The Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers of South-Eastern Europe by Ruiz-Redondo, Aitor; Davies, William;

Short description:

Situating the South-Eastern European region at the crossroads between the Near East and the rest of Europe, The Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers of South-Eastern Europe provides an interdisciplinary exploration of the Balkan record of prehistoric foragers in terms of dispersal, ecologies, evolution, and symbolism.

Long description:

Situating the South-Eastern European region at the crossroads between the Near East and the rest of Europe, The Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers of South-Eastern Europe provides an interdisciplinary exploration of the Balkan record of prehistoric foragers in terms of dispersal, ecologies, evolution, and symbolism.

The Balkans can increasingly be seen as a key crossroads region, connecting the Near East with the rest of Europe. Such movements of ancient human foragers were not always from east to west; eastward dispersals into the Near East also occurred. The Balkans also served as an interaction zone, where encounters between incoming and indigenous human groups led to the exchange of ideas and genes. Recently increased intensity of study in the region has led to the discovery of genetic evidence for interbreeding (Neanderthals and modern humans), as well as rock art and possible early seafaring evidence.

Ruiz-Redondo and Davies set out new frameworks for future research. The Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers of South-Eastern Europe is the first volume to evaluate the long hunter-gatherer prehistory of South-Eastern Europe, drawing together the latest evidence to restore this region to its full geographical and human evolutionary importance. This includes evidence of shifting raw material and subsistence economies, human remains and ancient DNA, and pre-Neolithic ceramics.

Table of Contents:

• List of Figures


• List of Tables


• Notes on Contributors


• Preface // CLIVE GAMBLE


• 1: AITOR RUIZ-REDONDO and WILLIAM DAVIES: Introduction: current relevance and future potential of South-eastern Europe in Palaeolithic research


• 2: Dušan MIHAILOVIĆ: Lower Palaeolithic settlement of the Balkans: evidence from caves and open-air sites


• 3: MIRJANA ROKSANDIC, PREDRAG RADOVIĆ, JOSHUA LINDAL: The complex picture of the Middle Pleistocene hominin record at the crossroads of Europe and Asia


• 4: IVOR KARAVANIĆ and MARKO BANDA: The Middle Palaeolithic of South-Eastern Europe


• 5: ANA B. MARÍN-ARROYO, JENNIFER JONES, EMANUELA CRISTIANI, RHIANNON E. STEVENS, DU%SAN MIHAILOVI? AND BOJANA MIHAILOVI?: Late Pleistocene hominin settlement patterns in the Central Balkans: Šalitrena Pećina, Serbia


• 6: TSENKA TSANOVA: Preliminary comparison and chronology of the lithic blade and bladelet assemblages at the onset of the Upper Palaeolithic from Bacho Kiro, Temnata and Kozarnika caves in the Eastern Balkans (Bulgaria)


• 7: IVOR JANKOVIĆ AND FRED H. SMITH: Late Pleistocene human fossils from East-Central and South-Eastern Europe


• 8: NENA GALANIDOU AND CHRISTINA PAPOULIA: Between the Aegean and the Adriatic: The Balkan Palaeolithic and the Sea


• 9: NIKOLA VUKOSAVLJEVIĆ: Epigravettian in the Eastern Adriatic and its Hinterland: an overview of settlement dynamics, chronology, subsistence strategies and material culture


• 10: REBECCA FARBSTEIN: Lateglacial ceramic innovation and symbolism from the Balkans in its wider context


• 11: MARC VANDER LINDEN: Refugial foragers to invasive farmers: socio-environmental transitions during the Early Holocene in the Balkans


• Index