World Neolithic Congress 2024
World Neolithic Congress 2024 – Şanlıurfa
Session R16 »Anatolia and the Balkans During the Neolithization Process: Connections, Similarities and Differences«
The extremely important role of Anatolia in the process of the Neolithisation is highlighted by recent discoveries and current research, as well as the important role of the Balkans in the spread of Neolithic achievements further across Europe. The mutual connections of these two regions, which were key to the process of the Neolithization and reshaped their worlds at that time, have been poorly researched until now. With this session, we want to open the possibility for young and senior scholars who have dealt with (western) Anatolia, the Aegean and/or the Balkans, to present their new data and theories about characterization, differences and similarities during the formation and establishing of the Neolithic. We believe that looking at new data and models on a site-based, regional and supra-regional level offers new insights into the diversity and complexity of the Neolithisation. All social, cultural, anthropological and economic aspects as well as their broader ecological contextualization are welcome to discuss for example the built environment, diet, funeral customs, production, technologies and innovations to contribute to a better understanding if or how these regions were connected in the early to middle Holocene. This session aims to bring together experts and young researchers of (western) Anatolia, the Aegean and the Balkans to discuss this key zone and its transformation during the Neolithisation within the ‘world Neolithic context.