This study presents the provenance analysis of obsidian artefacts excavated from Toyretepe, a Neolithic site located in the Ganja-Gazakh plain of western Azerbaijan. In this study, we sourced 50 obsidian artefacts from the 1962 excavations using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF). The results indicate that the majority of the obsidian originated from sources in present-day Armenia and Georgia. Simultaneously, approximately one-quarter of the samples were found to originate from sources in northeastern Turkey, over 350 km away. These findings are consistent with the results obtained from the Göytepe site, which dates to the mid-sixth millennium BCE. However, at Göytepe, a chronological shift has been observed: the lower layers are dominated by obsidian from northeastern Turkey, while the upper layers indicate a shift toward Armenian and Georgian sources. Despite the lack of stratigraphic information for the Toyretepe samples, it is likely that the analyzed materials consist mainly of the late phase.
The period between 6200–4500 cal BC is a time of significant socio-economic and technological changes in the western Balkans. The spread of farming practices also triggered a series of changes in stone tool production. This paper explores intra- and inter-site variability in Neolithic lithic technology across the region, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The results show that technology and typology remained relatively consistent, while the management of raw materials reveals distinct regional differences in both the Early and Late Neolithic. Geographical patterns of lithic distribution and access to resources further highlight regional and inter-regional connections, offering insights into community interactions and mobility.
This report suggests that ongoing debates over Levantine Early Iron Age chronology and the dating of the Santorini eruption largely arise from Bayesian overprecision, as defined by Peter Steier and Werner Rom (2000). In both cases, a chronological offset of about 60 years is traced to inappropriate calibration curve shape correction. We further show that distortions in Bayesian summed probability distributions (SPDs) – including spikes, artificial peaks, and systematic shifts – share the same cause. These issues cast serious doubt on the suitability of Bayesian SPDs for dates-as-data demographic analyses, supporting Timothy J. Heaton et al. (2025), whose concerns we share, though noting that such distortions do not occur in CalPal-generated SPDs. The SPD-based barcode seriation (BS) method avoids overprecision-caused distortions and automatically corrects for archaeological sampling bias.
The paper presents archaeological evidence of long-distance connections between the Early Bronze Age cultures of Central and Southeastern Europe with the Babyne Cultural Circle, which represents the transitional period between the Middle and Late Bronze Ages in southern Eastern Europe. These evident connections are demonstrated by only one of the three Babyne cultures – the Dnipro-Don Babyne culture (DDBC). They are recorded in the gender opposition in the burial ritual, as well as in the specific complex of jewellery and costume elements, which are atypical for Eastern Europe. The correlation of the burial rite and inventory characteristics common to the DDBC and the cultures/groups of the Carpathian–Danubian EBA allowed us to determine the list of the most likely ‘cultural donors’ who could have participated in the genesis of the DDBC – Mureş, Unterwölbling, Straubing, Únĕtice. A complex of parallels in material culture and 14C dates allows synchronizing the early DDBC with the Br A1b period (modified Reinecke’s scheme).
A sample of over 1300 Neolithic pottery vessels from 59 archaeological sites in southern Spain is analysed by means of a systematic methodological protocol developed for the purpose of assessing the structure of morphological diversity. Geometric morphometrics and computational methods of classification are applied in order to identify the fundamental groups and classes, and explore the three fundamental forces – design, function and tradition – behind the formal structure of Neolithic pottery assemblages. The results suggest a high level of design standardization based on a strong underlying production tradition, as well as regional variations in the western confines of the Mediterranean.
