Preface

The overtures to this Neolithic Studies anthology, were the seventh and eighth Neolithic Seminars held at the Department of Archaeology, University of Ljubljana in May 2000 and November 2001. As far as content is concerned, we have maintained to contemplate the neolithisation processes and the transition to farming in Eurasia as well concepts and models such as “agricultural frontier”, “demic diffusion” and related genetic palimpsest, “wave of advance”, “availability model”, “secondary centres of neolithisation” and, to “when” and “where” questions of plant domestication. Special attention was paid to “the analyses of transition to farming and human impact on the landscape” that has been completed under the tenure of a research project at the Department of Archaeology, University of Ljubljana (J6-8598-0581) and with the financial assistance of Slovenian Ministry for Science and Technology. There are papers address the gap between theory and method in the identification of prehistoric feasts and, the conception as shown on the vessels that had more of a ritual than a practical role. Particular attention is drawn to the pot with the calendar image

Neolithic pottery and the biomolecular archaeology of lipids

In this paper, we present archaeological and biochemical approaches to organic food residues, the lipids that are well preserved in ceramic matrices on prehistoric vessels. The ‘archaeo- logical biomarker revolution’ concept is discussed in relation to pottery use, animal exploitation and the evolution of dietary practices in prehistory

O- kao fakultativni alomorf glagolskoga prefiksa od-

Predmet je rada promjena glagolskoga prefiksa od- u o-. Daju se uvjeti te promjene i prostor na kojem se ona događa. Popisuju se glagoli u kojima se ona dogodila.In a considerable number of verbs the verbal prefix od- appears as o-. The phenomenon is recorded in a wide area of all four štokavian languages, but mainly in southern Dalmatia, Crna Gora and eastern Hercegovina. The loss of /-d-/ most often occurs before fricatives. The author gives a corpus of verbs that undergo this loss and suggests a possible phonetic explanation for this phenomenon based on facultative anticipatory assimilation

Ceramics among Eurasian hunter-gatherers: 32 000 years of ceramic technology use and the perception of containment

We present two parallel and 32 000 years long trajectories of episodic ceramic technology use in Eurasian pre-Neolithic hunter-gatherer societies. In eastern, Asian trajectory the pottery was produced from the beginning. Ceramic figurines mark the western, European trajectory. The western predates the eastern for about eleven millennia. While ceramic cones and figurines first appeared in Central Europe at c. 31 000 cal BC the earliest vessels in eastern Asia was dated at c. 20 000 cal BC. We discuss women’s agency, perception of containment, ‘cross-craft interactions’, and evolution of private property that that may influenced the inventions of ceramic (pyro)technology.Predstavljamo dve vzporedni, 32 000 let dolgi trajektoriji občasne uporabe keramične tehnologije pri evrazijskih pred-neolitskih skupnostih lovcev in nabiralcev. V vzhodni, azijski trajektoriji, so keramične posode izdelovali že od začetka. V zahodni, evropski, so najprej izdelovali keramične figurice in stožce. Začetek uporabe keramične tehnologije v Evropi je 11 000 let starejši od začetka v jugovzhodni Aziji. Prvi keramični stožci in figurice so se v srednji Evropi pojavile pred 31 000 leti pr.n.št. Prve keramične posode pa so v jugovzhodni Aziji začeli uporabljati pred 20 000 leti pr.n.št. Analiziramo vlogo žensk, pomen shranjevanja in zasebne lastnine ter prenosa znanj in veščin pri razvoju keramične tehnologije

Archaeology and rapid climate changes: from the collapse concept to a panarchy interpretative model

The ‘rapid climate change’, ‘cycles of abrupt climate shift’, and ‘cold events’ in the Holocene are discussed in relation to the ‘collapse of civilisation’ concept, and adaptive cycles and the panarchy interpretative model.V članku predstavljamo ‘hitre klimatske spremembe’, ‘cikle nenadnih klimatskih premen’ in ‘hladne dogodke’ v povezavi s konceptom ‘kolapsa civilizacij’, adaptivnimi cikli in interpretativnim modelom ‘panarhije’

The transition to farming in Southeast Europe: perspectives from pottery

The transition to farming in the Balkans, Ionia and the Adriatic is discussed as the palimpsest relates to artefact assemblages, subsistence and archaeogenetic data. It is argued that it marks a dispersed and selective route towards farming adaptation in the regions. The incoming neareastern lineages and the difference in values for the Balkans (~20%) and Mediterranean coastal ( ~10%) area are linked to a network of the circulation of goods and people over long distances which was established after the incipient adoption of farming.V članku analiziramo proces neolitizacije na Balkanu ter vzhodni jadranski in jonski obali. Prehod h kmetovanju obravnavamo kot palimpsest (zapisov) povezanih z oblikovanjem artefaktnih zbirov, paleogospodarstev in arheogenetskih sekvenc. Zadnje povezujemo z vzpostavitvijo sistema menjave blagá in ljudi na Balkanu in Mediteranu

Neolithic pottery and the biomolecular archaeology of lipids

In this paper, we present archaeological and biochemical approaches to organic food residues, the lipids that are well preserved in ceramic matrices on prehistoric vessels. The ‘archaeo- logical biomarker revolution’ concept is discussed in relation to pottery use, animal exploitation and the evolution of dietary practices in prehistory. V prispevku predstavljamo arheološke in biokemijske raziskave organskih ostankov hrane, lipidov ohranjenih v stenah keramičnih prazgodovinskih posod. Koncept ‘revolucije arheoloških biomerkerjev’ analiziramo v povezavi z uporabo keramičnih posod, izrabo živalskih virov in razvojem mlečnega gospodarstva v prazgodovini

Introductory remarks

Volume XXIX of Documenta Praehistorica – the 9th Neolithic Studies anthology, comprises papers originally presented at the eighth international Neolithic Seminar – The Neolithization of Eurasia – Perspectives from Pottery at the Department of Archaeology, in November 2001. All the papers given by the invited speakers are included in revised form in this volume