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The beginning of the Neolithic in the Adriatic region dates back to approximately 6000 cal BC. The appearance of Impressed Ware pottery in an area that roughly covers the Strait of Otranto to the coastal plains of Southern Istria marks its generic development. By combining lithic, economic and paleoenvironmental data we propose a new arrhythmic model for framing Neolithisation in the Adriatic region. One the one hand, the data available 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 installation of a dry climate). These newcomers settled mostly in the fertile plains of the Dalmatian and Apulian hinterland, basing their subsistence almost exclusively on agriculture and livestock, while the lithic blade production made of cherts from Gargano (southern Italy) testifies to important social aspects and complex management strategies (mining activities, more complex modes of pressure, specialized distribution networks). On the other hand, in the Northern Adriatic (Istria, Karst, Po plain? Marches?) the Neolithic emerged a bit later, possibly as a result of some form of acculturation. Although the data available are still scarce, some evidence suggest that the last Mesolithic groups played an active role in the process of neolithisation in these areas, as the presence of Castelnovian sites is documented and certain Castelnovian traditions are identified in the Impressed Ware lithic production (the use of local flint, lamellar production by indirect percussion and “simpler” forms of pressure flaking) and in the economy e.g. importance of fishing.

Malo se zna o počecima poljodjelstva u Hrvatskoj (oko 6000. cal BC) i proveden je tek mali broj istraživanja usmjerenih na otkrivanje strategija preživljavanja u to doba. U ovom su članku predstavljeni novi arheobotanički podaci sa srednjoneolitičkog nalazišta Danilo Bitinj i ranoneolitičkog te srednjoneolitičkog nalazišta Pokrovnik, što je značajan doprinos dosadašnjim spoznajama o počecima poljodjelstva u tom području., The beginning of farming in Croatia (ca. 6000 cal BC) is little understood and few archaeobotanical studies have been conducted to explore the nature of subsistence economies at this time. This paper presents new archaeobotanical data from the middle Neolithic site of Danilo Bitinj and the early/middle Neolithic site of Pokrovnik, providing a significant contribution to the current evidence on early farming in the region.

From round-headed warrior invaders to introducers of a cult package, accounts of the appearance of Beakers in Britain have varied considerably. The basis of Burgess & Shennan’s ‘Beaker Package Hypothesis’ was that, other than the distinctive burial and associated artefacts, Beaker users had little impact on the other aspects of the contemporary archaeological record. But is this the case? With an improved radiocarbon-based chronology, new excavations and discoveries since 1976, and the reinterpretation of older data that these discoveries allow, we can instead see some fundamental changes coinciding with the arrival of Beakers. This is particularly the case in the domestic sphere, but other changes in ritual monument and artefacts can also be identified. In addition, we can document the demise of Later Neolithic Grooved Ware-using societies and the emergence of a new Early Bronze Age but with its roots very firmly in the Middle, not Late, Neolithic. Les récits relatifs à l’arrivée des communautés à Campaniforme en Grande Bretagne varient considérablement, allant des guerriers envahisseurs brachycéphales aux initiateurs d’un culte. Le point de départ de « l’hypothèse sur l’ensemble Campaniforme » de Burgess et Shennan était que, à l’exception des sépultures caractéristiques et des objets associés, les communautés à Campaniforme ont eu peu d’impact sur les autres aspects du registre archéologique qui leur est contemporain. Mais est-ce bien le cas ? Grâce, d’une part, à une chronologie améliorée basée sur des datations au radiocarbone, de nouvelles opérations archéologiques et de nouvelles découvertes depuis 1976, et d’autre part, à la réinterprétation d’anciennes données que ces nouvelles découvertes facilitent, nous pouvons, au contraire voir des changements fondamentaux qui coïncident avec l’arrivée des communautés à Campaniforme. C’est particulièrement le cas dans la sphère domestique, mais nous pouvons également déceler d’autres changements dans les monuments et objets rituels. De plus, nous pouvons suivre la disparition de communautés à Grooved Ware du Néolithique récent et l’émergence d’un nouvel âge du Bronze ancien mais fermement ancré dans le Néolithique moyen et non dans le Néolithique final.

International audience; In the north western Mediterranean, in the area between the Rhone River and the Northern Apennines, the last Mesolithic societies (Castelnovian) and the first Neolithic societies (Impressed Ware or Impressa) coexisted during the first half of the 6th millennium cal. BCE (Before Common Era). Linking the two settlement distribution patterns (mainly high lands and low lands for the Castelnovian versus Mediterranean coastal areas for the Impressa) to their specific environmental backgrounds during that period of coexistence enables us to document the attractiveness of the various available landscape units as a function of the subsistence practices (hunting, fishing and gathering versus agro-pastoralism). Pollen and charcoal data from 41 archaeological sites along with contemporaneous natural (off archaeological sites) sequences (hereafter referred to as “off-site sequences”) from three windows (Provence/Western Liguria, the middle Rhone valley/Prealps and Southern Alps, Eastern Liguria/Northern Apennines) were examined in order to reconstruct the vegetal landscape in the surroundings of the Mesolithic and Neolithic settlements between 6500 and 5400 cal. BCE. The importance of environmental versus cultural factors in the settlement preferences of both groups is discussed in order to document our reflection concerning non-consensual issues, such as the existence of interaction or avoidance behaviours or the sharing (or not) of parts or all of the territory and of its natural resources. The results notably highlight the expansion of fir forests that, based on ecological and accessibility criteria, could be considered as rather inauspicious for settlement and hunting as well as for pastoral activities. This expansion may have influenced the settlement patterns of both cultural complexes, leading populations to locate their settlements principally within landscape units that remained clear of extensive fir forests. It appears that, despite being motivated by the prevailing subsistence activities, the choice of an area of land for settlement is deeply guided by various other cultural factors which are less directly dependent upon natural resources. Thus, in an area providing a large range of possibilities, the landscape in which the groups establish themselves could be considered as just one of many cultural characteristics.

Les récits relatifs à l’arrivée des communautés à Campaniforme en Grande Bretagne varient considérablement, allant des guerriers envahisseurs brachycéphales aux initiateurs d’un culte. Le point de départ de « l’hypothèse sur l’ensemble Campaniforme » de Burgess et Shennan était que, à l’exception des sépultures caractéristiques et des objets associés, les communautés à Campaniforme ont eu peu d’impact sur les autres aspects du registre archéologique qui leur est contemporain. Mais est-ce bien le cas ? Grâce, d’une part, à une chronologie améliorée basée sur des datations au radiocarbone, de nouvelles opérations archéologiques et de nouvelles découvertes depuis 1976, et d’autre part, à la réinterprétation d’anciennes données que ces nouvelles découvertes facilitent, nous pouvons, au contraire voir des changements fondamentaux qui coïncident avec l’arrivée des communautés à Campaniforme. C’est particulièrement le cas dans la sphère domestique, mais nous pouvons également déceler d’autres changements dans les monuments et objets rituels. De plus, nous pouvons suivre la disparition de communautés à Grooved Ware du Néolithique récent et l’émergence d’un nouvel âge du Bronze ancien mais fermement ancré dans le Néolithique moyen et non dans le Néolithique final. From round-headed warrior invaders to introducers of a cult package, accounts of the appearance of Beakers in Britain have varied considerably. The basis of Burgess & Shennan’s ‘Beaker Package Hypothesis’ was that, other than the distinctive burial and associated artefacts, Beaker users had little impact on the other aspects of the contemporary archaeological record. But is this the case? With an improved radiocarbon-based chronology, new excavations and discoveries since 1976, and the reinterpretation of older data that these discoveries allow, we can instead see some fundamental changes coinciding with the arrival of Beakers. This is particularly the case in the domestic sphere, but other changes in ritual monument and artefacts can also be identified. In addition, we can document the demise of Later Neolithic Grooved Ware-using societies and the emergence of a new Early Bronze Age but with its roots very firmly in the Middle, not Late, Neolithic.

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.

New radiocarbon determinations from Mesolithic, Neolithic, and/or Copper Age contexts at ten sites are presented, bringing the number of absolute dates available for the East Adriatic to more than twice that of a decade ago. The dates show that, from 6000 BC onward, pottery styles (Impressed Ware, Danilo variants, Hvar, Nakovana, and Cetina) emerged, spread, and disappeared at different times, places, and rates within the region. The implications for models of the spread of farming and other features of Neolithic life are discussed. The continued usefulness of the threefold division of the regional Neolithic into ‘Early’, ‘Middle’, and ‘Late’ phases is found to be dubious.

International audience

On présente les étapes des travaux de terrain et de révision des collections anciennes qui ont presidé au développement des recherches conduites depuis 1980 dans le cadre de la coopération archéologique franco-marocaine en matière de Préhistoire récente (Epipaléolithique, Néolithique, Campaniforme et débuts de l’Age du Bronze). La révision des cadres stratigraphiques, l’obtention de nouvelles datations numériques, la sériation de nombreuses séries céramiques et la révision des cadres stratigraphiques ont conduit à une évolution des concepts fondant le passage aux économies de production et la succession des groupes culturels responsables des étapes successives du Néolithique marocain entre le VIIIe et la fin du IIIe millénaires avant notre ère. Le constat d’une lacune sédimentaire affectant les sites du Maroc septentrional au début de l’Holocène a conduit à mettre en evidence des témoins du Néolithique ancien dans l’aire péri-sharienne, sur les hauts plateaux atlasiques. We present the fieldwork steps and the revisiting studies of former collected assemblages which formed the core of our research since 1980 within the framework of France-Morocco co-operative programs in recent Prehistory (Epipalaeolithic, Neolithic, Bell-beakers and beginning of Bronze Age). The revision of the stratigraphical frames along with new absolute datings and classification of numerous ceramic assemblages have allowed an evolution of concepts about the transition to production economies and about the successive cultural groups responsible for the different stages of the moroccan Neolithic between the VIIIth and the end of the IIIrd millenium BC. A sedimentary hiatus evidenced in Northern Morocco sites did not allowed the preservation of Ancient Neolithic but its presence has been documented on the peri-saharian high plateaus of Atlas.

This article explores the proposition that the archaeological record of small, remote islands with scarce resources reflects the intensity of long-distance interaction in prehistory, taking as an example the Adriatic offshore islands. The best represented periods, the early Neolithic and the end of the Copper Age, correspond to the times of large-scale stylistic unity, the former, of the Mediterranean Impressed Wares, and the latter, of Bell Beakers. During those periods, radical innovations were introduced over vast areas of Europe, first, a new subsistence economy, and second, a different kind of social organization. In both cases, long-distance interaction would have played a crucial role.

The present work describes the study of the ceramic materials recovered in Oukaïmeden Valley, and its results. In this set of archaeological sites, we obtained information mainly from Aougnin n’ait Ourigh, and so we will examine it in detail. The site is located in one of the western platforms that access the mountain valley of Oukaïmeden. This settlement comprises a rock shelter, probably used only during the summer months. This site has provided the oldest chronologies for the presence of humans in the Moroccan High Atlas, between the late Fourth Millennium- the beginning of the Third Millennium calBC. In this shelter we recovered a small ceramic assemblage that, despite its limitations, gives us certain insight into the technological and cultural features of the Neolithic groups in an area where very little research in this particular field has been conducted so far. Other findings belonging to the Bronze Age are also examined and compared to other North African sites. Este trabajo presenta el estudio de los materiales cerámicos de cronología prehistórica conocidos hasta la fecha en el valle de Oukaïmeden. La información procede esencialmente del abrigo de Aougnin n’ait Ourigh, que es estudiado en detalle. Este sitio se sitúa en una de las plataformas que permiten el acceso al valle desde el Oeste. Se trata de un abrigo en un gran bloque aislado de roca, ocupado con toda probabilidad solo en los meses estivales. El yacimiento ha proporcionado las fechas más antiguas conocidas hasta ahora para la ocupación humana del Alto Atlas, entre mediados del IV e inicios del III milenio calBC, y de él procede un pequeño conjunto cerámico, cuyo análisis nos proporciona algunos datos sobre las características tecnológicas y culturales de las pequeñas comunidades neolíticas, muy poco investigadas en la región. Asimismo se estudian otros hallazgos correspondientes a la Edad del Bronce y se comparan con sus paralelos en el Norte de África.

Contemporary with the beginning of the western Mediterranean Neolithization, Peiro Signado is one of the oldest Neolithic settlements in the south of France. The site shows the installation, on the coast of Languedoc, of small pioneer groups with clearly Italian origins. The lithic industry is characterized by a bladelet production. Use-wear analysis brings to light the diversified forms of Neolithic economy corresponding to a technical system transported by the first settlers. This paper presents the first results of use-wear analysis that will be entirely published in the monograph of the site.

International audience; Contemporary of the beginning of western Mediterranean neolithization, Peiro Signado is one of the oldest Neolithic settlements in south of France. The site shows the installation, on the coast of Languedoc, of small pioneer groups with clearly Italian origin. The lithic industry is characterized by a bladelet production. Use wear analysis brings to light the diversified forms of Neolithic economy corresponding to a technical system transported by the first settlers. This paper presents the first results of use wear analysis which will be entirely published in the monograph of the site

Zahvaljujući svojem strateškom položaju u samome središtu Jadrana mali otočić Palagruža odigrao je važnu ulogu u jednoj od ključnih prijelaznih epizoda europske pretpovijesti – širenju zemljoradnje i stočarstva. Najraniji tragovi prisutnosti ljudi na tom otoku potječu iz razdoblja ranoga neolitika. Ovaj rad donosi pregled palagruških ranoneolitičkih nalazišta i nalaza, kao i interpretaciju tih nalaza u kontekstu sveobuhvatnih promjena koje su Jadran zahvatile u prvoj polovici šestoga tisućljeća prije Krista. Spomenuti nalazi upućuju na postojanje pomorskih znanja i tehnologija koje su omogućivale brzo prebacivanje dobara, ideja i ljudi preko širokih prostranstava otvorenoga mora. Zahvaljujući tim znanjima nov način preživljavanja, temeljen na proizvodnji hrane, relativno se brzo proširio i stabilizirao na čitavome jadranskom prostoru., Due to its strategic position at the very centre of the Adriatic Sea, the islet of Palagruža played a vital role during one of the crucial transitional episodes of European prehistory – the spread of farming. The earliest evidence of human presence on this islet dates to the Early Neolithic. This article presents an overview of Palagruža’s Early Neolithic sites and finds, as well as an interpretation of those finds in the context of comprehensive changes that affected the Adriatic region during the first half of the sixth millennium BC. These finds indicate the existence of seafaring skills and technology that allowed circulation of goods, ideas, and people in rapid fashion over long stretches of open water. Thanks to these skills, a new way of life based on food production spread and stabilised relatively quickly throughout the Adriatic region.

The authors present the stratigraphical results produced from new excavations in the Pendimoun rock shelter (Castellar, Alpes-Maritimes) ; geoarchaeological, archaeozoological and palaeobotanical preliminary studies are also submitted. New data related to the Early Neolithic period (Impressed Ware Cultural Complex) are more largely developed. This period shows two cultural phases, ancient (Impressa) and recent (Early Cardial), enclosing a funeral episode. This cultural sequence is discussed in a French and Italian context. Twice over, the anthropological field studies presented in this paper give evidence of the voluntary filling of the funeral pits and of the installation of funeral devices upon the burials., Les auteurs présentent la stratigraphie établie lors des nouvelles fouilles de l'abri Pendimoun à Castellar (Alpes-Maritimes) et les résultats des études tests réalisées dans les domaines géoarchéologique, archéozoologique et paléobotanique. Les documents relatifs au Néolithique ancien (complexe culturel de la Céramique Imprimée) font l'objet d'un développement plus large. Cette période montre deux phases culturelles, ancienne (Impressa) et récente (Cardial ancien), encadrant un épisode funéraire. Cette séquence culturelle est discutée dans un contexte géographique limité à l'aire franco-italienne. Les études anthropologiques de terrain présentées ici ont permis de mettre en évidence à deux reprises le comblement volontaire des fosses sépulcrales et l'installation de dispositifs de signalisation des tombes., Binder Didier, Brochier Jacques-Élie, Duday Henri, Helmer D., Marinval Philippe, Thiebault Stéphanie, Wattez Julia. L'abri Pendimoun à Castellar (Alpes-Maritimes). Nouvelles données sur le complexe culturel de la céramique imprimée méditerranéenne dans son contexte stratigraphique. In: Gallia préhistoire, tome 35, 1993. pp. 177-251.