Adriatic Hunters, Fishers and Herders

Excavations at Žukovica Cave (Korčula Island, Croatia) have yielded evidence of Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic occupations. A layer dated to 6400–5900 cal bc contained commingled lithics, potsherds, wild and domesticated animal bones, mollusk shells, personal ornaments and human remains attributable to the latest hunter-gatherers and the earliest farmers in the region. We argue that people who practiced these different subsistence strategies occasionally came into contact and that the people buried at Žukovica led lives fed by hunting, gathering and fishing but that also featured certain cultural behaviors adopted from newly arrived farmers.