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The microlithic component in Eurasian Pleistocene stone tool assemblages has been identified as a relevant part of technological behaviours just recently. Traditionally the small component of pre-sapiens lithic assemblages was systematically classified into the category of “knapping waste/debris”. These tools are usually unretouched, so not easily identifiable as searched tools according to traditional criteria in lithic morpho-technical studies and, as a result, assumed not to be informative about past human behaviours. The first works that allowed archaeologists to identify tiny lithic items as tools by ancient hominins were mainly focused on use-wear analysis (recognising that they were used in meat-cutting activities since Lower Palaeolithic, Barkai et al., 2010), and refitting (showing a flexible character of Middle Palaeolithic stone tool production, systematically fragmented in the spatial, temporal, and social domains, Turq et al. 2013). Reanalysis of Eurasian assemblages was favoured by the identification of small implements in the African records (ESA, MSA, and LSA). Furthermore, micro-artefacts have been showed to be more frequently attested in their original location of use and in primary activity areas being charged of a special value for archaeologists when it comes to identifying and interpreting cultural aspects looking at the spatial distribution in hunter-gatherers’ campsites (Hull, 1987). In the last decade several papers have showed the widespread production of small items that are currently known as a basic component of Middle Palaeolithic technology (e.g., Borel at al., 2017 ; Romagnoli et al., 2022). However, these studies also clearly showed that, in some cases, these small tools were part of the transported toolkit. Thus, they can be related to a huge diversity of economic and mobility strategies. These include anticipated task planning, in-situ expedient production of effective cutting edges, exploitation of lower quality resources, or different manufacture procedures. Still, microlithisation of core knapping, exploitation of core-on-flake, bipolar production, recycling, etc. and the multiplicity of behaviours related to them are not necessarily mutually exclusive. While the issue of microliths in Middle Palaeolithic is currently a cutting edge in human evolution studies, it is still looked through a blurry lens because of the lack of clear definitions. One problem concerns the length or weight threshold that small items should have and the use of the generic label “microstuff” that impede to understand the specific contribution of these productions as cultural component in regional groups. Another problem concerns their role in hominins daily lifeways at different temporal and spatial scales of analysis, their possible integration in the technological and social organisation of the human groups. In this presentation we briefly consider these problems through some archaeological examples on which we are working. They converge on showing this variability within micro-productions studies in Middle Palaeolithic and current limitations to their understanding. We also discuss some proprietary aspects in relation to taxonomy and technology, as well as possible pathways to further investigate this issue. This paper is a first step to build a collective, collaborative project to investigate Middle Palaeolithic microproduction with a more focused look.

In our lecture, the main features of the Mesolithic coastal settlement in the Eastern Adriatic during the 7th millennium BC are presented. We look at the issues of radiocarbon chronology, lithic technology, lithic raw material procurement strategies, subsistence strategies and the ambiguity of certain archaeological contexts.

U radu su predstavljena recentna paleontološka i arheološka istraživanja u Gornjoj Baraćevoj špilji. Poseban naglasak stavljen je na pronalazak kamenog oruđa koje vjerojatno potječe iz razdoblja srednjeg paleolitika.

Bone samples from two caves, Vindija (Donja Voća, NW Croatia) and Mujina Pećina cave (Plano, near Kaštela, Dalmatia), were selected for radiocarbon AMS dating at the Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI) laboratory. Collagen extraction yielded >1% of collagen for 10 samples. From six samples the collagen yield was lower than 0.5 % and those bones could have not been dated. The low collagen yield (

The project „Last Neanderthals at the Crossroads of Central Europe and the Mediterranean – NECEM“ (financed by Croatian Science Foundation, HRZZ-IP-2019-04-6649) aims to gain new data on the adaptations of late Neanderthals in today’s Croatia by interdisciplinary methods. Radiocarbon gives a chronological framework providing the samples are not older than about 50000 years. A total of 16 bone samples from two caves, Vindija (Donja Voća, NW Croatia) and Mujina Pećina cave (Plano, near Kaštela, Dalmatia), were selected for radiocarbon AMS dating at the Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI) laboratory. Collagen extraction yielded >1% of collagen for 10 samples. From six samples, the collagen yield was lower than 0.5 % and those bones could not have been dated since the low yield (

Rad se temelji na litičkoj analizi epigravetijenskih i mezolitičkih kamenih artefakata pronađenih u Veloj spili tijekom istraživanja 2006. godine. Istraživanje je bazirano na tehnološko-tipološkoj analizi litičkih skupova nalaza, kao i na analizi sirovine korištene za njihovu izradu. Rezultati litičke analize epigravetijenskih i mezolitičkih skupova nalaza pokazali su da ih karakterizira tehnološki i tipološki diskontinuitet. Strategije nabave kamene sirovine u Veloj spili pokazuju određene sličnosti, ali i značajne razlike između epigravetijenskih i mezolitičkih slojeva. Rezultati provedenih analiza razmatrani su u regionalnom arheološkom kontekstu.

L’Épigravettien a été défini dans les années 1960 pour rendre compte de l’originalité des industries lithiques postérieures au Gravettien en Italie. L’extension progressive de cette entité à une grande partie de l’Europe méditerranéenne et orientale s’est également appuyée essentiellement sur les industries lithiques. Au cours des dernières décennies, le développement de l’approche technologique dans l’étude des industries lithiques, associé à une meilleure prise en compte des contextes archéologiques et des séquences stratigraphiques, a fortement renouvelé la perception de l’Épigravettien, de sa sériation et de son emprise chrono-géographique. Dans plusieurs régions, des travaux portant sur les transferts lithiques documentent des réseaux de déplacement et de contact s’établissant à différentes échelles. En parallèle, les recherches portant sur d’autres domaines techniques et culturels ont considérablement progressé au cours des dernières décennies et ont concerné des matériaux variés (parures, faunes, art pariétal et mobilier, sépultures...). Pourtant, ces recherches ont été généralement menées à l’intérieur du cadre fixé par les industries lithiques et n’ont querarement conduit à une rediscussion de ce dernier. Dans cette communication, nous proposons une première tentative de synthèse des données acquises et nous tentons de poser les bases d’un dialogue non hiérarchisé entre ces différents domaines de la culture matérielle. Cette position nous conduit à éprouver d’abord la consistance de l’entité épigravettienne en dehors des seules pratiques techniques lithiques et à évaluer les recouvrements et les écarts existant entre les séquences de changements identifiés au sein des différentes composantes des systèmes techniques. Cette discussion est menée en s’appuyant d’abord sur un noyau de connaissances établies au-tour de deux grands domaines géographiques : le nord-est de l’Italie et l’arc liguro-provençal. Nous élargissons ensuite la réflexion vers le sud et vers l’est. Chronologiquement, notre propos embrasse la durée de l’ Épigravettien (entre ca. 20 ka cal. BP et 11, 5 ka cal. BP), mais se concentrera sur certains épisodes critiques ou des changements forts sont perceptibles dans les pratiques culturelles de populations épigravettiennes.

The aim of the project „Last Neandertals at the Crossroads of Central Europe and the Mediterranean – NECEM“ (financed by Croatian Science Foundation, HRZZ-IP-2019-04-6649) is to gain new data on the adaptations of late Neandertals in today’s Croatia by interdisciplinary methods. Radiocarbon dating method gives a chronological framework providing the samples are not older than about 50000 years. A total of 16 bone samples from two caves, Vindija (Donja Voća, NW Croatia) and Mujina Pećina cave (Plano, near Kaštela, Dalmatia), were selected for radiocarbon AMS dating at the Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI) laboratory. Collagen extraction yielded >1% of collagen for 10 samples. From six samples the collagen yield was lower than 0.5 % and those bones could have not been dated since the low yield (

In our presentation we will give an overview of various aspects of material culture left by Epigravettian hunter-gatherers in north-western Balkans together with chronology and settlement dynamics. We critically review old and present new data contributing to better understanding of regional Epigravettian. Epigravettian techno- complex encompasses time frame from approximately 25, 000 until 11, 500 cal BP. Its archaeological evidence, both old and new, is biased and almost exclusively known from cave and rockshelter sites, although certain progress should be expected with recently discovered Epigravettian stratified open- air site Konjevrate in central Eastern Adriatic. Epigravettian is the best documented period of human presence in the north-western Balkans during Palaeolithic. At the same time, it is highly fragmented because the region experienced significant palaeogeographic changes across the Pleistocene-Holocene transition when Pleistocene Adriatic Plain was flooded and disappeared. For this reason, the current overview represents only a partial picture that does not cover the whole space that Epigravettian groups used to exploit or all the aspects of their everyday life during Last Glacial Maximum and Late Glacial. Despite all biases and constraints that surround the research on Epigravettian, this review shows that caves and rock shelters provided significant amount of data about different aspects of Epigravettian hunter- gatherers’ lifeways, i.e. lithic production, raw material provisioning areas, food procurement, body adornment, settlement dynamics, rock and portable art.

The site of Badanj (Bosnia and Herzegovina) exhibits the first rock art dated to the Upper Palaeolithic (UP) in the Balkan Peninsula. The locality consists in a large and deep rock- shelter, with a small cave on its eastern edge. The dimensions of the rock-shelter are 21x8x11m. Đ. Basler (1976 ; 1979) was the first to excavate the site in the 1970s. He was able to identify prehistoric occupations from the Late Upper Palaeolithic (Lateglacial). A large engraved boulder was unearthed: the entire surface of the boulder was covered by archaeological deposits until Basler’s excavations. In 1986-87, excavations were resumed at Badanj under the direction of Z. Kujundžić and R. Whallon. They confirmed the presence of Late Epigravettian and potentially Mesolithic. Whallon (1989) distinguished two different phases of occupation corresponding to the Late Pleistocene and, probably, the Early Holocene. Badanj is a major site for Balkans UP due to several reasons. Firstly, it is the first site where Palaeolithic parietal art was discovered in the region. Secondly, it is one of the richest sites in lithic elements for the Epigravettian in this territory (more than 8000 retouched pieces just from Whallon’s excavations and over 350, 000 lithic remains issued from both excavation projects). Thirdly, Badanj has yielded the largest collection of UP personal ornaments in south-eastern Europe (more than 1000 items), consisting on various pierced bone, tooth and shell beads. Finally, this site yielded the largest collection of Palaeolithic mobiliary art in the Balkans, a rare element in this territory. Despite still remaining unanalysed, at least 20 engraved bone fragments and tools were found at the site ; an exceptional number considering that only other 18 have been identified for the UP in the entire Balkan Peninsula so far (Ruiz-Redondo et al., 2020). A few years ago, we resume the excavations in this exceptional site. The aim was to precise the stratigraphy and to assess the chronology of the different human occupations, providing a precise view of the evolution of one of the leading sequences for the Epigravettian in Europe. The geoarchaeological study and the first dating series have revealed that the archaeological sequence is deeper and longer than previous works recognised. In this paper, we present the preliminary results of both the excavation and the dating project in progress at the site and the further implications for the knowledge of the Late Upper Palaeolithic in the Balkan Peninsula. References : Basler 1976, Paleolitsko prebivalište Badanj kod Stoca. GZM (A) n.s. sv. 29: 5-18 / Basler 1979, le Paléolithique final en Herzegovine. in Sonneville-Bordes (ed.), La fin des temps glaciaires en Europe, CNRS, Paris: 345- 355 / Ruiz-Redondo et al. 2020, Beyond the bounds of Western Europe: Paleolithic art in the Balkan Peninsula. Journal of World Prehistory 33 (4): 425-55 / Whallon 1989, The Paleolithic site of Badanj: Recent excavations and results of analysis. GZM (A) n.s. sv 44: 7-20 / Whallon 1999, The lithic tool assemblages at Badanj within their regional context in Bailey, G. et al. (ed.): The Paleolithic Archaeology of Greece and Adjacent Areas, British S. of Athens 3: 330-42.

This paper reports new results obtained by Uranium-Thorium (U-Th) dating of animal bones, tooth and flowstone samples from three Croatian Middle Paleolithic sites. Dates were obtained on bones and teeth from Vindija (Hrvatsko zagorje) and flowstones from Velika pećina in Kličevica and Mujina pećina (both in Dalmatia). Obtained results support the previously established chronology of the Middle Paleolithic of Croatia by confirming that the oldest layers of Vindija belong to MIS 6 and that Velika pećina in Kličevica was visited by Neandertals after 40 ka BP.

The Adriatic region provides a unique opportunity to investigate diachronic change in maritime mobility and connectivity. In late Pleistocene, the shallow northern half of the Adriatic basin was dry and presented few barriers to land-based mobility. This changed with the Holocene transgression, when the sea inundated the Adriatic plain. In contrast, crossing the southern half of the Adriatic basin always required a long journey across open water. We compare the patterns of trans-Adriatic contacts in these two areas during the final Pleistocene, early Holocene, and the time of transition to farming. We discuss the evidence recovered from remote Adriatic islands, as well as the origin of extraneous lithic raw materials from eastern Adriatic sites, while drawing on the currently available radiocarbon- dated sequences and paleogeographic reconstructions. Since the Last Glacial Maximum, trans-Adriatic connectivity passed through three major phases that are separated by two key transitional events: the rapid expansion of the Adriatic Sea, and the arrival of farming. During the first phase, there is evidence of regular terrestrial contacts across the exposed Adriatic Plain. During the second phase, contacts between the opposing shores of a much expanded Adriatic Sea were minimal. After the arrival of farming, there is abundant and varied evidence of regular trans-Adriatic maritime contact. While the onset of full-time maritime connectivity coincided with the arrival of farming, a recent discovery testifies of at least occasional Late Mesolithic navigation across the southern Adriatic.

Epigravettian techno-complex encompasses time frame from approximately 25, 000 until 11, 500 cal BP. Its archaeological evidence, both old and new, is biased and almost exclusively known from cave and rockshelter sites, although certain progress should be expected with recently discovered Epigravettian stratified open-air site Konjevrate in central Eastern Adriatic. In our presentation we will give an overview of various aspects of material culture left by Eastern Adriatic Epigravettian hunter-gatherers together with chronology and settlement dynamics. We critically review old and present new data contributing to better understanding of regional Epigravettian. Epigravettian is the best documented period of human presence in the Eastern Adriatic during Palaeolithic. At the same time, it is highly fragmented because the region experienced significant palaeogeographic changes across the Pleistocene-Holocene transition when Pleistocene Adriatic Plain was flooded and disappeared. For this reason, the current overview represents only a partial picture that does not cover the whole space that Epigravettian groups used to exploit or all the aspects of their everyday life during Last Glacial Maximum and Late Glacial. Despite all biases and constraints that surround the research on Epigravettian, this review shows that caves and rock shelters provided significant amount of data about different aspects of Epigravettian hunter-gatherers’ lifeways.

A comprehensive interdisciplinary approach is proposed by this project, involving a wide range of professionals to obtain a variety of new data on the Middle and early Upper Paleolithic of Croatia. Employing both field and laboratory work, the project will shed new light on human biocultural evolution in south Central Europe and Central Mediterranean. This will involve obtaining a high-resolution chronology of the Middle/Upper Paleolithic interface in both continental and Adriatic Croatia and provide a more complete understanding of the relationships between Neandertals and early modern humans during the transitional period in Central Europe and the Mediterranean. Furthermore, comparison of Neandertal behaviour between two different paleoecological zones (Continental and Adriatic) will contribute a unique perspective on Neandertal adaptations. The project „Last Neandertals at the Crossroads of Central Europe and the Mediterranean – NECEM“ has been financed by Croatian Science Foundation, HRZZ- IP-2019- 04-6649.

Tijekom istraživanja u špilji Žukovici 2014. g. otkriven je mali, ali vrlo informativan litički skup nalaza koji pripada razdoblju mezolitika. Ovdje ćemo predstaviti glavna tehno-tipološka obilježja litičkog skupa nalaza, kao i preliminarne analize porijekla kamene sirovine. U analiziranom skupu nalaza zabilježene su vremenski osjetljive izrađevine od lomljenog kamena na temelju kojih je pretpostavljena kasnomezolitička starost koju okvirno stavljamo u sredinu 7. tisućljeća prije Krista. Kasnomezolitička nalazišta na srednjem i južnom dijelu istočnog Jadrana i njegova zaleđa izuzetno su rijetka, zbog čega otkriveni skup nalaza ima još veće značenje. Mezolitička arheološka građa iz Žukovice sagledat će se u lokalnom i regionalnom kontekstu, prije svega u usporedbi s kasnim mezolitikom Vele spile, ali i ostalim mezolitičkim nalazištima koja se datiraju u 7. tisućljeće prije Krista. Kasni mezolitik Žukovice u budućnosti će otvoriti mnoga zanimljiva pitanja o vremenu koje neposredno prethodi širenju stočarstva i zemljoradnje na istočnom Jadranu, kao i o odnosima novih stočarsko-ratarskih populacija s lokalnim lovcima-skupljačima.

Environmental changes at the end of the Pleistocene and the beginning of Holocene, such as change in climate, faunal and floral communities, sea level and so on had impact on human behavior and use of resources. These are also reflected in diet. Here we present the use of marine mollusks in diet of Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic inhabitants of Vlakno cave, Dugi Otok, Croatia. Differences in treatment of mollusks (e.g. traces of burning, abundance) and differences in species collected are compared between layers of inhabitation at the site.

Archaeological excavations at the cave complex Crvenkuša – Tamnica – jama Suhi Rumin were conducted in the fall of 2018 as part of the HRZZ funded project „Where East Meets West – the Cetina River Valley as an Ancient Pathway of Communication (Cetina Valley Survey)“, led by prof. dr. sc. Helena Tomas. Although surface pottery was identified as dating back to the early Neolithic impresso culture, subsequent excavation has shown a mixture of archaeological material from various time periods, which points to the secondary context of the finds. The documentation process regarding cave sites follows an established practice where the location of the trench is shown in both a topographical ground plan of the cave and a cross-section for the visualization of elevations. The metric data needed for the generation of these plans is usually collected using simple laser distance meters or tape measures, with the level of detail determined by the surveyor, who takes measurements at a smaller or a bigger interval. The resulting two-dimensional documentation is therefore to some extent subjective, as the person recording the data determines the level of detail needed. 3D recording of cave sites provides a much more objective dataset for the reproduction of plans but has until recently been limited to the use of terrestrial laser scanners which by the nature of their design work very well in low light environments. On the other hand, the use of image-based modelling is heavily dependable on the amount of light available inside the caves. In our case study, a combination of natural light and minor artificial light sources provided us with nearly ideal conditions to test out the utility of photogrammetric 3D models for the documentation of cave excavations. The results of our case study will be presented in the context of past documentation methods and potential problems regarding documentation of cave sites using image-based modelling.

U radu su navedeni sažeti podaci o terenskom pregledu u Požeškoj kotlini čijinje glavni cilj bio pronalazak paleolitičkih nalazišta. Nije utvrđeno nijedno nedvojbeno paleolitičko nalazište u Požeškoj kotlini, ali nekoliko koncentracija kamenih izrađevina, kao i tipološka obilježja pojedinih izrađevina, mogli bi upućivati na moguću paleolitičku starost.

Early Upper Paleolithic sites in the Danube catchment have been put forward as evidence that the river was an important conduit for modern humans during their initial settlement of Europe. Central to this model is the Carpathian Basin, a region covering most of the Middle Danube. Because the archeological record of this region is still poorly understood, this paper aims to provide a contextual assessment of the Carpathian Basin’s geological and paleoenvironmental archives starting with the late Upper Pleistocene. Subsequently, it compiles early Upper Paleolithic data from the region to provide a synchronic appraisal of the Aurignacian archeological evidence. This paper then uses this data within a computer-based method to estimate optimal migration routes of early human population groups through the Carpathian Basin by a combination of ecological niche analyses. In the proposed method, niche probability is predicted using methods from the R dismo software library, a combination of ecological niche and species distribution modeling based on the maximum entropy theory. We input into the model the location of known archeological sites, topographic variables (e.g. altitude, aspect, slope) and landform classifications derived from the SRTM DEM. Furthermore, we included soil, geology (bedrock/karst), and paleoclimate data. We also present a case study of how this technique has been used for an archaeological survey. Our results suggest that the Carpathian Basin has played an important role in the dispersal of early modern humans however, more geoarcheological research is needed before a firm understanding of the region can be achieved.

Adriatic region is of an extreme importance due to its geographic position which connects the Mediterranean with the European continental area, as is reflected in the rich archaeological record. In recent years, work on Mousterian sites in this region has been intensified and provided important information about chronology of habitation, adaptation and behavior of Mousterian people. Unfortunately very limited number of new information about early Upper Paleolithic was gathered by recent research. Middle and Early Upper Paleolithic sites from the region are shortly presented in this paper and the problem of Middle/Upper Paleolithic interface is discussed.

Shells of marine and land mollusc exploited by prehistoric humans contain archives of palaeoecological and palaeoclimatic data, as well as of human behaviour in coastal settings. Here we present a method for studying archaeomalacological assemblages from cave sites and describe an application of this method in the analysis of remains recovered from systematic excavations at Vlakno cave (Dugi island, Croatia). The study was based on marine gastropods, marine bivalves and terrestrial gastropods from late Pleistocene and early Holocene layers. In that period, a significant paleogeographic and palaeoecological changes occurred, mostly visible in the Adriatic area through flooding of the north Adriatic lowland by increasing sea level. Taphonomic studies have an important role in identification of agents that modify shells and of processes that affect shell midden formation. This study contributes to enhanced interpretations of human activities and paleoenvironmental and paleoecological reconstructions of eastern Adriatic coast.

U predavanju će biti predstavljeni različiti aspekti ponašanja posljednjih ledenodobnih stanovnika istočnojadranske obale i njenog zaleđa u vrijeme velikih paleogeografskih promjena koje su dovele do nestanka Velike jadranske nizine i postupnog formiranja jadranskog prostora kakvog danas poznajemo. Gdje su živjeli posljednji ledenodobni lovci-ribari-skupljači? Što su jeli? Kako su izrađivali oruđa? Kamo su išli i koliko daleko? Ovo su neka od pitanja na koja ćemo pokušati odgovoriti prezentirajući arheološku građu otkrivenu na potezu od Istre do Albanije uz poseban osvrt na nalazište Badanj kod Stoca.

Prostor Kaštelanskog zaljeva u kontekstu paleolitičkih istraživanja poznat je prije svega po srednjopaleolitičkom nalazištu Mujina pećina (Karavanić et al., 2008), koje je dugi niz godina sustavno istraživano, a u posljednje vrijeme i po podvodnom nalazištu Kaštel Štafilić – Resnik na kojem su također otkriveni srednjopaleolitički ostaci (Karavanić et al., 2014, 2016). Do danas nisu otkrivena nalazišta s ostacima iz kasnog gornjeg paleolitika na području Kaštelanskog zaljeva, no podaci dobiveni recentnim istraživanjima litičkog skupa nalaza iz špilje Kopačine na otoku Braču (Vukosavljević i Perhoč, 2016) ukazuju na jasne veze Brača i Kaštelanskog zaljeva, odnosno na prisutnost ljudi na području Kaštela u kasnom gornjem paleolitiku. Kaštelanski zaljev je tijekom kasnog glacijala, zbog niže morske razine, predstavljao sjeverni dio nizine smještene između Brača i Šolte na jugu te Vilaje, Opora, Kozjaka i Mosora na sjeveru. Ovakav kasnoglacijalni okoliš bez morske prepreke olakšavao je pokretljivost paleolitičkim ljudima iz Kopačine. Spomenuta istraživanja pokazala su da su kasnogornjopaleolitičke zajednice iz špilje Kopačine u vremenu između cca. 16 800 i 13 300 prije sadašnjosti cirkulirale prostorom Kaštelanskog zaljeva i eksploatirale raspoložive sirovine za svoju litičku proizvodnju.

U radu su ukratko predstavljeni rezultati pregleda nekoliko speleoloških objekata u Karlovačkoj županiji (Mramornjača, Špilja u Rebićima, Varičakova špilja, špilja kod mosta u Bariloviću, Tounjčica)

As a part of the project „Archaeological Investigations into the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene of the Lim Channel, Istria (ARCHAEOLIM)“ financed by the Croatian Science foundation (Grant no. 7789), archaeological excavations have been undertaken on four sites Two yielded material from the Paleolithic. At Romualdo's Cave previous researchers found traces of the Upper Paleolithic industry and two human teeth, and later several artefacts that could be assigned to Mousterian industry. Our work resulted in discovery of faunal remains and lithic finds from Upper Pleistocene. While the Upper Paleolithic finds were rare (only a few lithic finds can be securely assigned to this period) there is evidence of human occupation of the site during the Middle Paleolithic. At Abri Kontija 002 archaeological work resulted in a very rich, and what seems to be either frequent or continuous human presence during the Upper Paleolithic. All excavated layers are very rich in faunal remains, lithics, and traces of fire and other finds. Here we discuss the main finds from three excavation seasons.

Rad donosi sažeti prikaz zaštitinih arheoloških istraživanja provedenih u spilji Veternici 2016. godine.

Lithic raw material provenance studies present valuable source of information about prehistoric hunter-gatherers’ territorial patterns, mobility, exchange and social networks. Here we present results about origin and circulation of lithic raw material used during Late Epigravettian in Kopačina Cave. Its lithic raw material economy is characterized by the exploitation of different cherts and radiolarites. Based on micro- and macroscopic analyses we propose probable sources for lithic production in Kopačina Cave. Cherts are both locally and regionally available, while radiolarites originate from more distant areas. Use of local sources is predominant in all phases. Use of regional sources shows a gradual trend of increase in frequency from the earliest to the latest phase, while use of extra-regional sources has an obvious drop in frequency from the eldest to the youngest phase. Temporal trends in lithic raw material use suggest certain continuity during the whole Epigravettian sequence. However, one can also observe changes in terms of larger exploitation areas and/or more intensive long-distance contacts in earlier Epigravettian phases in Kopačina than in the later ones. Origin and use of radiolarites in Kopačina’s Late Upper Paleolithic layers suggest movements of hunter-gatherers deeper in east Adriatic continental hinterland where up to now only a few traces of human settlements from Late Glacial have been found. Possible contacts with the west Adriatic coast are indicated by lithic raw material of several artifacts from the site.

Late Upper Palaeolithic is the best documented period of human presence in the Eastern Adriatic during Late Pleistocene. In comparison to Middle Palaeolithic and earlier Upper Palaeolithic sites, the number of Epigravettian sites increases significantly, spreading from the northern to the southern coast. Archaeological record is biased towards cave sites and towards higher distribution in the northern part. In this paper we will present main features of the Epigravettian settlement dynamics together with lithic industries. Special reference will be given to Epigravettian sequence from Vela spila (cave site on the island of Korčula) as it represents the best dated Late Upper Palaeolithic sequence in the eastern Adriatic so far.

Rad donosi kratki osvrt na probna arheološka iskopavanja u Gornjoj Barićevoj pećini kod Kremena u općini Slunj 2015. godine tijekom kojih su otkriveni ulomci lončarije, malobrojni kameni artefakti i ostaci faune.

Članak donosi pregled aktivnosti i preliminarne rezultate arheoloških istraživanja srednjopaleolitičkih nalazišta u Dalmaciji te geoloških istraživanja u okviru kojih su provedena bušenja potencijalnih nalazišta. Aktivnosti su ostvarene provedbom druge i treće godine projekta Kasni musterijen na istočnom Jadranu – temelj za razumijevanje identiteta kasnih neandertalaca i njihovog nestanka Hrvatske zaklade za znanost. Terenski je rad najvećim dijelom bio usmjeren na nastavak istraživanja Velike pećine u Kličevici i podvodnoga paleolitičkog nalazišta Kaštel Štafilić – Resnik. Provedeno je također probno istraživanje jednog nalazišta u zaleđu Kaštela (Giljanovići/Karanušići) i geološka bušenja.

Rad donosi kratki osvrt na iskopavanja u Gornjoj Baraćevoj špilji 2015. godine tijekom kojih su otkriveni pleistocenski faunski ostaci.