Platia Magoula Zarkou. The Neolithic Period

Alram-Stern, Eva; Gallis, Kostas; Toufexis, Giorgos (Hg.), Platia Magoula Zarkou. The Neolithic Period. Environment, Stratigraphy and Architecture, Chronology, Tools, Figurines and Ornaments. Oriental and European Archaeology. This publication of an excavation presents the Neolithic settlement strata of the tell of Platia Magoula Zarkou, situated in the Peneios plain in Western Thessaly (Greece). The tell is characterized by an uninterrupted settlement sequence which according to the radiocarbon data is dated into the 6th millennium BC and includes the Middle Neolithic and early Late Neolithic of Greece. Geological and geophysical analyses of the area around the tell put the tell in its natural environment. They show that during the Neolithic period this part of the Peneios valley was characterzed by a temporary lake, the settlement being situated at the bank of a narrow gulf. The tell was surrounded by ditches which clearly defined the settlement area. Based on stratigraphy and building development, the radiocarbon data, the tools, the ritual objects, including the well-known house model, as well as the ornaments the cultural change of this period is analysed. The eight building phases show an alteration of built and unbuilt areas. Clear change is seen in the character of the finds from the late Middle Neolithic onwards, which inter alia is evident in the use of raw material as well as the connected acquisition network. The house model is interpreted as a symbol of a buried household, the figurines as its inhabitants being characterized by special roles in this household.