A multiscalar model for the Neolithic Strymon

There are geographic regions in south-eastern Europe which have been continuously overlooked by mainstream Anglophone prehistoric discourse. This had been at the basis of an unavoidably patchy understanding of the mechanism of the European Neolithic as a whole. My work targets the lack in understanding of a little-known area in the Southern Balkans. This thesis is about the Neolithic of the Strymon River which flows from Bulgaria into Greece. Hailed as a highway or incoming neolithization groups, the Neolithic of the river’s catchment is little-known, despite the richness of its material and settlement records. The thesis presents material previously unavailable to English-speaking audiences and an original perspective on the Neolithic of south-eastern Europe. It is a work which aims to avoid the separation of the river’s catchment based on national borders. The analytical model which this work proposes is of a mutliscalar nature, incorporating both temporal and spatial scales, in an attempt at creating a holistic understanding of a prehistoric area. The multiscalar model finds its roots in the Annales theoretical approach and proposes as a viable alternative to choosing a singular scale on which to focus analysis and interpretation. Working at large, medium and small scales of analysis, this work establishes a settlement network pattern for the entirety of the Neolithic, a settlement biography for two examples of Strymon Neolithic sites, and finally attempts viewing the everyday prehistoric narrative from an innovative point of view. The thesis is successful in narrating the prehistory of the river as a singular geographic unit, disregarding the limitations of national borders. The outcome reveals an unexpected pattern of settlement establishment along the Strymon catchment. Instead of the normative view that the river was populated from its southernmost areas and northwards, the data evidences a much different case