Reassessing the Architecture and Spatial Organization of Lasinja Culture Settlements in the Southeastern Alpine Region. Insights from Northeastern Slovenia

Excavations at Zgornje Radvanje in Maribor (NE Slovenia) between 2007 and 2008 uncovered an Early Copper Age Lasinja Culture set- tlement with a distinctive circular layout. This study re-examines the settlement’s topography and architecture, placing it within the broader Early Copper Age context to achieve a better understand- ing of Lasinja Culture settlements in the southeastern Alpine region. The settlement’s central area, situated on higher ground, featured predominantly post-in-ground structures, while larger pits and sunken-featured structures (‘pit houses’) dominated the outer zones. Radiocarbon dating confirms that these architectural forms were contemporaneous, yielding some of the earliest known Lasinja Cul- ture dates. This provides the first radiocarbon-dated evidence of two distinct architectural types coexisting in the region during this pe- riod. Comparisons with contemporaneous sites in the southeastern Alpine region, the western Pannonian Plain, and northern Croatia reveal shared traits, such as the prevalence of post-in-ground struc- tures of rectangular ground plan (though without foundation ditch- es in the southeastern Alpine region), alongside regional variations. These findings advance understanding of Lasinja Culture settlement patterns and architectural diversity.