Abstract:

This volume presents various facets of recent archaeological investigations into Neolithic and Bronze Age societies in the Carpathian Basin spanning from the 7th and 2nd millennium BCE. It delves into population dynamics, settlement patterns, and the spread of the Neolithic way of life through methodological approaches such as demographic analysis and environmental modelling.

Moreover, the book explores social transformations and the development of inequalities, emphasizing the role of cultural complexes and technological advancements in shaping prehistoric societies. Interdisciplinary studies encompassing the spatial scales from the archaeological site up to the supra-regional level shed new light on domestic practices, subsistence strategies, and integration into regional socio-economic networks. Several contributions deal with enclosures and communal areas, which are reinterpreted to unveil their ritual significance and community dynamics. This is particularly evident in those cases that include burials. Ritual practices surrounding burial sites are seen as responses to social crises and complex situations, reflecting the negotiation of individuality and community identity.

Overall, the book underscores the multifaceted nature of Neolithic and Bronze Age societies, showcasing their adaptability, social complexity, and elaborate interactions with the environment and neighbouring communities.

Contents

Preface of the Series Editors
Wiebke Kirleis, Johannes Müller

Introduction
Kata Furholt, Margaux L. C. Depaermentier, Michael Kempf, Martin Furholt

PART 1. POPULATION AND SETTLEMENT DYNAMICS

Starčevo-Körös-Criş regional and macro-regional palaeo-demography
Tamara Blagojević, Marko Porčić, Sofija Stefanović

Exploring Neolithic site preferences in the river Tisza floodplain using point pattern analysis and multicomponent environmental models
Michael Kempf, Gerrit Günther, Margaux L. C. Depaermentier

The possible effect of plant cover on wind comfort in the Late Neolithic: a case study using environmental reconstruction for the site of Makaranda (northern Serbia)
Aleksandar Medović, Robert Hofmann, Martin Furholt, Tijana Stanković Pešterac, Ildiko Medović, Stefan Dreibrodt, Liudmyla Shatilo, Kata Furholt, Fynn Wilkes, Darko Radmanović, Nikola Mrkšić

Neolithic settlement structures on the lower reaches of the Tisza River, Vojvodina, Serbia: the results of archaeo-magnetic prospection
Robert Hofmann, Kata Furholt, Aleksandar Medović, Martin Furholt, Fynn Wilkes, Ildiko Medović, Tijana Stanković Pešterac, Till Kühl, Sebastian Schultrich, Raško Ramadanski, Lenkskaya Martinova

Szegvár-Tűzköves (Tisza region, Hungary): teaching an old site new tricks
Pál Raczky, András Füzesi, Gábor Mesterházy, Kata Furholt, Eszter Bánffy, Knut Rassmann, Máté Stibrányi, Gábor Serlegi

PART 2. SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONS AND INEQUALITIES

Social transformations of liminal areas in the Late Neolithic: a multidisciplinary approach to the site of Gradište (Serbia)
Miroslav Marić, Silvia Amicone, Jelena Bulatović, Nemanja Marković, Neda Mirković Marić

Circuits of reproduction: The opportunities and power to change
Tamás Polányi

Applying the Inequality Possibility Frontier and the Inequality Extraction Ratio to archaeological data: studying inequality in the Early Bronze Age cemetery of Jelšovce (Slovakia)
Fynn Wilkes, Henry Skorna

PART 3. ENCLOSURE AND COMMUNAL AREAS

Understanding the variability of deposition practices involving human remains in Neolithic settlements of the northern Carpathian Basin: the Neolithic site of Vráble (Nitra district, Slovakia)
Martin Furholt, Ivan Cheben

Exploring the Late Neolithic ditch: new data on dating, subsistence and environment from a circular enclosure at Borđoš, Vojvodina, Serbia
Robert Hofmann, Aleksandar Medović, Slobodan B. Marković, György Sipos, Sarah Pleuger-Dreibrodt, Rundall A. Schaetzl, Milivoj B. Gavrilov, Milica G. Radaković, Ildiko Medović, Desanka Kostić, Stefan Dreibrodt, Fynn Wilkes, Tijana Stanković Pešterac, Martin Furholt

PART 4. ECONOMY AND SUBSISTENCE STRATEGIES

Animal economy of the Lengyel Culture population in Slovakia and the case study of Kiarov
Noémi Beljak Pažinová, Katarína Šimunková, Alena Bistáková

Continuity in lithic tool production and raw material use at the Neolithic site of Karancsság, in the North-Hungarian Mountains (Nógrád county, Hungary)
Kata Furholt

Social and cultural diversity in the later prehistory of the Carpathian Basin: some implications
Eszter Bánffy