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The Neolithic in the Aegean

Σύμμεικτα

• Σαμψών, Αδαμάντιος

The Early Neolithic in the Aegean is little known outside of Crete. For the present it can be divided into two phases, I and II. On the basis of the sporadic Early Neolithic finds hitherto the Aegean can be divided into five groups. There must have been links between group 4 (Ayio Gala on Chios) and 5 (Skyros- Euboea). On the other hand the Tate Neolithic, which we prefer to call the Late Aegean Neolithic (LAN), possesses its own cultural elements,which in some cases penetrated into Greece itself (Euboea). Very often, however, there was a parallel development. It is veryprobable that in the 5th millennium mainland Greece and Asia Minor both gave to the Aegean, which served as a great melting pot,their own cultural elements; these, after undergoing a process of absorption and differentiation, then frequently returned to theirpoints of origin in another form. We do not believe that the Aegean acted as a transmitter of Anatolian achievements to Greece. On thecontrary, it received elements from both regions and gave them elements back. The contacts of the Aegean Neolithic cultures withGreece became stronger in the third and fourth phases of the Late Aegean Neolithic, the period in which Neolithic Crete was opened up to the Aegean. The time lag in man’s occupation of the Aegean islands was probably due to the fact that at the beginning of the Neolithic he wasgeared to the cultivation of large plains such as the islands did not have. In this respect a contrast is afforded by Crete, where we findvery early habitation, although it must be said that there has been no systematic exploration of all the islands, some o f which maypossibly produce earlier remains. On other small islands the habitation may have been seasonal, linked to fishing, animal husbandry and the exploitation of raw materials.

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

Νεολιθική περίοδος, Αιγαίο

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