Late Neolithic/Late Copper Age 3500–2200 BC

Abstract

By the beginning of the Late Neolithic/Late Copper Age, most of Europe was occupied by farmers. Only the coniferous and tundra areas of northern Europe remained inhabited by hunters and gatherers. In some areas politically complex societies already existed. However, there is a discontinuity in some aspects of the archaeological record after 3500–3000 years of farming societies in Europe; perhaps this reflects crises or major changes at the end of the “Old Neolithic” or “Old Europe.” Over the years archaeologists have concentrated on origin problems: farming, political complexity, or this or that culture. The endings of things have received less attention. In southeastern Europe, for example, anthropomorphic clay figurines disappeared, large settlements were abandoned, many were destroyed by fire, and burial mounds appeared. This affected northern Bulgaria and southern Romania first, around 3800 BC.