The early days of Neolithic Alsónyék: the Starčevo occupation (original) (raw)

The excavations at Alsonyek revealed numerous Starcevo features, over 50 in the southern part of subsite 10B and some 500 in subsite 5603. The overwhelming majority of the features uncovered were individual pits and pit complexes. Traces of houses or above-ground structures were recorded, but no certain house plans could be identified; numerous hearths and ovens were found. 25 Starcevo burials have been identified, with some in disused pits and ovens. The occupation excavated in subsite 5603 was substantial, the largest yet discovered in Transdanubia. The north-west distribution of the Early Neolithic cultural complex of the northern Balkans – the Starcevo, Koros and Cris cultures – represents the first food-producing communities in many parts of the Carpathian basin. Starcevo sites are now known in the southern part of western Hungary up to Lake Balaton, but there are many unresolved questions about the precise chronology of the Early Neolithic in Transdanubia and beyond, in the St...