HERDERS AND CAVES IN CROATIA - NEW GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FROM CAVE SEDIMENTS

This paper presents the results of new geoarchaeological and micromorphological studies carried out by the authors on Holocene archaeological cave sediments in Croatia. Combined with the reappraisal of previously published data, this study sheds new light on the pastoral use of caves in Croatia. The occurrence of macro- and microscopic indicators of the presence of animals - mostly ruminants - shows that caves were used for housing livestock from the Neolithic onwards, as happened all over the Northern Mediterranean area, from the Iberian Peninsula to Italy, and in the Southern Balkans. Following the distribution of open-air and cave prehistoric sites it can be concluded that caves were integrated in complex agropastoral systems of landscape exploitation.