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Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometry was used to obtain source determinations for 11 obsidian artefacts from five archaeological sites in Bulgaria. The results show that all the archaeological specimens can be linked to obsidian sources in the Carpathian Mountains in the border region between Hungary and Slovakia. Obsidian from the C2E source in Hungary occurred in very early Neolithic contexts at Dzhulyunitsa, while the majority of samples from later contexts at Ohoden, Dzherman and Varna came mainly from the Slovakian (C1) source. The data hint at a shift from the use of C2 obsidian in the Neolithic before 5900 cal BC, to a preference for C1 obsidian in later periods - however, more finds and better contextual and chronological data are required to verify this trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most models of Neolithization of the Balkans have focused on pottery, with little attention paid to other aspects of material culture. A distinctive feature of the Early Neolithic Karanovo I culture of Bulgaria is a flint industry characterized by 'macroblade' technology and widespread use of 'Balkan Flint' in conjunction with formal toolkits. The origins of this technology and the associated raw material procurement system are still unresolved. Balkan flint also occurs in Early Neolithic contexts outside the Karanovo I culture area, notably in the southern Balkans (Turkish Thrace) and in the lower Danube catchment (Carpathian Basin, Iron Gates, southern Romania and northern Bulgaria). The only securely identified outcrops of Balkan flint are in the Upper Cretaceous Mezdra Formation in the Pleven-Nikopol region of northern Bulgaria. One of the most challenging aspects of the Neolithization debate is to accommodate the evidence provided by lithic studies. Among outstanding questions are: (i) was Balkan flint used by the first ('pre-Karanovo') Neolithic communities in Bulgaria; (ii) what role did Balkan flint play in the Neolithization of Southeast Europe; (iii) did access to Balkan flint result in the emergence of a new laminar technology; (iv) how did the Early Neolithic Balkan flint exchange network compare to that based on obsidian, which developed in and around the Aegean Basin; and (iv) what and where were the origins of the Balkan flint network and the formal tools associated with it? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bulgarian prehistoric sequence is characterized by the use of particular raw materials in distinct 'cultural' contexts. The Karanovo I and II stages of the Early Neolithic (part of a supra-regional technocomplex in the Balkans) are recognisable by formal toolkits made of Balkan flint. The Chalcolithic period is famous for its superblades made of high-quality Ludogorie flint, which also attain a wider Balkan distribution. Despite a solid corpus of reliable data for northern Bulgaria from our previous field surveys and laboratory analyses, there are still questions that can only be resolved by further research. This paper presents the results of petrographic and chemical (LA-ICP-MS) analyses of a series of archaeological artefacts and raw material samples collected during a survey in Shumen District of northeast Bulgaria. These data allow us to i) distinguish two new types of flint (Shumen I and II) which are represented by both raw material outcrops and artefacts and previously referred to as 'Moesian flint'; and ii) expand our analytical data for the Kriva Reka type of Ludogorie flint, confirming its substantial role in prehistoric flint production, distribution and use. These results suggest a more complex network of raw material sources and distribution routes in prehistory than previously assumed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]