A Bit More Complicated Than It Seemed: Revisiting Chrono-Cultural Framework of the Open-Air Late Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic Site in Konjevrate (Dalmatia, Croatia) (original) (raw)
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1997
This thesis explores various aspects of the archaeological evidence found on the island of Korcula, Croatia, and its nearby islets. The specific geographic nature of the island allows a defined and critical analysis of past occupations. While the past cultural occupations on Korcula generally fall within recognized regional archaeological sequences, the specific nature of the island's archaeological record seems to be unique in many instances. The investigations conducted for this thesis give further insight into the nature of settlement patterns and resource exploitations along the Dalmatian Coast. Furthermore, Korcula should prove to be an ideal case study for regional socio-cultural and economic organization. The author would like to acknowledge numerous people who have been supportive during this thesis research. My family has given me persistent encouragement throughout my research. In the end, without their support, this research would not have been possible. At the University of Edinburgh, my supervisors Professor Dennis. W. Harding and Dr. Magdalena Midgley have not only been instrumental in their guidance of certain archaeological aspects of this thesis, but have also given the author complete academic freedom to discover all the pitfalls and dead¬ ends related to research of this nature. In the Department of Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, Dr. Robert J.S. Sands has put up with the author's relentless haranguing regarding everything from the mundane (e.g. countless computer related problems) to the crucial (how to process and print black and white film in a sanitary manner). Ms. Zoe Astrella Watt has been my faithful companion, not only giving valuable support regarding geological aspects of the research, but also as the primary proof reader of the text. Also in the Department of Archaeology, Mrs. Fiona Stephen has prepared and processed clay and pottery samples for x-ray diffraction and x-ray fluorescence. Mr. Adam Jackson, in the Department of Archaeology, also willingly volunteered to proof read parts of the text. In the Department of Geography, University of Edinburgh, Mr. Chris Minty, in the Physical Geography Laboratory, has not only given his time to the author's many questions regarding the nature of sediments, but also has processed the author's research samples and pointed out the implications of the results. At the University of Birmingham, Field Archaeology Unit, Dr. Vince Gaffney has been helpful, not only with numerous hard-to-find references concerning the Dalmatian Coast, but also by indicating to the author a certain "academic protocol" vital to archaeological research in the region. At the University of Ljubljana, Department of Archaeology, Predrag Novakovic (a.k.a. the Ambassador of Archaeology) has been a trustworthy friend and colleague over many years. When all things are said and done, Predrag should be recognized the author's original connection to the archaeology and archaeologists of the region. Likewise, the rest of the staff at the Department of Archaeology, University of Ljubljana, have been most helpful to the author over many years.
Archaeologia Austriaca, 2022
The excavations at Svinjarička Čuka in the South Morava Valley in Serbia are presented with new primary data from the field and related material and scientific analyses. Newly recovered architectural remains from the classical Starčevo period revealed a variety of domestic features, so far belonging to an earlier and later occupation phase at the river terrace dating between 5700/5600 and 5500 BC. Details of the stratigraphy and certain materials are presented for selected domestic contexts, including one potential ‘Starčevo house’. Archaeological and scientific analyses are discussed and contextualised within the Neolithisation process in the chapters on new radiocarbon data and their Bayesian modelling, pottery studies, chipped stones and their raw material analyses, grinding kits, animal remains, archaeobotanical results and charcoal analysis. The later occupation at the site is presented with new results for the Middle and Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age, including domestic contexts, radiocarbon data and materials.
Chronological changes in stone tool assemblages from Krapina (Croatia)
Journal of Human Evolution, 1997
This study presents the results of the first recent analysis of stone tool assemblages from Krapina (Croatia). All assemblages are Pleistocene in age and many are associated with human remains, the Krapina Neandertals. The assemblages are described typologically and technologically, and subtle chronological changes in raw material selection and technology of tool blank production are observed. These changes involve increasingly sophisticated and selective use of lithic materials. Changing artefact assemblages are considered in light of variability in the hominids from Krapina, and are interpreted as reflecting behavioral change among Neandertals rather than between Neandertal and modern human populations.
The study of plant macro-remains from archaeological sites is an important method to study aspects of past societies such as diet, agriculture, trade/economy and the local environment. To date plant macro-remains have been identified from 70 sites within Croatia, spanning the early Neolithic (ca. 6000 cal BC) to the Middle Ages(16th century AD). Despite this number, poor recovery and a bias towards the Neolithic period have led to large gaps in our knowledge on the development of agriculture in the region, which is further hindered by the low number of excavations that include archaeobotanical recovery. This paper summarises the archaeobotanical evidence available per period in Croatia, highlighting the potential for future research, as well as providing suggestions for the recovery of carbonised plant macroremains.
Quartär, 2022
In recent decades, the body of evidence from Croatian sites contributing to the understanding of Middle Palaeolithic behaviours has been significant. However, the data has been biased towards cave sites. Until recently open-air sites have exclusively been identified on the basis of surface finds, which often raise questions regarding assemblage integrity. Rescue excavations in the Istrian peninsula have recently brought to light the open-air site of Campanož and a substantial amount of new data. The site is a large and densely packed lithic scatter found stratified between two horizons of typical Mediterranean terra rossa soil. Among the lithic finds there is a large presence of nodular chert fragments and a smaller proportion of classifiable chert artefacts, which have been recognized as Middle Palaeolithic based on both typological and technological characteristics. A preliminary analysis shows that the blank production methods are coherent at the site. There are few flaking methods in the sample, with most being related to different modes of discoid reduction. Middle Palaeolithic toolmakers repeatedly procured raw materials and produced blanks on-site. Evidence points to the production of small tools, and also indicates recycling of previously discarded artefacts. Although these data are preliminary, the evidence seems to suggest an expedient and flexible technology may have been present in the Middle Palaeolithic of the Northeastern Adriatic. Despite the limited data on age and site formation processes, the site represents a valuable source of information in our understanding of Middle Palaeolithic technological behaviour and land use in the region.