Lens culinaris), pea (Pisum sativum), chick pea (Cicer arietinum) and bitter vetch
(Vicia ervilia); and flax (Linum usitatissimum) - have been identified on many Levantine pre-pottery Neolithic
(PPN) sites (Garrard, 1999; Zohary and Hopf, 2000; Colledge, 2001). However, the package was not adopted
in its entirety in the different regions of Europe; certain crops were cultivated preferentially, influenced by both
climatic and cultural factors (Halstead, 1989; Bogucki, 1996; Colledge et al., 2005; Bakels, 2007).
Genetic studies of modern populations have formed the basis of research on the ancestry of the founder
species (Salamini et al., 2004). Central to these studies have been the attempts to determine the frequency and
location of the domestication events, which gave rise to the earliest domestic crops. Certain authors favour
monophyletic origins for the crops and suggest that domestication took place only once (or at most very few
times, e.g. Zohary, 1996; 1999; Heun et al., 1997). Others, however, are proponents of polyphyletic origins,
whereby each species was domesticated more than once and in different locations (Jones et al., 1998; Allaby,
2000; Allaby and Brown, 2003). Location has proved to be an equally contentious issue; for example, the
results of DNA analyses seem to be at odds over whether the founder crops evolved in the southern Levant
(e.g. Jordan, Israel, Palestinian Territories) or the northern Levant (e.g. Syria, southeast Anatolia) (Heun
et al., 1997; Nesbitt, 1998; Nesbitt and Samuel, 1998; Zohary, 1999; zkan et al., 2002). Corroborative
archaeobotanical evidence provides a means of resolving uncertainties over how many times and where
domestication events took place, but the question of whether or not domestic taxa can be confirmed as the
earliest at certain pre-pottery Neolithic sites in southwest Asia has proved to be no less controversial (for
example, see Nesbitt, 2002).
The chronological framework for domestication, or domestication events, is fundamental to our under-
standing of the dynamics of the spread of crop-based agriculture beyond southwest Asia. Estimates vary on the
rate at which domestication would have taken place once wild crops were under cultivation. Recent research,
which is based on an assessment of the relative proportions of domestic-type and wild-type wheat and barley
chaff in archaeobotanical assemblages from early sites in the Levant, indicates that domestication (e.g. whereby
the end result is cereal crops with tough rachises) was a long process, possibly taking between 1000 and 1500
years (Tanno and Willcox, 2006; Fuller, in prep.). In this scenario, cultivation that did not involve preferential
selection of the mutant tough rachised plants may have continued for a considerable length of time without any
signs of the morphological changes in the cereal ears that are associated with domestication (see Willcox, 2004
for a discussion of the development of large grained wild cereal crops). On the basis that greater proportions
of indehiscent (i.e. tough rachised) spikelets are indicative of the emergence of a fully domestic crop, the earli-
est sites which meet this criterion in the two studies cited above are dated to the late/final PPNB (c. 7500-6400
cal BC). This is a much later date for the evolution of the founder crops than has previously been assumed (for
example, see Harris, 2002; Nesbitt, 2002; Colledge et al., 2004).
In contrast, on the basis of experimental harvesting of wild einkorn, Hillman and Davies (1990; 1991) cal-
culated that cereal crops could have been domesticated within 200 years, or perhaps as rapidly as 20-30 years,
provided that certain harvesting prerequisites were met (e.g. if the wild cereals were harvested partially ripe, if
they were gathered by uprooting or sickle reaping, and if new fields were sown each year). On the assumption
that cultivation leading to domestication began in the Late Epipalaeolithic (Moore et al., 2000; Hillman et al.,
2001), Hillman and Davies short gestation model (Colledge et al., 2004) places the evolution of domestic
crops within the time-frame of the PPNA. As we consider below, this is more compatible with what is currently
known about the timing of the spread of Neolithic farming westwards.
THE DISPERSAL OF THE FOUNDER CROPS
Domestic cereal and pulse species have been identified in southwest Asia from as early as c. 9500 cal BC
and there is evidence, mainly in the form of charred remains, with very few instances of impressions in plaster
or daub, for the full suite of founder crops on many sites by the early/middle PPNB (i.e. between c. 8700 and
7500 cal BC: Garrard, 1999; Zohary and Hopf, 2000; Colledge, 2001).
27
Fig. 1 - Percentage of Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites/phases in southwest Asia with evidence for the listed cereal and pulse species, and
flax.
Fig. 1 is a comparison of the range and frequency of occurrence of crops (including the founder species and
also later or secondary domesticates) present on a total of 44 aceramic sites (or phases of sites) recorded in our
database (with dates ranging from c. 9500-7000 cal BC and located in Jordan, Syria, the Palestinian Territories,
Israel and Anatolia). The most common species are hulled barley, the two glume wheats (einkorn and emmer),
pea, lentil and bitter vetch, which all occur on over 50% of the sites. The remaining founder species (chick pea
and flax), together with free threshing wheat (Triticum aestivum/durum), naked barley (Hordeum vulgare var
nudum), grass pea (Lathyrus sativus) and rye (Secale cereale), are recorded on far fewer sites.
Recently excavated sites (i.e. since the early 1990s) on Cyprus have produced evidence that has revo-
lutionised previously held ideas about both the settlement of the island and also the routes and timing of the
initial dispersals of the founder crops from their origins (Peltenburg et al., 2001; Colledge, 2004; Colledge
and Conolly, 2007). Of greatest significance are the archaeobotanical data, which indicate a very early date
for the seaward migration of Neolithic farmers from southwest Asia. There are eight Aceramic Neolithic sites
on Cyprus (assigned to the Cypro-PPNB and late Aceramic Neolithic/Khirokitian, dating from the mid 9
th
to
the 6
th
millennia cal BC) with evidence of preserved plant remains. Table 1 is summary of the range of crops
identified at the sites, including not only the founder species but also later additions to the spectrum of plants
that were cultivated in the Early Neolithic (e.g. free threshing wheat and naked barley, and two pulses: grass
pea and faba bean, Vicia faba). The order of sites in the table (from the top) is approximately chronological
from earliest to latest (for relative chronologies see Peltenburg, 2003: 87, table 11.3).
The earliest archaeobotanical evidence on Cyprus is from the sites of Perekklisha-Shillourokambos and
Kissonerga-Mylouthkia (both excavated within the last decade and a half). A very limited spectrum of taxa is
represented in the assemblages from the earliest phase at Perekklisha-Shillourokambos (PSI: Early Phase A; for
14
C dates see Guilaine, 2003) dated to the Cypro-Early PPNB (equivalent to the Levantine EPPNB); the status of
the cereal crops at the site is equivocal and Willcox (2001) records only wild/domestic glume wheat grains and
chaff and wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum). The identifications were made from impressions of plant remains
in pis and the difference in mode of preservation between Shillourokambos and a majority of the southwest
Asian sites (and, more significantly, also the other Cypriot aceramic sites) could account for the relatively poor
representation of taxa (including crop species) at the site. The phase IA samples from Kissonerga-Mylouthkia
SW Asia: pre-pottery Neolithic sites/phases (n=44)
28

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29
(broadly contemporary with PSI) comprise a diverse range of both domestic and wild species. Three of the
founder crops (hulled barley, einkorn, and emmer) were identified (lentil and flax could not be assigned with
certainty as domestic species; Murray, 2003) and the presence in the samples of harvesting or processing waste
(e.g. field weeds and chaff) provided further confirmation of the status of both the cereal crops and farming by
the middle of the 9
th
millennium cal BC, a short time after they evolved on the Levantine mainland.
The Cypriot evidence indicates that the spread of Neolithic farming beyond its origins was rapid. From
the archaeobotanical data it is apparent that there was no significant reduction in the range of crops that were
cultivated in the Early Neolithic, an indication of the successful transport of grain stocks and the requisite tech-
niques to ensure productive harvests by the colonising farmers. Calibrated dates for the earliest occurrences of
domestic cereals on the island (table 2) appear to show that the initial dispersal via the Mediterranean was as
early as, if not earlier than the mainland route via Anatolia (Colledge et al., 2004: s40-41; Perls, 2005). The
first evidence of domestic cereals in southeast Anatolia is dated to the early-mid 9
th
millennium cal BC (table
3). Two or three centuries later crops had spread further to the west, and at Akl Hyk, the earliest farming
community yet known in central Anatolia, levels with domestic glume wheats are dated to c. 8300 cal BC.
THE NEOLITHIC CROP PACKAGE IN THE BALKANS
Greece
Farming and the founder crops reached southern Europe at about 7000 cal BC (Halstead, 2000; Perls,
2001; Colledge et al., 2005). The range and relative frequency of occurrence of the domestic species on the
earliest sites in Greece (fig. 2; a total of 12 initial (Aceramic) and Early Neolithic sites and/or phases, with dates
ranging from c. 7000-6000 cal BC) and on aceramic sites in southwest Asia are remarkably similar. Hulled
barley, einkorn, emmer, pea and lentil are the most common domestic species (present on over 50% of the sites)
and other crops occur on a minority of the Greek sites. The diversity of crops used in the two regions are also
comparable as demonstrated by the percentages of sites with five or more crops (southwest Asia: 73%, Greece:
75%; fig. 4) and by the mean number of crops per region (southwest Asia: 5.88, Greece: 5.75; table 4). There
is little difference, therefore, in the diversity of domestic species grown between the regions where the founder
crops evolved and where the crop package was adopted once farming had reached southeast Europe. Taxa
identified on the early Greek sites are all based on records of plant remains preserved by charring and although
in some instances sample sizes are small the representation of the crop repertoire appears to be as complete as
that in southwest Asia, where there are far more sites and samples included in the comparisons.
In an earlier paper (Colledge et al., 2004) we suggested the results of more comprehensive quantitative
analyses of assemblages of crops (both domestic and wild) and weeds were indicative of links between Greece
and the southwest Asia (more specifically the southern Levant), via Cyprus. The similarities in composition of
much larger suites of taxa between sites in the eastern Mediterranean and the southern Balkans are in accord,
therefore, with the findings we report here, which are based on crop species alone. This is consistent with similar
conclusions made by Perls who, on the basis of comparative studies of the material culture in these regions,
proposes that Greece was colonised by processes originating in the Levant and the southern Anatolian coast
via the southern route of a two-fold east-west expansion of the Neolithic (Perls, 2005). Certain commodi-
ties, which included crops, would have been transferred by the Neolithic migrants, thus resulting in a pack-
age common to both the origins and the focus of the colonisation. Bogaard argues that the farming practices,
which gave rise to comparable crop (and weed) packages must also have been similar, thus that there was also
transmission of husbandry techniques (Bogaard, 2004; 2005). On the basis of detailed analyses of crops and
weed assemblages she concludes that the same general system of intensive, small-scale cultivation (Bogaard,
pers. comm.) characterised Neolithic farming in Greece and a majority of southeast Europe (Bogaard, 2004:
51; 2005, 182), and from the available evidence it seems likely that this was a mode of production which had
originated in southwest Asia (Bogaard, 2005: 188).
Bulgaria
On Neolithic sites to the north of Greece there are significant differences in crop diversity. The data for Bul-
garia (fig. 2) derive from records of charred plant remains from ten early Neolithic sites and/or phases (Karanovo
30
I/II), which range in date from c. 6000-5500 cal BC. The most frequently occurring species in southwest Asia
and Greece are equally as common on the Bulgarian early Neolithic sites but, in addition, free threshing wheat,
naked barley and grass pea are also present on a majority of the sites. Bulgaria has the highest percentage of
sites with five or more crops (and the highest mean number of crops per site; fig. 4 and table 4), and therefore
exhibits greater crop diversity than is manifest in southwest Asia and in the other regions of the Balkans.
In recent syntheses of archaeobotanical data recorded from Bulgarian early Neolithic sites, Marinova stresses
the climatic/environmental idiosyncrasies of the country, which in part may account for the distinctiveness of
the crop package we highlight here (Marinova, 2007). She points out that the environment of Bulgaria is conti-
nental but with a strong Mediterranean influence (i.e. transitional between the east Mediterranean and Europe),
so that crops introduced from the south and east would have had to adapt to these new conditions. Not all the
founder species were suitable for cultivation in the region and Marinova makes reference to chick pea, which
was common in the south but didnt become an established crop throughout the entire country. In contrast, the
greater frequency of occurrence of free threshing wheat (or more specifically hexaploid bread wheat, which is
more common in our study area than the tetraploid species) compared to Greece, which has a Mediterranean
climate, could be due to its enhanced tolerance of more continental conditions (Zohary and Hopf, 2000: 51-58;
see also Colledge et al., 2005: 149). The glume wheats, which are better suited to Mediterranean conditions,
are present on equally high proportions of the Bulgarian sites and so the range of cereal crops is greater on these
sites in comparison with other regions, for example, where the climate favoured cultivation of either the founder
species or the secondary domesticates. Husbandry practices would likewise have been modified according to
the prevailing climatic conditions in the different areas of Europe. However, in this instance Bogaard suggests
that the weed assemblages from the Bulgarian Early Neolithic sites, rather than the crops alone, are more in-
formative about patterns of land and resource management, and that their composition is consistent with what
would be expected for intensively cultivated fields (Bogaard, 2005: 182).
Significantly, Marinova states that archaeobotanical data from the Bulgarian early Neolithic sites are in-
dicative of connections with northern Greece and Anatolia and the data presented here also support this claim.
Archaeobotanical evidence from early Neolithic sites in the region of Anatolia immediately to the east of
Bulgaria (i.e. in northern and central/south central Anatolia) is sparse and our comparison is limited to just six
aceramic phases from a total of four sites (Akl Hyk, Can Hasan III, atalhyk [pre-levels XIIA, XIIB
and XIIC/D] and Hacilar). Nevertheless, it is clear that the range of crops represented on the Anatolian sites is
comparable with that for the Bulgarian sites (fig. 3), for example, free threshing wheat and glume wheats are
equally as common and the full suite of pulse species is present, all of which (including chick pea) are found
on a majority of the sites. The two regions mirror each other in terms of the diversity of crops to the extent that
the proportions of sites with more than five crops and the mean number of crops per site are also similar (for
Anatolia: 83% and 8.50, respectively).
It is relevant here to highlight the presence of rye in the Bulgarian Early Neolithic. Rye has been identified
on very few southwest Asian Early Neolithic sites but finds on Anatolian sites outnumber those in other areas
(e.g. at aceramic Can Hasan III, Hillman identified rye grains in 35 of the 41 samples he examined; Hillman,
Kissonerga Mylouthkia IA dates (taken from Peltenburg, 2003: 83)
Laboratory
number
Radiocarbon
age
Calibrated date BC Material dated
1 sigma 2 sigmas
AA-33128 923570 BP 8550-8290 8630-8280
charred cereal from well 116, fll 123 (20.75-20.55
m asl)
AA-33129 911070 BP 8450-8240 8540-8200
charred cereal from well 116, fll 124 (19.75-19.80 m
asl), immediately below the layer in which the sample
for AA-33128 was taken
OxA-7460 931560 BP 8690-8450 8740-8320
charred barley grain from well 116, fll 124 (19.75-
19.80 m asl), immediately below the layer in which
the sample for AA-33128 was taken
Table 2 -
14
C dates for domestic cereals at Cypro-EPPNB Kissonerga-Mylouthkia phase IA.
31
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32
Fig. 2 - Percentage of Early Neolithic sites/phases in the Balkans with evidence for the listed cereal and pulse species, and flax.
Fig. 3 - Percentage of Aceramic Neolithic sites/phases in central and southwest Anatolia with evidence for the listed cereal and pulse
species, and flax.
C&SW Anatolia: aceramic sites/phases (n=6)
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Table 4 - Mean number of crop species in the different regions.
Fig. 4 - Percentage of sites/phases in the different regions with evidence of four crop species or fewer and with five or more crop species.
mean number of
crops per site/phase
SW Asia [n=44] 5.88
Greece [n=12] 5.75
Bulgaria [n=10] 7.90
C&SW Anatolia [n=6] 8.50
Fr Yugoslavia/ Hungary [n=9] 2.44
1978) and so its presence on Bulgarian sites (where the domestic status is not assigned with certainty) and
not on others in the Balkans is consistent with the concept of a link between the regions. In Perls two-fold
colonisation model the second route by which the Neolithic reached the Balkans was via the north through
Anatolia thus the available archaeobotanical data for both Early Neolithic Greece and Bulgaria are in agree-
ment with her proposal.
Former Yugoslavia and Hungary
Archaeobotanical data for nine Early Neolithic (Krs/Starevo) sites (dated between c. 6100-5500 cal BC)
from the Former Yugoslavia (i.e. sites to the north and east of the Dinaric Alps, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia,
Macedonia) and Hungary are given in fig. 2
1
. Most noticeable is the fact that there is a much-reduced diversity
of crops in comparison with the Greek and Bulgarian sites; only a small percentage of the Krs/Starevo sites

1
Comparable quantitative data from other regions in the Balkans were unavailable at the time we were compiling our records.
0
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Yugoslavia/
Hungary
Central
Europe (LBK)
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34
have five or more crops and the mean number per site is the lowest of all the regions in our study. Fewer of the
founder crops are represented and of the five that are recorded only hulled barley and emmer are present on a
majority of the sites. Two pulses, pea and lentil, are represented on a small minority the Krs/Starevo sites,
whereas in Greece and Bulgaria five pulses are present, and certain species are as common as the cereals (i.e.
are present on over 50% of the sites).
The range and/or types of taxa represented on three out of the nine sites in the Former Yugoslavia and
Hungary are possibly limited because preservation of the plant remains was solely in the form of impressions
in pottery and daub. For example, it could be that they comprise only those species that were more valuable as
temper (relative to their usefulness for other purposes), and those of wider economic importance may be missing
from the archaeobotanical record. It is less likely, therefore, that the assemblages from the three Krs/Starevo
sites represent the full suite of crops once used (e.g. only two cereals are represented at these sites). This may
explain in part the differences in crop diversity between these and other regions in the Balkans. However, only
seven crops in total are recorded from the Krs/Starevo sites where preservation was by charring, which is
also a considerable decrease in overall numbers of domestic species represented in comparison with the Greek
(n=11) and Bulgarian sites (n=13). On the basis of these data (albeit limited), therefore, it would appear that
the reduction in crop diversity is not entirely due to taphonomic factors.
Recent excavations and analysis of charred assemblages from Ecsegfalva in the east Hungarian Plain
(Krs Culture: Whittle, 2000; Bogaard et al., 2007) produced a much more comprehensive list of plant taxa.
Interestingly, only two additional crop species (other than those already recorded in our database for sites in
the Former Yugoslavia/Hungary) were identified at the site (millet: Panicum miliaceum) and the new glume
wheat type; Kohler-Schneider, 2003). From their study Bogaard et al. (2007) conclude similarly and state:
it is possible to infer from the available evidence that there was a progressive narrowing of the crop spectrum
from the southern through to the northern Balkans. They dismiss the suggestion that lack of rigour in methods
of recovery of the plant material (i.e. without the use of flotation) on the Krs-Starevo-Cri sites may account
for the disparity between the different regions in the Balkans in light of the fact that flotation and sieving had
been used on very few of the Greek and Bulgarian sites. The authors also emphasise that the weed flora from
Ecsegfalva is representative of small-scale garden type agriculture and, therefore, adheres to the general trend
manifest throughout the rest of southeast Europe.
DISCUSSION
We demonstrate the similarities of the Neolithic crop packages between the regions at the origins in south-
west Asia and at the focus of the initial dispersal events (e.g. Cyprus and Greece), but also the differences in
diversity between regions of southeast Europe, namely the northern and southern Balkans, as farming spread
further into the continent. The increase in diversity in Bulgaria can be accounted for by the exploitation of crops
suited to both Mediterranean and continental climates, which include, for example, the founder crop cereals
and the full complement of Mediterranean pulses, and also free threshing wheat and other later domesticates
that are tolerant of continental conditions.
The decrease in diversity in the northwest (e.g. as exemplified in our study by the Former Yugoslavia/
Hungary) in comparison with the other regions of the Balkans is explained in part by the reduction in the range
of pulses used. This appears to be a change towards a crop suite more adapted to continental environments
(Halstead, 1989) and is entirely consistent with this area being a watershed between the different climates
prevalent in the north and south. The reduction in diversity in the northwest Balkans represents a significant
modification to the ancestral crop package that has widespread implications for the subsequent character of
early farming in central European (e.g. from the evidence of the first farming settlements of the Linearbandk-
eramik Culture; whose origins appear to have been in Transdanubia in northern Hungary, southwest Slovakia
and Lower Austria, dating from c. 5600-5500 cal BC (Whittle, 1990).
In another study (Conolly et al., nd) we have examined in detail the loss of crop species and the resultant
increased homogeneity during the spread of Neolithic farming between the Balkans and central Europe and,
more specifically, whether this could be explained by random cultural drift as explored by Neiman (1995),
Shennan and Wilkinson (2001) and Bentley et al. (2004), among others. We established that the rate of species
loss was too extensive to be accounted for by random changes associated with copying errors in transmission
(e.g. between one settlement and those derived from it). Our conclusions, therefore, were that (a) there was
some mechanism of selection that resulted in the loss of some species from the crop package (i.e. equivalent
35
to what is known as stabilizing selection in evolutionary biology), and (b) the mechanism of selection was
most likely to have been environmental (i.e. natural to again use the terminology of biologists). This we feel
is also the most probable explanation for the loss of species in the northwest Balkans; both the nature and ex-
tent of the changes suggest to us that there is considerable external pressure on crop systems which results in
a rapid loss of those species that cannot tolerate or adapt to the continental climates as farming spread further
westwards across Europe.
An alternative explanation would be some form of cultural selection, whereby certain species were preferred
to the detriment of others due to the fact that they performed better in the cultural system within which they
were imbedded (e.g. as demonstrated by the evidence from the Linearbandkeramik settlements, see Bakels
1990; Kreuz 1990; Colledge et al., 2005, where the glume wheats may have been easier to transport and/or
process with the available technology, and thus were favoured above other wheat species). In the absence of
reliable archaeological evidence, which could be used to identify sources of cultural selection that operated
independently of environmental pressure, we thus conclude that the variation in the crop packages observed
between the southern and northern Balkans can most parsimoniously be accounted for by the differences in
climatic conditions (i.e. the increasingly temperate climate in the north) that reduced the effectiveness of some
crop species, resulting in a narrowing of the range of cereals and pulses in common use in the northwest region
of the Balkans.
Acknowledgements
The data presented in this paper were collected during a three years project sponsored by the AHRC The origin and spread of Neolithic
plant economies in the Near East and Europe, directed by Stephen Shennan and James Conolly. We thank Amy Bogaard for reading
and commenting on this paper.
36
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Authors Addresses:
SUE COLLEDGE, Institute of Archaeology, UCL, 31-34 Gordon Square UK - LONDON WC1H 0PY
e-mail: s.colledge@ucl.ac.uk
JAMES CONOLLY, Department of Anthropology, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, PETERBOROUGH ONTARIO K9J
7B8, CANADA
e-mail: jamesconolly@trentu.ca
39
Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 39-52
JANUSZ K. KOZOWSKI
*
WESTERN ANATOLIA, THE AEGEAN BASIN AND THE BALKANS
IN THE NEOLITHISATION OF EUROPE
SUMMARY - Western Anatolia, the Aegean Basin and the Balkans in the Neolithisation of Europe. Pre-Neolithic colonization of the
Aegean islands (Kythnos, Gioura, Ikaria), the formation of the specific Mesolithic cultural units on the islands based on the Balkan Epi-
gravettian tradition, and the diffusion of the Melian obsidian (since the end of the Palaeolithic) confirm maritime contacts in the Aegean
basin. Additionally the contacts with Anatolia, Cyprus and Syro-Palestinian coast are documented by incipient domestication of animals
(Gioura, Kythnos) and sedentism (stone architecture at Kythnos). The full package of food producing economy appears in the lowermost
layers of Knossos (Crete) in the context of lithic assemblages close to the Aegean Mesolithic, also rooted in the Epigravettian tradition.
The Pottery Neolithic of the Marmara basin developed on the base of different Epigravettian and Black Sea traditions. The question of
the formation of the East Balkan (mainland Greece) Neolithic with painted pottery and macroblade industry is still unsolved.

RIASSUNTO - LAnatolia occidentale, il bacino dellEgeo ed i Balcani nel quadro della neolitizzazione dellEuropa. La colonizzazione
pre-Neolitica delle isole dellEgeo (Kynthos, Gioura, Ikaria), la formazione di specifiche unit culturali Mesolitiche, la cui origine da
ricercarsi nella tradizione Epigravettiana dei Balcani, e la diffusione dellossidiana di Melos (a partire dalla fine del Paleolitico Superi-
ore) confermano lesistenza di contatti marittimi nel Bacino dellEgeo. I rapporti con lAnatolia, Cipro e la costa Siro-Palestinese sono
documentati dallincipiente domesticazione degli animali (a Giura e Kythnos) e dal fenomeno della sedentarizzazione (archittetura in
pietra a Kythnos). Tutti gli elementi che caratterizzano leconomia di sussistenza produttiva fanno la loro comparsa negli strati inferiori
di Cnosso (Creta), con complessi litici simili a quelli del Mesolitico dellEgeo, anchessi di tradizione Epigravettiana. Il Neolitico Ce-
ramico del Mar di Marmara si svilupp da diverse tradizioni Epigravettiane e del Mar Nero. Il problema dellorigine del Neolitico dei
Balcani Orientali (Grecia continentale), con ceramica dipinta ed industria a macrolame, resta a tuttoggi irrisolto.
INTRODUCTION
The aim of this paper is to point to alternative routes of Neolithisation of Europe, alternative to the route
usually proposed, from northwestern Anatolia to the southeastern Balkans via the Marmara Sea basin (Ammer-
man and Cavalli-Sforza, 1984).
By the end of the Palaeolithic we can see that traditions of the Mediterranean Epigravettian embraced the
Balkans and the western Anatolia, probably because the sea regression had made the contacts between southeast
Europe and Anatolia easier. The main boundary of cultural provinces ran along the Taurus chain, separating
the Epigravettian province from the Kebarian and Zarzian areas (Yalinkaya et al., 2002; Kaczanowska and
Kozowski, 2004) (fig. 1).
In the Early Holocene the Balkans were divided into two cultural zones (fig. 2): the western zone with the
characteristic cultural change at the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary, namely: the replacement of the Epigravet-
tian by the Sauveterrian with a completely new set of diagnostic microliths (Mihajlovi, 1999; 2001). In the
eastern zone the Epigravettian tradition continued with some changes, mostly in lithic technology. At the same
time the territories in the western and northwestern zone of the Black Sea basin were the domain of totally dif-
ferent Early Holocene traditions typical for the steppe zone of Eastern Europe, with cultural units such as the
Erbiceni, the Grebeniki and the Kukrek (Kozowski and Kozowski, 1978; Gatsov, 2001).
The Sauveterrian shows a characteristic trait namely: the production of hypermicrolithic bladelets and
the mixed blade/flake technique. A characteristic feature of the Epigravettian tradition is a smaller repertoir of
geometric microliths and the tendency to use flake blanks, even for microliths. Finally, the Pontinian tradition

* Institute of Archaeology, Jagielloian University, Krakw, Poland

40
used slender blades obtained from pencil-like cores and produced special microliths on these blades using fine
marginal or inverse retouches.
The impact of the western cultural tradition, represented by the Sauveterrian and the Castelnovian complex,
can also be seen in the eastern part of the Balkans. For example, the Sauveterrian influence is present in the
typology of microliths in the Early Mesolithic layer 5a in the Klisoura Cave 1 in Argolid (Koumouzelis et al.,
Fig.1 - Map of the cultural
differentiation in the Eastern
Mediterranean and Black Sea
Basin during the Final Pal-
aeolithic.
Fig. 2 - Map of the cultural differentiation in the Adriatic, the Balkans and the Danube basin during the Mesolithic.
41
2003). In the central Balkans this influence contributed to the emergence of the Para-Castelnovian assemblages
in Western Serbia and Montenegro (Kozowski et al., 1994).
NORTHWEST ANATOLIA AND THE BALKANS
The most popular models that explain the process of Neolithisation of Europe (usually starting from the
wave of advance model: Ammerman, 2003) hold that northwestern Anatolia was critical for the diffusion of the
Neolithic from the Near East to Europe (Thissen, 2005). For this reason researchers looked for the evidence of
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B sites in northwestern Anatolia.
M. zdoan and I. Gatsov (1998) claim that the site of alca - close to the east coast of the Marmara Sea
- supports such a supposition: unfortunately at alca there are no diagnostic PPNB forms, either naviform cores
or surface pressure retouch used for shaping blade points.
When we look for the westernmost traces of PPNB it seems more justifiable to ascribe to this tradition
the finds discovered at Keciayir near Eskiehir by T. Efe (2000). But even if this diagnosis is correct, this
site confirms merely - as generally accepted - that the BAI (Big Arrowhead Industries: Kozowski, 1999)
range does not extend far to the west, beyond central Anatolia, including the Lake Basin. Naturally, the
Keciayir site needs to be excavated because the surface material does not wholly rule out the possibility
that some of the bifacial forms could be of Copper Age and some Middle Palaeolithic admixtures existed
at this site.
Because in western Anatolia the PPNB is absent, sequences must be based on local evolution of hypotheti-
cally Early Holocene sites (unfortunately undated) showing co-occurence of lithic elements of the Black Sea
and the Epigravettian traditions, such as the site of Aali in Turkish Thrace published by I. Gatsov and M.
zdoan (1994).
The hypothesis put forward by these two authors might be correct, namely that the Pontinian and Epigravet-
tian traditions played a major role in the formation of the local Neolithic with monochrome ceramics (Early
phase of the Fikirtepe Culture: Gatsov, 2001).
Fig. 3 - Early Neolithic of Turkish Thrace and northwestern Anatolia: main stratigraphic sequences.
Hoca eme Aai Pinar
Developed
42
Fig. 3 shows the main phases of the evolution of the Neolithic in the Marmara basin: the archaic phase
of the Fikirtepe Culture with monochrome pottery and blade-flake industries and the developed phase of the
Fikirtepe Culture with encrusted ceramics - and later - linear pottery, also with assemblages where black bur-
nished ceramics dominates.
A question can be posed: could this sequence in the Marmara basin play an important role in the Neolithisa-
tion of the eastern and western Balkans where the macroblade industries and white-painted pottery are dominant?
zdoan and Beslegen (1999) and some Bulgarian archaeologists (Todorova, 1989; Stefanova, 1996) would
wish to see a monochrome phase in the Eastern Balkans that would be earlier than the white-painted ceramics
- but alleged existence of such a phase is still doubtful.
The sequences such as on the sites of Hoca eme (zdoan, 1998; zdoan and Beslegen, 1999; Gatsov, 2000)
and Aai Pinar (Parzinger and zdoan, 1996) in Turkish Thrace provide evidence against this hypothesis.
At these sites the white-painted pottery with elements of macroblade technology and blade tools with lateral
retouches (probably imported) appear together only in a later stage (e.g. in layer II of Hoca eme or layer 5 of
Aai Pinar). In fact influence of complexes with white-painted pottery was exerted in the opposite direction:
from the west to the Turkish Thrace and the Marmara basin.
The Marmara Sea region did not play a significant role in the process of primary Neolithization of the Bal-
kans but its role was important in the second stage of Neolithisation, when black burnished ceramics appeared
in the Balkans (Kaczanowska and Kozowski, 1991; zdoan, 1993).
Fig. 4 - Mesolithic/Early Neolithic sequences from the Aegean Islands, Argolid, Beotia and Thessaly. The
14
C dates in the table are
uncalibrated BP.
Thessaly
43
THE ROLE OF THE AEGEAN BASIN
In search of possible routes of the primary Neolithic diffusion we should, therefore, look more closely into
the form that the Mesolithic/Neolithic interface assumed in the territory of the Aegean Basin.
The table in fig. 4 shows the chronological position of the four, most important, units that functioned in
eastern Greece and in the Agean Islands in the time span from the middle of 10
th
to the middle of 8
th
millennium
uncal BP:
- Mesolithic with microflake/microblade technology, possibly with some elements of food producing economy
(mainly imported caprids and suids in the initial stage of domestication),
- assemblages with complete package of food producing economy, but with Mesolithic microflake/microblade
technologies (unique example from the phase X in Franchthi and from layer X in Knossos),
- assemblages with Neolithic macroblade technology, with food producing economy, but considered to be
aceramic,
- Neolithic assemblages with macroblade technology and white decorated and/or monochrome pottery.
Although the cultural phenomena we enumerated have a general tendency to form sequences, yet in the
light of radiometric dates their time intervals partially overlap (Thissen, 2005).
We can assume that these phenomena reflect one and the same process of diffusion of new elements within the
existing settlement networks - the process did not embrace the whole Aegean basin at the same moment of time.
The model showed in fig. 4 seems justified especially if we remember that the diffusion across the Aegean
Basin had to be based on contacts over the sea between islands and along the coasts. Contacts like these required
the knowledge of seafaring and are confirmed from the end of the Palaeolithic by obsidian imports from the
Island of Melos, confirmed already in phase VI in the sequence of the Franchthi Cave in Argolid dated to the
11
th
millennium uncal BP (Perls, 1979; 1990). The discovery of pre-Neolithic evidence of obsidian exploita-
tion on the Island of Melos itself is merely the question of time.
The evidence of seafaring in the Early Holocene as Mesolithic sites appears on some islands of the western
Cyclades, the northern Sporades and the northern Dodecanese. So far A. Sampson (2001) has investigated the
Mesolithic layers on the Cave of Cyclope, in the Island of Gioura, and under excavation is the site of Maroulas
on the Island of Kythnos (Sampson et al., 2002).
In the Cyclope Cave, the Mesolithic layers showed subsistence based on fishing and food-gathering from
the sea and on land. The large quantities of fishbones, primarily of Serranidae and Sparidae families (and twelve
other species), numerous hooks for fishing rods and bone spearheads confirm deep-sea fishing. However the same
levels also yielded bones of suids. The status of these animals imported to the island, halfway to domestication
(Trantalidou, 2003) is just like that of the animals imported to Cyprus in the PPN (Ducos, 2003). Also in the
Early Mesolithic of Gioura were found bones of caprines (goats) in transitional stage of domestication; in the
Upper Mesolithic bones of goats do not differ from those of domesticated animals (Trantalidou, 2003). The
site yielded, moreover, the evidence of consumption of land (Helicidae) and marine (Patellidae) molluscs.
The lithic industry of Gioura is based primarily on flake and splintered techniques and shows clear features
of the Epigravettian tradition (presence of large backed blade points). The links with mainland industries are
confirmed by the occurence of robust flake end-scrapers, truncations and retouched flakes (Sampson et al.,
1998) (fig. 5). It is interesting that all tool types are made of different local siliceous rocks but microliths that
appear in the Late Mesolithic are made from the Melian obsidian (fig. 6). The question of geometric microliths
is puzzling because they continue to occur in the Early/Middle and Late Neolithic, not only in the Cyclope
Cave, but also in the other sites of Northern Sporades (Alonessos Island).
The example of the Mesolithic from the Island of Gioura provides evidence that the settling of Northern
Sporades took place probably from continental Greece, but systematic contacts with Cyclades are evidenced
by imported obsidian and with Anatolia and the Middle East - by the imported half-domesticated animals and
possibly some stylistic features of microliths (Sampson et al., 2003).
The second Mesolithic site on Greek islands is Maroulas on the Island of Kythnos. Maroulas is an open-air
site situated on a peninsula and at present located directly on the sea. A part of the site is below sea level, and
underwater prospection identified graves cut in the rock.
The dwelling features in Maroulas are round stone constructions with pavements, some built in erosional
basins formed in the surface of metamorphic shales, where carbonates had deposited (figs. 7-9). The dating of
these carbonates shows that the oldest basins reach back to the end of the Pleistocene and the youngest carbon-
ate covers are later than the youngest dates for dwellings. The dwelling features discovered so far provided
dispersed dates: for feature C15, an AMS date of 942050 uncal BP (Poz-6486), feature C16, yielded the dates
44
Fig. 5 - Mesolithic flint implements from Cyclope
Cave on Gioura Island: backed points (1 and 2);
nosed end-scrapers (3, 5 and 6); atypical perforator
(4); truncation (7); microlith fragment (segment)
(8); retouched flakes (9 and 10); splintered pieces
(11 and 12).
Fig. 6 - Mesolithic flint and obsidian im-
plements from Cyclope Cave on Gioura
Island: notched implement on cortical flake
(1); retouched truncation (2); abruptly re-
touched scraper (3); splintered pieces (4-6);
obsidian microliths (7-10); obsidian crested
blades (11 and 12).
45
Fig. 7 - Maroulas, Kythnos Island: Mesolithic house stone
foundation (house 6).
.
Fig. 8 - Maroulas, Kythnos Island: Mesolithic house stone foundation (house 8 - upper pavement).
46
Fig. 9 - Maroulas, Kythnos Island: Mesolithic house stone foundation (house 8 - lower pavement).
Fig. 10 - Maroulas, Kythnos Island: Mesolithic house 3: accumulation of shells between the lowermost and uppermost pavements.
47
7250210 uncal BP (Gd-18294), on land snails, and 7130140 uncal BP (Gd-30025), on organic fraction, and
an AMS date of 944040 uncal BP (Poz-2200), nearly identical to the AMS date from feature C15. Such differ-
ences may reflect the use of different materials (organic fraction or charcoals) or real chronological differences
between various occupation phases.
The houses located in carbonate basins were occupied several times, as several levels of stone pavements
were found. In between the pavements there are culture layers with large accumulations of land snails, mainly
Helix figulina, which were part of the diet (fig. 10).
The gathering of land snails was only part of subsistence strategies. Another strategy was the breeding of
half-domesticated suids, which had been imported to the island. The presence of carefully shaped grinders and
grindstones (fig. 11) associated with plant microremains point to the possible importance of plant food, but
without domesticated crops.
The lithic industry used largely local quartz, which was processed by means of flake and splinter techniques.
Quartz was used to produce thick end- and side-scrapers on flakes or plaquettes, less often other tool types.
Blade elements are represented almost exclusively by obsidian finds, where - too - flake and splinter technique
played a considerable role. However some microliths relating to the Epigravettian tradition, such as thick seg-
ments on blades and flakes, were produced.
In general the industry from Maroulas exhibits similarities to other Early Holocene industries in the
Aegean Basin, derived from the Epigravettian tradition. But the problem of stone architecture in Maroulas
is more enigmatic indicating - with previously discovered graves in the area of settlement (Honea, 1975;
Sampson, 1996), and recently (2005) excavated burials under the pavements of several houses (fig. 12) and
discarded human bones and skulls between or above pavements - the sedentary way of life of Mesolithic
foragers. The closest parallels to the houses from Maroulas are in circular houses known from the Syro-
Palestinian coast in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic and on Cyprus (Katsarou, 2001). These houses were not only
shelters but also places of multistage mortuary practices linked with the founding of houses and subsequent
abandonment episodes.
The site of Maroulas is not the only site on Kythnos Island; recent surveys in the northeastern part of
the island contributed to the discovery of similar industries from quartz, obsidian and white flint with a large
number of diagnostic retouched tools. The presence of lithic industries similar to those from Kythnos on other
Aegean islands is now highly probable; particularly recent surveys by A. Sampson on Ikaria Island, north of
the Dodecanese and close to the Anatolian coast, yielded lithic finds made from flint and obsidian similar to
the industry from Maroulas.
Fig. 11 - Maroulas,
Kythnos Island: frag-
ment of the Mesolithic
ground stone found be-
tween the stones of the
uppermost pavement of
house 2.
48
The Aegean Mesolithic - representing sedentary foragers (like many of the PPN groups in the Near East)
was the effect of two phases of the island exploitation:
- the first mobile hunter-gatherers from continental Greece who, starting from the end of the Palaeolithic,
used seafaring for fishing, exploiting other martitime resources and exploring some islands in search of
raw materials;
- these pioneer groups were transformed into sedentary foragers due to the maritime contacts with Cy-
prus and, possibly, southern Anatolia. Several innovations appeared in the Aegean as effect of these
contacts, i.e. stone architecture, permanent settlements, burial rites related to the continuity of site
location, increasing role of plant food and corresponding grinding stone equipment. Plant diet is a
part of the broadening spectrum of subsistance strategies including fishing, gathering of land snails
and fowling.
We can see some analogies to these phases of transformation from highly mobile to sedentary foragers
under the influence of PPN - on Cyprus (Peltenburg, 2004) and in the appearence of some innovations in the
way of life of Cycladic Mesolithic groups (Sampson and Katsarou, 2004).
Another example of early colonisation of the Aegean basin comes from Crete where layer X, at Knos-
sos, yielded a lithic industry based on flake and splinter techniques, accompanied by microblades detached
from hypermicrolithic single-platform cores. Typological similarities with the Aegean Mesolithic consist in
the presence of marginal, semi-steep retouch on blades/bladelets, arched backed pieces on flakes and blades,
microlithic truncations, atypical trapezes on flakes and retouched flakes. This industry occurs in the context
of clay architecture of Near East type, and fully domesticated plants and animals, but the lithic industry
resembles, in its technology and the occurence of Melian obsidian, typical for Aegean Basin (Evans, 1971;
1977; 1994).
It is interesting to point out that at Knossos the same technological tradition of layer X (including arched
backed implements) is present in the whole Early Ceramic Neolithic (layers IX-VIII). This technology continues
to evolve on the basis of local raw materials (mainly radiolarites) and imported Melian obsidian.
The association of the full package of food-producing economy and lithic industry derived from the local
Mesolithic is known from the Franchthi Cave, lithic phase X (Perls, 1990; Hansen, 1992).
Fig. 12 - Maroulas, Kythnos Island: Mesolithic burial.
49
FULL NEOLITHIC PACKAGE IN THE AEGEAN BASIN
Typical pottery Neolithic with white painted pottery appears in the Aegean basin only in association with
macroblade industry, usually made from yellowish flint (silex blond of C. Perls, 1992), whose deposit area
is unknown, but its most probable source is northern Bulgaria.
Some layers in which macroblade industry appears in aceramic context have been signaled from lowest
layers of Thessalian tells, but whether ceramics in these layers was indeed initially absent is questionable. The
only site where macroblade industry is present without overlying Ceramic Neolithic layers is Dendra in Argolid
(Protonotariou-Deilaki, 1992).
The origin of the macroblade industry is one of the most puzzling questions of the Balkan Pottery Neo-
lithic. This technology is unknown in western Anatolia; the nearest analogies are in the late phase of the PPN
on Cyprus (for ex. in Khirokhitia), but the probable diffusion of macroblade technology, via Aegean islands, is
not confirmed by indisputable Early Neolithic assemblages.
Some macroblades made of silex blond appear in the Early/Middle Neolithic layers in Cyclope Cave on
the Island of Gioura in association with painted pottery of Central Anatolian type (Sampson et al., 1998; Kat-
sraou, 2001), but the dates for these layers are not as early as in Thessaly or Argolid.
Recently macroblade industry from Melian obsidian has been found on the Island of Sykinos in the
Cyclades, but without clear ceramic context (Sampson, pers. comm. 2005). While we cannot find Anatolian
origins for the Early Neolithic macroblade technology, we can easily find analogies for the Early Neo-
lithic white painted pottery from the plains of Thessaly and Argolid in ceramic cultures of south-central
Anatolia.
CONCLUSIONS
To sum up: in the Aegean and Marmara basins we can recognise three different models of the Neolithisa-
tion process (figs.13 and 14):
Fig. 13 - Corre-
lation between
cultural units
in the Western
Ae ge a n a nd
Northwestern
Anatolia.
50
1) Aegean Mesolithic with non local incipient domestication,
2) Aegean Aceramic Neolithic with imported full package of food producing economy developed on the
Epigravettian base (Franchthi phase X; Knossos),
3) Pottery Neolithic of the Marmara basin developed from Epigravettian and Black Sea traditions.
The problem of the formation of the typical western Aegean Neolithic with painted pottery and macroblade
industry is still unsolved.
Acknowledgements
Investigations on the Aegean Mesolithic have been supported by the Polish Ministry of Sciences and Informatization, grant
no. 2H01H03924.
Fig. 14 - Distribution map of the
most important sites mentioned
in the text (with their cultural
attribution).
51
R E F E R E N C E S
Ammerman, A.J. 2003 - Looking back. In Ammerman, A.J. and Biagi, P. (eds.) The Widening Harvest.The Neolithic Transition in Europe:
Looking Back, Looking Forward. Archaeological Institute of America. Colloquia and Conference Papers, 6: 3-26. Boston.
Ammerman, A.J.and Cavalli-Sforza, L. 1989 - The Neolithic transition and the genetics of populations in Europe. Princeton University
Press, Princeton.
Ducos, P. 2003 - La faune de Khirokitia (Chypre) et la diffusion des predomestications proche-orientales vers la mediterranee occidentale.
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Authors Address:
JANUSZ K. KOZOWSKI, Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University, ul. Goebia 11 PL - 31007 KRAKW
e-mail: kozlowsk@argo.hist.uj.edu.pl
53
CLIVE BONSALL
*
WHEN WAS THE NEOLITHIC TRANSITION IN THE IRON GATES?
SUMMARY - When was the Neolithic transition in the Iron Gates? This paper examines the evidence relating to the timing of the
Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the Iron Gates on the border between Romania and Serbia. The available data suggest that farming,
pottery manufacturing and agriculture were introduced throughout the region within a narrow time window around 6000 cal BC, and
there was no signifcant delay in the appearance of agriculture in the Iron Gates gorge relative to neighbouring areas of the Danube basin
as some previous authors have supposed.
RIASSUNTO - Quando ha avuto luogo la transizione dal Mesolitico al Neolitico nella regione delle Porte di Ferro? Il presente lavoro
riguarda il periodo di transizione dal Mesolitico al Neolitico alle Porte di Ferro, al confne fra Romania e Serbia. I dati disponibili pro-
pendono a far ritenere che lallevamento, la produzione ceramica e lagricoltura furono introdotti nella regione in un periodo piuttosto
breve, intorno a 6000 cal BC, e che non vi sia stato nessun ritardo signifcativo nella comparsa delleconomia agricola della regione
rispetto a quelle circostanti il corso del Danubio, come altri autori avevano sostenuto in precedenza.
INTRODUCTION
Research in the Iron Gates since the 1960s has established a long sequence of Stone Age sites ranging
in age between c. 13,000 and 5500 cal BC, making this a key area within southeast Europe for studying the
Mesolithic-Neolithic transition.
Opinions on the timing of the transition have varied widely. At one extreme is the suggestion by Srejovi
(1972) that the Early Neolithic Starevo Culture had its origins in the Iron Gates around 6400 cal BC; at the
other is the belief that the Iron Gates remained a refuge for Mesolithic hunter-gatherers for hundreds of years
after the appearance of Neolithic communities in the surrounding areas of the central and northern Balkans (e.g.
Radovanovi and Voytek, 1997).
Disagreements over terminology have tended to complicate the debate. For many archaeologists the
Iron Gates Neolithic is defined by the local presence of agriculture, and this is the definition adopted
in this paper. Others define the term differently; Bori et al. (2004), for example, begin the Neolithic
at the first appearance of pottery in the Iron Gates, which, they believe, predated the introduction of
agriculture.
Equally, the term Iron Gates has acquired several different meanings (Bonsall et al., 1997). In this pa-
per, the term is used to refer to the 230 km-long section of the Danube Valley where the river forms the border
between Romania and Serbia (fg. 1).
Thus it includes the Iron Gates gorge - really a system of gorges cut through the southern Carpathian
Mountains
1
- and the more open landscape downstream where the Danube is fanked by a broad alluvial plain
consisting of several river terraces.
Over thirty cave and open-air sites with evidence of Mesolithic and/or Early Neolithic occupation are
known along this stretch of the Danube. In spite of the differences in topography and river regime between
the gorge and the downstream area, archaeologically they have many features in common.
Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 53-66

* School of History, Classics, and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, UK

1
Some authors use the term Danube gorges. However, this invites confusion with the gorges on the Upper Danube between Regens-
burg and Ingolstadt in Germany. The sharp turn of the Danube toward the south in northern Hungary is also referred to as the Danube
Bend gorge.
54
Four fundamental questions will be considered in this paper:
1) When did farming begin in the Iron Gates, and was this signifcantly later than in the neighbouring re-
gions?
2) Did the Neolithic begin later in the gorge than in the area downstream?
3) How long were the Mesolithic inhabitants of the Iron Gates gorge in contact with farmers before turning
to farming themselves?
4) As a result of contact, did the Mesolithic inhabitants of the Iron Gates adopt some elements of the Neolithic
package, such as pottery, before they made the economic transition to farming?
WHEN DID FARMING BEGIN IN THE IRON GATES?
Schela Cladovei
In the downstream area, the clearest indication so far of the timing of the transition to farming comes from
the site of Schela Cladovei in Romania (Bonsall et al., 1996; 1997; 2000; 2002a; Boronean et al., 1999;
Bartosiewicz et al., 2001; Cook et al., 2001; 2002; Bonsall, 2003; in press). Judging from the radiocarbon
evidence (fg. 2), this site was occupied in the Late Mesolithic between c. 7100 and 6300 cal BC, then abandoned
for several centuries, and reoccupied c. 6000 cal BC.
It is clear that the reoccupation of Schela Cladovei was by people with a Neolithic culture and economy.
Livestock keeping is indicated by abundant remains of domestic cattle, pigs and sheep/goats, although
hunting and fishing still contributed to the economy. There were clear changes in material culture and
technology, reflected in the appearance of pottery, ground stone artefacts, and new forms of bone tools.
There are traces of buildings with a rectangular ground plan contrasting with the trapezoidal structures
of the Late Mesolithic, as well as evidence for the acquisition through exchange of obsidian and high-
quality Balkan flint. So far, no burials dating to this period have been identified at Schela Cladovei, but
the presence of crouched inhumations in Early Neolithic contexts at Velesnica (Vasi, in press) and Ue
Kamenikog potoka (Stankovi, 1986) also in the downstream area, suggests the changes seen in material
culture and economy at Schela Cladovei were accompanied by a change in mortuary practice.
Fig. 1 - Principal Mesolithic and Early Neolithic sites in the Iron Gates.
55
These new elements can all be paralleled in early farming
settlements of the Starevo-Krs-Cri complex, which by 6000
cal BC occupied a large area of south-east and central Europe
surrounding the Iron Gates. On this evidence, therefore, the
downstream area of the Iron Gates had been assimilated into
the Starevo-Krs-Cri complex and farming was underway
there by 6000 cal BC.
Was agriculture present in the downstream area before
6000 cal BC?
The gap in the radiocarbon sequence at Schela Cladovei
between the Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic occupations
leaves open the possibility that the Neolithic began in the
downstream area before 6000 cal BC. However, other evidence
argues against this.
The origins and spread of agriculture in southeast Europe
are not known in great detail and remain a source of much
debate. Neolithic settlements were established in Thessaly
and around the Marmara Sea by 6300 cal BC (Perls, 2001;
zdoan, 2005; Thissen, 2005; 2006; Gatsov, 2007) and most
scholars accept that farming spread from this general region
through the Balkan Peninsula taking advantage of alluvial soils
in the major river valleys. Radiocarbon dates from Blagotin
in Serbia (Whittle et al., 2002) indicate that by 6200 cal BC
farming had reached at least as far north as the West Morava
River catchment, within 125 km of the Danube. On this evidence
farming advanced over a straight-line distance of 500 km in
perhaps as little as a hundred years. At the same rate of spread,
the agricultural frontier could be expected to have reached the
Danube after just a few generations more.
Yet, agricultural settlements are not found in the valleys of the Danube and its northern tributaries for a
further 150-200 years. The earliest
14
C dates for Early Neolithic (Starevo-Krs) settlements on the Pannonian
Plain (Whittle et al., 2002) are no older than the date of the appearance of agriculture at Schela Cladovei. The
same applies to the frst Neolithic (Pre-Cri or Cri I) settlements in Romania north of the Danube, which
lie along tributaries of the Danube or the Tisza (itself a major left bank tributary of the Danube). Calibrated
14
C
ages for these sites cluster around 6000 cal BC (Biagi et al., 2005) and are thus statistically indistinguishable
from the earliest dates for Neolithic activity on the Pannonian Plain and at Schela Cladovei.
One interpretation of the radiocarbon evidence is that the spread of agriculture through the Balkan Peninsula
came to a standstill c. 6200 cal BC to the south of the Danube, and a new phase of expansion began c. 6000 cal
BC when agriculture spread rapidly along the Danube and its tributaries in northeast Serbia, southeast Hungary
and Romania. Thus the earliest Neolithic occupation at Schela Cladovei may have occurred around the time of
the frst appearance of agriculture in the downstream area of the Iron Gates.
Why was there a delay in the appearance of Neolithic settlements in the Danube Valley?
The gap in the radiocarbon sequence at Schela Cladovei between c. 6300-6000 cal BC has been linked to
the major climatic cooling phase known as the 8.2 ka cold event (Bonsall et al., 2002a). This was the most
extreme cold oscillation of the Holocene and is thought to have been triggered by a surge of fresh water into
the North Atlantic from the melting Laurentide ice sheet (Barber et al., 1999). Land areas around the North
Atlantic, including Europe, experienced signifcant climatic cooling over 3-400 years; mean annual tempera-
tures during the 8.2 ka event were 2-3 C cooler than before or after the event, and some regions experienced
more pronounced cooling in winter. The 8.2 ka event appears to have been accompanied by an abrupt change
Fig. 2 - Radiocarbon mean ages for Schela Cladovei,
Romania (after Bonsall et al., 2002).
56
in atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns, which at the regional level was refected in changes in precipi-
tation patterns. Between 6300 and 6000 cal BC the middle latitudes of Europe between 43 and 50 N were
characterized by a wetter climate, whereas the regions to the north and south experienced drier climatic condi-
tions (fg. 3; Magny et al., 2003).
Fig. 3 - Hydrological conditions during the 8.2 ka cold event. Shaded area: mid-European zone with wetter conditions. Reference sites
with positive (+) and negative (-) water budget during the 8.2 ka event (adapted from Magny et al., 2003).
During this period river systems across middle Europe experienced marked increases in the frequency and
magnitude of foods. Bonsall et al. (2002a) have suggested that frequent, large-scale and unpredictable foods
would have been a deterrent to farming of valley bottoms and may have excluded large areas from the possibil-
ity of cultivation and stockraising - and this explains the apparent delay in the appearance of Early Neolithic
settlements on the foodplains of the Danube and its northern tributaries.
Flooding did not just affect the agricultural potential of these areas. It would also have infuenced the use
of riverine environments by Mesolithic foragers, not least decisions about where to locate their settlements.
Many of the Iron Gates sites are just a few metres above the pre-dam level of the Danube and so would have
been vulnerable to big foods, just as they were to the man-made foods that resulted from construction of the
Iron Gates I and II dams - many sites were only discovered because these low-lying areas along the river were
specifcally targeted in archaeological surveys undertaken ahead of dam construction.
There is evidence to suggest that many riverbank sites ceased to be occupied on a regular basis between
6300 and 6000 cal BC. The radiocarbon gap at Schela Cladovei is more or less repeated at Vlasac in the Iron
Gates gorge - in fact very few sites in the Iron Gates region have
14
C mean ages in this 300-year period (fg. 4a).
This does not mean that the Iron Gates was abandoned as a resource area. The most parsimonious explanation
of the radiocarbon evidence is that, faced with an increased threat from fooding, people chose to relocate their
settlements onto higher ground above the river - and, critically, outside the zone that was surveyed archaeologi-
cally in the 1960s and 1980s.
57
DID THE NEOLITHIC BEGIN LATER IN THE
GORGE?
Because of the generally mountainous terrain it
tends to be assumed that the gorge had little to offer early
farmers, and this has helped to promote the idea that the
Mesolithic hunting and gathering lifestyle persisted in
this part of the Iron Gates for centuries after agriculture
became established in the lowland plains on either side
of the southern Carpathian Mountains. However, as R.
Dennell (1983: 117) observed, between the individual
canyon-like sections of the gorge there are enclosed
basins that today afford good grazing and arable land,
and tributary valleys that provide both easy access to the
hinterland and contain fertile alluvial soils.
Lepenski Vir
Central to the debate over the timing of the Neolithic
transition in the Iron Gates gorge is Lepenski Vir.
Srejovis elaborate stratigraphic sequence - Proto-
Lepenski Vir, Lepenski Vir Ia-e, Lepenski Vir II, and
Lepenski Vir IIIa-b - is gradually being replaced by a
14
C-based chronology (Bonsall et al., 1997; 2004; in
preparation). The radiocarbon evidence shows sporadic
activity at Lepenski Vir more or less throughout the
Holocene, but the period of most intensive use was
between 6300 and 5700 cal BC (fg. 4b). To this period
belong the famous stone sculptures and plaster-foored
trapezoidal buildings, and (probably) the majority of
the 130+ burials from the site. This was also the period
when farming became established in all the regions surrounding the Iron Gates gorge. Moreover, Lepenski
Vir is the only site in the entire Iron Gates region, which can be shown to have been in regular use during the
critical phase between 6300-6000 cal BC when the agricultural frontier moved from the central Balkans into
the Danube Basin.
Why Lepenski Vir remained in use during this 300-year period (corresponding to the 8.2 ka cold event)
when other sites along the Danube appear to have been largely abandoned is a matter for conjecture, although
its unique features - plaster foors, fgural sculptures and sub-foor burials - suggest it was more sacred site than
settlement (for a discussion, see Bonsall et al., 2002a).
When did pottery appear at Lepenski Vir?
During the excavation of Lepenski Vir fragments of Starevo pottery, and occasionally whole pots, were found
on the foors of some of the trapezoidal buildings.
2
Srejovi (1969; 1972) assigned the trapezoidal buildings to his LV
I and II phases (Late Mesolithic) and dismissed the pottery as derived from a later LV III (Early Neolithic) occupa-
tion. This view was contested by Jovanovi (1969) on the basis of his excavation at Padina where trapezoidal build-
ings and Starevo pottery were, apparently, unambiguously associated. Subsequently, Garaanin and Radovanovi
(2001) and Bori (2002) have shown that at least some of the pottery was in situ on the foors of the buildings at
Lepenski Vir, thereby effectively demolishing Srejovis LV I-III sequence. Thus, many authors (e.g. Jovanovi, 1969;
Tringham, 2000; Bori et al., 2004) now believe that the Starevo pottery and trapezoidal buildings at Lepenski Vir
are contemporaneous and, therefore, pottery came into use there around 6300 cal BC.
Fig. 4 - The radiocarbon gap in the Iron Gates: a. Calibrated
(median probability) ages per 100-year period between 5500 and
7700 cal BC from Hajduka Vodenica, Icoana, Ostrovu Banului,
Ostrovu Corbului, Padina, Rzvrata, Schela Cladovei, and Vla-
sac; b. Calibrated (median probability) ages per 100-year period
between 5500 and 7700 cal BC from Lepenski Vir (adapted from
Bonsall, in press).

2
According to Srejovi (1969: 153) pottery was found in 15 of the trapezoidal buildings of Lepenski Vir: houses 1, 4, 15, 16, 19,
20, 24, 26, 28, 32, 35, 37, 46, 47 and 54.
58
However, analysis of the radiocarbon and stratigraphic evidence from Lepenski Vir suggests a more com-
plex situation. Approximate absolute ages can be assigned to some of the buildings at Lepenski Vir based on
the
14
C ages of associated charcoal samples or the stratigraphic relationship of a building to another radiocarbon
dated building or burial. In Table 1 the dated buildings are arranged in their approximate order of age (a strict
seriation is not possible) and the presence of pottery, stone sculptures, and A-features is indicated. The pattern
is quite striking - the buildings containing Starevo pottery fall late in the sequence, the earliest securely dated
occurrence having a
14
C age of 708373 uncal BP (c. 5950 cal BC).
On this evidence, it is reasonable to divide the period from 6300 to 5500 cal BC at Lepenski Vir into an
aceramic phase characterized by plaster-foored buildings and stone sculptures, and a ceramic phase begin-
ning c. 6000 cal BC when Starevo pottery became an important component of the cultural inventory.
3
Interest-
ingly, the appearance of A-features beside hearths, which I. Radovanovi (1996) regarded as a relatively late
architectural development at Lepenski Vir, also coincides with the ceramic phase.
Conversely, Bori and Miracle (2004) have attempted to show that trapezoidal buildings with pottery
and A-features beside hearths began to be constructed at Padina before 6000 cal BC. However, their argument
effectively rests on AMS
14
C dating of bone samples that were not demonstrably in a primary context.
New burial practices
At about the same time that pottery frst appeared at Lepenski Vir, a change in burial practice is also evi-
dent. The traditional Mesolithic burial rite of extended supine inhumation was replaced by crouched inhuma-
tion characteristic of the Early Neolithic Starevo Culture. The latest (reservoir corrected)
14
C date for a burial
in the Mesolithic tradition is 713375 uncal BP (c. 6010 cal BC), while the earliest date for a Neolithic-type
burial is 703695 uncal BP (c. 5950 cal BC) (Bonsall et al., in preparation). Thus, the radiocarbon evidence
suggests that two key Neolithic traits - pottery and crouched inhumation - appeared in the Iron Gates gorge at
approximately the same time (c. 6000 cal BC) as they did at sites in the downstream area and other parts of the
Danube Basin in Hungary and Romania.
Of course, this still leaves open the possibility that the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers of the Iron Gates gorge
adopted only these elements of the Neolithic package, whilst continuing to rely on wild animal and plant
resources for their food supply, just as they continued to construct trapezoidal buildings at Lepenski Vir and
Padina and place carved boulders inside the buildings of Lepenski Vir.
When did farming begin in the Iron Gates gorge?
Bones of domestic livestock (cattle, pig and sheep/goat) were found at Lepenski Vir and other sites in the
gorge in contexts which also produced Starevo ceramics (Lepenski Vir III, Padina B, Hajduka Vodenica
II) which suggests the livestock remains and the pottery are contemporaneous. In all cases, however, it seems
the bones of livestock are far outnumbered by the remains of wild animals and fsh (e.g. Bknyi, 1972; Clason,
1980; Greenfield, forthcoming).
4

The dating of the livestock remains at Lepenski Vir is especially problematic. Neither Bknyi (1972) nor
Dimitrijevi (2000; in press) have reported bones of domestic animals other than dogs from the trapezoidal
buildings, and since Garaanin and Radovanovi (2001) and Bori (2002) have effectively reassigned the
features originally attributed to Lepenski Vir III to the same period as the trapezoidal buildings (LV I-II), it
is now not clear how the livestock remains relate to the architectural features on the site.
Several possibilities exist. One is that the remains of domestic livestock were contemporaneous with the
later (ceramic) buildings at Lepenski Vir but, since they form only a small proportion of the overall faunal
assemblage, were absent by chance. Statistically, this seems unlikely.
5
Another possibility is that they were

3
This is similar to the position taken up by Radovanovi (1996), although she placed the beginning of the ceramic phase between 6500
and 6000 cal BC.
4
Comparison of the bone counts from fish and large mammals is possibly misleading, owing to the differing numbers of skeletal ele-
ments per individual and differing degrees of preservation, recovery and identification.
5
Of the 3001 animal bone finds from Lepenski Vir analysed by Bknyi (1972), 464 (15.5%) were from domestic livestock (cattle, pig, and
sheep/goat), 184 (6.1%) from dog, and 1638 (54.6%) from terrestrial wild animals. The rest were mostly from fish and some from birds.
59
deliberately excluded from the buildings. Bknyi (1972) and Dimitrijevi (2000; in press) have argued convinc-
ingly that parts of animal carcasses were intentionally deposited inside certain buildings as symbolic, or even
sacrifcial, acts. It is conceivable that this activity only involved wild animals and dogs, and never domestic
livestock which were always deposited outside the buildings. A third possibility is that the domestic livestock
remains at Lepenski Vir postdate the introduction of Starevo ceramics - that is, the contexts containing both
pottery and domestic animal remains belong to a later phase than the trapezoidal buildings with pottery.
Realistically, however, the only way of determining the chronological relationship between the domestic
animal remains from Lepenski Vir and the Starevo pottery and crouched burials from the site would be through
direct AMS
14
C dating of the animal bones and, ideally, the pottery (cf. Bonsall et al., 2002b).
The persistence of Mesolithic traditions represented by stone sculptures and trapezoidal buildings into the
period after 6000 cal BC, and the preponderance of wild over domestic animal remains in contexts that contain
Starevo ceramics have led some authors to conclude that the presence of pottery and bones of livestock was
the result of trade or exchange with neighbouring farmers, consistent with their view that the inhabitants of the
Iron Gates gorge remained hunter-gatherers for a considerable time after a Neolithic economy based on cereal
cultivation and stockraising had been established in the surrounding areas (e.g. Clason, 1980; Voytek and
Tringham, 1989; Radovanovi, 1996; Radovanovi and Voytek, 1997; Zvelebil and Lillie, 2000).
However, evidence from bone chemistry studies contradicts this hypothesis. Carbon and nitrogen isotope
ratios in human bone collagen can be used to make inferences about the diet, and hence the economy, of a com-
munity. Two distinct types of diet are represented among the people who were buried at Lepenski Vir between
6300 and 5500 cal BC. Burials dated between 6300 and 6000 cal BC typically show very high levels of
15
N and
13
C (fg. 5) suggesting diets that were heavily dependent on riverine food sources, especially fsh (Bonsall et
al., 2004). A similar dietary pattern is found throughout the Mesolithic in the Iron Gates although, interestingly,
the median
15
N value for the 6300-6000 cal BC time-range is higher than at any time previously, which may
indicate an even greater reliance on the aquatic food web during this phase (Bonsall, in press). After 6000 cal
BC the situation changed dramatically. All the burials from Lepenski Vir dated between 6000-5500 cal BC
exhibit signifcantly lower collagen
15
N values. Median
15
N for this period is only 10.8, with a range from
9.8 to 12.6. Such values suggest that people still regularly consumed fsh, but the intake of protein from ter-
restrial sources had increased substantially.
The stable isotope data do not indicate whether the terrestrial protein sources were wild or domesticated.
However, it is difficult to imagine the Mesolithic foragers in Iron Gates gorge suddenly changing the focus of
their economy from fishing to hunting and gathering of wild land mammals and plants. It is much more likely
that the dietary shift reflected in the stable isotope data signals the adoption of farming and/or animal herding.
This view is strengthened by the fact that the change in diet broadly coincides with the change in mortuary
practice and the appearance of ceramic technology discussed above.
Why are the bones of domestic livestock so scarce?
If the dietary shift c. 6000 cal BC refected in the human remains from Lepenski Vir does represent the
transition to farming in the Iron Gates gorge, why then are the bones of domestic livestock so scarce in early
ceramic contexts at the riverbank sites along the gorge?
Many of these sites are located on narrow alluvial benches below steep valley side slopes, with ac-
cess to good fshing but not it would seem ideally situated for an economy based on cultivation and/or
animal keeping. It may be that once agriculture was established in the gorge area, sites such as Hajduka
Vodenica, Padina and Vlasac ceased to be used as primary residential sites, and became seasonal fshing
camps maintained perhaps to take advantage of the sturgeon migrations in late spring/early summer and
autumn (Bonsall, in press). This would explain not only the relatively low frequencies of bones from
domestic animals, but also the much smaller numbers of burials from the period after 6000 cal BC, com-
pared to earlier occupation phases.
CONTACTS WITH FARMERS?
It was suggested above that the agricultural frontier had reached to within 125 km of the Iron Gates by c.
6200 cal BC, and it may have been closer (Bonsall, in press). This raises the possibility of contacts between the
60
hunter-gatherers of the Iron Gates and farmers to the south for a signifcant amount of time before agriculture
was eventually established in the Danube Basin c. 6000 cal BC.
For how long before farming became established in the Iron Gates c. 6000 cal BC were the Mesolithic
inhabitants of the region in contact with farmers? Several lines of evidence, potentially, have a bearing on this
question.
Lime plaster pyrotechnology
The appearance of lime plaster foors at Lepenski Vir c. 6300 cal BC might be construed as evidence of
contact with farmers, since there is no earlier evidence for the use of lime plaster in the Iron Gates, and lime
plaster has not been recorded from Mesolithic contexts elsewhere in Europe.
The earliest known instance of lime plaster pyrotechnology is dated to c. 12,000 cal BC at Hayonim Cave
in Israel, although foors made of lime plaster are not recorded in the Middle East until the PPNB phase, c.
8800-6900 cal BC (Gourdin and Kingery, 1975; Kingery et al., 1988; Thomas, 2005).
John Nandris referred to the use of lime plaster as a Neolithic mode of behaviour (Nandris, 1988), and
it is tempting to assume that the technology spread from the Near East into Europe along with agriculture. The
diffculty with this hypothesis is that, although plastered foors have been reported from Early Neolithic con-
texts in Greece, the earliest known examples (from Achilleion Ib: Winn and Shimabuku, 1989; Perls, 2001)
6
are not demonstrably older than those at Lepenski Vir and, as far as the present author is aware, there are no
Early Neolithic buildings with lime plaster foors between Greece and the Danube that would indicate a spread
through the Balkans with agriculture.
Therefore, it is far from being certain that the appearance of lime plaster pyrotechnology at Lepenski Vir
c. 6300 cal BC was inspired by contact with farmers. On present evidence an independent invention in the Iron
Gates, or a transfer of the technology from the Near East to Europe before the Neolithic, are equally plausible
hypotheses.
Burials of newborn children within houses
An unusual feature of Lepenski Vir highlighted by Bori and Stefanovi (2004) is the occurrence of burials
of neonates beneath the foors of some of the trapezoidal buildings. Since this practice is not clearly represented
in earlier Mesolithic contexts at neighbouring Vlasac, but is known from Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic sites
in the East Mediterranean, Bori and Stefanovi have implied that it spread with farming from the Near East
to southeast Europe, and thus refects contact between the Lepenski Vir community and nearby farmers in the
period between c. 6300 and 6000 cal BC.
However, none of the infant burials from Lepenski Vir has been
14
C dated and so it is not certain that
they all belong to the time-range from 6300 to 6000 cal BC. Moreover the lack of Mesolithic house remains
in southeast Europe outside the Iron Gates means we cannot be sure that the practice of burying infants under
house foors was not practised by indigenous hunter-gatherers before the arrival of farming (negative evidence
of taphonomically vulnerable remains of infants should, in general, be treated cautiously). As with the lime
plaster foors, it may be that the presence of sub-foor burials at Lepenski Vir and their (apparent) absence from
Late Mesolithic Vlasac and Early Neolithic Padina is simply a refection of the special signifcance of Lepenski
Vir for the Final Mesolithic inhabitants of the region, and not a marker of culture change (table 1).
Stable isotopes
Arguably, the strongest evidence for the presence of farmers close to the Iron Gates in the centuries before
6000 cal BC is provided by bone chemistry analyses. As previously discussed, stable isotope data suggest that
the people buried at Lepenski Vir between 6300-6000 cal BC generally had diets that were very high in aquatic
protein. However, three adults from this period show diets that were unusually high in terrestrial protein, simi-

6
The plastered floors at Achilleion were not described in detail, and so it is not clear how the technique compares with that used at
Lepenski Vir.
61
Table 1 - Seriation of plaster-foored buildings at Lepenski Vir and occurrence of pottery, A-features and stone sculptures. The dates
assigned to individual buildings are either the
14
C ages of associated charcoal samples, or based on the stratigraphic relationship of a
building to another radiocarbon-dated building or burial.
14
C ages with one-sigma errors of greater than 100 yr have been excluded
from the analysis. * mean of two or more
14
C ages. Data from Quitta (1975) and Bonsall et al. (in press).
62
lar to those, characteristic of the period after 6000 cal BC (fg. 5). All three had been accorded the traditional
Mesolithic burial rite of extended supine inhumation.
One explanation is that these three individuals had spent a signifcant portion of their lives among a farm-
ing population; they may have originated from that population and moved into the Lepenski Vir community.
The ages of the three skeletons cannot be determined precisely, because of the
14
C date uncertainties and the
existence of an age plateau on the calibration curve around that time. Calibrations of the reservoir-corrected
14
C ages yield calibrated 2 age ranges of 350-370 years (fg. 6). Thus, although these burials are very prob-
ably older than 6000 cal BC, by how much is uncertain. Other interpretations of the stable isotope data may
be suggested, based on either the imprecision of radiocarbon dating or the possibility of earlier false starts
to agriculture in the Iron Gates region (for discussion, see Bonsall et al., 2004). Whichever of the hypotheses
discussed by Bonsall et al. (2004) is preferred, they all suggest that the Lepenski Vir population had at least
knowledge of agriculture and, by implication, contacts with farmers for a time prior to 6000 cal BC. If so, it is
possible that some Neolithic elements such as pottery, ground stone tools and Balkan fint began to infltrate
the Iron Gates gorge, perhaps initially through exchange, prior to 6000 cal BC and before the adoption of new
burial practices.
Fig. 6 - Probability distributions of calibrated age ranges of three Final Mesolithic skeletons from Lepenski Vir with stable isotope
signatures that are atypical for the 6300-6000 cal BC time-range.
14
C data from Bonsall et al. (in press). Dates have been calibrated
using the INTCAL04 data set (Reimer et al., 2004) and OxCal v. 3.10 (Bronk Ramsey, 2005).
Fig. 5 - Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values for Final Mesolithic (6300-6000 cal BC) skeletons from Lepenski Vir plotted against
the Iron Gates Late Mesolithic (7200-6300 cal BC) and Early Neolithic (6000-5500 cal BC) ranges (adapted from Bonsall, in press).
63
CONCLUSIONS

The foregoing discussion of the timing of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the Iron Gates has reached
four principal conclusions:
1) Farming began in the Iron Gates at approximately the same time, c. 6000 cal BC, as in other parts of the
Danube Basin.
2) There is no evidence that the Neolithic began signifcantly later within the Iron Gates gorge than in the area
downstream between the Iron Gates I and II dams.
3) It is likely that the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers of the Iron Gates gorge were in contact with farmers (to the
south of the Danube) before 6000 cal BC, but whether years, decades or centuries earlier is not clear on
present evidence.
4) Although it may be premature to suggest that the Neolithic arrived in the Iron Gates as a package, the
available evidence suggests that farming, pottery manufacturing and new burial practices appeared dur-
ing a narrow time window and there is no evidence that the introduction of agriculture was signifcantly
delayed relative to other Neolithic traits. This does not mean that the Iron Gates Neolithic was the result of
colonization. The continuation of Mesolithic traditions after 6000 cal BC, refected in the stone sculptures
and trapezoidal buildings of Lepenski Vir, strongly suggests that the transition in the gorge at least was
achieved largely through the adoption of new practices by the indigenous hunter-gatherer population.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Krum Bvarov, Lszl Bartosiewicz, Paolo Biagi, Dan Ciobotaru, Ivan Gatsov, Sabin Luca, Mehmet
zdoan, Catriona Pickard, Ivana Radovanovi, Michela Spataro, and Georgia Stratouli for their help in the preparation of this paper.
64
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Authors Address:
CLIVE BONSALL, Department of Archaeology, School of History, Classics, and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, Old High
School, Infirmary Street UK - Edinburgh EH1 1LT
e-mail: C.Bonsall@ed.ac.uk
67
FLORIN DRAOVEAN*
REGIONAL ASPECTS IN THE PROCESS OF NEOLITHISATION
OF THE BANAT (SOUTH-WESTERN ROMANIA):
THE SETTLEMENT OF FOENI-SLA
SUMMARY- Regional aspects in the process of Neolithisation of the Banat (south-western Romania): the settlement of Foeni-Sla.
This paper considers the Neolithisation of the Banat, an environmentally and morphologically variegated region, which can be subdivided
into three main different territories, on the basis of the results obtained from the excavations carried out at the plain site of Foeni-Sla.
The settlement belongs to the frst phase of diffusion of the Early Neolithic Cri Culture, which both the radiocarbon dates and the
material culture remains attribute to the last two centuries of the 8
th
millennium uncal BP.
RIASSUNTO - Aspetti regionali del processo di neolitizzazione del Banat (Romania sudoccidentale): linsediamento di Foeni-Sla.
Il presente lavoro riguarda la neolitizzazione del Banat, una regione complessa da un punto di vista della sua geomorfologia molto ar-
ticolata che pu essere suddivisa in tre differenti regioni, vista in base ai risultati degli scavi condotti nel sito di pianura Foeni-Sla. Il
sito, che in base ai reperti della cultura materiale e le datazioni radiocarboniche ottenute, uno dei pi antichi della regione, appartiene
alla prima fase di espansione della Cultura di Cri, avvenuta negli ultimi due secoli dellottavo millennio uncal BP in questa regione
della Penisola Balcanica
INTRODUCTION
The neolithisation of the southeast European area was a historical process of outstanding complexity that
unfolded gradually and discontinuously over time and space. This triggered or brought about radical changes
of mans subsistence strategies through the taming of animals and cultivation of plants, the change of the
habitation type through the gradual adjustment to the sedentary life style, and the change of magical-religious
beliefs through the adoption of a new philosophical system and system of values.
GEOGRAPHIC POSITION AND ETHNOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE BANAT
Within this geographic frame of southeast Europe, over its entire history, due to its geographic position
between the east and the centre of the continent, the Banat has played a distinctive and particular role, and
namely that of passing down and synthesising the infuences from different parts of the continent. Bounded to
the east by the western range of the Carpathian Mountains, to the south by the Danube, to the west by the River
Tisza and to the north by the river Mure (fg. 1), the Banat has played the role of a meeting point between the
south-east of the continent and the centre of it, by carrying infuences coming along the Danube Valley and the
valleys of its tributaries.
The Banat geographic frame may be divided into three distinct areas, which, after many thousands of years,
still make up clearly cut ethnological entities. First of all, in the south-eastern and eastern part of the region
lies the mountain area that is characterised from the ethnological point of view by a relatively homogenous
pastoral population that, despite the frequent movement of focks which would enable the population to set up
connections to other areas, rarely undergoes infuences from other communities and that has retained its cultural
and ethnic identity over the entire modern age (Gaga, 2004: 9-35). This remark holds good also for prehistory
Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 67-76

* Muzeul Banatului, Timioara, Romania

68
in which it that all human communities that settled down there evolved independently of other contemporary
civilisations that lived in or advanced into the area along the rivers valleys (Kalmar et al., 1987).
The second area is made up by the Danube gorge, an ethnographically conservative and autarchic area,
although it is dissected by one of the most important waterways of Europe, the Danube. Along the gorge at
present there are relatively compact communities of Romanians, Serbians and Czechs who maintain their ethnic
identities, despite having undergone mutual infuences.
The third area, the largest, is represented by the western part of the Banat spreading over a low plain crossed
by the main rivers Timi and Bega, an area with fertile land and a temperate continental climate with Mediter-
ranean, which have made for optimal living conditions since time immemorial (Zvoianu and Ardelean, 1979).
Unlike the other two areas, from an ethnological point of view the area has a multicultural aspect typifed by
constant interactions, but also by phenomena of acculturation and even of loss of cultural identity.
I have intended to specify these things in the introduction in order to underline the relative consistency
over time of the development of historical phenomena in the Banat within the frame of geographic determinism
which plays a special role in the evolution of human communities here and to underline the differences which
may be spotted among these three areas since the dawn of civilisation.
MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEOLITHISATION PROCESS OF THE THREE BANAT AREAS
The three areas contributed differently to the process of Neolithisation of the Banat. If the mountain area
from the eastern Banat was not involved in this cultural phenomenon, a geographically and culturally distinct
Fig. 1 - Distribution map of the Earliest Neolithic sites in the Banat: 1) Foeni-Sla, 2) Foeni-Gaz, 3) Timioara-Fratelia, 4) Dumbrvia,
5) Biled, 6) Unip, 7) Rszke-Ludvar, 8) Dubova-Cuina Turcului, 9) Gornea-Locurile Lungi.
69
entity was made up by the Danubes gorges or Iron Gates. Research carried out over the last four decades has
led to the uncovering of numerous Mesolithic/Epipalaeolithic and Early Neolithic sites. Of these undoubtedly
the best-known and discussed site is Lepenski Vir (Srejovi, 1969; 1979; Radovanovi, 1996a; 1996b; 2006;
Bori, 1999). On this site research carried out in the 1960s led to the discovery of trapezoidal huts, which the
discoverer classifed into three phases of site evolution, the frst two falling in the Mesolithic (I and II) and the
third in the Early Neolithic period (III) (Srejovi, 1979). If at the time of publication, few questioned Srejovis
interpretation, as other sites from the Iron Gates were investigated it became clearer and clearer that the pottery
found in the levels and complexes of Lepenski Vir I II did not represent later intrusions into the Mesolithic
layer, as the discoverer had claimed, but they are organically part of the cultural content of the levels in question
(Jovanovi, 1987; Garaanin and Radovanovi, 2001; Radovanovi, 2006). These observations are borne out
by a number of interdisciplinary analyses of archeozoological, archaeobotanical, and anthropological nature
carried out on stone implements, which have prompted the idea that in this area the Epipalaeolithic communities
survived and lived alongside with the newcomers who were to infuence them remarkably. These are pointed
out by alterations in diet, whereby the emphasis gradually shifted from nourishment mainly coming from fsh-
ing and hunting to the cultivation of cereals and the raising of animals (Bolomey, 1973; Radovanovi, 1996a;
1996b; 2006; Bonsall et al., 2000; 2004). This process took place in the frst part of the frst half of the 7
th

millennium uncal BP (Whittle et al., 2002; 2005; Biagi et al., 2005), and from a cultural point of view in the
second phase of the Starevo-Cri Culture (Lazarovici, 1983; 1996; 1998; 2006). These have shown that in
this area the autochthonous Mesolithic and Epipalaeolithic communities lasted well into the time of the frst
farmers, the bearers of the Starevo-Cri Culture.
The Neolithisation of the Iron Gates is merely a particular local aspect of the neolithisation process of the
Danube region. Its beginning is determined by the ethno-cultural phenomena, which developed in the Balkans
in the latter half of the 7th millennium cal BC, and gave rise, in the Carpathian Danube area, to the settlements
of Gura Baciului I, Crcea-Hanuri and Grdinile (Nica, 1977), Ocna Sibiului I, Miercurea Sibiului-Petri,
Rszke-Ludvar, Donja Branjevina (Nica, 1977; 1981; Trogmayer, 1989; 2003; Lazarovici and Maxim, 1995;
Paul, 1995; Karmanski, 2005). From the typological point of view, these settlements ft into phase Ia-Ib of the
Starevo-Cri Culture, according to the periodisation of Lazarovici, and they have been attributed to the frst
migration wave of Neolithic communities that reached the Danube region (Lazarovici, 2006). Once they arrived
there, as the geographic distribution of the above-mentioned sites shows, these communities migrated towards
north and west along the valleys of the most important rivers: along the Danube in order to go west, along the
Olt and the Mure in order to get into Transylvania and along the Tisza to get into the Pannonian Plain.
In the Banat Plain, the frst agrarian-pastoral communities identifed so far are those from Foeni-Sla and
Gaz (Greenfield and Draovean, 1994; Ciobotaru, 1998), Unip (Lazarovici et al., 1981), Timioara-Fratelia
(Draovean, 2001), Dumbrvia (Draovean et al., 2004), Biled (Draovean, 1989), Dubova-Cuina Turcului
(Punescu, 1979) and Rszke-Ludvar (Trogmayer, 1989; 2003). All these settlements lie either on the banks of
rivers or along former river courses, proving that these communities settled along the three main rivers of the
Banat Plain: the rivers Timi, Bega and Tisza. Of all these, the most informative, thanks to the research carried
out in the past decade, is the settlement of Foeni-Sla.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FOENI-SLA SITE AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES FOR
THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE NEOLITHISATION PROCESS OF THE WESTERN BANAT
Geographic location
Foeni lies in the southern part of the Banat, in the low Torontal Plain. The Neolithic settlement developed
on a mound of Pleistocene loess deposits lying between the present-day rivers Timi and Bega, on the right-
hand side of a small rivulet, which is now canalised. The plain between the two rivers has an average altitude
of around 80 m, sloping gently downwards towards the south and the west (Zvoianu, 1979: 27). The area in
which the site lies is a low one, rising to a height of only 84 m above sea level, and is crossed by temporary
courses of the river Bega which slope only slightly. The poor drainage of ground and surface water leads to the
formation of bogs. From the study of 18
th
century Austrian maps drawn before the great regularisation works of
the Banat rivers, it appears that on the lower part of the rivers Timi and Bega there was a marshy area which
was fooded by the two rivers at times. The feld studies done within the Foeni archaeological project, as well
as other feld research in the Banat, have shown that all the Early Neolithic sites lie on low terraces along the
70
old riverbeds or on the shores of ponds and on swamp edges. These terraces are high enough to avoid being
fooded by the periodical water level rise of the rivers. This became obvious during the great foods that oc-
curred in the southern Romanian Banat in the spring of 2005, when none of the prehistoric sites and implicitly,
none of the Early Neolithic ones were fooded. The fact that people laid out their settlements in unfoodable
areas shows that, even though they may not have had the sense of danger in the modern currency of the word,
through multi-annual empirical observation carried out in the selfsame area, they noticed the periodical over-
fowing of the rivers and went on to lay out their settlements on the highest places.
Absolute and relative chronology of the site
The systematic archaeological research carried out between 1992 and 1994 by H. Greenfield and the writer,
led to the uncovering of a single habitation level Starevo-Cri site.
The pottery dug up in the layer and in huts is very uniform. From the technological point of view, it was
made of clay found in abundance nearby, or of the geological sediment lying immediately beneath the humus
layer, or from the pond shores or rivers banks (Spataro, 2003). The XRD and SEM-EDS tests have shown that
this clay was blended with organic matter and was burned at 600-650 C, but without exceeding 850 C (Spa-
taro, 2003: 16; 2005). A fact worth noticing is that potters used the same temper regardless of the everyday
or special use category of the pottery, or of their shape, ornament or surface treatment (Spataro, 2005; 2006).
This fact also indicates that raw material was pre-processed to a certain amount and only later on did the potter
decide on the use, and implicitly on the shape and ornament of the pot.
The typical shapes are globular pots and hemispheric dishes covered in a monochrome slip of brownish-red
colour, well-polished, adorned with pinchings and indentures caused by fngernails (fgs. 2-4). In connection
with these there have been discovered decorations made up of painted dots with a white colour against the
brownish-red background of the pot (fg. 5). Based on these elements, we can claim that, from the typologi-
Fig. 2 - Foeni-Sla: monochrome ceramics of the Starevo-Cri
IC phase.
Fig. 3 - Foeni-Sla: monochrome ceramics of the Starevo-Cri
IC phase decorated with pinchings.
Fig. 4 - Foeni-Sla: monochrome ceramics of the Starevo-Cri
IC phase decorated with indentures and grooves.
Fig. 5 - Foeni-Sla: monochrome ceramics of the Starevo-Cri
IC phase with a painted white dots decoration.
71
cal-stylistic viewpoint, the pottery can ft into the same chronological and cultural horizon as the sites of Gura
Baciului I/II, Rszke-Ludvar, Ocna Sibiului I/II, Miercurea Sibiului-Petri, eua and Crcea-Hanuri, more
exactly in the Starevo-Cri Culture, phase IC (Lazarovici, 2006: 116, 138-144).
From the absolute chronology viewpoint, for the settlement Foeni-Sla we have so far seven radiocarbon
dates, which have been obtained from samples of animal bones. Five of these have been sampled and analysed
within the framework of the Romanian-Canadian research project, but only three of these make up a credible
cluster, which places them in the last two centuries of the 8
th
millennium uncal BP (Greenfield, 2006). Two other
samples recently analysed by the Groningen laboratory date to 751060 uncal BP (GrN-28455) and 708050
uncal BP (GrN-28454) (Biagi and Spataro, 2004: 9, 10, 13; Biagi et al., 2005). Despite all these discrepancies,
four of the seven dates cluster in the last two centuries of the 8
th
millennium uncal BP, exactly the period when
the Neolithisation of the central and northern regions of the Balkan peninsula took place. Analysing similar data
from other sites, we fnd that the Foeni dates appear to overlap with those of Gura Baciului I, Ocna Sibiului
I, Miercurea Sibiului, eua, but also with those of other sites as Donja Branjevina, Padina and Lepenski Vir
(Tasi, 1989; Whittle et al., 2002; 2005; Biagi and Spataro, 2004; Ciut, 2005; Lazarovici, 2006), which
belong to the frst wave of Neolithisation of the Danube area. However, unlike the Iron Gates situation, where
we fnd a co-habitation of the autochthonous element with the newcomers, in the northern part of this region
no clear evidence of a Mesolithic presence or infuence has been found.
In the northern part of the Banat, the frst phase of the Starevo-Cri Culture has not been documented.
The earliest Neolithic presence identifed here occurs at Timioara-Fratelia (Draovean, 2001a), Dumbrvia
(Draovean et al., 2004), Biled (Draovean, 1989), Foeni-Gaz and Unip (Lazarovici et al., 1981), which
represents the second wave of migration within Banat, characterised by monochrome cherry-coloured pottery,
globular and conical-shaped pottery, adornments with fnger indentures and thick inlays along the brim of the
truncated-cone-shaped pottery. This horizon has been ftted into phase two of the Starevo-Cri Culture, which
is contemporary to Lepenski Vir IIIa-IIIb (Srejovi, 1969; Lazarovici, 1983; 1998; 2006) from the Iron Gates
area. From the viewpoint of absolute chronology, this new migration wave lies immediately after 7000 uncal
BP (c. 5900 cal BC) (Biagi and Spataro, 2004; Biagi et al., 2005; Lazarovici, 2006).
Mans relationship to the environment
Throughout his biological existence, man has been closely connected to the environment, being infuenced by
it and in turn, infuencing it through his activity (Juhsz, 2004). Within this process, especially in the prehistoric
period, his survival and the quality of his life directly depended on his capacity of adaptation to the environ-
ment and on the intelligence with which man exploited its resources. Within this dual context we consider as
an essential step towards the understanding of human prehistoric society the identifcation of as many features
of the natural environment in which those communities lived (Bnffy, 2004b). However, in the Foeni area as
well as in the entire Banat, we face an absence of pollen data that would enable us to reconstruct the natural
environment of that period. As a consequence, at the moment, we cannot describe the past environment in any
detail, such as whether there were woods in this area or only groups of trees that grew on the riverbanks. In the
concrete case of Foeni, we can fnd out these data only indirectly and partially from the study of economy on
the basis of faunal remains and of the seeds found on location.
At Foeni-Sla the archaeozoological studies (Greenfield and Draovean, 1994: 73-74) have shown the
major part played by the domestic animals within the subsistence strategies of the inhabitants. These indicate
that the economy was dominated by domestic animal, which make up 79% of identifcations. Greenfield (2006
unpublished) found that sheep and goats made up 40% of the total faunal assemblage, followed by the cattle
with 35% and pig with only 4%. We draw attention to the fact that the pig may signifcantly alter the other
data, especially of the small animals, as it is well known that the pig and the dog can eat small bones from a
settlement, like those of the sheep and of goats, of birds etc., thus distorting the statistical sample. Viewed in
proportion to the animal raising, a subsidiary rank is taken up by the hunting and fshing exploitation of wild
resources within the subsistence strategies of the Foeni-Sla community with only 21% of identifcations.
From the hunted animals one notes the red deer (Cervus elaphus), the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and the
aurochs (Bos primigenius), but other animals like the boar, hare and birds were not neglected either (Greenfield,
2006 unpublished).
Besides hunting, fshing and shellfsh gathering made an important contribution, but on a lesser scale to
that in contemporary communities from the Iron Gates. Preliminary archaeozoological studies have shown that
fsh occupies a well-defned place in the diet of Foeni people, ranked ahead of venison, aurochs meat or boar
72
meat, taken separately, among wildlife food resources. Beside fsh, snails provide a representative sample of
the total of aquatic resources used. An impressive quantity of more than 18,000 land snail shells (Helix sp.) has
been excavated in the flls of some abandoned houses. Within the subsistence strategies these animals provided
an important seasonal food resource. The prevailing exploitation of aquatic life over terrestrial wild-life is put
down to opportunism exploitation of natural resources of the environment in an optimal way and is in no way
a feature of Mesolithic economy.
This view is borne out by the art objects found on this site. If the contemporary art objects at Lepenski
Vir represent aquatic fgures, at Foeni-Sla one has dug up only realistically-shaped clay statues representing
cattle (fgs. 6 and 7) (Ciobotaru, 1998; Draovean, 2001b). This is evidence of the inhabitants philosophical
and values system, in whose pantheon a central place was taken up by terrestrial animals, linked to the new
agrarian-pastoral life style. At the same time, through the worship of the bull a symbol for the force and
power of procreation, the inhabitants of Foeni represent an example of a community which did not follow the
old Mesolithic pantheon based on gods connected to the main pursuits, hunting and fshing.
Beside the animal exploitation, agriculture played an important role in the subsistence strategy of Neolithic
Foeni. Although not many seeds have been unearthed, cereals were clearly important. Among the identifed
specimens, 57% belong to the species Triticum monococcum, 29% to the species Triticum dicoccum and 14%
to the species Hordeum vulgare (Greenfield, 2006 unpublished). The activities tied to agriculture are demon-
strated by the presence of fint blades whose polish around the edges suggests their use as component parts of
some sickles and fragments of ground stone found in the layer and in huts (Kuijt, 1994).
All these data referring to the economy of the community of Foeni provide us with information on the natu-
ral environment. Thus, even if the land had been covered by woods, the intensive practice of agriculture would
have called for new land obtainable only through deforestation. The communitys reliance on cattle herding
also called for a certain grazing surface, which, if it did not exist, had to develop at the expense of the woods.
Sheep and goats, through their appetite for leaves and brushwood, must also have signifcantly contributed to
the reduction of the brush in the area. At the same time, the wood necessary for the huts and heating led to
signifcant tree felling. All these factors could have contributed to a signifcant degree of deforestation.
Tools
Because Foeni-Sla lies in loessic sedimentary deposits from which stone is entirely absent made the Foeni
community collect the raw material for stone tools from far away. The chipped tools were made of brownish
opal, fint, milky quartz and obsidian, and the grinders were made of sandstone (Kuijt, 1994). If this quartz
might come from the local gravel sediments lying under the loess sediments, none of the other stone types can
be found among the local sources. Of the siliceous materials, one notes the occurrence of fint and opal. The fint
might have been brought from the deposits lying 150 km to the north-east further up the River Bega, or from
the cretaceous strata near Belgrade (Kuijt, 1994: 90), and the closest opal sources lie in the Mesozoic limestone
deposits with siliceous accidents from Silagiu, near Buzia (Lazarovici and Maxim, 1995: 158). The obsidian,
translucent and variegated, most probably comes from the Slovakian sources in the Tokay area, more than 300
Fig. 7 - Foeni-Sla: cattle ceramic fgurine of the Starevo-Cri
IC phase.
Fig. 6 - Foeni-Sla: cattle ceramic fgurine of the Starevo-Cri
IC phase.
73
km north-north-west. All these factors point to the fact that the inhabitants of the frst agrarian-pastoral sites
were involved in an exchange system of raw materials and of values unfolding over wide geographic spaces
(Whittle, 2004: 17-18), which contributed to the cultural diffusion of the Early Neolithic and to the speeding
up of the Neolithisation process of some areas far away from the Banat.
Unfortunately, at this stage of research, we cannot pin down the role played by the Late Mesolithic com-
munities that might have lived in the area in the transmission of raw materials because, until now, like in other
areas (Bnffy, 2004a: 344), no evidence has been found of the existence of such communities in the plain sec-
tor of the Banat. The study of the lithic artefacts, like the study of those from the Iron Gates (Punescu, 1970:
36-37; 1979: 32; Kozowski and Kozowski, 1973; Voytek and Tringham, 1989) has not found typological
infuences of the lithic implements from the Mesolithic/Epipalaeolithic, typifed as a rule by a prominent kind
of microliths. This may imply either the absence of such communities from this area or a numerically reduced
presence, which has not left traces either in the feld or in the lithic implements.
CONCLUSIONS
The Neolithisation of the Banat is a unitary but discontinuous process, particularised for three geographic
areas: the Iron Gates of the Danube, the mountain region of the southeast and east and the plain lying in the
west of the Banat.
The frst agrarian-pastoral communities arrived in the Carpathian basin in the last centuries of the 8
th
mil-
lennium uncal BP and are part of the cultural phenomena that made for the Neolithisation of the Balkans. This
frst migration gave rise to the communities of Gura Baciului I, Crcea-Hanuri and Grdinile, Ocna Sibiului
I, and Donja Branjevina. In the area of the Iron Gates, the surviving Mesolithic/Epipalaeolithic communities
came into contact with the newcomers and gradually received visible infuences, indicated by the thoroughgo-
ing changes in diet, whereby the focus gradually shifted away from hunting and fshing to the cultivation of
cereals and raising of animals.
The mountainous part of the Banat may be divided into two areas. The former is the southeast area, typi-
fed by mountains with high plateaus furrowed by deep ravines which were seasonally inhabited starting with
the transition to the Bronze Age. In the Early Neolithic period the area was not inhabited; its frst inhabitants
belong to the Copper Age, when they settled along the Timi-Cerna gorge in the 4th millennium cal BC.
The second area is bounded by the Bistra gorge to the south, the Timi Valley to the west, the Bega Valley
to the north and the Poiana Rusci mountains to the east. This was more intensely inhabited from the Early
Neolithic by the bearers of the Starevo-Cri Culture phase III, whose settlements lay on the terraces that bound
the upper river areas of the Timi and Bega. However, the mountainous region of the Banat was not directly
involved in the initial process of Neolithisation of the Banat.
The third region of the Banat is the plain bounded by the western hills of the Banat Mountains and by the
River Tisza. This, beside the Iron Gates, was the main focus of the Neolithisation process. The first farmers
advanced here along the main rivers and settled on the low terraces nearby or along the banks of the tributary
streams. In this geographic area the settlers found fertile land in abundance, game and water-life, and a favourable
climate that made agriculture possible and enabled habitation.
In the western plain of the Banat the settlement of Foeni-Sla is part of the frst migration wave of Neo-
lithic communities, but not quite as early as the settlements of Gura Baciului I and Donja Branjevina. From the
typological point of view it belongs to Starevo-Cri Culture phase IC, and chronologically it fts into the last
two centuries of the 8
th
millennium uncal BP.
The Foeni settlement, surrounded by lakes or marshes, has an open character without being fortifed. Periodic
foods of the Timi and Bega offered man nourishment, but also shelter from wild animals or from other human
beings. The rivers also represented means of communication that enabled the people to set up connections with
other communities or areas with raw materials.
The dwellings on this site are represented by huts spreading over a surface ranging between 20 and 40 sq
m, laid out radially around a central larger dwelling. In some of these dwellings heating installations have been
found, which suggests that the dwellings were inhabited for longer than a season. At the same time, the pres-
ence of a centrally laid out dwelling suggests the possible existence of a house of the tribe, which would entail
that there was a certain social organisation system. The relatively small dimensions of the huts indicates the
existence of small families, with few members, and the reduced number of the huts that have been investigated
enables us to estimate the number of inhabitants to amount to a maximum of 100 persons.
74
The character of the economy is determined, among other factors, by the subsistence strategies. In the case
of the Foeni settlement, an important component was animal raising followed by fshing and hunting. Agricul-
ture was not neglected either, as wheat (Triticum monococcum and Triticum dicoccum) and barley (Hordeum
vulgare) were cultivated. The strategies of food procurement, focusing on sheep, goat and cattle raising and on
land tillage - and only secondarily on the exploitation of water resources, point to a typically Neolithic economy,
without the infuences of a hypothetical, but possible, autochthonous Mesolithic/Epipalaeolithic background.
This impression is reinforced by the absence of such infuences in the lithic implements domain and in magi-
cal-religious artefacts. The emphasis on aquatic food resources over the terrestrial wildlife found at Foeni, does
not support the idea of Mesolithic infuences, as this situation is the result of mans opportunism in optimal
exploiting the natural resources available, and does not represent a feature of a Mesolithic economy.
The sources of lithic raw materials in the Foeni settlement clearly show that long-distance exchange networks
existed at the time of the frst agrarian/pastoral wave colonising the Banat, which contributed to the cultural
diffusion of the Early Neolithic and to the speeding up of the Neolithisation process of other areas.
The fgurative representations are realistic, especially those rendering cattle, but steatopygia, too, as a
moulding manner may be noted with the feminine fgures. All the artistic artefacts are inseparably linked to
the new Neolithic life style and its pantheon and refects the structural differences between the philosophical
system and values system of the newcomers and those of the Mesolithic society they replaced.
In the next stage, around 6900 uncal BP, a new migration takes place, which is marked by the settlements
of Foeni-Gaz, Timioara-Fratelia, Unip, Biled, Dumbrvia, Dudetii Vechi, Perlez Batka C (Marinkovi,
2006), which brings the colonisation of the Banat plain to an end. The settlements of Lepenski Vir III, Padina
B, Gornea-Locurile Lungi, Dubova-Cuina Turcului correspond to these at Iron Gates. From the cultural point
of view, these communities belong to phase IIA-IIB of the Starevo-Cri Culture.
(Translated by Sorin Ciutacu)
75
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Authors Address:
FLORIN DRAOVEAN, Muzeul Banatului, Piaa Huniade nr. 1 RO - 30002 TIMIOARA
e-mail: fdrasovean2000@yahoo.com
77
ADRIAN SABIN LUCA and COSMIN SUCIU*
MIGRATIONS AND LOCAL EVOLUTION IN THE EARLY NEOLITHIC IN
TRANSYLVANIA:
THE TYPOLOGICAL-STYLISTIC ANALYSIS AND THE RADIOCARBON DATA
SUMMARY - Migrations and local evolution in the Early Neolithic in Transylvania: the typological-stylistic analysis and the radiocarbon
data. The earliest Neolithic sites are located in southwestern Transylvania (the Haeg region), in the middle Mure Valley, and along its
tributaries and the Some River (in the Cluj county region). New radiocarbon results, typological and statistical observations, indicate
that a fully Neolithic culture appeared in Transylvania around 7200 uncal BP. In Transylvania, the term Starevo-Cri is used to define
a cultural phenomenon spread over a long period of time, with four stages of evolution, which span from the appearance of the first
Neolithic to the arrival of the first Vina communities. The term Pre-Cri deals with the process of Neolithisation, or the first two stages
of the Starevo-Cri Culture. The stylistic-typological and statistical analyses that have been made in recent years force us to consider as
most suitable the theory, at least in Transylvania, of a gradual development, in the form a unitary complex closely related to the nearby
surroundings at the south of the Danube.
RIASSUNTO - Migrazioni ed evoluzione locale del Neolitico antico della Transilvania: lanalisi tipologico stilistica e i dati
radiocarbonici. Le pi antiche comunit di agricoltori si stanziarono nella regione di Haeg, nella Transilvania sudorientale, nella media
valle del Mure e lungo i suoi affluenti, ed il fiume Some, nella regione di Cluj. Nuove datazioni radiocarboniche e le osservazioni
tipologiche e statistiche delle ceramiche, indicano che una cultura pienamente neolitica fece la sua comparsa in Transilvania intorno al
7200 uncal BP, con manufatti simili a quelli delle comunit a sud del Danubio. Lanalisi stilistico-tipologica delle ceramiche, e soprattutto
quella statistica, ci spingono a considerare come ipotesi pi adeguata, almeno per quanto riguarda la Transilvania meridionale, quella
uno sviluppo graduale di un complesso unitario molto simile a quello delle regioni a sud del Danubio.
THE BEGINNING OF THE NEOLITHIC
The earliest Neolithic of Transylvania is represented by the Starevo-Cri Culture (Vlassa, 1966: 9-48;
Lazarovici, 1975: 8-12; 1977: 34-42; 1979: 39-56; 1983: 9-34; 1984: 49-104; 1992: 25-59; 1993; Dumitrescu
et al., 1983, 69; Ursulescu, 1984: 90 and following; Paul, 1989: 3-28). The explanation of the origin of the
Early Neolithic has oscillated between the autochthonous theory (Berciu, 1958; 1966: 32; Boronean, 1968;
1973; 1980; 1996; Punescu, 1958: 269-271; 1970: 25-26; Dumitrescu, 1970: 190-191; Srejovi, 1969; 1971;
1978; Gimbutas, 1989; 1997), and that which identifes the Near East, where the Neolithisation process origi-
nated, as the source of the European Neolithic, a theory that many archaeologists have agreed with during the
last decades.
The existence of an aceramic or preceramic Neolithic cannot be demonstrated for Transylvania. The near-
est site, previously supposed to belong to this cultural and chronological horizon (although its chronology is
not specifed) is Dru-Ceahlu (Berciu, 1958: 91-98; Punescu, 1958: 269-271), although it was proved to
be, in fact, of a later period (Vlassa, 1964: 463-464). According to Lazarovici, the frst Neolithic communities
diffused in Transylvania in three migration waves. The problems related to the frst and second migrations are
treated in this paper (Lazarovici and Kalmar, 1995: 30, 199-200; Luca et al., 2004: 99-103).
The earliest Neolithic sites in Transylvania are those of Gura Baciului I (Vlassa, 1976: 198-264; Lazaro-
vici and Kalmar, 1995: 199, 201), Ocna Sibiului-Triguri I and II (Paul, 1989; 1995, 28-68), eua-La Crarea
Morii (Ciut, 1998; 2000), and Miercurea Sibiului-Petri (Luca and Georgescu, 1998; 1999; Luca et al., 2000a
;

2001; 2002; Luca, 2002; 2004). The most important site seems to be Gura Baciului, near Cluj-Napoca. The
Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 77-87

* National Brukenthal Museum and Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, Romania

78
frst horizon (Vlassa, 1976: 257-269) yielded a cultural assemblage, which can be referred to as phase IA (?)
of the Starevo-Cri Culture (Lazarovici and Kalmar, 1995: 5, 63, 68-79).
The excavators consider hut H2A to be the oldest discovered at this site and also the most important. Besides
hut H10
,
pit P1a, huts H8, H2A1, pit P11, hut H9B, pit P33, and H2B, there are some assemblages recovered
from the earliest horizon (Lazarovici and Kalmar 1995: 68-69) that N. Vlassa (1976: 257-269) considered
contemporary with the Protosesklo stage.
Ocna Sibiului-Triguri (Paul, 1989; 1995: 28-68) is particularly important for both its stratigraphic
sequence and the material culture assemblages. The three earliest occupation layers (Ia-IIa) belong to the
Protosesklo horizon. Layer IIb might represent the transitional phase to the Cri Culture (contemporary with
Gura Baciului II), while the last two layers (IIIa and IIIb) belong to the Starevo-Cri Culture. I. Paul (1989:
11) pointed out that the Protosesklo horizon appeared as a distinct culture with a quite long evolution,
which he called Pre-Cri. He subdivided this culture into two regional northern Danube aspects, those of
Crcea (in Oltenia), and Ocna Sibiului-Gura Baciului (in Transylvania), and into two stages of development
(I and II).
Given his opposition to a unitarian evolution of the Early Neolithic in the northern Balkans, namely the
Starevo-Cri cultural complex (Lazarovici, 1992: 27), I. Paul tries to vary the frst, and partially, the second

phases of the Lazarovici seriation system through Pre-Cri I-II, although this has not been demonstrated by
the latest discoveries made in Transylvania at Gura Baciului (new excavations by G. Lazarovici) or Miercurea
Sibiului-Petri. At the same time I. Paul could not provide clear observations concerning the dwellings and the
pottery evolution in the successive occupation levels.
Considering Transylvania, the term Pre-Cri Culture (Paul, 1989; 1995; Ciut, 1998; 2000; 2001) is based,
in our opinion, on too little information (Lazarovici 2001: 42-45; 2005), because it is based on sites excavated
through small trenches and without statistical analysis of the material culture assemblages, as well as proper
horizontal and vertical stratigraphies (with the exception of Gura Baciului, Miercurea Sibiului, and Cauce Cave).
This impression has been confrmed by the discovery and the excavations carried out at Miercurea Sibiului-Petri,
a site which belongs to the earliest Neolithic of the region. The site was frst mentioned when the monograph
on the Petreti Culture was published (Paul, 1992: 141, point 29a). The material belonging to the Turda and
Petreti Chalcolithic Cultures, accidentally discovered at the city boundaries, is mentioned in this paper.
POTTERY STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
The archaeological material was studied quantitatively and qualitatively. Description of the ceramic mate-
rial was carried out, considering shapes, rim variants, bases and handles, decoration (technique and type), sort,
blending (mixture), surface treatment or burned and colours of potsherds. The structure was designed in the
Bazarh system, in the Department of Prehistory, Cluj University (since 1984). After 1988 the work with the
database was carried out by means of system ZEUS (Tarcea and Lazarovici, 1996). In this paper we present
only a small part of our statistical work from complexes B
1
from Gura Baciului; H1 (B1), H10 (B10) and H9

(B9) from Miercurea Sibiului-Petri; L1 from eua-La Crarea Morii and Cauce Cave. We focus on H1 (B1)
and H10 (B10) from Miercurea Sibiului-Petri. All the tables show a great unity in this frst Early Neolithic
wave, which confrms the results of the absolute dates (Biagi et al., 2005: table 1), although some different
typological characteristics are to be mentioned.
We analysed 1245 potsherds: 188 from B1

Gura Baciului (Lazarovici and Maxim, 1995: 69-71), 382
from H10 and 141 from H1

at Miercurea Sibiului-Petri, 423 from L1 at eua-La Crarea Morii and 111 from
Cauce Cave (Cerior-Petera Cauce) (tables 1 to 6). The tables below were made using the AplWin seriation
programme (Lazarovici and Micle, 2001: 121-125).
Description of H1 (B1), H10 (B10) from Miercurea Sibiului-Petri
The site Petri is located some 500 m east of the Miercurea Bi, 50-80 m north of the national motorway
Sebe-Sibiu, at the edge of a long terrace, 4-5 m higher than the fooded meadow of the Seca River. The ar-
chaeological fnds are spread on a surface of 300x80-100 m along the terrace parallel to the river.
In 1997, the excavation of the site was carried out in collaboration with the Lucian Blaga University
and the Brukenthal National Museum, Historical Department (Sibiu). Between 1997 and 2000 a few trial
trenches were opened, whose purpose was to check the archaeological sequence of the settlement (Luca and
79
Georgescu, 1998; 1999; Luca et al., 2000a; 2001). The excavation revealed the presence of surface dwell-
ings (habitation structures), freplaces, rubbish pits, foundation ditches, postholes and 5
th
century AD Gepid
graves.
In 2001 an area 20x20 m (SI/2001-2003) was opened. In 2001 and 2002 we excavated the Petreti occupa-
tion layer, represented by surface dwelling (2 houses), the most recent Chalcolithic structures of the site (Luca
et al., 2002). During the same season the remains of a few surface dwellings, which belong to the ancient Vina
horizon (2 structures) were excavated. In 2003, we fnished the excavation of the oldest Vina Culture (phase
A) layer (5 pit dwellings), other pits and early Starevo-Cri (3 pit dwellings, 3 other pits). In 2003, we began
the excavation of trench SII (15x16 m), which was completed in 2004 and 2005. At this stage of the research,
we suggested that layer Ia represented the frst Neolithic horizon of this site, defned by hut H10

(2003), a rec-
tangular dwelling, with rounded corners, partially cut, in the north-western corner, by another hut foundation:
hut H1 (1998, 2003) belonging to later stage (Ib layer) of the same culture.
Hut H10 belongs to the Starevo-Cri IB Culture. The fne and semi-fne potsherds represent almost 83%
instead of 17% of coarse one with percentages similar to the other complexes analysed in this study. From the
potsherds we analysed from this structure, 76% are well-burned and 49% have polished surfaces. The external
colour of potsherds presented the following percentages: reddish (27%), red-brick (19%), dark brown (11%),
whitish brown (10%) and grey (11%). We can also notice a reasonable quantity of dark red surfaces (7%). The
H10 (B10) assemblage is clearly dominated by polished (185 specimens) and smoothed ceramics (185 speci-
mens) (table 4) in equal proportions.
The study of the ceramic assemblage shows that hut H10 is one of the oldest dwellings of the Romanian
Neolithic. This structure was almost entirely excavated. Regarding the pottery, parallels can be found with Gura
Baciului I. It did not show any trace of disturbance by other archaeological complexes. Its deposit yielded some
unusual fnds, such as one single potsherd of well-burnished red ware with white-yellowish painted dots, also
characteristic of Gura Baciului I. The radiocarbon date from this complex is 705070 uncal BP (GrN-28520)
(Biagi et al., 2005: 49).
Hut H1 belongs to the Starevo-Cri IC-IIA Culture. This is another very old dwelling, which is more re-
cent than hut H10. Unfortunately it was seriously damaged by the Vina period hut H4. H1 is a large structure,
measuring 6x4 m and, according to its stratigraphic position, belongs to horizon Ib, which has been attributed
to the SC Culture, period IC or IIA.
The pottery is very similar to that of H10: 78% of the potsherds are of fne or semi-fne fabrics (table 1),
94% contains chaff (table 5), 6% has sand inclusions, a percentage lower than that in level Ia, 49% are polished
(table 4), while 74% are well burned. 14% are highly fred, to the point of vitrifcation.
The colour of their outer surfaces varies (table 3): the reddish ones represent 13% of the total assemblage,
while that of the red brick ones is higher (23%). A peculiar bulls head fgurine, 3.7 cm high and 2 cm wide
was found inside this structurs. The tips of its horns are broken. The body is rounded, somewhat thickened,
decorated on the front part with deep, parallel zigzag incisions. This stylised object is made of fne pottery with
black, well-polished surfaces.
These objects have been published under the name of bucrane idols or labrets. They are made of clay, stone,
bone or other materials (Karmanski, 1986: 11). In Romania, they belong to the Starevo-Cri Culture, phase
IIA (Lazarovici, 1983: 13; Ciobotaru, 1998: 75; Draovean, 2001).
Their occurrence together with characteristic pottery in hut H1 suggests that this item is to be referred to the
same period of the archaeological complex, which is to SC phase IC-IIA. As a consequence, it is contemporary
with Gura Baciului I (a part of the complexes, hut H8, hut H2A1, pit P11, hut H9b, pit P33, hut H10 and hut

H2b (Lazarovici and Kalmar, 1995: 68-79) or with Pre-Cri Ib - pit dwelling 9 at Ocna Sibiului-Triguri (Paul,
1995: 30-31, Abb. 2, 5-6), eua-La Crarea Morii (dwelling 1/1997) (Ciut, 1998; 2000) and the Cauce Cave
(Luca et al., 2004: 80-103). The radiocarbon date from this complex (H10) is 692070 uncal BP (GrN-28521)
(Biagi et al., 2005: 49).
Description of pit-house B1 GB from Gura Baciului
B1 GB belongs to Starevo-Cri IB. It contained a large quantity of painted ceramics with white decora-
tion composed of spots, oblique lines, spots in arcades, lines without a precise contour on the light red or dark
background of the pot. The majority of the pots were of fner fabric, the sandy monochrome paste having the
colours: red, dark red and brown. Potsherds decorated with impressions, pinches and prominences are absent,
only one fragment with polished lines being found.
80
The materials from this context are defned as Starevo-Cri IB with IC elements. At this early stage, some
very fne ceramic fragments appear, decorated by unsmoothing or pseudo-barbotine, actually wadding soft
clay applied with the fngers, leaving a row of uneven levels, not being actually a barbotine (ledge applied).
The fnest potsherds represent 31% of this assemblage, against 39% of semi-fne and 30% of coarse fabrics.
The B1, Gura Baciului assemblage, has almost double the percentage of coarse wares and a smaller percentage
of fne ceramics compared with the other complexes discussed here. It is different in the high quantity of chaff
and sand (where the chaff prevails) in the potsherds fabric.
Other characteristics (see table 5) differentiate it from the other complexes analysed in this study and this
is the reason the computer seriation process pushes it to the end of the series. The radiocarbon date from this
complex is 714045 uncal BP (GrA-24137) (Biagi et al., 2005: 49) and it is the oldest from Transylvania.
Description of Cauce Cave assemblage from Cerior
This assemblage is from the fll of a cave in the mountain area. The existence of a new monochrome horizon
might be suggested on the basis of the discoveries made at Cauce Cave. A layer with fne, polished pottery ex-
ists in this cave, but we could not assign it a clear chronological signifcance (Luca et al., 2004: 103). Semi-fne
wares accounted fot 57% of the potsherds analysed (table 1).
The fnest wares represent 37% of the assemblage, close to the other complexes analysed, but the difference
is in small amount of coarse wares (6%). The smoothed potsherds are almost twice as common as the polished
ones (table 4). The fabric inclusions occur in similar proportions to those in the other complexes (table 5).
We must mention that painted pottery has not been found here. The existence of these settlements in
Romania is known thanks to the discovery of Iosa-Anele (Luca and Barbu, 1992-1994). A few Romanian
archaeologists would attribute the Early Neolithic settlements without painted pottery (Monochrome horizon,
following Dimitrijevi [1974]) to phase IC-IIA of the Starevo-Cri Culture, a chronological horizon in which
the painted ware disappears or is scarcely represented.
At present, we know that ceramics with white painted dots characterise phases IB and IC of the Starevo-
Cri Culture; the presence of this kind of pottery during other phases of the same culture might be accidental.
At eua-La Crarea Morii, pottery with white painted motifs is very rare (3-4 fragments: Ciut, 2000: 67-68,
fg. 25/1-3), although the same paper questions the existence of a Monochrome horizon in Romania (Ciut,
2000: 76). This Monochrome period of Dimitrijevi would represent the second migration period suggested by
G. Lazarovici and Z. Kalmar, later than Monochrome (Frhkeramik) from Thessaly (Lazarovici and Kalmar,
1995: 200; Lazarovici, 2001: 42; 2005: 42).
Description of L1/1997 from eua-La Crarea Morii
The dwelling L1 is situated at the base of the archaeological occupation from eua-La Crarea Morii. It is
a house built on a stone-foor foundation (Ciut 2000: 55). A special category is represented by the external
surface of a small emispherical pot, painted with white-yellowish dots, on a grey brick-coloured background.
The dots are arranged in oblique parallel rows.
The painting of the second fragment consists of a row of white dots on a purple background. A third frag-
ment is a brown-reddish rim, with a light coloured band 8 mm wide. Complete pots have not been discovered
and only in four cases was it possible to restore the vessels to obtain a full profle (Ciut, 2000: 63). The au-
thor assigns this dwelling to the Pre-Cri I Culture (Pauls system) or to Starevo-Cri IC Culture (Lazarovici
system) (Ciut, 2000: 75).
We attribute this dwelling to the IC-IIA phase. The fne and semi fne potsherds (table 1) represent almost 83%
in this complex against 17% of coarse wares, percentages similar to those in the other complexes analysed in this
study. The radiocarbon date from this complex is 707060 uncal BP (GrN-28114) (Biagi et al., 2005: 49).
In conclusion, the typological similarities between materials from H1 and H10 (Miercurea Sibiului), L1
(eua), B1 (Gura Baciului) and Cauce Cave is shown in tables 1 to 6. They belong to the same chronological
horizon with a closer relationship between B1 (Gura Baciului), L1 eua and B10 Miercurea Sibiului.
Cauce Cave shares the same basic characteristics, but almost has some individual traits. In all clusters (tables
1-6) the complexes are similar to each other, and show a great uniformity in almost all characteristics. This is a dif-
ferent image compared with complex H9 (from a later phase see below). Soon we will be capable to compare more
complexes from all phases of Starevo-Cri Culture and to describe subtle differences between complexes and defne
perfectly each evolutionary phase.
81
Colour/Site H10 (B10) H1(B1)
Cauce
Cave
L1 eua B1 GB

Reddish 104 18 8 37 1
Grey 42 9 7 10 10
Whitish-brown 40 26 23 56 9
Red brick 71 32 16 82 42
Dark red 26 16 6 48 14
Black 7 0 3 0 6
Reddish-brown 1 2 1 16 0
Yellowish 18 8 10 85 17
Black-grey 5 1 5 13 7
Light brown 19 12 10 46 29
Rainbow 0 0 0 1 0
Brown 3 1 2 12 7
Ashen 0 0 0 4 8
Red 1 0 0 0 10
Orange 0 0 1 0 11
Table 3 - Colours of the external surface of the potsherds and their numerical occurrence by site.
Decoration/Site B1GB
Cauce
Cave
H10 (B10) L1 eua H1 (B1)

Painting 20 0 1 3 0
Incision 2 5 0 1 0
Impression 6 8 2 3 1
Excision 1 3 0 2 0
Pseudo Barbotine 7 0 2 37 2
Pinching 4 0 1 26 0
Alveolar 0 4 6 11 7
Plastic 2 5 0 32 0
Table 2 - Pottery decorative patterns and their numerical occurrence by site.
Site/Category Semi-fne Fine Coarse Total

Cauce Cave 63 41 7 111
L1 eua 193 160 70 423
H10 (B10) 155 162 65 382
H1 (B1) 52 58 31 141
B1 GB 74 58 56 188
Total 537 479 229 1245
Table 1 - Pottery main categories and potsherd numbers by site mentioned in the
text.
82
Surface/Site H10 (B10) L1 eua H1 (B1)
Cauce
Cave
B1 GB
Ledge 2 52 2 0 1
Flour-like 6 10 0 3 0
Polished 185 120 56 24 38
Smoothed 185 185 79 65 64
Polished slip 1 14 3 1 10
Rough 1 5 0 6 61
Slipped 1 0 0 0 12
Filler/Site H10 (B10) L1 eua H1 (B1)
Cauce
Cave
B1 GB

Sand, Chamotte, Silt 1 0 0 0 0
Chaff, Silt 0 1 0 0 0
Chaff, Sand, Gravel 0 32 1 6 0
Sand, Chamotte, Silt 24 46 1 6 0
Sand, Chaff 327 291 115 58 66
Fine sand 10 13 5 1 12
Sand, Graphite 0 0 0 1 0
Coarse sand 5 7 0 1 9
Chaff, Sand 15 30 18 39 54
Chaff, Chamotte 0 1 0 0 1
Sand, Gravel 0 1 0 1 2
Sand, Chamotte 0 0 1 0 5
Sand, Silt 0 1 0 0 11
Sand, Mica 0 0 0 0 29
Table 4 - Pottery external surface characteristics and their numerical occurrence by site.
Table 5 - Pottery visible fillers and their numerical occurrence by site.
83
Rim type/site B1 GB L1 eua H10 (B10) H1 (B1)
Cauce
Cave

B 6 0 1 0 0
N 5 1 0 1 0
M 7 5 0 1 0
K 3 3 0 0 0
G 1 1 2 0 0
I 1 2 3 1 0
V 1 0 0 2 2
Y 5 6 11 6 6
E 2 3 0 2 10
A 1 13 2 1 6
H 1 16 3 3 6
C 0 2 0 0 0
P 0 2 0 0 0
Z 0 1 0 0 0
D 0 0 1 0 0
L 0 0 1 0 0
Q 0 0 2 0 0
S 0 0 3 0 0
F 0 13 4 4 0
R 0 0 1 1 0
J 0 1 0 3 1
U 0 0 0 1 1
Table 6 - Characteristic rim types (after Maxim, 1999: fig. 29) and their numerical occurrence in the
sites mentioned in the text.
84
THE MIGRATION WAVES
The First Migration
The above stylistic and typological pottery analyses
aw well as the radiocarbon chronology (Biagi et al.,
2005: fgs. 2-4) indicate that the earliest Neolithic com-
munities reached the northern Danube basin, in Romania,
through Oltenia and western Transylvania. They reached
the Danube, after having crossed the Timok Valley,
followed the route along the Oltenia sub-Carpathians,
travelled across the mountains and settled in the area of
the middle Mure Valley, its tributaries and the Someul
Mic River (fg. 1).
Considering the Vardar-Morava route we easily
understand why one can reach Oltenia coming from the
Timok Valley. Thus it is clear why they chose to settle the
higher areas of Oltenia. The hardest part is to prove how
they crossed the mountains. Taking into account more
recent routes contemporary researchers are tempted to
believe that the passages of the Jiu and Olt rivers were
used. But these have only been opened to travellers since
Roman times and the Middle Ages.
The route along the northern and southern transverse
valleys of the mountains is more credible. In the oral tradition of recent centuries it is called the route of the cuckoo
(or more conventionally in English as the crow fies).
It was used by villagers to avoid authorities (the distance could be covered with the cattle in three or four
days) but it was also a way used for transhumance from ancient times. In our days it is still used by shepherds for
transhumance. The frst Neolithic people may have used this route. In Transylvania, Miercurea Sibiului, eua,
Gura Baciului and Ocna Sibiului settlements are located near open-air salt deposits. At Gura Baciului, sheep and
goat represent 33.2% of bone identifcations, and at eua they represent almost 57.1%. Cattle bones are 41.8%
at Gura Baciului and 30.8% at eua (Luca et al., 2005: 106), while the bones from Miercurea Sibiului are still
being studied. This shows us shepherd communities who searched for salt for their herds (Nandris, 1990: 16).
The latest data indicate another possible migration route through the Banat and south Criana. This new
route was revealed after reanalysing the archaeological remains from Lepenski Vir, the radiocarbon dates from
Foeni and the materials from Iosa-Anele.
The lack of research made this hypothesis almost impossible to demonstrate. All new radiocarbon data suggest
that the frst phase of the Starevo-Cri Culture (IA-IB) appeared during the last two centuries of the 8
th
millen-
nium uncal BP (7200-7000 uncal BP), and probably lasted slightly more than 100 years (Biagi et al., 2005).
Fig. 1 - First Migration sites: Gura Baciului (1); Ocna Sibiului
(2); eua (3); Miercurea Sibiului-Petri (4); Crcea (5);
Grdinile (6); Verbia (7); Icoana (8); Lepenski Vir (9); Foeni
(10); Iosa Anele (11).
Fig. 2 - Second Migration sites: Balogu (1); Crciuneti (2);
Bala (3); Simeria (?) (4); 5. Petisul Mic (5); Dumbrava (?)
(6); Maneru (7); Cauce Cave (8); Haeg (9); Cioclovina
(10); Ohaba Ponor-Bordu Mare (11); Gura Baciului (12);
Uioara de Sus (13); eua-La Crarea Morii (14); Limba-
Bordane (15); Miercurea Sibiului-Petri (16); Ocna Sibiului
(17); Valea Rii (Copcelu) (18); Crcea (19); Verbia (20);
Basarabi (21); Schela Cladovei (22); Ogradena (23); Icoana
(24); Dubova-Cuina Turcului (25); Lepenski Vir (26); Gornea
(27); Coronini-Pescari (28); Ilidia (29); Caraova (30); Foeni
(31); Giulvz (32); Uliuc (33); Fratelia (34); Comlou Mare
(35); Dudetii Vechi (36); Cenad (37); Iosa-Anele (38);
Mgura-Toplia (39).
85
The Second Migration
The first phase was later followed by another, just after 7000 uncal BP (5900 Cal BC) (fig. 2). Some sites continued
to be occupied during this phase (Crcea, Ocna Sibiului, Miercurea Sibiului, eua, Gura Baciului), while others were
newly settled. The radiocarbon dates of this phase follow those of the preceding one, without any break. The second
phase also appears to have lasted some 100 years (Biagi and Spataro, 2004: 10; Biagi et al., 2005).
The way of living reveals new access routes during the second migration, by crossing the Poiana Rusc Mountains
after going through Banat. The sheep-goat (Ovis/Capra) husbandry complex represents at Cauce Cave almost 75% from
all bone remains, the pig (Sus scrofa) almost 11.9%, and Bos Taurus only 3.5% (Luca et al., 2005: 98).
By the end of the Starevo-Cri phase IIB in Transylvania, the so-called starevisation phenomenon
begins (Paul, 1989: 18). The settlement of Ocna Sibiului-Triguri lost its importance and did not develop the
black painting characteristics of the late horizons of this cultural complex (Paul, 1989: 21).
The cultural movement infuenced Transylvania from west and south-west. The inhabitants of the Early
Neolithic sites of the middle Mure River (Miercurea Sibiului-Petri and Pustia (Lunc), Ortie-Dealul Pemilor,
point X8, Limba-Bordane and others) began to use ceramic decorative elements such as slip, applied decorations,
incision or impressed patterns (Paul, 1989: 21), besides black painting (Draovean, 1989: 42) or altars with
stands or with pierced stands. These characteristics indicate a wide territory with cultural unity (Paul, 1989:
24), known as the Starevo-Cri cultural complex. Ocna Sibiului-Triguri, IIb and Miercurea Sibiului-Petri,
hut H9/2003 (level Ic) belong to this phase. Coarse pottery accounts for 23% of the potsherds recovered from
hut H9, with a similar quantity of fne pottery (20%). The percentage of the semi-fne ware is overwhelming
(57%). 75% of the potsherds are well burned and only 23% of them are polished. Slip occurs on 28% of the
potsherds, which indicates clearly the beginning of the evolution to the classic stage of the culture. We fnd the
colours (external surface of the potsherds) in equal proportions (black, black grey, light brown and dark brown,
brown and whitish brown), except for red-brick (28%).
The Third Migration and the final stages of the Early Neolithic
From phase III of Lazarovicis sequence, one can easily detect the cultural infuences on Transylvania
from Banat, the Tisza Plain and from the regions south of the Danube. The frst Vina communities appear in
Transylvania by the middle of this phase (Luca, 1995-1996; Luca et al., 2000; 2000b).
To conclude, we can see here, at this stage of research, several cultural horizons, some of them contempo-
rary around the end of the Early Neolithic:
1) Starevo-Cri IIIA-IVA communities, such as Ortie-Dealul Pemilor-X8 (Luca et al., 1998), Hunedoara-
Biserica Reformat (Draovean, 1989), Miercurea Sibiului-Pustia (Lunc) (unpublished materials).
2) Communities that appeared under the impact of the polychromic technology, in southeastern Transylvania.
The main settlement of this type is Le (Zaharia, 1962; 1964).
3) Early Vina communities, such as Romos-La Fgdu (Luca, 1995-1996), Miercurea Sibiului-Petri,
horizon II and Limba (Berciu and Berciu, 1949; Ciugudean, 1978: 50, 52, Fig. 8/3-16) (for a synthesis of
the early period of development of the Vina Culture in Transylvania see Luca et al., 2000; 2000b).
4) Communities where Starevo-Cri and Vina materials are set in distinct and successive layers, such as
Limba-Bordane (Ciut, 2002) and Miercurea Sibiului-Petri (horizon Ia-Ic - Starevo-Cri and horizon
IIa-IIb - Vina).
5) Communities with an evolution towards linear ceramic (LBK) technologies (Luca et al., 2000: 57-63;
2000b: 22-29).
Aknowledgements
The research team is led by S.A. Luca (Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu), field director, and A. Georgescu (Brukenthal National Museum,
Sibiu), member. A. Gonciar (Ottawa University, Canada) joined this team in 2001 and D. Diaconescu (Corvins Castle Museum,
Hunedoara) and C. Suciu (Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu) in 2003. Thanks are due to Prof. Dr. G. Lazarovici for the materials and
the database from Gura Baciului, Dr. M. Ciut, who made available archaeological materials from eua-La crarea morii for study,
and Dr. M. Spataro and Prof. Dr. P. Biagi who kindly revised this paper and helped us with advice. Since this paper was submitted at
the end of 2005, other structures from the Early Neolithic were discovered at Miercurea Sibiului-Petri.
86
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Authors Addresses:
ADRIAN S. LUCA and COSMIN SUCIU, Institute for the Study and Valorisation of the Transylvanian Patrimony in European Context,
Lucian Blaga University, B-dul Victoriei Nr. 5-7 RO - 550024 SIBIU
e-mails: sabinadrian.luca@ulbsibiu.ro and cos_suciu@yahoo.com
89
LOLITA NIKOLOVA*
TOWARD AN EVOLUTIONARY MODEL OF GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT OF
SOCIAL COMPLEXITY AMONG THE NEOLITHIC POTTERY
COMMUNITIES IN THE BALKANS
(CULTURAL-CHRONOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL-ANTHROPOLOGICAL PROBLEMS)
SUMMARY - Toward an evolutionary model of gradual development of social complexity among the Neolithic pottery communities in
the Balkans (cultural-chronological and cultural-anthropological problems). Based on the recent data on the earlier Neolithic material
culture, we distinguish five general stages of development in social complexity during the Neolithic in the Balkans, from the emergence
of sedentary pottery-making communities to the culmination of the Neolithic cultures development in the latest Neolithic, including
the introduction of metallurgy. In this approach we will discuss cultural-chronological and cultural-anthropological problems mainly
of the first stage of Neolithic development in the Balkans, using in some cases a prospective analysis, from the later chronological
periods. Of primary importance for the chronological conclusions are the radiocarbon dates, while the social models are based on the
general theories in cultural and social anthropology, sociology and especially the anthropology of everydayness. This approach has also
proposed that our understanding of the problems of the earliest pottery-making complex societies in the Balkans would benefit from
further intensification of micro-regional interdisciplinary investigations from the point of view of the anthropology of everydayness,
by constructing micro- and medium-social models of social reproduction.
RIASSUNTO - Per un modello di sviluppo graduale della complessit sociale delle comunit neolitiche ceramiche dei Balcani
(problemi cronologico-culturali e antropologico-culturali). Grazie ai dati disponibili riguardanti i reperti della cultura materiale del
Neolitico pi antico, possiamo attualmente distinguere cinque fasi di sviluppo della complessit sociale del Neolitico dei Balcani, a
partire dalle prime comunit sedentarie di popolazioni produttrici di ceramica, alla fine del Neolitico quando venne introdotto il metallo.
In questo lavoro vengono discussi i problemi cronologico-culturali e antropologico-culturali riguardanti principalmente linizio del
Neolitico, utilizzando, in alcuni casi, unanalisi prospettica. Le datazioni radiocarboniche sono di importanza fondamentale, per quanto
riguarda le conclusioni cronologiche, mentre i modelli sociali sono basati su teorie generali prese dallantropologia sociale e culturale
e, in particolar modo, dallantropologia di tutti i giorni. Questo approccio metodologico mostra come la comprensione dei problemi
relativi alle prime comunit produttrici di ceramica dei Balcani potrebbe migliorare notevolmente qualora vi fosse un incremento degli
studi microregionali nellantropologia di tutti i giorni, grazie alla costruzione di modelli riproduttivi micro e medio sociali.
INTRODUCTION: GENERAL RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
Graduate models of Neolithisation of the Balkans have become the most popular in contemporary archae-
ology. Although the data included may have a variety of interpretations followed even by alternative conclu-
sions (Parzinger, 1993; Whittle, 1996: 39; Budja, 1998; Vajsov, 1998; Boyadzhiev, 2000; Nikolova, 2000;
Thissen, 2000; Biagi et al., 2005), the models themselves are theoretically valuable contributions to this field
of research.
We would point to two fundamental aspects: demographic growth (increasing population density in the Bal-
kans), and social change (the gradual increase in social complexity). The latter is the subject of our approach.
Based on the recent data on the earlier Neolithic material culture, we are able to distinguish five general
stages of development in social complexity during the Neolithic in the Balkans, from the emergence of sedentary
pottery-making communities to the culmination of the Neolithic cultures development in the latest Neolithic,
including the introduction of metallurgy (Topolnitsa, unpublished). We would briefly describe the evolutionary
social scheme as follows:
Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 89-102

* University of Utah and International Institute of Anthropology, Salt Lake City, USA
90
1. An initial development of the earliest pottery-making communities (in the later 7
th
millennium cal BC), and
the emergence of archaic white-painted pottery communities (in the latest 7
th
millennium cal BC), which
is still documented in only some parts of the Balkans (the so-called monochrome phase and the phase of
Kovachevo Ia/b and related sites). With further research and additional data, we believe that in future it
will become clear whether we can differentiate two sub-stages or even two independent stages in the later
7
th
millennium cal BC.
2. The classical white painted pottery-making communities covering a broader region of the Balkans (early
Karanovo I, early Starevo horizon), characterised by a demographic boom in the Balkans at the beginning
of the 6
th
millennium cal BC.
3. Late white painted and polychrome pottery-making communities with a variety of regional models, and the
development of a network of dense micro-regional settlement systems with multi-scale and multi-variation
interaction systems (later Karanovo I, Karanovo II, later Starevo horizon) during the second quarter of
the 6
th
millennium cal BC.
4. Late polychrome and dark burnished pottery communities (late Starevo, Karanovo III and related cultures),
c. the third quarter of the 6
th
millennium cal BC. According to the recent evidence, it is also believed that
Hamangia is the first Neolithic culture in the northeast part of the Balkans, whose beginning was possibly
contemporaneous with later Karanovo III Culture.
5. Encrusted, pricked and dark burnished pottery-making communities (early Vina, Topolnitsa, Karanovo
IV, early Boian, Hamangia and related cultures), c. the fourth quarter of the 6
th
millennium cal BC.
During the first two stages, the most parts of the Balkans between the Drina River and the Black Sea, and
the Carpathians and the Aegean, were gradually occupied by pottery-making communities; during the next
three stages the Neolithic complexity was reproduced, developed and expanded, representing, on the whole,
a typical evolutionary model of development of complexity in prehistory, indicating possibly the existence
of powerful systems of economic and political multi-scale social strategies and networks that kept the social
systems stable.
In this approach we will discuss cultural-chronological and cultural-anthropological problems mainly of
the first stage of Neolithic development in the Balkans, using in some cases a prospective analysis (from the
later chronological periods). Of primary importance for the chronological conclusions are the radiocarbon
dates, while the social models are based on general theories in cultural and social anthropology, sociology and
especially the anthropology of everydayness (Featherstone, 1992; Chaney, 2002).
CULTURAL-CHRONOLOGICAL PROBLEMS
To study the problem archaeologically, of special importance are the new results of the Kovachevo ex-
cavations (Lichardus-Itten et al., 2000; 2006) and the radiocarbon dates from this site, the newly published
data from the Struma Valley (Chokhadzhiev, 2001), the publication of Donja Branjevina (Karmanski, 2005)
and Koprivets (Popov, 1996) and other sites in the lower Danube (Elenski, 2005; Elenski and Leshtakov,
2006), and the theoretical contribution of N.N. Tasi (2003) to the white-painted pottery settlements of
Starevo Culture.
It is worth considering the thematic studies of the Iron Gates data (Bonsall et al., 2000; 2002; 2004),
the new data from Lepenski Vir (Bori, pers. comm. 2006), and a Macedonian survey project (Wilkie and
Savina,1997).The new archaeological compilation of sites from Bulgaria should be also added, despite the
chronological problems of some sites and theoretical controversy of the model discussed (Elenski, 2005; Elenski
and Lesktakov, 2006; Weninger et al., in press).
Our basic chronological framework of Balkan Neolithic sequences was argued in Nikolova (1998). It seems
like the new evidence confirmed that for the time being, there are no archaeological arguments to divide the
monochrome horizon as an independent stage of the development of the Early Neolithic in the Balkans while
the publications after 1998 allow us to update the scheme, including especially Kovachevo.
THE EARLIEST POTTERY SETTLEMENTS IN THE BALKANS
We propose the following two typological and cultural-chronological horizons for the earliest Neolithic
(c. 6300-c. 6000 cal BC) between the Danube and the Aegean:
91
1. Hoca eme 4-3, Krajnitsi 1, Divostin 1, Koprivets 1, Dzhulyunitsa, Smurdesh 1. This horizon is known
as the monochrome pottery with an incipient painted pottery horizon (c. ?6300-6200/6100 cal BC). The
period between c. 6300 and 6000 cal BC coincides with the so-called 8.2 ka event.
2. Kovachevo 1a/b, Vaksevo-Studena Voda 1-2, Nevestino 1, Anzabegovo Ia, Donja Branjevina II and related
sites (earliest white-painted pottery horizon (c. 6200/6100-6000 cal BC).
We cannot precisely date the beginning and the end of the two horizons because there are no radiocarbon
dates available from most of the settlements investigated and the records come from different distant regions. In
other words, horizon 1 could have overlapped with horizon 2, on the one hand. On the other hand, the radiocarbon
dates from earlier Karanovo I Culture (c. 6000 cal BC and later) suggest that the first pottery-making settlements
in Thrace (e.g., Kovachevo Ia/b, Rakitovo) could be before the beginning of 6
th
millennium cal BC.
Then, we have three basic problems:
1. What are the cultural and chronological interrelations between Horizon 1 and Horizon 2 formulated
above?
2. What is the relationship of the beginning of Karanovo I Culture to these Horizons?
3. How were both horizons influenced by the 8.2 ka event (c. 6300-6000 cal BC), since the most probably
probable chronological span of Horizon 1 and Horizon 2 completely overlaps with this interruption in the
early Holocene climate?
The first Neolithic typological and cultural-chronological horizon
The identification of the monochrome pottery stage as the earliest Neolithic chronological horizon in the
Balkans was initially formulated by Srejovi (1988: 85-86) on the basis of data from Eastern Serbia. Later the
concept became popular since other archaeologists believed that they had documented monochrome pottery
sites: in southwest Bulgaria (Krajnitsi I), northeast Bulgaria (for instance Polyanitsa-Platoto and Koprivets I),
Romania (Gura Baciului Ia), the Vojvodina (Donja Branjevina III), European Turkey (Hoca Ceme IV) and
other sites. The stage is also called proto-Starevo and was documented for instance, in Makresani-Ornice.
In light of the recent data, the site of Hoca eme is of special value. Most researchers share the
opinion that Hoca eme preceded Karanovo I (Parzinger and zdoan, 1996; Nikolova, 1998). Li-
chardus and Iliev (2000:81) suggested a different interpretation. They did not accept the analogies
with Hacilar and with Karanovo I proposed in the preliminary publication of Parzinger and zdoan
(1996) and they believed that the earliest analogies with Thrace can be found in the Karanovo II cul-
ture. But the radiocarbon dates (c. 6300-6200 cal BC) strengthen the hypothesis that the earliest level
of Hoca eme (IV) belongs to the Balkan earliest pottery chronological horizon (Nikolova, 1998).
According to the excavators of Hoca eme, painted pottery was documented even in the earliest phase
of this site. At the same time, some monochrome pottery sites from the Central Balkans and from the
Lower Danube do not have radiocarbon dates. We also need to keep in mind the typology of the pot-
tery of the first Balkan cultural-chronological ceramic horizon is not well elaborated, only small areas
of the monochrome pottery sites have been excavated, and even during the classical Early Neolithic
it is possible that painted pottery has simply been missed. The conclusion seems to be supported by
the new excavations at Dzhulyunitsa-Smurdesh (central northern Bulgaria, Veliko Turnovo District),
where according to the preliminary excavation reports (Elenski, 2005; Elenski and Leshtakov, 2006)
pottery was discovered with analogies at Hoca eme III-IV. A peculiarity is a painting with a dark
color/slip, like the vessel was washed with a slip (Elenski, 2005: 22). The author dates the layer from
pre-white painted stage of Early Neolithic in the Balkans. The site of Okhoden in northwest Bulgaria
was proposed as a monochrome settlement (the final phase of Proto-Starevo [Ganetsovski, 2005: 23]),
but the preliminary information about a radiocarbon date from this site (571040 cal BC: Ganetsovski,
2005: 30) points to later phase (Weninger et al., in press).
For the time being, let us assume that there are undiscovered monochrome pottery villages in the Upper
Thracian valley that theoretically allow us to presume the stage overlapped with the white-painted stage.
In this sense it is possible to question the real existence of the monochrome pottery stage (Thissen, 2000:
196-197).
In light of the recent evidence, it is a problem not only the synchronization of the earlier painted pottery
sites from Upper Thrace with the monochromic sites, but also with the earliest painted pottery sites from the
basin of the Struma. At Kovachevo, analogies with Upper Thrace can be found only during the third phase of
Early Neolithic settlement, which may indicate a stage of independent development of the two painted styles.
92
Alternatively, we have to accept for the time being, that the pottery discovered in Upper Thrace is later than
the earliest painted pottery in the basin of the Struma River.
As we stressed above, according to M. zdoan (1998), painted pottery fragments occurred in the earliest
level of the village of Hoca eme IV. If these sherds were found in their original stratigraphic context, they
may indicate that the earliest stage of the Neolithic in the Balkans could not be absolutely monochromic, or that
Hoca eme IV is not contemporaneous with the earliest known monochrome pottery sites or that there were
contacts with the painted pottery communities, so Hoca eme IV represents a transition from the monochrome
to the painted pottery in the Balkans.
Having in mind some typological similarities between the monochrome pottery and early white-painted
pottery, in the chronological scheme the former can be defined as the earliest phase in the first stage of the
gradual Neolithisation of the Balkans in the sense of foundation of pottery-using settlements. It dates from the
later third quarter of the 7
th
millennium cal BC, since the calibrated dates from Hoca eme IV and Polyanitsa-
Platoto date from 6200-5800 cal BC, a span that overlaps with the dates of the earliest painted pottery in the
Balkans (Nikolova, 1998: diagram 1).
The chronology of Hoca eme III is important to define the chronology of Hoca eme IV. According to
zdoan (1998), Hoca eme III preceded Karanovo I. Most of the radiocarbon dates date the third level to
after the beginning of the 6
th
millennium cal BC, but computer modelling (Nikolova, 1998: diagram 3) means
the beginning of Hoca eme III can be dated to the very end of the 7
th
millennium cal BC, and Hoca eme
IV to before 6100 cal BC.
Since there are no radiocarbon dates from Krajnitsi, Divostin and Koprivets, they may have actually pre-
ceded even Hoca eme IV, and we may have to date the beginning of the monochrome pottery horizon to
before 6300 cal BC. New radiocarbon dates would help precisely to determine the horizon.
The second Neolithic typological and cultural-chronological horizon
The earliest data about white-painted pottery from Kovachevo were a base for proposing a cultural
group (Lichardus-Itten et al., 2000: 35) that includes the most southwest Bulgaria and the north regions
of Nea Nikomedea and Giannitsa. It is believed this group was the ancestor of the Karanovo I Culture.
Important elements are the documented southern elements in the ceramic style, an influence from Ses-
klo (Achilleion, Tsani), which according to the recent data occurred in the phase Ib/c at Kovachevo
(Lichardus-Itten et al., 2000: 34, note 44).
The similarity includes chess motifs (dark brown on light brown), although the technology was different
(Lichardus-Itten et al., 2000: 34; for Nea Nikomedea and Anzabegovo see Thissen, 2000: 194-195). The set-
tlements analysed by N.N. Tasi (2003) with the earliest painted pottery in the western-central Balkans includes
sites within a relatively wide chronological diapason (c. 6100 cal BC and the beginning of the 6
th
millennium
cal BC) and would only partly cover our second horizon.
In southwest Bulgaria, impressive typological similarities with Kovachevo Ia/b in white-painted ornamen-
tation are found at the sites of Nevestino 1 and Vaksevo-Studena Voda 1-2 (fig. 1). All these assemblages may
relate to the earliest white-painted pottery at Donja Branjevina in the Vojvodina (Serbia) (fig. 2). The common
elements may indicate interactions or common origins while the differences point to local peculiarities and/or
some chronological differences.
Most of the published radiocarbon dates from Kovachevo (Reingruber and Thissen, 2005) come from
the earliest phase. They verify our hypothesis that Kovachevo Ia-b could be dated to the last century of the 7
th

millennium cal BC.
A specific problem is the relationship of the earliest pottery Neolithic settlements to the Lepenski Vir Cul-
ture. Recently, new radiocarbon data were interpreted in terms of the 8.2 ka event and according to Bonsall
(et al., 2000; 2002; 2004) with co-authors, there were changes in the settlement pattern in the Iron Gates area
during the later 7
th
millennium cal BC, whereas at Lepenski Vir itself there was continuity.
The radiocarbon data favour possible co-existence of the hunter-gatherer communities and the earli-
est sedentary pottery communities in the Balkans in the earlier 6
th
millennium cal BC. However, we need
more recently excavated evidence for deeper structural analysis. Possible DNA samples from Divostin,
the Iron Gates and Dzhulyunitsa-Smurdyak would also help to construct models of interrelations between
the Balkan non-pottery hunter-gatherers and the earliest pottery-using communities, whose economy was
based on sedentary farming, semi-sedentary farming and/or stockbreeding, depending on the micro-re-
gional environment.
93
Fig 1 - Similarity in the ornamentation in sites from the second typological and cultural-chronological horizon (after different
authors).
94
Fig. 2 - Earlier white-painted pottery from Donja Branjevina (after Karmanski, 2005).
CULTURAL-ANTHROPOLOGICAL PROBLEMS
The Neolithisation in the Balkans as a problem
Following the archaeological paradigm above, we have to point to the emergence of a new lifestyle, sed-
entary and semi-sedentary/semi-mobile pottery-using communities, in short or long-lived villages, founding in
many cases the first prehistoric tells. Neolithisation in the Balkans means pottery, plant and animal domesticates
and a new social network of stable early complex communities.
95
However, at a micro-regional level the questions are rather different: why one environment was chosen and
not another, for instance, living on the riverside or next to a mineral spring, why one subsistence strategy was
adopted and not another (completely sedentary or semi-sedentary and even semi-mobile to mobile way of life),
what was the rate of population growth, of artistic and ideological presentations, etc. In other words, the ancient
population had many more problems to resolve than those problems framed by the traditional Neolithisation
paradigm (domestication and diffusion of the Neolithic package).
In our case, if we preserve the term Neolithisation it just means formation of the early complex society
based on productive economy by multi-faceted social processes in the different micro-regions (Findlay et al.,
1997; zdoan, 2002). In this context I believe we deal with one of the most amazing moments in human his-
tory, because our distant ancestors discovered and patterned the foundation of our modern life, the homes, in
which we live, the food that we eat, and the bases of the multi-level and multi-scale social interrelations and
interactions and especially the fundamentals of what we name enculturation. In some regions Neolithic com-
munities even developed social strategies of investment, up to discovering gold and jewellery as an opportunity
to accumulate and reproduce wealth (the Hamangia Culture).

Neolithisation of the Balkans and the 8.2 ka event
The 8.2 ka event has been recognized as the most prominent climatic event occurring in the early Holocene
documented by the climate researchers. It is the result of a salinity anomaly in the North Atlantic, which was
caused by the outflow of two Laurentide glacial lakes, transferring its effects globally through oceanic and
atmospheric redistribution of energy (Sugden, 2005).
In point of fact, the role of the 8.2 ka event in the earlier prehistory of Eurasia has become a popular topic
for scholars interested either in the Neolithisation of Europe or in the economic and demographic crises in
Near East and in Anatolia. The simplified thesis argues that the 8.2 ka event caused a crisis in Anatolia and
stimulated a migration towards Europe. It is stated that in archaeological terms the climatic change known as
8.2 ka event coincides with the earliest pottery settlements in the Balkans (the so-called monochrome pottery
horizon) from the second half of the 7
th
millennium cal BC. This at first view makes a strong argument that
the Neolithisation of the Balkans was a result of the interruption in the Holocene climate known as the 8.2 ka
event, or in other words the latter caused migrations and demographic changes in Eurasia including a wave of
immigrants who occupied the Balkans.
Regarding Balkan prehistory, the problem was discussed by Bonsall (et al., 2000; 2002; 2004) at the mi-
cro-regional level: the Iron Gates case study, as well as more globally for the Balkans and Europe by Weninger
and collaborators (Weninger et al., in press). For the time being, it is noticeable in the Balkans a transition
to pottery settlements most probably began within the span of the 8.2 ka event or a little bit earlier. It is sug-
gested the climate to the south of the Danube was dryer during the 8.2 ka event that before and after the event
(Bonsall, 2006), but as L. Sugden (2005) stated the event induced environmental responses globally, at least
in the Northern Hemisphere, but the magnitude, spatial expression and mechanisms of this response are not
well understood.
Following this line of opinion, the best conditions for a graduate biological and social reproduction
within the Neolithic pottery population in the Balkans occurred actually after the 8.2 ka event, since the
beginning of the 6
th
millennium cal BC was the period of tremendous expansion of the pottery settlements.
Of the newly-discovered sites we would mention the village of Ilindentsi, which was founded on high ter-
race of the Struma Valley, probably in the period of the classical white painted pottery (Karanovo Ic and
Id analogies were documented by the excavator [Grebska-Kulova, 2005: 42]). This case study supports an
expansion of the white pottery settlements from south to north, but a period of population growth would
also have led to the subdivision (segmentation) of existing communities and gradually increasing settlement
density in the lower Struma Valley.
The conclusion would be that the 8.2 ka event did not favour, and possibly slowed the Neolithisation
process in the Balkans. Further palaeoclimatic and archaeological data would allow further research in depth
of this contentious problem.

Neolithisation, Enculturation and Anthropology of Everydayness
Although the Neolithisation of the Balkans is a deep-rooted theme in Balkan archaeology, the different
schools of thought discuss familiar problems such as: Neolithisation and migrations; Neolithisation and the
96
autochthonous population; Neolithisation and emergence of the earliest Neolithic archaeological cultures (Ka-
ranovo I, Starevo, etc.); Neolithisation and the monochrome ceramic horizon, etc.
In the 1990s R. Tringham (2000) and A. Whittle (1996: 37-46) offered different theoretical models of the
Neolithisation of southeast Europe, while in general terms it has become clear that none of the current theo-
ries (migration, colonization, economic change, disaster-like events, climatic change, psychological factors,
accumulation etc.) (Cauvin, 2000) can itself completely explain the archaeological data on one hand, and the
cultural process on the other, in any region of Neolithisation.
Anthropology of everydayness is also a traditional theme in archaeology. However, what makes the modern
development of this theory actual and powerful are its methodological principles: from a description of artefacts
of everydayness toward constructing structural models of prehistoric everydayness as a continuing development,
in which we can find reproducing traditions, ideas and enduring changes.
Anthropology of everydayness has attempted to develop not only as a theory of explanation of ancient
lives, but also it is strongly oriented toward the developing modern technique of excavating and documenting
structures and artefacts for constructing micro-cultural as well as macro-cultural processes. Usually the re-
searcher asks Why questions and answers as an outsider (e.g. They migrated because there was A (B, C...) type
of circumstances). Conversely, we might say They chose A or B as the most successful social reproduction
strategy for the community, which makes the ancient population not a subject and victim of nature and external
circumstances, but active social actors with clear and well-defined social reproduction strategies. This is the
place to point to at least two theoretical insights that could be useful for prehistoric cultural anthropology:
1. Evolution itself does not embody the trend of increasing complexity (Hodgson and Knudsen, 2006: 17).
2. Unlike the classical evolutionary schemes that posited a uniform direction of change from simple to complex
form, and from the homogeneous to the heterogeneous (Smith, 1976: 35), one can argue for multi-evolutional
and even devolution traits and search not only for the successful socially-reproduced strategies but also for
the errors since copying error is much more destructive to complexity than other forms of error, particularly
in environmental interactions or individual development (Hodgson and Knudsen, 2006: 17).
The contemporary development of the concept of cultural reproduction is associated with the work of
P. Bourdieau and the growing interest in everyday social practices, while it is generally assumed that social
reproduction is the process of reproduction of social relationships (Nikolova, 2006). We have emphasised that
reproduction does not mean the reiteration of certain traditions: in most cases social strategies are based on
different kinds of variations.
It seems that the increasing interest in the cultural-anthropological aspects of the earlier Neolithic from
the point of view of the anthropology of everydayness would in turn increase the value of cultural models as
in the case of the Iron Gates. Regarding the earliest pottery sites in the Balkans, we still are able to work only
with a few sites, which are situated at long distances from one another. On the other hand, there is only excep-
tional chronological continuity documented and respectively no opportunity for a detail analysis of the social
reproduction on-site.
A general model of social replication (fig. 3) includes several steps in social reproduction: mating (com-
petition, choice) and parenting (Betzig et al., 1988) followed by biological and social reproduction (kinship
grouping and social grouping by age, gender and/or interest).
For the time being, among the best records for social reproduction are the burials in the settlements (Nikolova,
2006) interpreted not only as evidence of the cult of the dead (Tilley, 1996: 215) but also an element in the
social reproduction strategies for enhancing of the living community. A strong case study are the burials from
northwest Anatolia (Early Neolithic Ilipinar), where on the periphery of the village were buried exclusively
children. Such a concentration of earlier Neolithic burials, for the time being, has been recorded in the Balkans
only at Maluk Preslavets painted pottery village (northeast Bulgaria), where the ages of the deceased vary (Infans
I, Infans II, Juvenilis, Adultus, Maturus [Yordanov and Dimitrova, 1996: 108]). However, isolated or grouped
single, or more rarely double and triple burials were typical of the Early Neolithic Balkans (Lichter, 2001).
Whittle (1996: 37, 39), who contrasts the foraging way of life to that of Neolithic sedentary communities,
includes in his comparison the increasing reverence of the dead as ancestors and for the principle of descent.
However, the village burials in Upper Thrace are not comparable either with those of Lepenski Vir nor with
those at Ilipinar. It is possible that flat cemeteries have not yet been discovered in Upper Thrace, but it also
looks likely that despite the communal manner of life, the cult of the dead during the Early Neolithic in the
Balkans was integrated into the household realm of traditions, and the graves were therefore dispersed. In
other words, the communal life did not require a communal cemetery, and according to the available data it is
in the later Neolithic when a central place of the ancestors was founded, for instance in the northeast Balkans
97
Fig. 3 - A simplified model of social replication, which was embodied in the Early Neolithic societies and has been reproducing till
nowadays.
(e.g. Durankulak). Curiously, the large cemetery occurred in an area with a relatively mobile population. Ac-
cordingly, in the early stages of civilization the settlement and the cemeteries complement each other - big
villages with no or smaller cemeteries, and a mobile or semi-sedentary (semi-mobile) - population with a
large cemetery as a central place.
We can also presume that cult of the ancestors (respectively the social memory of the ancestors), was the
framework of the everyday social life within the different sedentary and semi-sedentary communities. As Whit-
tle (1996: 37) has pointed out, the clay figurines may have represented ancestors, although they could also
represent mythic figures. The expressive finding from Thessaly, places the prehistoric figurines closer to the
ancestor beliefs (Coles, 1998), while the common stylistic peculiarities replicated over vast territories, and the
absence of individualized characteristics, may support their interpretation as mythic images. If one combines both
alternatives, including also a presumed divine function, probably we could be closer to the past reality; mythic
ancestors who connected the social-natural worlds of the communities and generations during feasts and rituals,
combining the vertical and horizontal aspects of enculturation, the so-called ein Medium der Kommunikation
(Cauvin, 2000: 29f. for the Near East; Hansen, 2006: 142). The role of the ancestors is very well documented
among traditional cultures and can be thought even as the original owners of the land (Kuper, 1982: 15).
Towards the Neolithic Social Complexity
Despite the broader database on the Neolithisation of the Balkans, recently there are still irresolvable prob-
lems that make research in depth difficult and leave the Neolithic experts at the level of general hypotheses:
We still have a limited knowledge about the development and the demographic destiny and peculiarities
of the hunter-gathering communities in the Central and Eastern Balkans in later 7
th
millennium cal BC, and
especially about what happened to them during the latest 7
th
and the beginning of the 6
th
millennia cal BC.
The data can be interpreted using different models and methodologies that permits two opposing models of
Neolithisation to co-exist: autochthonous, which is more plausible in the light of the newest data from the Iron
Gates, and pure migration, which connects the Neolithisation with immigrants from southeast and/or south only.
The analysis of the social complexity in the Iron Gates (Bori, 2005; Budja, pers. comm. 2006; Bonsall, pers.
comm. 2006) and the new radiocarbon data from the Iron Gates (Bori, 2005: 25) stimulate research into the
98
transformation of hunting-gathering strategies, keeping in mind that the earliest pottery sites occur in regions
closer to the Iron Gates (eastern Serbia and the Struma Valley). In archaeological terms, one possible next step
is to try to bridge socially the grave 7 (from House 21 at Lepenski Vir) discovered with an aurochs skull (Bori,
2005: 23-24) and the Neolithic data about social complexity.
1. The emergence of the earliest pottery settlements cannot answer the question of who founded those vil-
lages, camps or central places, since all hypotheses have been based on pottery data and burial evidence
is practically absent. However, the innovation of the fired pottery (ceramic) production can easily diffuse
and can be accepted in everyday life, as either as a replacement for wooden vessels or in the context of
revolutionary changes in diet and the development of the subsistence economy.
2. The role of the population from the latest 7
th
millennium cal BC in the settlement and the cultural explo-
sion during the first half of the 6
th
millennium cal BC cannot be evaluated realistically and cannot exclude
a possible new migration, since the evidence again makes possible only general hypotheses and allows the
co-existence of complementary and even of opposing explanation models.
In our opinion, Neolithisation represents a long-term process of gradual foundation and reproduction of
the earliest pottery-using complex societies and their spread over the whole territory of the Balkans. The flat
migration model of Neolithisation is based on distribution of societies in the space, while the social model of
Neolithisation stressed the gradual distribution of social complexity.
Fig. 4 - Model 1.1. A flat migration model of Neolithisation. Society 1 occupies social space 1 and later the same community occupies
social space 2 (top). Model 1.2. A social model of distribution of the Neolithic complexity in the Balkans. Society 1 occupies social
space 1 and the reproduced (more complex) society 1/1 occupies social space 2.
In theory the Balkan data support Model 1.2 (fig. 4) since any later Neolithic horizon is more complex
that the previous. The wider distribution of the white painted pottery is a stage of development of social com-
plexity, while the social strategies of economic and social stability required solidarity and possibly stimulated
macro-regional similarity in ceramic style over vast territories. But our understanding is that archaeological
similarity between households does not necessarily indicate social equality, since there are many archaeologi-
cally invisible distinctions. A special problem is how the land was exploited and its role in the development of
the Neolithic social complexity, but it is an unexplored theme that has been waiting for researchers specialised
in economic anthropology. It is usually believed that the land in prehistory provided the subsistence while the
accumulation of the wealth and the development of social hierarchy was a result of trade in exotic objects and
the emergence of metallurgy.
A special problem in earlier Balkan prehistory is the initial development of social stratification and the
biography of prestige objects.
Possible prestige items in the Early Neolithic in the Balkans include some exotic items like the obsidian knife
from Kliment-Banyata, in the Upper Stryama Valley, from the later Early Neolithic. Obsidian items have been
also reported from Kurdzhali, which marks one of the possible trade routes, along the Maritsa Valley from the
Aegean or Anatolia. However, obsidian was also distributed in the Carpathians and their neighbourhood (Biagi et
al., 2007) and in the Adriatic (Spataro, 2002: 12 and references cited there, pp. 201-202), and its function in the
Balkan macro-region would be different because of the existence of different resources and perhaps because of a
different understanding of its value. The Early Neolithic was exactly the period in which these prestige items were
first used not only in everyday life but also as a possible investment and as a source of accumulation of wealth.
However, the most prominent and expressive were some jewellery items. From the Early Neolithic, they
become in many cases emblems of social prosperity and wealth (e.g. finds from Hoca eme (Turkish Thrace)
and Gulubnic (Pernik District, western central Bulgaria) and later from Durankulak (northeast Bulgaria). This
fact allows us to propose that a specially important role in our model of the evolution of the social complexity
Society A/1 Society A 1/2
Society 1/1 Society 1 1/2
99
would have been played by customs associated with marriages (respectively the bride wealth and marriage
exchange) and generally the development of systems of hierarchical exchanges well-known from traditional
cultures (Kuper, 1982: 14 ff.; LiPuma, 1988: 148 ff.)
Researching these problems in depth and using these examples, it is possible that some pottery shapes and
especially painted pottery diffused into the Balkan as status symbols and not as everyday objects. Over time
the exotic and high-status items became more common in most of the communities because of the opportunity
for large-scale replication. But imports (see above about Kovachevo) and limited diffusion of some stylistic
types indicate that pottery has a specific cultural function in the social strategies of the Balkan prehistoric com-
munities. In other words, we have been posing generally the question of the development of the social meaning
of prehistoric objects. Applied to the topic of our study, the wide distribution of white-painted pottery itself
would be a sign of increasing complexity in the Balkans, and the differentiation of the functions of the pottery
productions and its ability to connect and distinguish communities through communication of or avoiding a
transmission of stylistic similarities. Further discussions, new data and critical considerations would probably
in future help to advance the understanding of the social aspects of development of complexity among the
Neolithic societies in the Balkans.
CONCLUSIONS
In light of the present evidence there are still many unresolved problems regarding the synchronization of
the earliest Neolithic pottery settlements in the different micro-regions of the Balkans. This makes any cultural
interpretations hypothetical and impedes in-depth research.
Within our 5-stage scheme of evolution of social complexity in Neolithic Balkans we have proposed two
typological and cultural-chronological horizons of the earliest Balkan pottery settlements (stage 1 of Balkan
Neolithic Social Evolution):
1. The initial pottery horizon: Hoca-eme 4, Krajnitsi 1, earliest Divostin, Koprivets 1, Dzhulyunitsa-
Smurdyak 1, Donja Branjevina III (c. ?6300/6200-6100 cal BC).
2. Earlier white-painted pottery horizon Kovachevo Ia/b, Donja Branjevina II, Vaksevo-Studena Voda 1-2,
Nevestino 1, Hoca eme 3 (c. 6200/6100-c. 6000 cal BC). Based on the comparative analysis of the pot-
tery from earlier Kovachevo and Rakitovo, it is possible that the Karanovo I Culture started during this
horizon, but we do not have direct evidence for a precise synchronisation.
The analysis of the data shows that the limited evidence of pottery-using settlements in the Balkans before
6000 cal BC may relate to the 8.2 ka event, while the real start of flourishing pottery long-term settlements in
the Balkans occurred just after the end of the 7
th
millennium cal BC; in other words, after the 8.2 ka event. The
8.2 ka event would therefore had a decisive role in the Neolithisation of the Balkans.
This approach has also proposed that our understanding of the problems of the earliest pottery com-
plex societies in the Balkans would benefit from further intensification of micro-regional interdisciplinary
investigations from the point of view of the anthropology of everydayness, by constructing micro- and me-
dium-social models of social reproduction. We also proposed a diachronic model of evolution of Neolithic
complexity in the Balkans, believing that in the earliest stage even painted pottery would have related to
the prestige items. Burials were a very important component of the social reproduction strategies working
towards development of the ancestry ideology of the kinship-based Neolithic society. Last but not least, we
believe that in the Neolithic Balkans the figurines were multifunctional, but their leading social function,
representing real and/or mythical ancestors, was to connect generations and communities over vast areas as
one of the strongest symbolic means of communication. Future in-depth research would add new arguments
and updates to the topics of this study.
Acknowledgements
First of all I would like to thank Professor P. Biagi and Dr. M. Spataro for their invitation to participate in the London Seminar in 2005.
To prepare this communication for publication, I benefited from my consultations with and/or kindly submitted offprints and papers in
press from Professors S. Chokhadzhiev, C. Bonsall, N.N. Tasi and B. Weninger, to whom I am indebted indeed.
My presentation at the Neolithic Seminar in Ljubljana (2006) and the guest-lecture on 30 November 2006 at the Free University in Berlin,
in collaboration with the Eurasian Department of the German Archaeological Institute, allowed me not only to discuss the problems,
but also to use the method of simulation models of social strategies, and I would like to thank all participants. The presentations at the
Neolithic Seminar in Ljubljana (2006) and the latest discussions on the topic and/or generally on prehistory with Professors M. Budja,
S. Hansen, W. Schier and Dr. R. Kraus were also extremely important for shaping my thesis and final conclusions in this approach.
100
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Authors Address:
LOLITA NIKOLOVA, University of Utah and International Institute of Anthropology, 29 State Street 206 USA - SALT LAKE CITY,
Utah 84111
e-mail: lnikolova@iianthropology.org
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NENAD TASI*
TELL-TALE SQUARES

SUMMARY - Tell-tale squares. In this paper the author discusses the origins of the earliest Neolithic cultures on the Balkan Peninsula.
For this purpose he analyses a symbolic system which appears as decoration on Neolithic pottery in the Balkans and Anatolia. Observing
the attraction of using geometrical forms in an identical manner and disposition, producing the same motifs, but also observing numerous
other details discussed in the text, the author concludes that these two regions must have been a part of an identical cultural environment,
and that the presence of the same population in the Balkans is the most plausible explanation.
RIASSUNTO - I quadrati raccontano. In questo lavoro lAutore prende in esame il problema delle origini delle culture del Neolitico
antico della Penisola Balcanica. A questo scopo egli analizza un sistema simbolico di decorazioni presenti sulle forme vascolari dei
Balcani e dellAnatolia. Dopo aver osservato limpiego di motivi geometrici ricorrenti, anche nei pannelli decorativi, che vengono a
proporre motivi identici, ed altri numerosi dettagli discussi nel testo, lAutore conclude che le due regioni devono aver fatto parte di
uno stesso ambiente culturale, e che la presenza di una stessa popolazione, nella Penisola Balcanica, sembrerebbe linterpretazione pi
plausibile.
INTRODUCTION
Having studied the prehistory of the Balkans in an environment where sharp differences in explaining
the origins of Neolithic culture existed, it was not an easy task for a novice in the field to decide on which of
two views to adopt. One was that of D. Srejovi who, after having discovered the culture of Lepenski Vir, put
all his efforts into linking the origins of the Starevo Culture to the Mesolithic of the Iron Gates. His entire
chronological framework of the period of Early and Middle Neolithic has been marked by his famous discovery.
The introduction of terms such as Proto Starevo was consequently aimed to accentuate the continuity between
these two cultural phenomena of the Central Balkans.
The other circle of Serbian prehistorians formed around M. Garaanin, excavator of Anzabegovo, Macedonia,
who advocated an idea of closer links of the Balkan Neolithic culture with that of the Anatolian plateau. His term
Balkan-Anatolian complex was aimed at explaining similarities in the material culture of these two regions.
Eventually, two episodes helped me in taking sides in this complicated matter. The first one occurred in the
spring of 2000 when, as an Alexander von Humboldt scholar, I visited museums and sites throughout southeastern
Europe, in the pursuit of material for my project dedicated to the chronology of the Early Neolithic. Thanks
to K. Kotsakis, of Aristotles University in Thessaloniki, and P. Chrisostomou, of the Museum in Giannitsa, I
was able to look at the material from the Early Neolithic site of Giannitsa. The other important factor for my
final decision on the origins of the Neolithic in the Balkans came about at the moment I acquired zdoan
and Baglens (1999) book Neolithic in Turkey - the cradle of civilization. This book, and particularly the
chapter by R. Duru (1999) The Neolithic of the Lake District, has unravelled for me the world of Neolithic
painted pottery of southern Anatolia.
The key problem in synchronizing the Early Neolithic of the Balkan Peninsula with the Anatolian Neolithic
used to be the difference in the colour of the ornament: in the Central Balkans the Neolithic starts with white
painted decoration, whereas Early Neolithic pottery in Anatolia was decorated with red colour on a pale surface.
Unfortunately this was enough for some of our colleagues to stop looking for common features among these
cultural phenomena.
Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 103-111

* Department of Archaeology, University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia

104
Long before these events I had a special affinity with the early white painting of the Neolithic of the central
Balkans. It had enchanted me for its diversity of combinations, mixture of linear and curvilinear motifs, but also
for the fact that it avoids a coherent systematization, so much preferred among fellow archaeologists. It also
turned out to be rather difficult to verbalize the content of this elaborately painted pottery.
The two pots shown here, different in size, shape and decoration, with one in white painting from Giannitsa
(fig. 1) (Chrisostomou, 1994) and the other painted red on buff from Kuruay (fig. 2) (Duru, 1994), more than
a thousand kilometres away, helped me comprehend that neither the colour of the ornament, nor the shape of
pot or the motif itself, but the way of thinking and appreciation of geometrical forms, inherent in both pieces
was the fil rouge which could link the entire phase of Early Neolithic in both regions.
In the vast region of the Balkans speckled with sites of the Early Neolithic which have a similar ornamental
system structure in painted pottery, stretching from Podgorie, Albania in the south-west to Kovaevo, Bulgaria in
the east and from Giannitsa in the south up to Donja Branjevina in the north, a tendency to represent geometrical
motifs can ascertained. The square, which occurs on a number of pots in the Balkans and southern Anatolia,
is perhaps the most striking of all. But there are not just squares depicted on pottery. Along with them, steps-
shaped motifs, straight lines, nets, triangles, wavy lines and leaf-shaped motifs are also common.
Fig. 1 - Painted pot from Giannitsa. Fig. 2 - Painted pot from Kuruay.
Squares
Only few pots with apparent squares have been discovered in the Balkans so far, which is probably the
reason they have not been recognised earlier as crucial for the understanding the Early Neolithic ornamental
system. The Giannitsa findings, discovered in 1991 have been mentioned above. Along with those there
are fragments of pottery discovered in Nea Nikomedeia (fig. 3, nos. 9, 12, 15; Yiouni, 1996) where we
can see an identical disposition of vertical and diagonal lines that resemble the one from Giannitsa. From
the site of Kovaevo there is one fragment (fig. 3, n. 14) decorated in the same manner (Pernieva, 1995).
However, there are many more pottery fragments with diagonal lines (straight, wavy or zigzag), which
can be reconstructed to form the square disposition. It is my belief that simple diagonal lines stand for the
square in later phases of the Early and Middle Neolithic (e.g. Kovaevo: fig. 3, n. 11 or Nea Nikomedeia
fig. 3, n. 15). But squares can be found on different types of objects as well, such as house models, altars
and censers, and they are always associated with a circle and/or diagonals. The square as a concept can
be traced all the way to the sites of the Lake District in Western Anatolia, like Kuruay Hyk or Hailar
(Mellaart, 1970; Duru, 1994; 1999). At these sites we can see identical treatment of metopes, related to
the circumference of the rim of the pot. Sometimes the calculations become even more complicated and
the metope is divided into 4 smaller ones. There are also vertical lines between metopes, with the identical
role of compensating for the even distribution of squares around the pot (examples from Hailar: Melaart,
1965; Duru, 1999; fig. 3, n. 2).
However, along with quadrates and rectangular metopes, a strict geometrical disposition can be also observed
in the proportions of an ascoid vessel from Hycek, but also in the disposition of a reclining female figurine
(Duru, 1999: figs. 21, 22). The square appears also on a miniature table from the same site. As we can see from
the chronological table for the Lake District (Duru, 1999) the sites of this region are somewhat earlier than
the Early Neolithic sites in the Balkans, so it appears that this tradition must have originated in their primary
inhabitation zone. The background for geometry has been probably set with the accumulated building traditions
of early settled communities of Anatolia. The masterpieces of architecture discovered at Aykli Hyk, Cafer
105
Hyk and Nevali ori with perfect rectilinear floor-
plans, or ayon with intriguing grill-plan buildings,
could explain the importance of geometry and its high
standards (zdoan and Balegen, 1999).
When we think of the fact that the square is almost
totally absent from the natural world, then we become
puzzled by Neolithic geometry. Quadrate form is utterly
artificial and represents an opposition to the circle (e.g.
Lawlor, 1989). Being a two-dimensional shadow of the
sphere, the circle represents the natural world, and is
regarded throughout cultural history as a symbol of the
indescribable oneness. On the other hand, the square
represents the manifest and comprehensible world. It
would appear then that the clash between circle and
square represents societys battle with nature and the
attempt to break free from its ruthless temper.
Steps, zigzags
As we can see from numerous examples, a square
is almost always associated with steps or wavy lines.
A steps-shaped motif is apparently a very important
one and can be encountered over a very long period of
time. It can be found in the course of entire Early and
Middle Neolithic of the Balkans. When painted, steps
are almost always organized together with some other
ornament and are placed diagonally in relation to the rim
e.g. Anzabegovo, (fig. 3, n. 13) or Gradinile in Romania
(fig. 3, n. 10) (Nica, 1992).
Steps are occasionally represented in negative, as
it is the case on a white painted pot from Kovaevo, Bulgaria (Pernieva, 1995). Occasionally the steps are
hidden within some other ornament (Pernieva, 1995: Plate I/7). When incised they have a form of a zigzag
ornament. The zigzag motif is almost exclusively placed diagonally relative to the rim. There are also plastic
zigzag ornaments (possibly handles) on Early Neolithic pottery (Donja Branjevina) and altars (Kovaevo, cube).
The importance of steps or zigzag motifs regardless of the material or technique can be also ascertained on the
basis of a representation of a zigzag shaped pendant represented on a female figurine discovered at the site of
Donja Branjevina. One of those pendants has been recently discovered at the site of Blagotin, Serbia (Nikoli
and Zeevi, 2001) (fig. 4). As we can see from the examples from Kovaevo and Donja Branjevina (fig. 5),
zigzag lines are closely associated with houses and women. The decoration incised on the buttocks on these
female figurines corresponds well with the ornamental system regularly represented on altars or censers.
Altars
If we take a closer look at altars and house models from Kovaevo (Pernieva, 1995), Vrnik (Garaanin,
1979), Lepenski Vir, Donja Branjevina (Karmanski, 2005) and other sites of the early Neolithic of the Central
Balkans we can conclude that these representations are most probably associated with the idea of domus. Female
attributes often placed on the legs of altars associate them with women as well. There is a variety of motifs that can
be found on these objects. However, the most frequent are zigzag lines, diagonally placed steps, moulded breasts
and sometimes female busts (fig. 6). Regardless of the technique of decoration, steps find their place in almost
every altar and house model of the Early and Middle Neolithic of southeastern Europe. Another striking feature
exclusively found on altars would be the association of square and circle in three dimensions. Numerous examples
show that the base of an altar always bears a circular receptacle. Sometimes, as we can see from altars from Donja
Branjevina, we discover diagonal lines carved in or moulded on the lower side of a base. The example from Obre,
Serbia (Brukner, 1960) demonstrates the longevity of this phenomenon (fig. 7). This piece is dated to the end of
the Starevo Culture, and there are opinions that it coincides with the beginning of the Vina Culture.
Fig. 3 - Painted pots from different sites: Giannitsa, Greece (1,
4 and 7); Hacilar V, Anatolia, Turkey (2); Kuruay 13, Anatolia,
Turkey (3); Kuruay 11, Anatolia, Turkey (5); Podgorie, Alba-
nia (6); Anzabegovo, Macedonia (8 and 13); Nea Nikomedeia,
Greece (9 and 12); Gradinile, Romania (10); Kovaevo, Bulgaria
(11 and 14).
106
Fig. 4 - Donja Branjevina, Serbia (1-3, 7 and 8); Blagotin, Serbia (4); Grivac, Serbia (5); Vrnik, Macedonia (6); Goljama Tumba,
Macedonia (9).
107
Spectacular findings from Lepenski Vir, and here I do not mean
the famous stone sculptures, but altars discovered in Neolithic layers
of the site, show how deeply the potters of the Early Neolithic could
have plunged thinking about abstract forms such as square, cube, sphere and other three dimensional forms (Srejovi,
1971). Mounted on a pedestal, represented by a cube-shaped home (domus), similar to those from other Early
Neolithic sites in Macedonia, there is a receptacle in the form of a square wrapped over a sphere! The question of
the relationship between these finds and the Mesolithic strata of Lepenski Vir, which is also an important issue,
will not be discussed here.
PRINCIPLES OF NEOLITHIC GEOMETRY
I would like to return to the pot from Giannitsa once more (fig. 1). In that case the height of the motif is almost
identical to the radius of the pot. Since there are more examples from the same period representing an identical
strategy (fig. 3) we could agree that this is definitely not a mere coincidence. In order to achieve such a decoration
on a pot one would have to be well aware of the basics of geometry.
In order to demonstrate the complexity of this way of thinking I shall present one of the approaches towards
solving the legendary mathematical problem of squaring the circle. If the circle with the radius 1 is rotated along
the surface for 180
o
the line between points A and B will equal number . If we draw the semicircle with the
radius AC=AB+1 and extend the radius of the right circle until it bisects the semicircle at a point D then we will
thus obtain following equation ABxBC=BD
2
which would solve the problem of the squaring of a circle since
AB= and BC=1. The bizarre fact is that the pot from Giannitsa shown at figure 1 has a rim identical to the
circle of diameter AC, the dimensions of the metopes are identical to the square produced above and the base
of the pot identical to the circle with the radius 1.
It is quite clear that Neolithic potters were not aware of this dilemma in the form quoted above, and did not
decide on the height of the decoration because of some abstract geometrical problem. On the other hand, it is
evident that the ancient potters must have had a serious problem when attempting to paint the square with the side
equal to the radius of the pot without having an empty space between the squares or metopes. This disposition
would probably not deserve such attention if the circle (in these examples determined by the dimension of the
rim of a vessel) was to be divided in 4, 8 or 16. In the cases of Giannitsa, Rakitovo, Kuruay and some other,
we can see that there were 6 metopes, so more than simple bisection of the circle was needed. Vertical lines
were placed between squares (sometimes two and sometimes three of them), which have helped to compensate
for the impossibility of applying the above-mentioned equation
using either algebraic or geometrical methods (fig. 7).
More examples of elaborate geometrical calculations can be
observed at the pots from Podgorie, Albania and Donja Branjevina,
Serbia (fig. 8). On both pots the potter had to calculate the size
of each triangle (or a square made of two triangles) relative to
the perimeter of the pot very precisely. In order to apply this
attractive decoration - where red and white triangles encircle the
pot in friezes and cover entire surface of the pot - the calculation
had to be relative to the diameter of the pot but also to the sphere
and the diameter of the base of the pot (fig. 9). It is amazing that
a small cylindrical pot has been discovered at Giannitsa (fig. 10,
Fig. 6 - Altar from Obre, Serbia.
Fig. 5 - Figurines from Kovaevo (a) and Donja Branjevina (b and c).
A
B
C
D
108
Fig. 7 - Geometrical calculations recorded on Neolithic pottery from Podgorie, Giannitsa and
Kuruay.
109
left), which can be regarded as a geometrical exercise.
It seems that the decoration has been left unfinished, as
if the potter was caught halfway through in laying out
the grid for friezes of triangles. The shape of the pot
is also not standard for this period but makes it easier
for the potter to practice this complicated calculation.
Further examples of identical geometrical ideas can be
found at Hacilar, and other sites mentioned above (fig.
10, right).
But why did ancient potters decide to promote
geometry as a standard for decoration of their display
pottery? Was it a simple replica of the decoration applied in some other media such as basketry or weaving
(Cootner, 1990), where geometrical motifs are determined by the material and the structure of the product
itself? A voice against the idea that the elements of decorative system found at Early Neolithic pottery was
derived from weaving is that of M. Mallet (1994),
who argues that very few of the elements from
Hailar V pottery, could be successfully duplicated
in the slit-weave tapestry of Anatolia. She informs us
further that colour intersections aligned vertically
and numerous narrow parallel verticals or diagonals
are features that experienced tapestry weavers try
their best to avoid. Subsequently, it must have
been something other than aesthetics that stood
behind this elaborate geometrical decoration. In
my opinion it is plausible to argue that the affinity
towards complicated geometrical calculations with
squares painted on the pottery of Lake District and
Central Balkans, represented on altars, censers and
house models, originates from the tradition of house
building from the beginnings of the Neolithic in the
primary Neolithisation zone, or more precisely its
northern part.
The devotion to home and its benefits could have
been celebrated in this way by newly settled humans.
But, if we remember that among other benefits of
the transition to a sedentary way of life and food production, the most important and the most visible one was
a population boom and much better chance of raising
healthy offspring, then we must agree that the Neolithic
new deal must have had much more impact on women
than on men. There are fair chances that in the course of
Neolithisation woman acquired a key role in the domestic
realm. Her new duties were probably focused on the
household, food consumption and storage planning, care
of children and the elderly and organization of social life
in the village. All of a sudden she became a decision-
maker. The process of sedentarisation has been observed
in the 1960s in the Huottuja, hunter-gatherer society of
southern Venezuela. M. Melnyk (1993) informs us that
in their transition to a sedentary way of life women had
the decisive role when determining their future. Numerous Neolithic female figurines associated with domus
seem to confirm the newly acquired status of women.
Pottery making was, according to K. Vitelli (1993), probably another one of her new activities and
interests. If so, the ornamental system on the Early Neolithic pottery must have been an expression of the lady
of the house. The entire symbolical system preserved on pottery fragments with squares and circles, zigzag
motifs and complex geometry most probably represent womens rational and yet emotional statement, which
Fig. 8 - Painted pottery from Donja Branjevina (left) and Podgorie
(right).
Fig. 9 - Altars from Lepenski Vir (1 and 4), Donja Branjevina
(2) and Padina (3).
Fig. 10 - Painted vessels from Giannitsa (left) and Hailar
(right).
110
is praising the idea of domus and the settled way of life. The power of this idea, visualized through squares,
circles and geometry, is evident in the fact that it was dispersed across continents and sustained there for a long
time. Recorded on pottery of the two regions we have an ideological system, which explains how far in abstract
thinking those people reached. It is also shows an awareness that this way of thinking made them prosperous.
It is probably unwise to expect that the proof for cultural links among the populations of the Balkans and
Anatolia would emanate merely through identical colour used to paint a pot, or in a preference towards a particular
type of inclusion in the clay or in the shape of a pot. On the other hand the way of thinking that could have lain
behind the geometry on the pottery, as I have tried to demonstrate above, can be confirmed in contemporaneous
archaeological sites more than a thousand kilometres apart. This speaks in favour of the existence of a common
cultural and ideological sphere. Being utterly abstract, this complex and elaborate ideological scheme probably
could not be transferred by a means other than narrative, which indicates that proficient verbal and symbolic
communication must have existed among these communities.
111
R E F E R E N C E S
Bogdanovi, M. 2004 - Grivac: Naselja Protostarevake i Vinanske kulture. Centar za nauna istraivanja SANU i Univerziteta u
Kragujevcu. Narodni muzej, Kragujevac.
Brukner, B.1960 - Batine-Obre-Srem - Naselje. Arheoloki pregled, 2: 18-23. Belgrade.
Chrisostomou, P. 1994 - Neolithic excavation in the city and the area of Giannitsa in 1991. To Arhaiologiko Ergo sti Makedonia kai
Thraki, 5: 111-125. Thessaloniki.
Cootner, C. 1980 - Anatolian Kilims. Philip Wilson, San Francisco.
Duru, R. 1994 - Kuruay Hyk I - 1978-1988 Kazlarnn Sonular-Neolitik ve Erken Kalkolitik a Yerlemeleri. TTK, Bez Ciltli.
Kitap ok Temizdir, Ankara.
Duru, R. 1999 - The Neolithic of the Lake District. In zdoan, M. and Bagelen, N. (eds.) Neolithic in Turkey. The Cradle of Civilization,
1: 165-192. Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yayinlari, Istanbul.
Garaanin, M. 1979 - Centralnobalkanska zona. In Garaanin, M. (ed.) Praistorija Jugoslavenskih zemalja, II: 79-213. Svjetlost i
Akademija nauka Bosne i Hercegovine, Sarajevo.
Haaland, R. 1997 - Emergence of sedentism: new ways of living, new ways of symbolizing. Antiquity, 71: 374-385.
Karmanski, S. 2005 - Donja Branjevina: A Neolithic settlement near Deronje in the Vojvodina (Serbia). Societ per la Preistoria e
Protostoria della Regione Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Quaderno 10. Trieste.
Korkuti, M. 1995 - Neolithikum und Chalkolithikum in Albanien. Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften. Internationale Kommission
Erforschung Vorgesch. Balkans. Monographien, 4. Zabern, Heidelberg.
Lawlor, R. 1989 - Sacred Geometry: Philosophy and Practice. Thames and Hudson, London.
Mallet, M. 1994 - Tracking the Archetype: Technique-Generated Designs and their Mutant Offspring. Oriental Rug Review, 14 (2):
http://www.marlamallett.com/archetyp.htm
Matsanova, V. 2003 - Cult Practices in the Early Neolithic Village of Rakitovo. In Nikolova, L. (ed.) Early Symbolic Systems for
Communication in Southeast Europe. BAR International Series, 1139 (1): 65-70. Archaeopress, Oxford.
Melaart, J. 1965 - Earliest Civilizations of the Near East. Thames and Hudson, London.
Melnyk, M. 1993 - The effects of sedentarization on agriculture and forest resources in Southern Venezuela. Rural Development Forestry
Network. Network paper, 16b. (http://www.odifpeg.org.uk/publications/rdfn/16/rdfn-16b.pdf)
Nica, M. 1992 - Le grupe culturel Circea-Gradinile dans le contexte du Nolithique Balkanique. Zbornik radova Narodnog muzeja u
Beogradu, XIV: 103-112. Belgrade.
Nikoli, D. and Zeevi, J. 2001 - Blagotin istraivanja 1989-1999. Centar za arheoloka istraivanja, Belgrade.
zdoan, M. and Bagelen, N. (eds.) Neolithic in Turkey. The Cradle of Civilization. Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yayinlari, Istanbul.
Pernieva, L. 1995 - Prehistoric Cultures in the Middle Struma Valley: Neolithic and Eneolithic. In Bailey, D.W. and Panayotov, I.
(eds.) Prehistoric Bulgaria. Monographs in World Archaeology, 22: 99-140. Prehistory Press, Madison.
Srejovi, D. 1971 - Die Lepenski Vir-Kultur und der Beginn der Jungsteinzeit an der mittleren Donau. Die Anfnge des Neolithikums
vom Orient bis Nordeuropa, II. Fundamenta, A-3. Kln.
Vitelli, K. 1999 - Looking up at Early Ceramics in Greece. In Skibo, J.M. and Feinman, G.M. (eds.) Pottery and people a dynamic
interaction: 184-198. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.
Yiouni, P. 1996 - The Early Neolithic Pottery. In Rodden, R.J. and Wardle, K.A. (eds.) Nea Nekomedeia I. The excavation and the
ceramic assemblage. The British School at Athens. Supplementary Volume, 25: 55-194. Alden Press, Oxford and Northampton.
Authors Address:
NENAD TASI, Department of Archaeology, University of Belgrade, ika Ljubina 18-20 YU - 11000 BEOGRAD
e-mail: ntasic@f.bg.ac.yu
113
MUZAFER KORKUTI*
THE EARLY NEOLITHIC OF ALBANIA IN A BALKAN PERSPECTIVE
SUMMARY - The Early Neolithic of Albania in a Balkan perspective. The frst phase of the Early Neolithic in Albania, which is relatively
short, is characterised by the presence of coarse and very plain ware. All the assemblages considered so far include a few impressed
fragments, but not the classical Impressed Ware, and red monochrome, while painted ware is entirely absent. The developed phase of
the Early Neolithic (or second phase), which is relatively longer, is represented by painted ware and by important technological changes
in stone tool and ceramic production. The ceramics consist of red monochrome and painted ware with very thin walls and impressed
and barbotine decorated pottery. A distinctive element of this phase is the introduction of a new ritual behaviour, such as burials inside
the house and the Magna mater cult, which is evidenced by the discovery of anthropomorphic fgurines.
RIASSUNTO - Il Neolitico Antico dellAlbania in una prospettiva balcanica. La prima fase del Neolitico Antico in Albania, che
rappresenta un periodo piuttosto breve, caratterizzata dallimpiego di ceramica grossolana, priva di decorazioni. Tutti i complessi studiati
sinora hanno restituito pochi frammenti impressi, non attribuibili alla Cultura della Ceramica Impressa classica, mentre la ceramica rossa
monocroma e quella dipinta sono totalmente assenti. La fase avanzata del Neolitico Antico (o seconda fase), relativamente pi lunga
della precedente, rappresentata da ceramica dipinta e da importanti cambiamenti tecnologici nellindustria litica e nella produzione
vascolare. Questultima consiste in ceramica rossa monocroma e dipinta, con pareti molto sottili e decorazioni ad impressioni e a
barbotino. Un elemento particolare di questa fase lintroduzione di un nuovo comportamento rituale: il seppellimento allinterno della
casa ed il culto della Magna mater, evidente in base alla scoperta di figurine antropomorfe.
INTRODUCTION
The study of Neolithic cultures in Albania has followed two principal paths. The frst is the intensive inves-
tigation of southeastern Albania (specifcally the Kora basin) through systematic excavations in the settlements
of Maliqi, Tren, Vashtmi, Podgorie, Bari, Burimas and Drsnik. Secondly there have been short seasonal
excavations in the rest of the territory, in the settlements of Kamnik, Cakran, Kolsh, Blaz, Nezir, Gradec, Cetush,
Burim, Rajc, Rashtan, Vlusha, Bnj and Konispol (Korkuti, 1987) (fg. 1).
These excavations provide evidence of the density of inhabitation of the territory of Albania since the Neo-
lithic, and continuous development from the Neolithic to the Copper Age. The Neolithic settlements are spread
throughout the entire country, with the only exception of the western coastal lowland, where Early Neolithic
settlements have not so far been discovered.
THE SITES AND THEIR POTTERY ASSEMBLAGES
As a result of systematic excavations, the Early Neolithic is represented by the settlements of Vlusha,
Podgorie I, Vashtmi, Bari I (Kora district), Burim I, Cetush I (Dibra district), Kolsh I (Kuks district), Blaz
II (Mat district), Katundas I (Berati district) and Konispol III (Saranda district). There is also evidence of the
existence of other, so far unexcavated sites.
Landscape conditions have determined two types of settlements: the frst includes those sites, which are
located on low hills and fuvial terraces, or at wetland edges, such as the fertile river valleys. This includes
the settlements of Podgorie, Burim Kolsh, etc. There are cases when the location of the settlement offers
very good natural protection, as is the case at Kolsh and Cetush. The second type is represented by cave

* Institute of Archaeology, Tirana, Albania

Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 113-117
114
sites located in valleys with favourable
conditions, such as the caves of Nezir,
Blaz, Katundas, Konispol etc. (Korkuti
and Prendi, 1995: 99-103).
Based on the techniques of pottery
production, which is considered as a prin-
cipal indicator of development, the Early
Neolithic in Albania incorporates two main
phases (Prendi, 1990: 399; Korkuti, 1995:
251-261): a) Early Neolithic with coarse
ware, and b) Early Neolithic with fne and
painted wares.
The frst phase of the Early Neolithic
in Albania, which is relatively short, is
characterised by the use of coarse and plain
wares. All the assemblages considered so
far include a few impressed fragments, but
not the classical Impressed Ware, while red
monochrome and painted ware is entirely
absent.
Vlusha, Konispol and Burim are the
typical settlements of this period. The ce-
ramic assemblages are usually coarse. The
fabric consists of a mixture of clay and
sand, poorly baked, which produces a rough
surface and a grey or a slightly darkish grey
colour. The shape of the vessels is relatively
simple, with straight rims, occasionally
turned slightly inwards, as well as bowls of
different sizes, etc. The bottoms are usually
fat; handles are simple: only a few of them
are of a bearded shape. The decorative pat-
terns are also very simple: a few impressed
fragments, and a few with impressed stripes
in relief (fg. 2). The same situation has
been encountered at Sidari (Corfu), where
the earliest cultural context of level C has
yielded coarse monochrome wares, simi-
lar to those from Konispol III and Vlusha
(Sordinas, 1969: 401-407).
A few similarities can also be noticed between the coarse ware of this earliest phase (from Vlusha and Koni-
spol), especially the main types, and the inland Balkan cultures represented by Starevo I (Benac, 1971: 98).
It is important to notice that the coarse ware in Vlusha occurs together with lunate microliths, which
provides evidence of the continuation of the Mesolithic tradition in the flint industry (Prendi, 1990: 401)
(fig. 3).
The discovery of flint tools of Mesolithic tradition at Vlusha, together with the production of ceramics,
seem to demonstrte that the new culture developed on the basis of a Mesolithic tradition. Vlusha is the
only case to refer to, when considering the transition from Mesolithic to Neolithic in Albania, a process,
which is still not well understood, due to the scarcity of data (Korkuti, 1995: 32).
The developed phase of the Early Neolithic (or second phase), which is longer, is represented by painted
ware and is characterised by important technological changes in stone tool and ceramic production. The ceram-
ics consist of red monochrome and painted wares with very thin walls and impressed and barbotine decorated
pottery. A distinctive element of this phase is the introduction of a new ritual behavior, with burials inside the
house and the Magna mater cult, which is evidenced by the discovery of anthropomorphic fgurines (Korkuti,
1995: 34-36).
Fig. 1 - Distribution map of the Neolithic settlements mentioned in the text.
Early Neolithic
Middle Neolithic
Late Neolithic
Copper Age
115
On the basis of the most important ceramic decorations, there are three main variants of the second phase
of the Albanian Early Neolithic:
1. The Kora basin Culture, represented by Podgorie I, whose distinctive feature is the impressed decoration
of the devollite style (fg. 4), and the white paint on a red surface (fg. 5 top). The latter pattern suggests
cultural and chronological similarities with Early Neolithic in Thessaly (Presesklo Culture, Magoulitza
phase) and in Macedonia (Vernik and Anzabegovo I Cultures) (Prendi, 1990: fgs. 6-11).
Fig. 2 - Impressed Wares from Konispol
Cave (top) and Burim (bottom).
Fig. 3 - Vlusha: Microlithic lunates (1 and 2) and potsherds (3 and 4) (after Korkuti,
1995: tables 3 and 4).
Fig. 4 - Podgorie: devollite style Impressed
Ware pottery.
Fig. 5 - White-on-red painted pottery
from Podgorie (top) and Impressed Ware
potsherds from Vashtmi (bottom).
Fig. 6 - Kolsh: brown-on-red painted
(top) and Starevo Impressed potsherds
(bottom).
116
2. The Northeastern Culture, represented by Kolsh I, whose distinctive
feature is the brown paint on the red surface (fg. 6), culturally and
chronologically related to Rudnik III in Kosovo, and to phase Ib of
the Starevo Culture of the inland Balkans (Korkuti, 1995: 71-72).
3. Blaz II in Mat, whose distinctive feature is the Cardium Impressed
Ware (fg. 7 top) related to the Eastern Adriatic cultures represented
by Smili I style (Prendi, 1990: 419-422).
4. The establishment of a relative chronology for the main Early Neolithic
settlements is at present problematic, mainly because of the diferent
regions in which they occur (the Kora basin, Mati region, Drini I Zi
middle valley, Kuksi and Berat-Skrapar region), variations in the length
of the site occupation and different intensity of inhabitation. According
to the available chronological sequence, the settlement of Vlusha repre-
sents the earliest phase, followed by Podgorie Ia, Podgorie Ib, Vashtmi,
Kolsh I, Blaz II, Burim I, Cetushi I, Blaz I and II, Katundas I, etc. Most
of these settlements are considered to be more or less chronologically
contemporaneous.
CONCLUSION
Analogies with the cultures of the neighboring countries of the Balkan
and the Adriatic coast would produce the following results:
1. Vlusha = Starevo I, Sidari C, Protosesklo.
2. Podgorie I = Presesklo (Magoulitza phase) and early Sesklo, Anza-
begovo-Vernik I-Velushko Porodin I-II-Nea Nikomedia.
3. Kolsh I = Starevo IIb, Rudnik III.
4. Blaz I and II = Zelena Peina III, Obre I (phase II), Adriatic I (Car-
dium Impressed Ware II phase).
Fig. 7 - Eastern Adriatic Impressed Wares
from Blaz (top) and impressed potsherds
from Katundas (bottom).
117
R E F E R E N C E S
Benac, A. 1971 - Le Nolithique ancien dans les Balkans du Nord-Ouest et ses relations avec les rgions voisines. Actes du VIII
e
Congres
International des Sciences Prhistoriques et Protohistoriques. Tome premier, Rapports Gnraux: 97-108. Belgrade.
Korkuti, M. 1987 - 25 years of research on the Neolithic and Aeneolithic in Albania. Iliria, 2: 5-12. Tirana.
Korkuti, M. 1995 - Neolithikum und Chalkolithikum in Albanien. Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften. Internationale Interaka-
demische Kommission fr die Erforschung der Vorgeschichte des Balkans. Monographien, IV. von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein.
Korkuti, M. and Prendi, F. 1995 - Modelli e strutture insediative durante il Neolitico e lEneolitico in Albania. Memorie del Museo
Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona, Sezione Scienze dellUomo, 1999 (4): 99-103. Verona.
Prendi, F. 1990 - Nolithique ancien en Albanie. Germania, 68 (2): 399-426.
Sordinas, A. 1969 - Investigations of the Prehistory of Corfu during 1964-1966. Balkan Studies, 10 (2): 393-424. Thessaloniki.
Authors Address:
MUZAFER KORKUTI, Institute of Archaeology, TIRANA, Albania
e-mail: instark@albmail.com
119
Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 119-127
IVAN GATSOV*
THE NEOLITHISATION PROCESS BETWEEN ANATOLIA
AND THE BALKANS: A LITHIC PERSPECTIVE
FROM THE REGION AROUND THE SEA OF MARMARA
SUMMARY - The Neolithisation process between Anatolia and the Balkans: a lithic perspective from the region around the Sea of
Marmara. The main goal of this paper is to present technological and typological features of the chipped stone assemblages connected
with the earliest evidence of the Neolithisation in the area around Marmara Sea. In this connection special attention was deserved to
the appearance and spreading out of the bullet cores and corresponding techniques - from the Crimean peninsula to the south Marmara
region as well. The idea is that the occurrence of this type of core suggests the existence of some local element in the formation of the
Neolithic flint industries. This local element could be detected in the shape of bullet core techniques in the Epipalaeolithic/Mesolithic
assemblages in the area of northwestern Pontic and Turkish Black Sea shore as well.
RIASSUNTO - Il processo di neolitizzazione tra lAnatolia e I Balcani: le caratteristiche delle industrie litiche della regione del Mar di
Marmara. Lo scopo di questo lavoro di presentare gli aspetti tecnologici e tipologici dei complessi in pietra scheggiata che riguardano
i momenti pi antichi della neolitizzazione della regione del Mar di Marmara. Attenzione particolare stata rivolta alla comparsa e alla
diffusione dei nuclei a palla di fucile ed alle tecniche corrispondenti, dalla penisola di Crimea alla regione a sud del Mar di Marmara. Lidea
della comparsa di questa tipologia di nuclei suggerisce la presenza di alcuni elementi locali nella formazione delle industrie neolitiche
in selce. Questi elementi potrebbero essere individuati nelle tecniche impiegate per la produzione del nucleo a palla di fucile, allinterno
dei complessi Epipaleolitici/Mesolitici del Ponto nordoccidentale e della costa Turca del Mar Nero.
INTRODUCTION
The problem of the Pleistocene-Holocene tran sition in Bulgarian prehistory is still more or less underestimated.
The very uneven level of in vestigation of the palaeoenvironment is one of the main reasons for a lack of evidence
for a period covering a time-span of some 2000 years. In most of the research little attention has been paid to the
processes of accumu lation and the investigation of the palaeosoils, palaeoclimate, etc. (Gatsov, in press).
For the time being, on the basis of the technological and typological features, the Dikilitash collection
from the north Bulgarian Black Sea shore has much in common with the Epi/Tardigravettian tradition in the
Iron Gates region of the Danube River - 11
th
-8
th
millennium uncal BP (Gatsov, 2001).
The other problem is linked to the occurrence of the so-called Monochrome period in Bulgaria, which is
one of most debated issues in the prehistoric literature. The period was defined by H. Todorova in 1973 on the
basis of evidence from the Polianica Platoto site near Tragoviste, in northern Bulgaria (Todorova, 1989) and
even now this is the only radiocarbon-dated settlement of that period (Bojadziev, 2006: 9-16).
The Monochrome Neolithic period in Bulgaria poses some research and methodological problems. First of
all, the territory where the first evidence of the Monochrome phase has been found does not display any cultural
remains of the transitional Epipalaeolithic/Mesolithic period. Except for unstratified material from Dikilitash,
no artefact, which might be referred to the end of the Pleistocene or the beginning of the Holocene has been
found. The absence of absolute dates does not allow the definition of the chronology of these finds.
Furthermore, from technological and typological points of view, the artefacts from Dikilitash are absolutely
different to those from the Monochrome in northeastern Bulgaria, where the material from the very important
site at Koprivets deserves particular attention (Zlateva, 1999). The same observation could be made about the

* Department of Archaeology, New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria

120
chipped stone assemblages from the white-painted pottery horizon in northern or Bulgarian Thrace mentioned
below.
At this stage of research in northern Thrace, the earliest Neolithic settlements are those with white-painted
ceramics. The best-known settlements are: Karanovo I, Azmak - Early Neolithic layer, and Capitan Dimitrievo
(Gatsov, 1999).
THE CHIPPED STONE ASSEMBLAGES
A very characteristic blade technology is the manufacture of long blades with high semi-abrupt or abrupt
retouch from high quality flint of yellow, yellow/brownish colour. The Early Neolithic chipped stone assem-
blages in northern Thrace reflect a standardised blade production, which suggests the existence of specialised
artisans and a certain degree of labour organisation and control (fig. 1).
Some significant changes in the utilisation of the raw material and the dimensions of the blanks of the
chipped stone assemblages have been observed after 5500 cal BC. The chipped stone assemblages from Tell
Karanovo (phases II-III, III, III-IV and IV) reflect in the raw material technology, and blank and tool dimen-
sions. The high quality flint was replaced by a lower quality variety, chert and quartzite, and the chipped stone
industry was orientated to the production of smaller size blanks, mainly irregular flakes and a lower number
of blades (Gatsov, 2005).
The chipped stone assemblages from the very important site of Capitan Dimitrievo and the Late Neolithic
layers of other settlements in southwest Bulgaria are also represented by smaller artefacts obtained from lower
quality, local raw material varieties than in earlier phases of the Neolithic. On the whole, all assemblages more
recent than 5500 cal BC of this region show a significant technological decline, as well as an abrupt change in
the supply system of lower quality, local raw material.
At the same time, the main technological and typological characteristics of the Early Neolithic
chipped stone assemblages of northern Thrace are different to those of the Epipalaeolithic/Mesolithic
collections from the Black Sea shore and the assemblages from the Monochrome phase, such as the
Koprivets material.
The earliest Neolithic chipped stone assemblages from Hoca eme in Turkey (Gatsov, 2000) are made
with very homogenous raw material and flake blank structure, which indicates a local raw material supply
(fig. 1). No changes in the raw material, technology and typological structure have been recorded within the
different cultural phases. The only exceptions to this uniformity are a few flint blades with thick semi-abrupt
retouch, very characteristic of the Early Neolithic chipped stone assemblages in Bulgarian Thrace, among
which are those of Karanovo I, Karanovo II and Azmak (Early Neolithic layer). These blades are undoubt-
edly imported from northern Thrace.
From a technological point of view, there are recognisable differences between the Hoca eme assemblages,
the Bulgarian Early Neolithic ones and those from the south Marmara region. The differences can be found in
the basic raw materials, and in the typological features. In conclusion the chipped stone assemblage from Hoca
eme is different to all the other assemblages presented in this report in several respects.
Keeping in mind the main features of the lithic industry of Hoca eme, a huge technological gap between
Hoca eme and the assemblages from Aali group and the Early Neolithic industries from northern Thrace
and the south Marmara region should be pointed out. The knapping process at Hoca eme was based on the
exploitation of multidirectional flake cores. Flakes were always detached using hard hammer percussion. In
this way, the Hoca eme flaked assemblages are absolutely different to the single platform reduction tech-
niques, typical of the Aali group and of the chipped stone assemblages from Ilipinar, Fikir-tepe, Pendik, and
Mentee (fig. 2).
The reason for the unique character of the Hoca eme flaked industry is unclear. It is possible that the Hoca
eme population could represent part of the first Neolithisation wave from Anatolia to this region (zdoan,
1998). In this case, the difference between the technology of Hoca eme and the chipped stone assemblages
of the Aali group and the Marmara region sites might reflect different episodes and ways of adaptation.
My knowledge of the Monochrome period at Koprivets, in the Russe region of northern Bulgaria, allows
me to suggest the existence of some parallels between Hoca eme and the industry of this site. In this case the
amorphous character of their flaked stone assemblages and the similarities of their technological features might
suggest some contacts between the Maric delta and north-east Bulgaria at the very end of the 9
th
millennium
uncal BP, via the Marica, Tundza, and Sazlijka Valleys.
121
Fig. 1 - Blades with high, semi-abrupt retouch from Karanovo (1 and 2), Azmak (3 and 4) and Hoca eme (5 and 6).
DISCUSSION
Absolute dates from secure stratigraphical sequences at Koprivets and other carefully investigated settle-
ments could support or reject this suggestion. This hypothesis cannot be seen as an alternative to the role of the
Struma Valley in the process of Neolithisation (Nikolov, 2003: 99-106).
Bojadziev (2006: 9-16) describes the spread of the earliest Neolithic in the eastern part of the Balkan Penin-
sula using dates connected with the earliest evidence of Neolithic population in present Bulgaria and European
Turkey, which can be separated into a few groups. The settlements of Hoca eme 4 and Poljanica-Platoto in
north-eastern Bulgaria date approximately to the period 6200-6000 cal BC.
The dates from Galabnik I (Struma Valley) and Karanovo I in northern Thrace, which mark the beginning
of white painted pottery cultures, correspond to 6000-5900 cal BC. According to Bojadziev (in press) about
6100 Cal BC ...The material culture of Hoca eme IV indicates parallels with Koprivets Culture.... we can
122
assume a second route of penetration of neolithic people: along the valley of the river Marica, then along the
valley of the Tundza and the Sazlijka rivers and through the passes of Stara Planina into Northern Bulgaria
(the basin of the Jantra river).
The importance of this area as a contact zone was clearly marked by Lichardus et al. (2000: 10) ...Die
krzeste Landverbindung zwischen dem Norden und dem Sden, d. h. zwischen den Steppen und dem stlichen
Mittelmeer, verluft von der Dobrudza aus zunchst entlang des Flusses Luda Kamcija ein Stck nach Westen,
berquert am Karnobat-Durchbruch die Stara Planina und zieht sich an deren Sdflanke entlang der Mocurica,
die bei Jambol in die Tundza mndet (Deliradev, 1953). ber die Tundza fhrt der Weg weiter sdwrts bis
zur Mndung in die Marica und dann entlang der Marica bis zum Mittelmeer. Dieser wichtige prhistorische
Weg, der zudem durch antike berlieferungen bekannt ist, wurde bislang allerdings nicht genauer erforscht
und fr die Vorgeschichte kaum in Betracht gezogen. Weitere prhistorische Wege aus dem Raum um Jambol
in die Landschaften nrdlich des Balkan fhren ber mehrere Psse im Gebiet nrdlich von Sliven (Kotel-Pass,
Tvrdos-Pass u.a.). Dass alle diese Psse sehr gute Verbindungen zwischen den beiden Rumen Ermglichen,
zeigt sich an deren fr verschiedene prhistorische Perioden nachgewiesenen kultu rellen Beziehungen
As for the settlements located in northwest Turkey, eastern Thrace and the south Marmara region, the dif-
ferences between the stone industries of Hoca eme from ne side and Ilipinar, Fikir-tepe, Pendik and Mentee
from the other - might be explained as different ways of adaptation or different cultural routes, which led to
the occurrence of different types of activities. The former reflected the varying technological and typological
aspects of the Hoca eme flaked assemblages and also the utilisation of different raw materials.
A totally different core knapping technique is known from the south Marmara region. It is characteristic of the
stone assemblages from Ilipinar, Fikir-tepe, Pendik and Mentee. Here, the presence of bullet cores and the pressure-
flaking technique show similarities in core reduction techniques between these assemblages and could be regarded as
the main technological feature (Szymczak, 2002). Bullet cores have also been found in the chipped stone assemblages
from the Turkish Black Sea shore, which belong to the Aali group (Gatsov and zdoan, 1994).
In other words, a clear technological gap existed between the industry of Hoca eme and those from
the south Marmara region (Ilipinar, Mentee, Fikir-tepe and Pendik). This suggestion is based mainly on the
presence or absence of bullet core techniques. The occurrence of bullet cores, together with the blade pressure
technique suggests that some similarities existed between the Aali groups and the chipped stone assemblages
from Ilipinar, Pendik, Fikir-tepe and Mentee (figs. 3 and 4).
Fig. 2 - Distribution map of the Early Neolithic sites in Bulgaria.
123
Fig. 3 - Distribution map of the Early Neolithic sites in eastern Thrace and south Marmara regions.
Fig. 4 - Distribution map of the bullet cores in the northwestern Pontic and south Marmara regions.
124
Fig. 5 - Bullet cores from Ilipinar (1 and 2), atal Hyk (3-5) and Hacilar (6-8).
125
Fig. 6 - Bullet cores from Varvarovka (1-4), Mirne (5 and 6), Erbicheni (7) and Frumushika (8 and 9).
126
The absolute dates from the first phase at Mentee, which fall at the end of the 7
th
millennium cal BC, pro-
vide a new perspective to M. zdoans idea about the western expansion of the Neolithic cultures (zdoan
and Gatsov, 1998), which sooner or later could be confirmed by excavation results. The fact that the basal layer
of Mentese settlement has been dated at 6400 cal BC indicates that it is the oldest village in Northwestern
Anatolia (Roodenberg et al., 2003: 36) and might indicate that this part of Anatolia was inhabited earlier. In
this connection it is not excluded that some of the groups reached this region via land, but not by sea.
Bullet cores and reduction practices based on pressure techniques were not recorded in Northern Thrace.
The same can be said for the Dikilitash flint collection (Gatsov, 2001), which displays a completely different
method of core reduction to flaked assemblages in northwest Pontic and to those of Aali group.
So far, bullet cores have not been found in Bulgaria in either the Epipalaeolithic/Mesolithic, or the Early Neo-
lithic. Chipped stone assemblages from the Early Neolithic in northern Thrace, are characterised by a core knapping
process orientated towards blade production. In most cases punch or indirect percussion was applied.
Based on the occurrence of bullet cores, it could be presumed that more or less similar technological features
in core reduction processes were practised in the 7
th
-6
th
millennium cal BC in the northwest Pontic region, east-
ern Thrace, and the south Marmara region (figs. 5 and 6). 7
th
-6
th
millennium cal BC chipped stone assemblages
from the territory between the Prut, Seret basin, and the Crimean Peninsula are also characterised by pressure
processing techniques and the appearance of a blade technology connected to bullet cores (Stanko, 1982).
In conclusion, there is a clear similarity in core reduction techniques in the area around the Black Sea,
including the Crimean Peninsula and the northwest Pontic coast. The only exception is the Bulgarian Black
Sea shore and northern Thrace, whereas in the regions of eastern Thrace and south Marmara this technique is
dominant. The occurrence of bullet core techniques therefore suggests the existence of some local element in
the formation of the Neolithic flint industries.
127
R E F E R E N C E S
Bojadziev, J. in press - The role of absolute chronology in clarifying the Neolithization of the eastern half of the Balkan Peninsula.
Aegean - Marmara - Black Sea: present state of the research of the Early Neolithic. In Schwarzberg, H. and Gatsov, I. (eds.)
Schriften des Zentrums fr Archologie und Kulturgeschichtes Schwarzmeerraumes, 5: 9-16.
Deliradev, P. 1953 - Prinos kam istoriceskata geografia na Trakia. Sofia (in Bulgarian).
Gatsov, I. 1999 - Chipped stone assemblages from Neolithic and Chalcolithic Settlement Capitan Dimitrievo. In Nikolov, V. (ed.)
Selisna mogia Capitan Dimitrievo, Razkopki 1998-1999: 115-123. Peshtera, Sofia.
Gatsov, I. 2000 - Chipped stone assemblages from south and south-west Bulgaria and north-west Turkey. In Nikolova, L. (ed.) Technol-
ogy, Style, and Society, Contributions to the Innovations Between the Alps and The Black Sea in Prehistory. BAR International
Series, 854: 1-28. Archaeopress, Oxford.
Gatsov, I. 2001 - Epipalaeolithic/Mesolithic, Neolithic Periods. Chipped stone assemblages from Southern Bulgaria and Northwest
Turkey: Similarities and Differences. TUBA-AR, IV: 101-112. Istanbul.
Gatsov, 2005 - Feursteinartefakte. Typologie. In Hiller, S. and Nikolov, V. (eds.) Karanovo IV. Band IV (1): 375-386. Wien.
Gatsov, I. in press - The state of research into the problem of Pleistocene-Holocene transition in the present area of Bulgaria. Marmara
- Black Sea: present state of the research of the Early Neolithic. In Schwarzberg, H. and Gatsov, I. (eds.) Schriften des Zentrums
fr Archologie und Kulturgeschichtes Schwarzmeerraumes, 5: 153-158.
Gatsov, I. and zdoan, M. 1994 - Some Epi-palaeolithic sites from NW Turkey. Aali, Domali, Gumusdere. Anatolica,
XX: 97-120.
Lichardus, J., Fol, A., Getov, L., Bertemes, F., Echt, R., Katincarov, R. and Iliev, I. 2000 - Drama 1983-1999: 10. Habelt, Bonn.
Nikolov, V. 2003 - Periodisation of the Neolithic along the Struma valley. In honorem annorum LXX Alexandri Fol. Thracia,
15: 99-106. Sofia.
zdoan, M. 1998 - Hoca eme. An early Neolithic Anatolian colony in the Balkans? In Anreiter, P., Bartosiewicz, L., Jerem, E. and
Meid, W. (eds.) Man and the Animal World. Archaeolingua, 8: 435-451. Budapest.
zdoan, M. and Gatsov, I. 1998 - The Aceramic Neolithic period in Western Turkey and in the Aegean. Anatolica, XXIV: 209-232.
Roodenberg, J., Asvan A., Jacobs, L. and Wijnen, M.H. 2003 - Early settlement in the plain of Yeniehir (NW Anatolia). Anatolica,
XXIX: 17-59.
Stanko, V.N. 1982 - Mirnoe. Problema mezolita stepej Severnogo Prichernomorja [Myrne. Problem of the Mesolithic of the northern
Prychornomora steppes]. Naukova dumka, Kyiv (in Russian).
Szymczak, K. 2002 - A problem of the bullet shaped cores: a global perspective. Swiatowit, IV (XLV), B: 229-242. Warsaw.
Zlateva-Uzunova, R. 1997 - Early Holocene flint assemblages from the valley of river Rusenski Lom. Thesis submitted for MA Degree
(unpublished) (in Bulgarian).
Authors Address:
IVAN GATSOV, New Bulgarian University, Department of Archaeology, Body 1, Office 219, 21 Montevideo str. BG - 1618 SOFIA
e-mail: igatsov@yahoo.com
129
PAOLO BIAGI
*
, BERNARD GRATUZE
**
and SOPHIE BOUCETTA
**
NEW DATA ON THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL OBSIDIANS
FROM THE BANAT AND TRANSYLVANIA (ROMANIA)
SUMMARY - New data on the archaeological obsidians from the Banat and Transylvania (Romania). This paper deals with the study
of a limited number of obsidian artefacts from the earliest FTN Cri sites of the Banat and Transylvania. The first impression is that the
first FTN farmers, who settled in the region at the turn of the 8
th
millennium uncal BP, had a limited local supply of bad quality lithic raw
materials. The pioneer search for workable stones, north of the maximum spread of the FTN, led to the discovery of the Slovak (Cejkov
e Kaov: Carpathian 1) and Hungarian (Md: Carpathian 2E), Tokaj deposits, which both started to be exploited on a very small scale.
The pattern began to vary during the successive stages of the FTN and, more dramatically, since the beginning of the Middle Neolithic
Vina Culture. From this time on, the Slovak sources started to be more intensively exploited, as indicated by the recovery of a greater
number of unretouched artefacts and functional tools, and the first of trans-Carpathian Volhynian flints to be imported.
RIASSUNTO - Nuovi dati sulle ossidiane dei siti archeologici del Banat e della Transilvania (Romania). Il presente lavoro riguarda
lo studio di un gruppo limitato di manufatti di ossidiana provenienti da siti del Neolitico pi antico del Banat e della Transilvania ap-
partenenti al gruppo culturale di Cri. Limpressione generale che deriva dallanalisi dei reperti che le prime popolazioni di agricol-
tori-allevatori dellFTN, che insediarono la regione subito prima dellinizio del settimo millennio uncal BP, avessero a disposizione
localmente pochissimo materiale litico scheggiabile, per di pi di qualit scadente. La ricerca pionieristica di fonti di approvvigionamento
port alla scoperta di giacimenti di ossidiana ubicati ben oltre il limite pi settentrionale dellespansione pi settentrionale dellFTN,
con un conseguente primo limitato sfruttamento dei depositi dei Monti Tokaj sia della Slovacchia (Cejkov e Kaov: Carpathian 1), sia
dellUngheria (Md: Carpathian 2E). Il quadro inizi a mutare lentamente durante lo sviluppo dellFTN, e pi drasticamente durante
la Cultura di Vina, nel Neolitico Medio, con uno sfruttamento pi intensivo principalmente delle fonti Slovacche, che si riflette nella
maggiore quantit di prodotti rinvenuti nei siti archeologici e anche dalla confezione di oggetti funzionali, e nellinizio dellimportazione
di selce Volhynian dai giacimenti transcarpatici.
INTRODUCTION
The Carpathian obsidian sources exploited between the Middle Palaeolithic and the Iron Age (Crciumaru
et al., 1985; Bir, 2004) were systematically surveyed for the first time in the 1970s (Nandris, 1975; Williams
and Nandris, 1977). A few years later archaeological obsidian artefacts from several central and east European
sites were characterised for the first time. The results led to the identification of archaeological obsidians from
their original sources according to their different periods of exploitation. The distribution and chrono-cultural
maps developed by Williams Thorpe et al. (1984: figs. 4 and 8) are very indicative. Among the other things
they clearly show that obsidian artefacts from very few Mesolithic and Early Neolithic sites were scientifically
analysed in the 1980s.
The scope of this paper is to contribute to the interpretation of the reasons and the ways the Early Neolithic
farmers of the FTN Cri group of the Banat and Transylvania exploited obsidian raw material sources. We know
that the Neolithisation of these two regions of present-day Romania was a rapid phenomenon that took place
along a few main river courses (Kaczanowska and Kozowski, 2003: 242; Biagi and Spataro, 2005). Although
many details of this process are still insufficiently known, the available radiocarbon dates indicate that 1) the
spread of the earliest farmers, which the pottery typologists attribute to the PreCri or Cri I aspects, accord-
ing to the terminology proposed respectively by Paul (1995) or Lazarovici (1993), began during the last two
centuries of the 8
th
millennium uncal BP, and 2) the number of sites attributable to this early stage is very small
Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 129-148

** Dipartimento di Scienze dellAntichit e del Vicino Oriente, Ca Foscari University, Venice, Italy
** IRAMAT, Institut de Recherche sur les Archomatriaux, C.N.R.S., Orlans, France
130
(Ciut, 2001: fig. 1; 2005: 147-155; Draovean, 2007; Luca and Suciu, 2007), restricted to specific territories,
sometimes close to salt outcrops (Nandris, 1990: 15), often along important waterways, while other fluvial
routes across the Carpathians were not followed during this process.
New scientific analyses, among which are radiocarbon dates (Biagi et al., 2005) and pottery manufacture
studies (Spataro, 2007), show that Cri was most probably a continuous cultural group that lasted some 800
years (Biagi et al., 2005), and not a recurrent, interrupted series of (three or four main) migration waves as
suggested first by Lazarovici (1993), and more recently by Luca and Suciu (2007).
As mentioned above, a first important question concerns when and to what extent the earliest farmers began
to exploit the Carpathian obsidian sources. J. Makkay (2007: 232) recently argued that the spread of the Mht-
elek group ..... was hindered by local Late Mesolithic bands, which occupied the area of the stone resources and
were interested in trading stones to the southern groups with the Mhtelek Krs industry. This argument is
hardly tenable for two main reasons: 1) ethnographical, since foraging groups are by nature transitory (Smith,
1981: 42), and they consider outcrops as a focus within the peripheral intersection of several group territories,
which would exploit that resource at different seasons of the year (Clarke, 1979: 277); and 2) chronological,
given that Mhtelek-Ndas is not one of the earliest FTN Neolithic sites of the Carpathian region as a whole.
Another different view was expressed by Sherratt (1987: 195), who believes that as agricultural communities
reached the obsidian sources of the Zempln Mountains in the north, this material came into widespread use.
At Mhtelek ..... formed up to 80% of the chipped stone ..... It was traded both to surrounding Mesolithic groups
in Moravia and Little Poland ..... and southwards to the agricultural communities of the Plain.
Other important questions regard the transport or trade (?) radius of the Carpathian obsidian, its rate of
dispersal, and the maximum distance reached by its trade. A territorial gap of at least 400 km is attested dur-
ing this period between the northernmost distribution of the Melian and the south-easternmost spread of the
Carpathian obsidian, which is partly filled by the discovery of two single archaeological specimens in Bulgaria
(Nikolov, 2005: 8). This gap was covered by the end of the Neolithic (Biagi et al., 2007: 310), when Carpathian
obsidians were traded southwards as far as Western Macedonia (Kilikoglou et al., 1996).
Other problems concern 1) the scarcity of high-quality raw material sources in the two study regions and
2) the absence of both rich chipped stone assemblages and workshops from the earliest FTN sites in the area
(Coma, 1976). The only exception is represented by the site of Iosa-Anele, in the Arad district, along the
course of the White Cri, where a pit structure, excavated by Luca and Barbu (1992-1994: 17), attributed to
an early stage in the development of the Cri aspect, has been interpreted as an atelier for the manufacture of
Banat flint implements (?).
It is important to point out that the distribution map by Williams Thorpe et al. (1984: fig. 8) includes twelve
FTN sites, from two only of which obsidian tools were characterised: Mhtelek, in north-eastern Hungary
(Kalicz and Makkay, 1976; Chapman, 1987; Starnini, 1994; Kozowski, 2001; Makkay, 2007), radiocarbon-
dated, from charcoal, to 683560 (Bln-1331: Pit 1-3/), 665560 (Bln-1332) and 662550 uncal BP (GrN-6897:
Pit 4-5/), and Gura Baciului, in central Transylvania (Lazarovici and Maxim, 1995), from which only one
radiocarbon date has been obtained from a bone tool collected from a structure of the lowermost occupation
layers (GrA-24137: 714045uncal BP) (Biagi et al., 2005: 46). Mainly Carpathian 1 (Slovak) obsidians have
been identified at Mhtelek (Starnini, 1994: 67) although the Carpathian 2 variety (Erdbnje type) is also
present in a small percentage ..... determined only macroscopically; whilst both Carpathian 1 (Slovak) and 2b
(Hungarian) artefacts are known from Gura Baciului, a Transylvanian multi-stratified site, with structures that
yielded material culture remains attributed to all the four Cri phases (Spataro, in press). It is important to point
out that, while the radiocarbon dates from Mhtelek show that the site probably flourished during the third Cri
phase (Biagi et al., 2005: 44), the chronological attribution of the characterised obsidians from Gura Baciului
is uncertain, since they come from the entire settlement sequence (Lazarovici and Maxim, 1995: 156).
THE SITES AND THE CHIPPED STONE ASSEMBLAGES
During the last two years, obsidian samples have been characterised from seven Cri sites attributed to dif-
ferent periods. They are: Miercurea Sibiului-Petri (Sibiu), eua-La Crarea Morii (Alba Iulia), Limba Bordane
(Alba Iulia), Dudetii Vechi (Timioara), Silagiu-Valea Secerii (Timioara), Le (Cluj) and Seimi Crmidrie
(Maramure) (fig. 1).
a) Miercurea Sibiului-Petri (Sibiu-Transylvania), a few kilometres west of the homonymous village, is located
on the left bank of the Seca River, a southern tributary of the Mure (fig. 2). The excavations carried out
131
Fig. 1 - Distribution map of the FTN Cri sites mentioned in text: 1) Miercurea Sibiului-Petri, 2) eua-La Crarea Morii, 3) Limba
Bordane, 4) Dudetii Vechi, 5) Silagiu-Valea Secerii, 6) Le, 7) Seimi Crmidrie (drawing by P. Biagi).
between 1997 and 2007, and still under way (Luca et al., 2006; Luca and Suciu, 2007), revealed three main
phases of occupation attributed to the Cri, Vina and Petreti cultural aspects respectively. The Cri layer
yielded different types of features consisting of pits of variable size and shape, but no houses of the type
so far known from the FTN groups (Trogmayer, 1966; Nandris, 1977: 51; Kalicz and Raczky, 1980-81;
Raczky, 2006). Seven radiocarbon dates, obtained from different structures (fig. 2), show that the first Cri
occupation took place between the end of the 8
th
and the beginning of the 7
th
millennium uncal BP, and that
the site was resettled some five centuries later, by the beginning of the Middle Neolithic Vina period (fig.
3). The chipped stone assemblages from the two main Neolithic complexes (Cri and Vina) show different
characteristics
1
. The Cri assemblage is very poor. It is composed of 31 artefacts, 16 of which come from
8 features and 15 from the archaeological layer.
They include 2 cores, 1 short end scraper, 1 truncation, 5 retouched blades, 1 crested blade and 1 plung-
ing blade all from flint or radiolarites. The preliminary results of the traceological analyses by B.A.
Voytek (pers. comm., 2006; Biagi and Voytek, in press) are shown in table 1 and fig. 4. They indicate
that 8 tools were utilised for different activities among which is the harvesting of cereals, as suggested
by the presence of two oblique sickle blades and caryopses of domestic wheat (Nisbet, in press). The
commonest materials employed for chipping artefacts are the so-called Banat flint (Coma, 1971: 100;
1976: 241) (11 specimens: 35.4%), and a few varieties of radiolarite (11 specimens: 35.4%). They are

1
The data presented in this paper refer exclusively to the assemblages from the 1997-2005 excavations.
132
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6
Table 1 - Main characteristics of the chipped stone artefacts from the Cri occupation at Miercurea Sibiului-Petri (excavations 1997-
2005). In both tables 1 and 2 the dimensions are indicated as follows: ee = microflakelet, e = flakelet, E = flake, ll = microbladelet, l =
bladelet, L = blade; ee and ll, 1.25-2.50 cm, e and l, 2.50-5.00 cm; E and L, 5.00-10.00 cm. f = fragment.
133
followed by obsidian (5 specimens: 16.1%), which is represented by 4 artefacts of Carpathian 1 and 1
of Carpathian 2E source. In contrast, the Vina period assemblage is much richer. It is composed of 185
artefacts, 39 of which are from obsidian (21.08% of the total assemblage), 35 from Carpathian 1 and 3
from Carpathian 2E source, among which are 6 retouched tools and 2 core residuals. This indicates that
during this latter period, at least part of the obsidian tools were manufactured within the settlement site
(Biagi et al., 2007).
b) eua-La Crarea Morii (Alba Iulia, Transylvania). The site is located on the left terrace of the Seca,
a small, left affluent of the Mure River, in an open pasture upland, close to a deposit of bentonite, at
460229N-233806E. (Ciut, 1998: plate 1) (fig. 5). The excavations carried out in 1997 brought to
light a complex stratigraphic sequence (Ciut, 2005), the bottom of which yielded a rectangular surface
house (Ciut, 2000: fig. 4) containing a material culture assemblage attributed to the earliest FTN Cri
group, radiocarbon-dated to 707060 uncal BP (GrN-28114) (Biagi et al., 2005: 46-47). The chipped stone
industry is represented mainly by unretouched flakelets and very rare bladelets obtained from quartzite and
flint as well as 7 obsidian microflakelets (Ciut, 2000: figs. 5 and 6).
c) Limba Bordane is located on the left terrace of the Mure, in front of a large island, in the middle of
the river itself (Ciut, 2002: fig. 1), a few km from Alba Iulia (Transylvania). Its exact location is
460211N-233507E. The excavations carried out in 1998 yielded an Early Neolithic surface house
with materials attributable to the beginning of the Cri period and later Cri IIIB and IV occupations
(Ciut, 2005: 150). Both these later periods have been radiocarbon-dated (Biagi et al., 2005: 46-47) (fig.
6 bottom).
d) Dudetii Vechi. The FTN Cri site Movila lui Deciov, is located in the Timi district, north-west of the vil-
lage of Dudetii Vechi, 8 km west of Snnicolau Mare, close to the Hungarian and Serbian borderlines at
460349N-202838E. The site, that lies in an area of Holocene river sediments, some 400 m east of the
Gornja Aranca canal (El Susi, 2002; Maillol et al., 2004; Spataro, unpubl.) is known since the beginning
Fig. 2 - Miercurea Sibiului-Petri: Pit 26, belonging to the early FTN Cri aspect, filled with domestic cattle skull remains, radiocarbon-
dated to 701040 uncal BP (GrN-29954) (photograph by P. Biagi).
134
of the last century (Kisleghi, 1909; 1911). It is an oval-shaped mound, about 75 m in maximum diameter
(Maillol et al., 2004: fig. 3) with a Neolithic sequence some 1.50 m deep, attributed to the Starevo-Cri
phases IIB and IIIA (Spataro, 2006; unpubl.), according to the characteristics of the pottery assemblages,
radiocarbon-dated between 699050 (GrN-28111) and 681570 uncal BP (GrN-28876) (Biagi et al., 2005:
46-47) (fig. 6 top).
e) Silagiu-Valea Secerii, in the Buzia district (Banat), is located in a terraced vineyard, just to the east of
the stream that bears the same name, close to a lower-lying cultivated plain at an altitude of some 170 m
(Lazarovici and Sfectu, 1990). A concentration of potsherds and stone artefacts was noticed on the site
surface during a summer 2006 visit at 453744N-213657E. Silagiu is the only Cri site so far known
Fig. 3 - Radiocarbon (top) and calibrated dates (bottom) from the Cri and Vina occupations at Miercurea Sibiului-Petri, irrespective
of stratigraphy.
7500BP 7000BP 6500BP 6000BP
135
Fig. 4 - Chipped stone implements from the Cri occupation at Miercurea Sibiului-Petri (excavations 1997-2005): 1) bladelet core; 2)
short end scraper; 3) truncation; 4, 6, 9, 10 and 12) retouched bladelets; 5, 7, 8 and 11) unretouched bladelets. Symbols: H) hafting; SH)
scrape hard; PHH) pressure hand held; CW) cut wood; CHW) cut hard wood; CM) cut medium; S) sickle gloss; CV) cut vegetation
(drawings by P. Biagi and G. Almerigogna; traces of wear by B.A. Voytek).
south of the Timi River, east of Timioara, along the piedmont course of this important river. The pottery
assemblage from this site has been attributed to the IIB-IIIA phase of the Cri aspect, while three obsidian
samples analysed by PIXE and XRF are supposed to derive from undefined Tokaj sources (Constantinescu
et al., 2002). The characterised obsidian artefacts include 4 specimens among which are 1 flakelet and 1
microflakelet, both of Carpathian 1 material; 1 microbladelet subconical cores and 1 straight perforator of
Carpathian 2E source (fig. 7, nn. 1-3).
f) Le. The multi-stratified site of Le-Vrhegy in the Covasna district (Transylvania) is located on a terrace
of the River Neagru (Zaharia, 1964). Amongst the other more recent occupations (Punescu, 2001: 376),
the site yielded three levels attributed to the Cri aspect attributed to the IIIB-IVB phases (Maxim, 1999:
166). The chipped stone artefacts are mainly obtained from greyish flint, while obsidians represent 3% of
the total assemblage (Punescu, 1970: 153).
g) Seimi Crmidrie. This site in the Maramure district is reported by Z. Maxim (1999: 183) as belonging
to the Tiszapolgr Culture, even though from its surface comes a chipped stone assemblage that includes
obsidian artefacts attributed to a late Cri period (fig. 7, nn. 4-9) (Maxim, pers. comm. 2004; Biagi et al.,
2007).
136
OBSIDIAN IDENTIFICATION METHODS
The obsidian presented in this paper were characterised with two different methods: those from eua-La
Crarea Morii, Limba Bordane, Dudetii Vechi, Silagiu-Valea Secerii, Le, Seimi Crmidrie and one single
specimen from Miercurea Sibiului-Petri, were analysed by LA-ICP-MS in January 2005, while the remaining
34 specimens from the latter site, including also two broken bladelets from the Chalcolithic Petreti occupation,
were characterised by XRF in December of the same year (fig. 8).
The first method (LA-ICP-MS) allows a quantitative analysis. It is almost undestructive: the diameter of
the ablation crater ranges from 60 to 100 m, and its depth is some 250 m. The instruments are a VG Plasma
Quad PQXS Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer and a VG UV Laser probe laser ablation, sam-
pling device. The specimen is sampled by the laser beam generated by a Nd YAG pulsed laser. Its frequency
is quadruplicated in order to operate in the ultraviolet region at 266 nm. An argon gas flow carries the ablated
aerosol to the injector inlet of the plasma torch, where the matter is dissociated, atomised and ionised. The ions
are then injected into the vacuum chamber of a quadruple system, which filters the ions depending on their
mass-to-charge ratio. They are then collected by a channel electron multiplier. Calibration is carried out using
a NIST glass standard SRM610. The concentration of 19 elements is determined for each sample. Among them
Zr, Y, Nb, Ba, Sr, Ce, La and Ti are used to discriminate amongst the obsidian outcrops (Gratuze, 1999).
The second procedure (XRF) permits to compare directly the net-normalised X-rays fluorescence signals of
the archaeological artefacts with those of the obsidian geological samples without determining their composition.
It is possible to obtain absolute concentrations by using classical linear regressions, because the coefficient of
each element is calculated by comparing the net-measured signal from each single obsidian reference sample
with its concentration value. This method allows a good discrimination of all the Mediterranean (Lipari, Sardinia,
Parmarola, Pantelleria, Melos and Giali) and Carpathian (1, 2E and 2T) sources. To classify the archaeological
samples, we use the net signal measured for 11 minor and trace elements present in obsidian: K, Ca, Ti, Mn,
Fe, Zn, As, Rb, Sr, Y and Zr. Geological and archaeological samples are conjointly analysed and the data are
compared using simple binary diagrams.
Fig. 5 - eua-La Crarea Morii: site location in the foreground, and white, bentonite deposits in the background (photograph by P.
Biagi).
137
Fig. 6 - Radiocarbon and calibrated dates from Dudetii Vechi (top), and Limba Bordane (bottom).
7400BP 7200BP
7000BP
6800BP 6600BP
7000BP 6800BP 6600BP 6400BP 6200BP
138
The x-rays portable spectrometer can
be employed also for on-site analysis.
It is equipped with two different x-ray
tubes, one with a molybdenum, and one
with a tungsten cathode. The analysis is
conducted thanks to the tungsten tube.
The measurement parameters are: tube
voltage 50kV, current intensity 0.8 mA,
measurement duration 20 minutes, no
filter, X-rays collimator 1.5mm (Astruc
et al., in press).
DISCUSSION
There are a few important points to
discuss on the exploitation of the Car-
pathian obsidian sources in a period of
major transformations, between the end of
the 8
th
and the beginning of the 7
th
millen-
nium uncal BP. They regard 1) the early
demography of the study region, 2) the
way the obsidian sources were exploited
and transported, and 3) the raw material
utilised by the first FTN farmers who set-
tled in the Banat and Transylvania.
The early demography
As mentioned above, the new radiocarbon assays show that farming spread rapidly across the central
Balkans as far north as the Hungarian Plain (Starnini, 2002: fig. 7; Whittle et al., 2002; 2005; Biagi et al.,
2005: fig. 5). This phenomenon took place following well-defined and selected watercourses, along a few
river routes crossing the Carpathians that can be most probably compared with those followed by transhumant
shepherds until the beginning of the 20
th
century (Jarman et al., fig. 107). In this territory, apart from the Iron
Gates (Radovanovi, 1996), no evidence of Mesolithic occupation is so far known.
The only exception, in the whole Banat and the province of Arad (Crisana), a region very poor in high-qual-
ity raw material stone resources (Punescu, 2001: 135-222), is Alibeg, along the northern bank of the Danube,
where a sequence with over-imposed Mesolithic and Starevo-Cri assemblages, was excavated within the same
archaeological layer. A radiocarbon date of 7195100 uncal BP (Bln-1193), from charcoal, is referred to the
Mesolithic occupation. It yielded an assemblage obtained from flint, black schist and quartzite, represented by
cores, end scrapers, denticulated tools, but no geometric microliths (Punescu, 2001: 156-159).
The low population density of this Early Neolithic horizon (Sherratt, 1972: 517) can be assumed also for
the Banat, where only three early FTN Cri sites are so far known along the terraces of the Timi, some 40-50 km
west of Timioara: Foeni-Sla (Greenfield and Draovean, 1994; Draovean, 2007) and Foeni-Gaz (Spataro,
2003), respectively radiocarbon-dated to 708050 uncal BP (GrN-28454) and 692545 uncal BP (GrA-25621),
and Fratelia (Draovean, 2001). A continuous series of five dates, spanning from 699050 (GrA-28111) to
681570 uncal BP (GrN-28876) (fig. 6), has been recently obtained from Dudetii Vechi, along the course of
the Aranca River, a right tributary of the Tisza (Biagi et al., 2005: 46), close to an area rich in FTN Krs,
riverine settlements of various periods, which shows a noticeable concentration in the Tiszazug region, further
to the north (Nandris, 1970: maps 1-3; Kosse, 1979: 119; Jarman et al., 1982: fig. 74). All the above Banat sites
yielded very few unretouched obsidian artefacts (see also Kuijt, 1994: table 2 and appendix 1).
The situation in Transylvania is rather similar. A few obsidian artefacts come from the oldest occupation
layers at Gura Baciului (Lazarovici and Maxim, 1995: fig. 15), Ocna Sibiului (Paul, 1995: 36), eua-La Crarea
Morii (Ciut, 2005: plate IV) and Miercurea Sibiului (Luca et al., 2006). The finds from these sites indicate
Fig. 7 - Obsidian artefacts from other FTN Cri sites mentioned in the text: 1-3)
Silagiu-Valea Secerii, 4-9) Seimi-Crmidrie. For the description see table 2
(drawings by P. Biagi and G. Almerigogna).
139
Fig. 8 - Diagrams of Miercurea Sibiului-Petri obsidian artefacts characterised in December 2005 at Centre Ernest Babelon by XRF:
Nb versus Y, showing that they all refer to the Carpathian sources (top); Fe versus Ca with their repartition between the two Carpathian
sources 1 and 2E (bottom).
that, already between the last two centuries of the 8
th
and the very beginning of the following millennium uncal
BP, both Carpathian 1 and 2E obsidians had been transported (traded?), although in very small quantities, as
far as some 300 km south-east, as the crow flies, of their original sources.
The exploitation of the obsidian sources
A problem of fundamental importance regards the peopling of the Tokaj mountains of Hungary and Slovakia,
where the obsidian sources are located, and their rate and mode(s) of exploitation by both Mesolithic hunter-
Palmarola
140
gatherers, if any, and FTN Neolithic farmers around the turn of the 8
th
millennium uncal BP. Given that these
mountains lie well beyond the northernmost limit reached by the spread of the Early Neolithic FTN (Kalicz
et al., 1998: fig. 1), this evidence poses one more question to the chronology and dynamic of the exploitation
of these very important resources.
As already suggested for hunter-forager groups, whose annual complex moves (Brantingham, 2006)
are supposed to cover a radius of some (al least?) 150 km (Grimaldi, 2005: 84), raw materials and com-
modities would have been gathered from one spot and circulated with and amongst the family bands from
one resource or quarry outcrop that may often simultaneously ..... serve as a focus within the peripheral
intersection of several group territories, which would exploit that resource at different season of the year
(Clarke, 1979: 277). Furthermore it has been pointed out that no extractive or other implement are normally
left at their quarrying place if obsidian was collected without modification at the sources, even less well-
used areas would exhibit little evidence of having served as quarries (Sappington, 1984: 25). According
to the ethnographic sources, there is no prove that hunter-gatherers ever controlled (Bnffy, 2004: 393)
or supervised (Kalicz et al., 1998: 168) any raw material sources, which are periodically, or seasonally,
peacefully exploited by different groups, coming from several base-camps (Bettinger, 1982: 113). In effect,
as pointed out by Lee and DeVore (1968: 12; see also Rowley-Conwy, 2001: 40) frequent visiting between
resource areas prevents any one group from becoming too strongly attached to any single area. It is also
important to remark that, 1) given the same energy expenditure, a forager never matters what is the prov-
enance source of the tools he carries (Wilson, 2007: 406), 2) the material he employs does not necessarily
derive from the best or the closest source (Jeske, 1989: 44), and, 3) what is most important, raw materials
used in the manufacture of implements are normally obtained incidentally to the execution of basic subsist-
ence tasks (Binford, 1979: 259)
Although, in general, the raw material exploitable zones show different characteristics, represented by sites
without any visible remains - like the Tokaj obsidian sources (Nandris, pers. comm. 2007) - or with evident
traces of quarrying by pits - Szentgl radiolarites for instance (Bir, 1995) -, this pattern can be extended to
other lithic raw material sources, whose exploitation by Mesolithic bands most probably took place follow-
ing either a procedure very similar to that described in the preceding paragraphs, or unearthing blocks of raw
material from just below the surface of the ground (Gould, 1980: 125), from which to remove a few flakes
on the spot and eventually retouch just a small number of them (Binford and OConnell, 1984), undoubtedly
not by quarrying in the way suggested by Bnffy (2004: 346).
The raw material availability
The evidence available to-date, shows that the inhabitants of the earliest FTN Cri sites mentioned in the
text exploited mainly local raw material sources. Their chipped stone assemblages are very poor, as it is often the
case for the industries of this period, apart perhaps from those of the Iron Gates (Bltean, 2005); furthermore
the raw materials employed are very variable and of a low technological quality. The typical tools are few: they
are represented by obliquely-inserted sickle blades, regular isosceles trapezes, straight truncations, short end
scrapers and retouched blades. As far as we know, they were utilised for harvesting, cutting grass, cutting and
scraping (Voytek, pers. comm. 2007 and table 1).
A low number of obsidian artefacts is known from both the Banat and Transylvanian sites in the form of
unretouched flake(let)s and bladelets, rarely used for cutting, indicating that both Carpathian 1 (Cejkov and
Kaov in Slovakia) and 2E (Md in Hungary) sources were exploited on a very small scale, while the formerly
supposed occurrence of obsidians from other local (Oa Mountains) and southern sources (Melos Island)
(Boronean, 2005) does not find any confirmation from the characterisations so far obtained. The local raw
materials available within a 40 km radius, according to the terminology proposed by Gould (1980: 145), might
include also Banat flint, whose sources are known both in the Hunedoara region (Luca et al., 2004: 66) and,
in the form of small, isolated boulders, in the hills south of Faget, south of the course of the Bega (Spataro,
pers. comm. 2007).
If we take into consideration all the factors that influence the raw material choices, among which is also
quality (Wilson, 2007: 396-400), we have to point out the scarcity of excellent material exploited by the earli-
est FTN populations of the study region that can be restricted only to the Carpathian 1 obsidian. It is important
to remark that it forms 80.0% (4 specimens) of the obsidians and 12.9% of the total amount of chipped stones
at Miercurea Sibiului-Petri, Cri occupation (table 1).
141
CONCLUSIONS
To conclude: the study of the archaeological obsidians from the FTN Cri sites of the above-mentioned
two regions of the Carpathian Basin leads to a number of observations that only more numerous analyses might
confirm or reject.
At the present state of research the general impression is that
1) the Tokaj mountains were not settled during the early Holocene, prior to the advent of the Neolithic,
and that the Early FTN communities did not inhabit the area of the obsidian sources (Kaczanowska and
Kozowski, 1994: 51; Gillings, 1997: 164), which is located north of the northernmost limit reached by
the Krs communities (see Kalicz et al., 1998: fig. 1). The supposed presence of Late Mesolithic sites
in the area (Chapman, 1994; Kertsz, 1996) is still disputed. It does not find confirmation both in the
techno-typological characteristics of the chipped stone assemblages yielded by the excavations, which are
mostly manufactured from Matra radiolarites and limnoquartzites, opposite to what happens, for instance in
Slovakia, at the Early Mesolithic site of Barca (Brta, 1966), and in the radiocarbon dates so far obtained
(Starnini, 2000; 2002; Kozowski, 2007: fig. 2). Broadly speaking, this picture can be compared with that
of eastern Slovakia, although, in this latter case, the previously uninhabited region was firstly settled by
specific groups of Linear Pottery (LBK) farmers (Kaczanowska and Kozowski, 1997);
2) the beginning of the limited exploitation of both Carpathian 1 and 2E sources, at the turn of the 8
th
mil-
lennium uncal BP, might derive from the first exploration of the Tokaj territories by early FTN scouts, in
search for good workable stones, given the low quality raw materials locally available to the farmers set-
tled in the plains of the Banat and in the uplands of Transylvania, as indicated by the characteristics of the
chipped stone assemblages so far analysed (Coma, 1976; Kuijt, 1994; Bltean, 2005; Boronean, 2005;
Biagi et al., 2007; Draovean, 2007);
3) this pattern seems to start changing during following stages of the FTN, when the number of obsidian
artefacts increases slowly, and retouched obsidian tools make their appearance at some later Cri sites
(see table 2) and, more dramatically, during the Middle Neolithic Vina Culture, when the Carpathian
1 deposits were more intensively exploited, and the first trans-Carpathian, Volhynian flint started to be
traded, as the discoveries made at Miercurea Sibiului-Petri indicate (Biagi and Voytek, in press). These
data show subsequent stages of an increasing more intensive exploitation of lithic resources external to the
study area, most probably mainly for functional purposes (Biagi et al., 2007) more than for their intrinsic
attractiveness (Chapman, 2007), although these latter characteristics might have played a significant role as
already observed for the obsidians of Mediterranean region (Tykot, 1996: 56): they contribute to reinforce
the impression of a set of characteristic land utilization patterns for successive archaeological periods
(Sherratt, 1972: 514), throughout the entire 7
th
millennium uncal BP;
4) the distance of the earliest FTN settlement sites under discussion from the Tokaj obsidian sources, located
some 300 km northwest of Miecurea Sibiului-Petri, as the crow flies, although it might have been quite
greater if we take into consideration the terrain difficulties (Renfrew, 1977), does not seem to have played
a significant role. The available evidence, at least from Transylvania, shows that, throughout a period
comprised between the very beginning of the Neolithic and the Chalcolithic, roughly between the last two
centuries of the 8
th
and the end of the 6
th
millennium uncal BP, the exploitation of the raw material sources
varied noticeably. The studies so far conducted on a very limited number of assemblages, shows a slow,
although continuous and systematic replacement in the raw material procurement through the time, towards
excellent quality sources, independently from their distance and their easy access by watercourses (Reid,
1986), as might have been the case for the Tokaj obsidian outcrops;
5) at the light of the new discoveries, the above pattern can be schematically synthesized in the following
successive stages a) earliest FTN: exploitation of local, bad quality sources and search for better exotic
raw materials amongst which are both Carpathian 1 and 2E Tokaj obsidians; b) successive FTN periods:
increasing utilisation of better quality, local raw materials and beginning of the systematic exploitation of
the Slovak Tokaj obsidian source; c) Vina Culture: more extensive exploitation of both local, higher qual-
ity (Banat flint), and exogenous, excellent quality (Carpathian 1), raw material outcrops and beginning of
small-scale imports of trans-Carpathian Volhynian flints; d) Chalcolithic: (almost exclusive?) utilisation of
excellent exotic raw materials, from great distances, among which are Carpathian 1 obsidians, Volhynian
flints and small quantities of Transdanubian radiolarites (Biagi and Voytek, 2006). This oversimplified
pattern, which is mainly based on the evidence from two very different key sites in Transylvania, Miercurea
Sibiului-Petri (with non-continuous occupations from the earliest FTN to the Petreti Culture) and Petera
142
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b
y

v
i
s
u
a
l
1
Table 2 - Main characteristics of the obsidian artefacts from the other sites mentioned in the text.
143
Ungureasc in the Cheile Turzii gorge (from the Petreti Culture to the beginning of the Bronze Age) (Biagi
et al., 2007), will necessitate corrections according to the results obtained from new, under-way systematic
analyses. Nevertheless, the above data may contribute to a better understanding of the raw material fall-off
curves (Renfrew, 1975), and the use of the territory by the inhabitants of each site and, more broadly, the
strategy of landscape exploitation by each cultural unit during the entire Atlantic climatic period (Wilson,
2007: 406).
Aknowledgements
The authors are very grateful to all the Romanian colleagues who were kind enough to provide archaeological obsidians for analysis:
Drs. D. Ciobotaru and F. Draovean (Banat Museum, Timioara), Prof. S.A. Luca (Sibiu University), Dr. Z. Maxim Kalmar (Cluj-Napoca
Museum) and Prof. I. Paul and Dr. M. Ciut (Alba Iulia University). Special thanks are due to Prof. J.K. Kozowski (Krakw Univerisity
- PL) and Dr. J. Nandris (Cantemir Consultancy, Oxford - UK) for their comments, suggestions and the re-reading of the original English
text, to Dr. B.A. Voytek (Berkeley University, USA) for the traceological analysis of the chipped stone assemblage from Miercurea
Sibiului-Petri, and to Dr. M. Spataro (British Museum, London, UK) for information about her survey work in the Banat piedmont.
We also thank Dr. K.T. Bir (Hungarian National Museum, Budapest - H) for providing us with the geological reference samples from
the Hungarian and Slovak obsidian sources.
This paper has been made possible by the financial support of the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MAE) with our thanks.
144
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Authors Addresses:
PAOLO BIAGI, Dipartimento di Scienze dellAntichit e del Vicino Oriente, Universit Ca Foscari, Palazzo Malcanton Marcor,
Dorsoduro 3484D I - 30123 VENEZIA
e-mail: pavelius@unive.it
BERNARD GRATUZE and SOPHIE BOUCETTA, IRAMAT, Institut de Recherches sur les Archomatriaux, Centre Ernest Babelon,
C.N.R.S., 3D rue de la Frollerie F - 45071 ORLANS cedex 2
e-mail: gratuze@cnrs-orleans.fr
149
Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 149-160
MICHELA SPATARO*
EVERYDAY CERAMICS AND CULT OBJECTS:
A MILLENNIUM OF CULTURAL TRANSMISSION
SUMMARY - Everyday ceramics and cult objects: a millennium of cultural transmission. The Author discusses the results of the
ceramic and fired clay objects analyses obtained during her research on Early Neolithic pottery manufacture and provenance in the
central Balkans. The homogeneous results of the ceramic analyses indicate the use by the Starevo-Cri potters of a consistent formula
for the ceramic production. New radiocarbon dates indicate that this formula was used for almost a millennium, throughout a wide
geographical territory. A discussion follows in which the results are used as indicators of social structure in the earliest Neolithic com-
munities, which appear to have been tightly bound to cultural traditions, even if not completely isolated.
RIASSUNTO - Ceramica di uso quotidiano ed oggetti di culto: un millennio di trasmissione culturale. Lautore discute i risultati
delle analisi ottenute durante un progetto di ricerca sulla manifattura e la provenienza degli oggetti in ceramica del Neolitico antico
dei Balcani centrali. Lomogeneit dei risultati delle analisi ceramiche, associata a quelli delle nuove date radiocarboniche, suggerisce
limpiego di ununica formula per la produzione ceramica, il cui uso stato perpetrato per quasi un millennio dai vasai della Cultura
di Starevo-Cri, in un territorio molto ampio. Segue una discussione sul possibile tipo di societ che avrebbe potuto caratterizzare le
prime comunit neolitiche della regione: probabilmente una societ strettamente legata alle tradizioni culturali, anche se non completa-
mente chiusa in se stessa.
INTRODUCTION
Pottery first appears in Europe during the earliest Neolithic. Though we still know very little about the
communities which settled in the southeastern and central Balkans at this time, as far as ceramics are concerned
they seem to share a common heritage, although local differences have to be taken into account (eg. Karanovo,
see Nikolov, 2004).
Ceramic assemblages from Early Neolithic sites feature a recurrent set of forms, including globular vessels
with everted rims, open bowls, large oval-shaped pots, short-necked deep vessels, pedestalled vases, conical
and straight deep pots.
These vessels were decorated using a variety of common surface treatments, such as burnishing, mono-
chrome or white-on-red paint, impressions, and barbotine or channelled barbotine treatment (Lazarovici,
1993).
Besides everyday pottery, these assemblages include cult objects made of fired clay, in particular female
and zoomorphic figurines (Maxim, 1999), which again are similar in form and decoration. Ritual life in these
communities is also represented by fired clay altars, which have been interpreted as objects used to burn offer-
ings, as lamps or as idols (Maxim, 1999: 230; see also Tasi, 2007). They are three- or four-legged stands with
a shallow receptacle, which can be of different shapes (oval, circular, triangular, rectangular, etc.; see Maxim,
1999: 204-209). The altars legs and body can be plain, or richly decorated with incisions, inlays, impressions,
and painting.
These small farming communities with a common approach to the manufacture of pottery vessels and
ritual/cult objects are collectively known to us as the Starevo-Cri (SC) Culture, which flourished throughout
the central Balkans for much of the 6
th
millennium cal BC.
The aim of this article is to show the importance of the scientific analysis of ceramics in the interpretation
of this archaeological phenomenon.

* Institute of Archaeology, UCL, London, UK

150
Over the last three years I have worked on the analysis of the pottery production from 20 Early Neolithic
settlements in Serbia, Slavonia, and Romania
1
(fig. 1). I analysed between 20 and 40 samples of everyday pot-
tery from each site
2
using two different techniques of petrographic analysis: optical microscopy of thin sections
and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM-EDS)
3
analysis (fig. 2). To obtain a more complete picture of the
fired clay objects in use at these sites, I also studied altars, figurines, spindle-whorls, net weights, and daub
fragments using the same techniques. Results from individual sites have already been published or are in the
course of publication (Spataro, 2003a; 2004a; 2005; 2006a; 2006b; in press a). Another aspect of the project
was the radiocarbon dating of short-lived materials from most of these sites, the results of which have already
been published or are in press (Biagi and Spataro, 2004; Biagi et al., 2005; Spataro, in press b).
Fig. 1 - Map of the Balkans showing the locations of the sites sampled. Key to sites: CC - Cauce Cave; DBR - Donja Branjevina; DDV
- Dudetii Vechi; FGZ - Foeni-Gaz; FNS - Foeni-Sla; FRT - Fratelia; GBC - Gura Baciului; GLV - Giulvz; GLK - Golokut-Vizi;
LMB - Limba Bordane; MST- Mostonga; MRS - Miercurea Sibiului-Petri; PRT - Para; OCS - Ocna Sibiului; ORS - Ortie; SLM
- eua-La crarea morii; VNK - Vinkovci; ZDR - dralovi (drawing by M. Spataro and J. Meadows).
INITIAL OBSERVATIONS
The petrographic analyses permit the definition of mineralogical fabric groups among the ceramic objects,
which reflect the exploitation of different clay sources. By comparing these groups to the mineralogical com-
position of local clays, the fabric groups can be used to identify the presence (and possibly the source) of im-
ported pottery. Several fabric groups were defined at each site, but these clays are mineralogically very similar.

1
The research was carried out at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL, between 2003-2006. The project, entitled The early Neolithic in
the Balkans: ceramic analysis and cultural processes, was supported by a Leverhulme Trust grant.
2
The only exception was the site of Gura Baciului in Romania (Lazarovici and Maxim, 1995), where 80 ceramic samples were studied,
in order to provide a reasonable sample of pottery from each of the four occupational phases.
3
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used in combination with Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS) in order to identify the
chemical composition of the potsherds.
151
Fig. 2 - Micrograph of a bulk analysis by SEM-EDS (Back Scattered Electron image) of the compact matrix of sample 5 from Golokut
(Serbia) and its spectrum. The voids left by the burning of the organic matter are clearly visible in the lower left corner (photograph
and analysis by M. Spataro).
152
The different groups indicate that different clay sources, or simply different areas within the same clay basin,
were exploited at the same time (Spataro, 2003a; 2005). The clays were probably collected from river terraces,
which are the typical settings of the SC settlements, and are characterised by non-micritic pastes, rich in micas
and quartz sand. Indeed, soil samples collected in the proximity of the archaeological settlements show strong
similarities with the main pottery fabric groups.
Petrographic analyses may also identify the technological processes behind pottery production (Maggetti,
1982). Fabric sub-groups may be defined by the presence (or absence) of added temper. Most of the vessels
studied were tempered with abundant vegetal matter in order to make the clays more workable. The organic
material includes cultivated cereals, such as barley and wheat, and might indicate a connection between the
potters and another part of the SC community, the farmers (if we accept the idea of division of roles). Sand
temper was also used, but less frequently.
A consistent feature of the pottery studied is the presence of unburnt vegetal material in the fabrics pastes.
This indicates that firing took place for a rather short time and at relatively low temperatures, not allowing
vegetal matter to burn out of the clay completely
4
. Furthermore, the fabrics of the vessels and their cross sec-
tions suggest firing in bonfires, and that the use of kilns was not required
5
.
Ritual or cult objects were also manufactured using non-micritic and micaceous clays, rich in fine quartz
sand. Most of the anthropomorphic figurines, like the pottery, were tempered with vegetal matter
6
. The altars
were manufactured using the same clays and techniques as the everyday ceramics: almost all of them
7
were
heavily tempered with organic matter (fig. 3; Spataro, forthcoming).

4
The rather low temperatures, which never exceeded 850 C, are also testified by the non-vitrified sample matrices (Rice, 1987:
431).
5
Evidence of kilns from Starevo-Cri sites is so far rather scarce (see Zadubravljie: Minichreiter, 2005; 2007; Lepenski Vir: Srejovi,
1969).
6
A few, however, were not tempered at all (though these are all from the same site, Donja Branjevina, and have similar typological
characteristics; Spataro, forthcoming).
Fig. 3 - Micrograph of a thin section of an altar fragment from the site of Donja Branjevina. The sample shows a non-micritic and mi-
caceous fabric rich in naturally present fine quartz sand and abundant added organic matter (N+, X40; photograph by M. Spataro).
153
In contrast to the pottery vessels and the cult objects, there seems not to have been a rule, or precise formula,
for the production of the most utilitarian objects, such as net weights or spindle whorls. Most net weights do
not show any temper addition, and spindle-whorls were made both with and without organic temper.
EMERGING PATTERNS
All the objects sampled appear to have been locally produced; not one imported clay object was detected,
suggesting that the exchange of pottery or cult objects between sites was extremely rare, if it took place at all.
This conclusion is based on the mineralogical similarities between the fabric groups (clay sources), local soil
samples, and samples of archaeological daub. Although the clay sources available near the sites sampled are
all fairly similar, the SEM-EDS results support this interpretation of the thin section analyses: different fabric
groups from the same site tend to be chemically more similar to each other than to fabrics found at other sites
(fig. 4).
Fig. 4 - Canonical Discriminant Analysis of SEM-EDS compositional data from samples from the following sites, all in the Romanian
portion of the Banat plain (fig. 1): Foeni-Sla (FNS; phase SCIIA), Fratelia (FRT; phase SCIIA), and Giulvz (GLV; phase SCIIIA).
Sample FNS23 was a spindle whorl; the other samples were all potsherds. Each sample belongs to a different fabric group. The rays
indicate which compounds are more abundant in different sectors of the graph (and thus in the clay sources represented by the various
fabric groups). The satisfactory separation of fabric groups according to site is consistent with the local production of all the fired clay
objects. Sample GLV1 is chemically very similar to the FNS sherds, but the sand it contained is finer, and stylistically these sites belong
to different phases (analysis by M. Spataro, figure by J. Meadows).
The idea of local production is reinforced by the comparison of fabric groups from neighbouring contem-
porary sites, such as Foeni-Sla and Foeni-Gaz in southwestern Romania, and Vinkovci and dralovi in eastern
Croatia (Spataro, 2005), which tend to be different between sites. If very much pottery had been exchanged
between these near neighbours, these differences would have been obscured. As all the sites apparently pro-
duced pottery, none of the sites could be described as a specialised production centre for either pottery vessels
or cult objects.
Local production also implies that potters used the same kind of clays and the same pottery production
technology across the central Balkans, from the north to the south, from Slavonia to the Serbian Banat, and
from the west to the east, from the Vojvodina to central-eastern Transylvania (fig. 5). Although contemporary
sites in Macedonia to the south, and Hungary to the north were not sampled during this project, it seems likely
that the same technological formula was used throughout the Starevo-Cri-Krs Culture. There is a clear
contrast, however, between this formula and the technology of pottery production at contemporary Impressed
Ware sites on the Dalmatian coast (see below).
154
The Starevo-Cri formula for pottery production was also consistent over time, despite the typological
development that has allowed the definition of four distinct phases (Lazarovici, 1993). All four typologi-
cal phases are represented at Gura Baciului, in Transylvania. I analysed 80 potsherds from this site, with
the aim of covering the complete stratigraphy of the settlement, from SC phase I to the final phase (SC IV)
(Spataro, in press a). The results show that the potters used clay collected from a local basin and tempered it
with domestic cereals throughout the different phases. This does not seem to be an isolated case; at Dudetii
Vechi (SC III A/B), Giulvz and Para (SC IIIA) in Banat, and Limba-Bordane (SC IIIB) in Transylvania,
Vinkovci (Linear B, Girlandoid, Spiraloid A and B) in Slavonia, and Golokut (SC IIIB) in Serbia, pottery
continued to be made using the same technology employed at the typologically earliest sites.
Radiocarbon results from Gura Baciului and the other sites sampled for this project (Biagi et al., 2005;
Spataro, in press b) demonstrate that the four phases represent a period of about 800 calendar years. Before
the start of this period (in about 6000 cal BC), pottery was not produced in the area at all. There are currently
no studies of pottery production in the central Balkans in the period immediately following the Starevo-Cri
Culture (the Vina Culture), so it is uncertain how long this technological tradition was maintained, but it clearly
lasted for many human generations (fig. 6).
Pottery production and Starevo-Cri society
Just as pottery technology did not change with the introduction of new vessel forms, the results indicate
that there is no relationship, even within a single phase, between the shape of a vessel and its fabric (Spataro,
2006a). Different surface treatments were applied to vessels made using the same fabric, and different fabrics
were given the same surface treatment and shape. At no point in the production process are we able to identify the
role of a specialist: a range of raw materials was used without regard to vessel function, the firing temperatures
Fig. 5 - Micrographs of four thin sections of potsherds from the following sites: Gura Baciului (a; sample GBC20), Foeni-Sla (b; sample
FNS14), Foeni-Gaz (c; sample FGZ3), and Vinkovci (d; sample VNK15). The samples show a non-micritic and micaceous fabric with
naturally present fine quartz sand and artificially added organic matter (N+, X40; photographs by M. Spataro).
155
necessary could have been reached without the use of kilns, and decoration was unrelated to the pottery fabric.
The use of large quantities of organic temper may also have been a simple solution to the technical problems
posed by variable raw materials and uneven firing conditions.
Nevertheless, it is far from certain that each household produced its own pottery and cult objects. The
identification of a single technological formula for pottery production may mean that most pots were made by a
Fig. 6 - Calibration of radiocarbon results obtained under the Leverhulme project (Biagi et al., 2005; Spataro, in press b with new
dates). Sites: LMB - Limba Bordane; GBC - Gura Baciului; PRT and PRT2: Para; DDV - Dudetii Vechi; MST- Mostonga; FGZ -
Foeni-Gaz; DBR - Donja Branjevina; MRS - Miercurea Sibiului-Petri; SLM - eua-La Crarea Morii; OCS - Ocna Sibiului (figure
made in OxCal 3.10).
Starevo
156
few individuals, and the consistent reproduction of a wide range of vessel forms throughout the region suggests
some investment of time in learning the craft. It is conceivable that aspects of the pottery production process
were divided between workers, with the more skilled or experienced potters responsible for decoration. There
is no basis, however, for attributing cult object production to a different set of potters than those who produced
everyday pottery vessels.
On the other hand, it might be argued that the most utilitarian fired clay objects, such as spindle whorls
and net weights, were made without a well-defined technological formula, and therefore perhaps without any
significant level of expertise. Compared to these artefacts, it is clear that the production of pottery vessels was
more demanding, and it seems likely that the necessary skills were preserved and passed on by a few individuals.
The lack of evidence of imported pottery strongly suggests that each community included some individuals with
the skills required. Starevo-Cri communities appear to have been fairly small, however, probably consisting
of no more than 10-20 dwellings (Lazarovici and Maxim, 1995: 354; Maxim, 1999: 226), and it seems unlikely
that they would have needed, or could have supported, full-time specialist potters.
It is feasible that pots were made locally, but by itinerant specialist potters, a possibility also indicated in
Greece at Early Neolithic Achilleion (Bjrk, 1995: 134). The petrographic evidence cannot directly address
this issue, but, as indicated above, the technology of pottery production was not particularly sophisticated, and
it seems at least as plausible that local residents manufactured the bulk of the pottery found at each site. The
necessary craft skills would therefore have been passed from one generation to the next. The more significant
role of itinerant potters, if such existed, may have been to spread new vessel forms and styles of decoration
between communities.
The choice of clay sources used must also have been influenced by the social context of pottery produc-
tion. At all the sites studied, there were a few recurrent fabric groups, each representing a slightly different
clay source. No functional basis was detected for the provenance of raw materials, which might imply that
different clays represent the sources available to different potters or workshops. The longevity of fabric groups
means that the different clay sources cannot simply represent different individual potters, although they could
represent the work of family lineages
8
.
A possible way of checking this theory would be a contextual analysis of the fabric groups, with some
spatial patterning within sites expected if different households consistently exploited different clay sources
and the exchange of pottery within the site was limited. At Gura Baciului, however, I compared pottery from
different pit houses within the same phase and found that each assemblage included several different fabric
groups, and that the more common clay sources were represented in both assemblages. At most of the sites, the
sherds studied cannot be assigned to particular pit houses, but the fact that one clay source was generally used
far more than the others suggests that access to that source was not restricted.
So far I have emphasised questions that can be answered by the empirical data, but beside these questions
there are issues that cannot be addressed using petrographic evidence. Pottery vessels and cult objects were
made using the same raw materials and techniques, probably by the same people, but what was the role of each
object? If they were manufactured using the same techniques, without the use of special raw materials, does
this suggest that the archaeological subdivision into everyday and ritual is only a modern construct?
It is difficult to determine how many pots were in use in a household at any point in time, and containers
made of wood or leather may be archaeologically invisible. The practical importance of pottery might, therefore,
have been overstated. Pottery vessels, like figurines and altars, may have had important symbolic functions
(as gifts, heirlooms, or feasting cups, for example), and have been acquired mainly for display purposes. Nev-
ertheless, even if pottery was relatively rare in Starevo-Cri households, the fact that it was always produced
and used locally is significant. Although it would have been possible to acquire pottery and cult objects from
other Starevo-Cri communities, in practice each site was apparently self-sufficient in these artefacts, which
suggests that although physically portable, these objects had a particularly local significance.
Figurines, although far fewer in number than everyday pottery vessels, may have been as common as some
of the more decorated vessel types (eg. white-on-red painted), and we may ask whether the latter were any less
important symbolically than were figurines. It is interesting that anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines
were made using the same material and techniques as pottery vessels. This, as Bjrk (1995: 131) anticipated,
like the lack of identifiable cult places, might reinforce the idea of lack of division between the secular and the
profane, which is a dichotomy defined rather late by humanity (Hodder, 1987).

8
At Gura Baciului, for example, the same clay source is represented in phases IB/IC, IC/IIA, IIA, IIA/IIB, and phase IV (no phase III
sherds were available for analysis; Spataro, forthcoming).
157
Starevo-Cri pottery in a regional context
The Starevo-Cri Culture, which covers most of the central Balkans, meets the contemporary Impressed
Ware (IW) Culture at a certain point in Bosnia (see Obre I, Benac, 1973). The earliest aspects of the latter,
characterised by pottery decorated with Cardium motifs, occur in the Adriatic region, along the southeastern
Italian coastline and the Dalmatian shore (Mller, 1994: 211). Chronologically, the SC and the IW are more
or less contemporary (Spataro, 2002; Biagi et al., 2005), but they feature different types of pottery and cult
objects. SC altars are unknown in IW assemblages, which include a different type of cult object, the rhyton,
not found in SC assemblages
9
.
Besides their typological differences, these two cultures differ in their technological choices in mak-
ing pottery. I analysed sherds from 11 IW sites distributed along the eastern and the western Adriatic
coastlines, and found that IW potters hardly ever used organic temper, preferring to use local crushed
minerals for temper (Spataro, 2002; 2004a). The minerals used were probably determined by the local
geological background: calcite and limestone along the islands and the inland sites of the eastern Adriatic
shore
10
, volcanic sand in south-eastern Italy
11
, and flint or granite rock fragments in central-eastern Italy
12

(Spataro, 2002). Although locally produced, IW ceramics reflect a standard range of shapes and decora-
tive motifs
13
, and we can also infer that IW potters used a consistent formula to manufacture ceramics:
the use of local clays, tempered with autochthonous minerals, and fired in bonfires at temperatures lower
than 750 C (Spataro, 2002: 196).
The picture becomes even more interesting if we move north, and consider the Malo Korenovo (MK)
Culture, contemporary with the latest phases of the IW and SC. The MK is the south-westernmost aspect
of the better-known Linearbandkeramik (LBK), and covers the eastern Croatian region between the Sava
and Drava Rivers (Dimitrijevi, 1978; Teak-Gregl, 1993: 61). Some potsherds from two MK Culture
sites, Malo Korenovo and Tomaica, were analysed. In both cases, the pottery was manufactured using
local clays without any addition of organic matter. When temper was utilised, very rarely and probably
only for cooking pots, granitic rock fragments were the only choice (Spataro, 2003b; 2006b). In contrast,
pottery from the Starevo sites of Vinkovci and dralovi, located only a few kilometres from the two MK
sites (Spataro, 2006b: fig. 1) was manufactured using the same formula as at the other SC sites: organic
temper was found in most of the samples analysed. These four sites share the same geological setting and
are roughly contemporary, but the MK sites belong to a different technological tradition to the SC sites.
These comparisons indicate that the SC Culture was relatively insulated from its neighbours, not only from
a typological but also from a technological point of view. From a ceramic perspective, the stylistic similarities
and technological consistency within the SC culture seem to reflect ongoing contacts between SC communities
over many generations (800 years), during which they were not obviously influenced by their IW or MK neigh-
bours. This pattern is similar to a modern tribal system, where pottery manufacture follows the same rules for
millennia, and things change very rarely, even when they lose their original meaning (eg. decorative motifs in
the pottery production of the Thar Desert in Sindh [Pakistan]: Spataro, 2004b). Nevertheless, SC communities
certainly had contacts with the outside world, as they imported other materials, such as obsidian (eg. see Biagi
et al., 2007; 2007a; Chapman, 2007).
CONCLUSION
Pottery production and decoration remain the best-understood aspects of the SC Culture, and the evidence
discussed here indicates a relatively consistent approach to pottery production during the Early Neolithic
throughout the central Balkans (cf. Nikolov, 2007, for Karanovo; Korkuti, 2007, for Albania). Given our current
state of knowledge, however, it is conceivable that there were significant regional or temporal differences in

9
With the exception of a single example from Donja Branjevina in the Vojvodina (Biagi, 2003; Karmanski, 2005: 154-155).
10
Eg. sites such as Jami na Sredi, Vela Jama, Smili, Tinj, etc. (Spataro, 2002: 43-113).
11
Scamuso (Spataro, 2002: 166-175).
12
Fornace Cappuccini, Maddalena di Muccia, and Ripabianca di Monterado in Romagna and Marche regions (Spataro, 2002: 137-
163).
13
Though there are some differences in particular between those of the eastern and southwestern Adriatic coast, and those of the
Middle Adriatic of central Italy (Mller, 1994).
158
other aspects of the SC culture, for which we currently have only local or regional studies, such as subsistence
practices (El Susi, 1996; Colledge et al., 2007), settlement patterns (Minichreiter, 2007), external contacts
(Biagi et al., 2007a; Chapman, 2007), and mortuary behaviour (cf. Bacvarov, 2007, for the Early Neolithic
of the Vardar and Struma Valleys). Until such variation is demonstrated, however, it is possible to talk of SC
as a coherent cultural phenomenon. This naturally raises the questions of where this culture emerged, when,
and how. Linkages with Anatolia (eg white-on-red painted pottery decoration [Nikolov, 2007]); food plants
and weeds: Colledge et al. (2007), suggest that future research should focus on comparing pottery technology
between Anatolia, Thrace, and the central Balkans during the Early Neolithic.
Further research can also look at intra-site patterns, including the spatial distribution of pottery produc-
tion and use, in order to better understand the place of the household in Early Neolithic communities. Social
organisation in this period is rarely discussed, perhaps because of a lack of evidence of inequality, conflict, or
redistribution centres. Analysis of ceramic artefacts, including cult objects, decorated and undecorated pot-
tery, may provide the means of identifying whether there were differences between households in access to
imported or high-status items, and whether these may be correlated with other signs of prestige or disadvantage.
The Leverhulme project has broadened the research agenda for the Starevo-Cri Culture and explicitly linked
pottery production and use to other aspects of life in a Neolithic society.
Acknowledgements
This work has been possible thanks to the financial support of The Leverhulme Trust (F/07 134/AD) and the British Academy Small
Research Project (The Early Neolithic cultural processes of Banat (Romania) through the scientific analysis of pottery).
The author would like to thank Drs. F. Draovean and D. Ciobotaru (Museum of Banat, Timioara, RO), Prof. I. Paul and Dr. M. Ciut
(Alba Iulia University, RO), Professors S.A. Luca (Sibiu University, RO) and G. Lazarovici (Reia University, RO), Dr. Z. Maxim
(Cluj-Napoca Museum, RO), Prof. B. Brukner (Novi Sad Serbian Academy of Sciences), Prof. T. Teak-Gregl and Mr. M. Buri (Zagreb
University, HR), Dr. K. Minichreither (Zagreb Academy of Science, HR), Mr. S. Karmanski (Odaci, Serbia), for kindly allowing the
analyses of their archaeological materials, and all the people who made it possible.
Special thanks are also due to Professors P. Biagi (Ca Foscari, Venice University, I) and S. Shennan (Institute of Archaeology, UCL,
UK) for their support, and to Prof. I. Freestone (Cardiff University, UK), Dr. R. Macphail and Mr. K. Reeves (Institute of Archaeology,
UCL) for their valuable comments on the scientific analyses.
My deepest thanks are for Dr. J. Meadows (Institute of Archaeology, UCL) for his comments, discussion, and suggestions.
159
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Authors Address:
MICHELA SPATARO, Institute of Archaeology UCL, 31-34 Gordon Square UK - LONDON WC1H 0PY
e-mail: michelaspataro@yahoo.co.uk
161
Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 161-169
JOHANNES MLLER*
DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES AND NEOLITHIC IDEOLOGY
SUMMARY - Demographic variables and Neolithic ideology. Estimates of Neolithic population sizes are of significant importance
for the reconstruction of social and political matters. This is particularly true for the evaluation of the Neolithisation process in south-
east and central Europe: colonisation, acculturation and the role of the Neolithic ideology were linked to changes in the demographic
impact. In this paper new results for the reconstruction of Early and Late Neolithic population densities are presented and connected to
the ideological context of the Neolithisation process.
RIASSUNTO - Variabilit demografica e ideologia neolitica. Le stime delle dimensioni del popolamento Neolitico sono importanti per
la ricostruzione dei problemi sociali e politici. Questo vero soprattutto per quanto riguarda il processo di neolitizzazione dellEuropa
sudorientale: colonizzazione, acculturazione e ruolo dellideologia neolitica sono collegati ai cambiamenti dovuti allimpatto demografico.
In questo lavoro vengono presentati i nuovi risultati della ricostruzione della densit di popolazione nel Neolitico Antico e Medio,
connessi allideologia del processo di neolitizzazione.
THE QUESTION
Beside the reconstruction of ecological, economical and social constraints of prehistoric societies, the
evaluation of demographic sizes is one of the most necessary tasks for archaeologists. Firstly, social stratifica-
tion is based in many cases on demographic group size. Secondly, models of emigration and immigration are
dependent on estimated population growth rates. Thirdly, the intensity of interaction between social groups is
linked to demographic factors.
This is particularly relevant to the southeast European Neolithic, as until now archaeologists have discussed
demographic changes assuming constant emigration and immigration. Nevertheless, demographic reconstruc-
tions for test regions are. This is due to a lack of proper archaeological data and problems in spatial analyses.
In this paper I will describe some new attempts to reconstruct Neolithic population sizes. The results should be
seen in a broader perspective: an interpretation will be formulated linked to ideas about Neolithic ideology.
THE PROBLEM
The process of the Neolithisation of southeast and central Europe is still debated by different schools.
There are those who prefer a scenario of moving farmers, invading Mesolithic areas and starting agriculture in
formerly remote regions.
Other prehistorians still try to find evidence for interregional networks of foraging communities, which
function as communication catalysers; Neolithisation is thus seen as a matter of acculturation, which starts with
a few Neolithic elements in a foraging environment and ends with the full adoption of the Neolithic life style.
Not surprisingly many archaeologists are in favour of some kind of compromise between the two models,
recently described as a mosaic pattern (Whittle et al., 2002): small islands of farming communities were
established all over south-east Europe in an act of leapfrogging. These isolated sites are the base for the
acculturation of neighbouring Mesolithic communities after decades or centuries of more or less peaceful
interaction.

* Institut fr Ur- und Frhgeschichte, Universitt Kiel, Germany

162
The topic is not only bound to the compilation of all available archaeological data in respect of Meso-
lithic-Neolithic transitions but also to the identification of a Neolithic ideology. Is the Neolithic some kind of
economic process to adopt a more productive as well as a more slavish subsistence system? Or is the Neolithic
a new way of life, which is strictly aligned with new forms of thinking, social organisation, behaviour and
economies? Whereas the first question implies possibilities for gradual changes from Mesolithic to Neolithic
societies, the second points to a clearer separation between foraging and farming groups. Such a separation
would imply a more fundamental approach: foragers would be forced to adopt the Neolithic without major
changes in the Neolithic ideology.
The recent state of research implies a longer duration of the Neolithisation process in Southeast Europe. A
rapid spread of Neolithic villages is observed around 6200-6000 cal BC from Macedonia to Hungary, but the
establishment of villages, in contrast to small farmsteads, was delayed in most regions until the beginning of
the Middle Neolithic at around 5500 cal BC. In conclusion, after the establishment of first farming communities
the creation of the Neolithic and the spatial dispersal within each region is not only an external colonisation,
but also an internal landnam process lasting centuries.
In respect of the question of Neolithic ideology/Neolithic acculturation, the group size of our archaeologi-
cal units is of great importance. The behaviour of communities and the necessity of interaction depend on the
demographic parameters of societies. In the following example, the demographic parameters of three Neolithic
societies will be: Early Neolithic Thessaly (6500-5900 cal BC), Late Neolithic Bosnia (5300-4700 cal BC) and
Early Neolithic Rhineland (5300-4800 cal BC). The diversity of these examples is due to the lack of proper data
or experimental research for most other southeast European regions. Nevertheless, a structural comparison of
Early Neolithic communities in Thessaly, Late Neolithic groups in Bosnia and contemporary Early Neolithic
groups in western Germany might contribute to the questions raised. But first of all we should summarize the
general ideas about demographic reconstructions.
RECONSTRUCTION OF POPULATION DENSITIES: FROM THE NEAR EAST TO CENTRAL EUROPE
For decades Near Eastern archaeologists have engaged in studies of population sizes. In the middle of last
century, based on huge excavations of settlement mounds, J.C. Russell (1958) assumed about 125 inhabitants
per 1 hectare domestic area. During survey activities this estimate was used several times for the reconstruc-
tion of population densities in broader Near Eastern landscapes. In spite of subsequent correction of Russells
estimate, based on newer excavation results and several ethnographical analogies (cf. Wilkinson, 1999: 46f.),
his demographic reference value was used for population modelling outside the Near East.
The calculations of R.W. Dennell and D. Webley (1975: 106f.) for Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze
Age settlement in the region of Nova Zagora were pioneering. They used on the one hand a calculated agrarian
capacity of the region as the upper population limit, and on the other hand the calculation of village popula-
tions based on tell area, were using Russells formula. A population density of about 10 inhabitants per square
kilometre and settlement sizes of on average 375 inhabitants per settlement mound was obtained for southern
Bulgaria. Large villages could reach up to 500 inhabitants.
Recently N. Kalicz (2001: 157) presented calculations of population densities based on new methods. He
used the results of latest excavated Herply tells. Often one quarter of the whole settlement mound was exca-
vated. Thus the estimate of population sizes from the number of houses was successful. About 20-30 houses
with 100-150 inhabitants per settlement were estimated. The earliest Herply phase is described as an area of
about 3000 sq km with presumably 2500-3750 inhabitants, or 1-1.25 inhabitants per sq km. Even though the
reckoning of the population of all Hungarian Late Neolithic groups is uncertain, 45,000-50,000 inhabitants for
all Late Neolithic Hungary (Thei-Herply-Csszhalom-Lengyel) seems to be plausible, giving a population
density about 0.5 inhabitants/sq km (Kalicz, 2001: 160).
By contrast, the population estimates for the central European Early Neolithic societies are based on large
scale excavations (Lning, 1988: 38 note 33) as well as small regional studies (Milisauskas and Kruk, 1984;
cf. also Zimmermann, 1996). We begin with the tremendous archaeological works at the Aldenhovener Platte:
large areas were investigated in advance of opencast coal mining and all Linearbandkeramik features excavated.
Supported by correspondence analysis and spatial models, a chronological system with Hausgenerationen
(chronological units of 20-30 years) was created, which permits statements about the contemporary existence of
houses within and between domestic sites (Stehli, 1994). The architecture and characteristics of Bandkeramik
houses make it plausible, that about 5-10 persons lived in such a homestead.
163
If the regional results of the Aldenhovener Platte are transferred to all Central European loess zones, the
population density figures around 1.45 inhabitants/sq km (Lning, 1982: 26). In a recent approach A. Zimmer-
mann (2004: 73) has qualified this statement. Obviously, not all loess areas were settled by Linearbandkeramik
groups. Consequently, the population density in central Europe during the Early Neolithic should be around
0.44 inhabitants/sq km.
In summary, a reliable approach to the calculation of population densities was presented. Furthermore,
models of calorific requirements and demand for building material enable us to reconstruct necessary clearing
and cultivation areas around the domestic sites (Zimmermann, 2002: 30, fig. 13; Ebersbach and Schade, 2004).
Apparently the Linearbandkeramik settlement pattern is characterised by cleared islands within the virgin oak
and lime tree forest, which was used for pasture.
Example: Late Neolithic Bosnia
A test region to evaluate settlement sizes and population densities is the Late Neolithic occupation of the
Bosnian Visoko basin (fig. 1). Since 2002 field work has taken place here as a joint research project of the
Bosnian-Herzegovina National Museum Sarajevo (Zilka Kujundi-Vejzagi), the Visoko Museum (Senar J.
Hodovi), the Rmisch-Germanische-Kommission Frankfurt (Knut Rassmann) and the Christian-Albrechts
Universitt Kiel (Johannes Mller) (Kujundi-Vejzagi et al., 2003; 2004a; 2004b).
Surveys and excavations concentrate on the settlement mound of Okolite, situated 30 km northwest of
Sarajevo at the river Bosna. Within three Siedlungskammern along the Bosna there are 34 sites with Butmir
ceramics (5300-4700 cal BC). The Visoko basin has a size of 110 sq km, 400-410 m above sea level. It is formed
by Pleistocene river terraces and Para brown soils. Miocene mountains up to 1000 m (marl and sandstone with
rendzinas) encircle the basin (fig. 2). Six Late Neolithic tells are known from the area by surveys and prospec-
tions. To the north, the Kakanj basin shows a similar distribution of settlement mounds.
Fig. 1 - Late Neolithic occupation and the location of the Visoko basin.
164
Two aspects are most important for our enquiry. First, Okolite the latest settlement horizon is reconstructed
with household densities and functional diversities by surveys and ongoing excavation (fig. 3). Second, further
Late Neolithic sites within the Visoko basin are surveyed and partly excavated, which means that in the light
of the Okolite results the occupation time-span and the ap-
proximate number of houses of the last occupation layer is
reasonably evident. Most of the Visoko sites came to an end
around 4800-4700 cal BC. The calculation of population
densities for this Butmir phase is possible.
In detail the surveys and excavations at Okolite indicate
a big settlement mound (height 3.5 m, 7.5 hectares) with an
organized structure at least during the latest horizon of oc-
cupation: beside the geometrical layout of the rows of houses,
a huge defensive system of three ditches and one rampart
with a palisade existed in Butmir II times (4800-4700 cal
BC), which surrounded 3-5 ha of the site (after Schulz, 2003;
Kujundi-Vejzagi et al., 2003; 2004a; 2004b; Mller et
al., 2005) (figs. 3 and 4).
Probably the geomagnetically surveyed and partly ex-
cavated houses are contemporary - the ceramic assemblages
are of Butmir IIb character and the
14
C dates belong mainly
to the 48
th
-47
th
century cal BC. At least 200 houses existed,
if we transfer the pattern of documented houses to the area
of the whole defended settlement. They were destroyed in
a huge fire, which is fortunately responsible for the good
geomagnetic results.
As already mentioned, we are reasonably well informed
about the Late Neolithic domestic sites of the Visoko basin
and the areas around Kakanj (inter alia Peri, 1995). For
example, the site of Obre II was excavated in the sixties
(Benac, 1973; Gimbutas, 1974) and geomagnetically sur-
veyed in our project. Domestic sites are 2-3 ha in size with
an internal layout, which can be compared to Okolite but
for the absence of defence systems (figs. 2 and 5).
Settlement sizes give us an estimate of the number of houses, assuming a similar housing density (per houses
per hectare) as at Okolite. and the size of the. About 50-150 houses existed at the same time in each settlement,
except in Okolite where there were not less than
200 houses. Consequently we are dealing with not
less than 700 houses in the Visoko basin in the
Butmir period. Because of the small household
size (60 sq m), about 5 people are calculated for
each household, giving a total of 3500 inhabitants
around 4800 cal BC in the Visoko basin.
Botanical analyses from Obre II and Okolite,
indicates agriculture with emmer, einkorn, barley
and millet (Renfrew, 1974; Bittmann and Kuan,
2003).
Archaeozoological analyses prove the domi-
nance of cattle at Okolite (Kujundi-Vejzagi et
al., 2004: 80), while at Obre II a more balanced
reliance on cattle, pig and sheep/goat is docu-
mented (Bknyi, 1974: 66). The pedological and
climatic properties of the Visoko basin suggest
similar agricultural potential, as we would expect
in central Europe (cf. Zimmermann, 2002: 26ff.;
Ebersbach, 2003: 74ff.; Ebersbach and Schade,
Fig. 2 - The Central Bosnian Visoko basin with Late Neo-
lithic domestic sites (from Kujundi-Vejzagi et al., 2004a:
70, fig. 1 with supplements: map by W. Schulz).
Fig. 3 - The settlement mound of Okolite. Geomorphology: light grey:
Pleistocene terraces; grey: Holocene terraces; dark grey: Tell (from
Kujundi-Vejzagi et al., 2004a: 70, fig. 2: map by W. Schulz).
165
Fig. 4 - The results of the geomagnetic survey Okolite 2003 (from Kujundi-Vejzagi et al., 2004a: 77, fig. 9).
Fig. 5 - The geomagnetic survey of Obre II 2003. Included are the trenches of Benac and Gimbutas with Butmir II houses. In contrast
to the rows of houses the visible ditch is a modern disturbance (from Kujundi-Vejzagi et al., 2004a: 80, fig. 11).
166
2004). If we take different calorie requirement models, which are based on ethnoarchaeological research
(Gregg, 1988; Ebersbach, 2002: 81 and 107ff.), a household of 5 people requires 1.5 ha cultivated land and
50 ha pasture land.
In consequence, 10.5 sq km cultivated land and at least 350 sq km pasture area (in the surrounding moun-
tains) were necessary to feed the 3500 inhabitants of the Visoko Basin around 4800 cal BC. In fig. 6 boundaries
of the settlements were modelled with the help of weighted Voronoi polygons. Arable land near the sites is
marked. Obviously we should think of an open landscape along the Bosna River without any non-arable areas
in between the settlements. 350 sq km pasture area was
required. As only c. 250 sq km were easily accessible
from the settlements, some kind of mobile stock farm-
ing was necessary in mountainous areas lying at some
distance.
Seasonal transhumance (see Ebersbach, 2002:
158ff.) was ethnographically documented for the Adri-
atic basin and Bosnia as well as postulated for the Adri-
atic Early Neolithic (Beuermann, 1967; Mller, 1994:
69f.). Adequate resources existed in the non-occupied
landscape of the Butmir group.
Let us go one hypothetical step further. In the Visoko
basin (a core area of the Butmir society) the population
density figures were around 31 inhabitants/sq km (3500
inhabitants in 110 sq km). If the population density was
similar in the other Butmir core areas, we are forced to
think of about 32,000 inhabitants in the 1000 sq km. of
the main distribution area.
If we count half the mountainous landscape between
Butmir and other groups as belonging to Butmir, there
are around 18,000 sq km., which belong to Butmir, too.
Accordingly, we are talking about an overall popula-
tion density of about 1.8 sq km. for the Butmir group
(table 1).
Example: Population size in Early Neolithic
Thessaly
Recently new ideas about the development of the
early Neolithic in Greece were formulated by Catherine
Perls (2001). One important part of her work is a re-
evaluation of the Thessalian evidence (Perls, 2001:
121ff.). In Early Neolithic 1 to 3 (6500-5900 cal BC),
she found similar settlement patterns: No positive
relation can be established between settlement choice
or settlement density and natural features such as water proximity, floods, soils, and varied topographyOn
the contrary, the most striking result of these analyses is the regularity of the distribution pattern in settled
areas (Perls, 2001: 143). This independence vis--vis natural feature seems to indicate a pattern of
expansion determined more by socioeconomic factors than by environmental ones (Perls, 2001: 151).
Furthermore, the surveys and excavations in Thessaly good enough to estimate that nearly all Neolithic
sites are visible as tells. Perls counts the number of sites: 24 in EN1; 96 in EN2 and 42 in EN3, but probably
50 MN domestic sites are contemporary with the EN3 sites.
A picture arises, that around 25 sites existed at 6500 cal BC and about 100 after 6300 cal BC. These
tells have a size of usually 0.5-2 ha; a general estimate of 100 to 300 inhabitants per settlement is realistic
(Perls, 2001: 176ff.). This means that in the area of Thessaly, including unsettled surroundings (100x100
km.), there may have been about 5000 people (0.5 inhabitants/sq km) during EN1 and about 20,000 inhabit-
ants (2 inhabitants/sq km) in EN2 and EN3. In the core area of Mid Thessaly and the plains (1150 sq km) the
population density would have been 5 (EN1) or 20 inhabitants per sq km (EN2 and EN3).
Fig. 6 - The Central Bosnian Visoko basin with Late Neolithic
domestic sites. Cultivated areas are reconstructed and boundaries
modelled with Voronoi polygons.
167
CONSEQUENCES
First of all, from a technical point of view the results for the Bosnian Late Neolithic population densities
correspond to Russells formula. It is of interest that independently of Russells method of enquiry, the estimate
of 125 persons per 1 ha domestic area works properly. Therefore, the calculations for the Thessalian case
seem to be reasonable.
Secondly, the relatively low population density in EN1 Thessaly and the Early Neolithic Rhineland contrast
with the higher population densities of the developed Early Neolithic Thessaly and Late Neolithic Bosnia. This
is true both for the core areas as well as the general density of occupation (table 2). The internal occupation took
place later, visible in the increasing population density within the already occupied areas. From the structural
point of view this seems to be some kind of rule in both southeast Europe and central Europe. Nevertheless, in
some areas there might have been no population growth because of ecological limits.
In respect of a Neolithic ideology, small groups of farmers were able to establish the Neolithic way of life
not dependent on spatial clustering. There were core areas with a Neolithic pattern, but there was still enough
space within these areas for a rising population and an expansion of the areas of cultivated land.
Visoko-basin Okolite Dolni Mostre
Contemporary houses 700 200 100
Inhabitants (5i/house) 3500 1000 500
Arable land (0.3 ha/i) 1050 ha = 10.5 sq km 300 ha = 3 sq km 150 ha = 1.5 sq km
Pasture land (10ha/i) 35,000 ha = 350 sq km 10,000 = 100 sq km 5000 ha = 50 sq km
Table 1 - Population sizes and cultivated land of the central site Okolite, a normal-sized site, Dolni Mostre, and the Visoko basin.
Region
Population density in core areas
(inhabitants/sq km)
Population density in general
(inhabitants/sq km)
Thessaly Early Neolithic 1 5 0.5
Thessaly Early Neolithic 2 20 2
Rhineland Early Neolithic 5-10 0.5
Bosnia Late Neolithic 30 2
Table 2 - A comparison of population estimates.
168
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Authors Address:
JOHANNES MLLER, Institut fr Ur- und Frhgeschichte, Johanna-Mestorf-Str. 2-6 D - 24098 KIEL
e-mail: johannes.mueller@ufg.uni-kiel.de
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Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 171-181
KORNELIJA MINICHREITER*
THE FIRST FARMERS OF NORTHERN CROATIA
SUMMARY - The first farmers of northern Croatia. In south-eastern Europe, in the area of northern Croatia between the rivers Drava,
Danube and Sava (southern Pannonia), the first Neolithic settlements developed during the Early and Middle Neolithic (c. 6000-4800
cal BC). The numerous archaeological excavations and 100 settlements recorded in the past 25 years in northern Croatia have enabled
a review of the development of Starevo Culture settlement from its beginnings (Linear A phase) to the final stage of its development
(Spiraloid B phase). The two oldest agricultural settlements have been explored in the Sava Valley (Zadubravlje and Slavonski Brod),
while the third was excavated at Pepelana in the Drava Valley. The results of this research allow us to identify the basic elements of the
urban growth of these settlements, and the arrangement, form, and purpose of the pit structures in them: this will serve as fundamental
material for the further investigation of the very first cultures in these areas, and the process of the spread of the Neolithic through
south-eastern Europe.
RIASSUNTO - I primi agricoltori della Croazia settentrionale. Nella Croazia settentrionale, fra il corso dei fiumi Drava, Danubio e Sava
(Pannonia meridionale) si svilupparono i primi abitati neolitici durante il Neolitico antico e medio (circa 6000-4800 cal BC). I numerosi
scavi archeologici condotti negli ultimi 25 anni, hanno portato ad una revisione degli insediamenti della Cultura di Starevo, dalla sua
fase pi antica (Lineare A) a quella finale (Spiraloide B). Sono stati studiati i due siti pi antichi della Valle della Sava (Zadubravlje e
Slavonski Brod), mentre un terzo stato oggetto di scavo a Pepelana (Lineare C), nella Valle della Drava. I risultati ottenuti permettono
di riconoscere gli elementi di sviluppo dei villaggi, la loro forma e distribuzione, oltre che la funzione delle strutture a pozzetto. Questi
dati sono di fondamentale importanza per la continuazione degli studi sulle prime culture neolitiche di questa regione e sullanalisi del
processo di neolitizzazione dellEuropa sudorientale.
INTRODUCTION
Extensive archaeological research, complemented by topographic information about the natural environ-
ment of numerous early farming settlements, provides a clear picture of the hydrographic situation in northern
Croatia 8000 years ago.
Numerous watercourses provided the oldest land traffic routes, linking the Black Sea in the east through
the Danube River Basin all the way to the Italian Peninsula in the west, and from the Pannonian Plain in the
north down to the Mediterranean in the south.
This resulted in the criss-crossing of the Central European, the Danube and Mediterranean cultural
influences and in some periods also the spreading of cultures from this region to the other European
areas.
In southeast Europe, in the area of northern Croatia between the rivers Drava, Danube and Sava, geo-
graphically belonging to southern Pannonia, the first agricultural and pottery-using cultures developed during
the Early and Middle Neolithic (about 6000-4000 cal BC) as parts of the common Starevo cultural complex,
basically related in terms of material and spiritual culture, but nonetheless different in the cultural and territo-
rial sense (fig. 1).
Although almost one hundred years have passed since the first discovery of the Starevo Culture in Croatia
(Dimitrijevi, 1969: 12) very little is known about the development of the culture itself. Until 1968, Starevo
finds were known only from eastern Slavonia, hence this was considered to be the westernmost border of the
spread of the Starevo Culture.
The discovery of Starevo finds at dralovi near Bjelovar (1968) caused the border of its distribution to
be shifted almost 200 km to the west (Dimitrijevi, 1969: 16).

* Institute of Archaeology, Zagreb University, Croatia

172
THE TYPOLOGICAL SEQUENCE
Numerous archaeological excavations in the last 25 years have provided an overview of the development
of Starevo Culture settlements. To date, 100 sites of this culture have been documented in northern Croatia,
dating from the Linear A phase to the end of Spiraloid B.
The problems of a unified chronological system for the Starevo Culture have still not been solved. The
broad distribution of, primarily, single layered settlements, means that four chronological systems are currently
in use: V. Miloji (1950: 109-111), D. Aranelovi-Garaanin (1954: 131-141), S. Dimitrijevi (1979: 237-
252) and D. Srejovi (1969: 173-178), each of which can be applied to a certain geographical region. Of these
authors, S. Dimitrijevi was most involved with the Starevo Culture and its relations to neighbouring cultures
and he divided it (according to the stylistic traits of findings in southern Pannonia) into 7 phases: monochrome,
Linear A, Linear B, Girlandoid, Spiraloid A, Spiraloid B, and a final phase. Through a comparison of these
Fig. 1 - Distribution map of the Starevo (1-8) and Impressed Ware (9-16) sites in the study region: 1) Sarva, 2) Vuedol, 3) Vinkovci,
4) Zadubravlje, 5) Igra, 6) Cernika agovina, 7) dralovi, 9) Medulin, 10) Jami na Sredi (Cres), 11) Vorganska pe (Krk), 12) Smili,
13) Krkovi, 14) karin Samograd, 15) Markova pilja (Hvar), 16 Gudnja.
173
four chronological systems, a division of the Starevo Culture can be coordinated in the following manner.
The earliest phases were named by the authors as Starevo I (Miloji), Starevo I and IIa (Garaanin), the
Monochrome and Linear A phases (Dimitrijevi), and Proto-Starevo I and II (Srejovi). These phases, ac-
cording to S. Dimitrijevi (1979: 242-243), represent the pre-classic Starevo Culture, which differs from the
classic developmental stages in that the vessels lack decoration with channelled barbotine. The decoration of
coarse ware with channelled barbotine begins only in the Linear B phase, denoting the beginning of the classic
Starevo Culture.
The characteristics of the Linear A phase of the Early Neolithic have been confirmed by rescue excavations
in 1989 and 1990 at the Starevo settlement at Zadubravlje (Minichreiter, 1992: 29, 37, 41-43; 1998: 2001;
2001a; 2005) and the systematic excavations of the Starevo settlement with a ritual-burial area at Slavonski
Brod (annual excavations from 1997 until now), which have not produced a single example of decoration with
channelled barbotine (Minichreiter, 1999; 2000; 2001; 2002; 2003; 2004). The painted motifs are linear, and
the vessel shapes rounded, with no biconical forms. The classic developmental phase of the Starevo Culture
begins in the Linear B period, according to S. Dimitrijevi, with the widespread use of barbotine decoration
on pottery vessels, which remains to the end of this culture, to the end of the Spiraloid B phase. The classic
Starevo Culture, in addition to linear painting, is also characterised by painted motifs of garlands (the Girlan-
doid phase), and, in the final stages of Spiraloid A and B, by spiral decorations as well.
Archaeological excavation in the northern Croatia after 1985 has confirmed the chronological system of S.
Dimitrijevi for this region. Settlements of the Linear A phase were discovered at Zadubravlje and Slavonski
Brod, 20 years after S. Dimitrijevi (1974: 59-93) had hypothetically suggested the existence of a Linear A phase.
A supplement and a minor correction to this chronological system was published in 1985, after the excavations
at Pepelana, whose archaeological material was placed by K. Minichreiter (1992: 17-20) into a newly defined
Linear C phase. Additionally, we consider that the other sites in western Slavonia can be placed in the Linear
C stage, and not to the final phase of Starevo Culture as defined by S. Dimitrijevi.
Zadubravlje
The Early Neolithic settlement near Zadubravlje is located 17 km east of Slavonski Brod along the Zagreb-
Lipovac highway. During rescue excavations in 1989 and 1990 an area of 6200 sq m

was uncovered, containing
workshops for the production of pottery vessels, stone objects and fabrics (Minichreiter, 1992; 1998, 2001;
2001a; 2005; Markovi and Minichreiter, 2003: 151-152, plate 1).
The settlement was organised so that each part had a specific purpose with additional buildings essential
in the life of a tribal community (Minichreiter, 2001: fig. 4, fig. 10): 1) an area for storing and preparing food,
2) a

workshop for producing stone tools, 3) cult and residential areas, 4) courtyards for weaving fabric and
fruit processing, 5) pottery workshops with pits for extracting clay, and kilns for firing small and large pottery
vessels and clay objects.
In the eastern part of the settlement, postholes were uncovered, probably used to support an aboveground
storage area for food, with a large open hearth next to it, where food was prepared for the population of the
entire settlement. Hearths were not found in the pit dwellings, making this the only hearth in the settlement
(Minichreiter, 2000: fig. 10). In the vicinity of the open hearth there were several pits for the disposal of ashes.
Further towards the centre of the settlement was a workshop for the production of stone tools and weapons
(some 2000 artefacts were recovered, among which were cores, chips, flakes, debitage, blades, scrapers, and
whetstones).
The central area of the settlement contained two pit dwellings (northern and southern) and a circular en-
closed area of unknown purpose between them. It probably served as a gathering point for the population during
certain rites and cult activities. Each pit dwelling contained several rooms, in one of which there was a feature
of unknown function - perhaps a house sanctuary: in a pit 2.5 m long and 0.20-0.30 m wide, dug 0.20 m below
the level of the pit dwelling base, remains were discovered of densely aligned vertical stakes, strengthened
near the base with applied clay. The purpose of these features shall at present remain a supposition. Pits with
identical ground-plan but empty or containing animal sacrifices were discovered in Neolithic settlements in
Bran (Vladar and Lichardus, 1968: 273-283), Endrd-regszlg 119 (Makkay, 1992: 131-132, plates 37:
1-2; 39: 1-4; 40: 1-4; 2007: 126-188), and in continental Croatia in Pepelana (Minichreiter, 1990, 18), Cernika
agovina (Minichreiter, 1992: 12), Vinkovci-Trnica (Marketplace) (Dimitrijevi, 1969: 39-42) and Kneevi
Vinogradi in Baranja (imi, 1986: 40). These features within pit dwellings at Zadubravlje are the oldest among
features of this kind. Although they have been discovered at several Neolithic sites, there are still not enough
174
data to determine their function. In the northern room of the southern pit dwelling, in the vicinity of the house
sanctuary there was a group of bowls and pots with pieces of animal bones (remains of a feast), and at the base
below them there was a cult burial of a bovine horn (Minichreiter, 1992c: 19), for which A. Benac supposed
in the case of Obre that it was buried as a sacrifice on the occasion of building an important pit dwelling in the
settlement (Benac, 1973: 16). A cattle horn was buried in the same way beneath a pile of pots and bowls in the
central part of the large pit dwelling 9 within the ritual-burial enclosure of the Starevo settlement at Slavonski
Brod, where three human skeletons were buried (Minichreiter, 1999: fig. 9). The southern pit dwelling had
a semicircular courtyard enclosed by a wooden fence (Minichreiter, 2001: fig. 8). Along the southern fence
50 weights from a vertical loom were found, where the loom was probably supported. Nearby were numerous
remains of stone querns, indicating the grinding of grain and other foodstuffs and food preparation for the entire
community. The central area of the settlement was protected on the western side from animal intrusion by a
wooden fence, which also connected the northwest working pit with the kilns and ovens and the southern pit
dwelling. Beyond the fence, on the western side, a well was dug (Minichreiter, 1998: 25-38). The well in its
uppermost section had a widened platform (2.5 m in diameter), with thin posts lined up as a protective fence on
the western side, which is logical, as only from this side could people (children) or animals fall into the well.
No enclosure was necessary on the eastern side, as the main central area of the settlement, fenced off in a large
circle, was not far from the well. In the eastern part of the well platform there was a dug out step, on which a
thick wooden beam was probably placed to aid in drawing water. The southern side of the platform had a small
access step, and only from this side could one stand next to the well. The well had a diameter of 1.5 m, and
water appeared at a depth of 4.9 m during the investigations. The well was probably even deeper when it was
in use. Several pottery fragments and stone tools were found inside, the finest find being a jug with four lugs
and a high cylindrical neck, used for drawing water.
The western part of the settlement contained pottery workshops with kilns and working pits for the extrac-
tion and treatment of clay - from the digging out of clay to the final phase of the firing and decoration of vessels.
Clay was extracted from four auxiliary pits. Next to them, by a small wooden fence, the vessels were formed and
dried, and the firing process took place in three working pit dwellings (Minichreiter, 1992b: abb. 7). A working pit
contained two cylindrical kilns, attached to each other, for firing large vessels, and two bread ovens (hemispherical
forms). This part of the settlement also had two working pits with 3 elongated kilns which were used to fire vessels
of smaller dimensions of finer production and with painted patterns (Minichreiter, 1992b: abb. 2, 5 and 6).
The pottery vessels from Zadubravlje were pots, bowls, and pedestalled bowls, of globular or hemispheri-
cal form with a rounded base and flat or short cylindrical necks. They were decorated with relief-applied ele-
ments, the impressed technique (impressions made by fingernail, finger, pinching, or stabbing), and relief bands
with finger impressions, brush marks, and shallow incisions (Minichreiter, 2001a: 5-20). The painted pottery
was decorated only with the linear geometrical motifs. The pottery objects found included altars on four legs,
sacrificial vessels, anthropomorphic sculpture and zoomorphic sculpture (Minichreiter, 2005: 5-24, figs. 2-4).
Archaeological material belongs to the early phase of the Starevo Culture - Linear A. The results of the radio-
carbon dating are placed in the period 6000-5000 Cal BC (Krajcar-Broni et al., 2004: 238-239).
Slavonski Brod
The second large Early Neolithic settlement was discovered in the eastern part of the city of Slavonski
Brod, where since 1997 every year systematic archaeological excavations have been carried out.
In the excavated area of 2600 sq m a part of the settlement of the Starevo Culture was discovered, con-
taining a ritual-burial space within. Pit dwellings with human skeletons were enclosed by semicircular wooden
fences and thus separated from the rest of the settlement. In the excavated part of the ritual-burial space were
discovered the large pit dwelling 9 (15x7 m) with three human skeletons and the small pit dwelling 15 (5x5 m)
with one human skeleton (Minichreiter, 1999: 12-16). The entrance to the large pit dwelling 9 lay at its eastern
side in the central part. A step led into the interior of the pit dwelling. In this central space a group of pots and
bowls was uncovered, beneath which there was a ritual burial of a bovine horn, analogous to the pit dwelling
10 m in Zadubravlje and the house K in Obre (Benac, 1973: note 24). In the northern part of the pit dwelling
9, along its edge, two parallel kilns with rectangular bases were built. The firing-holes were on the outside,
whereas the backs of the kilns were inside the pit dwelling. The assumption is that these two kilns were used
for ritual purposes and not for firing clay vessels, unlike the identical ones in the pit dwelling 155 in the set-
tlement outside the ritual-burial enclosure (Minichreiter, 2004: 6-9). Both kilns contained remains of charred
wood. A 30 cm high vessel leg and the back of a kiln floor, which was plastered with raw clay, are consistent
175
with the use of these kilns for ritual purposes. Two individuals were buried in the centre of pit dwelling 9 in a
contracted position: a man (complete skeleton) aged 40-50, positioned on the left hip in the north-south direc-
tion, and to the southeast of him, a woman (headless) aged 35-40, on the right hip in the west-east direction
(Minichreiter, 1999: 12-14). In the southern part of the large pit dwelling 9 three groups of ceramic vessels
and the skeleton of a headless man between 25 and 30 years of age were found. The skeleton was placed on
the hip in the east-west direction, facing the centre of the pit dwelling. In front of him were placed a lump of
ochre and a miniature altar in the shape of an animal bearing a small offering vessel (Minichreiter, 2002: 20,
table 5/2). All the individuals were buried on a layer of black earth with pottery sherds at the bottom of the pit
dwelling where the skeletons were covered with earth mixed with occasional sherds of pottery and lithics. On
the basis of post-holes and a bench along the northern edge of the pit dwelling, we suppose that the pit dwell-
ing was only partially roofed and that the northern part was covered by wooden poles laid horizontally on the
bench. This method of pit dwelling roofing was reconstructed by S. Dimitrijevi (1978: fig. 8) at the Neolithic
settlement at Gornji Brezovljani.
The small pit dwelling 15 was built in the western part of the ritual-burial area, 5 m from the large pit
dwelling 9. The entrance to the small pit dwelling 15 was at its northern side. In the western part of the small
pit dwelling, the skeleton of a man 35-40 years of age was buried in a contracted position, on the left hip in
the north-south direction. The head lacked facial bones, and had only the back parts of the skull. The skeleton
was covered with earth mixed with pottery sherds, small stone tools, clay discs and the head of a ceramic duck
(Minichreiter, 1999a: 25, plates 1a and b). A group of small stone tools and 5 polished stone axes, probably
deposited in honour of the deceased, was discovered east of the entrance. The axe is a symbol of lightning, a sign
of power, fury and annihilation, and is often a symbol of supreme deities (Teak-Gregl, 2002: 16). Deposition
of polished stone axes beside graves was documented at Obre I, where in A. Benacs opinion they had a cult
significance, which indicates that the axe cult already existed at the time of the Starevo and Impressed Ware
Culture (Benac, 1973: 29-35, 39-40). Small stake-holes were uncovered at the pit dwelling edges, and around
the pit dwelling postholes 30 cm in diameter were placed at regular intervals in double rows, so that above
the entrance a wide porch was formed. This points to a particularly ceremonial character of this pit dwelling,
in which a distinguished member of the tribal community was probably buried. The pit dwelling might have
been roofed in several ways (Minichreiter, 2001b: 13, fig. 6), perhaps like the polygonal house with a tent at
Para in Banat (Lazarovici and Lazarovici, 2003: 387, fig. 58), each of which indicated the high status of the
deceased in the tribal community.
At the northwestern side the ritual-burial space was protected by a semicircular wooden fence some 13
m long. Continuing from the fence was the western access gate (two lines of posts that perhaps supported a
porch), which connected this enclosure with the settlement. South of the western access was a self-supporting
double fence, with a crescent-shaped ground plan. Its function is not entirely clear, so it is supposed that it was
probably used for cult purposes.
Further westwards, seven pit dwellings and several smaller refuse pits were excavated. All the pit dwellings
had approximately same dimensions, 15-17x5 m. Two of these were orientated in the north-south direction with
the entrance at the east, like large pit dwelling 9 with the burials. Two pit dwellings in the northern part of the
settlement had several rooms and lines of large postholes, which supported the roof, probably double-sloped. The
northernmost pit dwelling, 37, was constructed on a north-south axis, northwest of the fences. The remaining six
were grouped, orientated radially along their longer axes in a semicircle toward the western side of the site.
In this part of the settlement, for the first time, two construction phases were discovered. In the older
phase, the ritual-burial area occupied a much larger surface within the settlement, evident in the position of
two wooden fences that divided the residential from the burial part of the settlement. Wooden fences 15 m long
surrounded the two pit dwellings and the small pit with the deceased as well as the three cult structures where
rituals in honour of the dead were probably carried out. In the second phase, some 200 years later, according to
the radiocarbon results, the settlement expanded towards the pit dwellings with the deceased and thus decreased
the surface of the ritual and burial area. Three large pit dwellings were built beyond the western cult structure
and its northern wooden fence, which lost its function on account of the new construction. Respecting the
tradition and significance of the eastern cult structure, the group of new pit dwellings was built in a semicircle
around it, and not in the north-south direction, which was the orientation of the other pit dwellings. The new
partition, 87, was built between the eastern cult structure and the pit dwellings, in order to separate the ritual
area from the residential, so that the burial space was also enclosed on this side. In two working pits (155 and
205) remains of dome-shaped bread ovens were discovered, as well as kilns of elongated rectangular shape for
firing small vessels and clay artefacts (Minichreiter, 2004: 5-18). In both pits numerous loom weights were
176
found. Particularly prominent in this respect is the discovery in pit 205 of 30 small pyramidal weights next to
the remains of a wooden frame of the vertical loom (unpublished).
Artefacts discovered in the pit dwellings and pits in these two settlements (Zadubravlje and Slavonski Brod)
possess all the features of the Linear A phase. Vessels with white painted motifs in pit dwelling 9 containing
human burials and the working pit 206 at Slavonski Brod confirm the opinion of S. Dimitrijevi (1979: 237),
who also named the Linear A phase the White Linear.
Clay vessels can be classified into pots, bowls and cups. The vessels are hemispherical with flat or inverted
rim, or spherical with cylindrical or S-shaped profile. Vessel rims are flat, everted or inverted. Vessel bottoms
are flat or slightly raised in the form of a foot or a short leg. Handles on some vessels were horizontal with oval
section. Some vessels - mostly of a fine texture - had on four opposite sides a decorative knob, whereas in the
case of coarse vessels double or triple knobs served as holders for strings on which the vessels hung. Among pots
with coarse surfaces there were many specimens coloured in red on the outside, inside or on both sides. Pottery
coloured in this way was certainly not used for preparation of food, but for storage or for specific cult purposes.
Decoration techniques on coarse pottery can be classified into four groups: incision, impression, stabbing
and relief modelling (Minichreiter, 2003: 15-26). Incision was used for vertical lines, zigzag lines and rectangles
forming a net pattern (Minichreiter, 2003: fig. 4/1-4). According to S. Dimitrijevi (1974: 67), incision was
used for pottery decoration in all phases of the Starevo Culture, with analogous motifs from Donja Branjevina
stratum III and II (Karmanski, 1979: plates XX, LXVIII, LXXIII), Lepenski Vir IIIa (Srejovi, 1969: 161-170)
and Starevo IIa phase (Aranelovi-Garaanin, 1954: plate VI). Perhaps the zigzag lines motif was meant to
symbolically represent animal fur (Karmanski, 2005: plate XLI), human hair (Aranelovi-Garaanin, 1954:
plate III, fig. 10) or water - a river course, rain, or sea waves (Durman, 2000: 68).
Fingertip or fingernail impressions produced sequences of pinched motifs, dubbed ear impression or ear
pattern in relief by S. Dimitrijevi (1974: 83). Such motifs, often combined with stripes in relief with fingertip
impressions, were a characteristic form of vessel decoration in this phase (Minichreiter, 2003: fig. 4/5-9).
Decoration made by stabbing with a narrow stick of circular section is rare. Among several thousand sherds
from Zadubravlje and Slavonski Brod, only five vessels were decorated by this technique.
On four vessels stabs are distributed irregularly over the entire surface of the belly, while on one vessel, an
S-profiled spherical pot with everted neck, a stylised figure, perhaps a bird, was depicted using the technique
of stabbing (Minichreiter, 2003: fig. 5/3). Rare analogous specimens with stabbed decoration were discovered
at Donja Branjevina (Karmanski, 1979: plate LXXIII/2; 2005: plate CCVII/8 and CCVIII/6, 7, 8), Starevo
(Aranelovi-Garaanin, 1954: plate VIII/29), Tei - Spiraloid A phase (Dimitrijevi, 1974: plate VII/4),
Vinkovci - Spiraloid B phase (Dimitrijevi, 1974: plate XIX/6) and at several Starevo settlements from the
final developmental phases - Kusovac near Kragujevac in Serbia (Srejovi, 1988: 71) and ainci in Srijem
- Vojvodina (Srejovi, 1988: 94). This technique of pottery decoration was used in the Linear A and Spiraloid
A and B phases.
The technique of relief modelling was used to decorate vessels by attaching knobs or relief stripes with fin-
gertip impressions (Minichreiter, 2003: fig. 6). Relief stripes with fingertip impressions were composed in diverse
motifs: horizontal stripe on the neck, vertical near the bottom of the belly, horizontal on a smooth vessel wall, or
horizontal on the vessel wall with a pinched motif. On some vessels, relief stripes with fingertip impressions were
composed in circles, garlands or spirals, and the vessel walls were of uneven surface or decorated with series of
pinched patterns. Relief stripes, with or without fingertip impressions, represented a serpent. In the early linear
phases of the Neolithic the serpent was represented with relief stripes on coarse vessels at numerous Neolithic
sites, such as Igra in Bukovlje near Slavonski Brod (Minichreiter, 1992: plate 1/1-3) and many others.
During the Neolithic, in the later spiral phases, the serpent was represented in the form of a spiral or a
zigzag motif not only on coarse pottery but also on painted vessels. The serpent as a protome on Neolithic
altars is known from Donja Branjevina (Karmanski, 2000: plate XXVIII/4a, 4b; 2005: plate XXVIII/4a, 4b)
and from Porodino in Macedonia (Garaanin, 1979: 112, plate VI/4). The serpent cult, which in Greek religion
symbolised immortality and the possibility of bringing humans back to life (Hoti, 1993: 108), probably had a
very important role in the beliefs of the oldest agricultural populations of the Neolithic. A particularly fine ex-
ample of relief modelling is the representation of a female figure with arms raised in prayer, executed in relief
stripes with fingertip impressions - a unique specimen so far from the Starevo settlement at Slavonski Brod
(Minichreiter, 2000: 5-15, fig. 1). In Early Neolithic settlements of the Starevo and Krs Cultures, figures
on coarse vessels are stylised, executed in the form of a relief stripe with one or two hands raised in prayer,
because the intention was to emphasize the prayer to the forces of nature for a good yield and cattle fertility,
on which their survival directly depended.
177
Fine pottery consisted of smaller sized pots, bowls, and bowls on a short pedestal. On almost all specimens
of bowls on a short pedestal, traces of red colouring are visible, and the surface of some bowls is coloured in red
on both the outside and the inside. The fine smooth surface of vessels is, as a rule, coloured in red, and some
specimens are decorated with painted rectilinear ornaments executed in brown or white paint. Straight lines,
hanging triangles filled with oblique lines or hatched are painted in brown, whereas the drop-like motifs, straight
lines and flower petals (?) were painted in white after firing the vessels, so that the paint is barely preserved.
The closest analogies to vessels painted in this way are from Donja Branjevina in horizon II (Karmanski, 1968:
plates I-V), which is contemporary with the Linear A phase.
The most significant and famous cult artefacts in the Starevo Culture complex were altars and figurines.
Until recently, it was believed that these artefacts were indicative of the Vina Culture, but extensive investiga-
tions of Starevo settlements in the past two decades have radically changed this picture. The Slavonski Brod
assemblage includes some 105 altars, 30 of which are complete (Minichreiter, 2002; 2004). They form two
basic groups: ordinary and zoomorphic. Among the rare examples of sacrificial altars, one animal protome was
found - a realistically shaped wild boar head, among the most beautiful examples of this animal at Neolithic
sites (Minichreiter, 2004: fig. 7/1a, 1b).
Along with sheep and goats, the pig was domesticated during the Early Neolithic and represented a fertility
symbol. Already in the Neolithic the bull was a symbol of fertility and as such closely connected to the great
mother-goddess, the symbol of fertile land. A clay figurine of a doe is the first find of its kind from the Early
Neolithic period in northern Croatia (Minichreiter, 2004: fig. 8/5a, 5b). The doe figurine is realistically shaped
and its body is ornamented with zigzag lines, just as that of the chamois-shaped censer from Donja Branjevina
(Karmanski, 1990: tables I-III). Zoomorphic figurines have been found at sites throughout the Starevo Culture
area, and, unlike anthropomorphic figurines, are stylistically similar throughout this period, which prevents
stylistic dating.
The ordinary altars have a basic form in common, a rectangular base on four legs. The receptacle appears
in different shapes, so that five varieties can be defined:
type 1 - the sacrificial table;
type 2 - altars with four legs and a vessel in the middle of the rectangular base;
type 3 - altars with four legs and rectangular base with animal protomes at the corners;
type 4 - altars on four legs with ritual vessel that is rectangular from the outside and circular from the inside,
with protomes at the corners; and
type 5 - altars resembling a church altar (Minichreiter, 2002; 2004).
Altars of types 1, 2 and 5 have numerous analogies in the early Neolithic settlements of the Starevo and
Krs Cultures in Vojvodina (Serbia) and southern Hungary, whereas altars of types 3 and 4 have so far been
discovered only at Slavonski Brod, with analogies at Lanycsok in Hungary (Kalicz, 1990: table 11) and the
somewhat later Kanika Iva in western Slavonia (Minichreiter, 1992a: table 5/2). We can stress that altar types
3 and 4 have been discovered only in the Sava River basin, and can - with the other altars from Slavonski Brod
- be dated among the oldest altars in Croatia (Linear A).
Zoomorphic altars bear the shapes of certain animals with a realistically represented anatomy. On the
back they have a deep, flat or erected conical receptacle. This type of altar is particularly rare in Starevo
settlements, whereas its number significantly increases in the Late Neolithic cultures. The bull-shaped altar
from Slavonski Brod with flat receptacle on its back is, so far, a unique example of an altar in the Starevo
cultural complex, even though ceramic bull-figurines are common finds in Starevo pit dwellings (Minich-
reiter, 2002: table 5/1).
Cattle horns were buried as a sacrifice in the centre of large and significant pit dwellings at Starevo
sites (see above). Another important group of cult artefacts is anthropomorphic figurines. Those discovered
at Slavonski Brod show that in the earliest stage of the Starevo Culture their form was already pillared/bell-
shaped, their eyes indicated by engravings, their nose and hands slightly emphasised and their hair or cap
represented as a relief (Minichreiter, 2002: table 6/1-3; 2004: fig. 8/2-4). Stylised human figurines were
abstract and did not represent particular deities. At first they were probably made of wood, with engraved
eyes and hair. This shape remained throughout all the phases of the Starevo Culture, and at the beginning
of the Vina Culture the figurines became more and more human-shaped. Based on numerous finds of cult
artefacts at Slavonski Brod, one can conclude that at the beginning of the development of the Starevo Cul-
ture all groups of cult artefacts were represented, albeit in somewhat smaller number, and that later on their
number grew considerably. In the course of development certain types disappeared, but no other new group
appeared.
178
Stone artefacts were abundant in pit dwellings at Zadubravlje and Slavonski Brod. At Zadubravlje a special
working pit was discovered, a workshop for the production of polished and chipped stone tools. More than
6000 artefacts were found at each site, including pebbles, cores, chisels, wedges, whetstones, axes, scrapers,
small blades, small saws, arrowheads, and flakes. Large numbers of stone tools provide an indicator of a strong
Mesolithic tradition in the incipient phases of development of the Starevo Culture, whereas the quantity of
stone tools considerably decreases towards the end of its development. Prominent among the stone artefacts
are polished axes, which were of particular importance in cult rituals.
Analyses of archaeozoological samples have contributed to a new understanding of the first phases of do-
mestication, diet and cult rituals. At Zadubravlje and Slavonski Brod, goat, sheep, cattle, pig, red deer, fish and
bird bones were found, which indicates that the diet of the inhabitants was diverse (Trbojevi-Vukievi and
Babi, 1999: 63-70). Ritual burial of a bovine horn beneath a group of vessels in the central part of the large
ritual pit dwelling with human burials proves the cult function of sacrificed animals.
Pepelana
Pepelana is located in the Drava river basin in northern Croatia, 20 km southeast of Virovitica, in the valley
of the Brenica, at a pass over the Bilogora range between the Drava and the Sava basins. A rescue excavation
was carried out in 1985 on the route of the gas pipeline from Pepelana to Suhopolje, and a surface area of 400
mq was investigated to an average depth of 2 m. The multi-strata prehistoric settlement extends over an area of
1000x800 m. The site was composed of a large tell, 90x90 m, 4 m in height, and two elongated hills that gently
descend to the banks of the Brenica River (Minichreiter, 1990: 14-40). In its centre of the tell a trial probe
found 8 cultural horizons of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods: the Starevo and Korenovo Cultures, the
Brezovljani type of the Sopot Culture, three horizons of Pepelana type of the Sopot Culture and three of the
Retz-Gajary Culture (Minichreiter, 1990a: 19-38). Because of the relatively limited area excavated at Pepe-
lana, the arrangement of the structures within the settlement could not be determined, although the excavated
pit dwellings showed a previously unknown shape of construction on two levels (ground and first floor). A pit
dwelling with a length of 25 m and width of 10 m was shaped like a letter T with a wide southern and central
area, and eastern, northern, and western arms. The eastern section of the central area contained a passageway 5
m long and 1.5 m wide that connected the southern, lower part of the ground floor of the pit dwelling, and the
upper first floor. From the central part of the passageway, one step led to the eastern arm of the pit dwelling.
Across three steps the northern arm was reached, which was connected to the western arm of the pit dwelling
across a platform in the central section.
The southern section of the pit dwelling had a deeper refuse pit, which contained discarded pottery frag-
ments, and in the western section many weights for an upright loom were discovered. A large hearth was also
discovered in the southern area, 1.5 m in diameter and 30 cm thick, and opposite this, the remains of a human
skeleton were buried in a contracted position. The northern and the central part of the pit dwelling contained
postholes from large perpendicular columns that held up the roof. Two small working pits were discovered
northeast of the pit dwelling. The pit dwelling inventory consisted of pots, bowls, and legged bowls of hemi-
spherical shape, biconical with a gentle transition and thickened bottom (Minichreiter, 1990: plates 2-7). Lithic
finds consisted of cores, flakes, small blades, small saws, scrapers and axes.
Decoration on pottery is typical of the Linear B phase, except that the channelled barbotine predominates.
Relief applications are much larger, and appear also in the form of rows of knobs, reflecting the influence of
the Krs Culture, existing at the same period not far from Pepelana in the areas on the opposite bank of the
Drava River (Kutzian, 1944: plate XXIX/1-4). In this phase the technique of impression continues to be used
for the impresso decoration, while the technique of relief modelling is rarely employed for stripes with fin-
gertip impressions. Button-shaped handles are numerous and bear most diverse decorations (Kutzian, 1944:
plate XXXVIII/2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10). Double and triple knobs on pots of coarse texture, which were most probably
suspended on a string, appear less frequently. There is only one clay artefact decorated with wide-line inci-
sions - perhaps part of an altar. Transitional and fine pottery consists of spherical, hemispherical, conical and
biconical bowls on a short ring-shaped pedestal. Prominent among them is a small hemispherical bowl on four
short legs, a shape that often appears in the Krs Culture of neighbouring Hungary (Kutzian, 1944: plates
XXXII/7; XXXIII/6, 8, 9, 11). Painted motifs on fine pottery are done in two ways: painting before or after
firing. Most vessels were painted after firing, so the paint tends to peel off. The background of all pieces is
polished both inside and outside, and the surface of more than half the vessels was coloured in dark red prior
to firing. Motifs were executed in dark brown colour (Minichreiter, 1996: 1-9), while two pieces were painted
179
white (Minichreiter, 1996: plate 5/2, 5). Motifs were done in ways characteristic of the Starevo Culture, with
impasto or slip (Dimitrijevi, 1979: 242). On most vessels motifs are done in slip painting - with thin or thick
brush strokes with diluted paint. Smaller numbers of vessels are painted with paste - a dense paint that peels
off. Painted motifs cover the entire vessel surface, and only in the case of bowls with knobs do the lines on the
belly bypass the knob.
The richest part of the ornament is represented on the most conspicuous part of the vessel, while towards
the bottom the decoration becomes simpler. Painted motifs on vessels are almost all rectilinear: out of 119
painted sherds, there are 114 rectilinear motifs, 3 have arched stripes and 2 have vertical stripes and wavy lines.
Rectilinear motifs on pottery display various combinations: one, two or three horizontal borders appear below
vessel rims, and the net motif also occurs. Below the borderlines are vertical stripes, regularly distributed over
the vessel, or in bundles of 3, 5 or 8 stripes. Bundles of vertical stripes appear in combination with hanging filled
triangles, or the bundles of sloping and vertical stripes are ordered into standing or hanging triangles. Curved
motifs consist of sequences of vertical curved stripes (Minichreiter, 1996: plates 6/1; 8/1; 9/6), or combinations
of vertical rectilinear and curvilinear stripes (Minichreiter, 1996: plate 6/3, 5, 6 and 8/5-7), which resemble
the guilloche motif from Tei (Dimitrijevi, 1974: plate VIII/17) and linked S-motifs from Crnokalaka Bara
(Tasi and Tomi, 1969: fig. 7).
Painted ceramics from Pepelana can, on account of the mostly rectilinear geometric patterns, be compared
to contemporary ceramics from Donja Branjevina I, Obre I and Gornja Tuzla VIb in Bosnia, in phase II and the
beginning of phase III at Anzabegovo, in the middle phase of the Krs Culture in Hungary, in the Kolsh Culture
in Albania, and in the advanced phases of the Sesklo Culture in Greece. Clay spindle-whorls and weights for the
vertical loom were of various shapes: circular, discoid and conical. A spool with a channelled barbotine decora-
tion is also worthy of mention. In the northern part of the pit dwelling, pieces of an altar were found, a unique
find in northern Croatia. Half of the middle part of the altar was preserved, with a large opening in the centre,
raised above the rectangular base. On the neck of the central opening, two deeply incised parallel vertical lines
(stylised decoration on clothes or stripes hanging from hair) descend to the borderline of fingertip impressions.
The closest analogies to this altar type are found at Donja Branjevina and at Govrlevo in Macedonia, where an
altar with a statuette of the Great Mother Goddess was discovered (Bilbija, 1986: 35-36, fig. 4).
The Pepelana vessels reflect the particular features of the development of the Starevo Culture in western
Croatia. The predominance of channelled barbotine in the decoration of coarse pottery, the poorly marked
biconical forms of the fine vessels, and the rare spiral painted motifs are traits of the Spiraloid A phase. How-
ever, the numerical dominance of linear (geometric) motifs over spiral ones distinguished this material as a
separate Linear C phase. The Late Classical phase of the Starevo Culture is marked by the spiral as a new
motif on painted pottery. In this period the Starevo Culture acquires regional particularities. In western parts
of continental Croatia, Starevo settlements belong to the Linear C phase, whereas contemporary settlements
in the eastern part belong to the Spiraloid A phase.
CONSIDERATIONS
The numerous archaeological excavations, and 100 sites recorded in the past 25 years in northern Croatia,
have favoured a review of the development of the Starevo Culture from its beginnings to the final stage of
its development. The results of research have enabled us to identify the basic elements of the urban growth
of these settlements, and the arrangement, form, and purpose of the pit structures in them; this will serve as
fundamental material for the further investigation of the very first Neolithic cultures in these areas, and the
process of the spread of the Neolithic throughout southern Europe.
180
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Authors Address:
KORNELIJA MINICHREITER, Institute of Archaeology, Zagreb University, Ul. grada Vukovara 68 HR - 10000 ZAGREB
e-mail: kornedunav@inet.hr
183
Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 183-188
VASSIL NIKOLOV*
PROBLEMS OF THE EARLY STAGES
OF THE NEOLITHIZATION IN THE SOUTHEAST BALKANS
SUMMARY - Problems of the early stages of the Neolithization in the southeast Balkans. A mosaic of cultural phenomena was estab-
lished at the beginning of the Early Neolithic in the southeast Balkans. These phenomena have been differentiated mainly on the basis
of pottery decoration, because the earliest Neolithic developments usually featured significant differences in decoration. However, if
there was painted decoration, it was always made with white paint. Without listing these phenomena here, it is possible to define several
smaller or larger zones in the study area. This mosaic does not allow us to unambiguously solve the complexities of the Neolithization
process in the southeast Balkans. A hypothesis of multiple Neolithization processes is proposed.
RIASSUNTO - Problemi riguardanti le prime fasi della neolitizzazione dei Balcani sudorientali. Allinizio del Neolitico antico, la re-
gione sudorientale dei Balcani caratterizzata da un mosaico di aspetti culturali. Questi aspetti sono stati distinti in base alle decorazioni
presenti sui prodotti vascolari, in quanto quelle dei momenti pi antichi del Neolitico si differenziano in modo significativo dalle altre.
Inoltre, nel caso in cui siano presenti motivi dipinti, questi sono sempre stati eseguiti con pittura di colore bianco. Bench non si ritenga
necessario elencare tutti questi fenomeni nella sede presente, possibile definire delle aree di distribuzione pi e meno estese nella
regione presa in considerazione. Questo mosaico non ci permette comunque di risolvere in modo chiaro la complessit del processo di
neolitizzazione dei Balcani sudorientali. Lautore propone unipotesi che contempla processi multipli di neolitizzazione.
INTRODUCTION
The origin of the Early Neolithic painted pottery cultures in the central parts of the Balkan Peninsula is
largely related to south and mostly southwest Anatolia. Important indications in this sense are not only the
undisputed typological similarities in the material culture but also the geographical connection between the
two regions which, along with the Aegean islands, form a clearly defined arc from the Taurus Mountains to the
Carpathian Basin. Two other neighbouring regions, north and especially northwest Anatolia, and the eastern
parts of the Balkan Peninsula (up to Moldova) remain between this outer arc and the Black Sea; unlike the
outer arc, the Early Neolithic culture in the inner arc is characterized by dark unpainted pottery.
In previous research (Nikolov, 1987; 1989) I have established the use of the Mesta and especially the Struma
River valleys as routes through which Anatolian elements spread from south to north in the central Balkans
during the early Balkan Neolithic. A hypothesis was advanced that the Early Neolithic culture in Thrace had
spread out through the Central Balkans. Meanwhile, part of the area of Hoca eme at the Maritsa River mouth
has been excavated. The first results of these excavations again aroused the interest in an earlier hypothesis
that the Neolithic development in Thrace (as well as in southeastern Europe) had been due to contacts with
Anatolia through the Straights.
According to data from Hoca eme (zdoan, 1998), a small early farming group appeared towards
the end of the 7
th
millennium cal BC along the Aegean coast of eastern Thrace, near the Maritsa River mouth.
This group had a specific material culture that differed significantly from the culture in Thrace. Undoubt-
edly, this group came from the western Mediterranean coast of Anatolia. As soon as the site of the Anatolian
settlers was established, although on a crest, it was surrounded by a massive stone-wall. During the first two
phases of its development the houses were small and round and the walls were built of stone or had a timber-
and-stone structure. There were no ovens or silos. The ceramic vessels found have flat bottoms, orange-red

* National Institute of Archaeology and Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
184
or black smoothed non-slipped surfaces without decoration. During the third phase the plan and character of
the settlement changed but the stone-wall enclosure remained. In shape and structure, the houses resembled
those from inland Thrace; they were rectangular, with walls of wattle-and-daub construction. Along with
the traditional unpainted pottery, red-slipped vessels with white-painted ornamentation appeared that were
common in the Early Neolithic in inland Thrace. Later on the Anatolian settlers were obviously completely
assimilated.
In Thrace, the material culture of Hoca eme type has been known only from the eponymous site at
the Maritsa River mouth. Only one site from the first half of the 6
th
millennium cal BC has been excavated
in the eastern parts of Eastern Thrace, the Yarmburgaz Cave near Istanbul (zdoan et al., 1991). During
this period it was occupied by an early farming group belonging to the Fikirtepe Culture, which spread over
northwest Anatolia. It is only in the pottery technology that elements of Hoca eme influence can be observed
(specific color and method of surface polishing). The sites of the Karanovo I Culture in Thrace which are
geographically closest to Hoca eme, are those at Krumovgrad and Kardzhali in the east Rhodope Moun-
tains. Only at Krumovgrad, have two potsherds been found, similar to the pottery of the first two phases of
Hoca eme. At Makri in Western Thrace, near the Maritsa River mouth, a head of a female clay figurine
has been found, belonging to an Anatolian type (Efstratiou, 1993). This was an unstratified find but could
be chronologically related to the Makri I layer that is contemporaneous with the later phases of Karanovo I
Culture. No other evidence of possible spreading of elements of the material culture of the Anatolian group
in Thrace has been established.
The hypothesis of the migration route through the Straights, which has been theoretically suggested many
years ago, was not supported even by the studies on the earliest Neolithic sites in the Marmara Sea area, includ-
ing Pendik, Yarmburgaz, Ilpnar and Mentee. M. zdoan and L. Thissen (Nikolov, 2002) have argued that
northwest Anatolia had no role in the Balkan Neolithization. Therefore, I will not examine these arguments
again. After having analyzed the data on Hoca eme, the area of the lower course of Maritsa, including the
east Rhodope, can also be eliminated as a hypothetical contact zone at that time between Anatolia and the Bal-
kans through the high central and western divides of the Rhodope Mountains, which reaches the Mesta River
valley to the west.
Therefore, I will focus my attention on Mesta, Struma and Vardar River Valleys, which geographically
connect the Aegean area with the Carpathian Basin. The many particular indications for connections between
Anatolia and the Central Balkans, which I have considered in previous research, refer exclusively to the second
half of the Early Neolithic in the valleys of these three Balkan rivers. The material culture of the first half of the
Early Neolithic in the same area, however, does not suggest contacts with Anatolia at this stage. This situation
presents an interesting research problem that I will consider here.
The culture of the earliest farmers in the Central Balkans has been insufficiently studied since all the evi-
dence comes from excavations carried out over the last two decades, which have been only partially published.
The red and brown rounded pottery vessels are the common element in the material culture of the area; some
of them are white-painted.
The use of white paint only in the ornamentation is a distinguishing feature of the first half of the early
Neolithic in the Central Balkans that should be dated towards the end of the 7
th
and beginning of the 6
th
millen-
nium cal BC. According to the stylistic and iconographic features of the painted ornamentation of that period,
several territorially limited phenomena can be identified, which I will consider from south to north in the catch-
ment areas of the three meridial rivers as well as in areas related to them (fig. 1).
THE EARLY NEOLITHIC REGIONS
The Vardar Area
Nea Nikomedeia and Gianitsa B. have been studied in the Gianitsa Plain (Chrysostomou and Chrysostomou,
1993; Rodden and Wardle, 1996). The pottery of their lower layers includes rounded white-painted vessels,
though rarely light-red painted pottery is also occasionally encountered. The latter indicates certain relationships
with Thessaly to the south. The white-painted ornamentation shows filled-in pseudo-floral motifs as well as
motifs of thin parallel straight or undulating lines. The first stylistic group has some parallels to the north along
the Vardar River valley whereas motifs similar to the second group can be found at Kovaevo (Lichardus-Itten
et al., 2002) in the Struma River Valley.
185
Fig. 1 - Distribution map of the earliest sites of the Early Neolithic in the south-central Balkans.
An Early Neolithic pottery group has been established along the middle Vardar, which is represented in
the lowest layers of the stratified sites at Anzabegovo and Vrnik. The white-painted ornamentation of some
deep rounded vessels shows floral motifs, shaded triangles, parallel zigzag bands or bands of large dots. The
first stylistic group has parallels to the south, in the area already described, as well as to the northeast along
the upper Struma.
The Struma Area
No cultural phenomenon dating back to the beginning of the Early Neolithic has so far been recorded along
the lower river course.
Along the middle River Struma course, between the Rupel and Kresna ravines, a pottery assemblage with
rounded and slightly biconical shapes developed at the beginning of the Early Neolithic. Up to now this assem-
blage has been investigated at the lowermost layers of the stratified site at Kovaevo (Lichardus-Itten et al.,
2002) but also known from other sites in the area. Some vessels are white-painted. One of the stylistic groups
is characterized by motifs with thin straight or undulating parallel lines flanked with small dots. The second
stylistic group is represented by similar motifs but in combination with triangular or sigma elements. The third
stylistic group includes shaded triangles or bands. This early assemblage from Kovaevo has certain stylistic
and iconographic parallels in the Gianitsa Plain, Vardar River Valley, the area to the north along the Struma
and, particularly, the Upper Mesta.
Another cultural phenomenon has been established in the southern part of the Upper Struma course,
which is represented in the lowermost layers of the stratified sites at Vaksevo and Nevestino (Chohadzhiev,
2001).
186
The pottery vessels are mainly rounded in shape but there are also slightly biconical bowls. The white-
painted ornamentation is represented by several stylistic groups that involve pseudo-floral motifs, thin parallel
lines, shaded triangles and bands, rows of small or large dots, sigma-shaped elements. These stylistic groups
have contemporary parallels in all directions.
A short-lived cultural phenomenon has been investigated along the upper Dzherman River, possibly si-
multaneous with the early phases of the neighbouring cultural groups. Its pottery assemblage involves deep
rounded shapes but without painted decoration. Probably after a short interruption, life in that place continued
with a material culture of the type established at Vaksevo.
A later cultural phenomenon - Glbnik - has been established in the northern part of the Upper Struma,
in the Radomir basin (Pavk and Bakmska, 2000). Most ceramic shapes are rounded but slightly biconical
shapes can also be found. The white-painted ornamentation is composed of inseparably interconnected motifs
that involve filled-in or shaded fields as well as negative elements in-between including spiral meanders. Similar
stylistic phenomena can be found mainly to the south in the Struma valley.
Further north, in the eastern part of the Sofia Basin, the Slatina cultural group developed at the beginning
of the early Neolithic (Nikolov et al., 1992). The pottery vessels are rounded and mostly deep. Some are white-
painted. The compositions are strictly organized and involve diamond-shaped and triangular motifs that are
often shaded as well as compositions of negative interconnected spiral meanders. The motifs are often flanked
with dots. The stylistic and iconographic parallels of this ornamentation can be identified in the westernmost
parts of Thrace and along the Upper Mesta River.
The Mesta Area
No Early Neolithic evidence has been so far found along the lower river course and the area at its middle
course was probably uninhabited during that period.
A cultural phenomenon existed at the Upper Mesta at the beginning of the Early Neolithic that has been
established at Eleshnitsa (Nikolov and Maslarov, 1987). The pottery assemblage involves rounded and slightly
biconical shapes. Some vessels have white-painted ornamentation represented mainly by triangular and dia-
mond-shaped motifs, often shaded. Compositions including negative spiral meanders can also be found as well
as compositions of garlands. Some of these compositions have stylistic parallels at Kovaevo along the middle
Struma River; other parallels can be found in the western parts of Thrace and the Slatina cultural group in the
Sofia Basin.
The only so far pottery assemblage from the first half of the Early Neolithic in Thrace comes from the
lowermost layer of Tell Kapitan Dimitrievo in the western part of this area (Nikolov, 1999). The ceramic shapes
are rounded and some vessels are white-painted. Triangular and diamond-shaped motifs prevail that are often
shaded, as well as compositions of garlands and negative spiral meanders. By its stylistic features this orna-
mentation can be associated with contemporary assemblages from Eleshnitsa and Slatina.
The pottery assemblages of that period to the north of the areas presented in the Central Balkans, insofar
as these assemblages exist, differ considerably from those already described and therefore remain outside the
scope of this paper.
CONCLUSION
I have identified nine pottery groups in the southern part of the Central Balkans that refer to the first half
of the Early Neolithic, i.e. to the end of the 7
th
and beginning of the 6
th
millennium cal BC. Future excavations
will probably increase their number. Each territorially identified group has definite iconographic and stylistic
specifics in terms of ornamentation and at the same time it shows certain similarities to the ornamentation of
neighbouring groups. It is not possible here to analyze the similarities and differences in detail but I will sug-
gest some general conclusions. A limited number of similar pottery shapes were used in all groups: shallow or
deep bowls, pots, and hemispherical bowls. The vessels have a non-segmented rounded body but there are also
bowls of slightly biconical shape. A small portion of the pottery is ornamented in white. Despite the specifics in
style and iconography of each group, a certain territorial grouping seems feasible. The groups from the Vardar
and Struma areas up to and including Glbnik , show closer similarity based primarily on floral motifs as
well as motifs of several parallel straight or undulating lines. The Eleshnitsa, Kapitan Dimitrievo and Slatina
groups outline another stylistic and iconographic area that is characterized by the use of geometric motifs as
187
well as by compositions of negative spiral meanders. However, the site at Kovaevo, which is located at the
watershed between Struma and Mesta, shows signs not only of the western but also of the eastern area; I mean
the ornamentation of the Eleshnitsa type in the lowermost layer. This suggests not only the location of the site
on a communications route between the Struma and Mesta Valleys but also the spreading of the Eleshnitsa
group to the south up to the middle course of Mesta.
The identification of two stylistic and iconographic areas during the first half of the Early Neolithic in
the southern part of the Central Balkans as well as the characteristics of the decorative patterns give food for
thought. The pottery shapes in these areas find similarities in the central and western part of Anatolia but their
ornamentation has no direct parallels there. However, the pottery decoration of that period in these areas of
Anatolia was sporadic and poor. The existence of two stylistic and iconographic areas in the Central Balkans is
probably due to the different areas of origin of the possible migration groups from Anatolia as well as to reasons
occurring after their settlement in the Balkans, e.g. the need for permanent settlements in view of the challenges
of the local natural environment. The mosaic of pottery assemblages, distinct although close in shape, style and
iconography, from the beginning of the Early Neolithic in the southern part of the Central Balkans probably
hints at a chronological sequence in the migration of human groups from Anatolia, who gradually settled the
next unoccupied ecological niche to the north along the valleys of the three rivers and adopted certain basic
ornamental principles from their neighbors that had moved to the area before them, or to the adjoining naturally
confined zone, be it a valley or basin. I would even suggest that the white-painted ornamentation - note that red
paint was used in the homeland! - appeared at the new place, in the Balkans, after the first migration wave,
mainly as a result of the need for consolidation and self-identification of the newly formed community whose
immigrants probably had come from various sites in the original Anatolian area. Therefore, the search for the
roots of the earliest Balkan farming material culture in Anatolia will be a very difficult task especially with
regard to the pottery assemblage and its painted ornamentation.
188
R E F E R E N C E S
Chohadzhiev, S. 2001 - Vaksevo. Praistoricheski selishta. Faber, Veliko Tarnovo.
Chrysostomou, P. and Chrysostomou, P. 1993 - Neolithikes erevnes sta Yianitsa ke stin periohi tous. To arheoloyiko ergo sti Makedonia
ke Thraki, 4: 169-186. Thessaloniki.
Efstratiou, N. 1993 - New prehistoric finds from Western Thrace, Greece. Anatolica, 19: 34-40. Leiden.
Lichardus-Itten, M., Demoule, J.-P., Pernieva, L., Grebska-Kulova, M. and Kulov, I. 2002 - The site of Kovaevo and the Begin-
nings of the Neolithic Period in Southwestern Bulgaria. The French-Bulgarian excavations 1986-2000. In Lichardus-Itten,
M., Lichardus, J. and Nikolov, V. (eds.) Beitrge zu jungsteinzeitlichen Forschungen in Bulgarien. Saarbrcker Beitrgen zum
Altertumskunde, 74: 99-158. Habelt, Bonn.
Nikolov, V. 1987 - Beitrge zu den Beziehungen zwischen Vorderasien und Sdosteuropa auf-grund der frhneolithischen bemalten
Keramik aus dem Zentralbalkan. Acta praehistorica et archaeologica, 19: 7-18. Berlin.
Nikolov, V. 1989 - Das Flusstal der Struma als Teil der Strasse von Anatolien nach Mitteleuropa. In Bknyi, S. and Raczky, P. (eds.)
Neolithic of Southeastern Europe and its Near Eastern Connections. Varia Archaeologica Hungarica, 2: 191-199. Institute of
Archaeology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest.
Nikolov, V. 2002 - Nochmals ber die Kontakte zwischen Anatolien und dem Balkan im 6. Jt. v. Ch. In Aslan, A., Blum, S., Kastl,
G., Schweizer, F. and Thumm, D. (eds.) Mauerschau: Festschrift fr Manfred Korfmann, 2: 673-678. Remshalden-Grnbach,
Greiner.
Nikolov, V. (ed.) 1999 - Selishtna mogila Kapitan Dimitrievo. Razkopki 1998-1999. Arheologicheski institut s muzey, Sofia-Peshtera.
Nikolov, V., Grigorova, K. and Sirakova, E. 1992 - Die Ausgrabungen in der frhneolithischen Siedlung von Sofia-Slatina, Bulgarien,
in der Jahren 1985-1988. Acta praehistorica et archaeologica, 24: 221-233. Berlin.
Nikolov, V. and Maslarov, K. 1987 - Ancient Settlements near Eleshnitsa. Sofia Press, Sofia.
zdoan, M. 1998 - Hoca eme. An early Neolithic Anatolian colony in the Balkans? In Anreiter, P., Bartosiewicz, L., Jerem, E. and
Meid, W. (eds.) Man and the animal world. Archaeolingua, 8: 435-451. Budapest.
zdoan, M., Miyake, Y., and zbaaran Dede, N. 1991 - An interim report on excavations at Yarmburgaz and Toptepe in Eastern
Thrace. Anatolica, 17: 59-121.
Pavk, J. and Bakmska, A. 2000 - Typologie und Stratigraphie der verzierten Keramik aus der neolithischen Tellsiedlung in Glbnik.
In Hiller, S. and Nikolov, V. (eds.) Karanovo III. Beitrge zum Neolithikum in Sdosteuropa: 263-272. Phoibos, Wien.
Rodden R. and Wardle, K. (eds.) 1996 - Nea Nikomedeia. The Excavation of an Early Neolithic Village in Northern Greece 1961-1964.
Vol. 1. The Excavation and the Ceramic Assemblage. The British School at Athens, Supp. Vol. London.
Authors Address:
VASSIL NIKOLOV, National Institute of Archaeology and Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Saborna St. BG - 1000
SOFIA
e-mail: vnikolov@dreambg.com
189
Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 189-205
KRUM BACVAROV*
JAR BURIALS AS EARLY SETTLEMENT MARKERS
IN SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN NEOLITHIC
SUMMARY - Jar burials as early settlement markers in southeast European Neolithic. Jar burials, as a specific manifestation of pre-
historic mortuary practices, are related to an early phase of Neolithic development in southeast Europe, and probably even to Neolithiza-
tion itself. Found sporadically in the broader context of other disposal types related to the domestic/mortuary space, including formal
or secondary inhumation or even cremation, jar burials nevertheless show certain cultural and chronological features, which could be
considered in relation to the problems of the directions and results of early farming interactions in the southeast European Neolithic. The
fact that the area of the Struma and Vardar Valleys, and the west Rhodope emerged as a core area of jar burial distribution, is in keeping
with the overall picture of the Neolithic development in the Balkans. The significance of these specific infant burials in the living space
of the Neolithic societies stands out as a cultural marker, not least related to their special role in the early farming cult.
RIASSUNTO - Le sepolture in urna come indicatori di insediamenti antichi nel Neolitico dellEuropa sud-orientale. Le sepulture in urna,
una manifestazione specifica delle pratiche funerarie preistoriche, sono connesse allo sviluppo del Neolitico dellEuropa sud-orientale,
e probabilmente anche alla sua stessa neolitizzazione. Bench rinvenute sporadicamente nellinsieme di altre deposizioni nello spazio
domestico/funerario, che comprende anche linumazione formale e secondaria o persino la cremazione, presentano alcune caratteristiche
culturali e cronologiche, che potrebbero venire prese in considerazione nel quadro dei problemi relativi ai primi agricoltori dellEuropa
sud-orientale. Nello sviluppo del Neolitico nei Balcani, le regioni dello Struma, del Vardar ed il Rodope occidentale, rappresentano
larea centrale della distribuzione delle sepolture in urna. Queste particolari sepolture di bambini, allinterno dello spazio domestico
delle societ neolitiche, si presentano come indicatori culturali non meno importanti di quello cultuale dei primi agricoltori.
INTRODUCTION
Because of their small number in the similarly scanty burial sample of southeast European later prehistory,
as well as because of their sporadic appearance and usually unclear contexts in the archaeological record, buri-
als in ceramic vessels were more or less ignored in general studies on the Neolithic. The rare examples from
this wide territory - almost always, published in unreadable languages - were normally dismissed as curious
exceptions.
However, an unbiased consideration of these specific mortuary practices shows that jar burial - which is the
earliest type of burial in ceramic vessels - is related to the earlier phases of the Neolithic. A typical product of
early farmers symbolism, jar burial appeared at an early phase of southeast European Neolithization, although
certainly not at the very beginning.
Early jar burial development in southeast Europe displays two distinct chronological levels, which could
be defined as two separate chronological and territorial waves: an Early Neolithic core area in the Struma and
Vardar River Valleys and the west Rhodope, and later, Late/Final Neolithic and/or Chalcolithic - depending on
local terminology - manifestations scattered in various places across the study area.
Jar burial seems related to certain later developments, such as the cremation burials in clay urns that were
excavated in Thrace and Thessaly. Besides, if one considers these practices in the wider territorial framework
of Anatolia and the Levant, it becomes obvious that parallels do exist and that they are more or less contem-
poraneous. It is in such a wide territorial and cultural context that jar burial should be examined, in order to
trace back its origins and development as well as its symbolic content and its place in the prehistoric mortuary
practices (fig. 1).

* National Institute of Archaeology and Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
190
Fig. 1 - Distribution map of the southeastern European and central Anatolian jar burial sites (1), and of the Levantine jar burial sites
(2): Earlier jar burials; Later jar burials.
191
INTERPRETATIVE FRAMEWORK
The ordinary pit is reasonably conceived as the archetype of the grave structure. It is obviously the sim-
plest but sufficiently definite form of fulfillment of the idea of human remains disposal through burial, which
developed after the original covering of the deceased on the ground with grass, tree branches or hides, and later
with soil and/or stones. Many of those who have explored southeast European Neolithic burials believe that
the grave pit and hence the very burial of the dead had not been paid special attention; they illustrate their case
with examples of trash pits usage (Jvanovi, 1967: 13; Garaanin, 1973: 27; Brukner, 1974). It was even
proposed that intramural burials had not belonged to local community members but to their defeated foes, and
that the dead of the same Neolithic community had been buried in extramural cemeteries (Csalog, 1965). In
my opinion, the main reason for the wide circulation of this thesis in one form or another is the fact that most
Neolithic burials lack any grave goods and that the pits backfill is the same soil as the cultural deposit, which
contains various artefacts; hence the seemingly reasonable conclusion that the dead were thrown away but
not buried.
Such an argument is unacceptable, especially if one considers the fact that, at least for the area of southeast
Europe, it is based on the incorrect interpretation of grave pits as refuse pits. Certainly their backfill is often
identical to that of the refuse pits, and the difference between them is rather archaeologically elusive. The
presence of a great number of sherds and animal bones does not automatically transform pits into refuse pits,
as is obvious, for instance, from two ritual pits at Para I (Resch, 1991; see also the analysis of the so-called
structured deposition in Chapman, 2000).
Besides, there is the case of the re-use of existing pits, for instance pits left from clay digging, as was shown
at Ajmana in the Danube Gorges (Stalio, 1992: 65f.), and of silos, as at Nea Nikomedeia in western Macedonia
(Rodden, 1962: 286). On the other hand, there are unquestionable examples of rejection or isolation of the de-
ceased, as at Vaxevo in the Struma Valley, where the situation unambiguously demonstrated that the dead body
had been thrown in the pit (Cholakov, 1991: 231f.; fig. 1; Chohadzhiev, 2001: 170f.; fig. 10). Quite instructive
in this respect is burial 285 at atal Hyk, which is the only one outside the buildings. The anthropological
analysis shows pathological changes suggesting that the deceased young man probably suffered all his life from
a serious disease, which was the cause of external deformities (Molleson et al., 1998).
Last but not least, the refuse pits interpretations always fail to consider the graves beneath house floors,
which are especially valuable as arguments against this thesis. Their position does not allow us to suppose that
they belong to rejected individuals; neither are they limited to infants and children only in order to be explained
as sacrifices, although it is not very clear either why these so-called sacrifices should be related to children. In
this sense, it is worth remembering that the burials in the Anatolian Neolithic and early Chalcolithic are most
often not interpreted as belonging to marginal members of the local communities, and they generally correspond
to the southeast European burials, both culturally and formally.
The grave pit was considered in the same semantic context as the contracted position of the body. If the
symbolic meaning of the body position is interpreted as embryonic, it is completely reasonable to view the
pit as the womb of the divinity. The later megalithic tombs in northern Europe had similar significance; their
entrance was viewed as the divine vagina, and the bringing of the dead body into the tomb imitated an act of
impregnation (Grslund, 1994: 22ff.). Of course, burial structures of a semantically similar plan existed as early
as the Starevo period at Zlatara in Srem and at Vina-Belo Brdo (Vasi, 1936: 9ff.; Lekovi, 1985: 159ff.),
and are a logical evolution of the ordinary pits. It is clear that, as a whole, the mortuary rituals reproduced the
mythological act of Creation and the burial structures played a fundamental role in them.
An additional argument here is the group of graves in southeast Europe where the human remains were
buried in clay pots. This practice was common in the Levant, both in earlier and contemporary contexts. The
clay pot itself was also considered as a womb but this symbolic aspect had been secondarily augmented in burial
contexts, as is the case with the later Alishar Hyk, where two of the urns were modeled with conical breasts
(Schmidt, 1932: 72). In its symbolic aspect of a vessel, a container, the womb of the divinity, the pot - without
respect to the material - played a significant role in many rituals, even in historical times. One specific feature of
the burial in clay pots in the Neolithic, which differentiates it from the evolution of this practice in later periods,
is the re-use of vessels, which originally had a different function and had not been made especially for the burial.
The original purpose - both real and symbolic - of the clay pots from Neolithic sites has remained unknown but
the tradition of burying in silos can be traced back to the Levant, for instance, at Eynan (Mellaart, 1975: 37).
It is worth considering the burials from Ajmana and Nea Nikomedeia again and especially the original purpose
of the grave pits: the former was a pit left from clay digging and the latter was an old silo. Certainly one should
192
not belittle the expedient aspects of pit re-use either, but it is evident that there is a semantic similarity to the
clay pot on the one hand, and to the grain, on the other. The burial in a vessel/pit - which is a container/womb
- obviously reproduced the mythological act of creation; it confirms again the symbolic relationship between
grave/death/burial and grain/fertility/rebirth (Bacvarov, 2003: 129ff.). In this sense, on a practical level, these
clay pots were originally used as food containers, cooking pots or for other purposes and were later re-used in
burials as death-containing vessels; on a symbolic level they were originally used as containers of culturally
transformed or transforming matter, or matter prepared for transformation in the future and were later re-used
in burials as birth-giving vessels. All these were different aspects of the same concept in the religio-mythologi-
cal beliefs of the early farmers.
BURIAL TYPES AND DISTRIBUTION
However, the burials in clay pots are not a homogenous entity, but can be separated into three different
types with specific features of their own: typical jar burials, secondary burials and cremation burials. Before
the detailed analysis of jar burials, I will consider the other two types, with respect to their origins and territo-
rial distribution.
Only one Early Neolithic secondary collective burial has been found so far. It was discovered in Layer III
at Tell Azmak in Upper Thrace and belongs to the Karanovo I Culture. The clay pot contained several skulls
(the excavator did not give the exact number) as well as separate bones (Georgiev, 1966: 9f.). This find, how-
ever, is not unique in a broader chronological framework; a separate skull of a small girl (0-3 months) was
buried in a high-pedestalled bowl (fig. 3, n. 2) at the prehistoric cemetery of Mrgy-Tzkdomb in southern
Transdanubia (Zalai-Gal, 2002: 123; Taf. 46f.). Another skull was placed in the bottom of a broken jar at
the late Neolithic Alepotrypa cave in Laconia (Papathanassopoulos, 1996: 175). Besides, secondary burial in
ceramic vessels could be related to the secondary burials in ordinary pits, for instance, from Layers II and IV
of Tell Karanovo (Bacvarov, 2000).
This is not the case with the second type known from as many as nine sites in southeast Europe and
related to the cremation burial. A large (?) clay pot containing the burnt bones of a child was found close to
the oven in a house from the Early Neolithic layer at Tell Azmak (fig. 2, n. 4). The pot was most probably
buried beneath the house floor, but this is not explicitly stated in the only source available: the ground plan
of the house published in 1972 (Georgiev, 1972: 17, Abb. 4). This burial is not unique in southeast Europe,
although it is the only one found in Thrace. Cremation burials in clay pots were found in the late Starevo
layer at Vina-Belo Brdo, at the Krs site of Gorza in the Tisza Valley and in the Late Neolithic layer at
Vrac in the Banat (Vasi, 1936: 182; Milleker, 1938: 166; Garaanin, 1956: 209; Gazdapusztai, 1957).
The burials from Vina, Gorza and Vrac formally correspond to the Azmak complex; the calcined bones
were interred in clay pots.
More numerous examples of cremation burials in pots come from Souphli Magoula and Plateia Ma-
goula Zarkou and Dimini in eastern Thessaly (Gallis, 1975; 1996a; 1996b) as well as in Suplacu de Barcu
and Tad in Transylvania (Ignat, 1985). At Souphli, besides the charred skeletal remains buried in round
pits with grave goods and belonging to the Early Neolithic Protosesklo Culture, seven pots containing
charred bones were found to the south of the Magoula, belonging to the Tzangli-Larissa phase of the Di-
mini Culture. The cemetery of Plateia was excavated at less than 500 m from the site; it contained more
than seventy cremation burials in clay pots covered with other pots, in one case a zoomorphic vessel. The
grave pits were surrounded with stones or, in some cases, the bottom of the pits was covered with a layer
of pebbles. Smaller vessels were buried as grave goods. At Dimini the partially burnt bones of a small
child were found in a carinated bowl, and at Suplacu de Barcu a cremation burial of a young woman with
two more vessels was excavated.
Cremation was known as a ritual practice as early as the Late Palaeolithic but the bones were often only
superficially burnt (Binant, 1991: 145f.). Such burials were found at Epipalaeolithic sites as well, though
rather occasionally: in the Kebara Cave in the Levant, at Beldibi in southeast Anatolia, at Franchthi in eastern
Peloponnesus and at Vlasac in the Danube Gorges (Bostanci, 1959: 147; Angel, 1969: 380; Srejovi and
Letica, 1978: 149; Bar-Yosef, 1987: 229; Cullen, 1995). However, it is possible that burnt human bones
have not always been distinguished from animal bones. At Franchthi cave, the skeletal remains of about
thirty human individuals were recovered after careful sieving of the soil and analysis of the animal bones
(Cullen, 1995: 274).
193
There are many different interpretations of Neolithic cremation burials, ranging from a means of pu-
rification to a way of releasing the spirit. Ina Wunn (2001: 134ff.) assumes that the burials from Souphli
and Plateia are clear indicators of the belief in the existence of a soul, which detaches from its earthly shell
through cremation, thus facilitating its transformation into another existential form. I cannot agree with the
idea that these practices come as a result of elaboration of the concepts of the after-world because they ap-
peared too early. It is rather that cremation burial was considered in the same religio-mythological context
as inhumation in a contracted position, but in an aspect, more closely related to the fire. This conclusion
is supported by the fact that in most cases the cremated human remains were interred in clay pots whose
symbolic meaning has already been considered here. The position of the Azmak burial near the oven should
be viewed in the same light.
Another clue to the symbolic interpretation of cremation burials in clay pots is the fact that the complexes
from Tell Azmak and Gorza are earlier, whereas the rest are of a later date. The Azmak burial - and probably
the burial from Gorza? - belonged to a child, which maybe relates it more closely to the formal individual
inhumations than to the classical Late Neolithic cremation burials; it should also be noted that it was found
beneath a house floor.
JAR BURIALS: THE DATA SET
Four cases of formal inhumation in a ceramic vessel - or jar burials - have been found in the Early Neo-
lithic of southeast Europe: two at Kovaevo in the Struma River Valley, one at Rakitovo in the west Rhodope
Mountains and one at Anza in the Vardar River Valley (fig. 1, n. 1). The skeletal remains belong to newborn or
stillborn infants, buried in a contracted position.
Kovaevo
Kovaevo is a stratified site in the Struma River Valley which covers an area of c. 7 ha (Lichardus-Itten
et al., 2002). It has been excavated since the 1980s by a joint Bulgarian-French team (M. Lichardus-Itten, J.-P.
Demoule and L. Pernicheva). Cultural deposits extend to a depth of c. 2 m. The partially destroyed upper layers
- Kovaevo III and II - contain Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age material. The lower four layers - Kovaevo
Ia-Id - belong to the Early Neolithic and represent a southwestern variant of the Karanovo I Culture.
Later periods - Iron Age, Roman, Middle Ages etc. - are sporadically present. Different phases could be dis-
tinguished within Kovaevo II and III, based on typological observation, since there is no stratigraphic evidence
to separate them on the site. The four Early Neolithic periods are established on the grounds of stratigraphic
evidence. These four periods possibly contain several phases of occupation.
Five pit burials were found in the Kovaevo I layer; two more came from the layer, defined as Middle
Neolithic. The burials belong to newborn or even stillborn infants and children up to 6.5 years of age. They
had been interred between houses in a flexed or crouched position, on the side or in a semi-seated position,
and were aligned with their heads to the east, west or north. In three of the burials, it is assumed that children
had been wrapped up in a thick fabric, most probably a leather bag or a mat. Various contexts in the site - for
instance, pits - yielded separate fragments of human bones.
Two jar burials were found in the Early Neolithic Kovaevo Id layer. The first burial belongs to a
stillborn infant, buried in a pot (c. 30 cm high) covered with a clay lid. The skeleton was complete; the
boy has been buried in a hyperflexed position on the right side, with the head aligned to the north (fig. 2,
n. 1). The second child burial has still to be published. It probably belongs to a very young infant, again
buried in a clay pot.
Rakitovo
Rakitovo is a stratified site in the west Rhodope Mountains, completely excavated in 1974-1975 by A.
Raduncheva and V. Matsanova. It covered an area of c. 3300 sq m. The destroyed upper layers belonged to the
Late Neolithic Karanovo III-IV period and probably to the early Neolithic Karanovo I Culture. Both lower lay-
ers were preserved, extending to 54 m and 80 cm depth, respectively. Both belonged to the Karanovo I Culture
(Raduncheva et al., 2002).
The only jar burial was found in Layer II, under the floor of house 16, by the western wall. It belonged to
a neonate, buried in a fine-ware necked jar (fig. 2, n. 2). The soil in the jar yielded grave goods, which is very
rare for an early Neolithic infant burial: lumps of red ochre and a flint blade.
194
Fig. 2 - Jar burial from Kovaevo (1) (after Lichardus-Itten et al., 2002); jar burial from Rakitovo (2) (after Raduncheva et al., 2002);
jar burial from Anza (3) (after Gimbutas, 1976); Cremation burial from Azmak (4) (after Georgiev, 1972).
195
Anza
Anzabegovo is a stratified site in the Vardar River Valley, excavated by M. Garaanin and M. Gimbutas
in 1969-1970 (Gimbutas, 1976; Garaanin, 1998). Three Early Neolithic layers (Anza III-I) were revealed,
yielding painted pottery. Anza layer IV is equivalent to Vina A.
The three Early Neolithic layers and the Vina layer yielded skeletal remains of at least thirty-four indi-
viduals - in most cases, separate bones - representing seventeen new-born babies and children, five juveniles,
and twelve adults.
Five inhumations in a crouched position were excavated under house floors in M. Garaanins trench. Infant
bones were found in a pit from the Anza Ic layer; the same layer yielded a grave of two young females buried
in a crouched position, one on top of the other.
A jar burial was found in the Anza Ic layer. It belonged to a neonate buried in a necked jar, whose four
handles have been broken together with the bottom, most probably intentionally (fig. 2, n. 3).
The Regional Context
The later sites considered here, extend the regional context of jar burials core area (fig. 1, n. 1).
Ezero
Ezero is a tell site in Upper Thrace, near the town of Nova Zagora (Georgiev et al., 1979). Cultural deposits
extend to c. 10 m depth. It was excavated by G.I. Georgiev and N.Y. Merpert in 1960s and the early 1970s.
Covering an area of c. 3500 sq m, the excavations yielded Early Bronze Age, Chalcolithic and Late Neolithic
layers. Layers IV and III belong to the Late Neolithic Karanovo II-III, Karanovo III, Karanovo III-IV and
Karanovo IV periods.
A jar burial was found in the southwestern trench, layer IV, horizon V (Karanovo III period), in a shallow
pit under a house floor. The skeletal remains belonged to a neonate, covered by a deep dark-burnished bowl
with channeling. This burial yielded grave goods, too: a shell and a retouched flint blade.
Polgr, site 7
Polgr, site 7 is a stratified site in the Great Hungarian Plain. It was excavated by P. Raczky in 1994,
in the M3 motorway salvage project framework. The remains belong to the Alfld Linear Pottery (ALP)
Culture.
A jar burial was found in a deep pit near a long house of the ALP. The skeletal remains belonged to an
infant, buried in a large jar.
1
Mrgy-Tzkdomb
Mrgy-Tzkdomb is a prehistoric cemetery in southern Transdanubia. It was excavated by I. Zalai-Gal
in the 1980s and generally belongs to the Late Neolithic Lengyel Culture (Zalai-Gal, 2002).
Two jar burials were found in the so-called Grbergruppe-B
1
.

Both belong to individuals 0-5 months old,
buried in high-pedestalled bowls, crouched on the right side, with their heads aligned to the west or southwest
and facing to the south or northeast respectively (fig. 3).
Durankulak
The prehistoric cemetery at Durankulak yielded more than 1200 burials (fig. 4, n. 1). It was excavated
by H. Todorova in the 1980s and 1990s and belongs to Hamangia I-II, III and IV, Varna I and II-III Cultures
(Todorova, 2002).
Two jar burials were found there belonging to the Hamangia III phase (4950/4900-4650/4600 cal BC),
which has been defined as Early Chalcolithic (= Maritsa I-III, Dikilitash II, Sitagroi III, classical Dimini,
Boian-Vidra etc.)
The first burial belonged to an infant put in two necked jars lying horizontally, with the mouths pushed
close to each other. Six clay vessels were deposited over the burial with their bottoms up. More sherds covered
the surface under the burial (fig. 4, n. 3).
The second infant was buried in a conical bowl, which was put in a larger bowl and covered with a clay
lid (fig. 4, n. 2). A cattle skull accompanied this burial.

1
This jar burial is unpublished. I am most grateful to P. Raczky, who kindly shared the information about it with me.
196
Fig. 3 - Mrgy-Tzkdomb: jar burials (after Zalai-Gal, 2002).
197
Fig. 4 - Durankulak: jar burials (after Todorova, 2002).
198
Lerna
Lerna is a low tell in the foothills of Mount Pontikos, near the Lerna Lake, on the western coast of Argolis.
It was excavated by J.L. Caskey in the 1950s and yielded layers from the Early, Late and Final Neolithic, as
well as the Early and Middle Bronze Age (Caskey, 1957).
Five burials came from the Early Neolithic layer, all of them representing formal inhumations in pits and
containing articulated skeletons in crouched position on their sides. A black burnished clay vessel was found
near the head of a five-years old child.
The Final Neolithic of Lerna II yielded a neonate burial in a patterned beaker, found in a layer consisting
of successive floors of Neolithic houses (fig. 5, n. 1).
Alepochori
The Kouveleiki Cave is located some 5 km to the south of Alepochori village in Laconia. Deep archaeologi-
cal deposits accumulated in both chambers of the cave. The dates of 4947-4362 cal BC for the inner chamber,
and 4922-4360 cal BC for the outer chamber generally refer them to the Final Neolithic (Papathanassopoulos,
1996).
The only jar burial was of an infant, in a carinated pot with two vertical lugs (fig. 5, n. 2) inserted in an
open-mouth jar tapering down to its bottom, with four horizontal lugs on the belly (fig. 5, n. 3). The bottom
was pierced after firing, most probably in relation to its funerary use.
Rachmani
Rachmani is a tell in Thessaly, excavated by Wace and Thompson in 1910. Cultural deposits extended to
8.10 m in depth and yielded four layers, belonging to the Final Neolithic (Wace and Thompson, 1912).
Two infant jar burials were found there, in layers II and IV respectively (fig. 5, nn. 5 and 6). Unfortunately,
no more information has been published by the excavators.
Kephala
The site and cemetery of Kephala are located on a headland on the northwest coast of the Cycladic island
of Keos; they represents the best evidence for initial settlement of the island during the second major coloniza-
tion of the Aegean in the Final Neolithic (3300-3200 cal BC).
They were excavated in the 1960s by a team from the University of Cincinnati and by J. Coleman in the
1970s (Fowler, 2004).
Four infant jar burials were found in the cemetery, all of them disturbed by later interments. One of these
burials belonged to two infants put together in a large jar. Two female figurines were discovered as grave goods
in another jar burial (fig. 5, n. 4).
The Anatolian parallels
The early practice of jar burial had no parallels in the neighboring areas, both culturally and chronologi-
cally. The closest analogies are the jar burials from Ksk Hyk and Pnarba-Bor in Central Anatolia, which
were found beneath house floors, as was the Rakitovo grave, and belong to the Anatolian Late Neolithic or
Early Chalcolithic (fig. 1, n. 1).
Ksk Hyk
Ksk Hyk is a central Anatolian tell, located in the town of Baheli. It is c. 15 m high and has a diameter of
c. 80 m. It was excavated in the 1980s by U. Silistreli (1984; 1988; 1989) and in the 1990s by A. ztan (2003).
Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic layers were recorded there, as well as a pool from Roman times.
Three jar burials were found under house floors during Silistrelis excavations; more jar burials came from
ztans excavations.
Pnarba-Bor
Pnarba is a central Anatolian tell, located to the west-northwest of the town of Bor. It is 8 m high and has
a diameter of c. 100 m. It was excavated in 1982 by U. Silistreli (1984), yielding Late Neolithic, Chalcolithic
and Early Bronze Age layers.
A jar closed off with a stone slab was excavated beneath the floor of a square room, under its eastern wall,
containing the skeletal remains of an infant.
199
Fig. 5 - Jar burial from Lerna II (1) (after Caskey, 1957); jar burial from Alepochori (2 and 3) (after Papathanassopoulos, 1996); the
cemetery at Kephala (4) (after Fowler, 2004); jar burials from Rachmani (5 and 6) (after Wace and Thompson, 1912).
200
THE LEVANTINE PERSPECTIVE
The strong influence of the Levantine traditions on the life and death at Ksk Hyk manifested itself in
the local variant of the skull cult, which was observed at that Anatolian site and was not common in this area
(cf. Bonogofsky, 2004). The earliest decorated skulls of this kind were found at Jericho. The skulls from
Ksk Hyk, however, were found in Layer III, which resembles the Late Neolithic at atal Hyk, whereas
the skulls from Jericho are of a much earlier date (fig. 1, n. 2).
The southern Levant
Byblos
Byblos lies c. 30 km northeast of Beirut on the Mediterranean coast. The ancient site was excavated almost
continuously by M. Dunand from 1925 to 1975. At least 1.5 ha has now been cleared to bedrock. The debris of
the Nolithique Ancien settlement was spread over about 1.2 ha, an area that would have been more extensive
originally since part of the site has been washed away on the seaward side (Moore, 1973).
A total of thirty-three burials were found. The dead were buried in the settlement between the houses.
The bodies were laid in a crouched position on their left sides in shallow graves; infants were buried in jars.
Two groups of adult burials were noted: single graves with a few artefacts, or with a bed of stones and more
grave goods. The accompanying artifacts consisted of flint tools, polished stone axes, pottery and ornaments.
The Nolithique Ancien layer includes jar burials of babies and infants, all of them in the settlement area, in or
between the houses (Gopher and Orrelle, 1995: 26).
Tel Dan
Located at the foot of Mount Hermon and the Golan Heights, in the northeastern corner of the Hula Valley,
the stratified remains of the Pottery Neolithic occupation at Tel Dan represent the earliest evidence of settlement at
the site. They were excavated in 1984-1985 by Avraham Biran and comprise five stratigraphic phases (B1-B5).
The Pottery Neolithic layers at Tel Dan yielded two jar burials (fig. 6, n. 3). One of them was found a
few centimeters beneath the floor of a house. It contained the skeletal remains of a neonate.
2
The jar was lying
on its side, parallel to the wall. Part of the jar has been removed in the Neolithic to allow the interment of the
body, and a large body section of another jar has been used to cover the baby. The second burial was disturbed
(Gopher and Greenberg, 1996: 68).
Tel Teo
Tel Teo, a stratified pre- and historic site in the Hula Valley, Israel, yielded a stratigraphic sequence beginning
with Pre-Pottery Neolithic (Strata XIII-XI), and continuing through the Pottery Neolithic (Strata X-VIII), Chalco-
lithic (Strata VII-VI), Early Bronze Age I (Strata V-IV) and early Bronze Age II (Stratum III). The sequence ends
with two layers of Medieval and Late Ottoman times. It was excavated in 1986 by E. Eisenberg (et al., 2001).
The human remains from Tel Teo belong to at least seventeen individuals: ten infants, two children and
five adults, plus separate bones of eighteen individuals found in the backfill.
The Pottery Neolithic Strata X-VIII yielded a total of five jar burials, containing the skeletal remains of
neonates or infants (fig. 6, n. 1). Two jar burials were found in Stratum IX, both of them under house floors, in
the southern and eastern part of the houses, respectively. The first baby (0-1 month) was buried in a crouched
position on the left side in the lower part of a pithos, and covered with potsherds. The vertical placement of
the jar distinguishes this burial from the other Pottery Neolithic baby burials, the vessels in which were laid
horizontally, as in the second jar burial from Stratum IX, belonging to a neonate in a flexed position on the right
side. The ovoid red-slipped jar was used for the burial after its rim and four handles had been broken. Three
more infant burials belonging to neonates came from Stratum VIII, all of them under house floors. One of the
skeletons was disturbed. Another jar burial was found in association with six animal bones (sheep/goat, cattle,
pig) but it is unclear if this was intentional or not. The jar burial tradition continued in the early Bronze Age I
(Stratum V), where three more infant burials have been found, one of them containing the articulated skeletons
of two babies, approximately nine months old.

2
The skeletal remains were examined by D. Zorich in the field and the age was determined as six months, based on the lengths of
the radius and ulna. However, according to the recent analysis by G. Kahila Bar-Gal and P. Smith, it was a much younger infant, most
probably a neonate (Bar-Gal and Smith, 2001).
201
Nahal Zehora II
This Wadi Rabah, Lodian, and Yarmukian site is located in the Menashe Hills, on the southern fringes of
the Jezreel Valley. It was excavated in 1987-1996 by A. Gopher.
Two fetus burials were found in the northeastern part of the trench. One of them, a jar burial, was found
close to the wall of a house belonging to the Wadi Rabah period (Gopher and Orrelle, 1995: 27).
Teluliot Batashi
The site of Teluliot Batashi is located in the Sorek Valley. It was excavated by J. Kaplan in 1950s.
Two burials were excavated in the Wadi Rabah layer of Teluliot Batashi III. One of them was a jar burial
of a baby (Gopher and Orrelle, 1995: 27).
Qatif
The early Wadi Rabah site at Qatif lies in the coastal strip south of Gaza, some 300 m north of Tel Qatif.
It was excavated in 1973 by C. Epstein.
Slightly to the south of a large circular living surface, and possibly related to it, a jar burial was found
containing the skeletal remains of one-month old infant. A broken storage jar had been used to contain the body,
which lay on its side with the knees flexed, covered by the overlapping sherds of the same vessel. There were
no grave goods either in or near the jar (Epstein, 1984: 210f).
The northern Levant
Tell Hassuna
Tell Hassuna lies c. 40 km to the south of Mosul, in northern Mesopotamia, at the meeting point of two
small wadies. It is c. 7 m high and covers an area of c. 200x150 m. Cultural deposits extend to a depth of 7
m. and consist of seven layers belonging to the pre-Hassuna, Hassuna, Halaf and Obeid periods. The tell was
excavated in 1943-1944 by Seton Lloyd and Fuad Safar (Seton Lloyd and Safar, 1945).
A dozen infant jar burials were found from Level 16 upwards, usually under house floors. Coarse ware,
incised and painted-and-incised jars were used. One of the most uncommon burials was that of two infants in
the same tall-sided incised bowl in Level II (fig. 6, n. 2).
Tell Sotto
Tell Sotto in northern Mesopotamia was excavated in the early 1970s by Nikolai Bader. The tell is c. 2.5
m high; cultural deposits extend to 3.8 m and consist of eight layers, the lowermost of which belongs to the
pre-Hassuna Culture (Bader, 1989).
A total of nine burials were excavated there, all of them infants or children up to fourteen years of age. Six
of them were jar burials, found under house floors or near houses, belonging to infants or small children up to
two or three years, and interred in a hyperflexed position on the left or right side or on the back (fig. 6, n. 5). In
two cases there is evidence of intentional dismemberment of the body. Two burials yielded grave goods: small
clay cups and beads of various materials.
Tell Hazna II
Tell Hazna II lies c. 25 km northeast of the town of Al Hasakah, in the Khabour River Valley, northeastern
Syria. It was excavated in 1991-1992 by a team from the Archaeological Institute of the Russian Academy
of Sciences. The cultural deposits extend to 8.80 m depth and belong to the pre-Hassuna, Hassuna and Halaf
periods (Munchaev et al., 1993).
Only one jar burial was found there (fig. 6, n. 4); however, it deserves special attention because the jar
belongs to the most typical ware of the earliest phases of the pottery Neolithic in Mesopotamia, which seems to
suggest that this was one of the earliest examples of jar burial in the study area. The one-year child was buried
in a hyperflexed position on its right side, with the head aligned to the east.
The skull was lying with the face down and according to the excavators had been detached from the body
before the burial. The arms and legs were flexed at an angle of c. 30 degrees. This jar burial yielded grave goods:
a small clay cup, a half of a polished stone vessel and over two hundred beads of stone, copper and shells, most
probably making up one complete necklace. The coarse ware thick-walled jar (with a rim diameter of more
than 50 cm and the same height) had been probably covered with a discoid lid of unbaked clay, fragments of
which were found inside.
202
Fig. 6 - Jar burials from Tel Teo (1) (after Eisenberg et al., 2001); double jar burial from Tell Hassuna (2) (after Lloyd and Safar, 1945);
jar burials from Tel Dan (3) (after Gopher and Greenberg, 1996: 68); Jar burials from Tell Hazna II (4) (after Munchaev et al., 1993);
Jar burials from Tell Sotto (5) (after Bader, 1989).
203
Tell Halula
Tell Halula is located on the right bank of the Euphrates River, between three different ecological areas:
in the fork of two wadis; the foothills of the Djebel Halula mountains; and finally, the steppe zone to the west.
The tell has an oval base (360x300 m), with cultural deposits of approximately 8 m height. It was excavated in
1989-1998 by M. Molist. It has four main phases of occupation: Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (recent phases 8500-
8000 uncal BP), Late Neolithic (8000-7500 uncal BP), Pre-Halaf and Halaf (7500-6700 uncal BP), and more
sporadic occupation in the most recent periods (Obeid).
Burials of several types were excavated: primary inhumations as well as collective and secondary inter-
ments. The pre-Halaf layer yielded an infant burial in a clay jar. The skeleton was complete and articulated; the
body had been buried in a crouched position (Anfruns and Molist, 1998).
DISCUSSION
Many questions related to the appearance and development of jar burials remain unanswered, such as why
there is such a huge territorial gap between the northern Levant and southeast Europe, bridged only by the two
central Anatolian sites of Ksk Hyk and Pnarba-Bor on?
Is it because of the irregularly excavated areas leaving blind spots in our knowledge of the Neolithic
development, or there is another reason associated with the directions and routes of the early phases of Neoli-
thization? Another uncertainty is the role of early jar burial in the social reproduction and cohesion networks
spread over large territory and sending distinct echoes in space and time.
A third series of problems is related to the differentiation between the infant/child burial: why were some
infants buried in ceramic vessels? Was the burial practice based on gender, as seems likely, because all skeletons
from early jar burials that have been sexed belong to boys?
3
As it is, it seems that jar burial, as a specific manifestation of the Neolithic mortuary practices, is related
to the earlier phases of Neolithic development in southeast Europe, and probably even to Neolithization itself.
This ritual practice certainly influenced the other treatments of dead children in the domestic space, whether it
was formal or secondary inhumation.
It seems related to certain later developments, such as the cremation burials in clay urns that were excavated
in Thrace and Thessaly. The fact that the area of the Struma and Vardar Valleys, and the west Rhodope emerged
as a secondary distribution center of these specific mortuary practices, is in keeping with the overall character
of the Neolithic development in the Balkans. Hence, the place of infant/child burials in the living space of the
Neolithic societies, as well as the treatment dead children, stand out as cultural features suggesting their special
role in religio-mythological beliefs.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to gratefully acknowledge those who helped with the research and completion of this paper. They include
Elka Anastasova, Michelle Bonogofski, Avi Gopher, Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati, Franoise le Mort, Pl Raczky, and Istvn Zalai-Gal.
Very special thanks to Panagiotis Karatasios.

3
However, it should be stressed that a very few babies were DNA-sexed altogether.
204
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1
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Authors Address:
KRUM BACVAROV, National Institute of Archaeology and Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Saborna St. BG - 1000
SOFIA
e-mail: krum_bacvarov@sofianet. net
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JOHN CHAPMAN*
ENGAGING WITH THE EXOTIC: THE PRODUCTION OF EARLY
FARMING COMMUNITIES IN SOUTH-EAST AND CENTRAL EUROPE
SUMMARY - Engaging with the exotic: the production of early farming communities in south-east and central Europe. In this article,
the claim is made that the emergence of worldviews focussed on bright or brilliant objects of distinctive colours among early farmers
in the Balkans and Hungary was co-emergent with the creation of their very world. The fact that a small but significant minority of
these objects was acquired or exchanged from foreign places or from the other zone was an essential attribute of their sacred power.
The incorporation of these objects into the depositional contexts of early farming communities reveals strategies of both inclusion (into
houses, pits and graves) and exclusion (from special ritual deposits).
RIASSUNTO - Dedicandosi allesotico: la produzione delle prime comunit di agricoltori dellEuropa sudorientale e centrale. In
questo lavoro viene espressa lopinione che lorigine delle visioni del mondo, da parte dei primi agricoltori della Penisola Balcanica e
dellUngheria, si sia focalizzata su oggetti rilucenti o brillanti, di colore ben definito, e si sia sviluppata contemporaneamente alla crea-
zione del loro mondo vero e proprio. Il fatto che una piccola parte, anche se significativa, di questi oggetti sia stata acquisita o scambiata
da regioni estranee o da altre zone, considerato un attributo del loro potere sacrale. La disposizione di questi oggetti allinterno di
contesti deposizionali da parte delle prime comunit produttrici di cibo, indica strategie sia di immissione (allinterno di case, pozzetti
e sepolture) sia di esclusione (da specifici depositi rituali).
INTRODUCTION
Those of us involved with - overwhelmed by - the study of Early Neolithic pottery tend to believe, perhaps
implicitly, that the sheer quantity of sherds (after all, J. Makkay [2007: 14] gave up excavating Krs sites after
he had recovered millions of potsherds) makes pottery the sole most important aspect of material culture
among early farmers. However, we should not forget that the New Stone Age was first distinguished from the
Old Stone Age not by the use of pottery but by the presence of polished stone tools (Lubbock, 1865). It was
only in the age of cultural archaeology, ushered in by Kossinna (1896) and V. Gordon Childe (1929), that the
specificity and diagnosticity of pottery styles in place and time made ceramics the obvious medium for the
creation of homogenous cultural groups. Although far less common, polished stone objects were, together with
pottery, both visually distinctive as well as technologically effective. It was in their exotic origins that polished
stone tools, as well as other objects made from shell and metal, differentiated themselves from pottery, the vast
majority of which was locally made. In this article, I propose that the creation of bright or brilliant objects of
distinctive colour(s) not only helped to form the worldviews of early farmers in the Balkans and Hungary but
also went far to define their material world (fig. 1). While an aesthetic of colour and brilliance was already
widespread in foraging communities, especially in mortuary ritual (e.g. Skeates, 2005), it was in the Early
Neolithic that such a worldview was extended and refined until it became central to the constitution of cultural
order and the materiality of dwelling.
A shining example, a bright student, a brilliant essay, a flashing blade, a sparkling contribution,
a polished performance, the luminosity of the star - we recognise these phrases as marking distinction and
difference from the everyday and the norm - distinctions that we anticipate keenly and appreciate when they
occur. It makes a difference to our emotional lives. The same is true when one enters a room: the eye moves
unerringly to brightly coloured objects rather than the background wall colours that frame the shining object
Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 207-222

* Department of Archaeology, University of Durham, UK

208
Fig. 1 - Distribution map of important Early Neolithic sites mentioned in the text: Szarvas 23 (1); Endrd 39 (2); Endrd 119 (3); Szol-
nok-Szanda (4); Lepenski Vir (5); Vinkovca-Trnica (6); Obre I (7); Glbnik (8); Krdzhali (9); Asmaska mogila (10); Gradeshnitsa
(11); Gura Baciului (12); Poineti (13).
and give the kitsch as much as the tasteful the chance to shine. Thoughts of dullness and lack of sparkle lead
in the opposite direction.
In deep prehistory, objects with natural brilliance were rare and, especially in combination with a distinc-
tive colour, always prized for their aesthetic appeal. Even on a cloudy day, nodules of quartzite, rock crystal,
obsidian, jasper, malachite and azurite gleamed and sparkled against the background soil or rock. Other rocks,
such as limnoquartzite, had at best uneven properties of shine and rather variegated colours. But, as with most
essays, brilliance usually had to be worked at, to be created by craft and handwork (Chapman, 2002). Many rocks
were dull and lacking distinctive colours until their grinding and polishing created brilliance and enhanced the
natural colour by a process we have termed revelation (Chapman and Gaydarska, 2006). It was revelation,
as much as transformation, that brought out the natural colours and sheen of the Spondylus gaederopus shell in
its later phases of ornament making, as each millimetre of shell removed created a new surface with different
natural markings from the previous one (Chapman et al., in press). The naturally dull colour and matt surface
of native copper required a cultural transformation to reveal perhaps unsuspecting sparkle and hue. These
transformations revealed the inner energy and power of the objects.
One cannot, of course, ignore pottery in this context. In the past, the incidence of painting on a slipped and
burnished surface was used as an index of cultural development (recall the overtly nationalistic debates between
Miloji [1965] and Makkay [1967] in the 1960s) or, in a more sophisticated manner, as a sign of special site
function (e.g., the higher percentage of painted ware on the Csszhalom tell than at the horizontal site: Raczky et
al., 2002). What I find more interesting about this early pottery is the way that farming communities used what
Munro (1997) has termed the labour of division to create fine wares so as to be deliberately different from
medium or coarse wares. Indeed, the fineness of fine wares consisted of a burnished or polished surface, often
itself covered with a slip, with a distinctive red or brown colour. It is a routine assumption of Neolithic specialists
that fine wares equated with eating (table wares) and display (Andreou et al., 1996; Nikolov, 2002), implicitly
recognising an aesthetic of colour and brilliance in acts of private consumption and public performance.
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If you entered a typical windowless Early Neolithic house, which would have been smaller than the recon-
structed LBK house as seen on a visit to Asparn-an-der-Zaya (Austria) but with the same general interior effect,
the dull colours of the timber uprights and the thatch may well have been offset by brightly coloured wall-plaster
and decorations on the posts, only partly masked by smoke from the constant hearth fire. But the only objects
to attract the eye through the smoke and the gloom would have been distinctively coloured and/or shining - the
white defleshed animal bones and the greenstone ornament on a shelf rather than the shadowy coarse ware
bowls, goatskins and antler mattocks. Outside the house, in the bright Balkan sunlight, even the dullest coarse
ware amphora could have attracted attention - but perhaps not much and certainly not as much as the elders
gleaming new dolerite axe tied to a new beech haft with light-coloured strips of sinew or the womans nephrite
hair-pin, the dark green ornament offset against her stunning black hair. Cooper (1993) neatly summarises this
approach: there is no vision without division.
There is also a huge difference between touching and holding a coarse ware vessel and a finely polished,
smooth surface of a painted ware cup - tactile differences that affected the feelings that prehistoric people brought
to things and changed their attitudes. The heavily sculpted barbotine and relief decorations on typical Early
Neolithic coarse wares were akin to the untreated raw Spondylus shell, just as the polished shell rings were as
shiny and brilliant as the fine slipped and polished wares. The same is true for a carefully polished amulet, part
of whose power emerged from the close tactile relationship with the body (Skeates, pers. comm.).
This visual approach to the object world meshes with the philosophical approach termed dynamic nominal-
ism. Nominalism is, broadly speaking, a form of agency theory, in which structure and agency are reconciled
within a single mechanism through the attribution of a more active role to identity (Chapman, 2003a). The core
notion is that categories of people come into existence at the same time as kinds of people come into being to fit
these categories in a two-way interaction. It is clear that there is a close parallel between the self-categorisation
of emergent groups of people and the potential for naming the colours of newly emergent groups of things or
hitherto unknown materials found in newly explored environments.
The process of co-emergence of colours and colourful objects seems particularly appropriate to a period
of such radical change as the beginnings of the Neolithic. This picture of the visual world of early farming
communities allows us to identify different contributions by a variety of objects, each of which was not only
visually specific but also carried its own identity and characteristics in relation to history, origins, distance,
place and people. In the next section, I examine insights from ethnography, both generally and using marine
shells as an example of materiality in action.
ETHNOGRAPHIES OF COLOUR AND BRILLIANCE
The world of prehistoric communities may usefully be divided into three zones: the familiar zone of our
own settlement and community area; the strange zone of foreign or alien places, beings and things; and, in
between the others, the zone of otherness, inhabited by people not belonging to our community but who shared
artefacts and symbols with us (Neustupn, 1998). The boundaries between these zones were permeable, crossed
and criss-crossed by people and things but almost certainly not by everyone in the community; thus, it was the
women who made the most prestigious objects in Gawan (Melanesia) society but the males who traded them
(Munn, 1986). In societies without specialised trading institutions, most exchange was on an individual level,
in social networks wider than the kinship or residential network - an integration of the familiar world with the
zone of otherness. Trade partnerships confirming ties of alliance or kinship would have grown up over time
- sometimes becoming hereditary - through the exchange of inalienable objects, whereby the personal links
between the producer and the thing was not lost and the quality of the relationship was emphasised. The objects
thus took with them, as part of their personal biography, a memory of both maker and place of origin - but they
could be used and disposed of by the new owner much as they pleased. Exchanged objects could also have
acted as measures of value (the worth of the person giving), media of value (the means by which the value is
realised) and sometimes embodiments of value, if not the origins of those values. These values and meanings
would have been worked out through performance in specific places, with changing values always possible. A
persons fame would have been inter-dependent upon the fame of the objects which s/he exchanged within the
familiar and the other zones. These objects from the other zone we shall term exotic. Sometimes, however,
communities acquired such objects from still further afield.
The remote and dangerous world of foreign places was the source of extraordinary materials and things
which, if acquired, would confer significant renown on the local community by the prestige of the thing itself,
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the skills and characteristics of the acquirer and the powerful nature of the distant place. We shall term such
objects sacred objects sensu Godelier (1999: 111-122) - objects with sacred powers to be used on behalf of
all members of the group, constituting an essential part of each clans identity. Mary Helms (1993) has explored
the prowess of the long-distance specialist in surviving the rigours of the foreign zone and returning home with
things that embodied the existential power and energy of the distant, the strange, even the cosmological. Helms
makes a powerful case for one-way acquisition in transactions that emphasise the quality of the things rather
than that of the relationship. She also maintains that skilled crafting and artistic production are akin to long-
distance acquisition, emphasizing that creativity is an ordering of nature for cultural purposes - a celebration
of the ultimate order of the cosmos. This suggests at least three routes to the production of lite value in both
hierarchical and non-hierarchical societies. Locally found or made objects, which sustain enchained relations
between exchange partners, exotic things, with their values underpinned by the other zone, and sacred objects,
with their ties to ancestral origins and cosmology, are all vital in their different ways for social reproduction,
as well as for identity-formation at an individual, household or corporate group level.
Other ethnographers have made the connection between brilliance and ritual power and potency.
Gells (2002) account of Kula canoe prow-boards, that are created to dazzle traders to make them offer
more shells and necklaces to the visitors, emphasises the links between dazzlingness, the magical power
emanating from the boards and the enchantment immanent in all kinds of technical activity. Likewise,
Morphy (1992) identifies the association in Yolngu (Australian) painting of brilliance with ancestral power
and beauty, movement, light and joy, through the transformation of a painting from a rough, dull state to
a clearly defined, bright state.
Archaeologists have recently built on the early ethno-archaeological research of Graeme Clark (1965) to
develop ideas about the links between stone axes, the values of the material and cosmological origins (Bradley
and Edmonds 1993; Whittle, 1995; Wiessner and Tumu, 1998: 359-360; Edmonds, 1999; Cooney, 2002). Equally,
Keates (2002) has used the African evidence for the significance of copper in traditional Yoruba society to make
a compelling case for the link between Remedello copper daggers, solar imagery and the ancestral dead in the
Italian Copper Age. Less well known is the recent upsurge of research interest in the archaeology of marine
shells (Claassen, 1998; Trubitt, 2003). There is now a general recognition of the significance of marine shells,
whether as material symbols of interpersonal relations, as symbolic links to water and the sea, with all of their
metaphorical qualities, or as a sign of inland peoples differential access to distant and rare goods (Claassen,
1998: 203-208; Trubitt, 2003). Trubitt (2003: 262-263) summarizes this research in her assertion that shell
prestige goods are symbols of power and prestige associated with the exotic, to which Saunders (1999) and
Glowacki (2005) would add the supernatural (the sacred).
Two particularly interesting aspects of this recent research concern the relationship between the aes-
thetics of shells and their symbolism (Saunders, 1999), the potential of Spondylus shells for producing
hallucinogenic effects (Glowacki, 2005) and the links between shells and personhood (Clark, 1991). These
studies of marine shells in Meso- and South America and in Papua New Guinea have utilised ethno-his-
tory and ethnology to create lively biographical pictures of shells based upon their specific materialities.
Saunders (1999) discusses the extent to which the materiality of the pearl-oyster acted as a bridge between
the mental and physical worlds of pre-Columbian indigenous American peoples. These societies saw their
world as infused with spiritual brilliance that was manifested in three ways - natural phenomena (the sun,
moon, water, ice and rainbows), natural materials (minerals, feathers, pearls and shells) and artefacts made
from these materials. He discusses how an aesthetic of brilliance was constructed differently in different
cultures, emphasising that making shiny objects was an act of transformative creation (Saunders, 1999:
246). The ritual significance of shells was heightened if they were procured from the deep sea - an analogy
to shamanistic activity, in which a diver visited the dangerous spirit world and returned with sacred matter
(Saunders, 1999: 247).
These and other ethnological studies provide a basis for the inter-penetration of the categories of shell orna-
ments and persons, just as shells can be persons in the Ojibwa under certain circumstances (Morris, 1994: 9).
It is important to emphasise the potential tension between two relations embodied in shells: the close material
links between shells and persons - whether worn as ornaments close to the body or bearing enchained relations
between persons - and the links between shells and aspects of otherness such as the deep sea, the realm of the
supernatural or simply the sea coasts that were remote for inland communities trading in shells. When colour
symbolism and the aesthetic of brilliance are added to such metaphorical potential, the reasons why so many
societies have incorporated some of their key cultural values into marine shells become more understandable.
Clark (1991: 311) is surely right to question factors of scarcity and exchange value as the explanation of value
211
in marine shells. It is important to account for the social value of shells before the development of a central role
for shells in bride wealth and ceremonial exchange.
We can summarise these ethnographic narratives by saying that a shell ring was never only a shell ring - but
also presenced places, peoples and spiritual powers through its materiality. It is probable that most of the exotic
objects of cultural value to early farmers had built up lengthy, complex personal biographies over decades, if
not centuries, in their shorter or longer walks through the Balkans. While some objects may have been acquired
by a long-distance specialist and brought home in a single year, others will have passed through many hands
in a series of gift exchanges, taking months or years to move hundreds of kilometres from its source. While it
was the overall impression of remoteness, danger and strangeness that defined the biographies of things from
the foreign zone, closer attention to biographical detail would have been paid to objects from the other zone,
since at least some of the persons in that zone would have been known to members of the exchange network,
as exchange partners or enemies. What was important was the capacity of objects to stand for specific people
or categories and for sets of relations that their passage sustained (Edmonds, 1998). In a very real sense, then,
the creation of local relations depended upon the domestication of exotic objects. How was this achieved in the
Early Neolithic of south-east and central Europe?
THE DOMESTICATION OF THE EXOTIC AND THE SACRED
Ways of dealing with the strange, the dangerous, the exotic and the sacred must have varied widely between
early farming communities. The geographical diversity of the Balkan Peninsula implies that the three zones
- local, other and foreign were perceived differently by communities living in different parts of south-east
Europe. Some communities lived in extensive plains like the Alfld, perhaps never seeing mountains in their
lives if they relied on face-to-face exchange with people in the other zone for desirable exotics. Others created
their worlds on islands such as Hvar or Korula, in river gorges on the Danube and near spectacular mountain
peaks, as with the Vratsa sites or the sites in the Bay of Volos - with all of the symbolic potential and varied
resources of such sea- and land-scapes (Erdogu, 2003). But resources were never a culturally neutral term
pertaining to economy or geology. For a Neolithic plains-dweller, a marine shell ornament presenced a mysteri-
ous and alien force - the sea - while the local gold-bearing alluvial sands remained a value-less part of her life
until new social demands and technologies made this a resource for her Late Copper Age descendants. Once
achieved, knowledge of the other and the foreign zones often led to a desire for its incorporation, through its
natural objects or their cultural products, into local lifeways.
In a previous paper (Chapman, 2003b: 77-79), the process of biological domestication was compared to
the metaphorical reproduction of objects as objectifications of persons. The main problem for locals seeking
to tame exotic objects in a domestic setting was outlined thus: how to neutralise the dangers of alien cultural
values and negative biographical associations with strangers, if not enemies from the other zone, while ensur-
ing the continuing visual attractiveness and symbolic potential of the thing? In that paper, no distinction was
made between exotic and sacred objects, but personal dangers from known enemies would have been replaced
by a more abstract sense of threat from remote sources to the greater and more mysterious powers of part of
that distant zone. The power relationships of persons remote or nearby were always commingled with object-
powers in the effects of things.
General accounts of domestication do not offer much help here: for example, Hodder posited domestication
as a metaphor for the control of society, but this was never related to trade and exchange (Hodder, 1990). Two
potential solutions may be considered for exotica: (a) the transformation of the object through its own rite of
passage; and (b) the translation of the objects core values so as to mesh with the local cultural order.
The first solution would require a liminal place for the rite of passage, perhaps the storage of the exotic
objects in a group on the margins of the settlement. This solution is poorly attested in the Balkan Early Neolithic,
with perhaps the sole example being the Kraljevo axe hoard (Ljami-Valovi, 1986).
The second solution for an exotic item required the mapping of the values of the other onto the cultural
values of the local community so that an inalienable relationship could be created. The details of this process
of negotiation would have changed with time and familiarity with exotic objects. Thus, the first sighting of a
polished greenstone frog would have posed questions of relating the alien to the familiar - questions concerned
with the symbolic significance of frogs and amphibians in relation to wild or domestic animals, land and water.
It would have been easier to incorporate subsequent gifts of greenstone frogs into the local cultural order. Here,
the linkage of specific historical details of the novel objects to what was already known of the other zone was
212
the first step in this process, by providing a context of relations into which the objects and their biographies
could have fitted. One means of achieving the translation was the narration of the objects own story in front of
the whole group, in which the long-distance specialist dramatised the passage of the exotic item into the local
community. For a sacred object, the only way to reduce its dangers to the community would have been a travel
narrative, in which the long-distance specialists own experiences of the voyage validated the objects increasing
loss of dangerous power as it moved away from its origins towards the home settlement.
Successful incorporation of exotic objects opened up a variety of potential uses for objects that were never
entirely rid of their strangeness and danger. The mid-life part of an objects biography remains the hardest part
for archaeologists to understand (Chapman and Gaydarska, 2006). In most cases of Early Neolithic exotic
objects, we have details of the depositional context. I turn now to the social potential for domesticated exotic
objects and consider their contexts of deposition.
Brilliant materials in context
The notable aspect of the exotic materials in early farming contexts is the high proportion of objects
distinguished by their brilliance and distinctive colour. This applies to both exotica and other sacred objects,
including the majority of lithic raw materials (table 1) and ground and polished stone (table 2), as well as the
marine shell Spondylus gaederopus (table 3) and all of the copper minerals (table 4). Unfortunately, not all of
the publications listing exotic lithics and stone axes specify the colour of the objects - a small link between
humanistic and scientific archaeology requiring constant attention. While there were clearly a large number
of colourful and shining objects made locally, not least the fine wares, the difference from local objects and
the dramatic presence of exotic objects must have made an enormous visual impression, especially when first
appearing in an appropriate performance before a suitably dazzled audience.
Although the number of sacred things in circulation was probably small in relation to the quantity of exotic
things, rarity increased their value so much that objects acquired from great distances (perhaps over 300-400
km) were transformed into inalienable things that could not be introduced into exchange practices. In early
farming communities, we would limit the identification of sacred objects to the following examples: nephrite
from the Orient; paligorskite from the Urals or Anatolia (Srejovi, 1969: 173 and Pl. X): Spondylus ornaments
and east Alpine axe rocks in eastern Hungary (Starnini and Szakmny, 1998: 326 and Table 6); and Carpathian
or Italian obsidian in Bosnia (Benac, 1973: 346; Sterud, 1978: 400).
In addition, many exotic objects were aesthetically pleasing, showing signs of skilled crafting. The delicate
polishing and faceting seen on many of the polished stone ornaments (the Glbnik nephrites, the Krdzhali
swastika, the Azmak marble figurine or the widespread miniature greenstone axes) betoken the skilled creation
of cultural order on a small scale, consistent with display, attachment to clothes, portability and use in a variety
of settings. The production of facets would have increased the number of reflective surfaces, thus increasing the
brilliance of the object (Skeates, pers. comm.). The production of the finely perforated stone beads at Lepenski
Vir and Gradeshnitsa shows the mastery of fine drill-work and polishing required to enhance costume display
(Srejovi, 1969: Pl. X; Nikolov, B. 1975: Obr. 16, 7a-b).
The rarity of exotic objects deposited in liminal areas has been noted above but, in fact, a wide variety of
other depositional contexts is attested (table 5). The commonest depositional context for all categories of exotic
and sacred objects (henceforth ESO) was the general settlement context, which combines the finding of an
object in the general cultural layer and in an unspecified settlement context. Insofar as this class of context is
the least closely connected to household spaces, we may assume that the finds have taken on an identity more
related to the overall community rather than a specific house. This is not the same with settlement pits, which
were generally related to a single house or group of houses. Exotic chipped stone was more common in pit
contexts than other classes of finds; the uncertainty over deposition of polished stone tools is an evidential
problem. The more intimate contexts of the household held far fewer associations with exotic objects, with
rather more Spondylus shell ornaments than for other finds classes.
These associations betoken a full domestication of the exotic item. A close relationship could have devel-
oped between a sacred object and members of the household, since sacred objects were often kept in specific
high-status households. Unusual personal identities may have been taken on by those few objects from the
foreign zone deposited as grave goods (e.g., Spondylus ornaments at Szolnok-Szanda and Endrd 119 [Raczky,
1982-1983; Makkay, 1990]). Here, the linkage to personal identity probably indicated a community leader
holding a sacred object on behalf of the whole community (for relative proportions of graves with grave goods
by cultural group, see fig. 2).
213
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O
U
S
E
F
I
N
D
G
R
A
V
E
F
I
N
D
216
The interesting negatives found in this study of depositional context concerned two contexts of primary ritual
significance for the social reproduction of the community - foundation pits and shafts/wells. So far, not one single
ESO has been found in a shaft or well, and only one exotic item - a single obsidian tool, was recovered from
a foundation pit dug beneath a house floor at Poineti. These exclusions of still marginally dangerous items of
remote origin indicate the care with which exotic objects were used and deposited in early farming contexts.
Two or more categories of ESO were deposited at eight of the Early Neolithic settlements (figs. 3-10).
There was no clear patterning in ESO deposition at these sites - only considerable variability.
In the pottery-dominated level IIIb of Lepenski Vir (fig. 3), most of the exotic objects were placed in ves-
sels to separate them from other, more common finds (Srejovi, 1969: 173).
For example, the necklace of paligorskite and Spondylus beads and pendants, together with some bone and
buccinium, was found in a Starevo pot placed near, but not inside, a house (Srejovi, 1969: Pl. X). Similarly, a
small vessel contained four small polished stone axes (Srejovi, 1969: Pl. XI). Another ornament hoard in a ves-
sel contained 66 white alabaster-like and 5 green jadeite-like tubular beads, 1 antler amulet with a carved animal
terminal, one bone button and 4 perforated snails - found in the upper part of a pit (Srejovi, 1969: 173). A similar
practice concerned the imported pre-Balkan platform flint blades and cores, a high proportion of which was placed
in vessels. There is no clear information regarding the depositional circumstances of obsidian. An exception to this
general pattern is that the azurite and malachite pieces were found in the excavation layer, not in pits or vessels.
The four exotic objects deposited at Obre I, Bosnia (Benac, 1973: 347-359) were grouped into two op-
posing pairs: copper and obsidian from the lands to the north east placed on a yard floor, Spondylus and an
amber pendant from the maritime zone to the south west constituting grave goods (fig. 4). The spatial contrasts
emphasised the different source zones for the items and the exchange networks through which they travelled
to the site. However, were Steruds (1978: 400) claim to be upheld by scientific analysis, the obsidian at Obre
I may also have been derived from the maritime zone to the south-west.
A different set of contrasts was found at the Early Neolithic settlement in Krdzhali, Eastern Rhodopes
(Pekov, 1972) (fig. 5). One chipped stone tool from the other zone was placed in a grave as the sole grave
offering, while a Spondylus ornament and the famous nephrite swastika (Pekov, 1972: fig. 2) were both de-
posited in the settlement layer.
EXOTIC METALS IN EARLY FARMING CONTEXTS
SZARVAS 23 MALACHITE FRAGMENTS ZMAJEVAC MALACHITE FRAGMENTS
Gornea Fish-hook Lepenski Vir III Copper and Azurite beads
Balomir Awl
OBRE I COPPER (FOUND + OBSIDIAN)
other' Zone Iernut Lump of Copper
SETTLEMENT PIT FIND
SETTLEMENT
(GENERAL)
FIND
Table 4 - The contexts of exotic metal in early farming settlements.
EXOTICA BY TYPE OF CONTEXT
CHIPPED STONE X XXX X XXX X X (XX)
POL. STONE
TOOLS
X X X XXX X XX
POL. STONE
ORNAMENTS
- X X XXX X XX
SPONDYLUS - X X XXX XX XX
METAL - X - X - -
HOUSE GRAVE LANDSCAPE SETTLEMENT PIT
POT IN
SETTLEMENT
SETTLEMENT
(GENERAL)
Table 5 - The contexts of exotica by class of context.
other Zone
217
Fig. 2 - Relative frequencies of Early Neolithic burials with and without grave goods: percentage (top), number
(bottom).
WITH 11 15 20
WITHOUT 119 95 49
KRS STAREVO KARA I/KREM.
Two adjacent Krs settlements in the parish of Endrd provided very different patterns of ESO deposition.
The main opposition at the larger Site 39 (fig. 6) consisted of a hoard of conjoint lithics from the north or east,
placed in a pit, with Alpine rocks for axe-heads from far to the west found in the cultural layer. By contrast,
at the 2-house Site 119 (fig. 7), all of the lithics were deposited in the cultural layer while only the Spondylus
ornaments were placed in a pit (Paluch, 2007). This marked variation in principles of ESO deposition at two
sites less than 1 km apart shows the importance of local rules of engagement with exotic objects.
218
Szarvas 23 (fig. 8) is one of the few sites where each of the different classes of exotic objects was deposited
in a different kind of context - malachite in a settlement pit, an amphibolite axe in a grave and obsidian in the
cultural layer (Paluch, 2007).
A more differentiated picture comes from the larger-scale excavations at Gura Baciului, in Transylvania (fig.
9), where many classes of exotic objects were found (Lazarovici and Maxim, 1995). Grave goods consisted of
ground stone and chipped stone objects from the other zone, as well as the bone of a steppe ass, Equus asinus
hydruntinus, presumably brought in from the west Pontic steppe zone to the east (cf. Spassov and Iliev, 2002).
Different houses contained Banat flint, axe-heads made of material from the other zone and north Carpathian
obsidian, while Spondylus ornaments were found in the cultural layer. A final, probably local, oddity concerns
the fossil sea-urchin found in a grave, underlining the point that not all exotics derived from remote regions
(Nandris, pers. comm.).
Finally, the nephrite ornaments at Glbnik were found in the same house as the well-known ornament
hoard (Chokadzhiev, 1990) that also contained Spondylus ornaments (fig. 10). Ruslan Kostov (Kostov and
Fig. 4 - The context of exotic deposition at Obre I. Fig. 3 - The context of exotic deposition at Lepenski Vir III.
Fig. 6 - The context of exotic deposition at Endrd 39. Fig. 5 - The context of exotic deposition at Krdzhali.
KRDZHALI
ENDRD 39
Fig. 7 - The context of exotic deposition at Endrd 119. Fig. 8 - The context of exotic deposition at Szarvas 23.
ENDRD
219
Bakamska, 2004) once claimed that this nephrite derived from far to the east - possibly as far as Afghanistan
- but now, on the basis of the high density of finds of nephrite axes in the nearby Early Neolithic settlement of
Kovachevo (perhaps 25% of all polished stone axes), he thinks that the nephrite has a local, south west Balkan
source (Kostov, pers. comm. 2007). The marble figurine found in the cultural layer is equally local in origin.
The diversity of depositional practices among early farming communities is underlined when we scrutinise
the mortuary zone. With one exception (the lithics from the other zone at both Gura Baciului and Krdzhali), the
exotic grave good in each grave with such finds was different from the material in all other such graves. Perusal
of a specific class of exotic material suggests the same diversity: Spondylus ornaments were found in a grave
at Obre I, a house at Glbnik, a settlement pit at Endrd 119, a vessel placed in the cultural layer at Lepenski
Vir III and the cultural layers themselves at Krdzhali and Gura Baciului. These findings suggest that different
communities had found different solutions to the problem of domesticating untamed exotic objects, through
depositional practices that constituted a summary of the life-course of each object since its domestication.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The exchange and/or acquisition of small numbers of sacred items from the foreign zone and rather larger
numbers of exotic things from the Other zone by the earliest farmers of the Karanovo I/II, Kremikovci, Starevo,
Cri and Krs regional groups of the Early Neolithic enriched the new visual identity for this period emerging
from the striking colours and brilliance of fine painted, slipped and burnished pottery. Whether local, exotic or
sacred in origin, many of the major artefact classes contributed to this identity - most of all pottery, because of
its numerical preponderance in the household and the settlement but also polished stone ornaments and tools,
animal and human bone, burnt things, marine shell ornaments of Spondylus gaederopus and objects made of
copper or copper minerals.
These objects extended both the colour spectrum and the range of shine of the foraging world (Bori, 2002),
as well as creating differentiation of colour and polish in visual culture (Skeates, 2005). Increasing numbers of
coloured and shining objects broadened the possibilities for metaphorical links between objects with the same
colour - whether the red of the copper awls, the burnished red bowls and the autumn leaves or the green of
the malachite beads, the nephrite sceptres and fresh vernal growth. This visualisation of the symbolic proper-
ties of exotic objects manifested in distinctive colours and polished textures created a public and spontaneous
excitement that linked such objects an their owners to the numinous and the remote - perhaps to the world
of the ancestors? It was the creation of new relations through the materialisation of colour and brilliance that
constituted an active and dynamic part of, in Whittles (1996) telling sub-title, the making of new worlds in
the Early Neolithic. In this way, the process of enchaining people, persons and places through the acquisition
and/or exchange of complete or fragmentary objects made a major contribution to the package of Neolithic
innovations and their individual histories.
The problem of how to domesticate exotic objects, at once dangerous and attractive, was one that stimulated
many different particular responses in the wide range of Early Neolithic communities under study. But overall
similarities in the range of different social practices can be discerned. The main principle is that, rather than
transforming exotic items through rites of passage in liminal areas on settlement margins, most exotic objects
went through a process of translation in which the alien and strange values that they embodied were mapped
Fig. 9 - The context of exotic deposition at Gura Baciului. Fig. 10 - The context of local and exotic deposition at
Glbnik.
220
onto the cultural values of the home community. A travel narrative demonstrating the personal links between
the sacred object and the long-distance specialist was probably essential for the domestication of these sacred
objects.
A detailed study of the depositional context of exotic objects indicated that stone and shell ornaments were
more frequently found in general settlement units than in the more intimate household contexts. In addition, all
classes of exotic objects, except metals, were used to amplify the message of strangeness in the death of a loved
one during the process of domestication in the mortuary domain. Thirdly and tellingly, exotic objects were al-
most always excluded from ritual contexts vital for the social reproduction of early farming communities. While
partial domestication of exotic objects, through partial familiarisation with local cultural values, was achieved
in many ways and in many places, some of the core ritual practices of Balkan Early Neolithic societies plainly
excluded exotic objects even when domesticated, seemingly because their otherness prevented assimilation into
the core cultural values of local communities. The creation of a new aesthetic of colour and shine in the Balkan
Peninsula and the Danube basin led to tensions with a co-emerging ritual core of these societies rooted in local
practices of the digging of foundation-pits and deep shafts. It would not be until the mature farming period that
these tensions would find partial resolution in new forms of ritual and a new emphasis on dark colours. But the
rise in popularity of burnished and polished wares with dark, often black, surface colours is another story, to
be narrated in a different set of cultural contexts (Chapman, 2006).
Acknowledgements
I should like to thank the conference organisers - Michela Spataro, Steve Shennan and Paolo Biagi - for their kind invitation to con-
tinue my own Short Walk through the Balkans in the company of such a convivial and stimulating group of friends and colleagues;
it was pleasant to chew the fat with every one of them but an especial pleasure to discuss matters Balkanic and Carpathian with John
Nandris, Kornelia Minichreiter, Eszter Bnffy and Alasdair Whittle. I am very grateful to Jnos Makkay for allowing me to utilise
unpublished data on Krs mortuary practices from his forthcoming Gyomaendrd volumes and to Ivana Radovanovi for informa-
tion about Lepenski Vir. Thanks are due, too, to Andy Jones for his invitation to write something much longer on trade and exchange
in European prehistory and to Nikola Tasi for his invitation to me to contribute to the Milutin Garaanin In Memoriam volume: this
chapter has benefited from both of these texts, from which it subsequently took off to become an independent entity. Robin Skeates
also provided very helpful comments on a draft of this text. I am also grateful to Ruslan Kostov for many interesting discussions about
Neolithic gemmology. But my deepest thanks go to my wife, Bisserka Gaydarska, for discussions of the ideas in the chapter and her
graphics skill in producing the illustrations.
221
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Authors Address:
JOHN CHAPMAN, Department of Archaeology, University of Durham, South Road UK - DURHAM DH1 3LE
e-mail: j.c.chapman@dur.ac.uk
223
ESZTER BNFFY
*
, IMOLA JUHSZ
*
and PL SMEGI
**
A PRELUDE TO THE NEOLITHIC IN THE BALATON REGION:
NEW RESULTS TO AN OLD PROBLEM
SUMMARY - A prelude to the Neolithic in the Balaton region: new results to an old problem. Opposite to an old thesis, according to
which the Neolithic in the Carpathian Basin developed without any significant participation by the local hunter-foragers, quite another
picture is presently emerging. This paper phocuses on Mid-Transdanubia, which is delimited by Lake Balaton and its ancient marshy
surroundings. The authors collected all the available data concerning the pre-Neolithic and Early Neolithic periods of this region (7
th
-6
th

millennia cal BC): archaeological (settlement structures, material culture remains) and palaeoenvironmental (geoarchaeological, palaeo-
hydrologiocal, archaeobotanical and malacological). The results provide some indications of a contact zone where both the immigrant
Starevo, Early Neolithic people and the local hunter-foragers might have participated in the formation of the Central European LBK.
RIASSUNTO - Preludio al Neolitico nella regione del Balaton: nuovi risultati su di un vecchio problema. Contrariamente a quanto
sinora sostenuto, vale a dire che il Neolitico del Bacino dei Carpazi si svilupp senza unimportante partecipazione degli aborigeni cac-
ciatori-raccoglitori, il quadro che le nuove ricerche rivelano del tutto diverso. Questo lavoro riguarda la Transdanubia centrale, in cui
si trova il Lago Balaton che, in tempi preistorici, era circondato da ambienti paludosi. Gli autori hanno raccolto una quantit di dati sul
Neolitico della regione e i periodi immediatamente precedenti (settimo-sesto millennio cal BC), sia di carattere archeologico (strutture
insediamentali, reperti della cultura materiale), sia paleoambientale (geoarcheologici, paleoidrologici, archeobotanici e malacologici).
I risultati hanno restituito alcune indicazioni riguardanti la presenza di una zona di contatto in cui i primi Neolitici della Cultura di
Starevo e i locali cacciatori-raccoglitori interagirono, partecipando alla formazione della Cultura della Ceramica Lineare dellEuropa
centrale (LBK).
INTRODUCTION
Although the Carpathian Basin seems to be a unified area during the Neolithic transition, there are remark-
able differences in the process between the Alfld and Transdanubia (fig. 1).
In the Early Neolithic of eastern Hungary, in the Alfld region, the appearance of the Krs Culture can
be interpreted as a large-scale immigration, and there are many signs of Mesolithic-Neolithic discontinuity
(Domborczki, 2001; 2005). The recent analyses conducted at some of the earliest Linearbandkeramik (LBK)
sites along the Upper Tisza, i.e. the northern fringes of the Alfld, the overwhelming Krs tradition seems
to be evident, while hardly any other impact can be detected in the archaeological material (Zoffmann, 2000;
Domborczki, 2003). Similarly, in the course of our three years programme of palaeoenvironmental research,
scarce hints indicated a pronounced existence of any pre-Neolithic population (e.g. Smegi and Gulys,
2004).
In the northwestern Alfld, close to the Danube, there is a small but famous Mesolithic area. The Jszsg
district yielded Mesolithic sites, among which some belong to the late aspects, but none of the transitional
period (Kertsz et al., 1994; Kertsz, 1994a; 1996). Nevertheless, the Krs Culture, over 1000 settlements
of which are known in the Alfld, which is also intensively present between the Tisza and the Danube, with its
immense amount of pottery, has not been so far discovered in the Jszsg. It seems that the Neolithisation of
this important Mesolithic region (Kertsz, 1993; 1994a; 1994b; 1996; Kertsz et al., 1994; 1995) followed a
scenario different from that of the Alfld (Domborczki, 2001). It is also known that the area was occupied by
developed LBK farmers, not by the Alfld variant. The Transdanubian Keszthely and Zseliz sites densely cover
Michela Spataro and Paolo Biagi (edited by)
A Short Walk through the Balkans: the First Farmers of the Carpathian Basin and Adjacent Regions
Societ Preistoria Protostoria Friuli-V.G., Trieste, Quaderno 12, 2007: 223-237

** Archaeological Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary

** Department of Geology and Palaeontology, University of Szeged, Hungary
224
the hilly region east of the Danube, up to the Zagyva River, which is the heart of the Jszsg (almost 50 sites are
known between the Danube and the Galga-Zagyva and upper Tpi Rivers: Torma, 1993). Recently, an early
Transdanubian LBK site was identified at Galgahvz (Kalicz, 2002), a fact that may urge the prehistorians to
ask how the hitherto largest Mesolithic (i.e. pre-Neolithic) series of sites encountered the Neolithic immigrants
and the food production package, if they ever did. In case there was a contact between the Jsztelek I type Late
Mesolithic groups surviving into the Neolithic period, may they have met the late Krs-early Alfld LBK
groups spreading from the southeast, or the early Transdanubian LBK groups reaching the Jszsg area from
the west?
By comparison with the dense Krs sites distribution in eastern Hungary, the Early Neolithic Starevo
settlements in Transdanubia (western Hungary) are badly represented (Kalicz, 1990). So far less than twenty
sites are known in south Transdanubia, and until recently only four of them could be undoubtedly attributed to
the latest, Spiraloid B, phase: Kaposvr, Dombovr, Becsehely and Harc. More recently, the number of these
latter sites doubled: Babarc, Vrs, Gellnhza, Tihany (Simon, 1996; Kalicz et al., 1998; Bnffy, 2001; Reg-
enye, in press). Three of them lie outside of the hypothesized Starevo distribution area. Tihany is particularly
important because it lies along the northern coast of Lake Balaton, facing the Szentgl flint mine in the Balaton
Upland. Gellnhza is also a crucial site, because it marks the Western Transdanubia contact zone.
Nevertheless, while all the data so far available seem to point to a Mesolithic-Starevo interaction zone
(Bnffy, 2004: 328-352), we have to accept that there are almost no identified traces of Mesolithic presence
in the area. In the last few years, however, a complementary help has been offered by environmental research.
According to these results we believe that the absence of archaeological evidence may be considered a lack of
research rather than evidence (Zatyk et al., in press).
After the researches carried out in northeastern Hungary (Smegi and Gulys, 2004; Gl et al., 2005;
2006), these data, which indicate the presence of a Transdanubian pre-Neolithic population, that must have
been far more dense than in the Alfld, are surprising. In the following pages, we summarise the results of the
new researches, complemented by the archaeological data that also speak in favour of a contact zone during
the transitional period.
Fig. 1 - The Carpathian Basin in the Early/Middle Neolithic (6
th
millennium cal BC).
225

1
The radiocarbon dates from Debrecen laboratory were calibrated using the INTCAL98 data set (Stuiver et al., 1998) and the pro-
gram OxCal v. 3.9 (Bronk Ramsey, 1995; 1998).
THE NEW DATA
Traces of pre-Neolithic forest clearance and burning were observed at Szentgyrgyvlgy near the site
Pityerdomb. Soil samples taken from the waterlogged, marshy banks of the Szentgyrgy stream indicated an
intensive intentional forest burning around 877154 uncal BP; 7936-7821 cal BC at 1 sigma (Deb-5018)
1
. Both
the burnt organic matter and the small-scale erosion in the area, suggest that forest burning was repeated every
some 15-30 years (Cserny and Nagy-Bodor, 2006: 161).
Srrt, waterlogged area (fig. 2). After the investigations led by C. Willis (1997) at Ndasdladny, new
borings were made at Srkeszi (Smegi, in press a). The profile yielded several data referring to a pre-Neolithic
population in the area (Smegi, 2003; 2004), with a transitional charcoal maximum, interpreted as deriving from
intentional burning, while the vegetation is typical for a lacustrine, lakeshore area (Juhsz, in press). Indeed,
around 863760 uncal BP; 7740-7580 cal BC at 1 sigma (Deb-3579) (Smegi, 2003) a clear, some 1 m deep,
freshwater lake (possibly 3 m deep in the centre, according to the molluscs), developed in the area (fig. 3). Ac-
cording to the malacological evidence, Valvata piscinalis became dominant, a species which exclusively likes
Fig. 2 - The Srrt area, northeast of Lake Balaton.
clear moving water with a high oxygen content, streams or lacustrine areas with wavy coasts (Smegi, 2003:
378). In the light of this ecological situation, two bone harpoons are particularly important. They both were
found in this area from the calcareous mud layer at Csr and Ndasdladny (Marosi, 1935; 1936) (fig. 4). One
was unfortunately lost in the Szkesfehrvr Museum, but the other was kept, together with an unpublished third
find: a roe-deer antler found at the same spot (Marton, pers. comm. 2005). Along the sides of the antler there
is a small cut mark, which might indicate that this object was used as a tool. The two harpoons were attributed
to the Mesolithic on the basis of their typology; the roe deer bone justifies this attribution. Knowing the latest
226
results of the geological, malacological and pollen analyses, these finds can be most probably referred to the
lacustrine and peat development period. Both these finds will be AMS radiocarbon-dated (project underway
by R. Kertsz and T. Marton). It is important to point out that after 834983 uncal BP; 7530-7320 cal BC at 1
sigma (Deb-3501) (Smegi, 2003), a sudden increase in Corylus took place (Willis, 1997), with a second wave
at 687455 uncal BP; 5840-5710 cal BC at 1 sigma (Deb-3498) (Smegi, 2003), again with a very high Corylus
ratio in the pollen profiles. In the latest Srrt pollen profile (Juhsz, in press), hazel slightly increases between
7100-6500 cal BP. In the case of Zalavr pollen core (Juhsz, 2005), one can notice two or three Corylus pollen
peaks. The first is dated to 7530110 uncal BP; 6460-6260 cal BC at 1 sigma (Gif-10245), the second immedi-
ately after this date, and the third to 726040 uncal BP; 6200-6060 cal BC at 1 sigma (Ly-11223). These sudden
Corylus avellana pollen rises (from 10 to 30% and latter from 31 to 50%) are probably due to the collection of
hazelnut (Juhsz, 2004: 216-217).
These results indicate Mesolithic human activity, although not at a late date. According to our expectations
the harpoon and the roe deer antler tool also fit into this not too late Mesolithic period. Their proposed Mesolithic
attribution is based on the layer where the harpoons were found, and their typological characteristics:
1) Marosi (1936: 83) describes in detail the layer where the harpoons were found, immediately below the 1.50 m
thick peat deposit. Most probably it is the same greyish-white calcareous mud layer observed during the geologi-
cal investigations, dated to a period, which
can be attributed to the Mesolithic (Smegi,
2003: 375);
2) on the basis of their typological char-
acteristics, they cannot be attributed to the
Neolithic or later periods, because they
are made from antler and their barbs are
very different from those of the Neolithic
specimens. The Carpathian Neolithic har-
poons are thoroughly studied and published
(Zalai-Gal, 2004 with further literature).
Furthermore there are a few other analo-
gies, e.g. from Przemysl II (Kozowski,
1977). According to the characteristics of
this latter find it seems that the Srrt speci-
mens are to be attributed to a period prior to
the Neolithic (Marton, pers. comm. 2006).
In spite of this, in case the problem of the
mere presence of the Mesolithic populaton
is challenged, there is an important result,
offered by the Srrt marshland sediment
(table 1).
Fig. 3 - Reconstruction of the Srrt Lake
in the Mesolithic period.
Fig. 4 - Harpoon from the Srrt area (after Marosi, 1936, redrawn by T.
Marton).
227
Table 1 - Radiocarbon dates from the Srrt district cored sediments (Molnr et al., in press)
3) the cores made near Balatonederics (Smegi, in press) and Zalavr (fig. 5). The profiles for palaeoecologi-
cal analyses were sampled for palynological (Juhsz, 2005; in press b) and, in the case of Balatonederics, also
macrobotanical investigations (Jakab et al., 2005) and radiocarbon dating. A pre-Neolithic human impact can
be observed in the profile (Sznt et al., in press) (table 2).
Material uncal BP cal BC at 1 sigma Lab. number
Pisidium shells 392040 2470-2340 Deb-10916
Pisidium shells 416060 2880-2660 Deb-10914
Lacustrine chalk 525080 4230-3970 Deb-10926
Lacustrine chalk 589080 4850-4610 Deb-10923
Pisidium shells 9920110 9610-9240 Deb-10924
Pisidium shells 10,00050 9610-9310 Poz-7975
Table 2 - Radiocarbon dates from the cores made near Balatonederics.
An increase of the herbaceous vegetation (Poaceae, Asteraceae and Artemisia) parallel to a transitional
decrease of beech (Fagus), is followed by a transitional peak of hazel (Corylus) around 760070 uncal BP;
6510-6380 cal BC (Deb-11122), possibly due to human interference. The occurrence of willow (Salix), alder
(Alnus) and ash (Fraxinus) suggests the presence of a gallery forest. Later, a second transitional decrease of
Fagus (beech) parallel to a minor and transitional peak in hornbeam (Carpinus) and hazel (Corylus) can be
noticed (Juhsz, in press). It was radiocarbon-dated to 690090 uncal BP; 5880-5660 cal BC (Deb-11333)
(Sznt et al., in press).
The pollen profiles of the Balaton and the marshland of the Little Balaton region indicate that there was a
rapid increase of hazel in the early 6
th
millennium cal BC (Juhsz, 2002), and that over one-half (55%) of the
arboreal species was hazel around 6000 cal BC (Fzes, 1989: 143), a the period immediately preceding the
Neolithisation. Together with traces of human impact, the archaeobotanical analyses have shown that south-
western Transdanubia was a hazel refugium during the last glaciation and that hazel spread to other parts of
the Carpathian Basin from this area (Gardner, 1998; Tinner and Lotter, 2001). The sudden expansion of the
above species can hardly be explained without assuming a human manipulation of the environment. It seems
likely that the growth of hazel was encouraged by forest clearance, by the creation of small clearings where
this warmth-loving species, yielding storable fruit with a high nutritional value, could thrive. The increase of
cereal pollens is accompanied by the decline of hazel. Hazel is a typical taxon of the southeastern deciduous
and central European rich soil thickets, and also of the deciduous thickets of western Europe and western and
northern central Europe communities. It has an important role in the deciduous pre- and post-forest formation;
it is characteristic of forest edges, hedges and woodland recolonization and developes on soils relatively rich
in nutrients, neutral or calcareous, substitution communities (Fzes, 1989: 143; Juhsz, 2002).
It is to be pointed out that this is the area where an almost intact boat, a coracle, was found some decades
ago. This coracle unfortunately perished and thus could not be examined by the present authors (Bakay et al.,
1966: 76), but it demonstrates that the area was formerly covered with water that later became a marshland.
Depth in cm uncal BP cal BC at 1 sigma Lab. number
124.5 509070 3970-3790 Deb-11325
204.5 690090 5880-5660 Deb-11333
278.0 760070 6510-6380 Deb-11122
364.5 908090 8450-8200 Deb-11330
228
The palaeopedological and archaeobotanical analyses have shown that the area became eutrophic before the
advent of the Neolithic (Jask, 1947; Nagy-Bodor and Cserny, 1997a: 99-100). The boat was undoubtedly
utilised when the shoreline was there, thus the find spot of the boat was an open water-basin, before the end
of the Mesolithic.
Thus, a series of palaeoenvironmental data clearly indicate the occurrence of a pre-Neolithic population
in Transdanubia. This situation allows the archaeologist, no option but to seek for any hints of pre-Neolithic
evidence, either in the Mesolithic period or in the form of Mesolithic impact in the latest Starevo and the
earliest LBK phases.
4) As regards the earliest settlement pattern around Lake Balaton, the hydrological changes provide us with
a starting point. The sedimentological and palynological analyses confirmed the observation based on satel-
lite photos: the water level and the lake shoreline changed considerably over time. In some periods, the lake
broke into three or four smaller lakes with clear, cold water; when the climate turned warmer and wetter, the
natural dams were breached and even the northern Tapolca Basin became part of the lake (Jakab et al., 2005).
During these periods, the lake flooded the north-south valleys on its southern shore down to the Kapos River,
occasionally as far as the Drava Valley (Cserny, 1992-1993; 1999; Nagy-Bodor and Cserny, 1997b; Cserny
and Nagy-Bodor, 1999). The lakeshore was lined with marshlands even in drier periods. In the Roman Age,
for example (Lamb, 1982: 148-151; Grynaeus, 2004: 93-94; Serlegi, in press) the road led along the side of
Badacsony, since it was unsafe to construct it closer to the lake. The water level of the lake was fairly low at
the close of the Mesolithic (7
th
millennium? cal BC) (Smegi et al., 2004: 24), rising significantly just before
the advent of the first Neolithic settlement (Jakab et al., 2005: 405-431).
5) It follows that the Late Mesolithic encampments, which might have existed along the lakeshore are now
submerged. However, a closer look at the location of the earliest Neolithic sites around the lake shows that
they are distributed all along the changed shoreline, which was even higher than the present one. The earliest
Neolithic sites, presently located at a certain distance from the lakeshore, were originally in the marshland or
on islands in the marshland. This settlement pattern, broadly corresponds to the Mesolithic one. It may reflect
Fig. 5 - The pollen profile of Zalavr.
229
the unchanged subsistence of the surviving local foragers, who, after meeting the earliest Starevo groups,
complemented their diet with a small amount of domesticated cereals. All these settlements are located in
areas unsuitable for agriculture. Their pottery is a first attempt at LBK (Bnffy, 2004: 336-345) (figs. 6 and
7). Therefore, it is possible (although it is not the only plausible assumption) that most of the sixty-five settle-
ments along the shore in the marshland had been occupied by adapting Mesolithic hunter-fisher communities,
and that small groups of Balkan immigrants settled in this area under their influence. If this was the case, part
of the lost Mesolithic population has been found. This scenario also implies that the relationship between the
Starevo and the indigenous populations was peaceful.
6) The macrobotanic finds from this period are also remarkable with their different species of domestic plants
and meanwhile a very low number of plant remains. In spite of the fact that the settlements lay in an environ-
ment that was unfavourable for cultivation, the macrobotanical remains from the earliest phase indicate a variety
of cereal species. In addition to einkorn (Triticum monococcum) and emmer (Triticum dicoccum), the samples
from Pityerdomb include common wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare), as well as edible
goosefoot (Chenopodium album) (Berzsnyi and Dlnoki, in press). The number of remains is low for each
species, never exceeding twenty specimens. This might suggest that the extent of cultivation in western Trans-
danubia and the Balaton region did not exceed the possible Mesolithic type horticulture - the range of plants
cultivated and tended in the open areas between the houses and in the narrow zone along the shore was simply
complemented with the species adopted from the Starevo communities together with the art of cultivation
(Zlyomi, 1980; 1995; Fzes, 1989; Medzihradszky et al., 1996; Nagy et al., 1999; Medzihradszky, 2001;
Juhsz, 2002). Although the introduction of domestic cereals brought a qualitative change, this did not lead to
a quantitative change in the subsistence in this formative phase.
7) The second half of and part of the answer to this problem lies in the loess Marcal Valley of northern Trans-
danubia. Recent palynological investigatons at Csgle and Mezlak (Juhsz, 2002; Juhsz and Szegvri, in
press), can most likely be correlated with the establishment of Neolithic settlements on the loessy soils, on the
basis of the known radiocarbon dates (5500-4800 cal BC). This is exactly the period of the developed LBK
Keszthely group. Independently from these results, the archaeological survey indicated that the break-through to
a food producing society must have taken place in the classical, Keszthely LBK phase, as demonstrated by the
abundance of sites of this aspect along the loessic area of the Marcal Valley. A third type of analysis, indicating
a sudden change in the chipped stone assemblages and tools at the beginning of this phase, also harmonizes
with these phenomena, with the decreasing number and percentage of various types to mainly sickle blades
(Bir, 2001a; 2002). This basic change in the subsistence economy must have happened in the developed LBK
phase in Transdanubia.
8) Following these data, the presence of Mesolithic chipped stone tools types can be interpreted as integral to
the Neolithisation process. The region around the Szentgl mine, north of Lake Balaton, is rich in microlithic
trapezes and other types of Late Mesolithic tools (Mszros, 1948; Dobosi, 1972; Bir and Regenye, 1991:
348-349). They were collected during field surveys, which makes their cultural attribution questionable. Still,
their probable attribution, based on their typological traits was not challenged either by Gy. Mszros and R.
Pusztai, who published the finds, or by V.T. Dobosi, K.T. Bir, R. Kertsz and T. Marton, who all examined
the lithics in question (Marton, 2003).
2

A closer examination of these stone artefacts revealed traces of sickle gloss on a few pieces. Three possible
explanations can be cited: 1) the sickle gloss can be attributed to their use in Mesolithic horticulture as a result
of cutting grass or herbs; 2) the lithics came from an Early Linear Pottery settlement preceding the occupation
in the classical phase; 3) or the tools represent the survival of the diverse Mesolithic tool-kit. According to K.T.
Bir (1987; 1998; 2001a; 2002b; 2006) the third possibility can be definitely ruled out, while both the first two
explanations might be valid. In the first case, we can assume an indigenous group already familiar, to a certain
extent, with Neolithic innovations; while the second would imply a mixed population whose subsistence was
in part based still on hunting and fishing, this being the reason why the stone tools needed for these activities
were still used. The rich Mesolithic tool-kit: microlithic forms, the predominance of flakes and microscrap-
ers thus survived into the Early Linear Pottery period. As reported by K.T. Bir (2001: 90-91 notes) Lithic

2
To my knowledge, the only specialist, who challenges the Mesolithic character of these assemblages, including Kaposhomok, is
E. Starnini (2000: 209; 2002: 175-176). Concerning this site, there are some new results. In a recent study, the re-analysis of the
finds has clarified the attribution of some pieces (Marton, 2003). The Mesolithic character of the Kaposhomok assemblage was
acknowledged by Kozowski and Kozowski (1983: fig. 2 B-B), who first attributed it to the Tardigravettien a trapezes, and
again by Kozowski (2005). Further studies attribute the Kaposhomok finds to the Mesolithic (Kertsz, 1993; Kozowski, 2001).
.
230
Fig. 6 - Earliest pottery from the Balaton upland: Starevo features from Rezi (after Sgi and Trcsik, 1991).
231
Fig. 7 - Earliest pottery from the Balaton upland: oldest LBK features from Tapolca (after Sgi and Trcsik, 1989).
232
industry of the Early Neolithic must have been more rich and varied than expected, more than the seemingly
autarchic and simplistic classical LBK material. An interesting observation is that the disappearance of this
tool-kit coincided with the changes in the settlement patterns and subsistence at the beginning of the Keszthely
phase, the period when the occupants of the Transdanubian settlements began to utilise the more simple range
of tools, which generally characterise the Linear Pottery Cultures, which is restricted to sickle blades and a few
other types (end scrapers and abrupt retouch borers) (Bir, 1991; 2001a; 2002a; 2002b).
The Kapos Valley and the Vzsony Basin, around Lake Balaton, near the Szentgl mine, are very rich in
finds of this type (Mszros, 1948; Pusztai, 1957; Dobosi, 1972; Marton, 2003). All the Mesolithic stone tools
examined to date were made from Bakony mountains red radiolarite. More recently, a tool made from the same
raw material came to light under well-documented circumstances at Regly, during an excavation in the Kapos
Valley (Bnffy et al., in press; Eichmann et al., in press). Most probably, the mine and the routes leading to
it, were controlled by groups who traded this valuable rock for other useful commodities and important new
knowledge, perhaps including cereal seeds and the young offspring of domestic animals. The use of Szentgl
raw material by Starevo groups, well before the emergence of the Linear Pottery Culture, indicates that the
Szentgl mine was not a common property. The location of this important raw material source was not part of
a common knowledge, neither was it freely exploited by all the groups (Lithotheca Database).
All the different above-mentioned types of evidence indicate that, in the 6
th
millennium cal BC, western
Transdanubia and the Balaton region represented a frontier or a contact zone between the indigenous Mesolithic
population (of which little is known, although the evidence of its existence grows every year) and the Neolithic
Starevo groups spreading from the south and south-east. The geographical and ecological conditions of the
region undoubtedly played a role in the development of this frontier.
Geographical conditions in Transdanubia, especially in the Balaton region, were conducive to the emer-
gence of a contact zone. The dissection of this hilly region by the large lake and the north-south river valleys,
contributed to slow the process of diffusion and stimulated interaction with the indigenous groups. This zone
also represents an ecological barrier, the Central European-Balkanic agro-ecological barrier, to use a new term
(Smegi and Kertsz, 2001: 412-414 and fig. 5). Strong sub-Mediterranean influences, providing favourable
habitats for Balkan flora and fauna associations, can be noted south of this imaginary line, while mixed oceanic
elements predominate to its north, with increasing continental elements to its east. The mosaic patterning of
the environment in the Carpathian Basin, the refugia preserving Carpathian and Illyrian elements, emerged at
the beginning of the Holocene (Smegi, 1995; 1996; 1999). This mosaic patterning can be observed on macro,
meso- and, most important, on micro-level. Holocene profiles, from which radiocarbon dates are available,
indicate that this mosaic patterning remained virtually unchanged until the shift to a production economy and
that it was eventually destroyed by Neolithisation and the increasing human manipulation of the environment
(Smegi et al., 2002: 19-20). The changes are undoubtedly reflected in the entire floral and faunal spectrum,
and they obviously influenced the range of plants that could be successfully cultivated, as well as the range of
domestic species that could be kept. The north-south dissectedness also contributed to the mosaic patterning
of the ecosytem, in which the river valleys, the green corridors (Smegi, 1999; Kertsz and Smegi, 1999;
Smegi and Kertsz, 2001) played a key role, stimulating population movement and interaction between dif-
ferent groups.
It is perhaps too early to speculate on the different phases of interaction since, owing to the patchiness of
the evidence on the Mesolithic, even the assumed interaction between the two populations contains a number
of hypothetical elements. Still, the study of the Mesolithic-Neolithic interaction in Transdanubia will no doubt
be very instructive with the increase of the body of available data. These are some of the phases described by
scholars and ethnologists studying group behaviour (Sahlins, 1972; Van De Velde, 1979). It is to be hoped
that prehistorians studying the Neolithisation of the Carpathian Basin will some day have sufficient evidence
to raise and, more importantly, answer these questions.
The indigenous Mesolithic groups were part of the mobile hunter-fisher-gatherer population whose remains
have been found in the Srrt district, Vzsony Basin, in the Northern Balaton coast, Little Balaton region,
in the Kapos Valley and in the Szentgyrgyvlgy area. The interaction between the two populations probably
meant that the two distinct lifestyles and sets of values acted as a stimulus, while their mutual reliance on each
other no doubt contributed to the minimalizaton of possible conflicts, promoting a peaceful co-existence or
even joint occupation of settlements.
To briefly sum up, the eastern and western half of the Central Carpathian Basin shows strong differences in
the density of pre-Neolithic population and, consequently, in the form of the Neolithisation. Palaeoenvironmental
analyses and archaeological research show little evidence of Mesolithic impact on the Early Neolithic cultures,
233
in the northern Alfld. The exception is the Jszsg region, but we may suspect that it had closer affinity with
Transdanubia than with the Tisza region.
On the other hand, the new investigations in the Balaton region and in western Transdanubia show a much
more intensive pre-Neolithic presence. The data come primarily from geoarchaeological, archaeobotanical,
palaeohydrological and malacological analyses, secondarily from the search for a pre-Neolithic, local impact
on the earliest Neolithic archaeological evidences, i.e. settlement pattern, architecture, pottery, cult objects and
possible ritual customs, and thirdly on the basis of Mesolithic encampments and finds. The Balaton region,
consequently, may have acted as an important filter in mediating the process of the Neolithisation towards the
inner regions of Central Europe.
234
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Authors Addresses:
ESZTER BNFFY and IMOLA JUHSZ Archaeological Institute, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, ri utca 49 H - 1014
BUDAPEST
e-mails: banffy@archeo.mta.hu; juhasz_imola@yahoo.com
PL SMEGI, Department of Geology and Palaeontology, University of Szeged, Egyetem utca 2-6 H - 6722 SZEGED
e-mail: sumegi@geo.u-szeged.hu
Centralgrafica s.n.c.
Loc. Bagnoli della Rosandra, 612 - San Dorligo della Valle (Trieste)
Tel. 0408325013 - Fax 0408326424 - e-mail: centralgrafica@tin.it