Neolithic & Chalcolithic Archaeology

Epidemics, pandemics, contagion, immunity, social distance, zoonosis are just a few of the concepts that have become commonplace in the academic community and in everyday conversation since the outbreak of the Covid-19. This book aims to provide the reader with a philosophical guide to this conceptual vocabulary by investigating the meanings, implications, and history of words related to the current emergency of Covid-19.

This book addresses the fundamental anthropological, ethical, and political issues that have come under the spotlight of the public debate (life and death, freedom and authority, fear and protection, poverty and access to medical care). In this context, particular attention is given to the conflict between the scientific discourse on the one hand, and irrational bias, misinformation and fake news on the other.

The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak is only the latest episode in a long history of pandemics and epidemics that have constellated human history since its very beginning. Authoritative accounts have made some of these contagious plagues famous (Thucydides’ pages immortalizing the Athenian epidemic of the 5th century B.C.; Boccaccio’s description of the Black Death; Manzoni’s depiction of the Plague ravaging 17th-century Milan). Because a full understanding of the present is not possible without historical inquiry, several contributions in the book explore debates about calamitous phenomena as documented in philosophical literature from Antiquity to 20th-century philosophy.

The “Izbucul Topliţei de Vida” cave is part of the karst system of the Răcaș Plateau (between the Vida and Albioara valleys) in the Pădurea Craiului Mountains. The cave is extremely difficult to access and can be entered only during dry periods. After a 60 m-long passage that is almost completely flooded, one reaches the “Hall of Tombs,” a chamber approximately 40 m long and 6 m wide.
Recent archaeological investigations (2021–2022, 2025) in the “Izbucul Topliţei de Vida” Cave, located in the Pădurea Craiului Mountains (north western Romania), were carried out within two interdisciplinary projects focused on reconstructing human and faunal dynamics in Transylvanian caves during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene (led by Dr. habil I. N. Meleg).
Archaeological contexts identified on the cave floor contain accumulations of human and animal bones, along with complete and fragmentary ceramic vessels, charred cereal grains, gold and copper artefacts, and ornaments made of animal teeth. Bioarchaeological analyses have revealed the remains of around 30 individuals – 19 adults (including at least four females and four males) and 11 children. Evidence of trauma, pathological conditions, and epigenetic traits has been documented. Analyses of ancient DNA are ongoing. Radiocarbon ages (over 20 AMS determinations) securely date the assemblage to between 2600 and 2200 BC.
During the excavations, ten individuals were documented in situ. Most skulls, large bones, and grave goods were found in secondary positions, suggesting that the deceased were originally laid directly on the cave floor and that their remains were subsequently disturbed by natural agents (water flows, animal activity) and possibly human interventions. The bodies appear to have been placed in a variety of positions – extended or flexed – without consistent orientation, but generally along east–west or south–north axes, with several deviations.
The funerary context, combined with evidence of violence, disease, and specific ritual behaviour, indicates symbolic practices likely associated with communication with chthonic and aquatic deities-divinities of the earth, darkness, and water. Together, these findings reveal a complex system of mortuary practices and spiritual beliefs during the Early Bronze Age in the Carpathian region. This study underscores the cultural sophistication of these communities and significantly advances our understanding of their ritual landscapes and cosmological frameworks.

The Jeulmun period holds a position of paramount importance in Korean archaeology. As its name implies, this era is classified based on the distinctive characteristics of its contemporary pottery, further emphasizing its uniqueness. This is because the word Jeulmun (즐문) literally translates to "comb-patterned" in Korean. The reasons behind its immense significance will be thoroughly explored throughout our thesis. Broadly speaking, these developments are intrinsically linked to the Neolithic Revolution of that era. Globally, the Neolithic Revolution primarily evokes the transition to a sedentary lifestyle and the shift from a foraging (appropriating) economy to a production-based economy. However, this trajectory differs slightly within Korean archaeology, and we will analyze it specifically through the lens of the "Korean model." The overarching socioeconomic processes in Korea unfolded in a unique manner. Most importantly, this thesis will seek an answer to the following question: "Was Jeulmun pottery invented merely for food storage, or did the intricate comb patterns on these vessels reflect the aesthetic and symbolic world of prehistoric humans?"

Koreya arxeologiyasında Çulmun dövrünün xüsusi əhəmiyyəti var. Çünki bu dövr adından da göründüyü kimi həmin dövrün keramika xüsusiyyətlərinə görə adlandırılıb, bu isə onun özünəməxsusluğunu bir daha vurğulayır.  Çünki çulmun (즐문)sözünün mənası koreya dilində daraq naxışları deməkdir. Niyə bu qədər önəmli olduğuna isə tezisimizin gedişində toxunacağıq. Bu proseslər isə ümumilikdə həmin dövrdə olan Neolit inqilabı ilə əlaqəlidir. Ümumiyyətlə, dünya arxeologiyasında neolit inqilabı dedikdə ağlımıza ilk olaraq oturaq həyata keçid, insanların istehlak təsərrüfatından istehsal təsərrüfatına keçməsi gəlir. Amma koreya arxeologiyasında bu biraz fərqlidir və biz buna koreya modeli çərçivəsində baxacağıq.  Ümumi proseslər Koreyada biraz fərqli baş vermişdir. Ən əsas olaraq isə bu tezisimizdə belə bir suala cavab axtaracağıq. "Çulmun keramikası sadəcə yemək saxlamaq üçün icad olunmuşdu, yoxsa bu qabların üzərindəki mürəkkəb daraq naxışları qədim insanların estetik və rəmzi dünyasınımı əks etdirirdi?"

An ancient highly skilled prehistoric artist had laid down a wall of meaningful images to tell a rich and vivid story. These fresco artists were observers of their environment and used simple abstract and stylized symbols to represent their cultural stories and daily life. These  Teleilat al-Ghassul artists have left a story that can partially be told from the remaining fresco fragments found during excavation.

La mise en évidence des aires d’activité des cités mayas de l’époque Classique (250-900 d.n.è.) est difficile ; les sols d’occupation étaient systématiquement nettoyés, et les déchets de production recyclés. En l’absence de métallurgie, les outils lithiques, abondants dans les sites archéologiques, étaient au cœur de la vie quotidienne. Identifier la fonction de ces outils est une approche indispensable, car elle nous aide à cerner ces aires d’activité. Toutefois, les études fonctionnelles, tout comme les référentiels expérimentaux, sont rares dans cette aire culturelle. Nous avons donc mis en place un large éventail de programmes expérimentaux, inédits dans cette région, et utilisés dans l’étude du site de Cancuén (Guatemala).
Trois sources d’information nous ont permis d’orienter nos expérimentations : l’ethnohistoire, l’iconographie et l’ethnographie. Les récits des conquistadores et des Dominicains mentionnent l’usage de certains objets lithiques au moment de la Conquête. Les représentations iconographiques sur des céramiques ou sur des stèles illustrent quant à elles le contexte social d’utilisation d’outils. Enfin, les observations ethnographiques attestent d’une certaine continuité technique dans le travail de plusieurs matériaux chez les Mayas actuels, bien que les instruments soient différents.
Sur la base de ces sources, et malgré leurs limites, nous avons construit un référentiel inédit, essentiel à la compréhension des sociétés précolombiennes d’Amérique centrale. Nos expérimentations, impliquant des outils en obsidienne et en silex, ont porté sur le travail de matériaux courants : peau, os et bois, boucherie, rasage de barbe ; ainsi que sur des matériaux plus spécifiques à la Mésoamérique tels que les coquillages, la calebasse, le jade, ou les dents humaines. Grâce à ce travail novateur, nous avons identifié le mode de fonctionnement des outils de la cité maya classique de Cancuén (Guatemala), apportant ainsi des éléments nouveaux pour la compréhension de l’organisation spatiale des activités, et sur l’organisation socio-économique de la cité.

The ›mega-site‹ of Valencina de la Concepción-Castilleja de Guzmán extends throughout the northeastern limit of the Aljarafe Plateau, 6 km to the West of modern-day Seville, in southern Spain. During prehistoric times the site was located next to an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, which covered most of the estuary of the Guadalquivir River. Geomagnetic survey of a surface of over 37.5 ha have revealed the existence of seven ditched enclosures, each consisting of between one and three ditches. In addition, two small enclosures with a sinuous ditch forming a sort of bastion were documented. By means of the survey a large number of pits, circular huts and workshops excavated in the ground and a new necropolis area with some 80 tombs with a circular chamber and short access corridor under barrows and possible hypogea could be documented. During the excavations carried out in the municipal plot of Cerro de la Cabeza we have been able to investigate a dense sequence of Chalcolithic pits and semi-excavated huts and workshops, located near the edge of one of the ditches. The series of C14 dates obtained by AMS and the reconstruction of the outline of the ditched enclosures begin to reveal the sequence of the settlement. Starting in the late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic (end of the 4 th millennium BC) the site experiments its peak occupation during the Middle Chalcolithic rd millennium BC). During the transition to the Late Chalcolithic (Mid 3 rd millennium BC) there seems to be a reduction in the size of the settlement, being limited to the central area of modern day Valencina, during the Late Chalcolithic (second half of the 3rd millenseems to indicate a short and not very intense occupation of the Cerro de la Cabeza area during the Early Bronze Age (beginning of the 2 nd millennium BC). The site of Valencina played an important role as the settlement of a large population, acting as a central place controlling the mouth of the Lower Guadalquivir, as well as a production centre and exchange gateway, due to its proximity to the sea, of exotic products and goods, to be processed, consumed and traded in it, also functioning as a funerary and ritual space of reference for a wide region.

Kizzuwatna was initially a Late Bronze Age kingdom situated between Mittani and Ḫatti, eventually becoming a province of the latter. For decades, the only excavations yielding information on its material culture were at Tarsus-Gözlükule and Mersin-Yumuktepe. However, recent excavations over the past two decades at these sites, along with Soli Höyük, Adana-Tepebağ, Sirkeli Höyük, Tatarlı Höyük, and Kinet Höyük, have facilitated the development of a more comprehensive picture of the region.
This paper aims to provide a brief overview of the current state of archaeological research through a newly established regional stratigraphical and chronological sequence. Despite these advances, many questions remain unanswered, and further excavations are necessary to address these gaps in our understanding.

les recherches conduites depuis 1986 sur le site de la Butte de Sandun à Guérande (Loire Atlantique) ont livré de nombreuses structures d'habitat, ainsi qu'un matériel considérable, notamment du Néolithique moyen. A partir de l'étude de ces importantes séries l'auteur propose une mise au point sur la chronologie du Néolithique moyen en Armorique. Abstrack The research camed out since 1986 on the site of Sandun at Guérande (Loire-Atlantique), hasshown many pits and ditches, as well as a great deal of ceramic finds, in particular from the middle neolithic period. Base on the study of these important series, the authorsuggests a revision of the chronology of the armorican's middle Neolithic.

Twenty-one sickle blades, one arrowhead, one lump of black material, three soils from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site of Motza (Israel) and five soils of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site of Nahal Efe (Northern Negev, Israel) were analysed by a suite of geochemical techniques including gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for biomarker analysis (steranes and terpanes), stable carbon and hydrogen isotope analysis (δ 13 C and δD), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) for mineralogical characterisation. The occurrence of bitumen is confirmed in all the samples of Motza. Most samples of Motza and the lump with bitumen are mixtures of bitumen with minerals. According to mineral composition, soils of Motza have not been used in these mixtures. Three soils of Nahal Efe contain bitumen from the Dead Sea. This occurrence inside excavated buildings suggests that bitumen was processed in these dwelling places. Bitumen at Motza was identified as originating from two sources, one is the famous Dead Sea floating blocks, the other is likely a source exemplified by the present-day natural asphalts of Nahal Hemar, close to the Dead Sea. Isotopic and biomarker data reflects the effect of both biodegradation and oxidation of bitumens.