Domesticating the periphery. New research into the Neolithic of Greece

Kostas Kotsakis Pharos 20 (2014): 41-73

Περίληψη (στα Αγγλικά)

A number of recent significant field projects in Northern Greece, particularly in Macedonia, have revealed a wealth of new data and have shed light on the Neolithic of the region, especially on its earliest periods. Apart from clarification of major chronological issues, we possess now, for the first time, compelling contextualized evidence for events and practices in which material culture played an important and definable social role. The overall picture indicates that the path towards establishing food production in Greece was considerably more complex and variable than previously anticipated. The active involvement of social events and practices contrasts with models of long-range migration of early agriculturalists and with perceptions of cultural uniformity prevalent in narratives of Neolithic origins in the Aegean. One such aspect adding considerably to the complexity of these early groups is the increasing visibility of the house and of the associated social groups emerging in the Neolithic communities.