Balkans (Other Keyword)
1-6 (6 Records)
Any discussion of Neolithization of the part of the Balkan Peninsula that lies within the territory of Bulgaria has to confront two seemingly long-established and incontrovertible ‘facts’ – the abrupt appearance of a fully developed Neolithic ‘package’ c. 6100/6000 cal BC, and the virtual archaeological ‘absence’ of a pre-Neolithic (Mesolithic) substratum. This paper focuses on two inadequately discussed aspects of the ongoing debate surrounding the spread of farming across SE Europe: 1) the...
Heading north: landscape use and food technology at the initial stage of farming expansion in the Balkans (2015)
During the spread of farming from the Near East to Europe, farmers and their domestic plants and animals gradually penetrated into new environments. Reaching the northern periphery of the Balkans (present day Serbia, northern Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary), early farmers encountered for the first time an ecological zone that significantly differed from the natural habitats of their domesticates. The continental environmental conditions, i.e. frosty winters with snow cover, stronger expressed...
Manufacture of Late Neolithic Pottery from the Southern Balkans: An Integrative Approach (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Throughout their life, from manufacture to final discard, ceramic vessels participated in different human activities within Neolithic communities throughout the Balkans. As a result, vessels, potters, and users are involved in a relational interaction leading to a continuous negotiation of various aspects of the Neolithic world. The outcome of this relation is...
The Neolithic House, from Anatolia to Central Europe (2015)
It is accepted with good reason that the appearance of the Neolithic in Europe results from a phenomenon of diffusion, notably demic, from the Near East and more particularly Anatolia. At first sight, there are considerable differences between the Near Eastern houses, which are often small and stone-built with white plaster floors, and the large wood and and earth houses of Central Europe. In fact a more detailed analysis of the situation in intermediate regions, especially the north-west...
Paint It Black: the rise of metallurgy in the Balkans (2015)
This study integrates archaeological, microstructural and compositional data of c. 7000 years old metallurgical production evidence with an aim to address the how and why of the world’s earliest metallurgy. The main focus is set on copper ores and metal production debris coming from four Vinča culture settlements in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, all dated between c. 5400 – 4400 BC. Chemical study of copper minerals throughout all sites points at striking uniformity in selecting black and...
The role of artifact surface scatters from the Western Morava Valley, Serbia in understanding human population movements during the Early Upper Paleolithic (2016)
There is strong evidence for the spread of anatomically modern humans (AMH) 45,000 to 35,000 years ago in Europe using two major migration routes: a northern one along the Danube River, and a southern one leading through Bulgaria and Greece. Despite being situated between these routes and near some of the earliest AMH sites in Europe, most of Serbia and the Central Balkans seem to lack evidence of these occupations. Part of the reason for this absence of evidence may be due to limited research...