Pits, houses and rondels: New results on the Lengyel habitation in the Žitava Valley, Southwestern Slovakia

Abstract

Abstract As an intensely debated period, the transition from the LBK to post-LBK societies remains in the centre of attention of researchers dealing with the Early Neolithic in Central Europe. The partly drastic change of the settlement systems, regarding both the patterns and organisation, is indeed an interesting subject and raises questions about the social and economic processes and changes that may have accompanied this development. With this contribution, we present new results from extensive survey activities and excavations of Lengyel sites in the Žitava Valley, Southwestern Slovakia. Most notably, the excavation at the previously unknown circular enclosure of Podhájska, built around 4800 calBCE, yielded new data on various aspects of life in Lengyel contexts. Supplemented by geophysical prospections of other rondel and settlement sites, we now begin to understand the transition process from the Early Neolithic to later periods in this regional context. Varying settlement patterns within this small regional context, as well as new forms to express and maintain communality for the dispersed hamlets during the Lengyel period are remarkable signs for societal reorganisation and an adaption to altered needs of the communities involved.