The dissertation is the first complex study on social-economic organization of chipped stone tools production as a specific kind of productive activity in societies of a particular historical type, namely early farming societies. Scientific novelty of the obtained results is implied by application of innovative method ("social approach") to the period that remained poorly studied from point of view of reconstruction of historical process – VI-IV mill. BC. Social and economic aspects of ancient technologies attracted attention of researchers for a long time. However, they were mostly treated in two separate ways: either in general theoretic (as stairs in evolution of society as a whole) or in too empiric – as a part of history of material culture. There was an evident lack of a work, which would include developmental processes of prehistoric production into concrete historical context and would treat them as a reflection of social transformations that affected prehistoric communities, in domestic historiography. In order to solve these problems, the author employs several methods: general historic (historic comparative, historic typological, historic genetic), as well as special (structural-social approach to organization of flint tools production). Flintworking of mobile communities in Carpathian-Danubian region was non-specialized immediately prior to the advent of early farming groups. It seems that a selection of applied technology was directed by a quest to maximize an economy of raw material under conditions of notable mobility of productive collectives. Early farmers' flint tool-making industry underwent a notable evolution. The first groups to enter the Carpathian-Danubian region carried out this activity at household level. However, the households can be divided into consumers and producers; the latter noted by a "surplus" production. They are connected by networks of gift-exchange that was executed probably with an aim of gaining some social prestige. Gift-exchange systems provided a demand for additional production. These networks formed a basis for further flint-working specialization. The first half of Vth mill. BCE saw a crisis of early farming societies in Carpathian-Danubian region, which was accompanied by their significant reconstruction. This period is marked by revival of non-specialized chipped stone tools production strategies. Only later, in middle Vth mill. BCE the early farmers were able to develop a complex system of flintworking based on supercommunal specialization and distant exchange of blanks and tools. At that time, some categories of artefacts ("long blades", flint axes) obtained a status of symbols of social power and prestige. An apex of this system's development was reached during IVth mill. BCE in order to satisfy the needs of settlers of Trypillian mega-settlements. The decline of early farming societies was marked by the decline in the complexity of flint-working organisation. Social and economic organization of flint tools production is treated through a lens of the craft specialization issue. The domestic historiography tended to explain the latter process by influence of economic factors. On the contrary, the model is proposed for flint-working specialization which is defined by widening of social connections and growing complexity of social structure of early farming societies. For the first time, certain paleoeconomic aspects of flint-working are described such as scale of production, comparative role of flint against other raw materials, organization of tool-making. A particular attention is paid to the character of relations between communities that extracted raw material and conducted a primary knapping and consuming communities. The issue of craft specialization and its early forms, their implementation into the egalitarian structures of prehistoric society is analysed from point of view of social context of technological process of flint-working, economical significance of production in this sphere. The complexity of organization of flint-working coincides in time with increase in societal integration, development of hierarchies and supercommunal structures. Crisis periods saw simplified forms of tool-making organization, when production was centered in households. Thus, we can define at least two cycles in history of early farmers of the region, consisting of consecutive phases of formation, spread, apex and inner colonization and, finally, decline.
