engleski

Exploring a novelty in the Middle Palaeolithic of Croatia: the open-air site of Campanož, Istria County

Middle Palaeolithic sites in the territory of Croatia have traditionally been divided into two geographic-ecological regions, Northwestern Croatia and the Adriatic region. While the former group is made exclusively out of cave sites, the latter has also featured open-air surface sites, mainly in the region around the city of Zadar (Northern Dalmatia). Due to the nature of surface finds i.e., the lack of stratigraphical data, the attribution of these sites to the Middle Palaeolithic was made exclusively on the grounds of typological classification of their lithic assemblages. However, uncertainties about the presence of later cultural manifestation, the timeframe of the accumulation of the finds, the geological processes which could have altered the original assemblages limit the potential of these sites for behavioural interpretations. However, the relatively recent discovery of the open-air site of Campanož during rescue excavations in 2010 and 2011 in the Istrian peninsula by the Archaeological Museum of Istria may provide new data to bolster our understanding of Neandertal lifeways in this part of Europe. The site is a large and densely packed lithic scatter found some 70 cm below the surface and stratified between two horizons of typical Mediterranean terra rossa soil. Among the lithic finds there is a large presence of nodular chert fragments and a smaller proportion of chert artifacts which are clearly man-made and which were recognized as Middle Palaeolithic both on typological and technological grounds. The artifact assemblage consists predominately of debitage waste, while formal retouched tools are exceptionally rare. Along with the virtual absence of organic remains, this has led the original excavators to interpret the site as a lithic workshop, even though no chert nodules were found either in the vicinity of the site or in situ in the bedrock (Komšo 2011). The authors discuss the context of the finds and offer some hypothesis on the origin of the lithic assemblage. Furthermore, a methodology of distinguishing artefacts from geofacts is discussed in light of the large presence of seemingly naturally flaked chert at the site. However, a systematic lithic analysis is in progress, and due to the large size of the assemblage, preliminary results are no t discussed in detail. Finally, the project within which this research is conducted is presented. The project IP-2019-04-6649 “Last Neandertals at the crossroads of Central Europe and the Mediterranean” (NECEM) is financed by the Croatian Science Foundation. It features several concentrated dating efforts as well as analyses and re-analyses of new and already researched material.

Middle Palaeolithic ; open-air site, lithic industry

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