North-Eastern European hunter-gatherer ceramic sculptures, relief sculptures and graphic images on vessels are discussed. Five groups of finds are distinguished according to their chronology (4000–2500 BC cal) and represented subject (birds, human head, human figure, mammal head etc.). Their production believes to be a female craft, their making had ritual aims and their emerging was independent from any influences of pastoral/agricultural societies.

In this paper, we adopt the theoretical framework of evolutionary archaeology in order to model and simulate cultural transmission between hypothetical Neolithic sites in Balkans. We simulate neutral cultural transmission in order to compare the simulation results with empirically observed patterns of material culture variability such as traditional archaeological cultures. Our preliminary results show that a series of random local interactions can result in spatial groupings of typologically similar assemblages that correspond to the spatial distributions of traditional archaeological cultures, even in the absence of any other ‘external’ factor such as an overarching regional political structure or shared collective identity.

A Linear Pottery settlement represents on a certain scale a symbiosis of different soci-economic groups of inhabitants in one given space. The role and status of artefacts can be de- scribed according to individual types of houses. Stockbreeding is typical for large houses, while small houses manifest hunting as well as breeding. Three-part houses are the most significant buil- dings as the artefact assemblages display prestigious social roles. The assemblages in the single-part houses suggest household activities.

Despite a long tradition of studies of the Moldavian Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures, the analysis of the territorial behaviour of human communities remains underexploited. This work combines concepts used in landscape archaeology with the potential of the Geographic Information System (GIS) to mobilise archaeological artefacts in a large-scale setting and for many thematic purposes. This paper aims to compare the spatial and temporal distributions of archaeological evidence in central Moldavia. Applying integrated approaches through GIS analysis, it explores the natural, economic and social phenomena involved in territorial trajectories during the Later Pre- history (6000–3500 BC). In the chronological framework of the Star≠evo-Cris, Linear Pottery, Precucuteni and Cucuteni cultures, different types of spatial analysis are computed in order to underline territorial control and supply strategies in an area well known for its density of its fortified settlements, extremely rich soils and abundance of salt springs.

Increasing field work in the ̇Izmir region has produced much sought tangible evidence about the ways in which food-producing communities emerged in the Aegean. Focusing on the archaeological and zooarchaeological data from Ulucak and neighboring sites, the authors discuss the possible mechanisms of initial farmer-herder dispersals into the region. The authors stress that the lack of pre-Neolithic strata in the eastern Aegean impedes a full understanding of forager-farmer interactions in the early Holocene.

Deciphering the internal structure of prehistoric artefacts can provide spectacular insights that might help us understand the people who made them. In order to preserve the integrity of these relics of past civilisations, it is desirable to make such investigations using non-destructive techniques. Recent decades have witnessed a growth in the X-ray computed tomography (CT) applications in the study of cultural heritage objects. This paper presents and discusses tomographic investigations of two Cucuteni ceramic statuettes discovered in Romania. The study was made with a CT device specially designed for archaeometric applications.

The article presents the results of a comparative technological analysis of Hassuna culture pottery from Yarim Tepe I (6th millennium BC) from the lower and middle horizons. The technological stages of selecting the clay and organic materials, the composition of the clay paste and the surface treatment, but also certain issues related to the ornamentation and firing of the pottery are presented in the article.

In this paper, we attempt a multiscalar analysis of the Maharski prekop archaeological site, connecting the landscape context, temporal dynamics, and spatial organisation with the composition of the artefact assemblage, the shapes, sizes and technological composition of the pottery, and traces of activities in the form of food residues on pottery. The pottery assemblage from Maharski prekop is characterised by a wide variation in vessels. This can be explained by the non-specialised use of vessels, where they were deliberately designed to be able to perform a series of different functions, which is supported by the technological analysis of fabrics and the wide range of identified foodstuffs.

Environmental conditions such as climate, topography, and soil conditions had an impact on prehistoric settlement strategies. By studying changes in settlement structure in the Nitra, Hron and Ipel’ valleys in southern Slovakia over the course of the Neolithic and Eneolithic, preferences for various climatic and topographic environments in different periods can be seen. Besides cultural and socio-economic factors, it can also be expected that changes in climate contributed to change in settlement patterns. Climatic changes in Neolithic and Eneolithic have been identified and correlated with major changes in socio-economic structure, as well as with known climate fluctuations in the North Atlantic area.