Prehistoric Phenomena

The repository created here lists a collection of the documents published in the course of the ERC project Prehistoric Anatolia (ERC Starting Grant 263339; 2011–2016; PI: B. Horejs)

Starting point of the studies on Neolithic Imagery are the excavated objects depicting anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures as well as fantastic creatures at Çukuriçi Höyük (Türkiye) and in Svinjarička Čuka (Serbia), both representing pioneers in early to middle Neolithic periods.

During the past decade, the »ancient DNA revolution« has reopened key questions about prehistoric kinship that within archaeogenetics is narrowly viewed as genetic proximity. From a socio-cultural anthropological perspective, however, kinship is not only a biological but also a performative and imaginary principle for structuring and maintaining social relations. Frequently, it is not blood but houses that play a crucial role in forming kinship relations. Therefore, a unified study of dwelling spaces and biological markers of kinship is crucial to understanding kinship in prehistory.

In Southeastern Europe, the emergence of the Neolithic (c. 6000 cal BC) is associated with the development of two main Neolithic horizons, which have been identified based on two different ceramic styles: the Impressed Ware in the coastal areas (Adriatic) and the Starčevo–Körös–Criș complex in the continental Balkans.

Food is the basis of metabolism and, therefore, of life. The Early Neolithic settlement of Brunn am Gebirge (5700-5100 BC) provides important archaeological evidence of a significant shift in food habits and cereal meal processing techniques, which subsequently spread throughout the rest of Europe.

The NEOTECH Project aims to shed new light on the Neolithisation process in the central Balkans. Excavations were conducted at the site of Svinjarička Čuka, during which remains of the Neolithic and the Metal Ages could be identified. This data will be contextualised along the Axios-Vardar-Morava River system, one of the main communication routes between the Aegean and the Danube.

Dieses Projekt konzentriert sich auf die ersten permanenten Siedlungen im Neolithikum und die Entwicklung zu proto-urbanen Zentren in der frühen Bronzezeit. Die Kombination beider Forschungsthemen ermöglicht ein breites Spektrum kultureller Modellierungen, basierend auf multidisziplinären, diachronen und vergleichenden Studien über sich verändernde Gesellschaften in einer sich verändernden Umwelt vom 7. bis zum 3. Jahrtausend v. Chr. Im Zentrum steht die Analyse der Ausgrabungen des Çukuriçi Höyük und geoarchäologischer Surveys sowie damit verbundener Materialstudien.

The transition from hunting and gathering to farming and herding stands as one of the major economic changes in the human past. The origins of the Neolithic in the Near East and its expansion into western Anatolia and the Aegean basin are equally crucial for understanding the emergence of first village systems in Europe. Recent studies on lithic tools demonstrated that important technical innovations (pressure blade making, plant harvesting techniques) moved westwards alongside the dispersal of farmers, and became the essential part of new toolkits used in a variety of domestic activities. In line with the onset of new tools, arrowheads, which traditionally reflect the lifestyle of mobile hunter-gatherers, continue to be produced during the Neolithic in this area, despite the progressive decrease of hunting for subsistence.

The project aims to shed new light on the Neolithization process in the Central Balkans by analyzing green amulets from sites all over the Balkan region with the potential impact of new production technologies and the localization of deposits or Nephrite in the area of study. Starting point is a new exceptional find at the ongoing excavations at Svinjarička Čuka.

Vor rund 4500 Jahren können erstmals weitreichende Handelsnetzwerke nachgewiesen werden, die vom Indusgebiet bis in die Ägäis reichen. Im Rahmen des Projektes werden diese Netzwerke anhand einer Fallstudie am Fundort Kalba auf der südöstlichen Arabischen Halbinsel untersucht. Die Feldforschungen sollen Einblicke in Rohstoffbezugssysteme und Interaktionsradien einer prähistorischen Küstensiedlung ermöglichen. Hierdurch soll besonders die Relevanz der lithischen Ressourcen geklärt werden und welche Bedeutung Kalba als Knotenpunkt innerhalb der maritimen und terrestrischen Handelsnetzwerke hatte.

Das NEOSOL-Projekt wird unser Bild vom frühen Siedlungsleben entlang des Vardar-Morava-Korridors (heutiges Serbien und Nordmazedonien) bereichern, indem es neue Erkenntnisse aus den in den archäologischen Sedimenten verborgenen »Mikro«-Überresten liefert.

The Prehistoric Sirvan Project deals with the prehistory of the Sirvan and Chardavol Valleys, especially the documentation of prehistoric activities, based on the outcomes of archaeological, environmental, and geological surveys and GIS analyses. Focus of the project is the Neolithic period in the early Holocene (site Choga Khaki) and its contextualisation in the broader Zagros region. Preliminary results indicate an occupation from the Middle Paleolithic until the end of the Bronze Age. Current analyses are focusing on the Neolithic period and its materials.

Platia Magula Zarkou ist eine neolithische und bronzezeitliche Tellsiedlung in der westthessalischen Ebene, die zwischen 1976 und 1990 ausgegraben wurde. Die Keramik des Fundortes hat unser Verständnis der neolithischen Chronologie entscheidend verändert und macht Platia Magula Zarkou zu einem Schlüsselfundort für die Erforschung des neolithischen Griechenlands. Das bekannte Hausmodell ermöglicht einen neuen Einblick in die neolithische Sozialstruktur. Dieses Projekt zielt auf eine ganzheitliche Endpublikation des Fundortes ab.

The Prehistoric Sirvan Project deals with the prehistory of the Sirvan and Chardavol Valleys, especially the documentation of prehistoric activities, based on the outcomes of archaeological, environmental, and geological surveys and GIS analyses. Focus of the project is the Neolithic period in the early Holocene (site Choga Khaki) and its contextualisation in the broader Zagros region. Preliminary results indicate an occupation from the Middle Paleolithic until the end of the Bronze Age. Current analyses are focusing on the Neolithic period and its materials.

The Prehistoric Sirvan Project deals with the prehistory of the Sirvan and Chardavol Valleys, especially the documentation of prehistoric activities, based on the outcomes of archaeological, environmental, and geological surveys and GIS analyses. Focus of the project is the Neolithic period in the early Holocene (site Choga Khaki) and its contextualisation in the broader Zagros region. Preliminary results indicate an occupation from the Middle Paleolithic until the end of the Bronze Age. Current analyses are focusing on the Neolithic period and its materials.

The Prehistoric Sirvan Project deals with the prehistory of the Sirvan and Chardavol Valleys, especially the documentation of prehistoric activities, based on the outcomes of archaeological, environmental, and geological surveys and GIS analyses. Focus of the project is the Neolithic period in the early Holocene (site Choga Khaki) and its contextualisation in the broader Zagros region. Preliminary results indicate an occupation from the Middle Paleolithic until the end of the Bronze Age. Current analyses are focusing on the Neolithic period and its materials.

Die neolithische bis bronzezeitliche multistratifizierte Siedlung von Çukuriçi Höyük, Türkei wurde zwischen 2011-2016 im Rahmen mehrerer FWF und ERC-geförderter Projekte (PI Prof. Dr. Barbara Horejs) ausführlich untersucht. In mehreren Grabungsschnitten wurden Stein- und Lehmstrukturen (Häuser, Silos, Mauerwerke) aus dem 7. Jahrtausend (Neolithikum, Phasen ÇuHö XIII–VIII), dem 4. Jahrtausend (Kupferzeit, Phasen VII-Vb) und dem 3. Jahrtausend (Bronzezeit, Phasen IV-III) mit einem reichen Inventar an Artefakten aufgedeckt. Architektur und ein Großteil der Funde sind in zahlreichen monographischen Arbeiten und Aufsätzen aufgearbeitet und der akademischen Community als wissenschaftliche Publikationen auf dem Repositorium des ERC-Projekts Prehistoric Anatolia zur Verfügung gestellt worden: epub.oeaw.ac.at/ERC-Prehistoric-anatolia.

The aim of this project is to take an innovative and explorative approach to understanding of the past in the Balkans by assembling the results of cross-border and diachronic archaeological research with the use of responsive, wide-ranging visualization tools.

This interdisciplinary project explores personal relations, gender and family structures at Bronze Age communities across the Austrian and Czech border (c. 1600–800 BC).

The importance of the neolithization process lies in its position as being a milestone in our social evolution when essential changes took place. These changes include: 1) a shift from mobile to sedentary lifestyle and development of architecture, 2) developed pyrotechnology and introduction of pottery and 3) the exploitation of domesticated species and shift towards farming.