Living Neolithization: a multi-scalar approach to houses, settlements and habitation practices in Western Anatolia and Southeastern Europe (c. 7000-5000 BCE)

Elisha Owara van den Bos

Research output: PhD ThesisPhD-Thesis - Research and graduation internal

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Abstract

This thesis investigates the development of early farming societies in Western Anatolia and Southeastern Europe between 7000 and 5000 BCE. This ‘Balkan-Anatolian zone’ is often approached as an intermediary between Neolithic ‘core areas’ in Southwest Asia, where crops and animals were first domesticated, and the Neolithization of Southeastern and Central Europe. New field research, however, indicates that the Balkan-Anatolian zone has a deep Neolithic history and its own internal complexity. Therefore, this thesis aims to re-direct attention to the diachronic multi-regional development of Neolithic ways of life in this area. I adopt a settlement perspective on Neolithization, and develop a methodology for reconstructing and comparing local and regional habitation histories (Part I). This methodology builds on the multi-scalar discussion of the diachronic development of houses (domestic architecture), settlement organization, and regional settlement patterns, and aims to address the intersection between habitation patterns and the character and practices of Neolithic communities. Following this methodological framework, I analyze habitation in five regional case studies (Part II, Ch. 5-9), followed by an inter-regional comparative investigation, contextualization and discussion (Part III, Ch. 10-11). I propose that the framework of availability – substitution – consolidation (Zvelebil 2009) provides a starting point for recognizing regional differences in the development of Neolithic settled landscapes. As an important addition to this framework, the archaeological record shows that regional processes of substitution and consolidation (6700/6000-5700 BCE) were followed by the collapse, or ‘bust’, of settled landscapes across the Balkan-Anatolian zone (5700-5500 BCE), and the partial renewal of habitation (5500-5000 BCE). This is in line with ideas proposed for the demographic development of early farming societies, e.g. by Shennan et al. (2013) and Bandy (2008). Following a combined framework of availability – substitution – consolidation – bust – recovery, differences between the study regions are found in the duration of these developmental stages, with longer periods of initial settlement found in Western Anatolia and the Aegean than in the Struma Valley. Furthermore, the total duration of the period between initial settlement and the ‘bust’ of regional settled landscapes decreased through time and space. I propose that during the westward dispersal of farming societies, shorter cycles of development and decline can be observed. An important insight is that the Neolithization of the Balkan-Anatolian zone is characterized by the long-term parallel development of regional populations, and that interactions between regional groups, rather than origins, played an important role in forming regional similarities. Indeed, a long-term perspective on Neolithization shows that networks provide a better framework for understanding the spread of farming than the idea of the progressive expansion of a way of life formed in restricted core areas. The contribution of the Balkan-Anatolian zone in the formation of the Neolithic is further emphasized by the differential spatio-temporal development of Neolithic communities in the Levant, Central Anatolia, and the Balkan-Anatolian zone. While diachronic fluctuations in the size of communities and settlement patterns can be found across this entire area, the maximum size of Neolithic communities decreased significantly between Southwest Asian PPNB mega-site and Balkan village. Given the expected pattern of demographic growth after initial Neolithic settlement, this suggests changes in the diachronic strategies of early farming societies, e.g. an increase in the rate of community fission, a decrease in intra-communal hierarchy, an increase in residential mobility, and an increase in the importance of inter-community networks. These developments may have given early farming societies in the Balkan-Anatolian zone an increasing flexibility and adaptability, and this may have contributed to the faster rate of dispersal of farming populations seen during the 7th and 6th millennia BCE.
Original languageEnglish
QualificationPhD
Awarding Institution
  • Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Supervisors/Advisors
  • Crielaard, Jan Paul, Supervisor
  • Gerritsen, Fokke, Co-supervisor
Award date17 Feb 2021
Publication statusPublished - 17 Feb 2021

Keywords

  • Aegean
  • Anatolia
  • Neolithic archaeology
  • Southeastern Europe
  • habitation
  • households
  • settlements

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