CHAPTER VII

EARLY NEOLITHIC SITES IN GREECE BEVOND THE THESSALIAN REGION

In the hist chapter we have seen that at other sites in settlements may be mentioned, without indicating Thessaiy people were living in much the same con- whether they were occupied during Early, Middle or ditions as at Sesklo. We were able to discem three Late Neolithic. Cave sites may easily be overlooked different types of settlement location. All three were in survey, often being difficult of access. Early situated on the boundary between two different topo- Neolithic sites have been recovered very rarely on graphic zones, but one group of settlements was the islands. Since those few settlements which have situated in low foothills near the plain, the second been found are always situated directly on the coast, group was situated on the boundary between a river we are led to believe that similar settlements have valley and terrace and the third group of settlements been drowned by the gradual rise in sealevel. was either on the shore of a lake or on the coast. In this chapter we will first investigate the regions There are some minor differences between the of Greece which surround Thessaiy, namely Mace­ groups which are largely due to slightly different donia, Epirus and Boeotia. Afterwards we will mo­ local conditions. During the period a certain regio- ve South to Attica and the Peloponnese. Finally we nalisni developed. which can be noted especially in will discuss some of the island sites. the most obvious material, the pottery. So far our discussion has been restricted to Early Neolithic settlements in Thessaiy, which are geo- vil. I. Macedonia graphically and climatically quite closely related to Sesklo and which are situated in an area which is Macedonia may be reached from Thessaiy by land, suitable for early agriculturalists. In this chapter we through the Vale of Tembe and the valley of the wil! investigate whether in other areas, which are River Xerias, and by sea. The region is quite diffe­ geographically and climatically different, a similar rent from Thessaiy. It consists largely of mountain development may still be noted. We have to keep in areas, separated by wide river valleys - those of the mind that in several areas which at first sight seem Aliakmon, Axios (or Vardar) and their tributaries - very suitable no traces of Neolithic settlements have and by two large plains, of which the plain of Mace­ been recovered, for the simple reason that these donia is the most important. In the Eastern part the plains are covered by recent alluvium. This is the peninsula of Chalkidiki stretches into the sea. It case with the plain of Arta in Epiros, the plain of the consists of rolling hills and mountain ranges. River Alphios and its tributaries in the Northwest In Pre- and Protohistoric times, a large part of the Peleponnese. the Kopaïs basin and the valley of the present plain of Macedonia, the wide delta of the River Spercheios in Boeotia and possibly with the Aliakmon-Loudhias-Axios was an arm of the sea, river valleys of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (Vi- stretching deep inland (Bintliff 1976, 241-262). ta-Finzi 1969. pp. 77-82). In the remaining areas, The climate is in general colder than in Thessaiy, cxploration for prehistorie sites has begun only although the plain of Macedonia does not show a fairly recently. Systematic research and survey has large difference, and the distribution of annual pre- been carried out in a few regions of Greece only - cipitation is more even. The average January tem- like Macedonia, parts of Epiros, Thessaiy and Mes- perature increases from an average of 4° C in the senia. Even this does not always provide all the North to an average of 8° C in the South. In inland Information wanted. The presence of Neolithic areas winter may be grim, with much snow in higher 70 EARLY NEOLITHIC SITES IN GREECE BEYOND THE THESSALIAN REGION

Fig. 22 Map of Greece - distribution of excavated Early Neolithic sites. 1 Nea Nikomedeia. 2 Servia. 3 Asfaka. 4 Sidari. 5 Nessonis. 6 Gendiki. 7 Soufli. 8 Argissa. 9 Sesklo. 10 AchiUeion. 11 Elateia. 12 Halai (Loeris). 13 Nea Makri. 14 Corinth. 15 Nemea. 16 Lerna. 17 Franchthi Cave. 18 Cave of Nestor, Pylos. MACEDONIA 71 parts, but summers are never as extremely hot as in couple of post-holes on the extreme edge of the Thessaly. The highest summer temperatures are still trench. found inland - they vary between 26°C on the coast to 28°C inland. Coastal Saloniki has an average Having studied rather superficially a limited sam­ annual temperature of 15.9°C. The annual average ple of the Early Neolithic pottery', we concluded of precipitation decreases from 800 mm in the West that it consistently showed the same characteristics to some 400 mm in the East. and that it could be described as follows: The data on the vegetation of Macedonia during Ware: Medium and fine ware most common. Coarse the Early Neolithic indicate that regions below a ware present, but rare. height of 500 m were covered with a dense deci- Appearance: Handmade ware of good to high qua- duous oak forest (Bottema 1974). The faunal re- lity. Manufactured by a combination of modelling mains are very scarce and will be discussed with the and coiling techniques. Medium sized vessel walls sites on which they were discovered. most common; both thin and heavy walled vessels occur. Paste: Micaceous clay. Non-plastics include quartz, VII I. \.Servia (fig. 22 no 2) quartzites, fine limestone chips, possibly fine pot­ tery grit. Grains generally < 1 mm, most not excee- Until 1974, when flooding by an artificial lake ding 4 mm; coarser sand rare. brought an end to its existence, the site of Servia Firing conditions: Open fire, not entirely controlled could be found in West Macedonia, some 6 km firing atmosphere. Temperature 750-850°C. Hard- North of the present village of the same name, near ness in most cases around 3; fine wares > 3 < 5 on the road connecting Thessaly and Macedonia. It was Mohs' scale. a low spreading mound on a river terrace, about 17 Colour: Light or dark uncertain buffish/reddish m above the Aliakmon and in the vicinity of the only most common with a tendency to dark. Non-oxidi- convenient ford across that river. It was discovered sed dark rare. Relatively few fully oxidised. Bumis­ in 1909 by A.J.B. Wace (1913-14, P. 123) and hed ware often mottled black-red: 'Buntpoliert'. excavated in 1931 by W.A. Heurtley. When it be- Red slip over buff surface. came clear that the site was immediately threatened White ware extremely rare. by flooding a rescue excavation was undertaken by Core mostly oxidised. the Greek Archaeological Service and the British Surface finish: Mostly disappeared, due to weathe- School in Athens (Ridley and Wardle 1979, pp. ring. Rest well to highly bumished. Large part of 185-230). The main area did not contain any Early fine ware red slipped, prone to scale; sometimes Neolithic material, but it was found in some tren- with high bumishing gloss. Fine 'Buntpolierte' ches laid out 500 m downstream, east of the main ware highly bumished. site. Both areas stand on the lowest river terrace, Accessories/Decorations: Pierced lugs rare. within a few hundred meters of a good spring. The Plastic decoration: oblong and round knobs, raised soil in this region probably consisted of riverine bands. clay. Painted decoration: red-on-red and red-on-buff. Li- We have a little additional data on the vegetation near patterns and solid triangles. during the Early Neolithic period from charcoal Incised decoration: nail impressions, very rare. analysis, which so far has revealed maple, plum-ty- Vessel shapes: Plate-like vessel rare. Open bowl pe, ash and poplar, with pine and deciduous oak with flaring vessel wall, convex-walled open bowl, dominating (Hubbard 1979, p. 228). The wild ani- slightly closed globular jar, hole-mouthed jar and mals represented in the Early Neolithic faunal sam­ low collared vessel occur in all ware types. ple are red deer, roe deer, bear and a small canid. Rim: usually plain, a few ledge-rims. Lip: blunt, The only architectural remains of the Early Neo­ interior tapered or uptumed/folded over. lithic settlement consist of a large cobbled yard and a Base: low plain and higher widely flaring ring-base; 72 EARLY NEOLITHIC SITES IN GREECE BEVOND THE THESSALIAN REGION may be oval. Few high trumpet-bases; few flat foot- noted by Ph. Petsas, then ephoros. It was excavated ed ones. under the aegis of the British School at Athens by RobertJ. Rodden, during the years 1961-1963. The All things considered, it seems to us that the Early deposit was rather shallow, varying between 0.70 Neolithic pottery from Servia compares either with and 1.30m inthickness. itconsistedlargely of Early transitional Early Neolithic II/III or with the begin­ Neolithic material, overlain by a thin level of Late ning of Early Neolithic III from Sesklo. On the one Neolithic. hand we have the presence of early painted material During the period of first occupation the knoll from the very lowest Ie vel to the surface, on the was probably surrounded by lacustrine silts. Accor- other hand we have the repertory of shapes (necked ding to Bottema (1974 pp. 147-148) "the first far­ jars, many offset and roUed rims), the plastic deco- mers found the area covered with deciduous oak rations as well as the very highly burnished red forest. To the East and Northeast the forest gave way monochrome. to swamp forest gradually passing into Tamarisk The finds other than pottery include chert and shrub and saline meadows and, at the edge of the quartz iniplements, polished and ground stone tools, water, to halophytic plant communities including bone implements, spindle whorls, bone and terra­ Salicornia. The landscape was transsected by small cotta beads, many clay 'spools' or bobbins of un- freshwater marshes. This made a mosaic of fresh- known use and several figurines. water and saline habitats; a source of rich plant and The subsistence pattem is largely the same as for animal life. The rivers and marshes were bordered the Thessalian sites. Carbonised seeds and rubber by Fraxinus exelsior, Salix, Alnus and Vitis. At casts from daub included einkorn, emmer, two-row higher elevations deciduous oaks, Pistacia terehin- hulled barley, peas, lentils, flax and the stones of thus, Corylus and perhaps even Carpinus orientalis cherry and Comelian cherry (Hubbard 1979, p. were growing. This forest type must have covered 227). The bone sample contains about 60% sheep/ most of the plain outside the swamps". Some addi- goat. Pig and cattle are next in importance at about tional Information is given by the sample of carboni­ 15% each (Watson 1979 p. 228). The remaining sed wood; it contained Fraxinus, Acer, Cercis, Po- 10% is largely made up of roe deer and red deer. pulus or Salix, Castanea and Rosaceae with oak, This last percentage indicates that hunting was still both deciduous and evergreen, dominant. Faunal of some importance. remains included red deer and roe deer, hare, a The building materials recovered were local - canid, tortoise, fish and bird bones. wood and cobbles. Raw materials used to manufac- Vestiges of several buildings were recovered. ture utensils and other objects were largely available According to the excavator there were two Early locally, but some may have come from other re- Neolithic building phases, separated by a thin layer gions. of humus. All buildings were constructed in wattle and daub. Wall slots were cut some 0.30-0.35 m into the virgin subsoil. In the centre of the slots, oak VII. I. i.Nea Nikomedeia (fig. 22 no I) stakes were driven in the subsoil at intervals of some 1.00 - 1.50 m. Upon this framework the walls were The site of Nea Nikomedeia is some 45 km Nor­ erected in wattle and daub. Most of the dwellings theast of Servia, at a distance of 10.5 km from were square, measuring some 7.50 x 7.50 m, but modern Verria. It is situated in the plain of Macedo- there was also a large rectangular construction with nia, an alluvial plain formed by recent silting at the sides some 12.00 m long. The buildings had an mouth of the Rivers Aliakmon and Axios. In the 7th East-West orientation. The excavator assumes that and 6th millennium B.C., the coast was probably at the houses had pitched, thatched roofs with hanging a distance of some 5 km from the site (Bintliff 1976, eaves. p. 247). This is a low mound, built up of occupation A rather superficial study^ of all the reconstructed debris over a natural rise. In 1958 the site was first vessels and some boxes of sherds chosen at random NEA NIKOMEDEIA 73 maices it possible to give the following description: (like necked jars) and on the other hand we have a Appearaine: Handmade ware of good quality. fairly large amount of early painted decoration. If Mostly medium or fine ware. Little coarse ware. the pottery from the two building phases could be Manufactured in a combination of coiling and mo- dated to slightly different periods we would suggest deiling techniques. that the first dates to transitional Early Neolithic I/II Generaliy of medium wal! thickness. and the second to Early Neolithic II. However, the Paste: Micaceousclay. Non-plastics include quartz, very uniformity of the pottery seems to exclude this. possibly some limestone, fine pottery grit and - at The presence of impresso-decorated ware poses least in one case - a small shell. Grains in medium another problem. If this type of decoration was ware generally some 1 mm, not exceeding 4 mm. In indeed introduced from some region North of Thes- medium fine not exceeding 2 mm. Coarse inclusions saly, it should have come to Nea Nikomedeia before rare. it reached Thessaly. This hypothesis is confirmed by Firing conditions: Open fire, not entirely controlled its presence together with early painted ware, where- firing atmosphere. Hardness generally 3 on Mohs' as plastic decoration does not occur. scale. The finds other than pottery include quartz, chert Colour: Dark uncertain buffish most common, fol­ and tlint blades and flakes, polished and ground iowed by light uncertain buffish. Reddish shades stone tools, bone implements- including needies-, occur less often. Fully oxidised rare. Relatively few clay sling-stones and spindlewhorls, stone ear- dark non-oxidised. In some cases black base. studs, stamp-seals, ornaments and stone and cera- Core: Fairly often not oxidised. mic figurines. Siirfacc finish: Surface always smoothed, often bur- Several intramural burials have been discovered nished. Quality varying from streaky fugitive to but in most cases little trouble had been taken in highly glossy. Red slip over buff surface, often preparing the graves, except for one case in which a cxtcrior only; mostly bumished. large pebble had been placed between the jaws of the Accessories/Decoration: Many of pierced lugs, deceased. most pierced vertically. Fairly high percentage of The subsistence pattern was an agricultural one. painted decoration- 9.5%: red-on-white slip or on The sample of carbonised seeds included einkorn, buff surface; white painted mostly on exterior surfa­ emmer, naked barley, lentil, pea and bitter vetch ce. Linear patterns and solid ones. Red-on-buff fla- (van Zeist and Bottema 1971). The faunal sample key, not wcll bumished. Red-on-white slip highly consists of about 65% sheep/goat, 15% pig and 15% bumished, not flakey. White paint on red slip, cattle, while the remainder is of wild animals. Hun- slightly bumished, flakey. Impresso decoration: ting played therefore a relatively unimportant part. over entire exterior surface; finger nail, finger tip or Of the domesticated animals, a large part was pinched; few spatula. slaughtered at an immature age: 90% of the pig, Vesscl shapc: Open bowl with flaring vessel wall 50% of the cattle and 47% of the caprovines - very rare. Convex walled open bowl and slightly indicating that the stock was mainly kept for meat. closed globular jar most common, foliowed by hole- Building materials were all available locally: oak mouthed Jar. Rim: plain, some up-out-turned. Lip: stakes, mud and chopped plants for daub, wood blunt, some thickened. Tapered inwards and rolled (willow?) and reed for wattle and roofing. over far less common. Base: low ring-base and flat The raw materials used to manufacture the blade footcd disc type. May be oval. and flake implements are mostly available locally: flint from the outcrops in the Vermion range, some All things considered the Early Neolithic pottery 10 km away, chert and quartz from large pebbles in from Nea Nikomedeia can best be compared with nearby stream-beds (Rodden 1962 p. 277). Green transitional Early Neolithic I/II - beginning of Early and bluish-purple serpentine are available within a Neolithic II from Sesklo. On the one hand we have a days reach, too. The same applies to the coarser complete absence of more complicated vessel forms grained rocks, like basalt, schist, sand- and limesto- 74 EARLY NEOLITHIC SITES IN GREECE BEYOND THE THESSALIAN REGION ne, used to manufacture heavy stone tools. oak forest with little shrub vegetation. Even if one thinks away all the recent alluvial On the whole conditions do not quite seem fa­ plains, Macedonia with its large river valleys and its vourable for an Early Neolithic economy, except wide, fairly accessible coastline offered favourable maybe for the coastal area and in some of the river conditions for an Early Neolithic ecocomy, unless valleys. So far only one site with traces of Early too dense a forest cover formed an impediment. One Neolithic occupation has been discovered. It is,4i- would think that the area should already have been faka (fig. 22 no 3), a mound situated near the village settled during Early Neolithic I, but so far we do not of the same name, 15 km Northwest of loannina on have any proof of this. the boundary between the foothills of Mount Mitsi- keli and the marshy valley of a small river which debouches in to Lake loannina. It was observed vii. 2. Epiros during a survey by David Clarke and C. Vita Finzi (Higgs 1966 p. 22) in 1965. The pottery contained Epiros is an entirely different region from Thessaly. some monochrome ware and impresso-decorated It is covered for the most part by high mountains ware in simple shapes. A radiocarbon sample gave a which run parallel to the west coast. In the East it is date of 7380 ± 240 BP. separated from Macedonia and Thessaly by the steep Pindos range, which can be divided into two parts - Southern and northern. These are separated VII. 3. Boeotia by the Zygos pass, the only way to reach Epiros from Thessaly, which in winter is covered by snow. Boeotia lies South of Thessaly. It can be reached The mountains are cut through by rivers, occasio- from the plain of Karditsa, by crossing the Western nally forming lakes. Land below 200 m can only be part of Mount Othrys, and from the plain of Almy- found in the coastal area, upto a maximum of some ros, along the coast or by sea. On the North and 15 km inland, and in many places consists only of West the region is bordered by high mountain ran­ river mouths and swamps. The fairly large plain of ges: Othrys, the Southern Pindos, Pamassos and Arta was acreated by recent alluvium from silting at Elikon - but the Eastern part consists of hill-land, the mouths of the Rivers Arakhtos and Louros. river valleys and basins, in which there are some The climate of Epiros, even in the lowlands, is small lakes. Since the Early Neolithic, the geogra- entirely different, partly due to the fact that it is phy of this region has changed slightly, for the once situated West of the Pindos range. As a result the extensive Lake Kopais has recently been drained yearly amount of precipitation is relatively high - and the present plain of Thermopylae is alluvial and between 1 100 and 1200 mm, near the Pindos even has been created by recent silting at the mouth of up to 1500 mm. From the second half on June to the river Spercheios. We can not therefore, expect tra­ first week of September it is almost as dry as Thes­ ces of Neolithic occupation in either area. saly, but from October to May the monthly rainfall Climatologically there are no large differences varies between 130 and 175 mm. The temperature is between Thessaly and Boeotia. Summers in the in- lower too, the monthly average being some 24°C in land are suffocatingly hot whereas winters may be August and 6°C in December, with a yearly average fairly cold. On the whole the climate is slightly more of 14.5°C. In the mountains it is of course much humid, average winter precipitation being a little colder, these being covered with snow during most higher. of the winter- sometimes from early October to late For the areas at lower elevations we have some May. good data provided by the poUendiagrams from co- Pollen diagrams, from loannina (Bottema 1974) res of Lake Xinias, in Southern Thessaly at an ele- provide some good data on prehistorie vegetation. vation of 500 m, and from Lake Kopaïs (Bottema At the beginning of the Early Neolithic period, the 1978, 15-28; Greig and Turner 1974, 177-194). lower elevations were covered with dense deciduous jBoth indicate that the area was covered with deci- BOEOTIA 75 duous oak forest with a considerable amount of Medium wall thickness. shrub vegetation. Quercus cerris is dominant, but Paste: Non-micaceous clay. Non-plastics include the spectra contain also high values of Pistacia. limestone, micaceous schists, possibly fine pottery Junipcrus and Poterium type. grit. Limestone prone to elusion, giving the surface In several areas of Boeotia conditions would have a spongy appearance. Grains in coarse ware up to 6 been quite favourable for an early agricultural eco- mm or more. Less medium wares with inclusions nomy. However, so far only two Early Neolithic not exceeding 4 mm. sites have been discovered - Elateia and Halae, Little non-spongy fine ware made of micaceous which will be discussed hereafter. clay. Non-plastics not exceeding 2 mm in size. Possibly imported. Firing conditions: Open fire, not entirely controlled VII. i. \. Elateia (fig. 22 no 11) firing atmosphere. Hardness around 3 on Mohs' scale. The mound of Elateia is some 80 km Southsoutheast Colour: Mostly dark or light uncertain buffish/red- of Achilleion, at a distance of 1.5 km Northeast of dish; lower levels mostly dark, becoming lighter in modem Elateia. It is on the boundary between the higher levels. Little oxidised, the amount increasing valley of the River Kifissos and the Sfingion hills. in higher levels. Some 10% dark non-oxidised. In- The mound is some 4 metres high and consists terior surface generally of lower value than exterior; largely of building debris over a low natural rise. often dark non-oxidised. Often smudged, perhaps During the years 1904 - 1910 it was tested by Prof. secondarily. G. Soteriades (1912, p. 253-299), who discovered Medium ware mostly fired dark uncertain reddish that there had been two Neolithic occupation periods to dark red. -one with painted pottery, the other with only mo­ Non-spongy fine ware fired dark uncertain buf- nochrome ware. In 1953 a small scale excavation fish to buff, interior often mottled. was carried out by Prof. Saul S. Weinberg (1962, Core: Mostly non-oxidised. pp. 158-209), mainly with stratigraphical objecti- Surface finish: Always smoothed, often traces of ves. He discovered a succession of Neolithic levels, burnishing. Medium ware: burnished exterior, so- beginning with Early Neolithic. metimes both surfaces. The soil in the region consisted at least partly of Fine ware: well smoothed only. riverine clay. We think that the vegetation will have Weinberg mentions slipped ware (1962, p. 168), been the same as in the Kopais basin, twenty km to possibly self-slipped. the Southeast: an oak forest with a considerable Accessories/Decoration: Plastic decoration: small amount of shrub vegetation. knobs, oval pellets in rows, raised bands, wavy or in In the lowest stratum of one of the trenches, zigzags. remains of a wattle and daub construction were Vertical pierced lugs. discovered. It was supported by a line of posts, as Vessel shape: Convex-walled open bowl and could be deduced froni a row of four large postholes, slightly closed globular jar most common. Few ho- a pivot stone on the same line and a parallel row of le-mouthed jars. Weinberg mentions collared jars smaller postholes. A succession of at least four from the lowest Ie vel onwards (1962 p. 170). These floors belongs to the occupation of the house. should have been as common as open bowls and Our study of the pottery from Early Neolithic globular jars. Most shapes are slightly oval. Elateia' makes it possible to give the following Rim: plain, often slightly thinned. description: Lip: blunt, irregular; inside tapered quite common. Appearame: Handmade monochrome ware, often Base: round or plano-convex. Ring base rare. spongy and rather coarse. Little medium and fine Pottery lids: discs with a flat bottom and convex top. ware. Reasonably good quality. Manufactured by a Maximum diameter 12 cm. combination of modelling and coiling techniques. 76 EARLY NEOLITHIC SITES IN GREECE BEVOND THE THESSALIAN REGION

Comparison of this pottery with Early Neolithic 1911 and 1921. The prehistorie settlement was in- material from Sesklo is slightly difficult, for we are vestigatedin 1931 (Goldman 1940, p. 381-514) and unable to indicate how the monochrome pottery again in 1935. Unfortunately the final publication from Elateia developed - partly because several has never been written. leve! indications have disappeared in storage and The pottery from the lowest levels of this site is partly because the material seems rather incomplete apparently mostly rather plain and simple. It could in comparison with the Information provided by the belong partly to Early Neolithic I. excavation report. However, all things considered, we think that the pottery from the lowest stratum at Having investigated Early Neolithic sites in the re- Elatia can be compared to Early Neolithic I from gions surrounding Thessaly, we have seen that our Sesklo, whereas in the highest monochrome stratum knowledge of the settlement pattern is extremely it shows characteristics which may be compared to haphazard. It is certainly too early to reach definiti- Early Neolithic 111 ware. If this was indeed the case, ve conclusions on the distribution of settlement, but then early painted decoration would have been in- nonetheless we have seen that some of the ideas troduced during the last part of Early Neolithic III. suggested in the last chapter have proved to be valid instead of during Early Neolithic II. for this wider area too. As was the case in Thessaly, The finds other than pottery include obsidian and settlements in Macedonia. Boeotia and even in the flint implements, ground and polished stone tools, inhospitable region of Epiros are to be found on the bone implements, sling bullets, clay spools and disc boundary between two different topographic zones: spindicwhorls. on the interface between river valleys and terrace, On the subsistence pattern we have little Informa­ between low foothills and plains and on lake and tion, for there are no carbonised seeds and the bone seashores. Moreover we have noted that where sample has not yet been analysed. The presence of contact between regions was reasonably easy, si- sickle blades, querns, pounding stones and imple­ milarities could be noticed in the development of ments made from the bones of domesticated animals ceramic material, although there are local differen- points to an agricultural economy. ces. On the other hand, Epiros. a region which could Building materials were available locally, oak not easily have been reached from eastern Greece. and other timber for posts, wattle, mud and chopped but which could have had contact with the Italian plants for daub. and timber, reeds and mud for peninsula. showed a different ceramic develop­ roofing. ment, which might eventually be compared with The raw materials used to manufacture imple­ contemporary Italian material. ments and other objects could partly be obtained in The subsistence pattern was the same in all re­ the vicinity: clay, coarse grained rocks, pebbles and gions, though there may have been slight differen- larger cobbles; the finer grained rocks were avai­ ces, due to local circumstances. lable either in the nearby hills or on Mount Parnas- Building techniques were adapted to the materials sos, 20 km to the Southwest. The obsidian is from available. In manufacturing implements, raw mate­ Melos. rials available locally were the most widely used, meaning that in general they were available at a distance of no more than 15 km. In some cases vn.i.i.Halae (fig. 22 no 12) material from more remote areas was used, im- plying long-distance travel or exchange. It is remar- The other site in Boeotia where traces of Early kable from this point of view that obsidian - a raw Neolithic occupation have been discovered is Halae. material from the island of Melos - was not been It is a site situated on the coast in the straits of used in Early Neolithic Macedonia and Epiros, Euboia, Northwest of Theologos and 35 km East of whereas it has been found at all Early Neolithic sites Elateia. The prehistorie settlement is underneath a in Thessaly. with the exception of Prodromos, and classical acropolis, which was excavated between at the Boeotian sites too. ATTICA 77

Our next stage is a visit to the Early Neolithic parts. The upper part contained Late Neolithic ma- settlements of Attica and the Peloponnese. terial and the lower part Early Neolithic. On this shore several small streams debouch into sea. The soil is fertile, supporting vine and grain. vu. 4. Attica In the lowest levels remains of pit-houses have been discovered, dug into the virgin soil. The buil­ South of Boeotia hes the region of Attica. It is most dings in the following stratum had been erected in easily reached from Thessaly by following the East ivattle and daub over stone foundations. coast the straits of Euripos. The North of Attica The following description results from our study consists of a range of iow mountains, including 3f the pottery from Early Neolithic Nea Makri: Mount Pamis and Mount Pendeiikon. The Southern Appearance: Handmade, monochrome, slightly part, the peninsula. is composed of coastal lowiands spongy ware of reasonably good quality. Manufac- with hills in the centre. The entire iengthy coastline tured by a combination of coiling and modelling has numerous small inlets, suitable as harbours. techniques. Mostly medium wall thickness. In high- The chmate is a maritime Mediterranean one; er levels many thin walled vessels. summers are not so extremely hot as in the Thessa- Paste: Micaceous clay. Non-plastics include fine lian plain (27°C) and are generally cooled by a limestone, quartz, possibly fine pottery grit. In lo­ sea-breeze, the meltemi. Winters are less cold wer levels coarse grains, up to 6 mm, in higher (10°C) - the average annual temperature amounts to levels generally finer, not exceeding 4 mm. Lime­ 17.4°C. It is quite dry, with an average annual stone elusive on surface. precipitation of 384 mm - with the greatest down- Fine ware: micaceous clay. Non-plastic inciusions pour in November-December. not exceeding 2 mm, generally finer. No limestone. On the vegetation at the beginning of the Neoli­ Coarse ware: 4 fragments with chaff-temper. May thic pcriod we have no Information, but we think be of wall piaster. that the data from Boeotia are valid to some extent Firing conditions: Open fire, not entirely controlled for Attica too - although we must keep in mind that firing atmosphere. Hardness of coarse and medium the average precipitation being lower, the vegeta­ ware 3; fine ware > 3 < 5 on Mohs' scale. tion of this region will have been less stable. On the Colour: Lowest level all dark, non-oxidised. After- whole one would assume the region to have had a wards introduction of incompletely oxidised co- less dense forest cover with a larger aniount of scrub lours. In higher levels increase of lighter shades and vegetation. of mottling with black. Interior surface often grey. Conditions for an agricultural economy are relati- Higher levels also oxidised colours. Majority re­ vely favourable in the coastal area and, with all its mains dark non-oxidised. natural harbour facilities, one would expect this Storage jars: dark uncertain reddish. region to have been settled during Early Neolithic I. Core: of sherds with (slightly) oxidised surface, The only settlement so fardiscovered is Nea Makri. mostly oxidised. Surface finish: In lowest levels roughly smoothed. Afterwards mostly bumished. sometimes very shi- vil. 4. i.Nea Makri (fig. 22 no 13) ny. Coarse ware smoothed. Accessories/Decorations: Plain and piereed lugs. The site of Nea Makri is situated on the shore, some Incised ware from lowest levels onwards. Linear 120 km Southeastof Elateia, near Marathon. It is an motifs; parallel zigzags in horizontal or vertical extensive flat site which apparentiy spreads over bands; in a few cases dots between zigzags. May be several hectares. The site was partly excavated by filled with white paste. Prof. D.R. Theocharis in 1954 (Theocharis 1956, Plastic decoration: in higher levels oblong and roun- pp. 1-29). This proved that the deposit, which was ded knobs in rows. Coarse jars decorated all over over three metres thick, could be divided into two with rounded knobs. 78 EARLY NEOLITHIC SITES IN GREECE BEVOND THE THESSALIAN REGION

Vessel shape: In lowest level convex walled open sible from Melos, one has to accept the possibility bowl and slightly closed globular jar most common; that people from this area shipped obsidian from few hole-mouthed jars. In higher levels introduction Melos, knapped blades and then transported them of open bowl with tlaring vessel wall, collared jar over the country -or exchanged them for other and storage vessel. goods. Rim: mostly plain in lower levels. In higher levels also up-/out-turned and thinned types. VII. 5. The Argolid Lip: in lowest levels mostly blunt or interior tapered. In higher levels also rolled over lip. The Argolid forms the Northeastem part of the Pele- Base: plano-convex base and low ring-base equally ponnese. To reach it from the Northone hadeitherto common. Incised ware always has a flat base. cross the Isthmos or to go by sea. For the most part, All in all. the pottery from the lowest level at Nea the region consists of low mountains and hills Makri may be compared with Early Neolithic I from through which small streams seek their way to the Sesklo. It has simple shapes, the vessel walls are not sea. Along the Northern coast of the gulf of Argos very regularly shaped and are quite thick; the paste is are stretches of lowland, of which the plain of Argos rather coarse. Some regional difference occurs al- is the largest. ready in the use of incised decoration. It is clear that The climate is a maritime Mediterranean one. the development does not follow exactly the same Summer temperatures tend to be higher than in Atti- lines as at Sesklo or elsewhere in Thessaly, but one ca, with the same average precipitation. Winters still finds certain similarities, such as the introduc­ are, however, slightly more humid: the average pre­ tion of collared vessels and plastic decoration. Pro­ cipitation in November-January is 60-70 mm, whe- fessor Theocharis suggested that the site may have reas in Attica it is only 40-45 mm. The average had ceramics before the beginning of the Thessalian annual temperature is 18.1°C, the average annual Early Neolithic (Pers. comm. 1977). So far there is precipitation is 495 mm. no proof of this, but it was hard to obtain well We do not have any Information on the vegetation stratified material. of the region at the beginning of the Neolithic. The material other than pottery included four flint Bintliff (1977p. 72) has suggested that "the present blades, many obsidian impiements inciuding cores picture with steep soilless, barren limestone ridges and waste flakes, polished and ground stone tools, is the natural one for the Southeast of Greece. But on bone impiements inciuding a haft, white marble and moister zones, the areas with a deep soil, higher sandstone or gypsum plates and bowls, figurines, vegetation would in the natural state find greater slingstones and disc spindlewhorls. scope for flourishing. e.g. into a savanna woodland The subsistence pattern is agricultural. Carboni- on the dry but deep soiled Older Fill of the plain, a sed grains are not available and the bone sample has dense woodland on the moist and deep soiled Neo- not been analysed. According to the excavator a lot gen and Flysch sediments of the hill-land.' of bones were discovered in the lowest stratum, Conditions for an agricultural economy would in inciuding sheep/goat, cattle, pig and deer. that case have been favourable in the lower areas. So Building materials were available locally. The far four sites with Early Neolithic occupation have raw materials used to manufacture utensils and other been discovered in the region. We will begin our objects are partly found in the vicinity. The pure discussion with the settlement which has the best white marble may be from Mount Pendelikon, some Neolithic stratigraphy and which certainly had hu- 7 km to the West. Obsidian came from the island of man occupation from Early Neolithic I onwards. Melos. It is noteworthy that many cores and waste flakes have been discovered at Nea Makri, indica- ting that blades were manufacturcd on the spot: So vil ."i 1. Franchthi Cave (fig. 22 no 17) far this is the only site for which this is attested. Since it is situated on a shore which is easy acces- The Franchthi Cave is at present situated on the THE ARGOLID 79 coast, opposite the village of Koilada, some 65 km and fox, bird bones, tortoise shell and large fish Southsoutheast of Corinth. In front of it is a small bones, indicating that the biotopes of these animal rocky terrace. Beneath it the present surface slopes species could be found in the vicinity of the settle- gently down to the shore, some 50 m. away. On the ment. We think the area was lightly wooded with a base of the heavily eroded slope have been disco ver- lot of shrub vegetation. ed many remains of prehistorie occupation, inclu- The excavator assumes that the settlement stret- ding obsidian, animal bones and Neolithic sherds. ched further to the West than the present coastline The excavation of the cave has been carried out in indicates. As a result we are left with only a small six summer seasons. between 1967 and 1974, as part of the Neolithic site. In view of the finds, this part of a joint project in the Porto Cheli area by the part may have been an area of craft activity rather Universities of Indiana and Pennsylvania. The Field than living quarters. There are no traces of archi­ director was Prof. Th. Jacobsen (1969 pp. 343-381 tecture, except for some crude wall fragments, made and 1973 pp. 45-89 and pp. 253-283). In the front in stone, which may have been terrace or retaining section of the cave an enormous deposit has been walls. excavated - in some places it was over eleven metres deep. The stratigraphy stretches from the Palaeoli- Study of the pottery of the good stratigraphical thic, divided into three phases, through the Mesoli- sequence of trench L5, units 54-30, permits us to thic, divided into two phases, and Neolithic to sur­ give the foUowing description:'* face deposits containing a mixture of Classical and Appearance: Handmade ware, reasonably good to post-Classical matcrial. In all trenches a clear divi- high quality. At first only medium ware, from unit sion was found between Mesolithic and Upper Pa- 41 onwards, fine ware too, in a lower percentage. laeolithic. In most of them there was a break of some Coarse ware rare. one metre thickness between the Mesolithic and Manufactured by a combination of coiling and mo- Neolithic, but in one trench the development ap- delling techniques. Medium wall thickness most pears to be continuous, including an Aceramic (Pre- common. Black bumished ware very thin. Pottery) phase. In all cases the change from Meso­ Paste: Non-micaceous clay. Non-plastics include lithic to Neolithic was obvious in the finds, espe- grey, black and white grits. From unit 45 onwards, cially in the animal bones, being marked by the limestone. Grains generally around 1 mm, not ex- appearance of domesticated sheep and goat. ceeding 4 mm. The trenches on the shore only contained Neoli­ Fine ware: no limestone. Grains smaller than 2 mm. thic material, which could be divided stratigraphi- In a few cases golden mica flakes (Import?) cally into Early and Middle Neolithic. Firing conditions: Open fire, incompletely control- During the pcriod of the first Neolithic occupation led firing atmosphere. Hardness of medium ware at the topography of the site was quite different. The first 2-3, increasing to 3 - 4. Fine ware > 5. sealevcl was lower than at present. As a result there Colour: Lower units, light uncertain buffish/reddish was a coastal plain in front of the cave, the shore most common. In higher units dark uncertain red- being some two km. from the present coast, except dish gradually increases. Dark non-oxidised increa­ for a narrow slough which developed some 500 m sing. Few sherds fuUy oxidised. from the cave in the entrance to the present bay. Fine ware: Red variegated light buff fired through South of the Franchthi headland there was a stream light uncertain buffish to light non-oxidised. and in the immediate vicinity there were two Grey variegated from light non-oxidised to dark springs. The coastal plain had a covering of old non-oxidised. alluvium. the old 'red deposits' (van Andel et alii, Black bumished; dark non-oxidised. 1980, pp. 389-402). Red Urfirnis (unit 32 and higher) light red fired. On the vegetation we have some additional data in Core: mostly oxidised in all wares. the form of carbonised almonds and pistachio. The Surface finish: Always smoothed; from beginning faunal sample included remains of red deer, hare exterior often bumished, at first streaky. From unit 80 EARLY NEOLITHIC SITES IN GREECE BEVOND THE THESSALIAN REGION

35 all burnished outside, inside when possible; very limestone temper streaky to very glossy. Early Neolithic Ila (38-36) Red slip introduced in unit 34, use increasing ra- - Introduction fine ware; more complicated vessel pidly. shapes. Accessories/Decoration: Horizontal and vertical Early Neolithic 11b (35-30) pierced lugs. amount decreasing slightly in units - Introduction slip, red and cream higher than 44. Introduction plastic decoration. Painted decoration introduced in unit 46; at first red This would however create a difference between the on surfacc; linear patterns and soon solid triangles. division of the Northern and Southern Greek Early Flaky, rare to unit 40. From unit 35 more complica- Neolithic. Hence it seems better to make a tripartite ted patterns, including cross-hatching. From 33 on division in which Early Neolithic 11 begins with the red-on-cream slip. introduction of painted ware (unit 45) and Early Plastic decoration introduced in unit 35; rounded or Neolithic 111 with the introduction of slip and plastic oblong knobs, single or in groups; rare. decoration. Since we will comparc the pottcry from Vcxscl shapc: Deep convex walled open bowl, other, less well stratified sites to the Franchthi ma- slightly closed globular jar and hole-mouthed jar terial, we will speak of Peleponnesian Early Neoli­ most common. Mostly medium sized. Introduction thic 1, II and III. of low necked pseudo-collared jar, carinated vessel The finds other than pottery include obsidian and and shallow open bowl with flaring vessel walls in flint/chert implements, polished and ground stone unit 30. All remain rare. tools, stone bowls and plates, bone implements, Rim: straight simple in iower units - eithcr thinned figurines, ceramic objects and worked sheli. Hun- or unchanged. From unit 42 up-/out-turned rim. dreds of beads, made of stone, bone, clay and shell Lip: blunt or tapered. have been recovered by water sieving. The worked Base: only a few fragments of ring-bases. Indica- shell included spondylus, oyster andcowrie. but no tions of convex base scarce. Cardium edule. In the lowest Early Neolithic levels several child Considering these observations we conclude that burials were discovered. Most of the children were the development is a very gradual one. Slight chan­ aged six months or less. One of the graves, dis­ ges are to be noted somewhere in units 46-45 with covered in the cave, had grave gifts: a small marble the slow introduction of early painted ware, the bowl and half of a burnished hole-mouthed jar. The slightly diminishing frequency of pierced lugs and grave had been covered with a stone cap. the introduction of limestone in the non-plastics of The subsistence pattern was an agricultural one. the clay. This development is not completed until The sample of carbonised seeds included emmer, unit 40, when fine wares are introduced. Around einkom, 6-row huUed barley, lentil and pea. The unit 35 we notice anotherchange with the introduc­ faunal sample consisted for the largest part of sheep/ tion of red süpped ware, the pseudo-collared vessel goat. Of the bones which could be identified to (38), plastic decoration and red-on-cream painted species, the majority belonged to sheep. 5 - 15% of ware. the sample was of pig. 5 - 10% of cattle, 5% was of We tend to divide the Early Neolithic sequence here wild animals and 5-10% consisted of large sized into two phases, the first containing units 54-39 and fish vertebrae, of which some were identified as the second units 38-30. The slow changes within tuna. These fish were also present in the Upper each phase may be indicated by a and b. Mesolithic levels. Fishing and hunting seem to have Early Neolithic la (unit 54-46) played some part, albeit a minor one, in the food - medium gritty monochrome ware. pattern. simple vessel shapes. Since there are no architectural remains, except Early Neolithic Ib (45-39) for the stone walls, we can say little on building - slow introduction painted decoration. materials. Stone was available in plenty. FRANCHTHI CAVE 81

The raw material used to manufacture imple- at least three different phases, marked by superim- ments and other craft objects were largely available posed walls. The earliest was over 0.50 m thick and locally. Blue flint was present on the hilltop of stood to a height of five courses. Palaiokastro, 2 km Northeast of the cave and among Of the pottery of Lema we can give the foUowing the cobbles along the beach. The volcanic stone description': used for quems perhaps came from one of the is- Appearance: Handmade ware. Good to high quali­ lands. Obsidian was of the best quality from Melos. ty. Fine and coarse spongey ware. A little medium It was already being used during the Upper Mesoli- ware. thic. Manufactured by a combination of coiling and mo- delling techniques. Spongey ware heavy walled, fine ware may be thin vil. 5. z.Leniu (fig. 22 no 16) walled. Paste: Fine and medium ware: non-micaceous clay. Lema is situatcd on the shore near the village of Non-plastics including fine quartz and little limes­ Myloi, some 40 km (by sea) Northwest of Franch- tone. Fine ware gencrally 0.4 mm not exceeding 1.5 thi. It is on the south bank of the Amymone stream, mm: medium ware 1 mm not exceeding 4 mm. which dcbouches into the gulf of Argos. It is an Spongey ware: non-micaceous clay. Non-plastics artificial mound, made up entirely of building debris including much limestone, some quartz. grey and of successive ancient settlements, principally of the black grits. Generally 2-4 mm, can be as large as 8 Bronze Age. It was excavated by the American mm or more. School of Classical Studies in Athens, during the Firing techiüque: Open fire, not entirely controlled years 1952-1959. The director was John L. Caskey firing atmosphere. (1954. pp. 2-30: 1955 pp. 25-49: 1956, pp. Hardness: spongey ware ca 3 on Mohs" scale: fine 147-173: 1957 pp. 142-162; 1958. pp. 125-140 and ware 4 > 5. 1959 pp. 202-207). A fully stratified Neolithic se- Colour: Spongey ware: dark uncertain buffish/red- quence was discovered in a deposit which someti- dish: not oxidised. mes reached nearly four metres in thickness. It could Core mostly not oxidised. Red variegated: rim light be divided into Early Neolithic, resting on virgin buff fired through light uncertain buff body to dark soil, and Middle Neolithic. The entire settlement non-oxidised base. could not be a excavated. In some parts the deposit Grey variegated and black burnished, both non-oxi­ was at or below the water-table and in others it had dised. been cut by Early Helladic builders. Plain monochrome: light buff fired. The soil in the area is a fertile riverine clay. On the Core: oxidised or not oxidised, mostly according to vegetation during the Early Neolithic wc have some surface colour. additional data, providcd by the analysis of carboni- Surface finish: Spongey ware: exterior often burnis­ sed wood, which for the most part consisted of oak hed, interior smooth. (M. Hopf 1962, p. 16). The faunal sample included Fine ware: often burnished exterior and interior. Box priinigcitiu.s, wild swine, red deer, fox, hare, Black burnished very glossy. mallard, grey goose, crane and molluscs (Gejvall Few red slipped, both variegated and spongey ware. 1969 p. 10 and 48). The biotopes of these species Accessohes/Decoration: Pierced lugs, few lugs on could probably be found in the vicinity of the settle­ spongey ware. ment. According to Gejvall the birds indicate a Plastic decoration: pellets and knobs, without pat- biotope with humid conditions and high ground tem (Vitelli 1977 pp. 17-30). water. Painted decoration: few red on buff surface, most The architectural remains consist of rectangular spongey ware. Linear pattems and solid triangles. dwellings of unknown size. They were built in Some pattemed variegated ware. Paint and biscuit wattle and daub over astone foundation. There were very powdery, pattern not recognisable. 82 EARLY NEOLITHIC SITES IN GREECE BEVOND THE THESSALIAN REGION

Vessel shape: Convex-walled open bowls and ge of the same name, some 30 km Northnorthwest of slightly closed globular jars most common, well Lema, in the vicinity of the Corinth-Argos road. rounded profiles. The valleys of several streams, coming down from Rim: simple straight. Lip blunt or symmetrically Mount Thraki, unite here in a small basin. It is an tapered (variegated ware). area which is well known for its wine and its olives. Base: round base. Ring-base, from low to large wide It was known that the Ciassical site of Nemea was to out-flaring (spongey ware). be found here. The site was excavated between 1924 and 1926 by the American School of Ciassical Stu­ We conclude that the pottery is dated by the dies at Athens. The directors were Carl W. Blegen presence of painted and plastic decoration and of and B.H. Hill. By mere change Blegen (1975, pp. fine wares. Allowing for the possibility that plastic 224-227) discovered at a distance of some 600 m decoration, which we did not have in our sample, is from the main site a rather large amount of Neolithic introduced only in the higher levels, we assume that material and he decided to make a trial trench. This the pottery from the lowest levels belongs to the was enlarged till it measured 30 x 8 m. Apparently it second part of the Peleponnesian Early Neolithic II. had been a kind of cave or overhanging rockshelter, The finds other than pottery include obsidian and which had collapsed. The hard packed layers of flint implements, ground and polished stone tools, earth, containing animal bones and potsherds, lay bene implements, ceramic objects and a few figuri- both below and above the tallen rock material. The nes. whole deposit dated to the Early and Middle Neoli­ The highest level of the Early Neolithic stratum thic periods. When the excavation was reopened in contained a pit grave with the skeleton of an adult. It 1973 a rescue excavation was carried out near the had a bumished monochrome bowl as a grave gift. 'cave' (Miller 1975, pp. 143-172). The area had The subsistence pattern was probably an agricul- been deep-ploughed to make it ready for viticulture, tural one. No samples of carbonised seeds have been disturbing a large part of the ancient fill. Fortunately taken, nor ware there impressions on pottery (M. there were still some remains in the form of large Hopf 1962 pp. 1-16). The faunal sample was small, amorphous pits cut into bedrock. 165 identifiablebones in total. It consistedof 52.8% Architectural remains have not been discovered, sheep/goat, 20.6% pig, 10.3% cattle, 15.7% wild neither in the old excavation nor in the new one. animals and 0.6% dog. This seems to indicate that Blegen supposed the cave to have been a rubbish hunting still played a fairly important role in subsis­ deposit near the settlement and the pits were clearly tence, especially since the wild animals include Bcxv rubbish pits. If these pits were within the settlement, primigenius. a good supplier of meat. Fish bone then it has been largely destroyed. If they were remains are rare in the entire bone sample: from slightly outside, then there would still be some hope Early Neolithic to Late Roman times there are 13 of recovering further remains. fragments only. Gejvall supposes they were eaten The study of the Early Neolithic pottery permits by pigs, dogs, foxes and other scavengers. us to give the following description*: Building materials could be found in the vicinity: Appearance: Handmade ware, good to high quality. stone from the stream beds and the shore, mud, Fine and sometimes spongey medium and coarse branches, reeds and choppedgrasses. Raw materials ware. Manufactured by acombinationofcoilingand for manufacturing utensils were largely available modelling techniques. locally - only the obsidian came from a distance, Medium wall thickness most common. Spongey being Melian. ware may be heavy walled. Paste: Fine ware: red variegated non-micaceous clay. Grey variegated slightly micaceous clay. Non- VII. .s. 3. Nemea (fig. 22 no 15) plastics include quartz, brown grits and fine limes- tone; most smaller than 0.4 mm, not exceeding 1.5 The site of Nemea is situated near the modem villa- mm. Medium and coarse ware: slightly micaceous NEMEA 83 clay. Non-plastics include much limestone, quartz, Early Neolithic pottery from the rubbish pits of brown and grey grits. Medium generally around 1 Nemea can be dated around the beginning of the mm. not exceeding 4 mm; coarse generally 2 mm, third Peloponnesian phase: there is spongey ware, not exceeding 8 mm. Limestone on surface prone to but there are also fine wares; there is painted deco­ elusion: spongey effect. ration, but also plastic decoration. Firiiii^ coihlilions: Open fire, norentirely controlled The material other than pottery included quite a firing atmosphcre. lot of obsidian blades, flakes and cores and two chert Hardness 3 on Mohs' scale; of variegated ware > 3 cores, indicating that blades were manufactured lo- < 5. cally. Other finds consisted of ground and polished Colour: Spongey ware never completely oxidised. stone tools, bone implements, a few stone oma- Mostly dark uncertain buffish/reddish. Few dark ments and various bone material. non-oxidised. Core always non-oxidised. The only evidence we have for the subsistence Red variegated: rim light buff fired, through light pattern is given by some of the stone tools (quems); uncertain buffish body to dark non-oxidised base. they seem to point to an agricultural economy. The Core irregular (oxidised to non-oxidised). bones have not yet been analysed. Grey variegated; light non-oxidised rim to dark non- The raw materials are for the largest part available oxidised base. locally or at a modest distance, with the exception of Surface finish: Medium and coarse ware mostly the obsidian. exterior bumished. interior smooth. Finish of spon­ gey ware has disappeared. Variegated ware: well bumished exterior, smooth vil. 5. 4. Corinth (fig. 22 no 14) interior. AcccssoricsIDecoration: Vertical pierced lugs. The road from the Isthmos to Argos leads, imme- Plastic decoration; on variegated ware, smal! round diately South of the Gulf of Corinth, through a three knobs in a row below hp or diagonally over body. km. wide valley between Mounts Oreios and Akro- Painted decoration; on spongey ware only. Red on korinthos. At the foot of the latter lies the site of buff surface, fugitive rectilinear pattern and solid Ancient Corinth. triangles. Since 1896 excavations have been carried out all Among the 1925/26 material one bowl with incised over the site by the American School of Classical decoration, a line pattern in lozenges. Studies. It is no easy matter to reconstruct the ear- Vessel shape: Spongey ware: convex walled open liest settlement, for the site has been inhabited from bowl and slightly closed globular jar with plain rim the Neolithic until the last century. Since the site is and blunt or tlattened lip most common. Supported situated on a fault-line it has been subject to cata- by ring-base. Few pseudo-collared jars. strophic earthquakes rather often, including that in Red variegated convex-walled open bowl and open 1858 which demolished the last settlement. The bowl with flaring vessel wall. Plain rim; interior or most recent series of earthquakes at this site was symmetrically tapered lip. Plano-convex base or during the winter of 1980/1981. This does not faci- ring-base, low straight to wide out-flaring. litate the investigations either. Grey variegated: convex-walled open bowl and Weinberg has tried several times to establish the open bowl with tlaring vessel wall most common, stratigraphy of the prehistorie settlement (1937, pp. but also semi-carinated closed globular jar and semi- 487-524; 1947, pp. 165-182) and finally succeeded carinated shallow open bowl. All have plain rims; in establishing a neat sequence from the beginning simple shapes unchanged with tapered lip, more of the Middle Neolithic to the Early Helladic (Wein­ complicated shapes thinned with interior tapered or berg and Robinson 1960, pp. 240-253). Unfortuna- sharp lip. Plano-convex base or low ring base. tely the trench was too small to get a good stratigra­ phy for the Early Neolithic as well. In 1968 and From the above description we conclude that the 1973 further evidence for an Early Neolithic strati- 84 EARLY NEOLITHIC SITES IN GREECE BEVOND THE THESSALIAN REGION

graphy was brought to light (Lavezzi 1978, pp. Grey variegated: exterior from light non-oxidised 402-451; Williams II. 1974, pp. 24-25), but as yet rim to dark non-oxidised base; interior non-oxidi­ only a small part of the Neolithic settlement has been sed. recovered. Black monochrome: dark non-oxidised. None of the excavations has revealed architectu- Medium fine ware: mock-variegated as red varie­ ral remains. In fact. the finds are largely restricted to gated, often with non-oxidised core. pottery. We studied some of this materiaP and in Red slip over light uncertain buff surface. Painted doing so were struck by the fact that many of the decoration on light buff fired or light uncertain buf­ niock-variegated fragments (see below) seemed to fish surface. have an additional layer of clay spread over the Medium ware: mostly dark uncertain buffish. interior and exterior surfaces- a kind of clay slip. Spongey ware: light and dark uncertain buffish and The core often had many holes, which apparently reddish most common. Fair amount of dark non- were not caused by the buming out of the non-plas- oxidised. No oxidised colours. tics, but looked like air-bubbles, giving the impres- Surface finish: Often disappeared on spongey ware; sion that the clay did not cohere very well. We where present, smoothed or slightly burnished. wondered whether the consistency of this paste had Variegated wares: most burnished, some very glos­ been too dry and whether an additional coating of sy. clay had been uscd to cover weak spots. Of the Early Medium ware: lightly burnished. Towards end of Neolithic pottery from Corinth we can give the fol- period introduction of red slip over exterior only or lowing description: over exterior and interior surface; flakey and fugiti- Appearamc: Handmade ware, good to highquality. ve, burnished. Fine ware, medium and coarse spongey ware, me­ Painted ware burnished, sometimes before, some- dium fine and medium ware. Manufactured by a times after. combination of coiling and modelling techniques. Accessories/Decoration: Horizontal and vertical Medium wall thickness most coinmon. Fine ware pierced lugs. Strap handles on small bowls. may be thin walled. Plastic decoration: round knobs in groups all over Paste: Spongey ware: micaceousclay. Non-plastics vessel; beads in rows. include much limestone, quartz, brown and black Painted decoration scarce: red on white slip (very grits. In medium ware grains l-2mm, notexceeding few) and red on buff surface, both on medium and 4 mm; in coarse ware 2 mm, generally not exceeding on spongey ware. Linearpattems, net pattems, solid 8 mm. triangles. Other wares: non-micaceous clay. Non-plastics Vessel shape: Convex-walled open bowl and include quartz, brown, grey and black grits; little or slightly closed globular jar most common. Few no limestone. In fine ware granules generally ca 0.1 shallow bowls with fiaring vessel walls. More com- mm, not exceeding 1 mm; in medium fine ware ca plicated shapes like a spouted vessel, biconical and 0.6 mm, not exceeding 2 mm; in medium ware ca. gouged bowls, the latter only with fine variegated 1.0 mm, not exceeding 4 mm. Some sherds contain ware. Pseudo-collared jars in spongey ware. golden mica. Transition Early to Middle Neolithic: introduction Firing coiulitions: Open fire, incompletely control- of askoid jug, in red on white painted ware only. led firing atmosphere. Hardness of spongey and Rim: straight thinned, unchanged rare. medium wares generally 3; fine ware > 4 < 5 on Lip: blunt or flattened; with unchanged rim tapered Mohs" scale. symmetrically or interior. Some coarse spongey Colour: Fine ware: red variegated exterior light buff ware has blunt lip with impressions, causing corded fired rim through light and dark uncertain buffish appearance. One ledge-rim on red slipped ware. body to dark non-oxidised base; interior entirely Base: rounded base or low ring-base. Lavezzi (pers. buff, entirely non-oxidised or changing from buff to comm. 1977) suggested introduction of ring-base to non-oxidised. be slightly later. Grey variegated occasionally flat CORINTH 85 footcd base or tlat base. been discovered on the Northeastern slope of Pa- laiokastro, aridge nearthe bay of Navarino. The site This is the dcscription of an unstratified, mixed is known as the cave of Nestor (fig. 22 no 18). Early Neolithic assemblage. From the stratigraphy Survey of the region was carried out during the we have only the indication that red slipped ware excavation of the Palace of Nestor at Ano Englia- was introduced during the transition from the Early nos, some 7.5 km to the Northeast. A few test to Middle Neolithic. Comparing the above to the trenches have been dug in the cave, underthe super- well stratified pottery from Early Neolithic Franch- vision of D.R. Theocharis and W.A. McDonald thi. we notice. that all the characteristic clements for (Blegen 1954, p. 32; McDonald and Hope Simpson the entirc Early Neolithic sequence are present. Al­ 1961, p. 243). These explorations have not yielded though we have no proof, we assume that Corinth any architectural remains, but there was a deep had human occupation from the earliest phase of the accumulation of stratified debris. It showed that the pottery hearing Neolithic. cave had been used over a long period, from the The very scarce data give no Information on the Neolithic till at least the end of the Late Helladic. subsistence pattern, nor on the raw materials used, According to D.R. Theocharis (1977, pers. comm.) except for clay. there was Early Neolithic 1 material among the pot­ tery. It is not clear what purpose the cave served, although it is not unlikely that it served as a shelter. vil 6 Messenia Having investigated the Early Neolithic sites of The region of Messenia is in the Southwestern part those parts of mainland Greece which do not border of the Peleponnesos. It is largely built up of low on Thessaly directly, we notice that, although the mountains, cut through by many streams and rivers. data are extremely scarce, Early Neolithic settle- The high and barren Taigetos separates it in the East ments are again situated on the boundary between from Laconia. The only lowland areas are the two different sorts of topography: on or near the coastal plains and the valley of the River Pamisos. shore and in the low foothills near a plain. We have The lattcr is covered by recent alluvium. also noticed that although there are similarities in the The climate is a maritime Mediterranean one; earliest ceramic material, regional differences in summers are hol, though less suffocating than in the development are soon detectable. A tripartite divi- inland areas. The annual rainfall is far higher than in sion of the Early Neolithic may still be maintained, the Eastem Peleponnesos, albeit less than in Epiros although we have to bear in mind that it is best to - amounting to some 700 mm. make comparisons with the nearest well stratified A lot of work has been carried out in this region by site instead of looking at a fixed model like Sesklo. the University of Minnesota, in an attempt to recon- The subsistence pattern is basically the same at all struct the Bronze Age environment (McDonald and sites, that is agricultural, although at some sites Rapp 1972). This has had some results for the Neo­ hunting and/or fishing still played a certain role. lithic as well, since it provides us with the vegetation This seems especially to be the case in the Argolid, history of the region (Wright 1972). More recently where the environment is less stable and the soil less the bay of Navarino, better known as Homeric 'san- fertile than in, for example, Thessaly. dy Pylos', has been investigated (Kraft et alii 1980) Building was, as far as we know, adapted to the in order to reconstruct the palaeogeomorphology. raw materials available. The raw materials used to Pollen analysis indicates once again a forest cover manufacture implements and other objects were with a fair amount of shrub vegetation, oak, pine mostly available locally - that is to say either in the and olive being the dominant trees. immediate vicinity or within a day"s reach. The only The areas best suitable to settlers with an agricul­ exception is obsidian, which is present at all sites. tural economy are the coastal plain and the valley of This all came from Melos. Proof of the manufacture the Pamisos. The only proof of such habitation has of obsidian implements has howeverbeen discover- 86 EARLY NEOLITHIC SITES IN GREECE BEVOND THE THESSALIAN REGION

ed at only one site for certain, Nea Makri, and forest cover with some shrub vegetation. The area possibly at Nemea too. Geographically, Nea Makri best suited to Early Neoiithic settlers seems to be on wouid be wei! suited to serve as a harbour for boats the eastern and northern coast. At present only one coming from Melos. site has been recovered, that of Sidari on the north- west coast.

VII. 7. The islands The mound or cliff of Sidari consists of a deposit of building debris over a low natural elevation. In Our next step will be to investigate whether there 1965 survey and a trial excavation were undertaken were any Early Neoiithic settlements on the Greek by Dr. A. Sordinas (1968, pp. 29-96; pp. 401-407). islands and whether there was any similarity with This revealed a stratigraphical sequence from the the mainland sites. Mesolithic, through the Neoiithic to the local Bron- One of the problems which presents itself imme- ze Age. The Neoiithic directly overlay the Mesoli­ diately, is the fact that sea-level has risen some thic and has been divided into two phases with a seven metres since the Early Neoiithic. Considering sterile layer in between. The lower phase belonged the fact that Greek islands are rather rocky and that to the earliest pottery-bearing Neoiithic and the up­ most of them, especially those in the Eastern part of per to a later phase of Early Neoiithic. the Aegean, do not have a high average annual No architectural features have been discovered, precipitation, one assumes that the most suitable except for some lumps of baked clay which could be areas for an agricultural economy would be near the daub remains. coast, if possible near a bay or on the side of the The pottery can be described as follows: island which is best protected against the heavy Appciinmcc: Handmade monochrome ware of rea- winter storms. Settlements situated in such a loca- sonably good quality. tion will more likely than not have been submerged. Manufactured by a combination of coiling and mo- The only sites at which traces of Early Neoiithic delling techniques. First phase: heavy walled ves- have been recovered are Sidari on Corfu, Aghios sels. Second phase: Thin vessel walls. Petros and Skyros in the Sporades, Kythnos in the Paste: First phase: non-micaceous clay with fine Cyclades and Knossos on Crete. sand, granules some 0.1-0.3 mm. Second phase: non-micaceous clay. Non-plastics including crushed chert, granules 0.6-2 mm. VII. 7. \. Sidari Firing conditions: First phase possible sun-dried. Second phase: open fire, not entirely controlled fi­ The east side of Corfu is covered with rolling hills. ring atmosphere. The coast has many beaches and inlets. The north Colour: First phase: dark uncertain buffish. core side is dominated by the forbidding Mount Panto- lower values. krator, but the coastal area is gently sloping and has Second phase: dark uncertain red to dark red fired, the same character as the eastern shore. The west core oxidised. side plunges steeply into the lonian sea and heavy Surface finish: Smoothed. breakers lash the cliffs. Even at present there are no Accessories/Decoration: First phase some incised fishing activities near this shore. decoration; zones filled with parallel wedges. The climate is mild and fairly humid. The average Second phase: horizontal lugs. Impresso decora­ January temperature is IO°C, the average in August tion, made with fingemail or stamp; all over body. 26.6°C, while the yearly precipitation amounts to Vessel shape: First phase: convex-walled open bowl 1170 mm. and hole-mouthed jars. On the vegetation during the Early Neoiithic we Rimsimple, straight. Lipbluntorflattened. Convex have no Information, but it probably did not differ base. much from the Epirot lowland vegetation: a dense Second phase: convex walled open bowl most SIDARI 87 common. Rim straight, a few out-turned. Lip blunt which even well enclosed beaches may be inacces- or interior tapered. sible. Base: low ring-base or flat footed base, often In view of the fact that e ven no w some of the islands sllghtly concave centre. are well wooded by Greek standards, one may as- The first phase material can be compared with the sume that they had some forest cover during the earliest pottery from most other Early Neolithic I Early Neolithic period too. sites, except for the fact that it may have incised Southern and eastem coasts offer the best condi- decoration. The second phase material might in tions for settlement by early agriculturalists. Un- Greece best be compared to the pottery from Early fortunately many of these settlements may have Neolithic Nea Nikomedeia, although painted deco­ disappeared, since the shore slopes gently into the ration is absent. This would place it somewhere in sea on most coasts. the beginning of Early Neolithic II. On the whole we By very careful investigation. Prof. D.R. Theo­ have, however, the impression that it may be better charis succeeded in discovering two island sites to relate Corfu to Early Neolithic Italy or to the which still have traces of Early Neolithic settlement: Epirot/Dalmatian coast rather than to the Greek Aghios Petros and Skyros. Only at Aghios Petros mainland. has he excavated (1970, pp. 271-277). This revea- The finds other than pottery from the Early Neo­ led that the site had been occupied during Early lithic strata consisted of flint implements made of Neolithic II/III and the Middle Neolithic. The Early local raw material. The Mesolithic stratum consists Neolithic stratum had some architectural features in of a shell midden. The most distinctive feature was the form of a stone foundation wal). the presence of a large number of microliths, struck The pottery included early painted ware, red slip- on diminutive nodules of fine grained grey translu- ped ware and impresso decorated ware". The mate­ cent flint of unknown provenience. According to the rial other than pottery consisted of flint and obsidian excavator the microliths had typological affinities implements, ground and polished stone tools, bone with the Italian Me.solithic (Sordinas 1969, p. 405). implements, ceramic objects and figurines. The prevalent subsistence pattern during the Me­ We have only the results of a preliminary analysis solithic was attested by the number of Cardium of the bone sample. It included sheep/goat, pig and shells, although some small game was evidenced cattle and only a few bones of wild mammals. The too. During the Early Neolithic there was an agri- subsistence pattern was agricultural and hunting cultural economy, or at least stock-rearing as is played a role of little importance. There is no evi- attested by the presence of bones of sheep/goat. dence of fishing. It is not clear whether raw materials, other than obsidian, were available locally, that is to say on VII. 7. 2. The Sporades nearby Alonissos, or whether they had been brought Investigation of the provenience of the different raw from greater distances. materials used at Early Neolithic sites in Thessaly The other site was situated on the eastem coast of and consideration of the manner in which domesti- Skyros, below the present town of Skyros. Unfortu- cated sheep/goat and crops may have reached the nately it has building debris some 10 m high over- Northern part of the Greek mainland, inevitably lying it. Part of it has been washed away by the sea. draws one's attention to the long chain of islands, According to Theocharis (1977, pers. comm.) some which runs out into the Aegean from Thessaly. of the pottery from this natural pro file could be dated These islands consist mainly of hill-land, gentle to Early Neolithic 1. in some places but with steep precipices in other areas. In general the soil is quite fcrtilc. The climate is maritime Mediterranean, milder and slightly more vil. 7.3. Kythnos humid than in inland Thessaly. In winter, northem and western coasts may be subject to heavy gales, in Kythnos is one of the islands of the Cyclades. The 88 EARLY NEOLITHIC SITES IN GRFECE BEVOND THE THESSALIAN REGION ciimate is drier than in the Sporades, the average there are historical sources which cite Crete as ha- annual precipitation being only some 380 mm. ving an extensive forest cover. During Roman times A preliminary survey of the island led to the it was famous for timber and even in the 17th cen- discovery of an apparently Pre-Ceramic camp and tury Mount Ida was covered by cypresses (Bintliff cemetery (Honea 1975, pp. 277-279). The artefacts 1977 p. 74). It seems quite probable that the fertile consisted of a flaked stone industry which could be lowland, which at present grows many olives and divided into two groups. one native and one impor- fruit trees, had a forest cover during the Early Neo­ ted. In the fermer, quartz and quartzite were domi­ lithic, possible intermingled with shrub vegetation. nant: the tools are large and heavy. In the latter The site of Knossos is situated in the North of group, tlint and obsidian were dominant. The flint Crete, 5 km Southeastof Iraklion, in the wide valley came from Paros or Naxos, the obsidian from Me- which separates Dikti and Ida. The area is covered los. A tendency towards the production of tools on with rolling hills and several streams seek their way small flakes could be noticed, but retouched tools to the sea through this valley. The site is world were infrequent - it was largely a flake industry. famous for its Minoan palace. but the presence of a One complete and three partial ochre-sprinkled Neolithic settlement below the palace remains had burials have been discovered. All were located un- already been recognised by Sir Arthur Evans at the der disturbed rock-caving. The bodies were in a beginning of this century (Evans 1921, p. 34). His tightly flexed position and had a flat stone between soundings established that it was of considerable the knees and chin. size and that occupation had lasted for a long time, One carbon sample taken from an exposed burial the depth of the deposit being nearly ten metres. yielded a date of 7875 ± 500 BP (GX 2837). Most of the soundings were too small to get any real stratigraphy. For this reason the excavation of the Neolithic settlement was undertaken by the British VN. 7. 4. Knossos School of Archaeology during the late 1950's, at first underthe direction of M.F. Sinclair Hood, later The site of Knossos is to be found on Crete. The under John D. Evans (Evans 1964, pp. 132-240; centre of the island is dominated by several groups 1968. pp. 239-276). These excavations revealed of high mountains from West to East Mount Levka, that the Neolithic sequence at Knossos covered the Mount Ida, Mount Dikti and Mount Thripitis. They entire Neolithic period, including an Aceramic pha- are separated by river valleys running from North to se. There was no marked break between the Pre- South. The northern coast is largely composed of Pottery and pottery-bearing Neolithic. gentle sloping hills, the southern coast partly of Architectural remains have been recovered from steep cliffs, partly by the large plain of Mesara. the Aceramic stratum on. In the lowest three strata The ciimate of northern lowland Crete is a mari- these consisted of more or less rectangular buil­ tiine Mcditerranean one. The average temperature dings, 4 X 5 m in size and built in mudbrick. In strata in the coldest winter month is 12°C, the average of IX and VIII the mudbrick had apparently been fired the warmest summer month is 28.5°C. The average (Evans, 1964. p. 144). In the foundations mudbrick annual precipitation is some 530 mm, of which the alternated with large stones, including discarded largest fall is in December and February, whereas grinding slabs. The roofs are supposed to have been the summer months are almost entirely dry. The flat. From stratum VII onwards the dwellings had southern part of the island is far warmer, especially been erected in pisé on a stone foundation, often in summertime. made of large slabs and kouskouras - a very soft At present, most lowland areas and the highland local limestone. This technique was used during the plain of Lasithi are fertile and extensively used for remainder of the Neolithic. agriculture . They used to be irrigated by small John D. Evans has estimated the size of the sett­ windmills. We have no Information on the vegeta- lement in different periods (1971, pp. 95-118). The tion of Crete during the Early Neolithic. However, Pre-Pottery settlement measured some 0.25 ha. KNOSSOS 89 while at the end of stratum VIII it covered a little sample consisted largely of sheep/goat, pig and so- over 0.50 ha. me cattle. There was evidence of slaughtering at an The Early Neolithic pottery is very different from immature age. the mainland material. Dr. A. Furness has refined All raw materials used, either for building or for and modified a sequence made by Dr. D. Mackenzie manufacturing utensils and other objects, are of for the pottery excavated by Sir Arthur Evans (Fur­ local origin, with the exception of the obsidian, ness 1953, pp. 94-134). The material excavated by which is from Melos. John D. Evans corresponded remarkably well to this It will be clear from the above that there are some sequence (Evans, 1964, p. 194). Paste, firing con- imponderables in the earliest Neolithic strata from ditions and general appearance are not very different Knossos: the pure erop of a wheat type which does from tho.se of the mainland pottery, but vessel sha- not occur elsewhere in Greece during the same pe­ pes and decoration show no relationship. The vessel riod; the use of (fired) mudbrick in the lowest strata; shapes include open bowls with splayed profiles the presence of highly developed pottery shapes from the lowest level on, whereas on the mainland from the lowest pottery bearing levels onwards. they are only introduced at the end of Early Neoli­ Given the fact that there is no satisfactory evidence thic III. Bases are all flat. Accessories include wish- for earlier human occupation on the island, it is even bone handles, strap handles and trumpet Iugs from more difficult to solve the problem of the origin of the lowest level onward. Plastic decoration is re- the Cretan Neolithic. The early dates for the lowest stricted to coarse ware, whereas incised decoration strata do not permit any links with Asia Minor, is f(Hmd only on fine ware. The latter has motifs where similar pottery developments are found du­ outlincd by incised lines, while the patterns are then ring the Late Chalcolithic. There may have been filled in with points. The designs include triangles, some contacts with mainland Greece - Nea Makri - chevrons, chequers and step patterns. The incisions but the two regions have clearly developed indepen- are often filled with white chalky matter. The only dently from each other. mainland site where a similar type of decoration, albeit with simpler designs, has been found is Nea The investigation of the island sites is rather un- Makri, where it is present from the lowest level on - satisfactory, in so far as only a few settlements have as is the case at Knossos too. been located. But even these sites are situated on the On the whole, the pottery does not fit a normal boundary between two topographic zones. Four of Early Neolithic pattern, be it GreekorNearEastern. them are directly on the shore, whereas the fifth is This is not the case with the finds other than pottery. situated in the low foothills of a mountain range, an These include abundant obsidian and a little chert - hour's walk from the shore. largely a bladc industry; ground and polished stone tools, including quite a few mortars and querns; The pottery develops differently from that of the bone implements, ceramic and stone objects and mainland. Corfu shows influences, which are rela- ornaments, including ear-studs; ceramic and marble ted to Italy rather than to Greece. Crete has a com- figurincs. pletely independent style. For other sites we do not Several child burials have been discovered within possess enough data, although some of the material the settlement, most of infants aged six months or from Aghios Petros is related to the pottery of Thes- less. There were no grave gifts. saly. The subsistence pattern was undoubtedly agri- The subsistence pattern was probably agricultu- cultural. The Pre-Pottery stratum yielded a fairly ral, although fishing may have played a role too. large sample of 3000 seeds, of which 2900 were of Most of the raw materials used in building and in bread wheat - Triticuin acstivum - a remarkably manufacturing utensils and other objects were avai- pure erop for the period. In addition there were seeds lable locally or within a day's travel. The only of emmer, einkorn and Icntil. The carbonised wood exception is again the Melian obsidian, which was was in every case undoubtedly oak. The faunal used at all sites except Corfu. 90 EARLY NEOLITHIC SITES IN GREECE BEVOND THE THESSALIAN REGlON

VII. 8. Fiiuü remarks absence of impresso and incised ware. Characteris­ tic of (4), Attica, - at least of the only site represen- We have now discussed all the icnown Early Neoli- ting Attica - is the incised line pattem decoration, thic settlements in Greece in this and previous which is often filled with white paste. Characteristic chapters. The main stress has been on pottery, since of (5), the Northeast Peloponnese, is variegated this happens in most cases to be the only reasonably ware and the late introduction of red slipped ware at reliable dating material. We have, however inclu­ the transition from Early to Middle Neolithic. A ded an overall impression of other categories of case apart is the development at Knossos, which artefacts as well. from the first pottery hearing stratum onwards is Looking at the climate of the various regions, we entirely different from the pottery both of the Greek were struck by the fact that there are fairly great mainland and of the Near East. Late Neolithic ves- differences, not so much in temperature as in preci- sels from some of the Greek islands and Late Chal- pitation - from some 1200 mm in Epirus to a bare colithic pots from West Anatolia are the only mate­ 380 mm in Attica. This makes some areas better rial showing any similarity. suited for agricultural purposes than others. One Comparison with the Sesklo sequence proved to would not expect many early Neolithic settlements be rather difficult where the Peloponnesian sites in a region where conditions are marginal for agri- without stratigraphy were concerned. It was more cuiture. useful to comparc thcm to a local model: Franchthi. As to the location of the settlements, the idea Here we are confronted with a problem, for the expressed in the last chapter has proved to be valid obvious changes in pottery types, that is the intro­ for Early Neolithic settlements outside Thessaly duction of fine wares together with the introduction too. Quite a number are found near the sea, which is of new shapes, seemed to demand a division of the hardly surprising given the important role played by Early Neolithic into two parts, whereas at Sesklo we the sea in Greek history. Moreover Thessaly was have a tripartite division. In this way a difference known as the granary of Greece. It will be no surpri­ would be created between Thessalian Early Neoli­ se if coastal sites are shown to have larger marine thic II and Argolid Early Neolithic II and this is just component in the diet once more attention is paid to what we are trying to avoid. The solution would be the recovery and analysis of fishbones. either to make the Thessalian sequence bipartite - by At sites with stratigraphical evidence, we have renaming Early Neolithic I and II as Ia and Ib - or to tried to apply the Sesklo model for the development make the Argolid sequence tripartite - by introdu- of pottery. With the necessary reservations, this cing a phase for the period when early painted de­ mode! can also be uscd for unstratified material from coration appears. The latter would in our opinion be settlements in the regions nearest to Thessaly. The preferable, given the fact that the introduction of Greek mainland - Corfu included - may be divided painted decoration is one of the characteristics of into five regions: Thessalian Early Neolithic II. The only caveat to 1. Northern Greece (Macedonia, Epiros and Corfu) this proposal is that regional developments in Thes­ 2. Thessaly saly and the Argolid are so divergent that ceramic 3. Central Greece (Boeotia, Loeris) material from an unstratified site in the South should 4. Attica only be compared to a Southern model and not to a 5. The Northeast Peloponnese (Korinthia and the Northern one. Argolid) All sites, regardless of location, had basically the Characteristic of region (1), Northern Greece, is the same subsistence pattern, an agricultural economy, early introduction of impresso ware, before or to- but at several sites hunting and/or fishing will have gether with early painted ware. This may have its played some role. In areas where the economie origins in contacts with Yugoslav Macedonia. equilibrium was extremely delicate and where the Characteristic of (3), Central Greece, is the late soil was less fertile than in Thessaly, people may introduction of early painted ware and the complete have had to relapse temporarily to hunting and/or FINAL RHMARKS 91 fishing. ments were inhabited by people with a similar life style. There are local and regional differences in the Caprovines were the most common domestic development of the pottery; there are slight differen­ animals. At those sites where the bones could be ces in the subsistence pattem - which are probably attributed to one or other of the species, sheep pre- due to local circumstances. The architecture is in all dominated over goat (cf. Chapter VI). The bone cases adapted to local opportunities. But on the samples trom Knossos and Nea Nikomedeia indi- whole the pattcrn is the same at all sites. cate that a fairly iarge proportion of these animals The next question to arise will be how the appea- was slaughtered immature - indicating that they rance of an agricultural economy, involving domes­ were kept for meat. tic crops and domesticatcd animals which appa­ Emmer was apparently the most important erop at rently were not native to Greece - at least as far as all sites but Knossos. the caprovines and wheat are concerned - took At all sites outside Thessaly raw materials were place. available locally. or at not too great a distance, where local manufacture of obsidian tools is in evi- whereas in Thessaly they came in some cases from dence is Nea Makri, and possibly Nemea. distances beyond a day's reach. The only exception A few scattered burials, mostly of infants, pit at most sites is obsidian. It was not used at sites graves and human bones are the only data we have which were far removed from the island of Melos on the way people disposed of their deceased. They and to which the access was difficult: those in Ma- have been found all over Greece, at Nea Nikome­ cedonia, Epiros and Corfu. The chipped stone in- deia, Franchthi and Lerna as well as at Knossos. dustry was a simple flake industry, but the only site We have seen now that all over Greece settle-

NOTES

1. The Hon. C.C. Ridley kindly permitted me to study the 6. Prof. S. Millerkindly permitted me to study the 1974material material and provided all the necessary stratigraphic informa- and provided all further necessary Information. tion. 7. By courtesy of Prof. Saul S. Weinberg and Prof. John L. 2. By courtesy of Robert J. Rodden. Lavezzi. Prof. Lavezzi selected the sample and provided all 3. By courtesy of Prof. Saul S. Weinberg. necessary Information. 4. Prof. Th. Jacobsen and Mrs. K.D. Vitelli kindly permitted me 8. The material recovered in the excavation is being studied. and to study the material. Mrs. Vitelli selected the sample and will be published, by N. Evstratiou of the London Institute of gave all required stratigraphic Information. Archaeology. 5. By courtesy of Prof. John L. Caskey.