This article discusses the results of the technological study of the pottery from the recently excavated Middle Neolithic site of Makri, in Thrace. The analysis is based on macroscopic study of the material, microscopic examination of thin sections and a refî- ring test. The various fabric groups used for the manufacture of the vessels are presented and questions concerning the différent fabric groups, the addition of temper and refining of clay, are discussed. The manufacturing techniques used by the Makri (...) potters, the nature of surface coatings and fîring conditions, are studied. The corrélation between the fabric groups and the vessel catégories as well as the suitability of pots for cooking, is examined. Finally, the ceramic technology of the Makri vessels is compared with the technology of other contemporary Neolithic assemblages. (shrink)

This article has both substantive and methodological goals. Methodologically, it shows that rational choice theory is an especially important tool for guiding research in contexts in which agents appear to be acting against their best interests. The Neolithic transition is one such case, and the article develops a substantive conception of that transition, illustrating the heuristic power of behavioral ecology.

Resumen:En el paso del paleolítico al neolítico tiene lugar la gran producción de los símbolos sagrados vinculados a los calendarios solares y lunisolares. Este tránsito lleva consigo un tránsito de la hegemonía de la sensación a la hegemonía de la imaginación en el conocimiento humano. Los símbolos religiosos se refieren cada vez menos a los poderes cósmicos visibles en el cielo y cada vez más a poderes sagrados representados imaginativa y conceptualmente. Así empieza a desarrollarse un culto interior, que da (...) lugar a diversos tipos de símbolos religiosos.Palabras clave: neolítico, símbolo religioso, historicidad del símbolo religioso, estructura del símbolo religioso.Abstract: In the transition from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic the great production of sacred symbols linked to solar and lunisolar calendars takes place. This transition involves a transition from the hegemony of sense to hegemony of imagination in human knowledge. Religious symbols refers less and less visible cosmic powers in the sky and increasingly sacred powers represented imaginatively and conceptually. So it begins to develop an interior worship, which leads to various kinds of religious symbols.Key words: Neolithic, religious symbol, historicity of religious symbol, religious symbol structure. (shrink)

The Archaeology of Prehistoric Arabia: Adaptation and Social Formation from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. By Peter Magee. Cambridge World Archaeology. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. Pp. xv + 309, illus. $99.

Painted ceramics occupy an important place in ancient Chinese art and are the result of creative activity of people of primitive society. A large number of Neolithic patterns on ceramics are similar to those signs and symbols that were made on jade products of the same period. Such patterns resembled drawings made by hand and represented realistic and abstract ornaments, plant, zoomorphic patterns, etc. Thus, the subject of this study is the so-called "jade" patterns on painted ceramics of the (...) Neolithic era. The object of the study are objects of painted ceramics of the Neolithic era in China. Special attention is paid to the consideration of the specifics of ceramic products, as well as the features of their decors. The semantics of images on objects of Chinese painted ceramics is complex and ambiguous. The study revealed that it is associated with the development of human thinking, people's understanding of natural phenomena, awareness of the changing seasons, as well as the emergence of animism and totemic culture. These patterns had different interpretations, while they were not only a way of expressing the feelings and experiences of primitive people, but also a way for them to record important events from life, similar to modern memoirs. Thus, the novelty of this article is its comparative nature, manifested in the comparison of ornaments of painted ceramics and ancient Chinese jade products. (shrink)

À Dikili Tash, les vestiges architecturaux néolithiques en terre à bâtir, le plus souvent préservés sous la forme de fragments brûlés, ont fait l’objet d’une étude morpho-technologique systématique dans le cadre du deuxième programme de recherches (1986-2000). La démarche s’inscrit dans une problématique plus générale, dont l’objectif est de reconstituer la maison néolithique en tant que système technique. Une de ses originalités est de recourir systématiquement aux expérimentations pour valider les hypothèses d’interprétation et mettre au point plusieurs référentiels. Les résultats (...) obtenus apportent une multitude d’informations sur la nature des composants de la terre à bâtir et sa préparation, en particulier sur le choix privilégié de la balle comme dégraissant végétal. Ils mettent en évidence des techniques de construction peu attestées pour cette période, comme la construction des murs en torchis sur poteaux jointifs, des voûtes de four par empilement de colombins et des silos sous forme de corbeilles enduites scellées par une chape de terre à bâtir. (shrink)

The origins of agriculture lie in the distant past, approximately 12 000 years ago, when hunter-gatherers of the Palaeolithic embraced sedentism at the dawn of the Neolithic. The variety of life history transitions emanating from this unique phenomenon have had an enormous impact on the biodiversity of the planet, while subjecting humanity to a variety of life-changing physical and social challenges right up to the present. The ever-present consequences of the Agricultural Revolution continue to demand our attention, yet frustrate (...) our efforts, on a seemingly perpetual basis, to effectively manage the outcomes. Here we review the origins and lasting after-effects of the Agricultural Revolution and its impact on the human condition, with reference to sedentism, nutrition, health issues, disease, gender discrimination as well as mythmaking and religion. Contribution: Our aim is to engage a wider audience with respect to the causes and consequences of the Agricultural Revolution. We discuss a broad spectrum of relevant phenomena implicated in this epochal event and consequently underline that the Agricultural Revolution precipitated not only major changes to the ecology of the planet, but also and most importantly to the social and cultural well-being of humanity. (shrink)

This groundbreaking work considers one of the central themes of archaeology, time, which until recently has been taken for granted. It considers how time is used and perceived by archaeology and also how time influences the construction of identities. The book presents case studies, eg, transition from hunter gather to farming in early Neolithic, to examine temporality and identity. Drawing upon the work of Martin Heidegger, Thomas develops a way of writing about the past in which time is seenm (...) as central to the emergence of the identities of peoples and things. He questions the modern western distinction between nature and culture, mind and body, object and subject, and argues that in some senses the temporal structure of human beings, artefacts and places are similar. (shrink)

This paper delves into the intricate connections between the Abrahamic religions and the ancient mystery cults, reaching as far back as to Neolithic shamanism. They all unite in a shared pursuit: the quest for divine knowledge. Long before the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the biblical Genesis took on its profound symbolic meaning, shamanic initiation held a distinctly different view of botany. Indeed, It regarded plants primarily for their psychedelic properties, as a medium to perceive “reality” (...) with heightened intensity. However, the sacred Tree has a uniquely numinous character, and their consumption is sternly prohibited by God, in both, the Bible and the Quran. Therefore, this effectively positions all monotheistic religions in an unequivocal distance from their prehistoric origins. More precisely, we can argue that these mythologies are in fact constructed as counternarratives, advocating, primarily for a social ethic (based on the holy writings of the Bible), and evoking secondly a fundamental gnostic quest. (shrink)

Debates on the role of biotechnology in food production are beset with notorious ambiguities. This already applies to the term “biotechnology” itself. Does it refer to the use and modification of living organisms in general, or rather to a specific set of technologies developed quite recently in the form of bioengineering and genetic modification? No less ambiguous are discussions concerning the question to what extent biotechnology must be regarded as “unnatural.” In this article it will be argued that, in order (...) to disentangle some of the ambiguities involved, we have to broaden the temporal horizon of the debate. Ideas about biotechniques and naturalness have evolved in various socio-historical contexts and their historical origins will determine to a considerable extent their actual meaning and use in contemporary deliberations. For this purpose, a comprehensive timetable is developed, beginning with the Neolithic revolution ~10,000 years ago (resulting in the emergence of agriculture and the Common Human Pattern) up to the biotech revolution as it has evolved from the 1970s onwards—sometimes referred to as a second “Genesis.” The concept of nature that emerged in the context of the “Common Human Pattern” differs considerably from traditional philosophical concepts of nature (such as coined by Aristotle), as well as from the scientific view of nature conveyed by the contemporary life sciences. A clarification of these different historical backdrops will allow us to understand and elucidate the conceptual ambiguities that are at work in contemporary debates on biotechnology and the place of human beings in nature. (shrink)

The author, starting from what is currently known about cup-marks and their distribution in the north-western Italian alpine area, formulated a hypothesis on their material and ritual functions in the Neolithic period. It is conceivable that cup-marks were originally carved in connection with the ritual use of Amanita muscaria, and that they may later have assumed other functions as well.

The history of science can be better understood against the background of a history of knowledge comprising not only theoretical but also intuitive and practical knowledge. This widening of scope necessitates a more concise definition of the concept of knowledge, relating its cognitive to its material and social dimensions. The history of knowledge comprises the history of institutions in which knowledge is produced and transmitted. This is an essential but hitherto neglected aspect of cultural evolution. Taking this aspect into account (...) one is led to the concept of extended evolution, which integrates the perspectives of niche construction and complex regulative networks. The paper illustrates this concept using four examples: the emergence of language, the Neolithic revolution, the invention of writing and the origin of mechanics. (shrink)