Three successive waves of Neolithisation: LBK development in Transdanubia

Abstract

Due to the latest research, the LBK formation in Transdanubia must have involved an essentially Mesolithic subsistence, complemented by certain elements of the Neolithic package brought here by migrant late Star≠evo groups. Many small sites were located in marshy areas, unsuitable for food production as a basis of livelihood. The currently available evidence suggests that there was a 4–5 generations long period, when it was not self-evident that the sedentary way of life would be fully accepted and adopted. During the ensuing earlier LBK period, the culture spread across the entire area of Transdanubia and a few settlements were even established on the left Danube bank, still, no substantial changes can be noted in the density of the settlement network and the layout of the settlements. In sharp contrast to the preceding period, the Keszthely and Notenkopf phases saw the settlement of larger communities on arable loess plateaus and the adoption an economy based exclusively on farming. New evidence from 53rd century BC sites such as Balatonszárszó-Kis-erdei-dűlő reflects fundamental changes in the size and layout of settlements, as well as in subsistence strategies.