We present a first preliminary report on the Neolithic use of space in southern Euboea in an attempt to approach the way the landscape was populated and socially constructed during the Neolithic times in this part of Greece. To achieve this we use legacy published and unpublished data in combination with newly acquired evidence from surface surveys and pertinent excavations. GIS are employed to combine data recorded in different scales and using alternative observation methods (extensive fieldwalking, tractwalking, gps survey, systematic material collection, excavation) into a normalised and coherent body of information that can be collated with other data sources and explored through formal statistical methods. An initial assessment of the spatial distribution of sites and off-site material in comparison to ground visibility, terrain relief and soil characteristics using exploratory data analysis suggests the existence of large-scale land management consisting of deliberate avoidance of larger habitation on agriculturally significant land. Moreover, the situation in southern Euboea mirrors in many ways the one in the Cyclades, where there is no evidence of permanent and more substantial habitation predating the Late or even Final Neolithic. Finally, there is some tentative indication that ritual use of landscape predates the Neolithic peopling of this part of Greece.
Communities, Landscapes, and Interaction in Neolithic Greece
International conference 29-30 May 2015
