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RESEARCH
ON THE
THE
PRESENT STATE
EARLY NEOLITHIC
RESEARCH
ON THE
THE
PRESENT STATE
EARLY NEOLITHIC
Content
H. Parzinger (Berlin):
Gruwort des Prsidenten des Deutschen
Archologischen Institutes
83
95
E. Rosenstock (Tbingen):
Early Neolithic tell settlements of South-East
Europe in their natural setting: A study in distribution and architecture
115
H. Schwarzberg (Halle):
A new item for the Neolithic Package? Early
Neolithic cult vessels in Anatolia and SouthEast Europe
127
S. Hansen (Berlin):
Frhe Statuetten in Griechenland und ihre
Vorbilder
135
I. Gatsov (Sofia):
The state of research into the problem of
Pleistocene-Holocene transition in the present
area of Bulgaria
151
M. Gurova (Sofia):
Functional aspects of the Early Neolithic flint
assemblages from Bulgaria and NW Anatolia
157
N. Benecke (Berlin):
Animal husbandry and hunting in the Early
Neolithic of South-East Europe - A review
175
E. Marinova (Sofia):
Archaeobotanical studies of the Bulgarian
Neolithic. The current state of research and perspectives for future studies
187
Contributors
195
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69
Early
Neolithic
tell settlements
South-East Europe
Early
Neolithic
tellofsettlements
of
Introduction
Settlements that tend to accumulate their habitation
debris, forming a more or less pronounced artificial
hill, are usually known as mounds, or are given local
terms such as tell (Arabic), hyk (Turkish) or
mogila (Slavic). During the last decade, they have
been the subjects of increasing archaeological interest
focused on the north-western margin of their distribution1. In South-East Europe, these mounds do not dominate the archaeological landscape to the extent as they
do in some regions of the Near East, where tells are
virtually the only known form of settlement. Rather,
the Balkans are characterized by a peculiar distribution of some areas where tells are frequent and other
regions where flat settlements are the common settlement form and tells can hardly be found at all. Their
existence from the Early Neolithic onwards has at times
been denied2 but by following research of V. G. Childe
in the 1950s it has generally been explained by certain
ecological conditions and shared habits of occupants
common to the Near East and the Balkans3. Even the
tells themselves, like the occurrence of painted pottery,
have been seen as a common cultural trait in these
areas 4 adding a further dimension to studies
concerning the origins of the Neolithic in South-East
Europe. This study investigates to what extent the origin and distribution of tells can be attributed to ecological conditions, with the aim of achieving a better
understanding to what extent sociocultural factors have
played a role in forming them.
Ecological conditions
The topography of the Balkan Peninsula is characterized by certain north-south and east-west inclinations.
The carstic ridges of the Dinaric Mountains, the Pindos
and the Taygetos, which, apart from the coastal plain
of Albania, rise almost immediately behind the Medi1
2
3
4
Eva Rosenstock
116
Fig. 1. Tell settlements and soil types (after FAO 1992; Rosenstock 2005)
or Tellartige Siedlung10. This is somewhat paradoxical, since every tell was, in its beginnings, a flat settlement11. This study tries to overcome this difficulty,
preliminarily using evidence from the archaeological
literature (when sites were described as tells and related types) and to a lesser extent from the local
toponymy (names of settlements including magoula,
hyk etc.).
In this context, Early Neolithic, i. e. what is
regarded as the earliest phases of food producing in the
Balkan Peninsula, covers the Early Ceramic and Sesklo
in Greece and BEN-M as well as Karanovo I and II in
Bulgaria. In the rest of the Balkans, the Impresso,
Starcevo, WBPP, Krs and Cris and related cultures
10
11
15
16
the Balkans (fig. 1) makes it clear that there is a preference for Mediterranean soils. In addition to the tells,
other types, such as settlements that are not explicitly
referred to as tells and those that are called flat settlements, have been mapped to check that the distribution
does not merely reflect settlement density, but real
differences in the distribution of these two antonymic
types. Although it must be taken into consideration that
due to their high level of visibility, tells are more likely
to be found by archaeologists and flat settlements are
therefore put at a disadvantage, it can be noted that
other settlements do not avoid brown and steppe soils
as much as the tells.
The correlation with mean annual precipitation
values (fig. 2) is much more obvious: tells are rarely
117
Fig. 2. Tell settlements and precipitation (after ESRI 2003; Rosenstock 2005)
Eva Rosenstock
118
Fig. 3. Tell settlements and temperature (after ESRI 2003a; Rosenstock 2005)
19
17
18
20
21
22
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23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Hiller/Nikolov 1997.
Nikolov 1989.
Lichter 1993.
Hlscher et al. 1948, 37.
Roodenberg 1995.
Gimbutas et al. 1989.
Milojcic/v. Zumbusch-Milojcic 1971.
Hiller/Nikolov 1997.
34
35
36
37
38
39
Eva Rosenstock
120
Fig. 4. Construction types and precipitation (after ESRI 2003; Rosenstock 2005)
layers are thin, while the highest Early Neolithic tells
contain either mud or combined constructions. The quantity of mud in the houses40, and perhaps also the frequency of rebuilding, might account for the fact that
timber/mud constructions are not only found in tells of
medium height, as to be expected, but also amongst
the highest examples (tab. 1). Combining this picture
and the correlation between the distribution of tell settlements and mud architecture with precipitation, temperature and aridity as well as terra rossa and terra
fusca soils, it is possible to outline a possible scenario
as to how ecological conditions favoured the development of tells in Early Neolithic south-eastern Europe.
40
42
121
Acknowledgements
Conclusion
Early in the 20th century, Emil Forrer noted regional
differences in tell density during his survey in Anatolia.
He assumed that regions with few tells were densely
forested in pre-Roman times, thus providing enough timber to prevent the inhabitants from being forced to use
mud49. In human geography textbooks, mud brick, pis
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
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Tab. 1. Settlement types, architecture and thickness of EN layers (after Rosenstock 2005)
Eva Rosenstock
123
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