New information on the Neolithic occupation of south Bohemia

Abstract

The article expands the existing modest knowledge of the Neolithic occupation of south Bohemia. The core of the work is an analysis of assemblages from excavations of the Dehtáře and Radčice settlement areas and at the newly discovered site of Mažice conducted in the 2015 and 2016. Analyses of the pottery decoration and radiocarbon dating confirmed occupation in the Šárka phase of the Linear Pottery culture. Simultaneously, the dominant use of chert of the Ortenburger Jura was proven in this period for the production of chipped stone tools. Analyses of basic categories of finds create a framework for the revision of the superregional contacts of the south Bohemian Neolithic population. The strong connection between south Bohemia and the eastern part of the Bavarian Danube Region and settlement in the vicinity of the Austrian city of Linz was recorded for the late phase of the Linear Pottery culture. Focusing the north Třeboň Basin region, the possible coexistence of hunter-gatherer and agricultural communities is also discussed.