Sonja Kacar

Across Eurasia, the adoption of farming is associated with major socioeconomic , technological, cultural, symbolic and biological transformations. This process is understood as the largely rapid spread of a sedentary economy based on agriculture, herding, and new technologies like pottery and polished stone tools, which originally dispersed from southwest Asia through demic diffusion and local interactions. However, regional differences are evident and there is considerable variability in the tempo of these processes. In some areas, the characteristic hallmarks of the Neolithic are absent or uncorrelated with the appearance of farming communities. In addition, subsistence strategies based on hunting, fishing, and gathering, typically associated with Mesolithic communities, persisted in some locations despite the confirmed presence of domesticates, pointing to encounters between hunter-gatherers and farming communities living in close proximity to one another. This undoubtedly contributed to some of the diversity visible in the archaeological record, however, there is still uncertainty about how and why regional differences arose. For instance, how did different Neolithisation routes affect the timing and spread? Or what role did local environmental factors play? Recent advances in techniques such as aDNA and a combination of isotopic analyses have provided valuable information on the spread and consolidation of Neolithic populations (ancestry) as well as economy (diet), and helped to discern the timing of overlap. Similarly, innovative and nuanced archaeological approaches to material culture have given rise to a number of wide-ranging studies which highlight and address the extent of diversity in the spread of Neolithic lifeways.

The excavation of Crno Vrilo site (Zadar, Dalmatia, Croatia), carried out by B. Marijanović, has unearthed the vestiges of an Early Neolithic village dating back to ca. 5800-5600 cal BC. The lithic assemblage, with more than 4000 pieces, represents the biggest Impressed Ware assemblage of littoral Croatia. Lithic production at Crno Vrilo is characterised by the pressure Blade flaking on high-quality exogenous cherts (Gargano, southern Italy) reflecting important socioeconomic and technical aspects that are specific to the Neolithic. The presence of some débitage elements such as flakes, debris, cortical and technological pieces indicates that standard pressure flaking occured at the site, while the presence of large Blades (with widths exceeding 20 mm) suggests production by lever pressure, a technique that required specialized knowledge and equipment. This article questions whether the lever pressure technique was used in the production of large Blades and examines the status of these Blades in the Crno Vrilo lithic assemblage by examining their technological and functional aspects.

The beginning of the Neolithic in the Adriatic region dates back to approximately 6000 cal BC, and the appearance of Impressed Ware pottery marks its generic development. By combining lithic, economic, and paleoenvironmental data, we propose a new arrhythmic model for the chronology of Neolithisation in the Adriatic. On the one hand, the available data suggest that in the south-central part of the basin (Dalmatia and Apulia) the transition to farming was relatively quick, resulting from the colonisation of an open landscape (seemingly linked to the "8.2 ka event" and the onset of a drier climate). These newcomers mostly settled in the fertile plains of the Dalmatian and Apulian hinterlands, basing their subsistence almost exclusively on agriculture and livestock, while lithic blade production in cherts from Gargano (southern Italy) indicates important social aspects and complex management strategies (mining activities, more complex modes of pressure flaking, and specialised distribution networks). However, on the other hand, in the northern Adriatic (Istria, Karst, eastern Po Plain, and Marches), the Neolithic emerged somewhat later, possibly as a result of some form of acculturation. Although available data are still scarce, some evidence suggests that the last Mesolithic groups played an active role in the process of Neolithisation in these areas, where certain Castelnovian traditions have been identified in the lithic production accompanying Impressed Ware (the use of local cherts, lamellar production by indirect percussion, and "simpler" forms of pressure flaking) and in the economy, e.g. importance of fishing.

The last hunter-gatherers of the central and western Mediterranean are associated with the Castelnovian technocomplex, which developed during the seventh millennium BC and is characterized mainly by its lithic industries, which reflect important changes that occurred during the Late Mesolithic: debitage from this time is oriented towards blade production by pressure-flaking and the manufacture of special tools, such as trapezes (made by the microburin technique) and notched blades. Although rare, Castelnovian sites have been identified in the wider Adriatic region of south-central Italy, Albania, Montenegro and the Italian and Slovenian Karst. However, it seems that the Croatian coast and its hinterland in the eastern Adriatic lack any traces. No sites were found in Dalmatia and only a few questionable surface finds come from Istria. This study explores whether this absence is due to historical factors, such as depopulation during the Late Mesolithic or the region being outside the Castelnovian expansion route, or whether it is because of a combination of taphonomic causes (such as loss of sites by marine transgression) and lack of previous research. The paper also focuses on the hypothesis that the presence of the last hunter-gatherers can be detected indirectly through the persistence of Castelnovian elements in the oldest Neolithic Impressed Ware assemblages of the eastern Adriatic. I further propose that Castelnovian traits are observable in the Impressed Ware assemblages of Istria. This Mesolithic tradition consists of the use of local flint, blade production by indirect percussion and ‘simpler’ forms of pressure flaking in lithic production, while marine resources remain an important food resource.

The lithic assemblages from the principal early Neolithic sites in Northern Dalmatia have been analysed with respect to the technological aspects and principles of schéma and chaîne opératoire, débitage economy and raw material economy.
Northern Dalmatia, the most fertile region of the Eastern Adriatic, hosts the most important Neolithic open-air sites. Early Neolithic is associated with the Impressed Ware culture and dates back to c. 6000–5400 cal BC. The Early Neolithic lithic assemblages are characterized by the pressure blade production techniques on high-quality Gargano cherts reflecting important socio-economic and technical mutations that are specific to the Neolithic.
Moreover, the almost exclusive reliance on these exogenous cherts emphasizes the social aspects of such networks and reinforces the idea of cultural uniformity of Dalmatian and Apulian Impressed Ware.

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ERRATUM: p. 359, fig. 3 : for "Whitte spotted flint" /Balkan flint"  more accurate date is cca. 6050 cal BC  instead of cca. 6200 cal BC (M.Gurova,  personal communication, November 6, 2019)

The last hunter-gatherers of the Central and Western Mediterranean are associated to the Castelnovian technocomplex which develops during the seventh millennium BC. The Late Mesolithic (or Second Mesolithic in French literature) Castelnovian is characterized mainly by its lithic industries which reflects important changes with regard to the preceding phases: the débitage is now orientated towards blade production by pressure flaking and manufacturing of special tools, such as trapezes (made by microburin technique) and notched blades. Although the sites are rare, the Castelnovian sites are identified in the wider Adriatic region: south-central Italy, Albania, Montenegro, Italian and Slovenian Karst. However, it seems that Croatian coast with hinterland lack any traces. No sites were found in Dalmatia and only few questionable surface finds come from Istria. This paper explores whether the absence of Castelnovian findings on the Croatian coast reflects a historical reality, as a consequence of the depopulation during the Late Mesolithic and/or the region is for some reasons outside the Castelnovian expansion route, or it is related to some other factors, for example shift in the settlement pattern and/or loss of the sites by marine transgression, lack of research and specialists, etc. In addition, the paper will focus on the hypothesis that the presence of last hunter-gatherers can be detected indirectly through the persistence of Castelnovian elements in the oldest Neolithic Impressed Ware assemblages of the Eastern Adriatic. While Early Neolithic Dalmatian assemblages reflect a clear break with Castelnovian traditions as seen in more complex pressure blade débitage (long crutch standing mode and lever pressure), complex raw material procurement (almost complete reliance on exogenous garganic flint), tool typology (absence of notched blades and the trapezes were made without microburin technique) and incomplete chaˆınechaˆıne opératoire (absence of elements pointing to decortication and trimming as well as blade cores), the Early Neolithic assemblages of Istria might reflect some similarities. These consist in the following: the blade production is local, made by local flint using simpler techniques (direct percussion and pressure with short crutch) while trapezes seem to be obtained with microburin technique.

- Deadline February 4th -

Experimental archaeology can be defined as the reconstruction of buildings, technologies, objects and environmental contexts, based on archaeological evidence, in order to investigate the materiality of people's lives in the past. This session aims to bring together different individuals working on experimental approaches to hunter-gatherers (archaeologists, anthropologists, prehistorians, ethnoarchaeologists, experimental practitioners, artisans, artists...) from different backgrounds and research traditions. We invite researchers dealing with past crafts and techniques in order to question the role of experimental archaeology in understanding the diversity of hunter-gatherer lifestyles. Topics might include past and present hunter-gatherers, Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology, lithic and osseous technology, pottery manufacture, ancient construction techniques, subsistence strategies, food techniques, production and processing, arts and ornaments, apprenticeship and technological transmissions…