| Abstract: | The effects of sedentism on economic behavior, with special reference to the activities involved in the exploitation of ceramic and lithic resources, are discussed. The context of the study is the late Neolithic of Southeast Europe. It is argued that the widespread establishment of sedentary communities in the Balkans was followed by changes in the production of pottery and stone tools, entailing the routine investment of increasing amounts of labor in most phases of production, increased complexity in the organization of production, and a more selective approach to resource exploitation. Ceramic and lithic production form an important part of the nonsubsistence side of the Neolithic economy, and an understanding of changes in this sphere of activity is crucial to a comprehension of the wider effects of sedentism on economic behavior. |
