The neolithisation of the Central Balkans: Leapfrogging Diffusion and Cultural Transmission

Article // In: Die Neolithisierung Mitteleuropas (The Spread of the Neolithic to Central Europe). — Mainz, 2010. — Pp. 95-106.Research carried out at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, since 2003 has focussed on the scientific analysis of pottery and the construction of a radiocarbon chronology for eighteen Starčevo-Criş (SC) sites in the Central Balkans, representing the four typological phases of this culture. The ¹⁴C results show that sites from eastern Transylvania to Slavonia were occupied almost simultaneously at about 6000 cal BC. There is little Late Mesolithic evidence in this region, and it must be assumed that the Neolithic population originated from further south. Neolithic sites are located along major tributaries of the Danube, close to natural resources such as salt. The rate of diffusion, which cannot be explained by population growth, suggests "leapfrogging" along the river network. The scientific analyses of the ceramics show that a common formula was used throughout the region to produce ceramics in the so-called SC phase IA/IC. This is an example of horizontal cultural transmission in which ideas are spread between adjacent communities within a single generation.