SPONDYLUS SHELL ORNAMENTS FROM LATE NEOLITHIC DIMINI, GREECE - SPECIALIZED MANUFACTURE OR UNEQUAL ACCUMULATION

Rings and buttons and beads cut from the marine shell, Spondylus gaede ropus, are among the most distinctive exchange items of Neolithic Euro pe. From sources on the coast of the Mediterranean, these highly value d objects were widely distributed across central Europe. A re-examinat ion of the nature and contexts of shell objects and manufacturing wast e at Dimini, a key late Neolithic site on the coast of northern Greece , explores their social role within a Spondylus-working community.