Storage of food in the Neolithic communities of northern Greece

Abstract

This paper examines the evidence for the storage of food during the Neolithic in northern Greece. Ecofactual remains point to reliance on cultivated crops and domesticates from the initial phase of the period (mid-seventh millennium), suggesting the importance of the production and storage of normal surplus for the economic and social organization of early farmers. The archaeological record indicates that storage of surplus was controlled by domestic units from the beginning of the Neolithic. There is also evidence for the symbolic importance of crops and domesticates throughout northern Greece, though with a certain diversity among the regions. The characteristics of storage facilities (e.g. types, capacity) and their location indicate chronological differences, but also contemporaneous regional and local varieties in storage practices. Diversity in storage solutions, along with the ritual use of crops and domesticates including in feasting, points to the existence of many specific traditions and local histories within regional cultural frames.