Models and scenarios of the Neolithic in Central Europe

Abstract

The Neolithic in Central Europe can no longer be characterised as comprising a compact population of a single society in which organisations and subsistence strategies were homogeneous. Despite the apparent uniformity of the pottery, the period was characterised by a mosaic of small communities that differed in both economic and social organisation for almost two millennia. These genetically diverse communities inhabited geographical spaces of varying size, from regions to micro-regions to single settlements. The polymorphous modes of exploiting natural resources ensured successful long-term survival, even when the results of the emerging farming economy were uncertain and unreliable in some groups.