The Eneolithic period, which came between the Neolithic Age and the age when metal was fully in use, covered a great length of time. In the initial phase of the Eneolithic period only small objects, such as jewellery and tools like needles or awls, were produced for personal use. Later, as techniques improved and knowledge of casting was acquired, larger tools were produced on a massive scale. Migrations of tribes from the Russian steppes, the Pontic basin and the Lower Danube have attracted the attention of archaeologists and linguists to an increasing extent in recent years. One of the characteristic features of the Balkan Eneolithic period is the large size of cultural complexes which consist of a series of regional groups, or of widely-spread groups containing regional variants. Decoration consisting of rippled patterns played a significant role in the formation of groups belonging to the Early Bronze Age in the Balkans.

The Italians discovered the first traces of Palaeolithic life in Albania, and also some cave-dwellings containing Neolithic deposits. It is only in the last thirty-five years that it has been possible to undertake the disciplined and rewarding task of tracing the prehistoric cultures of Albania, and of discovering and studying the culture of the land and its people in the stages of their evolution. Very little is known of Palaeolithic culture in Albania, because that primitive period has not yet been included in organized schemes of research. The Mesolithic period is almost totally unknown. The evolution of Neolithic civilization can be followed in Albania over three periods: Early, Middle and Late Neolithic. A separate cultural development, called Eneolithic, took place as a transitory stage leading from the Neolithic Age to the Bronze Age. According to the archaeological evidence, Albania experienced in the Neolithic and to an even greater extent in the Eneolithic period, a fairly marked growth in productive capacity.