The first five millennia of plant food production in the central and western Balkans: archaeobotanical evidence from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age

Abstract

This paper takes a long-term perspective and looks at the development of plant food economies from the Neolithic through to the Bronze Age (6300‑1000 BC) in the central and western parts of the continental Balkans (southeast Europe), more specifically – the territories of Serbia, *Kosovo1 , and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It does this by overviewing the archaeobotanical evidence of crop growing from sites archaeologically dated to the selected timespan. Farming started in the region with the cultivation of at least six crop species early in the Neolithic. Through time, the range grew steadily as new species were taken into cultivation whilst old ones were maintained. Some crops changed their role over time, from minor to major or vice versa, while the importance of others remained constant. Continuity, diversification and innovation mark the five millennia of farming practice in the region.