Ayios Dhimitrios

This study presents the material assemblage of the Neolithic and Early Helladic strata from the excavations at Ayios Dhimitrios, ancient Triphylia in the SW Peloponnese, Greece. One aim of the work is to determine whether and to what extent the finds from Ayios Dhimitrios can first contribute to the building of the missing chronological and cultural bridges connecting western Peloponnese with other areas where similar cultures are identified, and second, furnish the missing evidence that would enable one to conclude that western Peloponnese was not left outside the cultural evolution of the adjacent northern areas, but was involved in and contributed to this evolution. A further goal is to try to identify which cultural subsystems are reflected in the archaeological assemblages of the various chronological stages represented at Ayios Dhimitrios, and whether or not these subsystems or cultural phenomena, like subsistence economy and technology, are in agreement with the corresponding phenomena observed at other sites, where the same artifacts occur. Chapter two gives a description of the site and a short history of the previous investigations into the prehistory of Triphylia. Chapter three deals with the deposits and the pottery of Period I (LN II) at the site. Chapter three also provides a discussion and catalogue of selected small finds found within the Neolithic deposit. In chapter four an attempt is made to relate Period I of Ayios Dhimitrios to contemporary sites in the Peloponnese, and to fix its position within the Peloponnesian sequence, and the sequence of mainland Greece, the Balkans and the Aegean. Chapter five summarizes the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the site. Chapter six begins with a description of the deposits of Period II (EH) and the architectural remains of both phases of this period. The pottery of both phases is subsequently discussed. Chapter six also deals with tools and implements of Period II. Chapter seven correlates the material assemblage from both phases with material from western Peloponnesian and Ionian Sea sites, and also with sites of the rest of the Peloponnese and beyond. Chapter eight deals with conclusions regarding the dimension of the site, its population and economy, and the settlement patterns of the region. There are appendices from Christina Rushe and Paul Halstead on faunal remains, and one from Antikleia Moudrea-Agrafioti on Neolithic and Early Bronze Age flaked stone industries.