Epigravettian in the Eastern Adriatic and its Hinterland: An Overview of Settlement Dynamics, Chronology, Subsistence Strategies and Material Culture

Abstract

Abstract The Epigravettian is the best-documented period of human presence in the Eastern Adriatic during the Late Pleistocene. In comparison to the scanty Early Upper and Mid-Upper Palaeolithic record, the number of Late Upper Palaeolithic Epigravettian sites increases significantly, spreading from the northern to the southern coasts. The Epigravettian archaeological record is biased towards cave sites, and towards higher frequencies in the northern part. Open-air sites in the region are almost unknown, other than a few surface lithic scatters. In this chapter paper we will present Epigravettian settlement dynamics, together with main technological and typological features of lithic industries, and other aspects of human behaviour, i.e., subsistence strategies, raw material procurement, body adornment, osseous technology. The Eastern Adriatic Late Upper Palaeolithic record is highly fragmented because the region experienced significant palaeogeographic changes across the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, when the Pleistocene Adriatic Plain was flooded and completely disappeared. Changes in technology did not accompany changes in physical environment, hence the Epigravettian tradition is clearly present in early Holocene assemblages. On the other hand, significant changes in lithic raw material procurement strategies happened during the early Holocene, and these could be interpreted within the framework of environmental changes that caused transformation of the Pleistocene Adriatic geography.