Beyond the oikos: Yards, kitchen areas, and the manipulation of outdoor space in Neolithic Greece

Abstract

This paper challenges the traditional focus on indoor spaces in Neolithic archaeology by examining the role of open-air areas in daily life. It approaches open-air spaces as active zones of Neolithic daily life in northern Greece and contributes to an updated narrative of community formation in the region. The study examines 37 excavated sites and explores how localized, socio-cultural assemblages exhibit significant diversity, pointing to varied forms of collective structures rather than unified community groups. The results of this study do not suggest marked contrasts in spatial expressions between the earlier and the later phases of the Neolithic, indicating that social coherence was achieved through various communal quotidian and special, individual and collective performances, in both the domestic–private and communal–public spheres. The study looks at the location of combustion features, such as hearths, ovens, fire pits and kilns in the settlements as a proxy to understand the dynamics of openair spaces and their contribution to the formation of social life. The evidence discussed in this paper suggests that open-air spaces were actively manipulated by people and constituted significant social arenas for everyday routines, workshops, communal gatherings, and social interactions, all of which played a key role in the formation of community traditions, collective identities, and social cohesion.