The beginning of the Copper Age in the Blagoevgrad Valley, southwest Bulgaria: The sites of Moshtanets–Chukata and Strumsko

This paper considers the results of the investigations of two prehistoric sites in the southern part of the Blagoevgrad Valley, southwest Bulgaria: Moshtanets–Chukata and Strumsko. Being situated at the highest points of opposing hills on either side of the Struma River, these small, fortified settlements were strategically located in difficult-to-access areas allowing them control over the key routes to the Kresna Gorge and the Aegean coast to the south, the Upper Struma Valley to the north, and the Vardar Valley to the west. Radiocarbon dating of material from the sites suggests that they existed during the first quarter of the fifth millennium BC, at the beginning of the Copper Age. The study focuses on the ceramic repertoire from the sites; the most distinctive shapes and recurring combinations of technological, typological, and decorative characteristics are examined and the common elements and trends in the ceramic production of both settlements are highlighted. Based on the evidence of absolute chronology, ceramic assemblages, stratigraphic sequences, topography, and settlement layout, the author theorizes that both sites might have co-existed as parts of a single community that shared common organizational structure for at least some time of their life-cycles.