Jahresbericht 2010 - Curt-Engelhorn-Zentrum Archäometrie gGmbH

Seite 42 Jahresbericht 2010
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Fig. 3 Weight share of basic
petrographic groups in the
lithic inventory of Kopačina:
1 total weight of analysed
items, 2 radiolarites, 3 metasomatic
cherts, 4 petrographically
unidentifiable, 5
-fired cherts. (graph)
thumbnail endscraper
circular endscraper
endscraper on flake
endscraper on…
backed bladelet
arched backed point
microgravette
gravettian point
segment
rectangular
truncation
sidescraper
borer
burin
splintered piece
marginally retouched piece
retouched piece
denticulate
notch
retouched fragment
of petrographic samples,
geological bibliographic
resources and information
of our fellow geologists
and archaeologists on
sources of the rocks in
question (Geological samples,
database of macro-
and microscopic findings
as well as microscopic
photographs are from the
Geoarchaeological
Lithoteque, Perhoc 2010).
Based on the listed criteria,
the following material
groups of archaeological
findings were identified:
radiolarites, metasomatic
cherts and the group of
petrographically unidentifiable
cherts (Figure 3).
In the technological part of
the lithic analysis, the total
of 17 categories was defined
(nodule, primary
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Fig. 4 Figure 4. Relative
frequency of tool types in
lithic phase I and lithic phase
II. (graph)
% %
flake, primary blade, primary
bladelet, secondary
flake, secondary blade, secondary
bladelet, flake,
blade, bladelet, core, core
fragment, crested piece,
core rejuvenation flake,
burin spall, chunk and unidentifiable),
which may
represent different reduction
phases. The technological
analysis yielded a fairly
homogenous picture in the
entire stratigraphic sequence.
Individual types of tools
were predominantly de-
fined according to the Upper
Palaeolithic typology by
P.-Y. Demars and P. Laurent
(thumbnail endscrapers,
arched backed points,
backed bladelets, Gravettian
points, geometric microliths,
sidescrapers, splintered
pieces, borers, burins,
truncations), while certain
types such as, for example,
marginally retouched pieces,
circular endscraper,
endscraper on flake, endscraper
on blade/bladelet
and microgravette were
added.
Based on the relative frequency
of backed bladelets
and arched backed points,
which are very clearly typologically
identifiable, two
lithic phases were separated
(Figure 4). Younger
phase (lithic phase II) includes
depths from 0-140,
and older (lithic phase I)
from 140-300 cm. The objective
of technological and
typological analysis was to
determine the likely existence
of diachronic changes
in the manufacture of stone
artefacts.
Regional context of the
Late Glacial industries of
eastern Adriatic and hinterland
Ön the basis of regional
comparison, in addition to
all similarities and differences,
certain chronological
and stratigraphic analogies
of the Kopac ina industry
with the Late Glacial industries
in Istria (S andalja II,
Nugljanska, Ves anska and
Pupic ina caves), in Dalmatia
(Vlakno cave on the island
of Dugi otok, Zemunica
cave in Dalmatinska Zagora
and Vela cave on the island
of Korc ula), in Herzegovina
(abri Badanj near Stolac)
and Montenegro (Crvena
stijena, Malis ina stijena,
Medena stijena and
Trebac ki krs ) were established.
Based on the performed
techno-typological
analysis, it may be concluded
that the Kopac ina industry
exhibits greatest similarity
to Badanj and Vela
cave, which may be associated
with geographic proximity
of these sites.
Conclusion
The petrographic analysis
of lithic artefacts from
Kopac ina cave, although
limited in scope, represents
a foundation for a geoarchaeological
outline of the
economy of lithic raw material
procurement and thus
also the mobility network
of the Kopac ina population
in the Late Glacial environment.
The analysed lithic
artefacts were made from
metasomatic cherts and
radiolarites. Eight material
groups were identified, of
which three were surely
imported to Brac . Those are
the groups of red (Figure 5-
6), green radiolarites
(Figure 7) and nummulites
(Figure 8) with the total
weight share of 12%. These
are indisputable evidence
of the Kopac ina population
movements in the area of
today’s Middle Dalmatia
and regions on the eastern
side of the Adriatic, probably
all the way to Central
Bosnia. These three groups
were represented in all
depths of the excavated
cave sediment (less in
deeper older layers), which
points to the continuity of
the assumed mobility network
of hunter-gatherers
from Kopac ina.
While the nummulite group
testifies about the island’s
connection with the present
day’s coastal belt, the
groups of green and red
radiolarite with a small
share in the lithic assem-