Centre for Albanian Studies

Institute of Archaeology

Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS

OF ALBANIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES
65th Anniversary of Albanian Archaeology
(21-22 November, Tirana 2013)

Botimet Albanologjike
Tiran 2014

Proceedings of the International Congress of Albanian

Archaeological Studies
65th Anniversary of Albanian Archaeology (21-22 November, Tirana 2013)

Editorial board:

Professor Luan Przhita

(Director of Institute of Archaeology),
Professor Ilir Gjipali
(Head of Department of Prehistory),
Professor Gzim Hoxha
(Department of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages),
Associate Professor Belisa Muka
(Head of Department of Antiquity)

English translation and editing:

Nevila Molla

Art Design:
Gjergji Islami and Ana Pekmezi

ISBN: 978-9928-141-28-6

Copyright 2014 by Centre for Albanian Studies and Institute of Archaeology.

All rights reserved. No parts of this volume may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the permission of the
Albanian Institute of Archaeology.

Centre for Albanian Studies

Institute of Archaeology

Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS

OF ALBANIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES
65th Anniversary of Albanian Archaeology
(21-22 November, Tirana 2013)

Botimet Albanologjike
Tiran 2014

Proceedings of the International Congress of Albanian

Archaeological Studies
65th Anniversary of Albanian Archaeology (21-22 November, Tirana 2013)

Editorial board:

Professor Luan Przhita

(Director of Institute of Archaeology),
Professor Ilir Gjipali
(Head of Department of Prehistory),
Professor Gzim Hoxha
(Department of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages),
Associate Professor Belisa Muka
(Head of Department of Antiquity)

English translation and editing:

Nevila Molla

Art Design:
Gjergji Islami and Ana Pekmezi

ISBN: 978-9928-141-28-6

Copyright 2014 by Centre for Albanian Studies and Institute of Archaeology.

All rights reserved. No parts of this volume may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the permission of the
Albanian Institute of Archaeology.

NEW LIGHT ON THE EARLY NEOLITHIC period

IN ALBANIA: THE SOUTHERN ALBANIA NEOLITHIC
ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT (SANAP), 2006-2013
Susan E. ALLEN and Ilir GJIPALI
With contributions by
Panagiotis Karkanas, Armelle Gardeisen, Gal Piqus,
Rudenc Ruka, Georgia Tsartsidou and Eugen Ruzi

The
Southern
Albania
Neolithic
Archaeological Projects (SANAP) regional
reconnaissance of Early Neolithic sites in 2006 and
excavation at Vashtmi in 2010, 2011, and 2013 sheds
new light on the transition to agriculture in southern
Europe. Radiocarbon dates from the site places its
earliest occupation in the mid-seventh millennium
B.C., contemporary with Early Neolithic (EN) sites
in Greece, to its south, making it one of the earliest
farming sites in Europe. Importantly, the intensive
sampling and recovery methodology used during
excavation has yielded exceptionally complete
assemblages of plant and animal remains. As the
first systematically recovered zooarchaeological and
archaeobotanical assemblages from an open-air EN
site in Albania, they provide a first glimpse into the
environmental conditions that early farmers had to
negotiate in this former wetland setting and choices
that people made concerning land management
and resource exploitation. Intensive sampling for
micro- and macro-botanical and faunal remains
reveals a diverse economy that included cerealbased agriculture (emmer, einkorn, and barley),
animal husbandry (sheep/goat, pig, cattle) and both

hunting (e.g. red and roe deer, wild pig, turtle, hare)
and fishing (eel, Cyprinidae sp., etc). The application
of micromorphology to the study of the sites
stratigraphy further clarifies the sites environmental
setting and its post-depositional history.
Introduction
In 1996, Lorenc Bejko1 highlighted the
extent to which theHoxha governments tight central
control of archaeological strategies created barriers
to explaining the origins and processes of the
Albanian Neolithic. On the one hand, adherence to
a culture-historical paradigm in pursuit of Illyrian
connections to the deep past nurtured the largescale excavations conducted by prominent Albanian
prehistorians such as Zhaneta Andrea, Muzafer
Korkuti, Petrika Lera, and Frano Prendi,2 who
together brought to light Albanias rich Neolithic
heritage. On the other hand, political barriers to
incorporating critical advances in archaeological
method and theory that were being widely applied
elsewhere in Europe, particularly concerning
chronometric dating and environmental evidence,
107

Susan E. ALLEN and Ilir GJIPALI

rendered this materially rich dataset devoid of

the most essential data needed for understanding
the process of neolithization and the transition
to farming. Together, these evidentiary gaps
have delayed both our understanding of how the
appearance of the earliest farming communities in
Albania fits with the chronology of adjacent areas,
and basic characterization of the EN economy,
land-use strategies, and human interaction with the
surrounding environment.
The radiocarbon dates needed to anchor the
traditional ceramic-based chronology for Albanian
prehistory are recent phenomena. Although the
technique of radiocarbon (14C) dating was widely
applied on prehistoric sites elsewhere in Europe
beginning in the early 1950s, the first 14C date for
Albania was not reported until 1991, for the Late
Neolithic levels at Maliq.3 Prior to our project,
only four EN dates, from the sites of Konispol4
and Sovjan5 were available from Albania. Similarly,
excavation methods employed at prehistoric sites
within Albania did not include the systematic
recovery or analysis of plant and animal remains,
despite the regular application of environmental
approaches at prehistoric sites in the wider region
under the likes of John Evans, Grahame Clarke,
Eric Higgs, Stuart Piggot, and others. Because
systematically recovered assemblages of plant
and animal remains are essential for addressing
issues of great significance for the establishment
of early farming communities in Europe, such as
the relationships between subsistence behaviors,
environmental change, and site setting, it has until
recently proved impossible to do more than speculate
on these issues for Albanian Neolithic sites.
In order to better contextualize the timing
and nature of the transition to farming in Albania
with that of southern Europe and the Balkans,
we formed the Southern Albania Neolithic
Archaeological Project (SANAP) in 2006. Our
research has focused on the southeastern districts
of Kor, Pogradec and Librazhd, selected because
the density of EN settlement in the Kora basin,
together with the presence of very early EN
radiocarbon dates from Sovjan of ca. 7,000 cal
108

BC,6 point towards the Kora basin as the leading

edge of the agricultural transition in Albania. In
2006, with funding from the Packard Humanities
Institute, we undertook coring at six EN sites and
intensive surface survey at two sites, Podgorie, and
Vashtmi, where we excavated in 2010, 2011 and
2013 with generous support from the National
Science Foundation.7 Our field school has provided
significant training opportunities for Albanian and
American undergraduate and graduate students,
particularly concerning sampling and recovery
methodologies for environmental remains.
The primary goals of SANAP have
been: 1) to systematically collect chronometric,
economic and environmental data, particularly
plant and animal remains, with use of a spatially
intensive sampling strategy;
2) to
provide
training
xopportunities for Albanian and
American undergraduate and graduate students
in interdisciplinary archaeological methods,
with particular emphasis on the sampling and
recovery of environmental remains; and 3) to test
the prediction of van Andel and Runnels8 that
early farmers preferentially selected well-watered
alluvial locations at wetland edges for their earliest
settlements in the region, as supported by data from
the Sperchios River valley in northern Greece.
Background: 2006 coring, survey, and
emergent chronology

In 2006, we extracted cores from five EN
sites (Rajc, Xhumba, Proger, Podgorie, Vashtmi)
and conducted intensive surface survey at Podgorie
and Vashtmi to assess their potential for future
reinvestigation. Coring provided new evidence for
the shifting hydrological settings of Podgorie and
Vashtmi, as well as new materials for radiocarbon
dating from both sites. Although we were unable
to core at Pogradec due to the emplacement
of a foundation for a multi-storey structure, we
conducted a small rescue operation on exposed
stratigraphic profiles in order to extract materials for
dating and associated ceramic sherds from the base
of the sequence below the level of excavation by
Lera and Gjipali in 2005. The recovered ceramics

NEW LIGHT ON THE EARLY NEOLITHIC period IN ALBANIA: THE SOUTHERN

ALBANIA NEOLITHIC ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT (SANAP), 2006-2013

were overwhelmingly characterized by barbotine

surfaces, similar to those reported by Gjipali for
Rajc and Rrashtan.9
In total, we obtained seven new dates from
three sites (Podgorie, Pogradec, and Vashtmi), as
shown in Table 1 together with dates for Konispol
and Sovjan. If we take the earliest date of 9,240
8,790 cal BC at 2 from Vashtmi core 2 (Beta253237) out of consideration due to its significant
deviation from other reported dates, it appears that
Sovjan and Vashtmi are among the first wave of
EN sites that were occupied during the first half
of the seventh millennium BC. A second wave of
sites is represented by sites such as Pogradec and
Podgorie, which are not occupied until 6,000 cal
BC or later. The strong ceramic parallels between
Rajc and Podgorie suggest that Rajc should also
be placed within the second wave group and that a
preponderance of Barbotine ceramics is indicative
of a later EN settlement date.
In addition to its early dating, we selected
Vashtmi as a key site for assessing the transition to
the EN due to three additional reasons. First, the
fact that all prehistoric material recovered in our
survey of the site dated to the EN suggested minimal
overburden and disturbance from later periods.

Second, the site and its setting are directly relevant

to our overarching research question concerning the
role of wetlands in shaping settlement preferences
for early farmers. The site is located at the southern
edge of the former Lake Maliq along the course
of the Devoll River in an area with several feeder
springs, and thus is in a location predicted as
favorable in the Runnels and Van Andel model.
Third, and perhaps most importantly, the location
of Vashtmi in close proximity to Kora and the
main road between Kora and Pogradec highlight
the potential of development activity as a threat to
the sites long-term preservation.
Renewed excavation at Vashtmi
The site of Vashtmi, approximately 5km
north of Kora, was discovered by Lera in 1972
and excavated by Korkuti in 1973.10 Although he
exposed an area of 225m2 reported to contain not
only the remains of wattle and daub structures,
but also abundant carbonized plant material and
animal bones,11 these materials were not collected
for analysis. Thus, a key goal of our research has
been to supplement earlier excavation data with
environmental and chronological information
recovered through renewed excavation at this
important site.

Tab. I. EN Radiocarbon
dates from SANAP cores
(Podgorie, Pogradec,
Vashtmi), Konispol, and
Sovjan.
109

Susan E. ALLEN and Ilir GJIPALI

Fig. 1. Location of areas of survey and excavation at Vashtmi,

1974, 2010, 2011, 2013. Prepared by J. Glaubius.

In our three seasons of excavation (2010,

2011, 2013), we have opened and excavated 16
2x2m trenches to the north and south of the
road leading eastward into the modern village of
Vashtmi (Fig. 1).
We established our excavation grid on the
basis of our 10x10m survey, with four 2x2m squares
with 0.5m baulks on the North and East within each
10x10 m square.
Given our goal of intensive sampling for and
recovery of environmental remains, we dry-screened
all excavated material below the topsoil layer with
a inch (0.06m) mesh, except for wet sediments,
which were wet-sieved with the same screens. Our
spatially-intensive sampling protocol for flotation
consisted of an overall blanket sampling strategy,
with the collection of sediment from each EU using
a pinch-sampling method, which averages material
110

across the entire EU. We used a total station to

record X, Y, and Z coordinates for the area of each
excavation unit (EU) within the squares, as well
as the precise location of flotation, radiocarbon,
micromorphological, phytolith, and pollen samples.

The stratigraphy of the site (Fig. 2) is
broadly characterized by three distinct stratigraphic
units. From top to bottom, these are Strata I, II, and
III. Stratum I consists of a dark yellowish-brown
(10YR 4/4) silty clay loam modern plow zone layer
that varies between 0.34 and 0.63m in thickness
and has an abrupt contact with the underlying layer.
This stratum is characterized by the occasional
occurrence of caliche nodules and extensive root
penetration by crop plants. Stratum II consists of
a compact 0.32 to 0.78m thick black to very dark
brown (7.5 YR 2.5/1 to 10YR 2/2) silty clay loam
palaeosol with abundant stones (predominately
limestone cobbles ranging between 0.04 and 0.11m),
artifacts (predominately ceramics, chipped stone,

NEW LIGHT ON THE EARLY NEOLITHIC period IN ALBANIA: THE SOUTHERN

ALBANIA NEOLITHIC ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT (SANAP), 2006-2013

and architectural clay), bone, and charcoal that

grades to a more coarse texture toward its base, with
preserved pit and occasionally posthole features that
are cut into the underlying deposit.
As documented through micromorphological
studies,12 the upper level of Stratum II shows
evidence of reworking and redeposition, whereas
the lower level preserves intact cultural deposits,
particularly when these are cut into Stratum III.13
Stratum III consists of a light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3)
sterile silty clay alluvial substrate with occasional
small pieces of angular gravel and reduction
zones with manganese nodules. Stratum III shows
pedogenic features that are consistent with a stable
but seasonally waterlogged environment14 with
frequent flooding.
Northern sector
In 2010, we focused much of our attention on
rescue excavation within the footprint of a modern

house, the illegal construction of which began in

2007. With permission from the landowner, we
were allowed to excavate two 2 x 2m trenches (B5p
and C5m) within the foundation footprint (Fig.3).
In these two squares, intact cultural deposits were
encountered at 0.5 to 0.6m below the surface and
were characterized by a black, clay loam sediment
with many large fragments of EN pottery, some
large bone fragments, and architectural clay with
reed and wood impressions. Architecture in the
northern sector consists of small (<1m diameter) pit
features with associated postholes.
In B5p, we encountered a circular gravelfilled pit (Locus 3), with ten postholes situated to its
northeast and southwest (Fig. 3). Locus 3 is a conical
pit nearly one meter in depth (0.923m) that was
filled with several distinct lenses of pebble gravel
and very few artifacts, primarily large fragments
of daub (architectural clay), with only a few
lithics, sherds, and bone fragments. Radiocarbon
dates of organic-rich sediment (Beta-287583) and

Fig. 2. Representative
stratigraphic sequence at
Vashtmi visible in the west
profile of I14b.

I
Caliche

II
Teeth

Charcoal

Charcoal

Architectural
Clay

III

Dark Patches

Architectural Clay
Stone
Posthole

SANAP 2011
Trench: I14b West Profile
Date: 8/26/11
Artist: Susan Allen
Scale:
0m

Gravel
Ceramic
Bone
.5

111

Susan E. ALLEN and Ilir GJIPALI

Fig. 3. Locus 3 and

surrounding postholes in
B5p during excavation.

burned bone (Beta-287584) from the pit range

between 5,300 and 5,780 cal BC. These dates are
approximately 1,000 years more recent than dates
from the southern sector, suggesting a later use of
the northern part of the site.
Phytolith samples15 from the pit show an
overall rarity of phytoliths from cereal cultivars.
Despite this general pattern, a sample from within
an ashy patch of a large fragment of burned
daub was especially rich in cereal phytoliths. This
sample produced approximately 491,000 Hordeum
sp. (barley) husk phytoliths per gram of sediment
and strongly suggests the use of barley straw as an
admixture in daub.

circular pit (Locus 5) that was 0.53m deep and 0.83m

in diameter. The pit extended into the north profile
of the square and had a flat base. The upper fill of
the pit contained a concentration of bone, including
part of a Bos taurus (cow) skull and horn. Ceramics
were primarily those from large monochrome
vessels (red, brown, gray) produced from medium
to very coarse fabrics, typically with firing clouds.
A large flotation sample (SS38) collected from
above a lens of sterile clay separating the upper and
lower deposits of the pit included a single Triticum
dicoccum (emmer wheat) grain and a small quantity
of charcoal that will be identified in the next phase
of analysis.16

Micromorphology samples from Locus

3 point to deposition of the pebble gravel fill by
relatively high-energy flowing water. What seems
likely is that this small-scale, ephemeral structure
represents of some kind of short-term, seasonal
activity. After abandonment, the pit was eventually
flooded and filled with a series of gravel deposits
and architectural destruction debris.

Phytolith samples from the pit show very low

numbers of phytoliths, a pattern that correlates with
the paucity of macrobotanical remains recovered
from the pit. Examples of Cyperaceae (sedge)
phytoliths recovered from the interior and exterior of
the pit suggesting the presence of a wet locality in the
vicinity.17 Phytoliths of cultivars were extremely rare
in all samples and may point to a non-agricultural
use of the pit.18The micromorphology block (VAS
130) from this pit indicates the dumping of ashy
admixtures in its lowest level, with later siltation

In square C5m, just east of B5p, at a depth

of 1.2m (824.090 masl), we discovered a smaller
112

NEW LIGHT ON THE EARLY NEOLITHIC period IN ALBANIA: THE SOUTHERN

ALBANIA NEOLITHIC ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT (SANAP), 2006-2013

Fig. 4. Excavated areas

in the southern sector at
Vashtmi. Map prepared
by J. Glaubius.

deposits that are suggestive of post-abandonment

flooding as in Locus 3 in B5p.19 On the whole, the
pit and its associated superstructure, indicated by
the surrounding postholes and few fragments of
architectural clay, seem small-scale and ephemeral
in nature, likely representing a short-term activity.
Southern sector
This area was targeted for excavation
because of both its proximity to the area previously
excavated by Korkuti and its high density of surface
materials recorded during our survey in 2006. In
total, we opened 9 squares in this area of the site (Fig.
4). Architectural remains in Areas H and J parallel
those found in the northern sector and consist
primarily of small pit features often associated with
postholes. An extensive trash dump was also found
in Square H13k.
In Square H13p, another pit (Locus 30)
associated with six small postholes was discovered.
The overlying fill contained a nearly complete profile
of a large Red Monochrome jar. The upper part of

the pit contained small (<0.01m), angular limestone

cobbles, daub fragments with reed impressions,
wood charcoal, mammal bone, and a well preserved
bone fishhook, the earliest known from Albania
(Fig. 5).
In H13k, at approximately 1m below the
modern surface, we discovered a semi-circular arc of
red limestone that was surrounded by charcoal-rich
fill (Fig. 6) within a large (>2.0m in diameter) pit cut
into Stratum III. Although we had hoped initially
that this was an in situ oven or similar architectural
feature, upon excavation it was revealed that the
stone arc lay entirely within the bone and artifactrich fill of the midden deposit. Thus, the arc is better
understood as part of a dump or leveling deposit.
The micromorphological sample from H13k
(VAS 125) collected from Locus 16 (the oven
interior) supports this interpretation, as it shows
features consistent with the dumping of burned
remains.20Large fragments of corner pieces of
architectural clay found in this area suggest the
presence of a rectilinear wattle-and-daub structure
in the vicinity at one time.
113

Susan E. ALLEN and Ilir GJIPALI

Fig.5. Square H13p, Locus 30 and associated

postholes, from south.
Four radiocarbon dates on wood charcoal
from the dumped fill date the deposit securely to
the mid-seventh millennium BC, contemporary
with the earliest EN sites in northern Greece. The
four dates range fromcal BC 6,600 cal BC 6,210
at the 2-sigma range. Samples were collected from
boththe interior of the red limestone arc (Locus 15,
Beta-28751 and Beta 28752) and the surrounding
fill, designated as Locus 17 (Beta-28579 and Beta287580).
Within the dumped fill of Locus 15/17, we
recovered an abundance of environmental data due
to our intensive screening and flotation sampling
protocol. Among the macrobotanical remains, wood
charcoal of Quercus sp. (oak, or dushk) is especially
abundant, suggesting the abundance of mixed oak
forest in the region, likely as a component of riparian
woodlands. Seeds and spikelet forks of the cultivated
114

cereals einkorn (Triticum monococcum) and emmer (T.

dicoccum) wheat, and barley, as well as lentils, have also
been recovered from this deposit. Phytolith samples
from this area show high concentrations of barley
phytoliths (mostly from barley husks).21 Together,
these materials may suggest cereal processing in this
area of the site.
The mammal bone assemblage shows
a high degree of fragmentation and splintering.
Domesticates recovered include sheep (Ovisaries),
goat (Capra hircus), pig (Sus), and cattle, while wild
taxa include tortoise (Lepus europaeus), badger or
marten, boar (Sus scrofa), hare, red deer (Cervus
elaphus), and dog or fox (Canis familiaris or Vulpes
vulpes).22 Our intensive sampling also produced

NEW LIGHT ON THE EARLY NEOLITHIC period IN ALBANIA: THE SOUTHERN

ALBANIA NEOLITHIC ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT (SANAP), 2006-2013

EU 19

Fig. 6. Square H13k

showing limestone arc and
surrounding midden fill.

L24
Bot22/Top24

L16

EU 21

L23

L4
EU 23
Clay
Architectural Clay
Limestone
Stone

SANAP 2011
Trench: H13k Locus 16/23/24
Date: 8/16/11
Artist: K. Foreste and M. Crusham
Scale:
0m

Posthole
Gravel
Ceramic
.5

abundant fish remains that include specimens of

eel, members of the Carp (Cyprinidae) family, and
trout.23 Of importance here is the adaptation of
these different taxa to different habitats, suggesting
the exploitation of deepwater, slow-moving streams
and marshes, and fast-moving rivers and streams.
Completeness of floral and faunal
assemblages

Due to our dry- or wet-screening of all
excavated deposits with a 0.06m (1/4 inch) mesh,
our spatially-intensive sampling strategy for wetsieving and flotation, our use of small mesh sizes
for the light and heavy fractions of the latter, and
targeted use of phytolith sampling, our floral and
faunal assemblages are exceptionally complete in
their representation of recoverable plant and animal

Bone

remains. The representativeness of the remains of

tortoises, microfauna and avifauna are especially
affected by the use of blanket sampling (Fig. 7).
The use of flotation produces increases of between
one-and-a-half and six times the number of
remains of fauna in these categories as compared
with trench-collected bone alone.

Of equal importance is the complete and careful
sorting of heavy fraction and the use of a small mesh
size (1mm) for heavy fraction. As shown in (Fig. 8),
cranial and vertebral elements of eel and Cyprinidae
remains are almost exclusively recovered from the
heavy fraction of sediment samples for flotation and
wet-sieving.
Similarly, the collection of wood charcoal through
flotation rather than cherry-picking the deposit for
115

Susan E. ALLEN and Ilir GJIPALI

Fig. 7. Comparison of quantities of trenchcollected and flotation-recovered faunal

remains for different categories of fauna.
Chart based on data from Gardeisen and
Piqus (2013).
large fragments ensures that the relative frequency
of different taxa reflects their relative abundance
in the deposit rather than taxonomic differences in
fragmentation. Thus far, wood from the Salix spp.
genus (willows) and Quercus spp. genus (oaks) has
been recovered, along with fragments of Phragmites
sp. (common reed) stems. Seed remains include
domesticated einkorn, barley, and lentils, as well as
wild sedges and rushes.
Lithic, ceramic, and bone tool assemblages

The lithic assemblage24 is overwhelmingly
characterized by blades and bladelets produced
almost exclusively from chert and radiolarite, with
more limited use of quartzite. Forms such as crested

blades and trapezes are also noted within the

assemblage.

The ceramic assemblage25 is dominated
by open forms with red and brown monochrome
surfaces (RM) and medium-coarse fabrics, often
with fire-clouded surfaces. In addition, white-onred and red-on-white painted, incised, barbotine,
and impressed (impresso) surface treatments are
also present in the assemblage, but in low quantity.
Ruzis analysis of RM ceramics from Vashtmi and
Podgorie using Laser Ablation Inductively-Coupled
Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)26 demonstrates
the use of different clays and clay recipes between
the two sites. Comparison with clay samples that
we collected from around the Kora basin shows
Vashtmi potters use of locally available clays that
Fig. 8. Representation of selected fish
remains (Cyprinidae cranial and vertebral
elements and Anguila anguila vertebral
elements).

116

NEW LIGHT ON THE EARLY NEOLITHIC period IN ALBANIA: THE SOUTHERN

ALBANIA NEOLITHIC ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT (SANAP), 2006-2013

include the clay deposit in Stratum III.

The bone tool assemblage includes several
textile and hide working tools (awls, needles, and
shuttles), a bone fishhook, and rubbing or burnishing
tools. Inventory and analysis of these items will
continue as faunal materials are studied.
Discussion and Conclusions
Our renewed research at Vashtmi provides
a basis for contextualizing the EN of southern
Albania within a continental narrative. Although
we are still continuing materials analysis, our
preliminary results already contribute significantly
to clarifying the timing, spatial trajectory, and
ecological dimensions of the transition to agriculture
in Albania.In addition to the Vashtmi core dates
that place it within the first wave of settlements
in the Kora basin, our excavation has produced
a series of stratified calibrated radiocarbon dates
that cluster around cal 6,400 BC and confirm its
chronological position along the leading edge of
agricultural settlers in southern Europe.Moreover,
dates from Vashtmi and other EN sites in southern
Albania support a model of selective settlement that
defies a strictly directional pattern of expansion and
may instead have been based on a preference for
wetland settings.
The temporary nature and apparent small
scale ofthe recovered structures likely points toward
ephemeral activities that likely included nonagricultural tasks in addition to activities related
to plant and animal husbandry. Differences in date
between the northern and southern sector of the
site suggest a shifting settlement pattern and the
presence of horizontal stratigraphy, perhaps related
to the shifting hydrological pattern documented
through micromorphology.
The mixed pattern of crop-animal
husbandry from initial occupation and the
exploitation of several kinds of habitats, as
documented by the faunal remains, suggests that
the settlers of Vashtmi were seasoned farmers
already familiar with similar landscapes. All plant
and animal domesticates recovered from the site
are Near Eastern in origin and lack local wild
progenitors, and neither a Mesolithic nor a pre-

domestication Neolithic phase is represented at

the site. Despite this evidence for the settlement of
established farmers in a new location, it is important
to note that agriculture was only one part of the
subsistence economy, which also included hunting,
fishing, and the gathering of wild plant resources.
Although analysis of plant and animal remains is
ongoing, it seems likely that the herding of sheep
and goats was of greater importance than plant
husbandry. Further analysis of the sites stratigraphy
and recovered materials will allow us to further test
and refine these hypotheses.
notes
1
Bejko 1996.
2
Andrea 1983; Korkuti 1982, 1983a, 1983b,
1995; Lera 1971, 1979, 1983; Prendi 1976, 1982, 1990.
3 Guilaine and Prendi 1991:575.
4 Petruso et al. 1994.
5 Touchais et al. 2008.
6 Touchais 2002.
7
Award number BCS 0917960.
8
Van Andel and Runnels 1995.
9 Gjipali 1997, 1999.
10
Korkuti 1983.
11 Ibid.
12
All micromorphological sampling and analysis
was undertaken by Panagiotis Karkanas, Ephorate of
Speleology and Palaeoanthropology, Greece.
13
Karkanas 2013.
14
Ibid.
15
Phytolith analysis was undertaken by
Georgia Tsartsidou, Ephorate of Speleology and
Palaeoanthropology, Greece.
16
Analysis of plant macroremains has been
undertaken by Susan E. Allen with assistance from Kassi
Bailey, Jean N. Berkebile, Katherine Mayhaus, Kelly Wells,
and Kathleen M. Forste in the Mediterranean Ecosystem
Dynamics and Archaeology (MEDArch) laboratory at the
University of Cincinnati.
17
Tsartsidou 2011.
18
Ibid.
19
Karkanas 2011.
20
Ibid.
21
Supra, n. 15.
22
Armelle Gardeisen (CNRS, Montpellir, France)
117

Korkuti 1980

M. Korkuti, Stacioni prehistoriki Vlushs dhe

rndsia e zbulimit t tij. Zbulimet arkeologjike n

Skrapar (1980):24-29.
Korkuti 1982

M. Korkuti, Raport mbi rezultatet e grmimeve

t vitit 1982 n Podgorie: Sectori C (1982).

Unpublished manuscript, archived in Albanian

Institute for Archaeology.
Korkuti 1983
M. Korkuti 1983/a. Vendbanimi neolitik i

Kolshit, Iliria 13 (2):11-75. M. Korkuti 1983/b.

Vashtmia nj vendbanim i neolitit t hershm,

Iliria 12 (2):91-146.
Korkuti 1995

M. Korkuti, Neolithikum und Chalkolithikumim

Albanien, Mainz: Verlag Phillip von Zabern.
Lera 1971

P. Lera, Gjurm t reja t lashtsis n rrethin e

Kors, Monumentet 1:177-183.
Lera 1979
Bibliography

P. Lera, Vendbanimi prehistorik i Podgories,
Andrea 1983

Almanak Kora 1979:143-153.

Zh. Andrea, Archaeology in Albania 1973-1983,
Lera 1983

Arch. Reports 30 (1983-1984):102-119.

P. Lera, Dy vendbanime prehistorike n
Bejko 1996

Podgorie, Iliria 13 (1):51-77.

L.Bejko, Drejt nj shpjegimi t neolitit Shqiptar,
Petruso et al.1994

Arkeologjia 4:11-24.

Petruso, K. M., Ellwood, B. M., Harrold,
Gardeisen, Piques 2013

F. B. and Korkuti, M.1994. Radiocarbon and

A. Gardeisen, and G. Piques SANAP, Vashtmi

Archaeomagnetic Dates from Konispol Cave,

Faunal Studies: Preliminary Report. Internal

Albania, Antiquity 68:335-339.

SANAP report.
Prendi 1976

Gjipali 1999

F. Prendi, Neoliti dhe Eneoliti n Shqipri, Iliria
I. Gjipali, Prmbajtja dhe prkatsia kulturore
6:21-99.
kronologjike e vendbanimit neolitik t Rajcs
Prendi 1972
(Rajc II), Iliria 29/1:29-77.

F. Prendi, The Prehistory of Albania. In The
Gjipali 1997
Prehistory of the Balkans, the Middle East, and

I. Gjipali, Vendbanimi neolitik i Rajcs (Rajc I),

the Aegean World, Tenth to Eighth Centuries,

Iliria 27/1:23-56.

B.C. (Cambridge Ancient History) III(1). Edited
Karkanas 2013

by J. Boardman, I.E.S. Edwards, N.G.L.

P. Karkanas, Micromorphological Study of

Hammond, and E. Sollberger, pp. 187-

Samples from Vashtmi Site, Field Season 2011.

231. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress.

Internal SANAP report.
Prendi 1990
Karkanas 2011

F. Prendi, Le Nolithique ancien en Albanie,

P. Karkanas, Micromorphological Study of

Germania 68(2):399-426.

Samples from Vashtmi Site, Field Season 2010.
Ruzi 2013

Internal SANAP report.

E. Ruzi, Investigating Compositional Variability
conducted analysis of mammalian fauna at the Institute of
Archaeology in Tirana.
23
Gal Piqus (CNRS, Montpellir, France)
conducted analysis of ichthyofauna in Kora, at the
Institute of Archaeology in Tirana, and at CNRS in
Montpellir.
24
Preliminary analysis of the lithic assemblage
has been undertaken by Rudenc Ruka (Institute of
Archaeology, Tirana). Further analysis will be completed
in collaboration with Georgia Kourtessi-Philippakis
(University of Athens).
25
Ilirjan Gjipali, Susan Allen and Eugen Ruzi, have
contributed to the ceramic analysis. Eugen Ruzi conducted
ceramic characterization analyses and Edlira Andoni
will complete the typological analysis of the ceramic
assemblage.
26
Ruzi 2013.

118

NEW LIGHT ON THE EARLY NEOLITHIC period IN ALBANIA: THE SOUTHERN

ALBANIA NEOLITHIC ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT (SANAP), 2006-2013

among Ceramics from Kora Region Albania,

Chronika 3:1-15.
Touchais 2002

G.Touchais, Mission Archologique Franco-

Albanaise du Bassin de Kor: Rapport Sur la

Campagne de 2002. C.N.R.S, UMR 7041

Archologies et Sciences de l'Antiquit -

Universit de Paris I - cole franaise d'Athnes.
Tsartsidou 2012

G.Tsartsidou, Vashtmi Phytolith Analysis, 2011

Field Season. Internal SANAP report.
Tsartsidou 2011

G.Tsartsidou, Vashtmi Phytolith Analysis, 2010

Field Season. Internal SANAP report
Andel, Runnels 1995
T. Van Andel, and Runnels, C, The Earliest

Farmers in Europe, Antiquity 62:481-500.

119