What does the Šárka stage mean? And did it ever actually exist?

Šárka style is a term that has been used for over a century to describe a distinctive final Linear Pottery Culture (LBK) pottery style in Central Europe. However, its definition and the general perception of a related Šárka stage vary significantly among scholars, impacting significantly the chronology and understanding of the end of the Early Neolithic. This article examines the concept using the Statenice settlement as a case study, which has been considered an example of the beginning of the Šárka style. New excavations carried out from 2004 to 2010 enabled detailed studies of the site's taphonomy, typochronology, and absolute dating, allowing a re-evaluation of the term. The research revealed that the site's chronological classification varies due to the plurality of the Šárka style definition as well as ambiguity in the identification of its characteristic features. Additionally, it questions the assumption of the unilinear development of material culture, which is expected in the chronology of the period, but which does not correspond to the archaeological evidence. To address these shortcomings a more appropriate term – Šárka phenomenon – has been proposed, which abandons the implicit assumption of a regional and chronological occurrence and allows a more comprehensive approach to early stroked decoration during the transition to the Late Neolithic (Stroked Pottery culture).