Poster presentation abstracts
Anthropomorphic figurines of the Precucuteni culture: workshop practices in the light of archaeometric research
Anna Rauba-Bukowska1, Maciej Dębiec2, Vasile Diaconu3, Katarzyna Drabik4
1 Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
2 Institute of Archaeology, University of Rzeszów, Moniuszki str. 10, 35 -015 Rzeszów, Poland
3 History and Ethnography Museum of Târgu Neamț, Neamț National Museum Complex, Târgu Neamț, Romania
4 Instytut Nafty i Gazu – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, Zakład Geofizyki Wiertniczej, Bagrowa, Kraków, Poland
Since 2017, a multicultural site Topolita, in NE Romania, has been explored with a chronological frame from the Neolithic to Late Antiquity IV Century AD. Most features (including at least seven burnt houses) belong to Precucuteni culture. More than 150 anthropomorphic statuettes were recovered during systematic excavations, most fragmented. As they are one of the most significant types of finds in Precucteni culture, we have decided to investigate them thoroughly. Nine figurines were chosen together with six pottery fragments. Several archaeometric methods were applied to investigate the nature of raw materials and technology. First, petrographic studies of raw materials were made both for figurines and for clay vessels from the site. Optical microscopy (OM) was used to obtain the mineral composition of the clay. Due to the unique status of the figurines, a non-destructive tool such as X-ray computed tomography (CT) was used to investigate the inside structure of the clay statuettes.
Secrets of small-scale sculpture workshops revealed through Computed Tomography. Clay human foot from Early Neolithic site Gwoździec 2, southern Poland
Anna Rauba-Bukowska1, Agnieszka Czekaj-Zastawny1, Agnieszka Kukułka2, Katarzyna Drabik3
1 Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
2 Regional Museum Tarnów, Tarnów, Poland
3 Oil and Gas Institute, National Research Institute, Department of Well Logging, Kraków, Poland
Gwoździec Site 2 is currently the oldest known Neolithic settlement in Poland. Its significance is further underscored by its location in the foothills, near the Carpathian Mountain passes, which served as migration routes for the first farmers from the south.
In Feature 23, dated to the earliest phase of this settlement, a fragment of anthropomorphic sculpture was discovered. The find represents a fragment of a human leg, including the foot, notable for its realistic and precise craftsmanship. The toes are clearly delineated with short incisions, emphasizing their asymmetrical arrangement, characteristic of a right foot. The ceramic material used for this object consists of relatively fatty clay with an organic temper. A form of internal scaffolding was employed during its construction, leaving a hollow space within the leg.
To investigate the internal structure of this unique figurine, a non-destructive technique—X-ray computed tomography (CT)—was employed. Preliminary analysis of the CT images revealed that the artifact is composed of a uniform, well-prepared ceramic mass. The scans also unveiled the shape of the object used as scaffolding for the clay. This internal structure has an irregular, rough surface with visible protrusions and depressions. Furthermore, by visualizing the pore structure in ceramic mass, it was possible to identify intricate details of the craftsmanship, shedding light on the manufacturing techniques employed in creating the figurine.
Neolithic Bows of The Marmotta (Lake Bracciano, Italy)
Vittorio Brizzi1, Juan F. Gibaja2, Laura Caruso-Fermé3, Patricia Monteiro4, Gerard Remolins5, Niccolò Mazzucco6, Mario Mineo7
1 Università di Ferrara, Dipartimento di Biologia ed Evoluzione, Italy
2 Institución Milá y Fontanals en Humanidades. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Spain
3 Instituto Patagónico de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas (IPCSH-CONICET), Argentina
4 Património Cultural I.P. Laboratório de Arqueociências, Portugal
5 ReGiraRocs, S.L., Spain
6 Università di Pisa, Dipartimento di Civiltà e Forme del Sapere, Italy
7 Museo delle Civiltà di Roma, Italy
The enormity of the Marmotta archaeological wooden finds include an expanded range of wooden tools related to domestic activities, agricultural work, weaving and other objects of indeterminate function. Among the latter were included numerous fragments of multiple wood species of various lengths and thicknesses. The plane-convexity of this archaeological finds, consistent with the orientation of the growth rings, is a dominant feature of the ancient bows to make the most of the physical characteristics of the wood and of the design geometry. The examination of the remains of wood of La Marmotta deposited in the Museo della Civiltà, in Rome, has allowed us to document 43 bows or possible fragments. It would therefore seem that the choice of wood (Fraxinus sp, Cornus sp, Quercus evergreen, Viburnum Lantana) for the construction of these bows is linked to the ready availability of the raw material surrounding the settlement rather than a discriminating choice of the best possible wood.
Between Technological Innovation and Craft Specialisation: Novel Insights into Figulina Pottery Production in the Southern Po Plain
Valeria Tiezzi1, Silvia Amicone2,3, Lars Heinze4, Monica Miari5, Nicoletta Volante6, Christoph Berthold2
1 University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
2 Archaeometry Research Group, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
3 Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK
4 Archäologisches Institut, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
5 Ministry of Culture, Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio per la Città Metropolitana di Bologna e le province di Modena, Reggio Emilia e Ferrara, Bologna, Italy
6 Department of History and Cultural Heritage, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
Figulina pottery refers to a fine, light-coloured ceramic class that represents a remarkable technological innovation of Neolithic ceramic assemblages across both sides of the Adriatic Sea. Past scholarly research has emphasised figulina wares as potential indicators of an incipient stage of craft specialisation, owing to the complex production technique and advanced pyrotechnology required for their successful manufacture.
While the earliest figulina specimens of the Italian Peninsula date back to the 6th millennium cal. BCE, by the 5th millennium cal. BCE figulina vessels appear beyond their core production area, including at several sites of the Po Plain in northern Italy. In this region, the exceptional presence of figulina sherds at numerous sites, among ceramic assemblages dominated by coarse, tempered wares, underscores the significance of this peculiar ceramic production that strikingly diverges from the region’s Neolithic material culture. Using an integrated archaeometric approach that combines petrography, XRPD, and p-XRF analyses, this research aims to investigate the production technology and provenance of a pool of fifteen samples retrieved from five Neolithic sites located in the present-day Emilia-Romagna region.
Our results offer novel insights on the manufacturing process and provenance of the raw materials selected for figulina production in this area, highlighting the technological practices adopted by the figulina makers of the region. Furthermore, figulina production represents a significant technological shift that informs on supra-regional dynamics of technological transmissions between different potting traditions of the Italian Peninsula, challenging the ceramic production model currently hypothesised for Neolithic northern Italy.
Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the Karst: new evidence and C14 dates
Federico Bernardini1,2, Francesco Boschin3, Deborah Arbulla4, Elena Leghissa5
1 Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università Ca’ Foscari, Dorsoduro 3484/D, Venezia, Italy
2 Multidisciplinary Laboratory, The “Abdus Salam” International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Strada Costiera 11, Trieste, Italy
3 Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell’Ambiente, Unità di Ricerca di Preistoria e Antropologia, Università degli Studi di Siena, via Laterina 8, Siena, Italy
4 Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Trieste, via dei Tominz 4, Trieste Italy
5 ZRC SAZU, Institute of Archaeology, Novi Trg 2, Ljubljana, Slovenia
In the Karst region and northern Istria, the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition occurred around 5500–5400 cal BC with the emergence of the Danilo-Vlaška culture, roughly 500–600 years after the initial spread of Impressed Ware Neolithic groups in the Adriatic. In the Trieste Karst, numerous caves and rare open-air sites have yielded Mesolithic materials, although Castelnovian layers are often truncated or poorly represented. Radiocarbon dates for both the Mesolithic and the Danilo-Vlaška levels are limited. In this paper, we present around ten new radiocarbon dates, spanning from the Early Holocene to the first Neolithic, obtained from old finds in key cave deposits investigated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (e.g., Pettirosso/Vlaška and Moser caves in Italy and Tominz cave in Slovenia), as well as from Tina Jama, a newly explored cave site where archaeological research began two years ago. As investigations continue to reach the in situ Danilo-Vlaška and Mesolithic layers, archaeological evidence in secondary context confirm that Tina Jama was used by both Castelnovian and first Neolithic groups. The new data confirm a high density of Mesolithic sites and a continuous presence of hunter-gatherer groups from the Sauveterrian until the arrival of the Danilo-Vlaška culture during the mid-6th millennium BC.
A lithic use-wear contribution to understand the toolkit evolution of the lithic industries between the Late Mesolithic and LBK Neolithic in North-Eastern France
Camille Lallauret1, Colas Guéret2, Sylvain Griselin3
1 Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, UMR 8068 – TEMPS, France
2 Researcher CNRS, UMR 8068 – TEMPS, France
3 INRAP Grand-Est, UMR 8068 – TEMPS, France
The arrival of agropastoral communities in northern France significantly disrupted local socio-economic dynamics and marked the end of the Mesolithic period. While the populations introduced a range of innovations, they also exhibited notable similarities with the local hunter-gatherers in the manufacture of their tools. These parallels may indicate potential transfers or inheritances between the two groups. To explore these processes, where innovation intersects with tradition, we have chosen to investigate the site of Ensisheim (Alsace, France). Excavations at this site have uncovered occupations associated with lithic traditions dated to the first half of the Late Mesolithic (6400 to 5700 BCE), as well as settlements spanning the entire LBK regional chronology (5355 to 5020 cal BC). Additionally, three loci’ lithic assemblages are technically related to the Mesolithic and are contemporaneous with Neolithic settlements in the region (5200 to 4800 BCE). The use-wear analysis of the lithic toolkit from the Ensisheim site enables us to examine the technologies and craft productions of the last hunter-gatherers in contrast to the Neolithic peoples’ new lifestyles. From a lithic point of view, this study provides fresh insights into the potential inheritances between the last hunter-gatherers and the first farmers.
Geoarchaeological investigations on the emergence of the Neolithic in Cape St. Vincent (SW Portugal)
Carlos D. Simões1, Alvise Barbieri1, Vera Aldeias1, Patrícia Monteiro1,2, Rui Oliveira3, Helena Reis1, Ricardo Soares4
1 Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour, Universidade do Algarve
Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro
2 Laboratório de Arqueociências, Património Cultural, I. P., Calçada do Mirante à Ajuda 10A, 1300-418 Lisboa, Portugal
3 Independent researcher, UK
4 Museu de Vila do Bispo – O Celeiro da História, Município de Vila do Bispo, Paços do Concelho 8650 – 407 Vila do Bispo, Portugal
The area of Cape St. Vincent in SW Portugal has some of the earliest evidence in Western Europe for the Neolithic arrival to a coastal region inhabited by coastal-adapted Mesolithic foragers. The region’s shell middens with Mesolithic origin also containing pottery are thus prime contexts to investigate such interactions and the meaning of coastal resources and environmental change at local coastal ecosystems throughout the Neolithization.
At Rocha das Gaivotas, an open-air site interstratified within aeolian dunes on a clifftop, several Mesolithic stone combustions structures and discrete shelly layers have been identified. The Neolithic has been identified through pottery sherds and scattered shells embedded in the sands overlying the Mesolithic structures. To obtain new high-resolution data, systematic geophysical survey and multidisciplinary sampling from stratigraphic sections were carried out.
The ground-proofing test-pit based on geophysical data revealed thicker deposits and clearer stratigraphic contacts than in the previously known sector located some meters away, as well as a stone structure associated with pottery. Sediment samples from both Mesolithic and Neolithic contexts yielded n-alkanes compatible with either freshwater plants or bark and twigs from terrestrial plants, in any case altered by low temperatures (>250ºC), thus possibly corresponding to the vegetation lying on the topsoil affected by heating from combustion.
While further research is ongoing, these preliminary results suggest that stone structures were also built in the Neolithic, despite coherent shelly layers remain absent. Moreover, the local paleovegetation remained the same since the Mesolithic.
Technical and Economic Aspects of Lithic Industries at the Early Neolithic Village Site of Crno Vrilo (Zadar, Croatia): Impressed Ware Traditions on the Adriatic Coast
Sonja Kačar1, Sylvie Philibert2
1 Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
2 CNRS UMR5608 TRACES, Toulouse, France
From the late 7th millennium onwards, the spread of Neolithic lifeways toward the central and western Mediterranean followed a non-linear trajectory, marked by pioneer incursions, pauses, and cultural reconfigurations. In this context, the Balkan Peninsula and the Adriatic—where technical systems transformed—represent a key region for understanding Neolithic trajectories.
Crno Vrilo, a central-eastern Adriatic site in the Zadar hinterland, provides remarkable evidence of the first agro-pastoral communities of the Impressed Ware tradition. Excavated in the early 2000s by Brunislav Marijanović (University of Zadar), it revealed rectangular houses, pathways, and a rich material culture, attesting to a well-structured village (c. 5800–5600 cal BC).
Among its finds, the lithic assemblage—over 4000 well-preserved artefacts—constitutes the largest Early Neolithic collection from littoral Croatia, offering unique insights into domestic lithic production and use. Technological and functional analyses highlight tool maintenance strategies, subsistence activities, and blank selection.
Lithic production at Crno Vrilo is characterized by pressure blade flaking on high-quality exogenous cherts (sourced from the Gargano Peninsula, Italy), reflecting significant socio-economic and technical investement. These blades were used both unretouched and modified into diverse tools, including sickle elements, indicating that cereal cultivation played a central role. Symmetrical trapezoidal armatures show projectile impact and evidence of recycling, while large blades, likely produced by lever pressure and imported as finished products, served various functions except for harvesting.
Within this presentation, we aim to explore the Crno Vrilo technological system in its domestic context and position it within a broader perspective on Neolithisation processes in the central-western Mediterranean and the Balkans.
Migration, niche construction and demography: A modelling approach to the establishment of farming communities in southern Scandinavia
Niels N. Johannsen1
1 Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, Aarhus University, Denmark
This poster outlines the archaeological challenges associated with understanding the activities of very small populations, which apply to studying the establishment of the earliest Neolithic groups in most regions. Using the well-documented Neolithic sequence of southern Scandinavia (from c. 4000 BCE onwards) as example, we then discuss both the promise and the problems of coupling assumptions about migration and niche construction into a formal modelling approach aimed at understanding plausible demographic dynamics during the first centuries of farming and Neolithic culture in the region. We provide examples of what might be key parameters of such a research strategy and describe contrasts between the available data and potentially viable assumptions on these parameters that can be frontloaded into the model.
From archaeological excavations to the museum education: symbols and anthropomorphic representations in Neolithic sites of Northern Apulia
Italo M. Muntoni1, Annalisa Treglia2
1 Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per le Province di Barletta-Andria-Trani e Foggia, Foggia, Italy
2 Castello Svevo di Bari – Direzione regionale Musei nazionali Puglia, Bari, Italy
The National Archaeological Museum in Manfredonia (Northern Apulia) is characterised by an articulated exhibition itinerary focused in particular to the story of the prehistory of the territory of northern Apulia, with particular reference to the Neolithic. The museum exhibits finds from old excavations, as well as from more recent or ongoing excavations from the Gargano, Tavoliere and Monti Dauni areas. The museum tour, which is dedicated to the Neolithic, relates the decisive stages that characterised the emergence of the oldest farming civilisations in the Mediterranean.
One section in particular is dedicated to the predominantly anthropomorphic representations of faces on vessels and whole-body representations (figurines), widespread from the Early Neolithic in the second half of the sixth millennium BC, with an evident apotropaic meaning, which refers to the religious and spiritual world of the Neolithic world.
The themes are connected with the importance of food and agriculture among the first farming communities of the Adriatic region and moreover they represent a further evidence of the far reaching maritime network of trans-Adriatic exchange that included the Northern Apulia. Many face vessels and stylised whole-body representations were found in trenched settlements, often come from the compound or main enclosure, or in cult caves. They consist almost exclusively of fragments of vessels and figurines in which the representation of the face is generally well preserved.
The aim of the poster is to present some archaeological artefacts, with the aim of describing this distinctive phenomenon of expressions of religion and systems of belief which derive from a common ideological heritage in the Neolithic communities.
Longhouse from Zelgno 16 as an example of a farmstead of the Brześć Kujawski culture
Katarzyna Inga Michalak1, Łukasz Połczyński1, Michał Adamczyk2
1 Pracownia Archeologiczna Łukasz Połczyński, Poland
2 Department of Archaeology, University of Szczeciń, The National Museum in Szczecin, Poland
The goal of this study is to present and discuss the recently excavated longhouse of the Brześć Kujawski culture (BKC) along with related features and artefacts – such as pottery and flints – from Zelgno site 16 located in Chełmno Land, Poland in the broader context of patterns of the BKC. The BKC belonging to the Lengyel culture sphere of interaction emerged in the Polish Lowlands in the second half of the 5th millennium BC. It is characterized by unified settlements with trapezoidal longhouses set in foundation trenches, oval interior “cellar” pits, and external pits of various functions including clay-extraction pits, and burials within a settlement. The specific spatial organization and architectonical uniformity can be observed in both densely built settlements as well as at single farmsteads. We interpret them as a carrier of the values significant for the identity of the community.
Anthropomorphic figurines of the Precucuteni culture: workshop practices in the light of archaeometric research
Anna Rauba-Bukowska1, Maciej Dębiec1, Vasile Diaconu2, Katarzyna Drabik3
1 Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
2 History and Ethnography Museum of Târgu Neamț, Neamț National Museum Complex, Târgu Neamț, , Romania
3 Oil and Gas Institute, National Research Institute, Department of Well Logging, Kraków, Poland
Since 2017, a multicultural site Topolita, in NE Romania, has been explored with a chronological frame from the Neolithic to Late Antiquity IV Century AD. Most features (including at least seven burnt houses) belong to Precucuteni culture. More than 150 anthropomorphic statuettes were recovered during systematic excavations, most fragmented. As they are one of the most significant types of finds in Precucteni culture, we have decided to investigate them thoroughly. Nine figurines were chosen together with six pottery fragments. Several archaeometric methods were applied to investigate the nature of raw materials and technology. First, petrographic studies of raw materials were made both for figurines and for clay vessels from the site. Optical microscopy (OM) was used to obtain the mineral composition of the clay. Due to the unique status of the figurines, a non-destructive tool such as X-ray computed tomography (CT) was used to investigate the inside structure of the clay statuettes.
At the Crossroads of Change: Zooarchaeological Insights into Neolithization in Northern Italy
Matteo Cianfoni1,2
1 Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
2 Centro Nazionale delle Ricerche – Istituto di Scienze del Patrimonio Culturale, Montelibretti, Italy
This study presents the results of the zooarchaeological analysis of the Early Neolithic faunal assemblage from the site of Fiorano Fornaci Carani (Modena), one of the key locations associated with the Fiorano culture in northern Italy. The research aims to deepen our understanding of early domestication practices and subsistence strategies during the initial phases of the Neolithization process in this region.
The faunal remains were examined to identify species composition, taphonomic patterns, and biometric data. Preliminary results indicate a diversified economy based on the management of domestic animals, particularly sheep, goats, and cattle, alongside the exploitation of wild species such as red deer and wild boar. Evidence of butchery practices and patterns of resource allocation provide insights into dietary habits and animal management strategies.
The presence of both domestic and wild faunal elements highlights the transitional nature of this site, situated in a landscape shared by early farmers and residual Mesolithic hunter-gatherer communities. The biometric data suggest variability in the size of domesticates, possibly linked to the introduction of non-local livestock breeds or specific selective pressures.
Given its strategic position near key exchange networks and access to essential resources like alpine flint and salt, the Fiorano Fornaci Carani site offers a unique perspective on the integration of early agricultural practices and long-distance connections within the Early Neolithic.
This poster will discuss the implications of the zooarchaeological findings in understanding the dynamics of Neolithization in northern Italy and the role of animal husbandry in shaping emerging Neolithic lifeways.
Ancient DNA Preservation on Neolithic Adhesive Material from “La Marmotta” Sickles: A Study on Early European Agriculture
Luis Victoria Nogales1, Niccolo Mazzucco2, Juan Francisco Gibaja3, Mario Mineo4, Katharina Dulias1
1 Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institut für Geosysteme und Bioindikation, Braunschweig, Germany
2 Dipartimento di Civiltà e Forme del Sapere, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
3 Milá y Fontanals en Humanidades (IMF-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
4 Museo delle Civiltà, Rome, Italy
Crop cultivation can be traced back to pre-Neolithic times, together with the first harvesting techniques, represented by flint blades likely belonging to sickle-like tools. The findings of these artifacts provide an important approach for research on prehistoric agricultural activities. Nevertheless, the poor preservation can be a major limitation. Therefore, the site of “La Marmotta” with its exceptional richness and preservation offers great opportunities. In particular, the sickles of “La Marmotta” are characterized for the preservation of an adhesive substance attaching the flint blades to the wooden handling structure. This resin-like material has proven to retain diverse plant remains from crops and surrounding vegetation. Here, we intend to add another proxy for the study of these devices. Therefore, we developed a DNA extraction method by testing on adhesive material obtained from replicas of the original sickles, which were tested on the field. Analyses on the extracted DNA matched with the crops harvested during the experiment, the surrounding vegetation and several crop and plant pathogens. Moreover, we applied this protocol on the Neolithic samples, successfully obtaining genetic material, whose preliminary analyses included the detection of some members of the Poaceae family such as Digitaria exilis or Triticum aestivum, together with several microorganisms associated with land vegetation such as Komagataella phaffi or the bacterial genus Rhizobium. Analytical results are currently verified using the aMeta pipeline. Our results indicate a great potential for DNA preservation in ancient adhesive material, adding an incredibly valuable layer of information to the reconstruction of early European agriculture.
Neolithic relations between Sicily and the Balkans
Angelo Vintaloro
Starting from the last centuries of the 7th millennium BC, along the coasts of Puglia, north Italy, Basilicata and Calabria, and in their respective internal territories, we encounter settlements of a different nature that use vases of «impressed ceramic». Between the 6th and 4th millennium BC it made its way along the Tyrrhenian coasts, to reach Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and Provence, then in Spain and along the Atlantic coasts. In Sicily it stabilized in the Syracuse area, Agrigento area and in the Grotta dell’ Uzzo in the Trapani area. Sicily was also the land of origin of the flint, and the obligatory passage for the obsidian coming from Lipari and from Pantelleria, and exported to various parts of Europe. The face, but above all the schematized eye of Stentinello, is identical to that of the Cucuteni Culture in Romania, and of the Tell Brak site in Syria. We will subsequently consider the three large areas affected: the coastal regions of the peninsula, Sardinia, and Sicily. In the Neolithic we find the first relationships with the area south of the Balkans, already influenced by the Middle East. These contacts, mediated by Puglia and Calabria, were optimized in the Aeolian Islands, with the Facies of Serra d’Alto (Middle Neolithic) and the Culture of Diana (Recent Neolithic). This is the period of the commercialization of obsidian, which from the Aeolian Islands reached as far as the Scandinavian countries, and this new wealth caused a further demographic increase, which constantly populated Sicily. These data are confirmed by the latest archaeological research.
Lost and Found: On Socio-Cultural Development in the Polish Lowlands in the 4th Millennium BC
Danuta Żurkiewicz1, Iwona Sobkowiak-Tabaka1, Aldona Kurzawska1
1 Faculty of Archaeology Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego, Poznań, Poland
The appearance of long earth barrows in the Polish Lowlands in the first half of the 4th millennium BC is associated with the popularisation of a new phenomenon – the Funnelbeakerculture (FBC) community. At that time, we observe a settlement explosion, sometimes called the “Great Colonisation” of the Lowlands. This process was associated with a significant change in the relationship between man and the environment. New economic and social patterns were formed at that time, aimed at developing more effective ways of obtaining food, never before encountered here. The worldview of the “colonisers” also required adaptation to new challenges. The new relations of man with his environment required the blurring of the previously clear conceptual boundaries between the “home” zone (domus) and the environment (agrios). We can observe manifestations of such “domestication” of the landscape in the form of monumental tombs, built from earth and boulders by FBC communities.
Considering FBC’s revolutionary nature, discussing its origins becomes extremely important. Many hypotheses about its genesis in the Polish Lowlands are associated with it. These hypotheses can be divided into two groups: (i) indicating the participation of hunter-gatherer communities in its formation and (ii) deriving FBC from Neolithic communities of Danubian origin.
Transferring this discussion to the western part of the Polish Lowlands, to central Greater Poland, allows us to provide several arguments, derived from new discoveries and research, for the great proximity of FBC and the community of early farmers.
The presented arguments from settlement and palaeoenvironmental studies, new discoveries from excavations, and new archaeometric studies of long-known sources allow us to try to re-characterize the community of builders of long earth tombs in the area of Greater Poland.
Neolithic Farmers in the Adriatic: A Fresh Look at Subsistence and Interaction
Sarah B. McClure1, Matthew Lobiondo1, Nicholas Triozzi1, Emil Podrug2, Jelena Jović2
1 Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
2 Šibenik City Museum
The last 20 years of research have provided new insights on early Neolithic farmers in the Adriatic. Excavations, material analyses, and the application of new methodologies have characterized early Neolithic lifeways and the role of trans-Adriatic interactions for the spread of farming. Discoveries of underwater sites have also highlighted some of the taphonomic challenges for Neolithic sites presented by post-glacial environmental change. This poster highlights patterns of Neolithic subsistence practices throughout the Adriatic region and presents high resolution chronologies. The evidence for different types of social and economic interaction suggest that once established, early farming populations created new ecological and social niches that helped structure subsistence strategies throughout the region, and that this spread was neither uniform, structured, nor inevitable.
Decoding Early Neolithic Decorations in the North-western Mediterranean: A Protocol for Analysing Sequential Linear Impressions on Ceramics
Jade Duché1
1 Jean Jaurès University, Toulouse, France
The diffusion of the neolithic lifestyle in the western Mediterranean was driven by two cultural entities forming the Impressa-Cardial complex. The earliest neolithic settlements in Mediterranean France, dating to the early 6th millennium BCE, correspond to small agro-pastoral groups from the ceramica impressa sphere of Italy. Current data reveal diverse origins for these groups and highlight a cultural and chronological gap between Impressa and Cardial settlements. This raises questions about the role of these pioneer communities in the spread of the Neolithic economy in the region.
Ceramics from these groups are key cultural markers, and studying the variability of decorative traditions has proven essential for understanding the Early Neolithic. Our research focuses on sequential linear impressions (SLI), also known as sillons d’impressions, a geometric decorative technique characteristic of the Impressa facies in southern France, and a promising chrono-cultural marker. However, gaps in the characterization of SLI variability and terminological ambiguities hinder comparative studies and limit interpretative frameworks.
The study of Peiro Signado collection (Portiragnes, France), rich in SLI decorations, allowed us to develop an analytical protocol and experimental framework. This protocol introduces precise terminology, descriptive criteria and subcategories to improve characterization. Experiments linking tools, gestures and imprints allow us to validate these criteria and establish a methodological tool for interpreting SLI variability. Applied to other Impressa assemblages from southern France, this approach refined the chronological and cultural attribution of these sites. Extanding this comparison to Italy and Spain could reveal broader decorative traditions and explore potential cultural connections.
Seasonal Mobility and Coastal Subsistence in the Early Neolithic: Insights from Ždrilo Cave
Mario Bodružić1, Dario Vujević 1, Maja Grgurić Srzentić1, Melita Peharda2, Meghan Buchnell3, David Gillikin4, Elizabeth Harper5, Bernd R. Schöne6, Hana Uvanović2, Anouk Verheyden4, Niels J. de Winter7
1 University of Zadar, Department of Archaeology, Croatia
2 Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Croatia
3 Memorial University, Canada
4 Union College, USA
5 University of Cambridge, UK
6 Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Germany
7 Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands
Ždrilo Cave represents a key site for understanding the early Neolithic occupation along the eastern Adriatic coast. Radiocarbon dating of excavated materials revealed a well-preserved sequence spanning from 5800 to 4900 BC, providing a rare opportunity to investigate the seasonal mobility of early farming communities in the region. The site’s substantial record, including abundant faunal remains, lithic artifacts, and evidence of fire-use, offers critical insights into subsistence strategies, particularly in comparison to contemporaneous open-air settlements. As part of the BivalveSPEECH project, analyses of shell growth patterns and shell geochemistry are being conducted, which will provide valuable insights into early Neolithic foraging behavior and seasonal migrations. The presence of bivalve middens, alongside other faunal and botanical remains, suggests complex patterns of resource exploitation that may reflect seasonal site use and adaptation to the coastal environment. By integrating multiple lines of evidence, our study on Ždrilo Cave contributes to broader discussions on settlement dynamics, economic strategies, and the role of coastal landscapes in Neolithic lifeways.
A Neolithic Surprise in Smilčić – The First Neolithic Rondel and New Settlement Plans from Northern Dalmatia
Kristina Horvat Oštrić1, Fynn Wilkes2, Henry Skorna2, Johannes Müller2
1 Department of Archaeology, University of Zadar, Croatia
2 Institut of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, Kiel University
This poster presents the initial results of a geomagnetic survey conducted at five Neolithic sites in Northern Dalmatia. As part of a collaboration between the Department of Archaeology of the University of Zadar and the Institute for Pre- and Protohistory at Kiel University, surveys were carried out at Smilčić – Dugače, Smilčić – Barice, Benkovac – Barice, Pod Jagurom and Graduša – Lokve. These investigations mark an essential first step toward a deeper understanding of the Neolithic landscape and settlement patterns in the region and lay the ground work for further research.
A particularly unexpected and significant discovery was the first Neolithic rondel identified in Dalmatia, a well-known Central European phenomenon, with its closest examples documented about 250 km to the north-east in Slavonia. Belonging probably to late Danilo, the multi-ditch system of the Smilčić rondel and its link to other enclosures at the site describes a yet unexpected perspective to Dalmatia and the Adriatic. This finding shifts the previously known borders of rondel distribution, expanding their spatial range further. The poster will present the geomagnetic plans of this remarkable find alongside the survey results from the other settlement sites, providing new insights into the spatial organization and social dynamics of Neolithic communities in Northern Dalmatia.
