Description
Book SynopsisGoing 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 perf
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"...it is very useful to have this volume on bookshelves to continue the dialogue that was begun in the previous volumes on the topic." Metin I. Eren, Kent State University, USA
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Northwest Anatolia: A Border or a Bridge between Anatolia and the Balkans during the Early Neolithic Period?
Necmi Karul
Anatolia and the Balkans: The Role of the Black Sea between ‘East’ and ‘West’ during the Neolithic Period
Eylem Özdoğan
Whither the Aegean Neolithic?
Burcin Erdoğu
Identifying the Earliest Neolithic Settlements in the Southeastern Balkans: Methodological Considerations based on the Recent Geoarchaeological Investigations at Dikili Tash (Greek Eastern Macedonia)
Laurent Lespez, Zoï Tsirtsoni, Pascal Darcque, Dimitra Malamidou, Haïdo Koukouli-Chryssanthaki and Arthur Glais
Lithic Industries and their Role in Neolithisation Models in Southeast Europe
Ivan Gatsov, Petranka Nedelcheva, Malgorzata Kaczanowska and Janusz K. Kozłowski
Thrace, post-6000 BC
Vassil Nikolov
The First Balkan Neolithic in the Lower Danube Plain and the Making of a Pottery Tradition
Laurens Thissen
The Beginning of the Neolithic Way of Life in the Eastern Lower Danube Area: A View from the North
Agathe Reingruber
The Transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic between Western Anatolia and the Lower Danube: Evidence from Burial Customs
Clemens Lichter
Appendix: 14C Database for Southeast Europe and Adjacent Areas (6600–5000 cal BC)
Laurens Thissen and Agathe Reingruber
