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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]

The Early Neolithic complexes located in Western Siberia are characterized by the following common determinant features: chronological position within the end of 7,000 – turn of 6,000 cal BC, flat-bottomed vessels, design layouts of vessel necks (lips, rims, collars), and geometric and tree-like ornamental elements. The ceramic complexes are distinguished by different qualitative and quantitative ratios of the types of pottery (Boborykino, Koshkino, Satyga (with rims), comb ceramics, etc.) identified by researchers. When found in the same occupation layer, such a variety of ceramics might be evidence of an unequal sociocultural structure of the Neolithic population groups. The author stand for the concept that ceramic production and new stone processing skills and technologies were introduced (Zach, 2018, 2020) to the indigenous groups with Mesolithic traditions. It resulted in the interaction of autochthonous groups and newcomers and the subsequent merging of their structures, which ran differently in different territories. The author tend to consider the development of “syncretistic” societies in the first stages of such interaction in the Tobol-Ishim Rivers area as a process of transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic. Various types of pottery have been recorded at Boborykino complexes. The variety increases at Koshkino complexes, in different settlements and different proportions, which apparently reflects the formation of a new stable cultural tradition. The Kozlovo ceramics became such a tradition, being characterized by round-bottomed vessels with sags in the interior of the rim and a combination of ornaments in mainly incised-receding and comb techniques.

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]

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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 article presents the results of a study of the Sokolny XVII camp-site (Republic of Mari El). The physical and geographical characteristics of the location of the site are given and a brief history of the study is given. Information about the stratigraphy and planographic distribution of finds is presented. The authors publish data on palynological analysis. A ceramic complex consisting of 52 vessels is characterized. A study of ceramics manufacturing technology was carried out based on a historical and cultural approach. An analysis of the elements and motifs of the ornament is carried out. The ceramic and flint complex of the Sokolny XVII site typologically and technologically finds the closest analogies in the materials of the Early Neolithic of the Mari Volga region. At the same time, the collection contains some local features. In ancient times, at the site of the site there were mixed broadleaved and coniferous forests with a predominance of pine; linden and oak also played an important role in the composition of the forests. Data on the technical and technological analysis of ceramics indicate the existence of several types of initial plastic raw materials with uniformity in the formulation of the molding mass. The obtained radiocarbon dates, as well as existing analogies, help determine the time of existence of the monument in the second half of the 6th millennium BC.

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.

An analysis was carried out on the materials from the settlements of the Early Neolithic period at Lake Mergen (Mergen 3, 7, 8) in the Lower Ishim River basin (Western Siberia). The aim of the research was the consolidation of the obtained data and its preliminary correlation with synchronous complexes of the forest-steppe zone of the Trans-Urals and Western Siberia. The source base of the work was constituted by the Early Neolithic pottery collections, stone goods, and planigraphic drawings of the archaeological sites. The pottery-making traditions of the ancient population were analysed from the standpoint of syncretising two approaches — formal classificatory, and historical and cultural — in several stages: comparative-typological analysis of the morphology and ornamentation, and preliminary conclusions of the technical-technological investigation of artefacts. The stone goods are presented from the results of the typological and traceological investigation and using the data of the petrography. The house-building traditions have been considered in terms of a thorough analysis of the planigraphy and stratigraphy of the buildings, as well as taking into account the established classification of the archaeological sites. As the result, it has been found that for the ancient communities at Lake Mergen characteristic were the dwellings with ditches of a rounded shape, contralateral recessions, and drains in the floors. Predominant were open thick-walled flat-bottomed pottery vessels of potted-jarlike shapes, with a rounded cut of the rims, ornamentation, in the stroke or streak technique. About a third of the items were without ornamentation. The straight line, sparse pitted indentation, and zigzag constitute the principal element of decoration. Nearly half of the ornamented vessels feature compositions elaborated with geometrical figures (triangles, rhombi, parallelograms), rhombic lattice etc. As the raw moldable material in the ware fabrication, potters used highly oversanded silty clays, to which chamotte and organic compound were added. Scrap was the main building material. The firing was carried out in the natural conditions under the effect of temperatures no less than 650°C. The dominant raw material in the stone industry is represented by local run-of-river quartzose sandstone. Also identified were rocks related to the South-Urals jasper province, Kazakh Uplands. The complex is lamelliferous, dominated by the items of a width up to 1 cm (60%). On the basis of the obtained data, there has been established the chronological priority of the considered materials with respect to the complex of the settlement of Mergen 6, whilst in the pottery making the link with its pottery group I (Boborykino). There have been confirmed the analogies with the Boborykino complex of the settlement of Yurtobor 3 (the Lower Tobol River basin). A hypothesis has been drawn on the synchroneity with the Barabino antiquities (the Barabino Culture of the Neolithic), similarity of the Neolithic with flat-bottomed pottery with them within the Western Siberian affinity, but not on the cultural unity.

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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.)

As part of our approach, the main objective was to identify the two archaeological sites within the radius of Perieni commune, Vaslui county. Although there were mentions in the specialized literature about them and, in the case of the Perieni-Râpa Râşcanilor (Roşcanilor) settlement, archaeological excavations were carried out, their exact position in the administrative territory of the Perieni commune was not known. The settlement of Perieni-Râpa Râşcanilor (Roşcanilor) is located approximately 1.7 km NNW from the current center of Perieni village (Pl. 3), on Roşca Valley, as the place name appears on the map of Moldova from 1892-1898 (Pl. 1/2) and on early 20th century firing plans. Following this research, it was found that the habitation during the Starčevo-Criş culture is the most intense, followed by the linear pottery culture, Hallstatt, the Sântana de Mureş-Cerneahov culture and the early Middle Ages. The second settlement, the one from Perieni-Valea Babei, was identified on a ledge located at an interfluve of two streams that have a temporary course (Pl. 3/1,2), on the northern edge of the village, at the northern entrance of the village Perieni, approximately 1.4 km southeast of the settlement of Perieni-Râpa Râşcanilor (Roşcanilor). In this settlement we discovered materials characteristic of the Starčevo-Criş culture. Taking into account the materials discovered in the two archaeological sites, discoveries that correspond to the results of previous research, we can say that we have succeeded in achieving our goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 most ancient pottery in the Eastern Europe appeared at the end of the 7th – first half of the 6th millennium BC and spread across a greater part of the Eastern Europe, including the Dnieper-Dvina basin by the middle of the 6th millennium BC. At the end of the 6th millennium BC new ceramic traditions appeared here, attributed to the Rudnya archaeological culture. The authors present an overview of the ceramic complex, bone industry, constructions, and chronology of the Rudnya culture. Similarities with ceramic complex of the Rudnya culture were found within various groups of the Narva culture. It could testify the change of vectors of cultural contacts at the end of 6th millennium BC manifesting destruction of the established network of cultural contacts that existed before in the 6th millennium BC. The Narva culture traditions probably spread eastwards from Eastern Baltic at the end of 6th millennium BC. Such a radical change of material culture might be regarded as a result not only of the cultural impulse, but probably arrival of new population from the western territories to the Upper Western Dvina area.

In this paper, stone tools of the Neolithic settlement of Mergen 8, located in the forest-steppe zone of Western Siberia in the Lower Ishim river basin, are analyzed. The mixed cultural layer of the settlement contained materials from two periods of its inhabitation, associated with the Boborykino Culture of the early Neolithic period and with the pottery ornamented with comb stamp of the late Neolithic period. The identification of the two chronologically different types of pottery raised the question of possibility of separating the stone implements. The aim of this work is to attempt differentiation from the mixed cultural layer of the groups of stone tools associated with a certain cultural and chronological section of the settlement. The peculiarity of the cultural layer of the Mergen 8 settlement was the presence of the dwelling 1 and some pits unimpaired by the upper horizons. In the methodological aspect of this work, stratigraphic and planigraphic analyzes with the aid of the feedstock characteristics of stone formed the basis, on which a relatively clean complex of quartz sandstone and flint was isolated, associated with the filling of the dwelling 1, in which pottery of the Boborykino Culture was found. The differentiation of the stone tools from the mixed layer was based upon the raw material that was found in the bottom part of the dwelling’s ditch, undisturbed by other layers. The complex of the stone tools made of jasper quartzite and schist, established during the field fixation, is associated with the comb-type pottery. Thus, in the course of our study, out of 417 finds of the stone tools 276 (66 % of the entire complex) were assigned to the Boborykino complex, 50 (12 %) to the comb complex, and 91 finds (22 %) were not possible to attribute to any type of pottery. Bearing in mind that separation by feedstock has a certain degree of conventionality, it should be noted that the stone taken from the undisturbed near-bottom part of the Boborykino dwelling 1 reflects the most plausible nature of the stone industry of this period of inhabitation. In addition, in our opinion, attempts to link stone implements and their features with a certain type of pottery facilitate the formation of a clear concept of the development of the stone industry in the region in the Neolithic.

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.

In this paper, a ceramic complex (groups III and IV) of the early Neolithic settlement of Mergen 6 (Lower Ishim River region, Western Siberia, 7th millennium BC) is examined. The aim of the work is to analyze the materials through the prism of contacts, connections and mixing of different cultural traditions in the early Neolithic period of the Trans-Urals and Western Siberia. The research is based on the elements of the historical-cultural and formal-classification approaches. The source base comprises 284 vessels. As the result of the analysis carried out in several stages (morphology of the vessels, tools and techniques for applying ornamentation, structural components of the decor, the nature of the systematic organization of the ornamental components, and relationship between the image components and structure of the vessel’s shape), it was found that the products of group III correspond to the tradition of making vessels with relief bands of the taiga zone of Western Siberia and the Urals (Satyginsky, Mulymyinsky types, etc.), whereas those of group IV demonstrate a mixture of all pottery traditions identified within the complex. On this basis, the main directions of the sociocultural ties of the ancient population of the Lower Ishim region in the early Neolithic period have been determined — western (the Middle and Southern Trans-Urals), north-western (the taiga zone of Western Siberia and the southern Northern Trans-Urals), and, probably, southern (the steppes of modern Northern Kazakhstan). One of the most important factors of the variability of the early Neolithic pottery has been identified — the interaction and mixing of different communities. All this allows speaking about the settlement of Mergen 6 as a center (cultural, economic, sacred (?)) at the intersection of landscape and geographical zones (steppe — forest, Trans-Urals — Western Siberia) and ways of dispersal of various groups of the ancient population.

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]

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The article "The Early Neolithic Cultural Transformation in the Targowisko Settlement Region, SE Poland" deals with the cultural change in the early Neolithic settlement region of Targowisko in southeastern Poland. The study examines various aspects such as settlement phases, the function of "pseudo-ditches," and the organization of the settlement space. Fundamental cultural changes have been identified, particularly in terms of symbolism, while continuity mainly concerns everyday objects. The results suggest a connection between the late Linearbandkeramik (LBK) and the Middle Culture (MC). The study shows that there was continuity of settlement in the region, although sociocultural and genetic aspects changed. Remains of cereal crops were also found, indicating continued agricultural activity. The results demonstrate that the cultural change in the Targowisko settlement region was complex and requires further investigation. [Extracted from the article]

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.