Ricerc@Sapienza

This article presents a summary of new evidence for the Mesolithic in the Dinaric Alps of Montenegro.
The region is one of the best areas in south-eastern Europe to study Early Holocene foragers and the
nature of the transition to Neolithic lifeways at the end of the seventh and the beginning of the sixth
millennium cal BC thanks to the existence of biodiverse landscapes and numerous karstic features. We
argue that harpoons found at two different sites in this regional context represent a curated technology

The chapter discusses the appearance of osseous harpoons in northern Italy. At present, in Italy, the earliest harpoons come from the eastern Alpine region and in particular from the Adige Valley, the southern Dolomites and the Julian Alps. Typologically, specimens from these areas are defined as bilateral harpoons with straight barbs and basal bilateral gorge and bevelled bases.