engleski

Transition to Holocene in the hinterland of eastern Adriatic: Archaeofauna of Zemunica cave, Croatia

The archaeozoology of the eastern Adriatic region is well documented through studies of faunal remains from coastal and island sites. However, hinterland is still 'shadowed' due to very little information available, mostly because of lack of explored sites. Zemunica cave is situated in the Middle Dalmatia around 35 kn north-east from Split, near the village of Bisko. It was excavated in 2005 during rescue archaeological excavation, revealing a stratigraphic sequence from the Late Upper Palaeolithic to the Early Bronze Age. Here we focus on the archaeofaunal material recovered from the deposits dated to the Pleistocene- Holocene transition and the Early Holocene. The vertebrate faunal assemblage comprising of large mammal and bird remains shows interesting temporal trends in taxonomic composition as well as in surface bone modification, indicating changes in the surrounding environment and corresponding subsistence strategies. The results of this study present new interesting data and contribute to our knowledge of exploitation strategies practised by people living in the hinterland of the eastern Adriatic as adaptation to the climatic and environmental changes during Pleistocene- Holocene transition.

Archaeozoology; Pleistocene; Holocene; Croatia; Eastern Adriatic; hinterland

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