Mesolithic to Neolithic in Greece. Continuity, discontinuity or change of course?

Abstract

The paper reviews the status of the Mesolithic/Neolitihc interface in Greece. It is argued that the old dichotomy between “indigenists” and “diffusionists” concerning the neolithization of Greece is simplistic. Instead it is proposed that the discussion should be focused on two separate issues: one factual, emphasizing the form of phenomena and their archaeological description and one interpretive focusing more on content. Concerning the first issue, the hypothesis is made that the discontinuity in the Mesolithic/Neolithic interface is probably the result of the incomplete archaeological record and the biased research on long-term Neolithic sites in Thessaly. As for the second issue, the shift to the Neolithic can be better understood as an effort to control society and its conflicts by manipulating physical and conceptual resources and by constructing new identities.V članku predstavljamo hipoteze o prehodu iz mezolitika v neolitik v Grčiji. Menimo, da je staro nasprotje med “avtohtonisti” in “difuzionisti” o neolitizaciji Grčije preveliko poenostavljanje. Zato predlagamo, da se razprava osredotoči na dve ločeni vprašanji: prvo se tiče dejstev, kjer je poudarek na obliki pojava in njegovem arheološkem zapisu, drugo pa je interpretativno in osredotočeno bolj na vsebino. Glede prvega vprašanja postavimo hipotezo, da je diskontinuiteta prehoda mezolitik/neolitik verjetno posledica nepopolnega arheološkega zapisa in pristranskih raziskav na kontinuiranih neolitskih najdiščih v Tesaliji. Glede drugega vprašanja menimo, da lahko prehod v neolitik bolje razumemo, če v njem vidimo prizadevanje za nadzor družbe in njenih nasprotij z obvladovanjem fizičnih in pojmovnih virov in z oblikovanjem novih identitet