THE MESOLITHIC OF UPLAND CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN EUROPE

FOLLOWED BY FEATURE ESSAYS ON:

Iron Gates Mesolithic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Franchthi Cave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

There was a surge of active research into the Holocene hunter-gatherers of central and southern Europe during the late 1980s and 1990s. Among the many reasons for growth in the intensity of investigation has been the increasingly strong argument for the role of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in the spread and adoption of agriculture in Europe. Furthermore, many scholars no longer view the Early Holocene as the backwater of Pleistocene big-game hunters but rather as a dynamic period of socioeconomic as well as environmental changes, separate yet related to both the preceding Epipalaeolithic and the following Early Neolithic.

In addition to the attempts at "rethinking" the Mesolithic, anthropological and ethnological studies have found their way into archaeological research designs in places where they had not been active previously. This fact, in the case of Italy, prompted at least one researcher, Amilcare Bietti, to argue that a "paradigmatic shift in current Mesolithic research" had occurred, especially in northeastern Italy. Understandably, these trends are regional and uneven across the archaeological landscape. Therefore, in this account, divided according to regions, some sections are more substantial than others in terms of data and research.

BACKGROUND

The time period referenced here is the Holocene, the latest epoch of the Quaternary system. The Holocene started approximately eleven thousand years ago and extends to the present day. It is also known as the post-Pleistocene, following the Pleistocene ice age. Archaeologists are dealing with the Early Holocene, since the present is what might be called the Middle or Late Holocene. The Early Holocene can be divided roughly as follows, based on the stone tool industries most common for the central and southern European Mesolithic hunter-gatherers:

Pleistocene

Late Glacial Epipalaeolithic industries 13,500–11,000 years ago

Holocene (climatic subdivision:Preboreal/Boreal)

Early Sauveterrian 11,000–10,300 years ago

Middle Sauveterrian 10,300–9,500 years ago

Recent Sauveterrian 9,500–8,500 years ago

Holocene (climatic subdivision:Atlantic)

Castelnovian 8,500–7,300 years ago

The Sauveterrian industry received its name from a site in southwestern France, Sauveterre-la-Lémance. Stone tools were found there in stratified order following early Azilian and late Magdalenian palaeolithic assemblages. The Sauveterrian industry is characterized by microliths (very small tools) made on small blades in geometric shapes, mainly triangles. The Castelnovian industry also is named after a site in France and is distinguished by trapezes made on regular and somewhat larger blades. There are regional differences to this scheme, sometimes with alternative names (e.g., "Tardenoisian" for Castelnovian), but for simplicity's sake it is sufficient to think in terms of the two industries mentioned (fig. 1).

The main difference between the Preboreal/Boreal and the Atlantic is in the climate, the former being cooler and drier and the latter warmer and more humid. The underlying theme here is that the Holocene was a period of change in the huntinggathering populations of Europe. The transformations are evident in the stone tool types, the fauna that were exploited, and the nature of landscape use. The reasons for such change were largely environmental, although concomitant social factors played a part as well. The major environmental developments of the Holocene were an increase in forestation and accompanying improvement in soil cover and plant resource variability and a rise in sea level, loss of coastlines, and fluctuations in inland water levels affecting both marine and riverine habitats and resources. Related to these environmental developments were alterations in the subsistence systems of the human populations as they adapted to and, in some cases, adopted strategies to manage the range of new resources.

Admittedly, the environmental shifts were slow in terms of human lifetimes and, as Michael Jochim put it in a chapter for Europe's First Farmers, "would have been perceived as gradual changes in relative proportions of habitats and resources, not abrupt replacements." The varied geographic, climatic, and environmental factors that have inter-played with cultural development among the various upland regions of central and southern Europe contribute to the difficulty of defining a homogenous process of post-Pleistocene adaptation. A regional approach incorporates the varying factors and allows the researcher to compare regions rather than archaeological cultures.

ALPINE AND PRE-ALPINE REGIONS

In northeastern Italy, especially in the Adige valley, researchers have shown that site distribution differs between the Preboreal/Boreal age (c. 10,300–7,500 years ago), affiliated with the Sauveterrian chipped stone industry, and the Atlantic age (approximately 7,500–6,000 years ago), associated with the Castelnovian industry. The break between these two industries is not especially sharp, and their usefulness in supporting a meaningful comparative framework is limited. In the earlier period the sites were distributed both on Alpine valley bottoms and in the mountains at altitudes from 1,900 to 2,300 meters. Over time, the sites on the Alpine valley bottoms remained while the mountain sites became rarer, and even those high-altitude sites interpreted as Castelnovian camps are dated to the beginning of the Atlantic period. In addition, an increasing number of later, rather than earlier, sites have been found in the pre-Alpine zone and on the plains.

The change in site distribution has been related to ecological changes through time, accompanying a progressive shift from a cold, dry environment to temperate and more humid woodland. These changes included the expansion of forests and a rise in sea level, among others. The rise in heat and humidity between the Boreal and Atlantic caused the disappearance of ibex and chamois at lower altitudes, whereas expansion and restocking of oaks and hazelnut advanced the populations of red deer, roe deer, and wild boar in the Alpine valleys and plains. The retreat of the caprine habitat thereby affected land use, site distribution, and hunting patterns. It also had an impact on butchering patterns. Faunal evidence from three Adige valley sites, Pradestel, Romagnano III, and the Soman rock shelter, shows that seasonal hunting of caprines continued between the Boreal and Atlantic subdivisions. Because of the greater distances necessary to climb to hunt these animals, however, transport became a problem. Butchering and skinning began to take place at the hunting stations to reduce transport costs. Other important stratified sites include Vatte di Zambana (Adige valley) and Riparo Gabon (east of Trento).

High-altitude sites from this region are worth mentioning because they reflect later research efforts. The site of Vaiale, which is found at 830 meters above sea level, is considered a Sauveterrian site owing to the stone tool assemblage, which consisted of scalene triangles, backed points, microburins (of a type that reflects a particular manufacturing technique), cores, and debitage (waste flakes). Another Sauveterrian site, Rondeneto, is located at 1,780 meters above sea level. The stone tool assemblage there included a very small core, scalene triangles, backed blades and points, side scrapers, and microburins. Both of the sites are regarded as hunting camps.

A later assemblage, dated to the end of Boreal or the beginning of the Atlantic, was found at Lago delle Buse sites 1 and 2 (8,220±110 b.p., or 7040–6813 b.c.) at 2,000 meters above sea level. The assemblages also are considered Sauveterrian and are made up of microliths and side scrapers. A final example of a high-altitude site is Laghetti del Crestoso, at 2,000 meters above sea level in the Brescian Alps, dated to the middle Atlantic (6,790±120 b.p., or 5930–5445 b.c., and 6,870±70 b.p., or 5849–5592 b.c.). The complex is thought to be late Castelnovian and is interpreted as a seasonal campsite for hunting, possibly ibex.

These sites have provided valuable data for an understanding of Holocene resource and land-use patterns. For example, Lago delle Buse presents evidence for the growing presence of fire in the archaeological record, although it is not known whether it is due to human influence. It may have been used purposefully to promote fruit and nut species. It is believed that during the Holocene, fire came to be a major element that formed the structure of woods in the mountain and sub-Alpine zones. Other Alpine sites for which evidence of fire has been cited are located on the high plain of the Sette Comuni in the Alpine region.

Apparently, no evidence has been found for such activities in the Apennines or in the Valcamonica region. Carbonized hazelnut shells, however, were recovered from Sopra Fienile Rossino, a site in the Brescian Alps at 925 meters, dated 6,810 ± 70 b.p. (5765–5528 b.c.). Elsewhere, the archaeological record has given evidence for exploitation of hazelnuts (Corylus avellana) during the Mesolithic. It has been pointed out that hazelnuts are a nutritious food, easily carried and stored.

Laghetti del Crestoso is a more complex site than the other hunting camps mentioned, and the presence of nonlocal lithic materials raises the issue of possible exchange networks during the Early Holocene. The overall evidence for such exchange networks is still meager, although the likelihood of such networks often is assumed, especially during the Castelnovian. Monteval de Sora (San Vito di Cadore in Belluno) is an important site in the Dolomites (a range in the eastern Alps), representing a rare example of a Mesolithic burial. The site, discovered in 1985, is located under the overhang of a large cliff on a terrace at 2,100 meters above sea level. The oldest occupation is Mesolithic in date, assigned to the Sauvetterian (c. 7,500 b.p., or 6500 b.c.) on the basis of tool typology. It also was occupied during the Castelnovian (c. 6,500 b.p., or 5500 b.c.) to which the burial belongs. The skeleton is of a robust man, 167 centimeters tall and about forty years of age. Accompanying the burial were stone tools and bone and antler artifacts, including pierced deer teeth.

NORTHERN APENNINE CHAIN

Eastern Liguria and the contiguous Tusco-Emilian Apennines are rather rich in surface finds dating to the Mesolithic. For example, the site of Gazzaro in the Emilian pre-Apennines produced the remains of a fireplace and animal bones. High-altitude Emilian sites include Passo della Comunella, at 1,619 meters (6,960±130 b.p., or 6020–5582 b.c.), and Lama Lite, at 1,764 meters (6,620±80 b.p., or 5622–5348 b.c.). In Tuscany the site of Piazzana lies at 820 meters and is slightly older (7,330±85 b.p. or 6366–5979 b.c.).

THE PLAINS

Research on the Po and Friuli plains has not been as intensive as in the Alpine areas, although it too has been gaining momentum since the last decade of the twentieth century. Published data from the Po plain for the Mesolithic are almost nonexistent, whereas the data from the Friuli plain have been gathered since the 1970s, most from survey. Only a few sites have been excavated, such as the Bierzo rock shelter. According to lithic typology, this site is Sauveterrian, as is the site of San Giorgio di Nogaro. Another site, Muzzana del Turgnano, is associated with the early Castelnovian, again on typological grounds.

In Friuli, as in many other areas, Mesolithic sites are found among the morainic hills, facing basins of glacial origin that probably were flooded into the Holocene. Examples include the sites of Molin Nuovo, Rive d'Arcano, Corno-Ripudio, Cassacco, Porpetto, and sites along the Torres. It has been suggested that there was an emphasis on water resources, such as fish, aquatic turtle, and waterfowl, in this area, although the record is poor. Given the limited data at hand, one can still say that the pattern of site distribution does not appear to differ dramatically over time between the Early Mesolithic Sauveterrian and the later Castelnovian in this region.

THE KARST

The Trieste karst is bordered to the northwest by the alluvial deposits of the Isonzo River, to the northeast by the syncline of the Vipacco, to the southeast by the Val Rosandra, and to the southwest by the Adriatic Sea. The karst at one time was covered with a mixed oak woodland, mainly composed of oak, hornbeam, and ash. Forest clearance started during the fourteenth century a.d. and almost completely destroyed the original tree cover in four centuries. Mesolithic occupation in the Trieste karst has been known and studied for at least the second half of the twentieth century onward, largely owing to the efforts of speleologists in the region.

There are no open sites known from the Italian karst, although there are a few Mesolithic open sites from Slovenia and Istria. Breg is an open-air site in the region of Ljubljana (Slovenia) that has been excavated and dated to 6,830±150 b.p. (5968–5440 b.c.). Faunal remains from Breg, as well as other sites in Slovenia, indicate that red deer, wild pig, and roe deer were hunted during the Early Holocene. In addition, remains of sea otter and fish have been found at this site as well as at the Mesolithic site of Pod Črmukljo, also near the Ljubljana marshes. Such finds, together with bone harpoons found at Breg and the site of Spehovka cave in the Slovenian karst, suggest that marine resources also were exploited by these hunter-gatherers.

In northeast Istria, Mesolithic deposits were found in the cave site of Pupićina, which dates to approximately 9,500–10,000 years ago. In addition to the stone assemblages, excavators found pierced seashells and pierced red deer canines. Several other sites are located in the region of Pupićina and are being studied as part of a larger project. These sites include the Šebrn rock shelter (8400–7610 b.c.) and the open-air site of Kotle (Castelnovian, no dates). The results of the project have shed light on changes in resource use by foraging populations through time.

Grotta dell'Edera is a karst cave in Italy near Trieste at which research also is ongoing. The work at Edera has revealed superimposed fireplaces, hearths, cooking floors, and fire pits that represent temporary Mesolithic and Neolithic episodes of habitation. A Castelnovian fireplace, dating to about 6500 b.c., was found below the Neolithic levels. Within it were stone tools and sherds from two coarse pottery vessels, undecorated and not revealing of time or culture—an unusual association of Mesolithic tools and Neolithic pottery. In addition, three perforated beads, made of nonlocal sandstone, each measuring approximately 1.5 millimeters in diameter, were identified with this feature. Small pieces of sandstone and ochre, which are exotic to the limestone cave, also were uncovered. Finally, specimens of marine shells dominate the faunal remains from this fireplace, a situation found in similar caves of the same age. For example, at the caves of Azzura and Tartaruga, land mollusks had been found in conjunction with earlier levels, whereas sea mollusks and fishing came to dominate the faunal remains in the later levels, associated with Castelnovian industries.

Not surprisingly, the dates correspond generally to changes in sea level due to melting ice sheets, c. 8,000–7,000 years ago. Before that time, indirect evidence indicates that the northern Adriatic plain had supported rich ungulate fauna during the Pleistocene, while the inland areas were used sporadically, possibly on a seasonal basis. With the rise in sea level, the plain was reduced to a small area around the Gulf of Trieste. Approximately 20–25 kilometers of coastal plain in the northern Adriatic was submerged. The progressive rise in sea level during the Early Holocene is known to geologists but poorly related to the archaeological record at this time. The reduction of the resource base of this region should be taken into account, as should its demographic effects. In brief, the impact of the gradual loss of the plain that had existed in the northern Adriatic, extending as far south as Ancona and Zadar, doubtless is operative in Holocene developments. In addition to the inundation of earlier sites, the rise of sea level would have had profound effects on inland waterways, estuaries, and lagoons.

CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ITALY

Outside of the northern Adriatic zone are regions where the Mesolithic record still is not well known. It once was believed that hunter-gatherers of central and southern Italy continued to use Epipalaeolithic types of stone tools after the Pleistocene. A specific industry, known as the Romanellian, after the Grotta Romanelli in central Italy near Puglia, was dated between 9,000 and 10,000 years ago. These early assemblages contain small circular and irregular scrapers, burins, backed blades, microburins, and geometrics (segments and triangles). New research shows that following the Romanellian, there is a Sauveterrian-Castelnovian sequence, as elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Some sites of importance are the Grotta della Serratura in Campania, the Tuppo dei Sassi and Grotta Latronico 3 in Basilicata and the Grotta Marisa and Grotta delle Mura in Puglia. Studies of faunal remains have shown that through time, hunting was mainly for red deer and boar rather than ibex and chamois, as seen farther north. There are regional variations on the pattern, however. For example, horse and cattle were hunted in the less wooded karst environment of the Salento peninsula of Puglia.

EASTERN ADRIATIC COAST

Evidence for Mesolithic sites farther south along the Adriatic coast (Dalmatia, Montenegro, and Albania) is minimal, although so-called Epigravettian assemblages have been found. Epigravettian (c. 12,000 years ago), which is the final phase of the Palaeolithic stone tool tradition called Gravettian, is known throughout Europe and characterized by backed blades. These continuities in assemblages suggest that perhaps there was less environmental change in this region than, for example, in northern Italy. Two major sites with Mesolithic tools in Montenegro are Crvena Stijena and Odmut (about seven thousand years ago) with Castelnovian-type industries. Even farther south, layers of Early Neolithic with Impresso pottery and "industries of Castelnovian aspect" (as noted by Djuricic to suggest a loose cultural affiliation of stone tool assemblages) have been recorded in western Montenegro, suggesting that the final hunter-gatherers in the region encountered the earliest food producers.

Continuing south, in Albania, close to the Greek border, an excavation at Konispol Cave reportedly has yielded Mesolithic materials. The excavators compared the site to Franchthi, a famous site in Greece with Mesolithic deposits. A survey in Albania, conducted to relocate the caves uncovered by Luigi Cardini in the 1930s, has reported at least three caves with potential Mesolithic stone tools. These sites are the Kanalit rock shelter (along the coast on the western side of the Dukat plain in the Acroceraunian mountains), the Kamenica cave (near Delvina), and Ksamili hill and village (near Butrint).

BALKANS

The Iron Gates Gorge sites along the Danube (Lepenski Vir, Padina, Vlasac, and others) are dealt with separately in this volume; they represent an exceptional opportunity to study Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in an unusual context. Aside from those sites, the Mesolithic record for the Balkans is not extensive. As was the case for southern Europe, the change from Late Glacial to Postglacial and into the Holocene was marked by change in forestation from pine to mixed oak, although specific regions would have been affected differently.

Generally, the contrast in climate and vegetation after the Pleistocene was greater close to the Alps than it was in the central Balkans. During the Late Glacial, Epigravettian industries were common east of the Alps, with types similar to those found in Italy. After this time there appear to have been three different traditions based on stone tool types, one being the Castelnovian, with similarities to that of southern Europe (France and Italy). It also shows ties to the previous Sauveterrian industries. A second tradition continued basic Epigravettian traditions, with some trapezes (the hallmark of Castelnovian industries) and includes such sites in Romania as Ripiceni-Izvor. The third is that found within the Iron Gates Gorge sites.

The situation in Greece is similar to that in the balance of the Balkans, namely, that Mesolithic settlement appears to have been very thin. A survey of the Mesolithic in Greece found less than a dozen sites, of which only two have been excavated and the results published. In addition, the distribution of the sites seems to be uneven, with large parts of Greece apparently unpopulated during the early Postglacial. The reason for this sparseness could have been a lack of population, or perhaps it was related to environmental factors, such as rise in sea level and sedimentation of valleys, which would have buried sites under alluvium. This possibility is supported by the discovery of Mesolithic deposits in the Theopetra Cave, in eastern Thessaly. These deposits are given seven different dates, ranging from 9780 to 6700 b.c.

SOUTH-CENTRAL EUROPE

Western Zone. The western zone of South-Central Europe includes southern Germany together with adjacent parts of Austria (although knowledge of the Mesolithic from Austria generally is very poor) and Switzerland, a region with a well-studied Mesolithic record. The record is separated into Early and Late Mesolithic, with a date of c. 6600 b.c. dividing the two. The Early Mesolithic, or Beuronien, spanned about 2,500 years, from 7,800 to 10,300 years ago. The types are not so different from those of the Sauveterrian industries described earlier—that is, a magnitude of microliths, including triangles, backed bladelets, and micropoints. Sites from this period are many and include excavated caves, rock shelters, and open-air sites as well as surface lithic scatters. Late Mesolithic sites have trapezoidal microliths (not unlike types found in the Mediterranean Castelnovian assemblages), which presumably were used as transverse arrow points, regular blade technology, and extensive antler working.

One excavated site in the region is Henauhof Northwest 2, located along the old shoreline of the Federsee lake. The site consists of a hearth associated with a concentration of bone and antler fragments. Burned stones and bone fragments were found within the hearth. The tools included a trapeze and other microliths; two borers; two burins and three scrapers; two cores; a few regular, well-made blades; and numerous flakes. Dates of the charcoal were 7,260±180 b.p. (6425–5716 b.c.) and 6,940±60 b.p. (5945–5666 b.c.). Analysis of the organic remains suggested that the site had been a short-term, generalized-activity camp, forming part of a seasonal settlement system. Faunal remains show differences in hunting not unlike the Mesolithic farther south.

Compared with the density of sites in the Early Mesolithic, Late Mesolithic sites are relatively few in the region. Population decline, differential site destruction by natural processes, and reorganization of settlement patterns leading to use of landscapes with lesser visibility have been offered as explanations. A good case has been made that Late Mesolithic groups in this region had wide-ranging networks of exchange and interaction, linking them indirectly to regions in the southwest and southeast of Europe. In addition, exploration has led to an extension of the Late Mesolithic (termed Terminal Mesolithic) that suggests overlap with the earlier food producers in the region and potential interaction between the late hunter-gatherers and the early food-producers about six thousand years ago.

Eastern Zone. The Mesolithic period is not well known in this region (present-day Hungary and western Slovakia). A Sauveterrian assemblage is known from the Slovak site of Sered and one Castelnovian complex apparently has been uncovered in Moravia. Intensive surface surveys and stratigraphic excavations have been undertaken in the Zagyva basin in the northwestern part of the Great Hungarian Plain, which have led to the discovery of several Mesolithic sites (with Sauveterrian tool types) on lower elevations at the edges of ancient riverbeds. It is believed that the rivers most likely supported gallery forests during the Boreal, which would have made them attractive locations for camps, similar to those found near old lakebeds.

CONCLUSION

To a certain extent, the adaptations of the huntinggathering populations following the Ice Age have tended to be underplayed; they are almost like a people without a history. These populations fall within a "transitional" period, and theorists who study transitions are inclined to look less to origins than to future states when seeking explanations. Thus, research on the Mesolithic tends to focus on the food-producing populations of the Neolithic, which follows and examines relationships between those people and their economies and the hunter-gatherers they displaced. Perhaps a more interesting approach is to examine the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers as humans who developed new strategies in the face of changing environments and social relations.

See alsoIron Gates Mesolithic (vol. 1, part 2); Franchthi Cave (vol. 1, part 2).

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Barbara Voytek