1. Revealing the 'hidden' Pannonian and Central Balkan Mesolithic: new radiocarbon evidence from Serbia
- Author
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Tamara Blagojević, Vesna Dimitrijević, Kristina Penezić, Jugoslav Pendić, Ivana Živaljević, Nenad Jončić, Dragan Anđelić, Miloš Spasić, Anđelka Putica, Milica Bajčeta, Jelena Jovanović, Jelena Bulatović, Sofija Stefanović, and Viktorija Uzelac
- Subjects
010506 paleontology ,Provenance ,Early Neolithic ,Range (biology) ,Great Pannonian Plain ,New radiocarbon dates ,Central Balkans ,01 natural sciences ,law.invention ,Early Holocene ,law ,0601 history and archaeology ,Radiocarbon dating ,Mesolithic ,Holocene ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Earth-Surface Processes ,060102 archaeology ,Excavation ,06 humanities and the arts ,15. Life on land ,Archaeology ,Large sample ,Geography ,Animal bone - Abstract
With the exception of the well known Mesolithic sites in the Danube Gorges (or the Iron Gates), the wider areas of the Central Balkans and southern fringes of the Great Pannonian Plain still represent a terra incognita when it comes to the presence of Mesolithic communities. The absence of Mesolithic sites in the region was associated with environmental changes in the Early Holocene, presumed low human population densities, limited possibilities of detection, or the lack of adequate research. However, valuable insights into the obscure regional Mesolithic can be gained not only by new archaeological excavations, but also by revisiting and reanalysing of existing archaeological collections. Particularly informative in this respect are the Early Neolithic sites, indicative of the extensive spread of farming communities from c. 6200 cal BC. Within the ERC Project BIRTH, a large sample of human and animal remains from these sites was dated, falling in the (expected) range between c. 6200‒5300 cal BC. However, one human and several animal bone samples from the sites of Magareći mlin, Gospođinci-Nove zemlje and Grabovac-Đurića vinogradi were dated to the 8th millennium cal BC, providing the first radiocarbon evidence of Early Holocene sequences in the territory of Serbia other than the Danube Gorges. In this paper, we present the new radiocarbon dates, discuss the contextual provenance of dated bones, and explore the implications of these results for a better understanding of the problem of the “missing” and “invisible” Mesolithic in the region.
- Published
- 2021