Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T17:46:57.308Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

AMS 14C Chronology and Ceramic Sequences of Early Farmers in the Eastern Adriatic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2016

Sarah B McClure*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
Emil Podrug
Affiliation:
Šibenik City Museum, Šibenik, Croatia
Andrew M T Moore
Affiliation:
Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York 14623, USA
Brendan J Culleton
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
Douglas J Kennett
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
*
2. Corresponding author. Email: sbm19@psu.edu.

Abstract

The eastern Adriatic is a key area for understanding the mechanisms and effects of the spread of agriculture. This article presents an accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon chronology for the introduction and subsequent development of farming villages on the eastern shore of the Adriatic (∼6000–1700 cal BC) and evaluates this in comparison with the established pottery chronology based on stylistic data from Pokrovnik (Drniš) on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. Models for the spread of agriculture rely heavily on changing pottery styles to define cultural groups and trace geographic relationships. Based on AMS 14C dates presented here, Impressed Wares first appear in central Dalmatia by 6000 cal BC and persist until 5300 cal BC, well into what is generally termed the Middle Neolithic. Similarly, a typical Middle Neolithic ware, figulina, appeared earlier than anticipated. These findings stand in contrast to cave and rockshelter assemblages in the eastern Adriatic, but mirror assemblages from farming villages on the Italian Adriatic coast. This study argues that the similarities in ceramic assemblage composition and change through time may have less to do with direct contacts between areas, but more with the nature of ceramic production and consumption at village sites in general. These data shed light on the limitations of regional ceramic chronologies in the eastern Adriatic and highlight the necessity for systematic expansion of 14C chronologies to address the social, economic, and ecological relevance of early farming in the Adriatic for the spread of agriculture in Europe and the Mediterranean.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © 2014 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Batović, Š. 1966. Stariji neolit u Dalmaciji. Beograd: Arheološko društvo Jugoslavije.Google Scholar
Batović, Š. 1979. Jadranska zona. In: Benac, E, editor. Praistorija jugoslavenskih zemalja II. Neolit. Sarajevo: Akademija nauka i umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine, Centar za balkanološka ispitivanja. p 473634.Google Scholar
Beaumont, W, Beverly, R, Southon, JR, Taylor, RE. 2010. Bone preparation at the KCCAMS Laboratory. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 268(7–8):906–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benac, A. 1957. Zelena pećina. Glasnik Zemaljskog muzeja 12:6192.Google Scholar
Bernabeu, J, Rojo, MA, Molina, LI, editors. 2012. Las Primeras Producciones Cerárnicas: El VI milenio AC en la Península Ibérica. Saguntum-Extra 12, Universitat de València.Google Scholar
Biagi, P. 2003. The rhyton of the Balkan Peninsula: chronology, origin, dispersion and function of a Neolithic “cult” vessel. Journal of Prehistoric Religion XVI–XVII:1626.Google Scholar
Brock, F, Bronk Ramsey, C, Higham, T. 2007. Quality assurance of ultrafiltered bone dating. Radiocarbon 49(2):187–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brock, F, Higham, TFG, Ditchfield, P, Bronk Ramsey, C. 2010. Current pretreatment methods for AMS radiocarbon dating at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU). Radiocarbon 52(1):103–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bronk Ramsey, C. 2009. Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates. Radiocarbon 51(1):337–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bronk Ramsey, C, Higham, T, Bowles, A, Hedges, R. 2004. Improvements to the pretreatment of bone at Oxford. Radiocarbon 46(1):155–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, TA, Nelson, DE, Vogel, JS, Southon, JR. 1988. Improved collagen extraction by modified Longin method. Radiocarbon 30(2):171–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brusić, Z. 2008. Pokrovnik – naselje iz neolitika. Šibenik: Muzej grada Šibenika.Google Scholar
Češuk, B, Radić, D. 2005. Vela spila. Višeslojno pretpovijesno nalazište – Vela Luka, otok Koršula. Vela Luka: Centar za kulturu “Vela Luka.” Google Scholar
Chapman, J. 1988. Ceramic production and social differentiation: the Dalmatian Neolithic and the Western Mediterranean. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 1/2:325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forenbaher, S. 2009. Archaeological record of the Adriatic offshore islands as an indicator of long-distance interaction in prehistory. European Journal of Archaeology 11(2–3):223–44.Google Scholar
Forenbaher, S, Kaiser, T, editors. 2008. Grapševa Špilja. Pretpovijesni stan, tor i obredno mjesto. Split: Književni krug.Google Scholar
Forenbaher, S, Miracle, PT. 2005. The spread of farming in the Eastern Adriatic. Antiquity 79(305):514–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forenbaher, S, Kaiser, T, Miracle, PT. 2004. Pupicina Cave pottery and the Neolithic sequence in Northeastern Adriatic. Attli della Società per la preeistoria e protostoria della regione Friuli-Venezia Giulia 14:61102.Google Scholar
Forenbaher, S, Kaiser, T, Miracle, PT. 2013. Dating the East Adriatic Neolithic. European Journal of Archaeology 16(4):589609.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gheorghiu, D. 2008. The emergence of pottery. In: Jones, A, editor. Prehistoric Europe: Theory and Practice. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. p 164–94.Google Scholar
Higham, T, Bronk, C, Karavanić, , Smith, F, Trinkaus, E. 2006. Revised direct radiocarbon dating of the Vindija G1 Upper Paleolithic Neandertals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 103(3):553–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hüls, M, Grootes, P, Nadeau, M-J. 2007. How clean is ultrafiltration cleaning of bone collagen? Radiocarbon 49(2):193200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korošec, J. 1958. Neolitska naseobina u Danilu Bitinju. Zagreb: Jugoslavenska akademija znanosti I umjetnosti.Google Scholar
Korošec, J. 1964. Danilo in Danilska kultura. Ljubljana: Univerza v Ljubljana.Google Scholar
Korošec, J, Korošec, P. 1974. Bribir I njegova okolica u prapovijesno doba. Diadora 7:533.Google Scholar
Legge, AJ, Moore, AMT. 2011. Clutching at straw: the Early Neolithic of Croatia and the dispersal of agriculture. In: Hadjikoumis, A, Robinson, E, Viner, S, editors. The Dynamics of Neolithisation in Europe: Studies in Honour of Andrew Sherratt. Oxford: Oxbow Books. p 176–95.Google Scholar
Malone, C. 2003. The Italian Neolithic: a synthesis of research. Journal of World Prehistory 17(3):235312.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marijanović, B. 2005. Gudnja. Višeslojno prapovijesno nalazište. Dubrovnik: Dubrovaški muzeji – Arheološki Muzej.Google Scholar
Marijanović, B. 2007. Neka pitanja ranog neolitika istošnog Jadrana. Archaeologia Adriatica I:754.Google Scholar
Marijanović, B. 2009. Crno Vrilo 1. Zadar: Sveušilište u Zadru.Google Scholar
McClure, SB. 2011. Learning Technology: Neolithic Pottery Production in Valencia, Spain. British Archaeological Reports, International Series 2300. Oxford: Archaeopress.Google Scholar
McClure, SB, Bernabeu, J. 2012. Technological style, chaîne opératoire, and labor investment of early Neolithic pottery. In: Bernabeu, J, Rojo, MA, Molina, Ll, editors. Las Primeras Producciones Cerámicas: El VI milenio AC en la Península Ibérica. Universitat de València: Saguntum Extra 12. p 5360.Google Scholar
Miracle, PT, Forenbaher, S, editors. 2006. Prehistoric Herders of Northern Istria. The Archaeology of Pupićina Cave. Volume 1. Pula: Arheološki Muzej Istre.Google Scholar
Mlekuž, D. 2003. Early herders of the Eastern Adriatic. Documenta Praehistorica XXX:139–51.Google Scholar
Mlekuž, D. 2005. The ethnography of the Cyclops: Neolithic pastoralists in the eastern Adriatic. Documenta Praehistorica XXXII:1551.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mlekuž, D. 2007. ‘Sheep are your mother’: rhyta and the interspecies politics in the Neolithic of the eastern Adriatic. Documenta Praehistorica XXXIV:330–42.Google Scholar
Moore, AMT, Menušić, M, Smith, J, Podrug, E. 2007a. Project “Early Farming in Dalmatia”: Danilo Bitinj 2004–2005. Vjesnik Arheološkog muzeja u Zagrebu 40:1524.Google Scholar
Moore, AMT, Menušić, M, Smith, J, Zaninović, J, Podrug, E. 2007b. Project “Early Farming in Dalmatia: Pokrovnik 2006.” Vjesnik Arheološkog muzeja u Zagrebu 40:2534.Google Scholar
Müller, J. 1994. Das Ostadriatische Frühneolithikum. Prähistorische Archäologie in Südosteuropa, Band 9. Frankfurt: Phillip von Zabern.Google Scholar
Özdoḡran, M. 2011. Archaeological evidence on the westward expansion of farming communities from Eastern Anatolia to the Aegean and the Balkans. Current Anthropology 52(Supplement 4):S415S430.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peric, S. 1996. Kult-Rhytone der neolitischen Viehzüchter der Balkanhalbinsel. Starinar 47:2166.Google Scholar
Podrug, E. 2010. Čista Mala-Velištak: prve tri istraživaške kampanje na nalazištu hvarske kulture [Čista Mala-Velištak: the first three excavation campaigns at a Hvar culture site]. Diadora 24:725.Google Scholar
Price, TD, editor. 2000. Europe's First Farmers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Radić, D. 2009. The beginnings of trans-Adriatic navigation: a view from Vela Spila Cave (Koršula Island). In Forenbaher, S, editor. A Connecting Sea: Maritime Interaction in Adriatic Prehistory. Oxford: Archaeopress. p 1324.Google Scholar
Radović, S. 2009. Analiza ostataka faune sisavaca [Analysis of faunal remains of mammals]. In: Marijanović, B, editor. Crno Vrilo 2. Zadar: Sveušilište u Zadru. p 5366.Google Scholar
Rak, O. 2011. The Rhyton from Danilo: Structure and Symbolism of a Middle Neolithic Cult-Vessel. Oxford: Oxbow Books.Google Scholar
Reimer, PJ, Baillie, MGL, Bard, E, Bayliss, A, Beck, JW, Blackwell, PJ, Bronk Ramsey, C, Buck, CE, Cheng, H, Edwards, RL, Friedrich, M, Grootes, PM, Guilderson, TP, Haflidason, H, Hajdas, I, Hatté, C, Heaton, TJ, Hoffman, DL, Hogg, AG, Hughen, KA, Kaiser, KF, Kromer, B, Manning, SW, Niu, M, Reimer, RW, Richards, DA, Scott, EM, Southon, JR, Staff, RA, Turney, CSM, van der Plicht, J. 2013. IntCal13 and Marine13 radiocarbon age calibration curves, 0–50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon 55(4):1869–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robb, J. 2007. The Early Mediterranean Village. Agency, Material Culture, and Social Change in Neolithic Italy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowley-Conwy, P. 2011. Westward Ho! The spread of agriculture from central Europe to the Atlantic. Current Anthropology 52(Supplement 4):S431S451.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santos, GM, Southon, JR, Druffel-Rodriguez, KC, Griffin, S, Mazon, M. 2004. Magnesium perchlorate as an alternative water trap in AMS graphite sample preparation: a report on sample preparation at the KCCAMS Facility at the University of California, Irvine. Radiocarbon 46(1):165–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spataro, M. 2002. The First Farming Communities of the Adriatic: Pottery Production and Circulation in the Early and Middle Neolithic. Società per la preistoria e protostoria della Regione Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Quaderno 9. Trieste: Edizioni Svevo.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M, Polach, HA. 1977. Discussion: reporting of 14C data. Radiocarbon 19(3):355–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teoh, M, McClure, SB, Podrug, E. 2014. Macroscopic, petrographic and XRD analysis of Middle Neolithic figulina pottery from central Dalmatia. Journal of Archaeological Science (in press), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2014.07.007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zavodny, E, McClure, SB, Culleton, BJ, Podrug, E, Kennett, DJ. 2014. Neolithic animal management practices and stable isotope studies in the Adriatic. Environmental Archaeology (in press), http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/1749631414Y.0000000021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar