Report by Marcel Buric
University of Zagreb
Faculty of Philosophy
Department of Archaeology
Ivana Lučića 3, Zagreb
HR - 10000
Report on the first year of Hungary-Croatian collaboration on a project "Archaeometrical research of lithic raw materials for early Neolithic prehistoric communities with the help of Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis, with special regard to radiolarites and obsidian”
On the first year of collaboration at the project, emphasis was on organizing of two field trips, one in Hungary (26.-29.05.2008.) and one in Croatia.
The first trip was visiting of Gerecse and Bakony Mts. on which occasion, from several geologic positions samples were collected (Sümeg, Szent Gal etc). Those samples belong to category of HQ lithic implements used as long distance trade items in time of Neolithic. It will be used for comparative analyses with material from archaeological context in order to prove above mentioned trade routes. On the last day, a very successful archaeometry workshop took place in Hungarian National Museum on the topic on lithic implements as markers of trade routes between S Hungary and N Croatia.
After the workshop and a mountain trip in Hungary, Croatian side of the Project organized a workshop at Vela Luka on the island of Korčula. On the way to Adriatic coast the whole project team (Croatian as well as Hungarian) visited several positions of recently discovered outcrops of nodular chert in the hinterland of Trogir (Labinštica, Starosevski gaj), close to the Paleolithic site of Mujina cave, and the outcrop of chert on the island of Čiovo (Saldun bay). After the extracting and collecting of samples we left by ferry for the island of Korčula, the base for further research. Next day we visited the islands of Palagruža and Sušac for collecting the samples of tabular chert and obsidian, as well as GPS mapping of the sites and outcrops. The following day actual workshop took place with the presentations by Katalin Biro (Present state of chert investigations in Transdanubia) and Zlatko Perhoč (Introduction on Geology of South Dalmatian Islands). On the same day three more outcrops of chert in the area around the archaeological site of Vela spila cave have been visited and samples collected (Stračinčica, Bradat, and Lozica). The most recent research of the site was presented by its excavator Dinko Radić. At last a new outcrop of chert was detected at the site of present-day beach Kremenjača.
From all the visited sites a number of samples have been collected for further analyses. The geological material will be compared with the archaeological finds i.e. artifacts. We expect that the analyses should indicate the ratio and of the use and exploitation of the local towards imported raw material at the Neolithic as well as Paleolithic sites of the Eastern Adriatic coast.
Leader of Croatian team
Tihomila Težak-Gregl, Ph.D.