Η Νεότερη Νεολιθική περίοδος στις Κυκλάδες: Στοιχεία χρονολόγησης και συνέχειας από τις έρευνες που πραγματοποιήθηκαν στο πλαίσιο έργων προστασίας και ανάδειξης αρχαιολογικών χώρων

Φάνης Μαυρίδης Στο Π. Τριανταφυλλίδης (επιμ.) 2017. Το Αρχαιολογικό Έργο στα Νησιά του Αιγαίου. Διεθνές Επιστημονικό Συνέδριο, Ρόδος, 27 Νοεμβρίου-1 Δεκεμβρίου 2013, Τόμος Β, Μυτιλήνη: 249-261.

In order to identify discontinuities and gaps in the ar­chaeological record, in addition to absolute and relative dating, it is important to also examine depositional prac­tices and uses of space in order to be able to understand why the material remains of some phases are better at­tested in the landscape than others. A characteristic ex­ample of this are the Neolithic tells; for decades archaeologists have been examining their basal levels for traces of the Mesolithic, to prove cultural continuity, however targeted surveys and the excavation of cave and island sites changed our view on the subject.

Excavation of sites such as Akrotiri on Thera, Agia Triada Cave in Karystos as well as Antiparos Cave indi­cated the presence of LN-EBA I material opening up prospects for a better understanding of the early prehis­toric cultural transitions in the Cyclades and southern Aegean in general. In the case of the Euboean Cave, ty­pological characteristics of the material remains of the LNI together with radiocarbon dates indicated that the white on dark painted ware was present well into the sec­ond half of the 5th millennium B.C. diminishing the gap between the LNI and LNII. Evidence coming from sites such as Skoteini and Cyclops Caves confirms this view. The LNII is placed at Agia Triada Cave between the end of the 5th and the first half of the 4th millennium B.C. “Elephant” lugs and the first appearance of the pattern burnished ware are usually placed at the end of the 5^th millennium, around 4300-4200 B.C. Agios Demetrios in Trifyllia, with pattern burnished sherds present, can be considered as representing the terminus post quem for the beginning of the Late Neolithic II, especially if one relates available radiocarbon dates and the similarities of the material found at this site with that from the site of Pangali in Varassova Mountain in Aetoloakarnania or the Kastria Cave in the Peloponnese in both of which the pattern-burnished ware is absent.

Moreover, sites such as the Zas Cave, Grotta on Naxos, Akrotiri on Thera, the Antiparos Cave, Ftelia on Mykonos, as well as the material from the upper phase at the Saliagos site, provide evidence for the presence of characteristic «late» elements present at several Late Neolithic sites. These elements (crusted ware, cheese pots, apsidal buildings etc) seem to be dated before the establishment of the LN II phase. It is also of importance to note that the Besik-Sivritepe horizon in western Anatolia, can be placed before the Late Neolithic II, between ca. 4800-4370 cal. B.C. Furthermore, the similarities ob­served between the material remains of other Anatolian sites such as Buyuck Gulucek or Ikiztepe and sites from the Aegean islands may be of interest. This date corresponds more or less to the advanced Late Neolithic I of southern Greece. Maybe, a horizon known as LNIb (advanced LN I) in mainland Greece could be identified in the Aegean islands as well.