tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023805782808412230.post6535167374578461940..comments2024-03-09T15:46:44.638+01:00Comments on For what they were... we are: Claim oldest European 'city' in BulgariaMajuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12369840391933337204noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023805782808412230.post-4139981026956261752014-05-01T16:52:35.258+02:002014-05-01T16:52:35.258+02:00Hey! Just want to say a big thank you. I'm wri...Hey! Just want to say a big thank you. I'm writing an essay about the importance of trade goods in neolithic settlements for my Archaeology BA and was looking for a site specifically related to salt production. So thanks a lot for bringing this to my attention!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04414289374364788934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023805782808412230.post-68780922782220211032012-10-15T11:25:08.992+02:002012-10-15T11:25:08.992+02:00That's N.J.G. Pounds himself but 5 people per ...That's N.J.G. Pounds himself but 5 people per household it is a standard for "translation" of the Medieval homes' figures into approx. inhabitants in other authors also. <br /><br />Now, that you or Seed think otherwise, I'm fine with it, specially if well documented. <br /><br />Notice anyhow that there were also households of bachelor people, couples without children, older people whose children had mostly established themselves apart... and all them counted as fiscal homes. But if you think 7 is a better figure, I don't feel able to discuss it. Majuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12369840391933337204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023805782808412230.post-91314885388193058042012-10-15T09:48:58.021+02:002012-10-15T09:48:58.021+02:00I'm curious about the source of the estimate o...I'm curious about the source of the estimate of household size to reach the 1000/220 homes estimate.<br /><br />I've been reading Albion's Seed, which is mostly a history of 18th century early colonial North America, and on of the interesting statistical tidbits it provides is that average household size was robustly 7 people across the Americas even though there were very different numbers of children of the householding couple in different regions (ranging from a bit more than two all of the way to five).<br /><br />Given that 18th century colonial America (which was 90%+ farmers with few large cities in most regions) had demographics (e.g. life expectency and child mortality rates) much closer to Neolithic era farming life than any other reliable data set at my disposal, I wondered is average household size might be closer to seven than four in the early Neolithic.<br /><br />Obviously, there are all sorts of reasons that the facts could be different, but I don't really know what data we do have on household size in the Neolithic or for that matter, on any pre-Roman period where statistical record keeping improves (although I suppose that some estimate of household size could be teased out of early copper and Bronze age ration accounts, some of the very earliest known writing).andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08172964121659914379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023805782808412230.post-77147618704941283512012-10-12T20:47:17.686+02:002012-10-12T20:47:17.686+02:00Maybe true. While the initial Sesklo is not urban ...Maybe true. While the initial Sesklo is not urban at all, the late Sesklo (Sesklo B) shows a wall and apparent social stratification (different kinds of pottery) as could correspond to an urban or quasi-urban kind of settlement. <br /><br />However this Sesklo B is almost contemporary with the Bulgarian find, being destroyed by fire (as many other settlements) c. 4400 BCE, roughly the same date given to Provadia-Solnisata. If anything it'd be just slightly older. <br /><br />Ref. http://www.ime.gr/chronos/01/en/nl/mn/sesklo.htmlMajuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12369840391933337204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023805782808412230.post-50056469284078290562012-10-12T18:47:52.455+02:002012-10-12T18:47:52.455+02:00Sesklo in Greece is a site that showes signs of an...Sesklo in Greece is a site that showes signs of an "urban" settlement and it is older than this Bulgarian find, even if it would be to accept as accurate its already established age by Nikolov.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023805782808412230.post-91834098628045910332012-10-11T19:19:37.394+02:002012-10-11T19:19:37.394+02:00Please avoid that pseudolinguistic nonsense. Köros...Please avoid that pseudolinguistic nonsense. Köros and Cris(h) are two different sites, the names are sometimes used together to honor both th Hungarian and the Romanian side of the border. They are anyhow just variants of Starcevo, a Serbia-centered culture. Majuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12369840391933337204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023805782808412230.post-48654628398448294952012-10-11T18:03:55.762+02:002012-10-11T18:03:55.762+02:00http://www.iianthropology.org/saltprehieurasia.htm...http://www.iianthropology.org/saltprehieurasia.html<br />The locale and salt industry are critical<br /><br />(Koros-Cris|Horus-Christ|Amaterasu|Moses myth origin linked to the salt trade via danube/jordanubya-sudanubya/Llubjana(S-lovenia)-Lebanon/Albania)<br /><br />http://the-arc-ddeden.blogspot.com/2012/03/danubya.htmlDDedenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10033851770461086341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023805782808412230.post-66718922742320175392012-10-11T00:12:32.882+02:002012-10-11T00:12:32.882+02:00That's a matter of opinion. Today we think of ...That's a matter of opinion. Today we think of a city or town because of size but in the Middle Ages (and often earlier) it was their walls which defined a city. There were exceptions but those were usually in islands (Crete notably). <br /><br />According to N.J. Pounds, Europe was in the Middle Ages full of thousands of small towns, defined as those under 2000 inhabitants. He mentions Rheinfelden (Switzerland, 15 km south of Basel) as example. Characteristics: walls, charter, 220 homes (c. 1000 inhabitants), some 10 smiths, 20-30 leatherworkers, 20-30 weavers, masons, carpenters. Estimating that 2/3 of adult men were artisans, the rest would be agriculturists, as would be part-time many artisans.<br /><br />So besides walls, what characterizes a town? Artisans and maybe services. And I think that we can be pretty sure that in Chalcolithic Bulgaria there were many artisans: coppersmiths, goldsmiths and many others less well attested but no doubt part of the social matrix. <br /><br />It's probable that these small towns also held regular markets for the area, maybe weekly for the agricultural products. <br /><br />... <br /><br />But then, on second thought, it's possible I guess that it was a castle or acropolis and not the full settlement. That's the impression I get from the photos, specially those showing human scale. If so we'd be before something else (maybe bigger, maybe not) but more a castle than a true town. Would it be a town with all its industry and services, it'd be very compact indeed.Majuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12369840391933337204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023805782808412230.post-42280822017753092212012-10-10T22:08:59.764+02:002012-10-10T22:08:59.764+02:00It looks like a fortified village to me. Impressiv...It looks like a fortified village to me. Impressive one, but not a town. Mere walls don't make a town.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023805782808412230.post-15137332663210057742012-10-10T17:31:09.094+02:002012-10-10T17:31:09.094+02:00Update: some photos and mini-discussion on the bur...Update: some photos and mini-discussion on the burial styles here and in Varna necropolis.Majuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12369840391933337204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023805782808412230.post-21586752076290397762012-10-09T07:58:49.530+02:002012-10-09T07:58:49.530+02:00No. I just posted that hours ago. It looks credibl...No. I just posted that hours ago. It looks credible but I would indeed want more info - as you probably do as well.Majuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12369840391933337204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023805782808412230.post-1896465748395110912012-10-09T06:07:45.958+02:002012-10-09T06:07:45.958+02:00Any information yet or independent confirmation on...Any information yet or independent confirmation on the age of the town?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com