Models and scenarios of the Neolithic in Central Europe

The Neolithic in Central Europe can no longer be characterised as comprising a compact population of a single society in which organisations and subsistence strategies were homogeneous. Despite the apparent uniformity of the pottery, the period was characterised by a mosaic of small communities that differed in both economic and social organisation for almost two millennia. These genetically diverse communities inhabited geographical spaces of varying size, from regions to micro-regions to single settlements. The polymorphous modes of exploiting natural resources ensured successful long-term survival, even when the results of the emerging farming economy were uncertain and unreliable in some groups.Srednjeevropskega neolitika ni več mogoče povezovati z enovito populacijo in homogeno organizirano družbo z enotno strategijo preživetja. Kljub navidezni uniformnosti lončarskih produkcij, so se v času skoraj dveh tisočletji oblikovale majhne skupnostih, ki so se razlikovale tako v družbeni ureditvi kot gospodarskih strategijah. Genetsko različne skupine so bile naseljene v prostorih različnih velikosti, od regije in mikro regije do posameznega naselja. Mnogolična izraba naravnih virov je zagotavljala dolgoročno preživetje, tudi takrat, ko so bili učinki razvijajočega se kmetovanja negotovi