The Neolithic period is characterized by the permanent settlement of early communities in selected locations, by an extensive use of stone, by a switch to agriculture and animal husbandry and, in its final phase (5th and 4th millennia BC), by the beginning of the exploitation of metals.
In Antiparos, indications of human activity during the Neolithic period have been identified, mainly based on the surface finds to date, at Spilaio and Vouni.
Vouni is an important site of the Late Neolithic period (5th and 4th millennia BC). It is located on the eastern side of Antiparos, on the hill that rises north of Livadi Bay and dominates the fertile valley of Kampos, which cuts across the island NW-SE. The site offers expansive views both towards the mainland and towards the western Cyclades. Approximately in the middle of the slope there is a spring with excellent quality water.
On small plateaus that form at the top of the hill and a little lower, there is a fairly large quantity of obsidian tools and its processing waste, of ancient slag (residues formed in the heating to high temperatures of minerals), as well as sherds from prehistoric vessels. The presence of slag indicates metallurgical activity was under way as early as the Late Neolithic period. Further archaeological and archaeometallurgical research in the area will clarify the character of the site.
For the inhabitants of the prehistoric Aegean, the glassy rock of obsidian was the most important and apparently the most economical raw material for fashioning tools and weapons. The main source of acquisition of obsidian was Milos and the discovery of obsidian artefacts, cores and flakes throughout the Aegean and mainland Greece indicates advanced navigational knowledge, testifies to contacts and provides evidence for one of the earliest forms of trade in the world.
