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Papers by Agathe Reingruber

Research paper thumbnail of The Oϊkos, the Orygma and the Open Spaces: Aegean Neolithic Settlement Patterns in Perspective
Household Practices and Houses – Current Approaches from Archaeology and the Sciences, 2024
Models of the Neolithisation process in the Aegean and SE Europe as developed in the 20th century... moreModels of the Neolithisation process in the Aegean and SE Europe as developed in the 20th century AD had to build on the scant evidence available at that time. Information from distant regions in Greece (Argolid, Macedonia and Thessaly) covering one millennium (6500–5500 BC) was forced into meaningful ‘narratives’. Yet, neither the concept of the ‘tell’ nor that of the ‘village’ had been readily adapted at the beginning of the EN in Macedonia and Thessaly since flat sites of the dispersed settlement type (hamlets) prevail. Only for the 6th millennium BC is there evidence of nucleated hamlets with clusters of rooms and houses sharing a courtyard.
With the application of non-invasive methods of both archaeological and geophysical prospections, evaluated interdisciplinary with the help of Geographical Information Systems (GIS), new insights can be provided. Thessalian tells (magoules) may not be the only settlement type, and perhaps not even the rule during the EN and early MN. The reason therefore is the horizontal shifting of residential areas instead of building vertically new houses on top of the abandoned one. Therefore, much more attention must be paid in the future to the laterally offset of dwelling areas and the horizontal shifting of either single houses or clusters of houses.
Fig. 1: Settlement patterns as developed in Social Geography (Connor 2019: fig. 12.6)
Fig. 2: Map of the Aegean with a selection of sites mentioned in the text.
The Oikos, the Orygma and the Open Spaces
Fig. 4: Paliambela-Kolindros in central Macedonia. Schematic plan of the Early Neolithic pits on the lower terrace, cut by subsequent ditches (after Papadakou 2011: fig. 2; Kotsakis 2018: fig. 3.2).
Fig. 5: Nea Nikomedeia. Preliminary plan of the 1963 excavations (Pyke 1996: fig. 2.1) The Oikos, the Orygma and the Open Spaces
Fig. 6: Maroulas on Kythnos. Plan of the site with excavated trenches (T1—T31) including round to oval con- structions (C1—C31) and burials (G1—G13) (Kaczanowska et al. 2008: fig. 6). The Oikos, the Orygma and the Open Spaces
Fig. 7: Elateia 1 in NE Thessaly. Interpretation of the magnetogram (G. Tsokas, A. Mohrs, A. Reingruber). The Oikos, the Orygma and the Open Spaces
Fig. 8: The area of Sesklo as inhabited during the Middle Neolithic (in the centre), the tell site Sesklo A with the two plateaus (right), and Clusters 1-3 in Sesklo B (left) (after Kotsakis 1994: 126-127 fig. 1; 2014: figs. 2-3).
Fig. 9: Sesklo A-C: radiocarbon dates obtained on charcoal (Reingruber/Thissen 2017: http://www. 14sea.org/2_dates.html). spur between the two rivulets on which the magoula formed determined from the onset a rather restricted space for habitation of not more than 0.5 ha. But note that the Neolithic accumulations are resting on two terraces at different heights: the lower northern plateau
Research paper thumbnail of Dating the Early Neolithic in Pelagonia: closing a chronological gap in Balkan prehistory
tions became possible with the de velopment of radio carbon dating in the late 1940s. Both approa... moretions became possible with the de velopment of radio carbon dating in the late 1940s. Both approaches have been accepted and criticized, allowing archaeologists to favour the one that better supported their views on temporality. Balkan archaeology is no exception in this regard, and numerous attempts have been made to determine both the beginning and end of the Neolithic Age, with the KLJUÈNE BESEDE -zgodnji neolitik; Pelagonija, geografska regija Makedonija; absolutna kronologija; pro ces neolitizacije IZVLEÈEK -Potem ko je Gordon V. Childe pred 100 leti prviè predstavil širjenje kulture z Blinjega vzhoda v Evropo, so nastali razlièni modeli napredovanja neolitskega naèina ivljenja. Kronologija je imela pri tem pomembno vlogo, vendar zaradi pomanjkljivih podatkov v zgodbe niso bile vkljuèene vse re gije. Nedavne raziskave v Pelagoniji, na mejnem obmoèju med Severno Makedonijo in Grèijo, so pri nesle nova in zanesljiva radiokarbonska zaporedja; skupaj 42 novih radiokarbonskih datumov, ki bodo vkljuèeni v razprave o neolitski kronologiji Balkana.
Research paper thumbnail of Sesshaft – und wie geht es weiter? Ortswechsel und Ortskonstanz im Becken von Sykourio, Thessalien
Mitteilungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte 42, 2021
Eine Konstante in der prähistorischen Archäologie ist die Unterteilung von Gemeinschaften in solc... moreEine Konstante in der prähistorischen Archäologie ist die Unterteilung von Gemeinschaften in solche vor der Sesshaftwerdung und solche, die sesshaft lebten. Der Übergang von (weitestgehend) ortsunabhängigen jagenden, fischenden und sammelnden Gruppen zu ortsgebundenen, bäuerlich lebenden Gemeinschaften ist in verschiedenen Regionen zu unterschiedlichen Zeiten vollzogen worden: im Vorderen Orient im 10. Jahrtausend v. Chr., in der Ägäis im 7. Jahrtausend und in Mittel-Europa im 6. Jahrtausend v. Chr.
Im Becken von Sykourio, Thessalien, zeichnet sich in bestimmten, womöglich klimatisch bedingten Perioden, ein Lebens- und Wirtschaftsmodell mit einer mobilen Sesshaftigkeit ab. Entweder in Ergänzung oder als Ersatz für eine ortskonstante Siedlungsweise, die zur Bildung von Tells (Magulen) führte, kam es zu wiederholten Ortswechseln, die nur dünne Ablagerungen hinterließen.
Research paper thumbnail of Regional styles and supra-regional networks in the Aegean before and around 6000 cal BC
In: P. F. Biehl and E. Rosenstock (ed.), 6000 BC: Transformation and Change in the Near East and Europe., 2022
In the Near East, the primary Neolithization zone, the “Neolithic Bauplan” (Zeder 2009), was piec... moreIn the Near East, the primary Neolithization zone, the “Neolithic Bauplan” (Zeder 2009), was pieced together over several millennia. In the Aegean, the secondary Neolithization zone, we similarly cannot speak of a singular moment when the Neolithic way of life was established, but compared to the more than 10,000 years of its finalization in the Fertile Crescent (Zeder 2009:18), its implementation in southeast Europe lasted “only” some 500 years. During this half millennium of transformations, we can observe a transfer of innovations from one region to its neighbors – thus a far-reaching net of exchange and communication was established. Its basis was already formed during the Mesolithic as can be demonstrated by the exchange networks and the occurrence of obsidian from Melos in most of the Aegean.
Figure 15.1 Bone tool provinces in the Aegean Early Neolithic. (illustration by the author)
Figure 15.3 Pottery provinces in the Aegean Early Neolithic. (illustration by the author) ceased to be produced. In south-central Greece, little impressed pottery has been revealed, similar to southern Greece where no impresso has been known (Furholt 2011: Figure 15.3). Here, in the Argolid, rainbow pottery and red-painted surfaces imitated the northern prototypes at a time when in the north the Middle Neolithic (“Sesklo culture”) started. western Aegean. Similarly, bone tools in the Lake District display a specific repertoire, of which only very general traits can be found in the Aegean. Southwest Anatolia served as an innovation center for the neighboring areas, but for a lack of knowledge regarding the coastal parts of southwest Anatolia the basis for infer- ence remains unsecured and the details of the transfer mechanisms unclear. Hopefully, this gap in research will be closed in the next few years. According to “C-dates, pottery in the western Aegean appeared first in:
Light gray: Thessaly, medium gray: Macedonia, dark gray: Lake District. Excluded is the information on Sesklo: Schwartz determined the bones from 1972, but that year excavations were conducted in the flat settlement Sesklo B dating mainly to the Middle Neolithic (MN) (Schwartz 1981:112, table 30-31; Kotsakis 1983: fig. 11). Sources: Argissa Magoula: Boessneck 1962; Achilleion I: Gimbutas et al. 1989:316, table 13.2; Hoca Cegme: Buitenhuis 1992:51; Nea Nikomedeia: Rodden 1965:83-91; Higgs 1962:271-274; Servia: Ridley and Wardle 1979:228; Hoyiicek Early Settlements Phase (EYD): De Cupere 200s: fig. 23; Kurucay 13 (bones from ruminants are considered to derive from wild species): Deniz 1994:76-78, 109. Table 15.1 Frequency of animal bones in three different regions
Research paper thumbnail of The Basins of Sykourio and Elateia in Northeastern Thessaly: an attempt at reconstructing the (pre)historic landscape
ΑΡΧΑΙΟΛΟΓΙΚΟ ΕΡΓΟ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΙΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΣΤΕΡΕΑΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΑΣ 6, 2022
In order to study more intensively the area south of Mt Olympos and west of Mt Ossa, a joint Gree... moreIn order to study more intensively the area south of Mt Olympos and west of Mt Ossa, a joint Greek-German project has been initiated, under the auspices of the Ephorate of Antiquities in Larissa, in collaboration with the Free University of Berlin and the support of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation – Project number RE 1699/2-1). The two main targets of the project are: (1) the study of artifacts collected during surface surveys of prehistoric sites in the said area, now kept in the storerooms of the Ephorate of Antiquities in Larissa, and (2) the continuation of the systematic survey of this area, carried out by the Ephorate of Antiquities. Among the main goals of the survey project is the analysis of the landscape, based on historical and modern descriptions and maps, on Digital Elevation Models (DEM) and on personal observations. Judging by the evidence supplied by the survey project, we suggest that the northeasternmost part of Thessaly is not an integral part of the Thessalian Plain, but forms a separate small sedimentary basin.
Fig. 1. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of northeastern Thessaly with the basins of Sykourio and Elateia, west of Mt Ossa. To the DEM, lakes and rivers, digitised from historical maps, were added.
THE BASINS OF SYKOURIO AND ELATEIA IN NORTHEASTERN THESSALY Fig. 3. Simplified sketch of the recent geological evolution of the Basin of Sykourio, and a proposal for the extension of the palaeolake since the Pleistocene (S. Valkaniotis). Growth and westward expansion of the Xerias river alluvial fan, and a more recent opening towards the Elateia basin to the northeast, led to the containment of the palaeolake to the southern part of the basin (Bara Toibasi).
Fig. 4. Areas A —- G where systematic surveys have been carried out in the spring of 2017.
Research paper thumbnail of The impressed pottery of the Aegean Neolithic
Relatively absolute, 2023
This chapter presents data on impressed decorated vessels from the Neolithic of the circum-Aegean... moreThis chapter presents data on impressed decorated vessels from the Neolithic of the circum-Aegean, focusing on the north-western Aegean, where they are most common. Included are mainly those sites that have been reliably radiocarbon dated, where the contexts of impressed sherds were well-documented and their frequency indicated. Our intention is to show where and when the highest concentrations of impressed sherds with the greatest variety of styles occurred. By revealing the origin of this specific category of finds, we conclude that the transfer of e.g., ceramic styles in the Aegean region was not uni- but multidirectional, which ultimately challenges the ex oriente lux model.
Figure 1. Map of the Aegean with a selection of Neolithic sites mentioned in the text As we do not dispose of enough information regarding decorated pottery from closed or ongo- ing projects in the Western Thessalian sites of Ag. Anna Tirnavou, Prodromos I-III, Theopetra or Sykeon (Chourmouziades 1971; Krahtopoulou et al. 2020; Kyparissi-Apostolika 2000; Chatziangelakis and Vou- zaxakis 2022), we will focus instead on Eastern Thessaly (Figure 1).
Figure 2. Impressed sherds from Otzaki Magoula. 1-6: Area II, level 16a (after Mottier 1981: Taf: 5); 7-13: Area III, ‘Upper layer’; 14-19: Area III, ‘Middle layer’ (after Milojcic-v. Zumbusch 1971: Taf: XXV, XXIV and XX; scale 1:3).. shapes cannot be firmly reconstructed, but beaded rims and slightly elongated lips fit into the general reper- toire (Reingruber 2008: Taf. 26.15 and Taf. XXIX.12,14,28 Compare also Otzaki, Area III, ‘Upper layer’: Milojci¢-von Zumbusch 1971: Taf. XX.4—7,11). Outstanding yet is a concave base of the early MN com- parable to Figure 2.9 (Reingruber 2008: Taf. 29.26) — it often recurs in the material from Elateia 1 where it appears exclusively with comb-impressed ornaments (Figure 3.6). In Argissa, the ornaments in the negative also confirm the continuity from EN to MN.
Figure 4. Nea Nikomedeia: well-displayed ornaments on thin-walled vessels of deep, slightly closed or opened bowls (after Yiouni 1996: Figure 5.55)
Figure 5. Radiocarbon dates from Revenia (1) and Mavropigi (2), plotted on the calibration curve. The green squares outline the most probable duration of the total settlement periods. In Western Macedonia, in the hilly areas on both sides of the river Alia sites of Paliambela-Roditis and Varemenoi-Goulon decorated sherds are gen (Urem-Kotsou et al. 2017, Tab. 1 and Figure 8). If at all quantifiably, the im erally fewer than in t kmon and its tributaries, at the he Pieria pressed decorated ones do not exceed 0.4% of the total bulk of materials, similar to the quantity observed in Nea Nikomedeia. At Mavra- nei-Panagia farther west, in the area of Grevena (Wilkie and Savina 1997: 203, Figure 2), only a sherds were reported. New insights are expected from the Grevena Archaeo (a collaboration between the Ephorate of Antiquities of Grevena and the Landscape Archaeology Group at the Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology). Even in Servia V, c Wardle (1979: 193, 207) mentioned only a few sherds with nail impressions t As this latter site is dated to post-5800 BC, there may be a temporal reason at play as this kind o tion is of earlier periods. More reliable data, though, have been obtained on the large-scale excavation at Mavropigi-Fillotsairi. few such ogical Project started in 2021 Research losest to Thessaly, Ridley and hat were also not quantifiable. f decora-
Figure 6. Mavropigi-Fillotsairi: Sherds of various vessel shapes, with impressions covering most of the vessel body (Bonga 2020: Figures 17-18) In Mavropigi, a variety of different decorations in the negative has been documented (Bonga 2017: Figure 7; 2019: Figure 4; 2020: Figs. 16-18): Besides fingernails and finger pinches, blunt or sharp tools were also used to decorate the vessels, but no comb-like tools. Like at the other Macedonian sites, also in Mavropigi, habitation did not continue into the 6" millennium BC, and this may be why no multi-toothed decorations (comparable to the MN in Thessaly) were applied.
Figure 7. Calibrated radiocarbon dates from levels with impressed sherds from Mavropigi (‘Central Orygma’), Paliambela-Kolindrou (Pit 630 of the EN 1) and Ulucak Va-IVb (more information on individual dates at www.14SEA.org) As asserted by all authors, decoration (be it painted or impressed) is not an outstanding characteristic of these inventories and is usually given as few, rare or even very rare (Cilingiroglu 2016: 81, Herling et al. 2008: 21; Saglamtimur 2012: 200).
Figure 8. Frequency of impressed decorated sherds per circum-Aegean area and per time (before, around, and after 6000 cal BC).
Table 1. Frequency of impressed decoration from Otzaki, Area III (after Milojcic-von Zumbusch 1971, Vol. I: 79-80 and Vol. IT: Beilage 1; counted are the impressed categories VI]a—VIIle)
Table 2. Frequency of impressed decoration from Revenia-Korinos (after Papaioannou 2011, tables 5.4—5.8)
Table 3. Frequency of impressed decoration from the ‘Central Orygma’ at Mavropigi-Fillotsairi The radiocarbon dates may suggest an anteriority of the Mavropigi and Paliambela examples (Fig- ure 7) as compared to those from Nea Nikomedeia (or also Otzaki in Thessaly) we can potentially trace a chronological development, with changes in style and quality.
Research paper thumbnail of Spoons from Spondylus: A New Interpretation of Aegean Neolithic Artefacts Based on Finds from Elateia and Nessonis in Northeast Thessaly
HAYAT: A Life Dedicated to Archaeology. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology in Memory of Hayat Erkanal, 2023
Spondylus gaederopus is a bivalve marine mollusc that has been used in the Aegean since the Neoli... moreSpondylus gaederopus is a bivalve marine mollusc that has been used in the Aegean since the Neolithic as a raw material for ornaments, such as beads and bracelets. Less well known is that the upper, smaller, crimson valve was also used as a utilitarian object. In the case of completely preserved valves it is often assumed that these were brought to the settlements as raw material for the production of ornaments. In the context of this short contribution, a different interpretation will be proposed: During the intensive surface excavations in north-eastern Thessaly, several Spondylus valves were discovered, which are interpreted here as spoon bowls due to their shape, the well-thumbed lock and the worn edges. Their use as spoons could also explain the lack of bone spoons at most Aegean sites. Because of the constant availability of the raw material shell near the coast, it was not only used in the Early Neolithic, but also in later periods, even in the Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age.
Research paper thumbnail of Timelines in the Neolithic of Southwestern Anatolia, the Circum-Aegean, the Balkans and the Middle Danube Area
Making Spaces into Places, 2020
Chronological frameworks as we conceive of them today are the result of the investment of many ge... moreChronological frameworks as we conceive of them today are the result of the investment of many generations of prehistoric archaeologists. Each of these generations has optimised the system by introducing new, partly revolutionary investigation methods such as radiocarbon dating. Even 70 years after its introduction in 1949, our generation still benefits from its potential. Before, comparative stratigraphy and relative chronological evaluation were used to search for simultaneous changes in human behaviour over large areas, leading to the definition of so-called horizons. Later, the first absolute dates both appalled and appealed to archaeologists, changing their perception of the depth of time and synchronicity. Today, sequences of absolute dates suitable for statistically tested models are essential for verifying the existence and duration of such horizons and for making gaps and interruptions more visible. This chapter highlights three timelines that are crucial in such a supra-regional context: the first at the beginning of the Neolithic in the Anatolian-
Aegean sphere, the second at the beginning of the Neolithic in the Aegean-Balkan sphere and the third at the beginning of the Neolithic in the Central European-Danubian sphere.
Research paper thumbnail of Principles and Methods of Dating in Archaeology (Neolithic — Middle Ages)
Коллективная монография посвящена принципам и методам датирования памятников археологии от неолит... moreКоллективная монография посвящена принципам и методам датирования памятников археологии от неолита до средних веков. В книге представлены как материалы российско-германского научного коллоквиума «Принципы археологического датирования памятников эпохи бронзы, железного века и средневековья» (2-3 декабря 2013 г., Санкт-Петербург), так и дальнейшие исследования его участников. Глава 1 «Общие вопросы» посвящена концепции времени в археологии (Л. С. Клейн, В. Шир, В. С. Бочкарев и М. Т. Кашуба, Е. А. Черленок). В главах 2 и 3 в русле заявленной темы рассмотрены культуры и памятники неолита-бронзового века (А. Райнгрубер, И. В. Палагута и Е. Г. Старкова, Э. Кайзер, М. А. Кулькова и Н. А. Боковенко) и железного века-средних веков (О. В. Шаров, Й. Шнеевайсс, В. Н. Седых) в широком географическом диапазоне от Южной Сибири до Балкано-Карпатского региона и от Балтийского побережья до Средиземноморья. Особое внимание уделено актуальным проблемам теории и практики датирования археологических материалов с помощью археологических, исторических и естественно-научных методов анализа. Применение различных методов датирования обсуждалось в контексте общих принципов датирования, традиционных и современных. Книга предназначена для археологов, этнографов, историков, студентов и читателей, интересующихся археологией и древней историей Северной Евразии. This volume is dedicated to the principles and methods of dating in archaeology and includes case studies from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages. It includes papers presented at the Russian-German scientific colloquium «Principles of Dating in the Bronze, Iron and Middle Ages» at St. Petersburg State University on 2 nd-3 rd December 2013, as well as further research by participants of this colloquium. In the chapter 1 «General questions» different concepts of time and chronology in archaeology are discussed (L. S. Klejn, W. Schier, V. S. Bochkarev and M. T. Kashuba, E. A. Cherlenok). Chapters 2 and 3 are devoted to studies on cultures and sites of the Neolithic and Bronze Age (A. Reingruber, I. V. Palaguta and E. H. Starkova, E. Kaiser, M. A. Kulkova and N.A. Bokovenko) and the Late Iron Age as well as the Middle Ages (O. V. Sharov, J. Schneeweiß, V. N. Sedykh). The geographical space examined in these papers ranges from Southern Siberia to the Balkans-Carpathian region and from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean. Particular attention has been paid to current issues and challenges in theory and practice in dating material culture using archaeological, historical and scientific methods. The application of different dating methods was discussed in the context of general dating principles and traditional and modern. This collective monograph is intended for archaeologists, ethnologists, historians, students and a circle of readers interested in archaeology and prehistory in Northern Eurasia.
Research paper thumbnail of Souvatzi, Reingruber, Toufexis, 2021. Socializing the Landscape in the Early Neolithic of Thessaly, Greece
Open Archaeology
This article attempts to draw attention to the social choices of the earliest farming societies, ... moreThis article attempts to draw attention to the social choices of the earliest farming societies, evaluating new and old settlement data from the Early Neolithic of Thessaly in Greece. We examine the inhabitation of landscapes, the organisation of the inhabited spaces and the human–landscape interaction as a framework for the creation of a socialised environment. Taking into account aspects such as settlement location, duration, architecture and intra- and intersite arrangements, this study shows that the observed diversity in space and time reflects alternative modes of settlement and land use, variations in notions of permanence and continuity and different modalities of the adoption and meaning of new socioeconomic practices. This evidence challenges traditional interpretations of simplicity, homogeneity and change as being induced from outside and calls for a new reading of the Early Neolithic. We argue that the model of a single and uniform development, deriving from concepts of...
Figure 1: Map of Thessaly with the securely dated Early Neolithic sites mentioned in the text (Agathe Reingruber and Amelie Mohrs). As a first step, awareness of the data limitations is essential in order to utilise all the available informa- ion effectively as well as to avoid merely reproducing Regarding time framework, the refinement of a uniform nave also often resulted in confusing terminology and p ‘Initial Neolithic” phase throughout Greece in which po imits and interregional correlations is still underway. biases, stereotypes and general theories of the past. chronological sequence in Greece with definite time Comparisons with the Balkans and the Near East hasing. The consensus reached recently envisages an tery was absent or scarce (ca. 6600-6500 cal BC?). Its 2xact chronological position relies on critical evaluations of statistically modelled sequences (Reingruber & Thissen, 2017; Weninger et al., 2014) and not on sing chronocultural period or a very early phase of the EN e calibrated dates. But whether this is an absolute is debatable (see below). The EN is relatively long- asting (6500-6000 cal BC) but has rarely been the subject of concentrated field research. The Middle Neo- ithic (MN), in contrast, emerged as a shorter period than previously believed (6000-5500 cal BC), and it is much better known than the EN. The Late Neolithic (5500-4500 cal BC) remains the best-documented period across Greece. The Final Neolithic (4500-3300 cal BC) has only recently been better distinguished from both he Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age (Dietz, Mavridis, Tankosi¢c, & Takaoglu, 2018; Tsirtsoni, 2016). While the study of Neolithic Greece was initiated in Thessaly by the pioneering excavations of Christos Tsountas in the late 19th and early 20th century and Thessaly has been the focus of attention ever since,
Figure 2: The tell of Sesklo and surrounding landscape from the southwest, aerial photograph (Copyright: Vassiliki Adrimi- Sismani). around 8,000 years BP and 4.5 m lower around 5,000-4,500 years BP. Neolithic sites might have therefore existed in the area later occupied by the sea. Deposits that can verifiably be dated to the EN I have been excavated at Sesklo (Theocharis, 1973), Argissa (Milojéi¢, 1962) and Zerelia (Moundrea-Agrafioti, 2017). They were also presumably reached at the nowa- days completely levelled sites of Nessonis I and Gediki (Theocharis, 1962). Achilleion and Soufli Magoula, on the other hand, assigned to the EN I by previous research, have been re-dated to the EN II (Gallis, 1982; Reingruber, 2008; Reingruber & Thissen, 2009), while other sites, including Platia Magoula Zarkou and Nessonis II, have been re-dated to the MN (Pentedeka, in press) or the EN/MN transition, respectively (Reingruber & Toufexis, forthcoming).
Figure 3: Sesklo tell: stratigraphic profile showing the sequence from the Early Neolithic to the end of the Middle Neolithic, a period of abandonment and reoccupation in the Late Neolithic II (Wijnen, 1981, Figure 5). ocation offers an ideal connection point both in a north-south and east-west direction. While the evidence ‘or a Preceramic period is ambiguous, the EN is well attested both stratigraphically and architecturally. In he EN I, rectangular foundation trenches and post-holes indicate above-ground wattle-and-daub houses. 3ut perhaps the most outstanding characteristic in this early phase is the spatial arrangement of the settlement. As is well known, during the MN Sesklo combined a tell (Sesklo A) and a flat settlement (Sesklo B) spread below (Kotsakis, 1999; Theocharis, 1973). Interestingly, this combination seems to have started from he outset, comprising Sesklo A, which was later to rise 8.5m high above ground, including 4.5m of Neolithic debris, according to Theocharis (Figure 3), and Sesklo C, which was later abandoned. In other words, while area A shows successive levels of occupation forming over the centuries the tell, areas C and B oth remained single-period flat sites, occupied only during the EN and the MN, respectively. One impor- ant implication here is that people explored a variety of habitation types and combinations right from the start, even within one settlement, as the example of Sesklo suggests.*
Figure 4: The tell of Argissa today (left) next to the Peneios River (Copyright: Ephorate of Antiquities of Larissa). In the Eastern Thessalian Plain, only Argissa is securely radiocarbon dated to the period between 650 and 6300 cal BC. Part of the mound had been washed away by the Peneios River and this naturally provide orofile was used by Milojci¢ for the excavation between 1955 and 1958 of a stratigraphic trench of 24m 3m. Neolithic deposits were preserved only in the eastern part of the trench in an area of ca. 50 m*. Th owest levels contained pottery and small finds. Pit a and the postholes were dug in from above throug evels of the EN II (Reingruber, 2008, p. 141, Figure 3.7). Other rather irregular features were first interprete is dwelling pits, an interpretation which the excavator himself rejected later (Milojci¢, 1962). Anothe nterpretation is that “pits” B-¢ may represent the uneven surface as encountered by the first settle1 Reingruber, 2008, p. 143). Rectangular buildings made of clay were documented in the succeeding level »elonging to the EN II and III (Milojéi¢, 1962; Reingruber, 2008). The Neolithic deposits are less than 21 hick so the major part of the 8.40 m high mound consists mainly of Bronze Age habitation layers (Figure 4 These cut and disturbed the MN layer, yet a continuity from the EN into the MN is attested.
Figure 5: The tell of Otzaki and surrounding landscape, aerial photograph (Copyright: Ephorate of Antiquities of Larissa).
Figure 6: Architectural remains of the late Early Neolithic at Otzaki (Milojci¢, 1971, Plan VIII).
Figure 7: The flat site of Elateia-Bigmeni Petra under intensive survey in September 2017 (Agathe Reingruber).
Figure 8: Architectural remains of phases Ila (squares a and b) and IIb (squares c and d) at Achilleion (Winn & Shimabuku, 1989, Figure 4.7 and 4.11).
Research paper thumbnail of Elateia 1 in northeastern Thessaly 8000 years ago: Relative and absolute chronology of a flat extended settlement
Documenta Praehistorica, 2021
Intensive and systematic surveys in the area south of Mount Olympos and west of Mount Ossa reveal... moreIntensive and systematic surveys in the area south of Mount Olympos and west of Mount Ossa revealed not only tell settlements, but also several flat sites from different prehistoric periods. For one of the settlements, namely Elateia 1, a detailed relative chronological assessment was made with the help of statistical evaluations of pottery assemblages. In addition, short-lived bone samples confirmed and more precisely defined the exact chronological position of this 10-hectare site within the Middle Neolithic period. The present study underlines the importance of statistical evaluations of complete pottery assemblages, even those obtained through survey investigations, and their significance for a better understanding of chronological, chorological and post-depositional processes.
Flat sites are much more difficult to locate, due to their comparatively thin cultural layer subjected to erosion or, in contrast, due to their coverage with thick alluvial deposits. They are extremely endan- gered, especially since today’s agricultural machin-
Elateia 1 in northeastern Thessaly 8000 years ago: relative and absolute chronology of a flat extended settlement o their number, but also w points can be validated and highest percentage of decora firmed by the decorated sherds found there, prob- ably not in a random scattering. Not only according hen calculated in per- centage-per-total, the previously established focal others proposed: the ed sherds appeared in he almond grove, in F033 and F031 (Fig. 4). How- ever, due to poorer visibility, fewer sherds (and finds in general) have been collec ed here. eight areas were defined starting from the north- west (area NW) and ending in the southeast (area SE). For the ceramic analysis, this meant that the comparison of features was based on the number of sherds-per-area, each of which accounted for 100% within its area. of finds from, sherds and the pective. Only t This puts the unevenly high numbers for example, the SW area with 2994 NW area with 679 sherds into pers- he area NE with a sparse 77 sherds falls through t tent type of pr his grid. Thus a uniform and consis- esentation is maintained.
The seven ceramic categories represented are all monochrome. Monochrome surfaces occur in all phases and subphases of the Neolithic and Chal- colithic, and therefore this term cannot be used in a chronological sense. The term ‘monochrome’ is used here not in opposition to painted styles, but in Opposition to bichrome burnt pottery styles. To the latter would belong the black-to pped pottery of the EN II and of the LN I with different colours on the inner and outer surfaces (grey/black and light brown, respectively), additional and no such sherds occurred in bichrome burnt category refers surfaces contrasting with blac mostly the interior is black and y with a black rim, Elateia 1. Another o reddish oxidized k reduced ones - he exterior red, or, more rarely, the other way around. Such sherds are
Looking at the categories by area, some aspects stand out: most rolled/worn sherds occurred in the area NE, but they are also common in the areas CNE and CNW. In a representation without the rolled/worn sherds (Fig. 6), it can be seen that in these two areas red and light slipped sherds are also fewer, as the
Eroded/rolled = Sec. burnt # Red burnt # Red slip Light-brown ® Dark-brown #®Grey-brown — Light slip = Kaoli
Fig. 6. Elateia 1, seven pottery categories (exclud- ing the two secondary altered ones) in seven areas (excluding area NE). Impresso decoration, i.e. the intervention with an instrument or even just the thumbnail on the still moist surface of a vessel, clearly predominates. Con- trary to what is usually proposed (Milojcic-v. Zum- busch J. 1971), impresso is not confined to the final
=almpresso =Paint » Plastic dec. =Scraped = Incisions Since lugs are quite varied in design, they might not have been solely functional in nature (to hold a rope for hanging up the vessel), but possibly also of aesthetic value. Lugs can be elongated or round, sometimes angular in cross-section, and even tunnel-
Fig. 8. Elateia 1, Reconstructed pottery shapes and decorative styles (draw- ings by Ellen Kihnelt; digitizing by Aggeliki Chalkia; photos by Frank Ltinsmann, Agathe Reingruber). With one white painted exception, the closed shapes are always ornamented with impresso and scraped decoration (Fig. 8.16). However, while impresso ap- pears on traditional convex shapes with ring bases (T11, T12 and T41), the scraped decoration is asso-
An interesting finding from this evaluation is that certain decorations were applied to certain shapes Fig. 9. Elateia 1, areas and frequencies of certain pottery shapes (% per area).
Fig. 10. Elateia 1, areas and frequencies of all five decorative styles (% per area). Water must have been a major reason for the choice of this advantageous location by the first genera- tion of settlers, and water may have been the rea- son why the last generation abandoned this site. Climate curves show that the absolute maximum of a warm and humid climate was reached around 5800 cal BC, a peak that was never equalled again in the entire Holocene of the last 11 600 years. Flo- oding and the swelling of small rivers into danger- ous flows may have been a problem. If so, we can assume that the Tsantarli must have affected the settlement, and indeed there are two indications of
Pottery analysis points to a horizontal shift inside he settlement area: the oldest pottery styles appear in areas NW and CSW, the youngest in SW and SE. Although the absolute dates are too few to be sta- istically analysed in a model, they seem to support his view; at least they do not contradict the sug- gested horizontal shift. In view of their origin as sur- face material this result is all the more significant and encouraging. Based on the results we can even conclude that the site was inhabited only during
A process that started in the previous generations of archaeologists and is still a challenge for our ge- neration (and will certainly continue into the next) is the integration of results obtained by relative chronological appraisal into the system of a revised absolute chronology. One such example where this task is still ongoing is the re-interpretation of finds previously considered to be of late EN date, where the EN was expected to have lasted until 5800 cal BC. With the firmly established !4C chronology the time between 6000 and 5800 cal BC is demonstra- bly of early MN. Indeed, pottery categories from the EN were still in use in the MN, especially the red mo- nochrome pottery (with or without a slip) and red painted surfaces, although new shapes were added to the repertoire. Therefore, on the basis of mono- chrome pottery alone a reliable relative-chronologi- cal dating cannot be obtained, and this fact is very important to acknowledge in connection with older Based on the evaluation of the pottery and together with the results from radiocarbon analysis, we are now able to determine more precisely which pottery categories and styles were in use coevally: the diffe- rent categories correlate with certain decorative styles applied to them. One such ‘standard’ is clay with quartz temper, usually well smoothed and bur- nished, often coated with a red slip after impressed
Tab. 1. Frequencies of decorated fragments per category and in the total material. Elateia 1 in northeastern Thessaly 8000 years ago: relative and absolute chronology of a flat extended settlement
Tab. 2. Closed (111-117) and open (121-125) shapes of vessels, bases (T41-T44) and attached elements (162-165) as determined for the site Elateia 1.
Tab. 3. Elateia 1, predominant combinations of category, decorative style, and vessel type. Judging by both the distribution of shapes and of or- naments some conspicuous similarities can be point- ed out regarding the individual areas. Regarding the decorative styles, all five of them are plotted here without going into further detail (Fig. 10). Even on such a general analytical level it is pos- sible to show that impresso, plastic decoration and
Elateia 1 in northeastern Thessaly 8000 years ago: relative and absolute chronology of a flat extended settlement
Research paper thumbnail of The prehistoric habitation and the palaeo-environment in the basins of Sykourio and Elateia [in Greek language].
Proceedings of the 10th Conference of Larissa Studies, 2021
Thessaly is internationally famous as one of the first regions in Europe to have been inhabited b... moreThessaly is internationally famous as one of the first regions in Europe to have been inhabited by sedentary farming populations since 6500 BC. Over many centuries, even millennia, some of the first sites founded near the river Pinios (Fig. 1–2) became high mounds, as generation after generation built their clay-houses on the same spot where the previous houses had been demolished (e.g. Argissa and Soufli Magoula). The inhabitants of these locations profited greatly from the resources offered by this year-round flowing river, because water was and is one of the most important natural resources in the history of mankind. But it was not only flowing waters that were of immanent importance for the choice of a settlement site. Standing waters also played an important role in prehistory. Today, such water bodies have largely disappeared from the surface, either since they dried up over the last few decades (Fig. 1) or because modern agriculture craved for even more arable lands, which is why swamps and even lakes have been desiccated. In the discussion related to Neolithic environments and habitats they have played only a marginal role so far.
The attractiveness of a location also depends on other factors, one of which is the availability of raw materials from which effective tools could be produced. High-quality stones are therefore essential, especially during the Stone Age, and at the latest in the Mesolithic various types of chert and obsidian were exchanged over long distances. Starting with the Neolithic, such networks between cooperating and sharing communities can be better understood also on behalf of locally occurring rocks.
Such an area, in which both of the above-mentioned resources (waters and special rocks) are abundant, is the north-easternmost part of Thessaly. In an area of about 15 x 5 km west of Mt Ossa a complex landscape with two intertwined basins extends: The northern Basin of Elateia is drained by the river Pinios, while the southern Basin of Sykourio was until recently dominated by a lake we called «Bara Toibasi» (Fig. 3–4). Thanks to modern GPS-equipment, high-resolution Digital Elevation Models (DEM), Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and their analysis tools, we can conclude that some of the sites Nessonis 1 to Nessonis 7 (N1-N7 on the map Fig. 1) were located near the shore of the lake. Its exact extent and its importance for prehistoric communities still need to be clarified, but it is obvious that its volume must have been larger in times of higher rainfall than its remains indicate on historical maps. In the Basin of Elateia, most of the prehistoric sites seem to have been concentrated near running waters, especially at the confluence of two streams, as in the case of Makrychori (M1), Elateia 1 (E1) or Bounarbasi.
In this research area we study the first appearance of prehistoric populations and the way they used the landscape and its resources during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods (6600/6500–3300 BC). The two main basins differ not only in the type of water resources they contain(ed), but also in the way the raw materials were used by prehistoric populations. We could prove that rocks from the surrounding hills were already used by the first sedentary inhabitants, as was the case in the flat sites of Nessonis 1-South (EN II) and Elateia 1 («Bigmeni Petra», EN III/MN). A comparison of the rock quantities in the two basins shows some pronounced differences: in Nessonis 1 we found many mortars and pestles for crushing wild plants (Fig. 5), which were carved out of the light marble of the nearby Chassambali Hill. In contrast, in Elateia rather a different type of marble, a greyish variant, was used for tools. And here rounded tools, e.g. pounders (Fig. 7), were made from a high-quality quartz, not often found in the other basin. This quartz was also used for chipped stone tools, but in smaller quantities than the imported obsidian. Serpentinite, a rock that only occurs in the Chassambali Hills, was used to shape a special cutting tool (Fig. 6): We found it in equal quantities throughout the area.
We can conclude that the Neolithic communities of the two basins were economically adapted to the richness of their environment, primarily by using directly available resources, but exchanging high quality rocks such as serpentinite inter-regionally. They were also involved in a major supra-regional exchange, as the high obsidian content in Elateia-Bigmeni Petra proves.
Research paper thumbnail of Frühe Bauern am Fuße des Olymp.
Archäologie in Deutschland, 2021
Thessalien gehört zu den ersten Gegenden Europas, in denen neolithische Bauern sesshaft wurden. J... moreThessalien gehört zu den ersten Gegenden Europas, in denen neolithische Bauern sesshaft wurden. Jüngste landschaftsarchäologische Untersuchungen südlich des Olymp erlauben Rückschlüsse auf das Siedlungsgeschehen in dieser frühen Zeit.
Research paper thumbnail of Der kupferzeitliche Siedlungshügel Magura Gorgana bei Pietrele in der Walachei: Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen im Sommer 2007
Der kupferzeitliche Siedlungshügel Magura Gorgana bei Pietrele in der Walachei: Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen im Sommer 2007
Eurasia Antiqua Zeitschrift Fur Archaologie Eurasiens, 2008
Research paper thumbnail of Graphite and carbon: Relative and absolute chronology between the Aegean and the Black Sea in the 5th millennium BC
COMMUNITIES IN TRANSITION, 2018
Graphite, one of the softest minerals, is an allotrope of carbon in its most stable form, chemica... moreGraphite, one of the softest minerals, is an allotrope of carbon in its most stable form, chemically resistant and difficult to be ignited; it requires high temperatures to react even with oxygen. Since it was used until the end of the 19th century in pencils, it received its name from the ancient Greek word for drawing and/or writing: γράφω. Carbon, on the other hand, is present as a powder and is the main constituent of substances such as charcoal. It occurs with three natural isotopes, one of them being unstable and radioactive. This last, 14C, is a naturally occurring radioisotope mostly confined to the atmosphere and superficial deposits; it is virtually absent in ancient rocks. Graphite has been used since the 5th millennium BC for ornamental purposes on vessels and/or specific parts of vessels. Such decorations are typical for certain regions at certain times, enabling archaeologists to create relative chronologies. The radioactive isotope 14C, on the other hand, can be used for absolute dating after calibration and hence be connected to calendar years. It is about time to join the information regarding both graphite painting and radiocarbon results to create a more comprehensive chronological scheme valid not only for a specific site but also for a larger region. Two vast cultural complexes: Kodžadermen-Gumelniţa-Karanovo VI (KGK VI) and Sălcuţa-Krivodol-Bubanj Hum (SKBh) were primarily defined according to pottery styles. In both complexes graphite paint occurred together with the use of metals during the 5th millennium BC. At first sight the differences between the complexes seem small. In detail, though, some notable distinctions are obvious, especially regarding the ornaments on vessels.
Figure 15.9. Goljamo Deléevo, modelled radiocarbon dates.
Figure 15.10. Tell Azmak, radiocarbon dates from seeds only, modelled according to phases III and IV.
Figure 15.11. Junacite, modelled radiocarbon dates.
Figure 15.12. Slatino-Cardako, calibrated radiocarbon dates.
Figure 15.13. Slatino-Cardako, pottery from phases 3-6 (after Chohadzhiev 2006, figs 117, 123, 137)
Figure 15.15. Dikili Tash, modelled radiocarbon dates from phases [-LI.
Figure 15.16. Dikili Tash, pottery from phase IA (after Demoule 2004. pls 37-9).
Figure 15.17. Sitagroi, modelled radiocarbon dates from phases I-III.
OxCal v4.2.3 Bronk Ramsey (2013); 5 IntCali3 atmospheric curve (Reimer et al 2013}
A- lgnatitsa; B- Kalofer; C- Shipka; D- Seltse; E- Sveti Ilja; F- Shishmanovo; G- Gramatikovo; H- Golyamo Kamenyane; J- Madan; K- Chepelare; L- Yagodina; M- Krichim; N- Bistritsa; O- Lebnitsa.
An interesting geographical aspect is the localisation of Chalcolithic sites either west or east of the watershed that separates rivers flowing into the Black Sea from those flowing into the Aegean (Fig. 15.2):
Figure 15.3. Radiocarbon dates from Pietrele, Trench F, arranged according to their stratigraphical position.
Figure 15.5. Pietrele, main motifs painted with graphite on bowls and lids: I—2, 4: simple or breaking waves and drops; 2-3: net-like motifs; 4: waves and drops; 5: simple rods (drawings by 1: Waltraut Rust; 2: Cristina Georgescu; 3: Heide Wrobel-Norgaard; 4: Irma Berdzenishvili; 5: Tilmann Vachta).
Figure 15.6. Pietrele, main motifs incised on lids and closed vessels: 1. helices and circles; 2. helices and drops (drawings by la-b: Cristina Georgescu; 2a: Irma Berdzenishvili, 2b: Tilmann Vachta).
Figure 15.7. Varna, radiocarbon dates from human and animal bones.
Figure 15.8. Varna: pairs of dated human and animal bones from Graves 111 and 117.
Table 15.1: Regions 1-6 with a schematic overview of ornamental styles and the resulting patterns in graphite (in light grey shade). Sequences of the different sites are organized according to their '‘C dates and not according to the relative sequence proposed by the excavators (dark grey shade: levels of the purported Middle Chalcolithic according to the Bulgarian terminology) (Abbreviations for sites: DT=Dikili Tash, GD=Goljamo Deléevo, Jun=Junacite, Ove=Ovéarovo, Piet HP=Pietrele housephase, Sit=Sitagroi, SI=Slatino, TP=Topolnica-Promachon; other abbreviations: circ=circle, conc=concentric; geom.=geometric, grp=graphite, inc=incisions, lin=linear, neg=negative, orn=ornament, pnt=paint, pos=positive, reg=register spandr=spandrel, v.f.=very fine, v.rare=very rare).
Figure 15.14. Promachon-Topolnica, modelled radiocarbon dates from phases I-IV.
Appendix: Table with ''C dates used for the modelling of sequences and phases from the sites discussed in the paper
Appendix: Table with '*C dates used for the modelling of sequences and phases from the sites discussed in the paper. (Continued)
Appendix: Table with '*C dates used for the modelling of sequences and phases from the sites discussed in the paper. (Continued)
Research paper thumbnail of Changing perspectives: Looking at the Neolithic in the Northwest Pontic region through radiocarbon dates
Principles and Methods of Dating in Archaeology (Neolithic — Middle Ages), 2018
The Neolithisation process in the steppe and forest steppe has been analysed in the last century ... moreThe Neolithisation process in the steppe and forest steppe has been analysed in the last century mainly with respect to pottery styles and material culture. A different perspective is proposed here: the analysis of the — unfortunately — only few radiocarbon dates can contribute to new insights and may help to overcome linear and unidirectional models for explaining the transformations that happened during the 6th millennium BC. In an attempt to match the absolute and relative chronologies, a model is proposed here that reverses the perspective and suggests that networks and exchanges were operating in different directions, and not exclusively from the southwest (the Balkans) to the northeast (the Pontic) but also the other way around. Certainly, the climatic and vegetational interrelated space of the steppe and forest steppe, connected further by the important rivers of the Danube and the Prut, favoured such networks. The results presented here are far from being final; nevertheless, future 14C dates will certainly contribute to a more adequate picture of this complex and long-lasting process.
Research paper thumbnail of Geographical mobility and social motility in the Aegean before and after 6600 BC
Praehistorische Zeitschrift, 2018
One of the most far-reaching changes in human history relates to the overcoming of the dependency... moreOne of the most far-reaching changes in human history relates to the overcoming of the dependency from exclusively local resources by domesticating first plants and then animals at the beginning of the Holocene in the Near East. Each generation of archaeologists has reflected on these transformations in the light of the augmented knowledge obtained by new excavations and new analytical methods. The spread of the producing economy from the core area in neighboring regions was interpreted primarily as cultural change, which would have been accomplished by emigrants or colonists. Accordingly, the proposed Neolithisation models include linear movements from east to west that explain the seemingly abrupt cultural change.
Generally, little attention has been paid to the conceptualisation of terms like colonisation or migration as proposed by sociologists. Taking them into account, the focus of this study will be less on the swift cultural change but rather on the slow, intergenerational social change, on the active social mobility (motility). The perspective is not primarily that of newcomers from Neolithic Anatolia but rather that of the Mesolithic Aegean communities. It may not have been the decision of mobile farmers to “colonise” neighbouring areas, but rather that of hunters and gatherers to adopt (selectively) innovations from the areas of origin and to adapt them to their own needs. As active decision-makers, they set in motion a process that led not only to economic but also to social, cultural and genetic changes over several generations.
Fig. 1: Southwest Anatolia with Epipalaeolithic/Mesolithic and Neolithic sites
Fig. 2: The circum-Aegean with the first appearance of obsidian from Melos; indicated are possible routes of exchange that outline a network between islands and especially southern coastal areas The transitional communities of the circum-Aegean sphere of Marmara appear only centuries later, this Sea acting as a barrier rather than as a bridge*.
Fig. 3: The circum-Aegean with an enhanced network during the Early and Middle Neolithic visualized on behalf of Melian obsidian exchanged especially between coastal and inland sites
Research paper thumbnail of The Transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic in a Circum-Aegean Perspective: Concepts and Narratives
The relative chronological scheme of the Early Neolithic period in Greece relies on sequences ela... moreThe relative chronological scheme of the Early Neolithic period in Greece relies on sequences elaborated in the 1950s based on evidence from limited trenches. Between 1950 and 1970 concepts deriving from the Near East were applied also in Aegean archaeology. The terms “Preceramic” and “Aceramic” were adopted shortly after the recognition of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic in the “Fertile Crescent.” Culture change was explained predominantly by colonization processes, based on the assumption that all items belonging to the “Neolithic Package” appeared simultaneously in Southeastern Europe at the very beginning of the Neolithic. Fundamental in this model are the economic products (domesticated species) or single objects and their manufacturing techniques (pots and tools). But change seems to explain only partially the processes of the mid-seventh millennium B.C.: attention needs to be focused on the evidence for continuity as well. Therefore, the superordinate systems of social and cultural behaviour (burial customs and exchange networks) are essential in the model presented here. Accordingly, the foundation for the transformations in the Aegean was the mobile way of life for both intra- and extralocal groups of late seafaring foragers-fishers and early seafaring fishers-farmers, with their face-to-face contact resulting in the transfer of innovations. The Neolithization process in the Aegean is in this view the result of connectivities in time (with the Mesolithic) and in space (circum-Aegean).
Figure 1. The circum-Aegean world and neighboring areas (Marmara region and Lake District), with sites mentioned in the text.
Figure 2. Snapshot with the first occurrence of a sedentary lifestyle in the different regions of the circum- Aegean world, the Marmara region, and the Lake District. (Adapted from Reingruber 2011:Figure 9) It was not only the terminology and methodology that were adopted from Near Eastern archaeologica Until recently, studies related to the transition — th
The next generations of archaeologists perpetu- ated the viewpoints of direct or indirect diffusion with he addition of new (and disputable) concepts, like that of the “Neolithic Package,” and assumptions like that of westward migrating groups of people after an al- eged collapse of the PPNB (Ozdogan 2007a:151—153, 2008:143). It was especially the conjunction of these two notions, the “Package” and the “Migration,” that resulted in the colonization model (OzdoZan 2007b; Perlés 2003). Yetno conclusive definition of the terms colonist and colonization have been given by those using them to explain culture change. investigations, but also the concepts that were valid at the time for the “Core Area” (basically the “Fertile Crescent”) and the “Primary Neolithization Zone” of central Anatolia (OzdoZan 2008:142—143). Whereas certain concepts like the PPN ora local domestication of plants and animals were indeed the result of precise observation and documentation, their introduction into Aegean archaeology tured these concepts into constructs and credos (see Figure 3, top). Milojéié never published a specific model for the Neolithization process, but he pondered on behalf of domesticated plants (emmer and barley) and animals (sheep) on the “relationships with the Near East” (German: “Beziehungen zum Orient;” Milojéié 1962:24). Theo- charis (1973:34—36), on the other hand, was rather inclined to explain the beginning of a sedentary life- style in Thessaly as an autochthonous process based on a local domestication of plants and animals, yet acknowledged the temporal supremacy of the Near
Figure 5. Selected elements of the temporal and spatial connectivity resulting in innovation centers that influenced neighboring regions. closed shapes, to which tubular lugs were attached, or special shapes with an anti-splash rim, were not produced in Thessaly. Instead, rather simple shapes of mainly small-sized and well-polished vessels with ring bases occurred there. Specific regions maintained not only specific pottery styles but also Not all elements of the Neolithic lifestyle ap- peared in uniform dissemination throughout the Aegean. For example, the rich repertoire of ceramic vessels in southwestern Anatolia with predominantly
Figure 6. Radiocarbon dates from Sarakenos Cave, Trench A. (Dates from Sampson et al. 2009:150—154) As analyzed in modern societies, a relationship can be established between agglomerations, local knowledge, and its diffusion. By identifying such geographic concentrations of innovation activities, different causes of the emergence of these concen- rations can be examined (Fornahl and Brenner 2009:163-182). We are far from performing such studies in Aegean prehistory on the basis of small renches alone; nevertheless, a concentration of sites can be pinpointed in Thessaly after 6300 cal B.C. in the EN II). From there, impulses emanated to neighboring regions as well, Thessaly acting as an innovation center for more southern (Boeotia and the Argolid) and western (west Thessalian plain) regions. This pioneering task was later taken over by western Macedonia, the geographical innovation center shift- ing toward the north, from where the Neolithization of the Balkans commenced (Figure 5; Reingruber et al. 2017). The Impresso decoration is of particular interest: Impresso pottery in Macedonia and Thessaly was of different clay composition than the local pottery (Dimoula 2014:206). First the surfaces of the im- pressed pots were unpainted (as is practiced in the Bal kans as well), but after 6000 cal B.C. it became integrated into the symbolic expression of the painted pot ery traditions, resulting in the developed MN fusion-style (Reingruber 2008:Table 4, Figures 1-3). Therefore, contacts were not only trans-Aegean and eas ast -west-east oriented, but indeed circum-Aegean, hey were also north-south directed. Especially in
Note: Calculations were made per 10-cm spit and per number of 2-x-2-m grids excavated in the campaign of 1958 (in some parts of the trench the virgin soil was reached in spit 30 in the year 1956). Table 1. Number of Sherds from the “Preceramic” (PC), Early Ceramic (EN I), and Proto-Sesklo (EN I) Layers in Argissa Magoula.
Research paper thumbnail of Zirkumägäische Netzwerke am Übergang vom Mesolithikum zum Neolithikum
Der Übergang von der aneignenden zur produzierenden Wirtschaftsweise hat sich im Kerngebiet des N... moreDer Übergang von der aneignenden zur produzierenden Wirtschaftsweise hat sich im Kerngebiet des Neolithikums, im „Fruchtbaren Halbmond“, sehr allmählich, über Jahrtausende hinweg vollzogen – weniger im Sinne einer „Revolution“ als vielmehr im Sinne eines komplexen Transformationsprozesses. Mit dem Beginn des keramischen Neolithikums um 7.000/6.800 v.Chr. kann diese zukunftsweisende Umgestaltung als abgeschlossen gelten. Nur wenige Jahrhunderte
später, ab ca. 6.700/6.600 v. Chr. gelangten wichtige Neuerungen in die Ägäis, darunter domestizierte Pflanzen- und Tierarten, selektiv auch Keramik und Kleinfunde aus Ton oder Knochen. Die Bestattungssitten, die Rohstoffversorgung und auch das Steingeräteinventar blieben jedoch weitgehend unverändert. Deswegen müssen Narrativen wie die einer massiven Migration oder einer Kolonisation hinterfragt werden. Alternativ sollte vielmehr auch eine kleinräumige Mobilität (Motilität) von Individuen oder Kleingruppen bedacht werden. Basierend auf Netzwerken, die bereits im Mesolithikum der Verbreitung von Rohstoffen (z. B. Obsidian) dienten, konnten sich in dieser Sichtweise Innovationen in der Ägäis durch direkten Austausch ausbreiten. Als wichtige Kontaktregion zwischen der Ägäis und dem Mittelmeerraum kann die südwestanatolische Küste ausgemacht werden.
Research paper thumbnail of The Oϊkos, the Orygma and the Open Spaces: Aegean Neolithic Settlement Patterns in Perspective
Household Practices and Houses – Current Approaches from Archaeology and the Sciences, 2024
Models of the Neolithisation process in the Aegean and SE Europe as developed in the 20th century... moreModels of the Neolithisation process in the Aegean and SE Europe as developed in the 20th century AD had to build on the scant evidence available at that time. Information from distant regions in Greece (Argolid, Macedonia and Thessaly) covering one millennium (6500–5500 BC) was forced into meaningful ‘narratives’. Yet, neither the concept of the ‘tell’ nor that of the ‘village’ had been readily adapted at the beginning of the EN in Macedonia and Thessaly since flat sites of the dispersed settlement type (hamlets) prevail. Only for the 6th millennium BC is there evidence of nucleated hamlets with clusters of rooms and houses sharing a courtyard.
With the application of non-invasive methods of both archaeological and geophysical prospections, evaluated interdisciplinary with the help of Geographical Information Systems (GIS), new insights can be provided. Thessalian tells (magoules) may not be the only settlement type, and perhaps not even the rule during the EN and early MN. The reason therefore is the horizontal shifting of residential areas instead of building vertically new houses on top of the abandoned one. Therefore, much more attention must be paid in the future to the laterally offset of dwelling areas and the horizontal shifting of either single houses or clusters of houses.
Fig. 1: Settlement patterns as developed in Social Geography (Connor 2019: fig. 12.6)
Fig. 2: Map of the Aegean with a selection of sites mentioned in the text.
The Oikos, the Orygma and the Open Spaces
Fig. 4: Paliambela-Kolindros in central Macedonia. Schematic plan of the Early Neolithic pits on the lower terrace, cut by subsequent ditches (after Papadakou 2011: fig. 2; Kotsakis 2018: fig. 3.2).
Fig. 5: Nea Nikomedeia. Preliminary plan of the 1963 excavations (Pyke 1996: fig. 2.1) The Oikos, the Orygma and the Open Spaces
Fig. 6: Maroulas on Kythnos. Plan of the site with excavated trenches (T1—T31) including round to oval con- structions (C1—C31) and burials (G1—G13) (Kaczanowska et al. 2008: fig. 6). The Oikos, the Orygma and the Open Spaces
Fig. 7: Elateia 1 in NE Thessaly. Interpretation of the magnetogram (G. Tsokas, A. Mohrs, A. Reingruber). The Oikos, the Orygma and the Open Spaces
Fig. 8: The area of Sesklo as inhabited during the Middle Neolithic (in the centre), the tell site Sesklo A with the two plateaus (right), and Clusters 1-3 in Sesklo B (left) (after Kotsakis 1994: 126-127 fig. 1; 2014: figs. 2-3).
Fig. 9: Sesklo A-C: radiocarbon dates obtained on charcoal (Reingruber/Thissen 2017: http://www. 14sea.org/2_dates.html). spur between the two rivulets on which the magoula formed determined from the onset a rather restricted space for habitation of not more than 0.5 ha. But note that the Neolithic accumulations are resting on two terraces at different heights: the lower northern plateau
Research paper thumbnail of Dating the Early Neolithic in Pelagonia: closing a chronological gap in Balkan prehistory
tions became possible with the de velopment of radio carbon dating in the late 1940s. Both approa... moretions became possible with the de velopment of radio carbon dating in the late 1940s. Both approaches have been accepted and criticized, allowing archaeologists to favour the one that better supported their views on temporality. Balkan archaeology is no exception in this regard, and numerous attempts have been made to determine both the beginning and end of the Neolithic Age, with the KLJUÈNE BESEDE -zgodnji neolitik; Pelagonija, geografska regija Makedonija; absolutna kronologija; pro ces neolitizacije IZVLEÈEK -Potem ko je Gordon V. Childe pred 100 leti prviè predstavil širjenje kulture z Blinjega vzhoda v Evropo, so nastali razlièni modeli napredovanja neolitskega naèina ivljenja. Kronologija je imela pri tem pomembno vlogo, vendar zaradi pomanjkljivih podatkov v zgodbe niso bile vkljuèene vse re gije. Nedavne raziskave v Pelagoniji, na mejnem obmoèju med Severno Makedonijo in Grèijo, so pri nesle nova in zanesljiva radiokarbonska zaporedja; skupaj 42 novih radiokarbonskih datumov, ki bodo vkljuèeni v razprave o neolitski kronologiji Balkana.
Research paper thumbnail of Sesshaft – und wie geht es weiter? Ortswechsel und Ortskonstanz im Becken von Sykourio, Thessalien
Mitteilungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte 42, 2021
Eine Konstante in der prähistorischen Archäologie ist die Unterteilung von Gemeinschaften in solc... moreEine Konstante in der prähistorischen Archäologie ist die Unterteilung von Gemeinschaften in solche vor der Sesshaftwerdung und solche, die sesshaft lebten. Der Übergang von (weitestgehend) ortsunabhängigen jagenden, fischenden und sammelnden Gruppen zu ortsgebundenen, bäuerlich lebenden Gemeinschaften ist in verschiedenen Regionen zu unterschiedlichen Zeiten vollzogen worden: im Vorderen Orient im 10. Jahrtausend v. Chr., in der Ägäis im 7. Jahrtausend und in Mittel-Europa im 6. Jahrtausend v. Chr.
Im Becken von Sykourio, Thessalien, zeichnet sich in bestimmten, womöglich klimatisch bedingten Perioden, ein Lebens- und Wirtschaftsmodell mit einer mobilen Sesshaftigkeit ab. Entweder in Ergänzung oder als Ersatz für eine ortskonstante Siedlungsweise, die zur Bildung von Tells (Magulen) führte, kam es zu wiederholten Ortswechseln, die nur dünne Ablagerungen hinterließen.
Research paper thumbnail of Regional styles and supra-regional networks in the Aegean before and around 6000 cal BC
In: P. F. Biehl and E. Rosenstock (ed.), 6000 BC: Transformation and Change in the Near East and Europe., 2022
In the Near East, the primary Neolithization zone, the “Neolithic Bauplan” (Zeder 2009), was piec... moreIn the Near East, the primary Neolithization zone, the “Neolithic Bauplan” (Zeder 2009), was pieced together over several millennia. In the Aegean, the secondary Neolithization zone, we similarly cannot speak of a singular moment when the Neolithic way of life was established, but compared to the more than 10,000 years of its finalization in the Fertile Crescent (Zeder 2009:18), its implementation in southeast Europe lasted “only” some 500 years. During this half millennium of transformations, we can observe a transfer of innovations from one region to its neighbors – thus a far-reaching net of exchange and communication was established. Its basis was already formed during the Mesolithic as can be demonstrated by the exchange networks and the occurrence of obsidian from Melos in most of the Aegean.
Figure 15.1 Bone tool provinces in the Aegean Early Neolithic. (illustration by the author)
Figure 15.3 Pottery provinces in the Aegean Early Neolithic. (illustration by the author) ceased to be produced. In south-central Greece, little impressed pottery has been revealed, similar to southern Greece where no impresso has been known (Furholt 2011: Figure 15.3). Here, in the Argolid, rainbow pottery and red-painted surfaces imitated the northern prototypes at a time when in the north the Middle Neolithic (“Sesklo culture”) started. western Aegean. Similarly, bone tools in the Lake District display a specific repertoire, of which only very general traits can be found in the Aegean. Southwest Anatolia served as an innovation center for the neighboring areas, but for a lack of knowledge regarding the coastal parts of southwest Anatolia the basis for infer- ence remains unsecured and the details of the transfer mechanisms unclear. Hopefully, this gap in research will be closed in the next few years. According to “C-dates, pottery in the western Aegean appeared first in:
Light gray: Thessaly, medium gray: Macedonia, dark gray: Lake District. Excluded is the information on Sesklo: Schwartz determined the bones from 1972, but that year excavations were conducted in the flat settlement Sesklo B dating mainly to the Middle Neolithic (MN) (Schwartz 1981:112, table 30-31; Kotsakis 1983: fig. 11). Sources: Argissa Magoula: Boessneck 1962; Achilleion I: Gimbutas et al. 1989:316, table 13.2; Hoca Cegme: Buitenhuis 1992:51; Nea Nikomedeia: Rodden 1965:83-91; Higgs 1962:271-274; Servia: Ridley and Wardle 1979:228; Hoyiicek Early Settlements Phase (EYD): De Cupere 200s: fig. 23; Kurucay 13 (bones from ruminants are considered to derive from wild species): Deniz 1994:76-78, 109. Table 15.1 Frequency of animal bones in three different regions
Research paper thumbnail of The Basins of Sykourio and Elateia in Northeastern Thessaly: an attempt at reconstructing the (pre)historic landscape
ΑΡΧΑΙΟΛΟΓΙΚΟ ΕΡΓΟ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΙΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΣΤΕΡΕΑΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΑΣ 6, 2022
In order to study more intensively the area south of Mt Olympos and west of Mt Ossa, a joint Gree... moreIn order to study more intensively the area south of Mt Olympos and west of Mt Ossa, a joint Greek-German project has been initiated, under the auspices of the Ephorate of Antiquities in Larissa, in collaboration with the Free University of Berlin and the support of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation – Project number RE 1699/2-1). The two main targets of the project are: (1) the study of artifacts collected during surface surveys of prehistoric sites in the said area, now kept in the storerooms of the Ephorate of Antiquities in Larissa, and (2) the continuation of the systematic survey of this area, carried out by the Ephorate of Antiquities. Among the main goals of the survey project is the analysis of the landscape, based on historical and modern descriptions and maps, on Digital Elevation Models (DEM) and on personal observations. Judging by the evidence supplied by the survey project, we suggest that the northeasternmost part of Thessaly is not an integral part of the Thessalian Plain, but forms a separate small sedimentary basin.
Fig. 1. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of northeastern Thessaly with the basins of Sykourio and Elateia, west of Mt Ossa. To the DEM, lakes and rivers, digitised from historical maps, were added.
THE BASINS OF SYKOURIO AND ELATEIA IN NORTHEASTERN THESSALY Fig. 3. Simplified sketch of the recent geological evolution of the Basin of Sykourio, and a proposal for the extension of the palaeolake since the Pleistocene (S. Valkaniotis). Growth and westward expansion of the Xerias river alluvial fan, and a more recent opening towards the Elateia basin to the northeast, led to the containment of the palaeolake to the southern part of the basin (Bara Toibasi).
Fig. 4. Areas A —- G where systematic surveys have been carried out in the spring of 2017.
Research paper thumbnail of The impressed pottery of the Aegean Neolithic
Relatively absolute, 2023
This chapter presents data on impressed decorated vessels from the Neolithic of the circum-Aegean... moreThis chapter presents data on impressed decorated vessels from the Neolithic of the circum-Aegean, focusing on the north-western Aegean, where they are most common. Included are mainly those sites that have been reliably radiocarbon dated, where the contexts of impressed sherds were well-documented and their frequency indicated. Our intention is to show where and when the highest concentrations of impressed sherds with the greatest variety of styles occurred. By revealing the origin of this specific category of finds, we conclude that the transfer of e.g., ceramic styles in the Aegean region was not uni- but multidirectional, which ultimately challenges the ex oriente lux model.
Figure 1. Map of the Aegean with a selection of Neolithic sites mentioned in the text As we do not dispose of enough information regarding decorated pottery from closed or ongo- ing projects in the Western Thessalian sites of Ag. Anna Tirnavou, Prodromos I-III, Theopetra or Sykeon (Chourmouziades 1971; Krahtopoulou et al. 2020; Kyparissi-Apostolika 2000; Chatziangelakis and Vou- zaxakis 2022), we will focus instead on Eastern Thessaly (Figure 1).
Figure 2. Impressed sherds from Otzaki Magoula. 1-6: Area II, level 16a (after Mottier 1981: Taf: 5); 7-13: Area III, ‘Upper layer’; 14-19: Area III, ‘Middle layer’ (after Milojcic-v. Zumbusch 1971: Taf: XXV, XXIV and XX; scale 1:3).. shapes cannot be firmly reconstructed, but beaded rims and slightly elongated lips fit into the general reper- toire (Reingruber 2008: Taf. 26.15 and Taf. XXIX.12,14,28 Compare also Otzaki, Area III, ‘Upper layer’: Milojci¢-von Zumbusch 1971: Taf. XX.4—7,11). Outstanding yet is a concave base of the early MN com- parable to Figure 2.9 (Reingruber 2008: Taf. 29.26) — it often recurs in the material from Elateia 1 where it appears exclusively with comb-impressed ornaments (Figure 3.6). In Argissa, the ornaments in the negative also confirm the continuity from EN to MN.
Figure 4. Nea Nikomedeia: well-displayed ornaments on thin-walled vessels of deep, slightly closed or opened bowls (after Yiouni 1996: Figure 5.55)
Figure 5. Radiocarbon dates from Revenia (1) and Mavropigi (2), plotted on the calibration curve. The green squares outline the most probable duration of the total settlement periods. In Western Macedonia, in the hilly areas on both sides of the river Alia sites of Paliambela-Roditis and Varemenoi-Goulon decorated sherds are gen (Urem-Kotsou et al. 2017, Tab. 1 and Figure 8). If at all quantifiably, the im erally fewer than in t kmon and its tributaries, at the he Pieria pressed decorated ones do not exceed 0.4% of the total bulk of materials, similar to the quantity observed in Nea Nikomedeia. At Mavra- nei-Panagia farther west, in the area of Grevena (Wilkie and Savina 1997: 203, Figure 2), only a sherds were reported. New insights are expected from the Grevena Archaeo (a collaboration between the Ephorate of Antiquities of Grevena and the Landscape Archaeology Group at the Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology). Even in Servia V, c Wardle (1979: 193, 207) mentioned only a few sherds with nail impressions t As this latter site is dated to post-5800 BC, there may be a temporal reason at play as this kind o tion is of earlier periods. More reliable data, though, have been obtained on the large-scale excavation at Mavropigi-Fillotsairi. few such ogical Project started in 2021 Research losest to Thessaly, Ridley and hat were also not quantifiable. f decora-
Figure 6. Mavropigi-Fillotsairi: Sherds of various vessel shapes, with impressions covering most of the vessel body (Bonga 2020: Figures 17-18) In Mavropigi, a variety of different decorations in the negative has been documented (Bonga 2017: Figure 7; 2019: Figure 4; 2020: Figs. 16-18): Besides fingernails and finger pinches, blunt or sharp tools were also used to decorate the vessels, but no comb-like tools. Like at the other Macedonian sites, also in Mavropigi, habitation did not continue into the 6" millennium BC, and this may be why no multi-toothed decorations (comparable to the MN in Thessaly) were applied.
Figure 7. Calibrated radiocarbon dates from levels with impressed sherds from Mavropigi (‘Central Orygma’), Paliambela-Kolindrou (Pit 630 of the EN 1) and Ulucak Va-IVb (more information on individual dates at www.14SEA.org) As asserted by all authors, decoration (be it painted or impressed) is not an outstanding characteristic of these inventories and is usually given as few, rare or even very rare (Cilingiroglu 2016: 81, Herling et al. 2008: 21; Saglamtimur 2012: 200).
Figure 8. Frequency of impressed decorated sherds per circum-Aegean area and per time (before, around, and after 6000 cal BC).
Table 1. Frequency of impressed decoration from Otzaki, Area III (after Milojcic-von Zumbusch 1971, Vol. I: 79-80 and Vol. IT: Beilage 1; counted are the impressed categories VI]a—VIIle)
Table 2. Frequency of impressed decoration from Revenia-Korinos (after Papaioannou 2011, tables 5.4—5.8)
Table 3. Frequency of impressed decoration from the ‘Central Orygma’ at Mavropigi-Fillotsairi The radiocarbon dates may suggest an anteriority of the Mavropigi and Paliambela examples (Fig- ure 7) as compared to those from Nea Nikomedeia (or also Otzaki in Thessaly) we can potentially trace a chronological development, with changes in style and quality.
Research paper thumbnail of Spoons from Spondylus: A New Interpretation of Aegean Neolithic Artefacts Based on Finds from Elateia and Nessonis in Northeast Thessaly
HAYAT: A Life Dedicated to Archaeology. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology in Memory of Hayat Erkanal, 2023
Spondylus gaederopus is a bivalve marine mollusc that has been used in the Aegean since the Neoli... moreSpondylus gaederopus is a bivalve marine mollusc that has been used in the Aegean since the Neolithic as a raw material for ornaments, such as beads and bracelets. Less well known is that the upper, smaller, crimson valve was also used as a utilitarian object. In the case of completely preserved valves it is often assumed that these were brought to the settlements as raw material for the production of ornaments. In the context of this short contribution, a different interpretation will be proposed: During the intensive surface excavations in north-eastern Thessaly, several Spondylus valves were discovered, which are interpreted here as spoon bowls due to their shape, the well-thumbed lock and the worn edges. Their use as spoons could also explain the lack of bone spoons at most Aegean sites. Because of the constant availability of the raw material shell near the coast, it was not only used in the Early Neolithic, but also in later periods, even in the Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age.
Research paper thumbnail of Timelines in the Neolithic of Southwestern Anatolia, the Circum-Aegean, the Balkans and the Middle Danube Area
Making Spaces into Places, 2020
Chronological frameworks as we conceive of them today are the result of the investment of many ge... moreChronological frameworks as we conceive of them today are the result of the investment of many generations of prehistoric archaeologists. Each of these generations has optimised the system by introducing new, partly revolutionary investigation methods such as radiocarbon dating. Even 70 years after its introduction in 1949, our generation still benefits from its potential. Before, comparative stratigraphy and relative chronological evaluation were used to search for simultaneous changes in human behaviour over large areas, leading to the definition of so-called horizons. Later, the first absolute dates both appalled and appealed to archaeologists, changing their perception of the depth of time and synchronicity. Today, sequences of absolute dates suitable for statistically tested models are essential for verifying the existence and duration of such horizons and for making gaps and interruptions more visible. This chapter highlights three timelines that are crucial in such a supra-regional context: the first at the beginning of the Neolithic in the Anatolian-
Aegean sphere, the second at the beginning of the Neolithic in the Aegean-Balkan sphere and the third at the beginning of the Neolithic in the Central European-Danubian sphere.
Research paper thumbnail of Principles and Methods of Dating in Archaeology (Neolithic — Middle Ages)
Коллективная монография посвящена принципам и методам датирования памятников археологии от неолит... moreКоллективная монография посвящена принципам и методам датирования памятников археологии от неолита до средних веков. В книге представлены как материалы российско-германского научного коллоквиума «Принципы археологического датирования памятников эпохи бронзы, железного века и средневековья» (2-3 декабря 2013 г., Санкт-Петербург), так и дальнейшие исследования его участников. Глава 1 «Общие вопросы» посвящена концепции времени в археологии (Л. С. Клейн, В. Шир, В. С. Бочкарев и М. Т. Кашуба, Е. А. Черленок). В главах 2 и 3 в русле заявленной темы рассмотрены культуры и памятники неолита-бронзового века (А. Райнгрубер, И. В. Палагута и Е. Г. Старкова, Э. Кайзер, М. А. Кулькова и Н. А. Боковенко) и железного века-средних веков (О. В. Шаров, Й. Шнеевайсс, В. Н. Седых) в широком географическом диапазоне от Южной Сибири до Балкано-Карпатского региона и от Балтийского побережья до Средиземноморья. Особое внимание уделено актуальным проблемам теории и практики датирования археологических материалов с помощью археологических, исторических и естественно-научных методов анализа. Применение различных методов датирования обсуждалось в контексте общих принципов датирования, традиционных и современных. Книга предназначена для археологов, этнографов, историков, студентов и читателей, интересующихся археологией и древней историей Северной Евразии. This volume is dedicated to the principles and methods of dating in archaeology and includes case studies from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages. It includes papers presented at the Russian-German scientific colloquium «Principles of Dating in the Bronze, Iron and Middle Ages» at St. Petersburg State University on 2 nd-3 rd December 2013, as well as further research by participants of this colloquium. In the chapter 1 «General questions» different concepts of time and chronology in archaeology are discussed (L. S. Klejn, W. Schier, V. S. Bochkarev and M. T. Kashuba, E. A. Cherlenok). Chapters 2 and 3 are devoted to studies on cultures and sites of the Neolithic and Bronze Age (A. Reingruber, I. V. Palaguta and E. H. Starkova, E. Kaiser, M. A. Kulkova and N.A. Bokovenko) and the Late Iron Age as well as the Middle Ages (O. V. Sharov, J. Schneeweiß, V. N. Sedykh). The geographical space examined in these papers ranges from Southern Siberia to the Balkans-Carpathian region and from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean. Particular attention has been paid to current issues and challenges in theory and practice in dating material culture using archaeological, historical and scientific methods. The application of different dating methods was discussed in the context of general dating principles and traditional and modern. This collective monograph is intended for archaeologists, ethnologists, historians, students and a circle of readers interested in archaeology and prehistory in Northern Eurasia.
Research paper thumbnail of Souvatzi, Reingruber, Toufexis, 2021. Socializing the Landscape in the Early Neolithic of Thessaly, Greece
Open Archaeology
This article attempts to draw attention to the social choices of the earliest farming societies, ... moreThis article attempts to draw attention to the social choices of the earliest farming societies, evaluating new and old settlement data from the Early Neolithic of Thessaly in Greece. We examine the inhabitation of landscapes, the organisation of the inhabited spaces and the human–landscape interaction as a framework for the creation of a socialised environment. Taking into account aspects such as settlement location, duration, architecture and intra- and intersite arrangements, this study shows that the observed diversity in space and time reflects alternative modes of settlement and land use, variations in notions of permanence and continuity and different modalities of the adoption and meaning of new socioeconomic practices. This evidence challenges traditional interpretations of simplicity, homogeneity and change as being induced from outside and calls for a new reading of the Early Neolithic. We argue that the model of a single and uniform development, deriving from concepts of...
Figure 1: Map of Thessaly with the securely dated Early Neolithic sites mentioned in the text (Agathe Reingruber and Amelie Mohrs). As a first step, awareness of the data limitations is essential in order to utilise all the available informa- ion effectively as well as to avoid merely reproducing Regarding time framework, the refinement of a uniform nave also often resulted in confusing terminology and p ‘Initial Neolithic” phase throughout Greece in which po imits and interregional correlations is still underway. biases, stereotypes and general theories of the past. chronological sequence in Greece with definite time Comparisons with the Balkans and the Near East hasing. The consensus reached recently envisages an tery was absent or scarce (ca. 6600-6500 cal BC?). Its 2xact chronological position relies on critical evaluations of statistically modelled sequences (Reingruber & Thissen, 2017; Weninger et al., 2014) and not on sing chronocultural period or a very early phase of the EN e calibrated dates. But whether this is an absolute is debatable (see below). The EN is relatively long- asting (6500-6000 cal BC) but has rarely been the subject of concentrated field research. The Middle Neo- ithic (MN), in contrast, emerged as a shorter period than previously believed (6000-5500 cal BC), and it is much better known than the EN. The Late Neolithic (5500-4500 cal BC) remains the best-documented period across Greece. The Final Neolithic (4500-3300 cal BC) has only recently been better distinguished from both he Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age (Dietz, Mavridis, Tankosi¢c, & Takaoglu, 2018; Tsirtsoni, 2016). While the study of Neolithic Greece was initiated in Thessaly by the pioneering excavations of Christos Tsountas in the late 19th and early 20th century and Thessaly has been the focus of attention ever since,
Figure 2: The tell of Sesklo and surrounding landscape from the southwest, aerial photograph (Copyright: Vassiliki Adrimi- Sismani). around 8,000 years BP and 4.5 m lower around 5,000-4,500 years BP. Neolithic sites might have therefore existed in the area later occupied by the sea. Deposits that can verifiably be dated to the EN I have been excavated at Sesklo (Theocharis, 1973), Argissa (Milojéi¢, 1962) and Zerelia (Moundrea-Agrafioti, 2017). They were also presumably reached at the nowa- days completely levelled sites of Nessonis I and Gediki (Theocharis, 1962). Achilleion and Soufli Magoula, on the other hand, assigned to the EN I by previous research, have been re-dated to the EN II (Gallis, 1982; Reingruber, 2008; Reingruber & Thissen, 2009), while other sites, including Platia Magoula Zarkou and Nessonis II, have been re-dated to the MN (Pentedeka, in press) or the EN/MN transition, respectively (Reingruber & Toufexis, forthcoming).
Figure 3: Sesklo tell: stratigraphic profile showing the sequence from the Early Neolithic to the end of the Middle Neolithic, a period of abandonment and reoccupation in the Late Neolithic II (Wijnen, 1981, Figure 5). ocation offers an ideal connection point both in a north-south and east-west direction. While the evidence ‘or a Preceramic period is ambiguous, the EN is well attested both stratigraphically and architecturally. In he EN I, rectangular foundation trenches and post-holes indicate above-ground wattle-and-daub houses. 3ut perhaps the most outstanding characteristic in this early phase is the spatial arrangement of the settlement. As is well known, during the MN Sesklo combined a tell (Sesklo A) and a flat settlement (Sesklo B) spread below (Kotsakis, 1999; Theocharis, 1973). Interestingly, this combination seems to have started from he outset, comprising Sesklo A, which was later to rise 8.5m high above ground, including 4.5m of Neolithic debris, according to Theocharis (Figure 3), and Sesklo C, which was later abandoned. In other words, while area A shows successive levels of occupation forming over the centuries the tell, areas C and B oth remained single-period flat sites, occupied only during the EN and the MN, respectively. One impor- ant implication here is that people explored a variety of habitation types and combinations right from the start, even within one settlement, as the example of Sesklo suggests.*
Figure 4: The tell of Argissa today (left) next to the Peneios River (Copyright: Ephorate of Antiquities of Larissa). In the Eastern Thessalian Plain, only Argissa is securely radiocarbon dated to the period between 650 and 6300 cal BC. Part of the mound had been washed away by the Peneios River and this naturally provide orofile was used by Milojci¢ for the excavation between 1955 and 1958 of a stratigraphic trench of 24m 3m. Neolithic deposits were preserved only in the eastern part of the trench in an area of ca. 50 m*. Th owest levels contained pottery and small finds. Pit a and the postholes were dug in from above throug evels of the EN II (Reingruber, 2008, p. 141, Figure 3.7). Other rather irregular features were first interprete is dwelling pits, an interpretation which the excavator himself rejected later (Milojci¢, 1962). Anothe nterpretation is that “pits” B-¢ may represent the uneven surface as encountered by the first settle1 Reingruber, 2008, p. 143). Rectangular buildings made of clay were documented in the succeeding level »elonging to the EN II and III (Milojéi¢, 1962; Reingruber, 2008). The Neolithic deposits are less than 21 hick so the major part of the 8.40 m high mound consists mainly of Bronze Age habitation layers (Figure 4 These cut and disturbed the MN layer, yet a continuity from the EN into the MN is attested.
Figure 5: The tell of Otzaki and surrounding landscape, aerial photograph (Copyright: Ephorate of Antiquities of Larissa).
Figure 6: Architectural remains of the late Early Neolithic at Otzaki (Milojci¢, 1971, Plan VIII).
Figure 7: The flat site of Elateia-Bigmeni Petra under intensive survey in September 2017 (Agathe Reingruber).
Figure 8: Architectural remains of phases Ila (squares a and b) and IIb (squares c and d) at Achilleion (Winn & Shimabuku, 1989, Figure 4.7 and 4.11).
Research paper thumbnail of Elateia 1 in northeastern Thessaly 8000 years ago: Relative and absolute chronology of a flat extended settlement
Documenta Praehistorica, 2021
Intensive and systematic surveys in the area south of Mount Olympos and west of Mount Ossa reveal... moreIntensive and systematic surveys in the area south of Mount Olympos and west of Mount Ossa revealed not only tell settlements, but also several flat sites from different prehistoric periods. For one of the settlements, namely Elateia 1, a detailed relative chronological assessment was made with the help of statistical evaluations of pottery assemblages. In addition, short-lived bone samples confirmed and more precisely defined the exact chronological position of this 10-hectare site within the Middle Neolithic period. The present study underlines the importance of statistical evaluations of complete pottery assemblages, even those obtained through survey investigations, and their significance for a better understanding of chronological, chorological and post-depositional processes.
Flat sites are much more difficult to locate, due to their comparatively thin cultural layer subjected to erosion or, in contrast, due to their coverage with thick alluvial deposits. They are extremely endan- gered, especially since today’s agricultural machin-
Elateia 1 in northeastern Thessaly 8000 years ago: relative and absolute chronology of a flat extended settlement o their number, but also w points can be validated and highest percentage of decora firmed by the decorated sherds found there, prob- ably not in a random scattering. Not only according hen calculated in per- centage-per-total, the previously established focal others proposed: the ed sherds appeared in he almond grove, in F033 and F031 (Fig. 4). How- ever, due to poorer visibility, fewer sherds (and finds in general) have been collec ed here. eight areas were defined starting from the north- west (area NW) and ending in the southeast (area SE). For the ceramic analysis, this meant that the comparison of features was based on the number of sherds-per-area, each of which accounted for 100% within its area. of finds from, sherds and the pective. Only t This puts the unevenly high numbers for example, the SW area with 2994 NW area with 679 sherds into pers- he area NE with a sparse 77 sherds falls through t tent type of pr his grid. Thus a uniform and consis- esentation is maintained.
The seven ceramic categories represented are all monochrome. Monochrome surfaces occur in all phases and subphases of the Neolithic and Chal- colithic, and therefore this term cannot be used in a chronological sense. The term ‘monochrome’ is used here not in opposition to painted styles, but in Opposition to bichrome burnt pottery styles. To the latter would belong the black-to pped pottery of the EN II and of the LN I with different colours on the inner and outer surfaces (grey/black and light brown, respectively), additional and no such sherds occurred in bichrome burnt category refers surfaces contrasting with blac mostly the interior is black and y with a black rim, Elateia 1. Another o reddish oxidized k reduced ones - he exterior red, or, more rarely, the other way around. Such sherds are
Looking at the categories by area, some aspects stand out: most rolled/worn sherds occurred in the area NE, but they are also common in the areas CNE and CNW. In a representation without the rolled/worn sherds (Fig. 6), it can be seen that in these two areas red and light slipped sherds are also fewer, as the
Eroded/rolled = Sec. burnt # Red burnt # Red slip Light-brown ® Dark-brown #®Grey-brown — Light slip = Kaoli
Fig. 6. Elateia 1, seven pottery categories (exclud- ing the two secondary altered ones) in seven areas (excluding area NE). Impresso decoration, i.e. the intervention with an instrument or even just the thumbnail on the still moist surface of a vessel, clearly predominates. Con- trary to what is usually proposed (Milojcic-v. Zum- busch J. 1971), impresso is not confined to the final
=almpresso =Paint » Plastic dec. =Scraped = Incisions Since lugs are quite varied in design, they might not have been solely functional in nature (to hold a rope for hanging up the vessel), but possibly also of aesthetic value. Lugs can be elongated or round, sometimes angular in cross-section, and even tunnel-
Fig. 8. Elateia 1, Reconstructed pottery shapes and decorative styles (draw- ings by Ellen Kihnelt; digitizing by Aggeliki Chalkia; photos by Frank Ltinsmann, Agathe Reingruber). With one white painted exception, the closed shapes are always ornamented with impresso and scraped decoration (Fig. 8.16). However, while impresso ap- pears on traditional convex shapes with ring bases (T11, T12 and T41), the scraped decoration is asso-
An interesting finding from this evaluation is that certain decorations were applied to certain shapes Fig. 9. Elateia 1, areas and frequencies of certain pottery shapes (% per area).
Fig. 10. Elateia 1, areas and frequencies of all five decorative styles (% per area). Water must have been a major reason for the choice of this advantageous location by the first genera- tion of settlers, and water may have been the rea- son why the last generation abandoned this site. Climate curves show that the absolute maximum of a warm and humid climate was reached around 5800 cal BC, a peak that was never equalled again in the entire Holocene of the last 11 600 years. Flo- oding and the swelling of small rivers into danger- ous flows may have been a problem. If so, we can assume that the Tsantarli must have affected the settlement, and indeed there are two indications of
Pottery analysis points to a horizontal shift inside he settlement area: the oldest pottery styles appear in areas NW and CSW, the youngest in SW and SE. Although the absolute dates are too few to be sta- istically analysed in a model, they seem to support his view; at least they do not contradict the sug- gested horizontal shift. In view of their origin as sur- face material this result is all the more significant and encouraging. Based on the results we can even conclude that the site was inhabited only during
A process that started in the previous generations of archaeologists and is still a challenge for our ge- neration (and will certainly continue into the next) is the integration of results obtained by relative chronological appraisal into the system of a revised absolute chronology. One such example where this task is still ongoing is the re-interpretation of finds previously considered to be of late EN date, where the EN was expected to have lasted until 5800 cal BC. With the firmly established !4C chronology the time between 6000 and 5800 cal BC is demonstra- bly of early MN. Indeed, pottery categories from the EN were still in use in the MN, especially the red mo- nochrome pottery (with or without a slip) and red painted surfaces, although new shapes were added to the repertoire. Therefore, on the basis of mono- chrome pottery alone a reliable relative-chronologi- cal dating cannot be obtained, and this fact is very important to acknowledge in connection with older Based on the evaluation of the pottery and together with the results from radiocarbon analysis, we are now able to determine more precisely which pottery categories and styles were in use coevally: the diffe- rent categories correlate with certain decorative styles applied to them. One such ‘standard’ is clay with quartz temper, usually well smoothed and bur- nished, often coated with a red slip after impressed
Tab. 1. Frequencies of decorated fragments per category and in the total material. Elateia 1 in northeastern Thessaly 8000 years ago: relative and absolute chronology of a flat extended settlement
Tab. 2. Closed (111-117) and open (121-125) shapes of vessels, bases (T41-T44) and attached elements (162-165) as determined for the site Elateia 1.
Tab. 3. Elateia 1, predominant combinations of category, decorative style, and vessel type. Judging by both the distribution of shapes and of or- naments some conspicuous similarities can be point- ed out regarding the individual areas. Regarding the decorative styles, all five of them are plotted here without going into further detail (Fig. 10). Even on such a general analytical level it is pos- sible to show that impresso, plastic decoration and
Elateia 1 in northeastern Thessaly 8000 years ago: relative and absolute chronology of a flat extended settlement
Research paper thumbnail of The prehistoric habitation and the palaeo-environment in the basins of Sykourio and Elateia [in Greek language].
Proceedings of the 10th Conference of Larissa Studies, 2021
Thessaly is internationally famous as one of the first regions in Europe to have been inhabited b... moreThessaly is internationally famous as one of the first regions in Europe to have been inhabited by sedentary farming populations since 6500 BC. Over many centuries, even millennia, some of the first sites founded near the river Pinios (Fig. 1–2) became high mounds, as generation after generation built their clay-houses on the same spot where the previous houses had been demolished (e.g. Argissa and Soufli Magoula). The inhabitants of these locations profited greatly from the resources offered by this year-round flowing river, because water was and is one of the most important natural resources in the history of mankind. But it was not only flowing waters that were of immanent importance for the choice of a settlement site. Standing waters also played an important role in prehistory. Today, such water bodies have largely disappeared from the surface, either since they dried up over the last few decades (Fig. 1) or because modern agriculture craved for even more arable lands, which is why swamps and even lakes have been desiccated. In the discussion related to Neolithic environments and habitats they have played only a marginal role so far.
The attractiveness of a location also depends on other factors, one of which is the availability of raw materials from which effective tools could be produced. High-quality stones are therefore essential, especially during the Stone Age, and at the latest in the Mesolithic various types of chert and obsidian were exchanged over long distances. Starting with the Neolithic, such networks between cooperating and sharing communities can be better understood also on behalf of locally occurring rocks.
Such an area, in which both of the above-mentioned resources (waters and special rocks) are abundant, is the north-easternmost part of Thessaly. In an area of about 15 x 5 km west of Mt Ossa a complex landscape with two intertwined basins extends: The northern Basin of Elateia is drained by the river Pinios, while the southern Basin of Sykourio was until recently dominated by a lake we called «Bara Toibasi» (Fig. 3–4). Thanks to modern GPS-equipment, high-resolution Digital Elevation Models (DEM), Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and their analysis tools, we can conclude that some of the sites Nessonis 1 to Nessonis 7 (N1-N7 on the map Fig. 1) were located near the shore of the lake. Its exact extent and its importance for prehistoric communities still need to be clarified, but it is obvious that its volume must have been larger in times of higher rainfall than its remains indicate on historical maps. In the Basin of Elateia, most of the prehistoric sites seem to have been concentrated near running waters, especially at the confluence of two streams, as in the case of Makrychori (M1), Elateia 1 (E1) or Bounarbasi.
In this research area we study the first appearance of prehistoric populations and the way they used the landscape and its resources during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods (6600/6500–3300 BC). The two main basins differ not only in the type of water resources they contain(ed), but also in the way the raw materials were used by prehistoric populations. We could prove that rocks from the surrounding hills were already used by the first sedentary inhabitants, as was the case in the flat sites of Nessonis 1-South (EN II) and Elateia 1 («Bigmeni Petra», EN III/MN). A comparison of the rock quantities in the two basins shows some pronounced differences: in Nessonis 1 we found many mortars and pestles for crushing wild plants (Fig. 5), which were carved out of the light marble of the nearby Chassambali Hill. In contrast, in Elateia rather a different type of marble, a greyish variant, was used for tools. And here rounded tools, e.g. pounders (Fig. 7), were made from a high-quality quartz, not often found in the other basin. This quartz was also used for chipped stone tools, but in smaller quantities than the imported obsidian. Serpentinite, a rock that only occurs in the Chassambali Hills, was used to shape a special cutting tool (Fig. 6): We found it in equal quantities throughout the area.
We can conclude that the Neolithic communities of the two basins were economically adapted to the richness of their environment, primarily by using directly available resources, but exchanging high quality rocks such as serpentinite inter-regionally. They were also involved in a major supra-regional exchange, as the high obsidian content in Elateia-Bigmeni Petra proves.
Research paper thumbnail of Frühe Bauern am Fuße des Olymp.
Archäologie in Deutschland, 2021
Thessalien gehört zu den ersten Gegenden Europas, in denen neolithische Bauern sesshaft wurden. J... moreThessalien gehört zu den ersten Gegenden Europas, in denen neolithische Bauern sesshaft wurden. Jüngste landschaftsarchäologische Untersuchungen südlich des Olymp erlauben Rückschlüsse auf das Siedlungsgeschehen in dieser frühen Zeit.
Research paper thumbnail of Der kupferzeitliche Siedlungshügel Magura Gorgana bei Pietrele in der Walachei: Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen im Sommer 2007
Der kupferzeitliche Siedlungshügel Magura Gorgana bei Pietrele in der Walachei: Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen im Sommer 2007
Eurasia Antiqua Zeitschrift Fur Archaologie Eurasiens, 2008
Research paper thumbnail of Graphite and carbon: Relative and absolute chronology between the Aegean and the Black Sea in the 5th millennium BC
COMMUNITIES IN TRANSITION, 2018
Graphite, one of the softest minerals, is an allotrope of carbon in its most stable form, chemica... moreGraphite, one of the softest minerals, is an allotrope of carbon in its most stable form, chemically resistant and difficult to be ignited; it requires high temperatures to react even with oxygen. Since it was used until the end of the 19th century in pencils, it received its name from the ancient Greek word for drawing and/or writing: γράφω. Carbon, on the other hand, is present as a powder and is the main constituent of substances such as charcoal. It occurs with three natural isotopes, one of them being unstable and radioactive. This last, 14C, is a naturally occurring radioisotope mostly confined to the atmosphere and superficial deposits; it is virtually absent in ancient rocks. Graphite has been used since the 5th millennium BC for ornamental purposes on vessels and/or specific parts of vessels. Such decorations are typical for certain regions at certain times, enabling archaeologists to create relative chronologies. The radioactive isotope 14C, on the other hand, can be used for absolute dating after calibration and hence be connected to calendar years. It is about time to join the information regarding both graphite painting and radiocarbon results to create a more comprehensive chronological scheme valid not only for a specific site but also for a larger region. Two vast cultural complexes: Kodžadermen-Gumelniţa-Karanovo VI (KGK VI) and Sălcuţa-Krivodol-Bubanj Hum (SKBh) were primarily defined according to pottery styles. In both complexes graphite paint occurred together with the use of metals during the 5th millennium BC. At first sight the differences between the complexes seem small. In detail, though, some notable distinctions are obvious, especially regarding the ornaments on vessels.
Figure 15.9. Goljamo Deléevo, modelled radiocarbon dates.
Figure 15.10. Tell Azmak, radiocarbon dates from seeds only, modelled according to phases III and IV.
Figure 15.11. Junacite, modelled radiocarbon dates.
Figure 15.12. Slatino-Cardako, calibrated radiocarbon dates.
Figure 15.13. Slatino-Cardako, pottery from phases 3-6 (after Chohadzhiev 2006, figs 117, 123, 137)
Figure 15.15. Dikili Tash, modelled radiocarbon dates from phases [-LI.
Figure 15.16. Dikili Tash, pottery from phase IA (after Demoule 2004. pls 37-9).
Figure 15.17. Sitagroi, modelled radiocarbon dates from phases I-III.
OxCal v4.2.3 Bronk Ramsey (2013); 5 IntCali3 atmospheric curve (Reimer et al 2013}
A- lgnatitsa; B- Kalofer; C- Shipka; D- Seltse; E- Sveti Ilja; F- Shishmanovo; G- Gramatikovo; H- Golyamo Kamenyane; J- Madan; K- Chepelare; L- Yagodina; M- Krichim; N- Bistritsa; O- Lebnitsa.
An interesting geographical aspect is the localisation of Chalcolithic sites either west or east of the watershed that separates rivers flowing into the Black Sea from those flowing into the Aegean (Fig. 15.2):
Figure 15.3. Radiocarbon dates from Pietrele, Trench F, arranged according to their stratigraphical position.
Figure 15.5. Pietrele, main motifs painted with graphite on bowls and lids: I—2, 4: simple or breaking waves and drops; 2-3: net-like motifs; 4: waves and drops; 5: simple rods (drawings by 1: Waltraut Rust; 2: Cristina Georgescu; 3: Heide Wrobel-Norgaard; 4: Irma Berdzenishvili; 5: Tilmann Vachta).
Figure 15.6. Pietrele, main motifs incised on lids and closed vessels: 1. helices and circles; 2. helices and drops (drawings by la-b: Cristina Georgescu; 2a: Irma Berdzenishvili, 2b: Tilmann Vachta).
Figure 15.7. Varna, radiocarbon dates from human and animal bones.
Figure 15.8. Varna: pairs of dated human and animal bones from Graves 111 and 117.
Table 15.1: Regions 1-6 with a schematic overview of ornamental styles and the resulting patterns in graphite (in light grey shade). Sequences of the different sites are organized according to their '‘C dates and not according to the relative sequence proposed by the excavators (dark grey shade: levels of the purported Middle Chalcolithic according to the Bulgarian terminology) (Abbreviations for sites: DT=Dikili Tash, GD=Goljamo Deléevo, Jun=Junacite, Ove=Ovéarovo, Piet HP=Pietrele housephase, Sit=Sitagroi, SI=Slatino, TP=Topolnica-Promachon; other abbreviations: circ=circle, conc=concentric; geom.=geometric, grp=graphite, inc=incisions, lin=linear, neg=negative, orn=ornament, pnt=paint, pos=positive, reg=register spandr=spandrel, v.f.=very fine, v.rare=very rare).
Figure 15.14. Promachon-Topolnica, modelled radiocarbon dates from phases I-IV.
Appendix: Table with ''C dates used for the modelling of sequences and phases from the sites discussed in the paper
Appendix: Table with '*C dates used for the modelling of sequences and phases from the sites discussed in the paper. (Continued)
Appendix: Table with '*C dates used for the modelling of sequences and phases from the sites discussed in the paper. (Continued)
Research paper thumbnail of Changing perspectives: Looking at the Neolithic in the Northwest Pontic region through radiocarbon dates
Principles and Methods of Dating in Archaeology (Neolithic — Middle Ages), 2018
The Neolithisation process in the steppe and forest steppe has been analysed in the last century ... moreThe Neolithisation process in the steppe and forest steppe has been analysed in the last century mainly with respect to pottery styles and material culture. A different perspective is proposed here: the analysis of the — unfortunately — only few radiocarbon dates can contribute to new insights and may help to overcome linear and unidirectional models for explaining the transformations that happened during the 6th millennium BC. In an attempt to match the absolute and relative chronologies, a model is proposed here that reverses the perspective and suggests that networks and exchanges were operating in different directions, and not exclusively from the southwest (the Balkans) to the northeast (the Pontic) but also the other way around. Certainly, the climatic and vegetational interrelated space of the steppe and forest steppe, connected further by the important rivers of the Danube and the Prut, favoured such networks. The results presented here are far from being final; nevertheless, future 14C dates will certainly contribute to a more adequate picture of this complex and long-lasting process.
Research paper thumbnail of Geographical mobility and social motility in the Aegean before and after 6600 BC
Praehistorische Zeitschrift, 2018
One of the most far-reaching changes in human history relates to the overcoming of the dependency... moreOne of the most far-reaching changes in human history relates to the overcoming of the dependency from exclusively local resources by domesticating first plants and then animals at the beginning of the Holocene in the Near East. Each generation of archaeologists has reflected on these transformations in the light of the augmented knowledge obtained by new excavations and new analytical methods. The spread of the producing economy from the core area in neighboring regions was interpreted primarily as cultural change, which would have been accomplished by emigrants or colonists. Accordingly, the proposed Neolithisation models include linear movements from east to west that explain the seemingly abrupt cultural change.
Generally, little attention has been paid to the conceptualisation of terms like colonisation or migration as proposed by sociologists. Taking them into account, the focus of this study will be less on the swift cultural change but rather on the slow, intergenerational social change, on the active social mobility (motility). The perspective is not primarily that of newcomers from Neolithic Anatolia but rather that of the Mesolithic Aegean communities. It may not have been the decision of mobile farmers to “colonise” neighbouring areas, but rather that of hunters and gatherers to adopt (selectively) innovations from the areas of origin and to adapt them to their own needs. As active decision-makers, they set in motion a process that led not only to economic but also to social, cultural and genetic changes over several generations.
Fig. 1: Southwest Anatolia with Epipalaeolithic/Mesolithic and Neolithic sites
Fig. 2: The circum-Aegean with the first appearance of obsidian from Melos; indicated are possible routes of exchange that outline a network between islands and especially southern coastal areas The transitional communities of the circum-Aegean sphere of Marmara appear only centuries later, this Sea acting as a barrier rather than as a bridge*.
Fig. 3: The circum-Aegean with an enhanced network during the Early and Middle Neolithic visualized on behalf of Melian obsidian exchanged especially between coastal and inland sites
Research paper thumbnail of The Transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic in a Circum-Aegean Perspective: Concepts and Narratives
The relative chronological scheme of the Early Neolithic period in Greece relies on sequences ela... moreThe relative chronological scheme of the Early Neolithic period in Greece relies on sequences elaborated in the 1950s based on evidence from limited trenches. Between 1950 and 1970 concepts deriving from the Near East were applied also in Aegean archaeology. The terms “Preceramic” and “Aceramic” were adopted shortly after the recognition of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic in the “Fertile Crescent.” Culture change was explained predominantly by colonization processes, based on the assumption that all items belonging to the “Neolithic Package” appeared simultaneously in Southeastern Europe at the very beginning of the Neolithic. Fundamental in this model are the economic products (domesticated species) or single objects and their manufacturing techniques (pots and tools). But change seems to explain only partially the processes of the mid-seventh millennium B.C.: attention needs to be focused on the evidence for continuity as well. Therefore, the superordinate systems of social and cultural behaviour (burial customs and exchange networks) are essential in the model presented here. Accordingly, the foundation for the transformations in the Aegean was the mobile way of life for both intra- and extralocal groups of late seafaring foragers-fishers and early seafaring fishers-farmers, with their face-to-face contact resulting in the transfer of innovations. The Neolithization process in the Aegean is in this view the result of connectivities in time (with the Mesolithic) and in space (circum-Aegean).
Figure 1. The circum-Aegean world and neighboring areas (Marmara region and Lake District), with sites mentioned in the text.
Figure 2. Snapshot with the first occurrence of a sedentary lifestyle in the different regions of the circum- Aegean world, the Marmara region, and the Lake District. (Adapted from Reingruber 2011:Figure 9) It was not only the terminology and methodology that were adopted from Near Eastern archaeologica Until recently, studies related to the transition — th
The next generations of archaeologists perpetu- ated the viewpoints of direct or indirect diffusion with he addition of new (and disputable) concepts, like that of the “Neolithic Package,” and assumptions like that of westward migrating groups of people after an al- eged collapse of the PPNB (Ozdogan 2007a:151—153, 2008:143). It was especially the conjunction of these two notions, the “Package” and the “Migration,” that resulted in the colonization model (OzdoZan 2007b; Perlés 2003). Yetno conclusive definition of the terms colonist and colonization have been given by those using them to explain culture change. investigations, but also the concepts that were valid at the time for the “Core Area” (basically the “Fertile Crescent”) and the “Primary Neolithization Zone” of central Anatolia (OzdoZan 2008:142—143). Whereas certain concepts like the PPN ora local domestication of plants and animals were indeed the result of precise observation and documentation, their introduction into Aegean archaeology tured these concepts into constructs and credos (see Figure 3, top). Milojéié never published a specific model for the Neolithization process, but he pondered on behalf of domesticated plants (emmer and barley) and animals (sheep) on the “relationships with the Near East” (German: “Beziehungen zum Orient;” Milojéié 1962:24). Theo- charis (1973:34—36), on the other hand, was rather inclined to explain the beginning of a sedentary life- style in Thessaly as an autochthonous process based on a local domestication of plants and animals, yet acknowledged the temporal supremacy of the Near
Figure 5. Selected elements of the temporal and spatial connectivity resulting in innovation centers that influenced neighboring regions. closed shapes, to which tubular lugs were attached, or special shapes with an anti-splash rim, were not produced in Thessaly. Instead, rather simple shapes of mainly small-sized and well-polished vessels with ring bases occurred there. Specific regions maintained not only specific pottery styles but also Not all elements of the Neolithic lifestyle ap- peared in uniform dissemination throughout the Aegean. For example, the rich repertoire of ceramic vessels in southwestern Anatolia with predominantly
Figure 6. Radiocarbon dates from Sarakenos Cave, Trench A. (Dates from Sampson et al. 2009:150—154) As analyzed in modern societies, a relationship can be established between agglomerations, local knowledge, and its diffusion. By identifying such geographic concentrations of innovation activities, different causes of the emergence of these concen- rations can be examined (Fornahl and Brenner 2009:163-182). We are far from performing such studies in Aegean prehistory on the basis of small renches alone; nevertheless, a concentration of sites can be pinpointed in Thessaly after 6300 cal B.C. in the EN II). From there, impulses emanated to neighboring regions as well, Thessaly acting as an innovation center for more southern (Boeotia and the Argolid) and western (west Thessalian plain) regions. This pioneering task was later taken over by western Macedonia, the geographical innovation center shift- ing toward the north, from where the Neolithization of the Balkans commenced (Figure 5; Reingruber et al. 2017). The Impresso decoration is of particular interest: Impresso pottery in Macedonia and Thessaly was of different clay composition than the local pottery (Dimoula 2014:206). First the surfaces of the im- pressed pots were unpainted (as is practiced in the Bal kans as well), but after 6000 cal B.C. it became integrated into the symbolic expression of the painted pot ery traditions, resulting in the developed MN fusion-style (Reingruber 2008:Table 4, Figures 1-3). Therefore, contacts were not only trans-Aegean and eas ast -west-east oriented, but indeed circum-Aegean, hey were also north-south directed. Especially in
Note: Calculations were made per 10-cm spit and per number of 2-x-2-m grids excavated in the campaign of 1958 (in some parts of the trench the virgin soil was reached in spit 30 in the year 1956). Table 1. Number of Sherds from the “Preceramic” (PC), Early Ceramic (EN I), and Proto-Sesklo (EN I) Layers in Argissa Magoula.
Research paper thumbnail of Zirkumägäische Netzwerke am Übergang vom Mesolithikum zum Neolithikum
Der Übergang von der aneignenden zur produzierenden Wirtschaftsweise hat sich im Kerngebiet des N... moreDer Übergang von der aneignenden zur produzierenden Wirtschaftsweise hat sich im Kerngebiet des Neolithikums, im „Fruchtbaren Halbmond“, sehr allmählich, über Jahrtausende hinweg vollzogen – weniger im Sinne einer „Revolution“ als vielmehr im Sinne eines komplexen Transformationsprozesses. Mit dem Beginn des keramischen Neolithikums um 7.000/6.800 v.Chr. kann diese zukunftsweisende Umgestaltung als abgeschlossen gelten. Nur wenige Jahrhunderte
später, ab ca. 6.700/6.600 v. Chr. gelangten wichtige Neuerungen in die Ägäis, darunter domestizierte Pflanzen- und Tierarten, selektiv auch Keramik und Kleinfunde aus Ton oder Knochen. Die Bestattungssitten, die Rohstoffversorgung und auch das Steingeräteinventar blieben jedoch weitgehend unverändert. Deswegen müssen Narrativen wie die einer massiven Migration oder einer Kolonisation hinterfragt werden. Alternativ sollte vielmehr auch eine kleinräumige Mobilität (Motilität) von Individuen oder Kleingruppen bedacht werden. Basierend auf Netzwerken, die bereits im Mesolithikum der Verbreitung von Rohstoffen (z. B. Obsidian) dienten, konnten sich in dieser Sichtweise Innovationen in der Ägäis durch direkten Austausch ausbreiten. Als wichtige Kontaktregion zwischen der Ägäis und dem Mittelmeerraum kann die südwestanatolische Küste ausgemacht werden.
Research paper thumbnail of Going West? The Dissemination of Neolithic Innovations between the Bosporus und the Carpathians.pdf
Going West? uses the latest data to question how the Neolithic way of life was diffused from the ... moreGoing West? uses the latest data to question how the Neolithic way of life was diffused from the Near East to Europe via Anatolia. The transformations of the 7th millennium BC in western Anatolia undoubtedly had a significant impact on the neighboring regions of southeast Europe. Yet the nature, pace and trajectory of this impact needs still to be clarified. Archaeologists searched previously for similarities in prehistoric, especially Early Neolithic, material cultures on both sides of the Sea of Marmara. Recent research shows that although the isthmi of the Dardanelles and the Bosporus connect Asia Minor and the eastern Balkans, they apparently did not serve as passageways for the dissemination of Neolithic innovations. Instead, the first permanent settlements are situated near the Aegean coast of Thrace and Macedonia, often occurring close to the mouths of big rivers in secluded bays. The courses and the valleys of rivers such as the Maritsa, Strymon and Axios, were perfect corridors for contact and exchange.
Using previous studies as a basis for fresh research, this volume presents exciting new viewpoints by analyzing recently discovered materials and utilising interdisciplinary investigations with the application of modern research methods. The seventeen authors of this book have dedicated their research to a renewed evaluation of an old problem: namely, the question of how the complex transformations at the transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic can be explained. They have focused their studies on the vast area of the eastern Balkans and the Pontic region between the Bosporus and the rivers Strymon, Danube and Dniestr. Going West? thus offers an overview of the current state of research concerning the Neolithisation of these areas, considering varied viewpoints and also providing useful starting points for future investigations.
Research paper thumbnail of Rezension zu: Benecke, N. 2020. Wirtschaft und Umwelt früher Bauern in Thrakien
Archäologische Informationen 44,, 2021
In archäologischen Großprojekten mit jahrzehntelanger Laufzeit wird eine Fülle von belastbaren, s... moreIn archäologischen Großprojekten mit jahrzehntelanger Laufzeit wird eine Fülle von belastbaren, statistisch relevanten, oft auch diachronen Daten erhoben, die unser Wissen immens bereichern und nicht nur lokal, sondern auch regional bedeutsam sind. Ihre Auswertung und Publikation bedürfen nicht nur eines zeitlichen Vorlaufs, sondern auch einer stringenten Planung, deren Umsetzung aus unterschiedlichsten Gründen mitunter verändert werden muss. Man kann dem Verfasser dieses Bandes gratulieren, dass er trotz solcher Anpassungen sein Ziel nie aus den Augen verloren hat und nun seine reiche Datensammlung samt Auswertung vorgelegt hat.
Die Fülle an Informationen für Experten der Archäozoologie in den Tabellen, für den Kenner der thrakischen Prähistorie in den vergleichenden Auswertungen, für den interessierten Laien in den zahlreichen Überlegungen zur wirtschaftlichen Nutzung der Haustiere sowie zu den Lebensgewohnheiten und dem Verhalten der Wildtiere – diese drei Aspekte werden dem Buch viel Aufmerksamkeit und dem Autor viel Anerkennung bringen: zu recht.
Research paper thumbnail of AAA lectures -N-Pontic & SE-Balkans -2024 Program
Between 18 April and 26 June 2024, eight lectures on the North Pontic and South Balkan region wil... moreBetween 18 April and 26 June 2024, eight lectures on the North Pontic and South Balkan region will be held as part of the AAA Lecture Series on behalf of ARWA. The attached programme was prepared in collaboration with Elke Kaiser. The abstracts were kindly provided by the speakers.
Research paper thumbnail of ARWA, AAA lectures: North Pontic & Southeast Balkans - 2023 Program
Interpreting genetic ancestry of the builders of first kurgans in the North Pontic steppe. Earthe... moreInterpreting genetic ancestry of the builders of first kurgans in the North Pontic steppe. Earthen round barrow burial constructions called kurgans began to appear in the North Pontic steppe in the 37 century BCE. It has long been considered that the people who started the kurgan burial tradition in the steppe were the nomadic forager-pastoralist ancestors of the Yamna culture. Recent archaeogenetic data show that first kurgan builders of northwest Pontic steppe had a complex genetic composition, admixing ancestries of steppe nomads, Eneolithic populations of the North Caucasus, as well as descendants of the Neolithic farmers of Europe. "Ukrainian Stonehenge". An Eneolithic kurgan near Novooleksandrivka, Dnipropetrivs'k Region. Photo fromhttps://chas.cv.ua.
Research paper thumbnail of WORLD NEOLITHIC CONGRESS, Group R15, The Neolithic of the Aegean and Beyond
Session R15 is part of the World Neolithic Congress that will take place in Şanlıurfa in November... moreSession R15 is part of the World Neolithic Congress that will take place in Şanlıurfa in November 2024. The deadline for the submission of abstracts has been extended to 20 May 2024. For further information, please also visit the website at
https://www.worldneolithiccongress.org/Default.aspx

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