The Linearbandkeramik and Vinča worlds have been viewed by scholarship as widely separated entities, both in terms of cultural characteristics and geography. At the same time there has been a consensus about the emergence and spread of the LBK, seen as directly linked to the well-researched ‘Balkan route’ of Neolithisation. Although Vinča elements in early LBK contexts have been reported earlier in western Hungary and in the western part of central Europe, the apparent spatial gap and chronological uncertainties prevented further studies on this issue. Material culture in southern Transdanubia, associated with early and late LBK as well as the late LBK Keszthely group, was generally viewed as highly uniform, and unsuitable to demonstrate spatial and chronological patterns.

Different parts of the investigated area have been studied to varying degrees. However, two micro-regions may be chosen for an in-depth analysis. One is the southern Balaton micro-region with Balatonszárszó-Kis-erdei-dűlő as a key site: here the five distinguished pottery style groups cover the typo-chronological changes from the early LBK to the end of its regional development. It is possible to discuss their characteristics within the traditional framework set for LBK of the north-west Carpathian basin and its adjacent areas. Nevertheless, the situation is complex because the style groups are themselves mixed and incorporate typical elements for both northern and southern Transdanubia.  

The other region in the focus of our research is the Tolnai-Sárköz/Sárvíz micro-region, located ca 80 kilometres to the south-east of Lake Balaton, close to the right bank of the Danube. Analyses of pottery from the Tolna-Mözs settlement revealed two different, distinguishable components: stylistic elements typical of Vinča pottery occur together with vessel types of the LBK, in the same archaeological contexts, often in equal ratios. Clearly distinguishable pottery styles coexisted and mingled within one archaeological feature, moreover, they were also strongly hybridised. Similar combinations of pottery traditions were detected at other sites of the southern Tolnai Sárköz as well, such as at the LBK occupation phase of Alsónyék-Bátaszék. Contemporaneous sites that yielded typical Vinča pottery in the southernmost part of Transdanubia may serve as crucial points of reference for the interpretation of these findings.

The aim of this paper is to present this complexity of styles, and to discuss whether the observed re-combinations of material culture may be interpreted as evidence for a network of related communities in gradual change.