Нови аспекти в типологизацията и терминологията на селищните обекти в праисторията

New considerations for the typology and terminology of prehistoric settlements

Abstract

The problems of terminological differentiation of prehistoric settlements and their typology remain poorly discussed in Bulgarian archaeological literature. Information gained in recent years from archaeological excavations demonstrates enormous variation in the structure of settlements from the Chalcolithic period. The new data allows the building a basic typology of settlements and their structures not only in terms of locality but also in respect to their function. Such variety imposes a reconsideration of the current terminology, including the introduction of some new definitions.

The paper concerns the structural characteristics of the prehistoric settlements as well as their typology. The large variety of types of settlements in the middle and late stages of the Chalcolithic, forces the introduction of new typological categories such as “settlement complexes”. These are archaeological sites which include settlements with different typological characteristics which have common management and development within the boundaries of the site. Unfortunately the lack of large scale excavations of such sites (due to insufficient funding and technological problems) does not allow the drawing of final conclusions supported by firm archaeological data.