Problems of the early neolithization stages in the southeast Balkans.

Prof. Vassil Nikolov
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

A “mosaic” of cultural phenomena was established at the beginning of the early Neolithic in the southeast Balkans. These phenomena have been differentiated mainly on the basis of pottery ornamentation, because the earliest Neolithic developments usually featured significant differences in decoration. However, if there was painted decoration, it has always been made with white paint. Without listing these phenomena here, it is possible to outline several smaller or larger zones in the study area. This “mosaic” does not allow us to unambiguously solve the complexities of the neolithisation process in the southeast Balkans. A hypothesis of multivariate neolithization processes is proposed.

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