The Pottery from Nea Nikomedeia in Its Balkan Context
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THE POTTERY FROM NEA NIKOMEDEIA IN ITS BALKAN CONTEXT by PARASKEVI YIOUNI A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Institute of Archaeology University College London University of London 1 to my mother and father crcoix;t o v e k ; j i o u Bappccpa k o ci Arjjj.r|xpr| 2 ABSTRACT This thesis is concerned with the pottery from the Early Neolithic site of Nea Nikomedeia. First, the material is examined as a product of a Neolithic community and the technology, shapes, decoration and function of the vessels are studied. Second, the site of Nea Nikomedeia is placed in its chronological and cultural context. The manufacturing techniques used by the Nea Nikomedeia potters, the nature of surface coatings and firing conditions, are examined. Questions concerning the location of clay sources and non-plastic inclusions, the addition of temper and refining of clay, are discussed. The simultaneous use, by the Nea Nikomedeia potters, of a variety of local clay sources seems to have been a widespread practice among the Balkan Neolithic potters. The shapes and decoration of vessels from Nea Nikomedeia are analytically presented, and their development through time is studied. In order to gain insight into the function of vessels the minimum number of pots has been calculated, and the suitability of pots for cooking and storage, is examined. The estimated rate of annual pottery production is rather high, suggesting that pots were an important element of every-day life, and that they were used for a variety of functions. The cultural affinities of Nea Nikomedeia, as reflected in the ceramic material (decoration, technology and shapes) and other find categories, are discussed. Review of the ceramic material from the Early Neolithic Balkan sites clearly indicates that there was a high degree of interaction and contacts among different areas of the Balkan region. At Nea Nikomedeia in particular, we find evidence for contact between two major primary Neolithic areas, Thessaly and the Greek Neolithic to the south, and the First Temperate Neolithic (FTN) to the north, each with their developed but distinct ceramic and cultural traditions. Finally, the question of the origin and development of the pottery in the FTN area, is discussed. Comparative study of the technology and decoration of the vessels from the FTN sites and sites of the surrounding areas, suggests that the development of ceramic production in the FTN area has to be considered to a great extent, as a local development. This conclusion is in contrast with the hypothesis that pottery and the Neolithic way of life were introduced into the Balkan area by Near-Eastern immigrants. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to acknowledge the financial assistance of the A. S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation whose support made this project possible. In addition, I wish to express my thanks to the Central Research Fund of University of London, for supporting the fieldwork carried out in Greece. The excavator of Nea Nikomedeia, Dr. R. Rodden, gave his permission to study the ceramic material from the site, and allowed access to unpublished data from the excavation. I am greatly indebted for this. The permission to study the ceramic material from a number of Greek and Yugo slavian sites was essential for the comparative studies carried out in this thesis. For this, I owe a debt of gratitude to: Dr. K. Gallis, Mr. G. Touphexis, 1U Hoy). G. Ri dley, Prof. M. Gimbutas, Mrs. D. Simoska, Mr. V. Sanev, Mr. T. Nacev and Mr. Z. Beldedovski. I wish to express particular thanks to the Ephor of Antiquities of west Macedonia, Dr. M. Siganidou, to the archaeologists of the Verroia Museum, Mrs. K. Tzanavari and Miss M. Apostolou and the staff of the Museum, for their hospitality. To my supervisor, Dr. J. G. Nandris, I owe a debt of gratitude for his helpful critical appraisal of this work throughout the years. There are three people at the Institute of Archaeology whose assistance proved invaluable. Mr. C. Orton whose help and advise in statistical techniques was essential for the analysis of the data. Mrs C. Cartwright whose patience in teaching techniques of petrographic analysis was much appreciated, as were numerous useful discussions on ceramic technology. Dr. D. Griffiths, to whom I am grateful for operating the SEM on my behalf and for many constructive discussions on ceramic technology. I am also grateful to Dr. I. C. Freestone, of the British Museum, for his helpful suggestions on the analysis of the petrographic data. Numerous people were involved in the revision of the final version of the thesis, among them I would like to mention: Dr. P. Henderson, I. Khandaher, Ann and Jim Wilkinson. In particular, I would like to thank S. Ahmed and K. Tarchanidis, for their hard work in the preparation of the final version of the thesis. A final word of gratitude must be reserved for my husband, Euripidis, without whose encouragement this thesis would never have been completed. 5 CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction ...................................................................................... 17 Thesis layout ....................................................................................20 Chapter 2 Chronology and Cultural Sequence of theEarly Neolithic sites in the Balkan Peninsula 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................22 2.2 Thessalian Region ........................................................................... 22 2.2.1 Pre-pottery Phase ..............................................................................22 2.2.2 Ceramic levels ............... 24 2.2.3 Radiocarbon dates ........................................................................... 26 2.3 Nea Nikomedeia ................................................................................ 27 2.4 Servia ................................................................................................ 29 2.5 Early FTN Sites from south-east Albania and south Yugoslavia .............................................................................30 2.5.1 Amzabegovo and Vrsnik .................................................................. 30 2.5.2 Pelagonian Sites ................................................................................32 2.5.3 South-east Albanian Sites ................................................................33 2.6. Early FTN Sites from central and north Yugoslavia (Serbia) and south-west Rumania ........................................................34 2.6.1 Cultural sequence ..............................................................................34 2.6.2 Radiocarbon dates ........................................................................... 36 2.7 Bulgarian sites ............................................. 38 2.8 Summary ............................................................................................40 Chapter 3 The Site of Nea Nikomedeia 3.1 Introduction .....................................................................................44 3.2 Present-day environment ....................................................................45 3.3 Environmental conditions and location of Nea Nikomedeia, during the Neolithic occupation ................................ 45 6 3.3.1 Location of the site . 46 3.3.2 Reconsmction of the environment surrounging Nea Nikomedeia ..........................................................47 3.4 Excavations and stratigraphy ........................................................... 49 3.4.1 The development of excavations ...................................................... 49 3.4.2 Method of excavation .......................................................................50 3.4.3 Stratigraphy of the site .....................................................................51 3.5 Early Neolithic settlement ..............................................................52 3.5.1 Size of the settlement ....................................................................... 52 3.5.2 Pattern of the settlement .................................................................. 54 3.5.3 First Building period ......................................................................... 54 3.5.4 Second Building period .....................................................................56 3.5.5 Method of construction .................................................................. 56 3.5.6 Burials ................................................................................................ 57 3.6 Economy ............................................................................................58 3.7 Synopsis of find categories, apart from pottery ............................................................................ 60 3.7.1 Stone tools ....................................................................................... 60 3.7.2 Figurines ............................................................................................61 3.7.3 Clay objects and objects of personal ornament ............................... 62 Chapter 4 Technology of Nea Nikomedeia Vessels 4.1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 64 4.2 Manufacture of vessels .....................................................................66 4.2 1 Coiling ................................................................................................ 66 4.2.2 Pinching ..............................................................................................67