Tell communities and wetlands in Neolithic Pelagonia, Republic of Macedonia

Abstract

Pelagonia is the biggest valley in the Republic of Macedonia, positioned in its mountainous southwestern area. It was first inhabited around 6000 BC by agricultural societies, which established the tell settlements in the region. Their villages were densely concentrated in several regional centres located near wetlands and rivers. These farming communities produced a variety of ceramic household items with pronounced features of a distinct identity, such as white painted pottery, anthropomorphic house models, figurines, tablets and stamps. The particular landscape and isolated network of Early Neolithic tell societies in Pelagonia remained unaffected until the Late Neolithic, which was an outcome of the idiosyncratic and strong relationship between the environment, dwellings and human body. Therefore, the paper discusses the first farming communities in Pelagonia, as well as the process of how identity was manifested in regard to the wetland environment and networks.