Neolithisation of the Balkans: One hundred years of research

Abstract

The Neolithisation process marks one of the most dramatic changes in human past. The long history of research on the origins of the Neolithic way of life, its characteristics, and ways of spreading and adopting includes diverse theoretical and methodological frameworks. Differences in the focus of research may also be noted – while some studies emphasized the economy and subsistence, others paid more attention to the symbolic realms and cultural change. In recent decades, interdisciplinary approaches have brought new directions for research activities as well as new data, such as new, refined absolute dates, ancient DNA, and stable isotope analyses of human and animal remains. The Balkan area is particularly important for understanding the spread and adaptation of the so-called “Neolithic package,” with the first studies of the Balkan Early Neolithic conducted as early as the first decades of the 20th century. Recent studies demonstrated that there was a change in population during the Early Neolithic, limiting previous debates on the local vs. imported “Neolithic package,” but also raising questions about the mechanisms of spreading and adopting as well as adapting the Neolithic way of life. This paper will present a critical overview of some of the key studies of the Neolithisation process in prehistoric archaeology in Serbia, as well as current trends and possible future directions for research. One of the insufficiently explored topics is the characteristics and changes in the so-called “Neolithic package” and its adaptations that took place within the Balkan area – such as changes in technological choices, raw material selection and management, or changes in symbolic value and the meaning of some of the elements of material culture.