The site of Anza is of major importance by virtue of its geographical position in the central Balkans and its unique stratigraphy. The excavations at Anza have yielded a variety of types of information that add to our understanding of the early stages of the [Pottery] Neolithic period, of the succeeding Starčevo Neolithic culture, and of the formation of the Vinča civilization. Macedonia, geographically midway between the Aegean Sea and the drainage basin of the Danube river, also mediated culturally between these important termini. The essential factor for cultural transmission was precisely this strategic geographical location. The information obtained from archaeological research in Macedonia is relevant not only to the immediate zone of investigation, but it also carries implications for the entire Balkan peninsula and for the rest of Central Europe as well. Macedonia is geographically defined as that territory drained by the rivers Vardar and Haliakmon and their tributaries.
