Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Foragers Along the Danube Corridor in the Balkans

Anno
2021
Proponente Dusan Boric - Ricercatore
Sottosettore ERC del proponente del progetto
SH6_4
Componenti gruppo di ricerca
Componente Categoria
Emanuela Cristiani Componenti strutturati del gruppo di ricerca / Structured participants in the research project
Maria Luisa Astolfi Componenti strutturati del gruppo di ricerca / Structured participants in the research project
Marialetizia Carra Dottorando/Assegnista/Specializzando componente non strutturato del gruppo di ricerca / PhD/Assegnista/Specializzando member non structured of the research group
Silvia Iorio Componenti strutturati del gruppo di ricerca / Structured participants in the research project
Andrea Pilloni Componenti strutturati del gruppo di ricerca / Structured participants in the research project
Componente Qualifica Struttura Categoria
Viviane Slon Professor Tel Aviv University, Israel Altro personale aggregato Sapienza o esterni, titolari di borse di studio di ricerca / Other aggregate personnel Sapienza or other institution, holders of research scholarships
Dragana Antonovic Senior Researcher Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade, Serbia Altro personale aggregato Sapienza o esterni, titolari di borse di studio di ricerca / Other aggregate personnel Sapienza or other institution, holders of research scholarships
David Reich Professor Harvard Medical School, USA Altro personale aggregato Sapienza o esterni, titolari di borse di studio di ricerca / Other aggregate personnel Sapienza or other institution, holders of research scholarships
Silviu Constantin Researcher Institute of Speleology "Emil Racovita", Buchurest, Romania Altro personale aggregato Sapienza o esterni, titolari di borse di studio di ricerca / Other aggregate personnel Sapienza or other institution, holders of research scholarships
Jelena Calic Researcher Geographical Institute "Jovan Cvijic", Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts,Belgrade, Serbia Altro personale aggregato Sapienza o esterni, titolari di borse di studio di ricerca / Other aggregate personnel Sapienza or other institution, holders of research scholarships
Dustin White Researcher University of York, UK Altro personale aggregato Sapienza o esterni, titolari di borse di studio di ricerca / Other aggregate personnel Sapienza or other institution, holders of research scholarships
Christine Lane Professor University of Cambridge, UK Altro personale aggregato Sapienza o esterni, titolari di borse di studio di ricerca / Other aggregate personnel Sapienza or other institution, holders of research scholarships
Katarina Gerometta Professor University of Pula, Croatia Altro personale aggregato Sapienza o esterni, titolari di borse di studio di ricerca / Other aggregate personnel Sapienza or other institution, holders of research scholarships
Alessia Nava Researcher University of Kent, UK Altro personale aggregato Sapienza o esterni, titolari di borse di studio di ricerca / Other aggregate personnel Sapienza or other institution, holders of research scholarships
Luca Bondioli PhD student University of Bologna, Italy Altro personale aggregato Sapienza o esterni, titolari di borse di studio di ricerca / Other aggregate personnel Sapienza or other institution, holders of research scholarships
Thomas Higham Professor University of Oxford, UK Altro personale aggregato Sapienza o esterni, titolari di borse di studio di ricerca / Other aggregate personnel Sapienza or other institution, holders of research scholarships
Wolfgang Mueller Professor Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany Altro personale aggregato Sapienza o esterni, titolari di borse di studio di ricerca / Other aggregate personnel Sapienza or other institution, holders of research scholarships
Karol Wehr IT support University College London, UK Altro personale aggregato Sapienza o esterni, titolari di borse di studio di ricerca / Other aggregate personnel Sapienza or other institution, holders of research scholarships
Jean-Luc Schwenninger Researcher University of Oxford, UK Altro personale aggregato Sapienza o esterni, titolari di borse di studio di ricerca / Other aggregate personnel Sapienza or other institution, holders of research scholarships
Kevin Uno Research Professor Columbia University, USA Altro personale aggregato Sapienza o esterni, titolari di borse di studio di ricerca / Other aggregate personnel Sapienza or other institution, holders of research scholarships
Kristine Korzow Richter Researcher Harvard University, USA Altro personale aggregato Sapienza o esterni, titolari di borse di studio di ricerca / Other aggregate personnel Sapienza or other institution, holders of research scholarships
Abstract

The main objective of the project is to acquire novel data about the character of Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene human occupation of the "Danube corridor" assumed to be one of the main axis for hominin dispersals throughout early prehistory -- from the dispersal of modern humans to the arrival of agriculture. This will be accomplished by investigating the karstic region of the Danube Gorges in the north-central Balkans characterized by numerous caves and rockshelters as key repositories of human occupation histories throughout the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. The region is also uniquely dotted by more than a dozen open-air Early Holocene Mesolithic forager sites along the banks of the Danube in present-day Romania and Serbia. A recently revised chronology for the Upper Danube region confirms previous suggestions that the "Danube corridor" played an important role as one of the main axis for the dispersal of Homo sapiens. Oase Cave modern human fossils discovered in the immediate hinterland area of the Danube Gorges in Romania have been directly AMS-dated to c. 42,500--38,500 cal BP. Within the same region, recent research led by the PI brought to light occupation deposits with tools attributable to Protoaurignacian at TT Cave. These deposits are dated to c. 41--37,000 cal BP and are broadly contemporaneous with the human remains from Oase Cave. At another site, Dubocka-Kozja Cave, situated in the immediate hinterland of the Danube Gorges, the PI excavated abundant flint tools and debitage characterized as a Levallois-derived Late Mousterian currently dated to c. 40,500--37,000 cal BC, also containing a younger horizon dating to the Gravettian period, c. 30,000 cal BP. The character of Early Holocene forager occupation in the same region will be investigated at the Mesolithic site of Vlasac (c. 11500--8000 cal BC) where, during the 2019 and 2020 excavations led by the PI, a unique burial association of articulated skeletons of a human and a pig was found.

ERC
SH6_4, LS8_3, SH6_3
Keywords:
ARCHEOLOGIA, PREISTORIA E PROTOSTORIA, PALEOANTROPOLOGIA, PALEOECOLOGIA, PALEOCLIMATOLOGIA

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