Neolithic Period In Thessaly

Disparity in recorded Neolithic activity between the eastern and western Thessaly plain in central Greece is being redressed by the 'Long Time No See' landscape project. A recently discovered pottery kiln complex at Magoula Rizava tell site offers exciting new evidence for intra-regional pottery production and circulation during the Middle Neolithic period.

The paper deals with the analysis of a typological, constructional, and ideological study, in order to describe the interaction between two geographic spaces with well – defined relations, during the Neolithic period. The representation of the human image, combined with hybridic elements taken as a loan from the animal and mythical world through patterns and plastic descriptions, is the epicentre of the artistic interest, when the artisan/artist create a variety of figurines, producing specific features, common as styles throughout great part of the Balkans. SE Albania’s Korca Valley, with its scientifically efficiently documented Early, Middle and Late Neolithic settlements, present clear affinities in the development of both the pottery and the coroplastic production, sharing interestingly common patterns, technology and style which testimonies an uninterrupted diachronic communication with Thessaly and a further cultural and ideological comparison between the two areas.

Ήδη από τις αρχές του 20ου αι. η Θεσσαλία θεωρήθηκε η «κοιτίδα» της νεολιθικής στην Ελλάδα και κομβικό σημείο επαφών, σχέσεων, και διαπραγμάτευσης του χώρου και των κοινωνικών ταυτοτήτων. Ο μεγαλύτερος όγκος και πλούτος δεδομένων για τη θεσσαλική νεολιθική προέρχεται από την ανατολική πεδιάδα της Λάρισας και τη Μαγνησία. Η αραιή παρουσία νεολιθικών οικισμών στη δυτική θεσσαλική πεδιάδα αποδόθηκε ασαφώς στην «εχθρική» φυσιογραφία της.
Η συστηματική, πολυεπίπεδη, διεπιστημονική ανάγνωση του Κάμπου της Καδίτσας και της βιογραφίας του, σε συνδυασμό με πρόσφατες σωστικές ανασκαφές δείχνουν ότι το κενό στο νεολιθικό χάρτη είναι αποτέλεσμα της έλλειψης στοχευμένης έρευνας και των πρόσφατων δραματικών ανθρωπογενών αλλαγών στο τοπίο των πεδινών της Καρδίτσας. Ένας μεγάλος αριθμός θέσεων, στην πλειοψηφία τους άγνωστες στην αρχαιολογική έρευνα, που χρονολογούνται από την 7η χιλιετία π.Χ μέχρι και το τέλος της περιόδου, εμπλουτίζουν τον αρχαιολογικό χάρτη, καταρρίπτουν στερεότυπα και προσφέρουν μια νέα οπτική στην σύνθετη και πολυδιάστατη θεσσαλική νεολιθική.

This paper presents a new reading of the Neolithic archaeological record of western Thessaly.
Eastern and coastal Thessaly exhibit exceptional density of Neolithic settlements, whereas the striking scarcity of Neolithic presence in the western plain has been usually attributed to unspecified ‘unwelcoming physiographic characteristics’.
This picture is changing drastically through a) the new, interdisciplinary landscape project ‘Land reclamation and the cultural record of the Kambos, western Thessaly’ that explores the western Thessalian landscape by combining state of the art Remote Sensing, archaeomorphological and geoarchaeological analysis with extensive and intensive surface survey data and b) fresh excavation evidence from flat extended sites.
Our interdisciplinary approach identified numerous, previously unknown, tell-like and flat-extended sites, as well as tell/flat-extended complexes and provides a new understanding of Neolithic occupation patterns, settlement dynamics and social use of space. The emerging evidence shakes well-established notions, environmental and cultural preconceptions and offers new insights into the Neolithic of western Thessaly and beyond.

Thessaly has been traditionally perceived as the 'cradle' of the Greek Neolithic (7 th to 4 th millennium BC) and a key area to understand and contextualise the route(s), timing, ways and tempo of the Neolithic beginnings in Europe. From the beginning of the 20 th century onwards, archaeological research in Thessaly embodied all major theoretical and methodological developments that influenced prehistoric research in Greece and southeast Europe. At the same time, early research shaped some of the strongest stereotypes that dominate debates on Neolithic settlement and society. These, have been challenged only recently due to rigorous archaeological work, mainly in the north of the country. Eastern and coastal Thessaly exhibit exceptional density of Neolithic settlements, whereas the striking scarcity of Neolithic presence in the western plain has been usually attributed to unspecified " unwelcoming physiographic characteristics ". This picture is changing drastically through a) a new, interdisciplinary landscape project that explores the western Thessalian landscape by combining state of the art Remote Sensing, archaeomorphological and geoarchaeological analysis with extensive and intensive surface survey data; b) fresh excavation evidence from both tell-like and flat extended sites and c) a new reading of old excavation evidence and stratigraphies thought an integrated photogrammetric, archaeological, geoarchaeological and radiocarbon-dating approach. Our cutting-edge approach identified numerous, previously unknown, tell-like and flat-extended sites, as well as tell/flat-extended complexes and revolutionises understanding of Neolithic occupation patterns, settlement dynamics, social use of space, settlement character and settlement formation processes of both tells and flat-extended sites. The emerging evidence shakes well-established notions, environmental and cultural preconceptions and offers new, unique insights into the Neolithic of Thessaly and beyond.