Early Neolithic jar burials in southeast Europe: a comparative approach

A typical product of early farming symbolism, jar burial, appeared in the beginning of southeast European Neolithization. Early jar burial development in south-east Europe displays two distinct chronological levels: an early Neolithic core area in the Struma and Vardar valleys and the western Rhodope, and later, late/final Neolithic and/or early Chalcolithic – depending on local terminology – manifestations ‘scattered’ in various places in the study area. It is the early chronological level of jar burial distribution that will be considered here in relation to the first expressions of these mortuary practices in Central Anatolia, in order to throw some light on the specifics of their origins and variability.

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Neolithisation of technology: innovation and tradition in the Starčevo culture osseous industry

Documenta Praehistorica ◽

10.4312/dp.43.5 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 43 ◽

pp. 123-138 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Selena Vitezović

Keyword(s):

New Technologies ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Raw Material ◽

Southeast Europe ◽

Early Neolithic ◽

New Techniques ◽

East Europe ◽

Near Eastern ◽

South East Europe ◽

Neolithic Cultures

The earliest Neolithic cultures in Southeast Europe brought significant changes in many aspects of everyday life, in subsistence, settlement patterns, architecture, and also ritual aspects. Technological changes are also very important – the introduction of completely new technologies, such as clay working, or new techniques in existing industries, e.g., lithic, osseous, etc. The osseous industry is especially informative for questions on innovations and traditions, since it was well developed in both the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. In Starčevo culture, certain Mesolithic traditions may be observed, such as techniques for antler manufacture; however, numerous innovations are also visible, particularly techno-types of Near Eastern origin such as spatula-spoons, the most characteristic bone techno-type of the Early Neolithic in South-east Europe, as well as diverse decorative items. Furthermore, new raw materials (bones from domestic animals) are introduced, and new techniques for manufacture and new tools. It is also interesting to observe that, although osseous materials remain the dominant raw material for personal ornaments, they are no longer used for artistic expression.

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Determinants of Export Oriented Entrepreneurs from Southeast Europe Region

Economic Themes ◽

10.2478/ethemes-2018-0025 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 56 (4) ◽

pp. 439-452

Author(s):

Bojan Leković ◽

Miodrag Petrović ◽

Nemanja Berber

Keyword(s):

Early Stage ◽

New Technology ◽

Geographical Area ◽

Southeast Europe ◽

Social Phenomena ◽

East Europe ◽

Individual Level ◽

International Orientation ◽

Entrepreneurial Behaviour ◽

South East Europe

Abstract The subject of this research represents analysis of internationalisation activity of early-stage entrepreneurs in South East Europe region (SEE). The goal of this study is to determine characteristics of export oriented entrepreneurs from SEE region through the study of factors influencing international orientation. Geographical area of this research consists of countries from the South East Europe region. The research sample was formed on the basis of GEM - Global Individual Level Data, covering six countries (Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and FYR of Macedonia), 12027 respondents of which 645 export-oriented entrepreneurs were identified. Collected data are processed using the software package for statistical analysis. With the help of Ordinal Logistic regression, significant influence of individual factors on the international orientation of entrepreneurs was identified. Research results showed that entrepreneurial motives, entrepreneurial KSA’s, innovation and new technology have a positive relationship with internationalization activity. One of the significant limitations of this paper is the lower Nagelkerk coefficient, which is characteristic for social phenomena. Bearing in mind the fact that this research trying to explain entrepreneurial behaviour, lower coefficients can be very meaningfull.

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UNPACKING THE EARLY NEOLITHIC?

Samara Journal of Science ◽

10.17816/snv20153205 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 63-71

Author(s):

Tanya Dzhanfezova ◽

Chris Doherty ◽

Nedko Elenski

Keyword(s):

Chemical Analysis ◽

Outer Surface ◽

Preliminary Analysis ◽

Way Of Life ◽

Early Neolithic ◽

North Central ◽

East Europe ◽

South East Europe ◽

Complex Picture ◽

Characteristic Features

The preliminary analysis of Early Neolithic pottery from North Central Bulgaria, and the site of Dzhulyunitsa specifically, yielded surprising results which affect a number of aspects related to the study of the Neolithisation processes. Not all characteristic features traditionally considered as key signal of the Neolithisation processes were confirmed by our mineralogical and chemical analysis. A number of specifics related to the presence of engobe for instance, indicate a considerably more complex picture. In some cases the observations show no additional slip, just a simple burnish of the brownish ware, whereas in others a true slip covers both the inner and the outer surface of the vessels (white or cream-slip ware). With regard to the red engobe specifically, the majority of studied fragments actually have just red-colour surface that results from the oxidation or the rubbing of ochre, and not from the addition of a true slip. These observations raise the following question: do we actually compare same technological approaches, traditionally seen as signal for the spread of the Neolithic way of life? Furthermore, as regards the provenance of the vessels, materials expected to have local origin proved to be imported whereas others, seen as more specific and coming from distant territories were actually made on the spot by local row-materials. Even at this stage the preliminary results do not confirm some of the traditional views on this early material, raise a series of new questions and represent a ground for further interpretations and discussions regarding an eventual fragility of some models suggested for the Neolithisation processes in this part of South-East Europe.

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Regional Policy Paper on the Biodiversity Information Management and Reporting in Southeast Europe

Biodiversity Information Science and Standards ◽

10.3897/biss.3.38188 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

Author(s):

Azra Velagić-Hajrudinović

Keyword(s):

Nature Conservation ◽

Information Management ◽

Regional Policy ◽

Regional Level ◽

Southeast Europe ◽

East Europe ◽

Advisory Body ◽

Policy Paper ◽

South East Europe ◽

Biodiversity Information

In the region of Southeast Europe (SEE) the obligation to establish and maintain information systems for nature conservation is scarcely mentioned in national legislation and is not adequately covered in legislative documents. Therefore, there is a great need for a more detailed regional policy paper that consists of a set of measures and a template of regulation. A set of measures was proposed and agreed upon among Biodiversity Information Management and Reporting (BIMR)* Regional Platform members and prepared in a way to be feasible, clear, resourceful and adjusted to the national circumstances, thus easier to implement. The regulation tackles all information system aspects in order to improve reporting processes towards the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, https://www.cbd.int/mechanisms) and other relevant conventions (e.g., exchange and provisioning of the data, access and usage rights, technical and functional requirements/standards, compliance with relevant international standards and European Union (EU) directives such as EU INSPIRE Directive (Infrastructure for spatial information in Europe, https://inspire.ec.europa.eu), Birds (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/legislation/birdsdirective/index_en.htm) and Habitats Directive (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/legislation/habitatsdirective/index_en.htm). Capacities and skills of BIMR Regional Platform partner institutions are utilized while other available policy and strategic documents are used for emphasizing BIMR priorities in BIMR policy paper. Stakeholders have an opportunity to express national data gaps and needs through a questionnaire where BIMR priorities are selected at the regional level and presented in a proposed set of measures and regulation. Consultative meetings of the BIMR Regional Platform are used for drafting and preparing the document in a form to be ready for endorsement. The BIMR policy paper will be delivered to the Biodiversity Taskforce (BD TF https://www.rcc.int/docs/443/biodiversity-task-force-of-south-east-europe--technical-and-advisory-body-of-the-regional-working-group-on-environment), an intergovernmental technical and advisory body of the Regional Working Group on Environment (RWGE), which coordinates regional activities, facilitates the implementation of the SEE 2020 Strategy (https://www.rcc.int/pages/86/south-east-europe-2020-strategy) and creates a framework for more efficient implementation of biodiversity policies in the framework of accession to the EU. As a final outcome, the BD TF will report on the BIMR policy paper to the RWGE for further endorsement. Main result: Cooperation between economies is strengthened and their willingness to implement EU standards and fulfill international obligations is fostered by improving the capacities and skills of partner institutions for an active regional exchange, including learning/knowledge transfer and practices. This regional paper enables amplification of BIMR issues in the national legislation by improving the decision-making processes of stakeholders in their own institutions and reporting progress towards international biodiversity agreements. BIMR Regional Platform is a consultative technical group which represents focal points from the Ministries of Environment, Environmental Protection Agencies and Institutes for Nature Conservation from SEE and Croatia. It facilitates consultant work at the national/regional level, communicates and disseminates information on BIMR activities in respective institutions and other biodiversity relevant sectors and initiatives, verifies and presents BIMR deliverables and mobilizes institutional, scientific and technical networks in support of BIMR activities.

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Shroud and Portrait of a Medieval Ruler

Scientific knowledge - autonomy, dependence, resistance - Balkanistic Forum ◽

10.37708/bf.swu.v29i3.10 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 197-223

Author(s):

Michael Mitterauer

Keyword(s):

Woven Fabrics ◽

Comparative Approach ◽

Medieval Art ◽

Renaissance Art ◽

Francesco Petrarca ◽

Late Medieval ◽

East Europe ◽

The Road ◽

South East Europe ◽

History Of

The research is concerning two unusual evidences of the late Medieval art, which could be seen in the Museum of the cathedral St. Stephan in Vienna. Both of them are related to Herzog Rudolf IV of Austria (1358 - 1365). One artefact in the museum is his silk gold woven shroud elaborated with especial mastership from Chinese silk in Tabriz, a city in present Iran. Especially important for this fabric is that thanks to the interwoven name of the ruler it could be dated precisely. The road of this Near East fabric to Europe and to the tomb of the Herzog in Vienna could be reconstructed. Rudolf IV died suddenly during the visit to his relative Bernabo Visconti in Milano who was one of the richest men in Europe by that time. Probably the fabric was brought across the Silk Road to Constantinople and further across the sea to Genova and to the city of silk Lucca and then to Milano. Such gold woven fabrics from the Islamic world could be found not rarely in the European ruler’s tombs. The second unusual object in the cathedral museum is a portrait of the Herzog. So far this portrait was attributed to a Prague artist. But it could be proved that it originated from Upper Italy and probably was painted by an artist from Verona who was associated to the society around the great humanist Francesco Petrarca. This portrait rises the question about the emergence of early ruler's portraits in Eu-rope and in this aspect is also related to achievements of the „Palaeologus Renaissance“ art in South – East Europe. The two objects are considered as expression forms of the ruler’s funeral culture of the late Medieval age. In the context formed by the comparative approach new possibilities for analysis are created which cross over the traditional methodology of History of Art.

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Dental calculus reveals Mesolithic foragers in the Balkans consumed domesticated plant foods

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1603477113 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 113 (37) ◽

pp. 10298-10303 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Emanuela Cristiani ◽

Anita Radini ◽

Marija Edinborough ◽

Dušan Borić

Keyword(s):

Direct Evidence ◽

Dental Calculus ◽

Southeast Europe ◽

Early Neolithic ◽

Human Teeth ◽

Plant Foods ◽

The Balkans ◽

Farming Communities ◽

Early Farming ◽

Late Mesolithic

Researchers agree that domesticated plants were introduced into southeast Europe from southwest Asia as a part of a Neolithic “package,” which included domesticated animals and artifacts typical of farming communities. It is commonly believed that this package reached inland areas of the Balkans by ∼6200 calibrated (cal.) BC or later. Our analysis of the starch record entrapped in dental calculus of Mesolithic human teeth at the site of Vlasac in the Danube Gorges of the central Balkans provides direct evidence that already by ∼6600 cal. BC, if not earlier, Late Mesolithic foragers of this region consumed domestic cereals, such as Triticum monococcum, Triticum dicoccum, and Hordeum distichon, which were also the main crops found among Early Neolithic communities of southeast Europe. We infer that “exotic” Neolithic domesticated plants were introduced to southern Europe independently almost half a millennium earlier than previously thought, through networks that enabled exchanges between inland Mesolithic foragers and early farming groups found along the Aegean coast of Turkey.

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Climate Forcing Due to the 8200 Cal yr BP Event Observed at Early Neolithic Sites in the Eastern Mediterranean

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2006.06.009 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 66 (3) ◽

pp. 401-420 ◽

Cited By ~ 159

Author(s):

Bernhard Weninger ◽

Eva Alram-Stern ◽

Eva Bauer ◽

Lee Clare ◽

Uwe Danzeglocke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thermohaline Circulation ◽

Near East ◽

Eastern Mediterranean ◽

Central Anatolia ◽

East Europe ◽

The North ◽

South East Europe ◽

Study Interval ◽

Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation ◽

Early Farmers

AbstractWe explore the hypothesis that the abrupt drainage of Laurentide lakes and associated rapid switch of the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation 8200 yr ago had a catastrophic influence on Neolithic civilisation in large parts of southeastern Europe, Anatolia, Cyprus, and the Near East. The event at 8200 cal yr BP is observed in a large number of high-resolution climate proxies in the Northern Hemisphere, and in many cases corresponds to markedly cold and arid conditions. We identify the relevant archaeological levels of major Neolithic settlements in Central Anatolia, Cyprus, Greece and Bulgaria, and examine published stratigraphic, architectural, cultural and geoarchaeological studies for these sites. The specific archaeological events and processes we observe at a number of these sites during the study interval 8400–8000 cal yr BP lead us to refine some previously established Neolithisation models. The introduction of farming to South-East Europe occurs in all study regions (Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, Bulgaria) near 8200 cal yr BP. We observe major disruptions of Neolithic cultures in the Levant, North Syria, South-East Anatolia, Central Anatolia and Cyprus, at the same time. We conclude that the 8200 cal yr BP aridity event triggered the spread of early farmers, by different routes, out of West Asia and the Near East into Greece and Bulgaria.

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Comparative Analysis of Disaster Risk Management Policies in the Region of South-East Europe

10.20944/preprints202012.0586.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Vladimir M. Cvetković ◽

Saša Todorović

Keyword(s):

Risk Management ◽

Disaster Risk ◽

Disaster Risk Management ◽

Southeast Europe ◽

East Europe ◽

South East Europe ◽

Security Challenges ◽

Management Policies ◽

Legal Frameworks ◽

The territorial cooperation policy of the EU with the countries of South East Europe: An interim evaluation

Spatium ◽

10.2298/spat1431030k ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 30-38

Author(s):

Angelos Kotios ◽

Spyridon Roukanas ◽

George Galanos

Keyword(s):

Regional Integration ◽

Southeast Europe ◽

Cohesion Policy ◽

The South ◽

Development Fund ◽

East Europe ◽

East European ◽

South East Europe ◽

Programming Period ◽

The Eu

During the programming period 2007-2013 the Cohesion Policy of the EU was adopted and the policy of territorial cooperation with third countries was implemented. Within this framework, the EU co-finances (through the European Regional Development Fund, the pre-accession instrument and the instrument of European Neighbourhood Policy) a series of cross-border, interregional and transnational cooperation programmes in Southeast Europe. The South East European countries are eligible for all these programmes, but the only programme that includes all countries in the region is the South East Europe Programme 2007-2013. The aim of this study is to conduct an interim evaluation of these programmes and present suggestions for the new programming period for the Cohesion Policy 2014-2020. Section 2 describes the EU policy of territorial cooperation with non-EU countries. Section 3 reviews the framework of EU policies and programmes fostering regional integration and territorial cohesion in Southeast Europe. Section 4 presents the area, aim, objectives and priority axes of the programme, while Section 5 offers an assessment of the implementation and effectiveness of the programme. Section 6 also includes some critical observations and policy proposals.

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Mesolithic heritage in early Neolithic burial rituals and personal adornments

Documenta Praehistorica ◽

10.4312/dp.34.10 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 34 ◽

pp. 129-132 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Eva Lenneis

Keyword(s):

Wild Boar ◽

Special Interest ◽

Western Europe ◽

High Status ◽

Early Neolithic ◽

East Europe ◽

Snail Shell ◽

South East Europe ◽

Burial Rituals

Some burial rituals such as cremation or the use of colorants, especially ochre, have old roots in the preceding Mesolithic and even in the Palaeolithic. The evidence for these old rituals is more dense in central or western Europe than in south east Europe, whence most of the new Neo- lithic ideas came. Among the personal adornments a small amount of snail-shell ornaments, stag tusks, tusks of wild boar and pendants made from antler are of special interest. People wearing these very traditional, old adornments are generally equipped with precious ‘new’ things such as Spondylus, ceramics, adzes etc, and therefore show them as high status people in early Neolithic society.

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