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ABSTRACT The transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture is a major turning point in human history. In North China, although crops were cultivated as early as 10,000 BP, they only became staple foods with the establishment of a fully functional agricultural system between 6000 and 5000 BP. Thus, exploring the subsistence strategies of this transitional period is crucial for understanding how hunter‐gatherers gradually evolved into farmers. The Peiligang culture (c. 9000–7000 BP) is one of the most significant early Neolithic cultures in this region. In this study, we investigated the crust residues from the pottery Ding‐tripods (鼎) dating to the middle Peiligang culture (8800–8200 cal bp) at the Xielaozhuang site using a multidisciplinary approach that includes FTIR, XRD, SEM‐EDS, and starch granule analyses. Our results indicate that a mixture containing bone powder, Panicoideae, Triticeae, and acorns was prepared in these pottery Ding‐tripods. This finding represents one of the earliest known uses of bone powder globally, contributing valuable insights to the ongoing debate regarding fragmented bone assemblages and bone grease extraction. Moreover, combined with macrobotanical and zooarchaeological data, our findings suggest that agriculture had not yet fully supplanted hunting and gathering, as wild plants and animals continued to play a critical role in the diet at the Xielaozhuang site during the Peiligang culture. The use of bone powder alongside wild plant starches illustrates how these early communities invested significant time and effort into transforming inedible resources into consumable food, a strategy crucial for obtaining sufficient calories to sustain a sedentary lifestyle, especially during periods of resource scarcity. These insights illuminate the subsistence strategies of early Neolithic societies transitioning from reliance on hunting‐gathering to more settled practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harris lines (HLs) are radiographically visible transverse lines of thickened bone that develop from temporary growth cessation during early life. Often attributed to physiological stress during development, HLs are frequently observed in the long bones of adolescents and become less visible over time due to bone remodeling. In recent years, the validity of HL as a sign of stress has been called into question and the methods used in studying HL through X‐ray analysis scrutinized. In this study, 80 individuals from the Middle Holocene Cis‐Baikal region of Siberia, from the Early Neolithic (EN; 7560–6660 HPD cal. BP) and Late Neolithic (LN; 6060–4970 HPD cal. BP), were studied for the presence and severity of HL. Radiographic analysis employed both the traditional clinical anteroposterior (A–P) orientation and a potentially improved mediolateral (M–L) orientation. EN groups in the Cis‐Baikal are known to have experienced higher levels than their LN counterparts; thus, if HL reflect stress experiences, we expected to see more HL in the EN population compared with the LN population. We also expected more visible HL in the M–L orientation due to the suggested improvement in capturing more lines compared with the A–P orientation. While the results support the use of M–L orientation during X‐ray capture of HL, there was not a higher number of HL in the EN population as expected. Instead, no significant differences were found in HL severity between the EN and LN populations, and age‐at‐death resulted in a greater effect on HL counts regardless of mortuary site. The results from this study align not with known stress data from the Middle Holocene Cis‐Baikal populations but rather with data pertaining to known growth patterns. We therefore advocate against the use of HL as a sign of physiological stress and instead suggest HL as a reflection of bone growth trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical analyses of the appearance of the earliest crop and livestock farming societies on the Catalan coast have always been the focus of debate within the overarching topic of the arrival of new settlers who came by sea and/or land to bring knowledge associated with the production economy based on the adoption of crop and livestock farming. In order to examine this topic, we consider the archaeological documents that make it possible to identify the places these groups lived and frequented, along with the records from their funerary practices. All of this data, coupled with the associated materials, are considered essential in analysing the evolution and diversity of the different types of settlements of these crop or livestock farmers within the timeframe of the sixth to fourth millennia BCE in the stretch of land running along the extensive Catalan coastline.

Childhood is the most crucial stage in human life, as well as for the cognitive and technological development of our species. However, earlier traditional archaeological studies have often neglected the role of children in prehistoric societies and focused on the primary socio-economic elements of daily life in prehistory (e.g. agriculture, animal husbandry, hunting-gathering, and various crafts). The picture of a Neolithic village portrayed by archaeologists mostly comprised adults who were engaged in production and subsistence. Children, were seen as passive until they reached a certain age when they became active in production. Increasing ethnographic and archaeological studies however, portray a contrasting picture as they yield insights into the learning and transmission processes of know-how and skills regarding socio-economic activities, technologies, and craft production which suggest that social roles and identities are all formed during childhood. Thus, although the state of research shows that we still have further steps to go, it is clear that a deeper understanding of childhood and children in prehistory is as essential as understanding the world of adults. In such an attempt, this article focuses on the children of Aşıklı Höyük, an Early Neolithic community in Central Anatolia. We briefly discuss the skeletal evidence emerging from the anthropological analyses, and attempt to approach the roles and identities of children through the lens of grave goods and lithic production technologies.

From the second part of the 6th millennium BC onwards, pottery manufacture is attested throughout the western Mediterranean. The study of the functional and use of vessels has become a valuable source of information on the culinary patterns and subsistence practices of past societies. In the present study, we have analyzed the organic residues of a total of 37 ceramic vessels from the first Neolithic settlements in the Central Pyrenees. Results from lipid analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and GC-stable carbon isotope ratio analyses (GC-IRMS) revealed that from the earliest phases, the use of pottery was related to the exploitation of dairy and meat products, as well as plant resources. The data obtained are contextualized within the general frame of the Pyrenees and the western Mediterranean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the Early Neolithic phase of activity on an axehead quarry at the Eagle’s Nest, Lambay, a small island off the east coast of Ireland. The site is best known for activity in the later Neolithic and its cultural connections with the developed passage tomb tradition. One area of the site has produced evidence for quarrying from the thirty-eighth or thirty-seventh century cal BC, supplying secure evidence that axe production was integral to the Neolithic material world in Ireland from the beginnings of this period. Porphyritic andesite would seem a counter-intuitive choice to make stone axeheads, its naturally occurring internal fissuring resulting in a high likelihood of failure during working. On the other hand, when ground and polished it has a very distinctive visual appearance and texture with a lustrous quality. This paper examines the ontological significance of this transformation from source to special objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En este trabajo se presenta el descubrimiento de un nuevo yacimiento del Neolítico antiguo en el interior peninsular (cuenca del Duero), a partir de los resultados preliminares de la campaña de sondeo realizada en septiembre de 2023. El Abrigo de Guachos además de contener un nuevo e interesante registro para analizar el comienzo del Neolítico en el interior peninsular, muestra también evidencias de ocupaciones y actividad humana posterior, en época romana (periodo bajoimperial). Esta nueva secuencia resulta de gran interés para analizar la evolución de la actividad humana en el barranco del río Duratón. En las Hoces del Duratón, a pesar de haber una rica secuencia de arte rupestre que abarca desde el Neolítico hasta la Edad Media, no se han podido localizar aún secuencias arqueológicas que permitan documentar la evolución y características de este amplio poblamiento humano. ABSTRACT: In this paper, the discovery of a new Early Neolithic site in the interior of the Iberian peninsula (Duero basin) is presented, based on the preliminary results of the excavation campaign conducted in September 2023. The Guachos rock shelter is located in the municipality of Sepúlveda (Segovia) within the “Hoces del río Duratón” Natural reserve, approximately 1300 meters downstream from the Talcano Roman bridge. Specifically, it is located on the outer side of a meander on the left bank of the river, which has eroded the Cretaceous dolomites, at UTM coordinates ETRS89 (Zone 30) X. 434.944, Y. 4.571.952, and about 10 meters above the current riverbed. The rock shelter has maximum dimensions of about 50 meters in length and 20 meters in width, with an average height to the overhang of about 13 meters, making it a space of considerable size. In total, an approximate area of 300 square meters for the archaeological deposit has been estimated. The Guachos Rock Shelter, in addition to containing a new and interesting record for analyzing the beginning of the Neolithic in the interior of the Iberian peninsula, also shows evidence of later occupations and human activity during the Roman period (Low Roman Empire). This new sequence is of great interest for studying the evolution of human activity in the Duratón River gorge. In the “Hoces del Duratón”, despite the presence of a rich sequence of rock art spanning from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages, archaeological sequences that would allow for the documentation of the evolution and characteristics of this extensive human settlement have not yet been found.

Since Gordon V. Childe first discussed the diffusion of culture from the Near East into Europe 100 years ago, various models for the advance of the Neolithic way of life have been proposed. Chronology has played an important role in this, but not all regions were included in the narratives due to a lack of data. Recent investigations in the border area between North Macedonia and Greece, namely in Pelagonia, have provided reliable new radiocarbon sequences, in total 42 new radiocarbon dates, that will contribute to the discussion on the Neolithic chronology of the Balkans.

Organic containers are rarely preserved in archaeological contexts. As a result, the work involved in their production and their functions remains invisible unlike other containers commonly better represented, such as pottery. The early Neolithic site of La Draga (5300–4900 cal BC), located on the shore of the Lake Banyoles (Spain), has provided several containers made of wood and plant fibres besides a significant amount of ceramic remains. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the vessels at La Draga to assess the importance of organic containers in a context where pottery technology is well known and employed for several functions. The importance of the different types of containers in the context of this farming society is assessed through the analysis of the number of remains, their sizes and shapes, and their spatial distribution. The exceptional preservation of the organic vessels allows comparisons to generate hypotheses about their function. Wooden containers are associated with consumption, while baskets may have been used to transport or store foodstuff, and ceramic vessels also for cooking. The spatial distribution of basketry remains tends to show an area that could be linked to the storage of cereals.

The intensity of changes in the population dynamics of the Early Neolithic (ca. 6250–5300 cal BC) communities in the Central Balkans was addressed by estimating the growth rate values. The Bayesian approach (Crema and Shoda 2021) of estimating intrinsic growth rates by fitting different models of population growth was applied to radiocarbon dates from the Early Neolithic sites in Serbia. We explored two possible episodes of population growth based on the results of the population dynamics reconstruction using the summed calibrated radiocarbon probability distributions (SPD) method. The results have shown that, within the first episode of growth, the intrinsic growth rate mean values are higher than the estimated continental average (between 1% and 2%). The results indicate a sudden and fast rise in population size, possibly due to the influx of the new population settling in the region at the beginning of the Neolithic. Lower values for the second episode could indicate more gradual population growth due to the mechanisms associated with the Neolithic Demographic Transition and the rise in fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study of the early Neolithic Guanjia site (6100–5500 BC) combines zooarchaeological, paleobotanical, and isotope research to investigate how humans raised pigs and incorporated them in their overall subsistence system. Although the teeth (M2) of Sus scrofa from Guanjia were all larger than domesticated pigs dating to the middle Neolithic (Yangshao period, 5000–3000 BC) and early Bronze Age (2000–1000 BC), which would suggest that Guanjia pigs were not domesticated pigs morphologically if body size is a key criterion to identify domesticated animals, we still argue that there was human management of pigs via feeding and culling strategies. We base our argument on the following observations: (1) Sus scrofa accounts for 34.2% (n = 41) of NISP and 22.2% (n = 4) of MNI; (2) most individuals were younger than two years at time of death (mandible n = 5, epiphyseal fusion n = 14) and most are female; (3) distorted alignment of teeth, a deformation related to early domestication, was found on one left mandible; (4) compared to pure C3 diets seen in deer (δ13C = − 21.0 ± 0.7‰, n = 3), the majority of Sus scrofa consumed some C4 plants (δ13C = − 17.4 ± 0.8‰, n = 6), probably from C4 wild grass or cultivated millets; (5) Panicoideae starch grain, broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum), and foxtail millet (Setaria italica) phytoliths were found at Guanjia, further supporting our argument that Sus scrofa accessed C4 millets and human environments. This study also reveals that animals in the early stages of domestication and domestic plants only accounted for a small proportion of human subsistence; thus, people still relied heavily on hunting and gathering at Guanjia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contains the results of the lithic analysis of assemblages from the Neolithic sites of Kargadur and Vižula in southern Istria, Croatia. The assemblages have been analysed in terms of reduction strategies and typology, with a special focus on raw material analysis and petrographic analysis. During the Early Neolithic, and especially the Middle Neolithic, raw materials circulated the Istrian peninsula, as evidenced by the presence of obsidian and other non-local (exogenous) chert at several sites. Obsidian is certainly an exotic material in this region, and items found at Kargadur come from the Aeolian islands. With these results we have tried to gain a better understanding of lithic production of the period, the approach of the Neolithic people to raw materials and the scope of the distribution network of high-quality chert.

Copyright of Documenta Praehistorica is the property of Documenta Praehistorica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Documenta Praehistorica is the property of Documenta Praehistorica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article illustrates how changes in the sediment source, tempering strategies, and shaping process in early Neolithic earthen architecture in Aşıklı Höyük have a major impact on many aspects of techno-environmental know-how traces. Archaeological micromorphology analyses of sun-dried mudbricks (in Turkey, called a specific term: kerpiç), mortars, daub, and their paleoenvironmental contexts were used to examine the tempo and modes of exploitation of the local environment, and chaîne opératoire of kerpiç and mortar recipes, and the possible reasons behind the relationships among material choices, building forms, and wall construction techniques of the earlier inhabitants in Central Anatolia during the establishment of the early settlement, i.e., 8400–7750 BCE. The nature of and changes in the built environment can be traced especially through the mortar recipes that provide various insights into the agro-pastoral activities at the site, including middens, open areas, and penning deposits. During the early Neolithic occupation at Aşıklı Höyük, vegetal tempering occurred as a micro-invention and was developed in relation to the management of fecal and domestic waste used in construction materials. Furthermore, the variability of tempering strategies can be regarded as a cognitive development that resulted from the long-term learning and experimentation background of the Aşıklı people in kerpiç production. The main motivation behind these changes and testing of the recipes was the need for more durable and long-lasting construction of earthen buildings as used by this early sedentary community in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ongoing research in the Balkans is revealing the importance of Early Neolithic ditches that enclosed settlements. As the research continues, more information is being uncovered about the ditches. The initial settlement at Aşağı Pinar, layer 7, also features ditches, with two ditches and associated pits found in the last two phases of this layer. However, none of these ditches had any association with settlement units. The stratigraphy and context of the fills suggest a refilling process was involved. The stratification of the fills, along with a large quantity of pottery sherds found in the fills and other finds, strongly suggest that a complex activity involving material culture led to the refilling process. This paper discusses the refilling processes and the purposes of the ditches in the context of Aşağı Pınar. Evidently, the Neolithic ditches were part of a more intricate activity than a mere enclosure system in the beginning of the Neolithic in Balkans.

This study addresses the dynamics of the Neolithic expansion in the Central Balkans by reconstructing its direction and speed of spread. The Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) method is applied to the earliest radiocarbon dates from Starčevo culture sites in Serbia. Local speed estimates are derived from the earliest dates within specified spatial bins. The results confirm the assumed south-to-north direction, revealing rapid progression, particularly in the southernmost region. The possibility of pioneering scouting groups was also discussed. The results confirm the arrhythmicity of the Neolithization processes and higher local spread rates while offering new insights into Starčevo culture mobility.

Early Neolithic avifaunas excavated at the sites of Göbekli Tepe and Gusir Höyük illustrate two entirely different modes of bird exploitation in south-eastern Anatolia during the 10th and 9th millennia BCE, which prompted us the re-evaluation of other substantial bird bone assemblages from contemporaneous sites in the upper basins of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. We thus compared the range and diversity of species captured, seasonal aspects of bird hunting, and types of habitats exploited by Near Eastern communities of foragers at the dawn of agriculture. Fowling practices in the Upper Euphrates catchment aimed at multiple avifaunal resources in varied habitats explaining high taxonomic diversity in the respective assemblages. Overall, the proportions of birds, mammals and fish in the diet were similar in all sites. In contrast, meat diet in the Upper Tigris River basin proved less culturally uniform. The contribution of birds, fish and mammals to the diet varied significantly between sites. Our study also showed that avifaunal diversity was very low at some sites in the Tigris basin suggesting an overall limited interest and time commitment to this economic activity there. An intensification of bird hunting in autumn and winter was observed in both areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lithic assemblage from the well‐known site of Lugo di Grezzana (Italy) attributable to the Fiorano group (5,300–4,900 BC cal) is analysed to shed new insights on the early Neolithic lithic technology in North‐Eastern Italy. Techno‐typological data are discussed allowing detailed reconstruction of the reduction sequence, thanks also to several refittings. A complex laminar production with several technical objectives has been identified. Whereas clues for the heat treatment of lithic materials have been identified, we verified it by a combined experimental approach. In the first place, we used density measurements, which already proved to be useful for prescreening analysis, to detect potentially heated artefacts. Afterward, we performed Fourier Transform Infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy tests to assess the actual (de)hydration condition of the siliceous materials. Reflectance spectra have been acquired, analysing any item and avoiding any constraint related to both morphology and thickness of the sample. The archaeometric results, combined with the reduction sequence reconstruction, provide new indications on the technical capabilities and knowledge of the human groups that inhabited the region during the early Neolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mesolithic in Eastern Europe was the last time that hunter-gatherer economies thrived there before the spread of agriculture in the second half of the seventh millennium BC. But the period, and the interactions between foragers and the first farmers, are poorly understood in the Carpathian Basin and surrounding areas because few sites are known, and even fewer have been excavated and published. How did site location differ between Mesolithic and Early Neolithic settlers? And where should we look for rare Mesolithic sites? Proximity analysis is seldom used for predictive modeling for hunter-gatherer sites at large scales, but in this paper, we argue that it can serve as an important starting point for prospection for rare and poorly understood sites. This study uses proximity analysis to provide quantitative landscape associations of known Mesolithic and Early Neolithic sites in the Carpathian Basin to show how Mesolithic people chose attributes of the landscape for camps, and how they differed from the farmers who later settled. We use elevation and slope, rivers, wetlands prior to the twentieth century, and the distribution of lithic raw materials foragers and farmers used for toolmaking to identify key proxies for preferred locations. We then build predictive models for the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic in the Pannonian region to highlight parts of the landscape that have relatively higher probabilities of having Mesolithic sites still undiscovered and contrast them with the settlement patterns of the first farmers in the area. We find that large parts of Pannonia conform to landforms preferred by Mesolithic foragers, but these areas have not been subject to investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sites from the earliest known phases of Maltese prehistory often consist of scatters of sherds for the Għar Dalam and Skorba phases (6000–4800 BCE), and tomb contexts for the Żebbuġ phase (3800–3600 BCE). Neolithic studies are, therefore, heavily reliant on the study of pottery. Although traditional typological and seriation-based analyses of the pottery record have substantially enhanced our knowledge of Early Neolithic Malta, there is a growing appreciation of the need to go beyond these approaches to gain new insights. This study reviews the accessible literature on fabric studies on assemblages found in the Maltese Islands, presenting the state of knowledge for the pottery of the Għar Dalam, Skorba (Early Neolithic), and Żebbuġ (Late Neolithic) phases. Microphotographs of pottery wares were selected from a compilation produced for an ongoing project (the MaltaPot project) to illustrate the descriptions found in the literature. The advances made by archaeologists in studying the Maltese Neolithic pottery are reviewed, and suggestions for building on them are proposed, as archaeometric and petrographic techniques have not been applied systematically to Neolithic pottery from Malta.

It is well known that many Mesolithic and Early Neolithic sites were uncovered during the past century in the Iron Gates region of the North-Central Balkans. The application of diverse analyses on the bioarchaeological remains and artefacts raised many questions, but also offered new ideas about the Mesolithic–Neolithic transitional period in the Middle and Lower course of the Danube. Communities in the Iron Gates consumed fish and exploited the riverbank in prehistory. The stable isotope analyses are implying that these human groups fed on aquatic resources in some periods more than others. Fish remains were also found in settlements, and based on fish-related imagery on sculpted boulders and other artefacts, the bond between the people, river, and the ecosystem was compelling. The idea of this article is to present the possible ways of fish processing at Lepenski Vir using chipped stone tools. Three integrated methodologies, with high levels of interpretation, were applied: use-wear, residue, and archaeozoological analyses. Use-wear and residue analyses were performed on both archaeological and experimental chipped stone tools. The results are considered together with the traces of butchery observed on archaeological samples of fish bones, creating a more coherent picture of the everyday habits of the Iron Gates populations.

The introduction and spread of the Neolithic “way of life” in Europe was a process that took several millennia, followed by different rhythms and displayed singularities in each geographic area. It was therefore a very complex phenomenon that, despite highly significant advances in research in recent decades, is yet to be fully understood. To deepen our understanding of the very early stages of the introduction of herding and agriculture throughout the Old Continent, the 1st Conference on the Early Neolithic of Europe was organised in Barcelona on 6–8 November 2019. The conference was a great success with more than 200 participants, creating a stimulating arena to discuss and debate, exclusively, the transition to the Neolithic in Europe. This special issue brings together 52 of the contributions presented in Barcelona, offering an interesting overview of the current state of research across Europe, from the Anatolia to the Algarve, highlighting the geographical, chronological and socioeconomic diversity of the transformation processes involved in the Neolithisation of Europe and providing useful starting points for future research.

The excavation of Crno Vrilo site (Zadar, Dalmatia, Croatia), carried out by B. Marijanović, has unearthed the vestiges of an Early Neolithic village dating back to ca. 5800–5600 cal BC. The lithic assemblage, with more than 4000 pieces, represents the biggest Impressed Ware assemblage of littoral Croatia. Lithic production at Crno Vrilo is characterised by the pressure Blade flaking on high-quality exogenous cherts (Gargano, southern Italy) reflecting important socio-economic and technical aspects that are specific to the Neolithic. The presence of some débitage elements such as flakes, debris, cortical and technological pieces indicates that standard pressure flaking occured at the site, while the presence of large Blades (with widths exceeding 20 mm) suggests production by lever pressure, a technique that required specialized knowledge and equipment. This article questions whether the lever pressure technique was used in the production of large Blades and examines the status of these Blades in the Crno Vrilo lithic assemblage by examining their technological and functional aspects.

The thousands of dolmens and long barrows spread across the Danish landscape are the earliest long-lasting expressions of architectural monumentality in Scandinavia. A series of new AMS dates on human skeletal material from several of them leads to a clarification of the generations-long debate on the relative chronology and typological evolution of this group of monuments. Earthen long barrows were raised from ca. 3700calBC. That is at least two centuries later than the arrival of such elements of the Neolithic world as funnel beaker pottery and domestic cattle to the region. The practice of using large stones (megaliths) for burial chambers was present by 3600calBC. Classical Urdolmen were built alongside various types of more complex dolmen chambers during the period ca. 3600–3400calBC, after which passage graves were erected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excavation of the simple dolmen at Tiarp, Falbygden, dating to around 3500BCE, has provided important information for the understanding of the megalithic and early TRB in southern Scandinavia and northern Central Europe. The absolute chronological dating shows that dolmens were erected at about the same time between Falbygden and Altmark, before the main passage grave architectural phase. Although fragmented and affected by taphonomic processes, the bone assemblage provides insights into the burial practices. At least twelve individuals, from neonates to elderly, had been buried within the chamber. The predominance of hand and foot bones suggests that they were primary inhumations. Their isotope values indicate an already agrarian society, which, however, was based only to a certain extent on agriculture. Insofar, the dolmen at Tiarp signals transformations – not only in respect to the introduction of agriculture but also regarding ritual practices – within the Early and Middle Neolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents flint materials obtained from settlement site of Samborzec-Opatów group from the Tonie 9 site in Lesser Poland. The flintworking of this unit is still poorly recognized. In the literature, special attention has mainly been paid to ceramic materials, especially in studies on the genesis of this group and its relations with other taxonomic units of the Neolithic in Lesser Poland (especially with the Malice culture and later groups of the Lendziel). Therefore, it is worth introducing the specificity of Samborzec-Opatów flintworking, especially since the recently arrived inventory from the Tonie 9 site is quite numerous and relatively homogeneous. Therefore, the main goal is to present materials that can be used for further studies, e.g. those of a comparative nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Documenta Praehistorica is the property of Documenta Praehistorica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents eight clay stamps from the Starčevo-Criş site of Tăşnad. Seven of them are unpublished (Pl. I/2; Pl. II), one published in an exhibition catalogue (Pl. I/1). This category of pieces originates in the Anatolian area and spread with the process of Neolithisation. Such pieces are rare and raise many discussions and hypotheses about their functionality. Various assumptions have been made about their functionality, some authors attributing a practical function to these pieces, like decorating ceramics, printing textiles and leather, tattooing human bodies, marking goods as a sign of ownership. Others give cultic values to these pieces like marking the food (i.e., the “sacred bread”), or the role as talismans or pendants with magical, protective values. The small variety of motifs present on these pieces as well as the presence of these motifs on cult pieces such as idols, altars, anthropomorphic vessels or vessels with anthropomorphic representations, are arguments for a magical-religious functionality.

The Iron Gates is one of few regions in Southeast Europe where Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic are well represented. Still, both the origin and timing of the ‘Neolithic’ in the area are difficult to assess. The appearance of new cultural elements, including pottery, crouched burials and domesticates is believed to coincide with the spread of Starčevo-Körös-Criş farmers. The present papers briefly reviews the information on the Early Neolithic sites in the Iron Gates I and II areas.

Painted pottery plays a significant role in explaining early farming communities. The remarkable styles of white-on-red painted pottery can be considered one of the most well-known characteristics in the Early Neolithic Balkans. This preliminary study attempts to clarify the picture, comparing white-on-red painted pottery between sites in the Balkans, the Aegean and Western Anatolia. Correspondence analysis and distribution maps are used to explore regional and interregional connections.

Western Iberia Early Neolithic has been described as an ultimate and very altered form of the Mediterranean Neolithisation process. Despite its Atlantic position, this territory – corresponding mainly to Central/Southern Portugal – is, in its physical and cultural geography, a Mediterranean landscape deeply connected to a historical process arriving from beyond the Strait of Gibraltar. The presence of cardial pottery led archaeologists to ascribe Portuguese Early Neolithic to a Mediterranean impressed Pottery cultural area, and according to demic diffusion models, small pioneer groups carrying the Neolithic package originated there. Recently, the archaeological record for the Western Mediterranean Neolithisation is becoming more complex and longer lasting cardial dominance over the seas has been disputed. Previous Neolithic groups seafaring the Mediterranean coasts with Impressa style pottery could have reached Iberian Peninsula by 5600–5400 cal BC, proving that by the mid-sixth millennium, different cultural entities were moving in the Western Mediterranean regardless of their genetic features. The main goal of this study is to disclose this cultural diversity in Western Iberia using a robust chronological database and debating how different proxies, like pottery styles and ancient DNA (aDNA), reveal it in Western Iberia. While recognising the Mediterranean input to Western Iberia groups, mapping the variability and the significance of different decoration techniques, such as cardial, false acacia leaf, impressed stripes, and using the aDNA to identify continuities/changes in ancient populations are here as tools to understand when, who, and how new kids came to the block. To do so, different disciplinary boundaries are crossed, and some transdisciplinary critical aspects are also commented.

Climate change is still a subject of debate for archaeologist-neolithicists. Its exact chronology, internal pattern, variations in space and time, and impacts on sites and ecosystems and on coastal dynamic and river systems have yet to be assessed. Only a strict comparative approach at high chronological resolution will allow us to make progress on the causality of the socio-environmental processes at work during Neolithisation. Post-depositional impacts on the Early Neolithic hidden reserve also remain underestimated, which has led to the perpetuation of terms such as “Macedonian desert” and “archaeological silence” in the literature on the Neolithic. Off-site geoarchaeological and paleoenvironmental approaches provide some answers to these questions and opens up new research perspectives.

The rescue excavations in Bataševo in central Serbia showed that it was a multi-layer site, on which occupation traces dated from the Early Neolithic, and then from the Bronze Age and the Roman period to the Middle Ages. The most valuable findings and data in the Early Neolithic settlement were provided by the excavations in Makedonska Street, in trenches 2/ 06, 1/ 07 and 2/ 07 where an Early Neolithic layer 1– 1.5 m thick was discovered. According to the archaeological material (stone tools, pottery and cult items, objects made of bone, fauna) and dug-in features and houses, it is very certain that during the Early Neolithic period Bataševo was a well-developed settlement, whose inhabitants, aside from husbandry and agriculture, also took part in the production of items made of stone, bone, pottery etc. Ground and abrasive stone tools, according to the choice of the raw materials, manner of making and consumption, repairing and recycling of tools, completely reflects the Early Neolithic technology of production and manner of tool use observed elsewhere in the territory of the Central Balkans. The only remarkable trait is the great fragmentation of the tools, already mentioned, which has been noted so far only at the site of Aria Babi in the Iron Gates, as well as the existence of specialised grindstones for processing stone tools. On the basis of the small area researched so far (35 m2), it is not possible to conclude if there was a specialisation of production of certain groups of artefacts, since no workshop was discovered

In this paper, the polished and knapped stone artefacts discovered in the Starčevo-Criș cultural layer of Negrilești " Curtea Școlii" archaeological site in Galați County are analysed. The archaeological site is situated in the Negrilești village, on the high terrace of the Bârlad stream. This group of stone artefacts consists of 91 items, of which 11 are polished and 80 are knapped (from flint and obsidian). In this analysis, we approach several aspects that contribute to our understanding of the operational sequence of an artefact, from the raw material block to the discarded item : identification of the raw material, the typological classification and the attainment of some technological and functional observations.

The site of Slatina in the vicinity of the town of Paraćin (Serbia), in the valley of Velika Morava River, was a large Neolithic settlement, with substantial remains attributed to the Late Neolithic Vinča culture. Rescue excavations were carried out between 1962 and 1964 and 1984– 1985, and among other rich and diverse remains of structures and portable finds, approximately 80 artefacts from osseous raw materials were recovered. The typological repertoire included awls, heavy points, burnishing tools and used astragals, produced from bone and antler. The bone tool assemblage shares common traits with other assemblages from the Vinča culture, but also displays some of the local characteristics, in particular regarding the raw material management.

When the first farmers landed on the eastern coast of the Italian peninsula (end of seventh millennium cal BC), they brought with them a system of knowledge and technologies that quickly spread along both the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coasts. The study of the material culture, therefore, assumes an important role in understanding the social and cultural identity of these incoming groups. Analyses of ornament production – involving manufacture technology, raw materials, and stylistic choices – may supply information about the cultural choices and the technical skills of human groups and shed light on the social and symbolic system of these ancient populations. Data obtained from this work show that the ornaments became symbols of a growing cultural identity, which began to be developed within Italian territory. In the ornamental assemblages of the newcomers, the relevance of shaped lithic items is clearly visible, and there was the development of types that will become more and more standardized during the Neolithic period. However, elements in the symbolic culture of these first settlers, such as the use of Columbella rustica and the exclusive production of hard animal matter ornaments in some sites, recall previous traditions. This study intends to extend our knowledge on the ornamental customs of the first Italian Neolithic communities. It will attempt to establish if the chronological and the geographical differences that emerge from our analyses reflect diversities in the cultural and symbolic systems of the incoming farmers and different possible interactions with the native population.

The main goal of this article is to present an overview of current knowledge about the subsistence strategy of Linear Pottery culture (LBK) in Moravia, Czech Republic. The main aspect of the subsistence strategy mentioned here will be the issue of dietary. Early Neolithic sites that in some way contributed to the knowledge about the dietary character (both meat and plant food) will be presented here. On this occasion, a case study of the Žádovice site, which belongs to the most recently analyzed settlements, will be presented. In addition, the methods used in the subsistence strategy of LBK in Moravia will be mentioned. The existing knowledge will be included in a broader settlement context and will be compared with each other. For the time being, it seems that in terms of the species spectrum of farmed animals, the area of Moravia does not differ from the situation known from Central Europe. Certain geographical differences are possible in Moravia, but this hypothesis must be verified in the future, depending on the expansion of the database. The study thus represents a springboard for further research in this area.

Why was “chaff temper” used in pottery production? The possible reasoning behind the practice of intentionally adding organic matter (various plant parts and plant-containing materials) to the clay paste when making pottery is explored by studying four Early Neolithic open settlements. Located in contrasting regions, northwest and southwest Bulgaria, they have contrasting geological settings, altitude, climate, and “pottery styles.” Ceramic fragments containing vegetal remains (charred, semi-charred parts, imprints, and phytoliths) found both on the surface of the vessels and within the body clay are studied in hand specimens, thin-sections and by using scanning electron microscopy. Whether the addition of “organic temper” was an actual functional prerequisite (e.g. caused by technological limitations of the local clays, the vessels’ use, etc.), and how to interpret the variable contents and types of vegetal remains within the clay fabrics, are the main questions discussed within a broader context. The observed variability raises awareness of a series of potential biases when interpreting vegetal remains in Early Neolithic Southeast European pottery. This study not only tackles the interrelation between two major Early Neolithic cycles – ceramic technology and agriculture – but also reveals the potential to examine the synergies between specifically technological, agricultural, and environmental study aspects. It demonstrates the intrinsically intertwined crafts and husbandry activities, technological landscapes, decision-making strategies, and subsistence patterns, all within site-specific environment. It also frames a debate on such inclusions’ strictly technological significance, their role as a cultural factor embodied in social behaviour, or completely accidental presence in the clay fabrics, and a whole spectrum in between.

The article presents the earliest Neolithic ditch enclosures that have been registered throughout the Near East and the Balkans. The history of research indicates gaps both in the publishing state of the ditches and the analyzing strategies. All this restricts the in-depth study of this phenomenon and results in tentative conclusions. The time and space distribution of the known so-far ditches helps however for the distinguishing of some regional patterns and/or interregional similarities. It appears that the ditch-digging practice existed since the time of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) in the Fertile Crescent. There, single ditches were combined with stone walls. Around the mid-seventh millennium BC, ditches occurred sporadically in Western Anatolia and probably in Northern Greece. At the turn of the sixth millennium BC, ditch enclosures became a common feature for the architectural organization of settlements in the regions of Marmara, Thessaly, Macedonia, Thrace, the southeast parts of the Central Balkans, as well as in the Southern Caucasus. They differ significantly from the PPN enclosures, which suggests that the idea of their construction evolved in the course of time. The Early Neolithic enclosures in Thrace, for example, display elaborate circular or oval layout of multiple ditches where rich depositional activities have taken place. If we are to assume that the ditch-digging practice originated in the PPN of the Levant and Mesopotamia, then its distribution should have been associated with the Neolithic dispersal westwards of the core area of formation. The final part of the paper is dedicated to the ambiguous concept of the Neolithic package, with a discussion on whether ditch enclosures can be considered as part of the assemblage.

This paper aims to re-evaluate the diagnostic significance of the Dark Burnished Ware in the Thracian Early Neolithic ( first half of the sixth millennium BC). It focuses on the dark surface burnished ware produced in the southeast of Thrace and particularly in the Middle Maritsa Valley. There is a noticeable difference between the dark surface ware produced in the different parts of Upper Thrace. In the west and north parts of the region, it is characterized by dark brown and dark grayish surfaces respectively, and by conservative non-painted decoration techniques. The assemblages in the Middle Maritsa Valley include mostly black and brown-black burnished ware in greater amounts compared to the rest of Upper Thrace. Multiple decoration techniques were used in the latter part of Thrace, some of which can be considered closely associated with the dark burnished ware. The dark burnished ware production in the Middle Maritsa Valley has been attested since the very beginning of the Neolithic in amounts close to, and later even greater than, the red slipped ware. The role of the Maritsa Valley as a communication route is of particular interest in regards to the origins and distribution of the dark burnished ware production, as it most probably facilitated the early contacts between Upper Thrace and the neighboring areas to the south and southeast.

In this investigation we detail the results of a systematic analysis of worked animal bone from Ulucak, one of the earliest Neolithic sites in western Anatolia. The collection exhibits a wide range of types, including points, needles, spatulas, bevelled tools, perforated objects, and other unique objects. A study of the raw material shows a preference for sheep and goat long bones, while large-sized animal rib bones were also utilized. Manufacturing techniques employed included splitting, grooving, and abrasion, while a contextual analysis of the material underscores an intricate connection with other objects made from stone and clay. Items found in buildings relate to textile, leather, and ceramic production, while personal ornaments may have played a part in abandonment rituals. Examination of this assemblage is understood as a common set of regional tool types with some localized variations.

Early Neolithic communities penetrated in southwestern Transylvania and were established in the Mureș Valley where they found suitable territories for domestic animal herds and probably plant cultivation. The present study tries to answer questions related to the beginnings of the neolithisation in this area, from an interdisciplinary perspective, valuing archeozoologically and archeobotanically the Starčevo-Criș site of Soimuș-Teleghi (Hunedoara County), dating to the 7th–6th millennium BC. Animal skeletal remains and phytoliths are the proxies analysed in this paper, offering data about the palaeoeconomy and palaeoenvironment of the Early Neolithic settlement. In the archaeozoological samples, the remains coming from domestic mammals are the most frequent, being identified as cattle (Bos taurus), sheep/goat (Ovis aries/Capra hircus), pig (Sus domesticus), and dog (Canis familiaris). The fact that pig remains are almost absent in the samples is significant, suggesting a mobility of the evaluated communities. The skeletal remains of wild mammal species are rare, belonging to red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), aurochs (Bos primigenius), wild boar (Sus scrofa), and polecat (Mustela putorius). The strong dominance of grasses is attested through the phytoliths' assemblages. ELONGATE DENDRITIC phytoliths are well represented. This morphotype, which originates from the inflorescence or the husk of Poaceae, is most likely derived from cultivated plants (cereals such as wheat, barley, etc.). Archaeozoological and archaeobotanical data resulting from this study suggest an open environment around the Early Neolithic settlement, where communities of the Starčevo-Criș culture mainly raised herds of cattle and sheep/goat. Sporadically, hunting and gathering molluscs were practised by the inhabitants, as indicated by archaeozoological results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most complex issues in understanding the evolution of human society is religion. However, religion in this sense is not the spiritual dimension of confessional or rhetorical form; rather it is a social phenomenon that has long been considered as one of the fundamental components of human society. Archaeological excavations often lead to the unearthing of movable and immovable objects that bear an obvious symbolic insignia; this is suggestive of the roles of beliefs and convictions in the formation of these objects. For instance, during the Neolithic period in some archeological sites such as Catalhoyuk in Anatolia, Sheikhiabad in Kermanshah and a number of other sites in the Near East, some objects were found that can be considered as symbolic made for specific purposes according to humans' rituals and beliefs. In the present article, we study the views and theories of anthropologists and sociologists about religions, and the views of archaeologists about symbolism and religion in the contemporary world and in the beginning of the Neolithic period. Employing an interpretive approach, we examine and analyze possible intentions behind construction and functions of these symbolic objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of agricultural practices fostered the development of specific technologies for the new subsistence practices and the production of new artefacts. Pyrotechnological structures such as ovens are part of the Neolithic equipment and accompanied the spread of agriculture from the Near East across Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. Ovens located within settlements – mainly domed, above-ground structures – have been traditionally linked to cooking and baking. The function is usually deduced from techno-morphological traits, although experimental approaches or ethnoarchaeological observations have often been used. This article aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of the multidisciplinary approach to understand the function of fire structures. An integrated methodology that combines archaeological analysis, archaeometry, and experimental archaeology has been applied to study the underground ovens of the Early Neolithic site of Portonovo (Marche, Italy) dated to the sixth millennium BCE. Samples of hardened sediment of archaeological ovens’ inner surface and selected pottery fragments were analysed through X-ray powder diffraction to estimate the temperature reached. A life-size replica of an underground oven was then created to perform firing experiments, including pottery firing. Samples of the oven’s walls and experimental vessels were analysed with the same method, and the values were compared. Our results indicate that the Portonovo ovens are potentially multifunctional structures, built for about 700 years, always with the same technique exploiting the natural soil’s insulating properties.

In the western Mediterranean, the question of the settlement patterns of the first farming communities remains a much debated issue. Frequently compared with the LBK model, based on hundreds of well-documented villages, the settlement organization of the Impressed Ware complex is still poorly characterized and highly diversified. New data obtained in Southern France (Languedoc) may shed light on this matter, based on new excavations, revised data, and a multi-proxy perspective (site type, domestic area, food supply strategies, activities, spheres of acquisition of raw material, and so forth). Rather than reproducing a pattern of site locations and settlement structuring, it seems that these Early Neolithic groups sought to optimize the location and structuring of their settlements in relation to the specific characteristics of the surrounding environment and available resources. We therefore propose that the diversity observed in the settlement organization of these first farming communities is a reflection of a social organization well-adapted to the diversity of the ecosystem.

The frontier position of the Balkan Peninsula, next to Anatolia and the Aegean, emphasises its key importance for the study of the Neolithisation processes taking place in Europe during the seventh–sixth millennia BC. A look at the distribution of most Early Neolithic sites along the submeridional alluvial plains of its central mountainous part often leaves the impression that the valleys of the Vardar, Struma, Mesta and Maritsa rivers functioned as natural corridors, allowing for the rapid advance of the farming way of life towards the interior regions of Europe. However, comparative analysis of the distribution patterns of specific diagnostic components of Early Neolithic cultures, such as white painted pottery, anthropomorphic figurines and miniature “cult tables”, from the Early Neolithic settlements in the Middle Struma Valley, southwestern Bulgaria, namely Kovachevo, Ilindentsi, Brezhani, Drenkovo and Balgarchevo I shows a rather unexpected direction and dynamic of cultural/social contact during this crucial period.