The Middle Paleolithic from an underwater perspective: Submerged Mousterian industry from Kaštel Štafilić – Resnik (Dalmatia, Croatia) in the context of eastern Adriatic

Abstract

This paper presents the investigation methodology and results of analyses of lithic material from Kaštel Štafilić – Resnik (Dalmatia, Croatia), the first systematically explored underwater Middle Paleolithic site in the central Mediterranean and southeastern Europe. The present site contains lithic elements from one or several open-air habitation sites from the time when the sea level was considerably lower than today. The archeological assemblage (Mousterian industry) and relative chronology indicate that almost all finds are contemporary with the Neandertals. The obtained results were compared to other Middle Paleolithic sites from the eastern Adriatic region. An integrative approach to lithic material from different types of sites (underwater, open-air, cave) provided better understanding of formation processes, a more complete picture of the region occupied by the Mousterian people, and clearer insight into their mobility patterns. Given this new evidence, it has become clear that the Neandertals of the Adriatic region controlled a much larger range of territory than previously documented.