Spearheading into the Neolithic: Last Foragers and First Farmers in the Dinaric Alps of Montenegro

• DOI: 10.1017/eaa.2019.14
• Publication Date: 2019-06-26T05:46:10Z
• Authors: Dušan Borić; Nikola Borovinić; Ljiljana Đuričić; Jelena Bulatović; Katarina Gerometta; Dragana Filipović; Ethel Allué; Zvezdana Vušović-...; Emanuela Cristiani
• Keywords: Mesolithic-Neolithic transition; forager-farmer contact; harpoons ; Mesolithic–Neolithic transition ; forager-farmer contact ; Dinaric Alps ; Montenegro ; eastern Adriatic; harpoons; Mesolithic–Neolithic transition; forager-farmer contact; Dinaric Alps; Montenegro; eastern Adriatic; eastern Adriatic; 06 humanities and the arts; harpoons; 01 natural sciences; Montenegro; Dinaric Alps; 0601 history and archaeology; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

This article presents a summary of new evidence for the Mesolithic in the Dinaric Alps of Montenegro. The region is one of the best areas in south-eastern Europe to study Early Holocene foragers and the nature of the transition to Neolithic lifeways at the end of the seventh and the beginning of the sixth millennium calbcthanks to the existence of biodiverse landscapes and numerous karstic features. We argue that harpoons found at two different sites in this regional context represent a curated technology that has its roots in a local Mesolithic cultural tradition. The continued use of this standardized hunting tool kit in the Neolithic provides an important indication about the character of the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition. We also use this regional case study to address wider questions concerning the visibility and modes of Mesolithic occupation in south-eastern Europe as a whole.