Neolithic Archaeology

Pre-requisites: None

Course objectives: To acquire the basic theoretical knowledge of the Neolithic; - Familiarizing with the basic research problems; - Familiarization with the material culture of Neolithic communities; - Developing a critical relation to presented facts.

Course description: : The lectures cover the Neolithic and Eneolithic sequences in South Eastern Europe, from the beginning of the 7th to the end of the 5th millennium B.C. In the opening lectures the attention is on the Near East and Anatolia as the places of origin of the most important Neolithic innovations. During the course the students will be introduced to: a.) History of Neolithic research and the basic research questions; b.) Theories regarding neolithization and Neolithic innovations; c.) Regional differences in cultural development; d.) Material culture of Neolithic communities; e.) The most important Neolithic sites; f.) The changes that happened with the advent of the Copper Age.

Learning Outcomes: Class attendance and the examination.

Literature/Reading:

• M. Garašanin (ed.): Praistorija jugoslavenskih zemalja, Tom II, Centar za balkanološka istraživanja, Sarajevo 1979.
• Cauvin, J. 2000 The Birth of Gods and the Origins of Agriculture, Cambridge.
• Watson, P. J. 1995 Explaining the Transition to Agriculture, u T. D. Price, A.B. Gebauer (eds.) Last Hunters – First Farmers, School of American Research Press, Santa Fe – New Mexico, str. 21-37.
• Whittle, A. 1996 Europe in the Neolithic: the Creations of New Worlds, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• Perles, C 2001: The Early Neolithic in Greece, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• Teocharis, D. 1973(ed.): Neolithic Greece, Athens.
• Todorova, H., Vaisov, I. 1993: Novo-kamennata epoha v Bulgarii, Nauka i Izkustvo, Sofija.
• Bailey, D.W. 2000 Balkan Prehistory: Exclusion, Incorporation and Identity. London: Routledge.
• Ozdogan, M., Basgelen, N. 1999 Neolithic in Turkey: The Cradle of Civilisation, Istambul.
• Budja, M. (ed.) Documenta Praehistorica XXI-XXXIV, Neolithic studies 1-14, Ljubljana.