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The beginning of Neolithic economies in southeastern Europe: an Anatolian perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2017

Mehmet Özdoǧan
Mehmet Özdoǧan*
Affiliation:
Prehistorya Anabilim Dali, Edebiyat Fakültesi, Istanbul Üniversitesi, 34459 Istanbul, Turkey
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Abstract

The role that Anatolia played in the formation of Neolithic cultures has generally been overlooked. However, recent work indicates the presence of a new formation zone in Central Anatolia, distinct in all elements of culture from the traditional Levantine–Mesopotamian zone which also includes Southeastern Turkey. A conspectus of the recent evidence indicates that, even in areas where cultural elements are similar, there is considerable diversity in subsistence patterns. Thus, it is evident that subsistence patterns were not as significant as previously envisaged in defining the status of Neolithic communities or in stimulating their appearance. Moreover, the range of available resources in the broad-ranging habitats of Central and Western Anatolia seem to have been a potent factor both in the initial Neolithic and its later developments. The Neolithic cultures of Anatolia were much less dependent upon domesticates, with sedentary life strongly supported by hunting and gathering.

The pre-pottery Neolithic of the Near East provides a model based upon extremely complex and sophisticated socio-cultural developments, with indications of a ruling elite in control of the economy and ritual life. The collapse of this system by the end of the PPNB seemingly reflected social upheavals which provoked a massive migration to other regions. Apart from this factor, the rich environmental potential of the Aegean or the Balkans would have been sufficient to support the spread of the whole Neolithic population from Anatolia.

On a souvent négligé le rôle qu'a joué l'Anatolie dans la formation des cultures néolitiques. Toutefois, des travaux récents montrent qu'il existe une nouvelle zone de formation en Anatolie centrale, dont les caractéristiques culturelles se distinguent clairement de la zone levantine et mésopotamienne, qui comprend aussi le sud-est de la Turquie. Une vue générale des récentes études sur ce sujet montre que, même dans les endroits où les caractéristiques culturelles sont similaires, il existe une diversité considérable parmi les modes de subsistance. Ainsi, il est évident que les modes de subsistance n'étaient pas aussi importants qu'on l'avait imaginé, pour ce qui est de la définition du statut des communautés néolitiques ou la stimulation de l'apparition de ces communautés. De plus, la gamme des ressources disponibles pour les habitations qui parsèment l'Anatolie de l'ouest et l'Anatolie centrale semble avoir été un important facteur à la fois au début et à la fin du Néolitique. Les cultures néolitiques d'Anatolie étaient bien moins dépendantes des objets domestiques, leur vie sédentaire était essentiellement basée sur la chasse et la cueillette.

La période du Néolitique pré-potterie au Proche-Orient fournit un modèle basé sur une évolution socio-culturelle extrémement complexe et sophistiquée, laissant supposer l'existence d'une élite qui contrôlait l'économie et la vie rituelle. L'effondrement de ce système à la fin de la période du Néolitique pré-potterie refléterait des bouleversements sociaux qui provoquèrent des migrations de masse vers d'autres régions. Ce facteur mis à part, le potentiel offert par les richesses liées à l'environnement dans les Balkans ou la zone de la mer Egée était suffisant pour subvenir aux besoins de toute la population de l'Anatolie.

Die Rolle, die Anatolien bei der Ausbildung neolithischer Kulturen spielte, ist generell übersehen worden. Jüngere Arbeiten deuten jedoch auf ein zusätzliches Entwicklungsgebiet in Zentralanatolien hin, das sich in allen Kulturelementen vom altbekannten levantinisch-mesopotamischen Gebiet (einschlieβlich der Südosttürkei) unterscheidet. Ein Blick auf diejenigen Belege, die jüngerer Zeit hinzugekommen sind, läβt erkennen, daβ selbst in Gegenden, in denen ähnliche Kulturelement auftreten, eine beträchtliche Vielfalt an Subsistenzstrategien bestand. Es ist daher offenkundig, daβ Subsistenzstrategien für das Definieren des Status’ neolithischer Gemeinschaften und für das Hervorrufen ihrer äuβeren Erscheinung weniger bedeutsam waren als zuvor angenommen. Auβerdem scheint sowohl im beginnenden, als auch in späteren Phasen des Neolithikums die Palette der in den weitläufigen Lebensräumen von Zentral- und Westanatolien zur Verfügung stehenden Ressourcen ein wichtiger Faktor gewesen zu sein. Die neolithischen Kulture in Anatoliens waren weitaus weniger abhängig von Domestikaten, und ihr seβhaftes Leben wurde entscheidend durch Jagen und Sammeln unterstützt.

Das vorkeramische Neolithikum des Nahen Ostens stellt ein Modell dar, das auf äuβerst komplexen und hochentwickelten soziokulturellen Entwicklungen basiert, Es gibt Anzeichen für eine herrschende Elite, die das wirtschaftliche und rituelle Leben kontrollierte. Der Kollaps dieses Systems am Ende von PPNB scheint soziale Aufstände wiederzuspiegeln, die eine riesige Wanderung in andere Regionen auslösten. Von diesem Faktor abgesehen, wären die reichen Umweltpotentiale des Ägäischen Meeres und des Balkans ausreichend gewesen, um die Ausbreitung der gesamten neolithischen Bevölkerung von Anatolien her zu unterstützen.

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Articles
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Journal of European Archaeology , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , Autumn 1997 , pp. 1 - 33
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Copyright © European Association of Archaeologists 

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