The Gudnja Culture and Examples of Imports in Neolithic Dalmatia

Na neolitičkim nalazištima Dalmacije dugo je bila nalažena specifična dvobojna i trobojna keramika koja se bitno razlikovala od dotad poznate bojane keramike dalmatinskih neolitičkih kultura. Na nekoliko nalazišta ona se nalazi kao import, dok se u Veloj spilji na otoku Korčuli i u pećini Gudnji na poluotoku Pelješcu pojavljuje kao izrazita kulturna skupina srednjeg neolitika specifičnih keramografskih i ikonografskih značajki. Ona je svojedobno bila definirana kao kultura Gudnja, pod izrazitim utjecajem Dimini stila, te s odgovarajućim analogijama sa sličnim kulturama Maliq – Kamnik u Albaniji, te kulturama Scaloria i Serra d’Alto u Apuliji. Pluralizam kultura i komunikacije u pretpovijesti Jadrana nadopunjuju primjeri izravnog importa u neolitiku Dalmacije kao što su keramički primjerci iz Grčke i Apulije, sjekire od žada i nefrita, te kampinijenske sjekire.For many years, specific bicolour and tricolour ceramics were found at Neolithic sites in Dalmatia which differed considerably from previously-known coloured ceramics of Dalmatian Neolithic cultures. At several sites it appears as an import, while in Vela Cave on the island of Korčula and in Gudnja Cavern on the Pelješac Peninsula it appears as a remarkable cultural group from the middle Neolithic with specific ceramographic and iconographic features. It was at one time defined as the Gudnja culture, under the marked influence of the Dimini style, with the corresponding analogies to similar cultures of Maliq-Kamnik in Albania, and the Sacloria and Serra d’Alto cultures in Apulia. The pluralism of cultures and communications in the Adriatic’s prehistory are supplemented by examples of direct imports to Neolithic Dalmatia, such as ceramic examples from Greece and Apulia, jade and nephrite axes and Campignien axe

Miocene fossil assemblage from the locality Laz Bistrički

Laporovite miocenske naslage Laza Bistričkog i okolice već su bile predmetom nekoliko istraživanja. Sadrže brojne fosile sačuvane tijekom izmjena kopnenih i vodenih faza. Potvrđena je velika raznolikost fosilne zajednice koja sadrži mnoštvo flore i faune koja nas upućuje na okolišne uvjete vremena. Pretpostavljena starost istraživanih naslaga je srednji miocen.Marly Miocene deposits of Laz Bistrički and its surroundings have already been the subject of several studies. They contain numerous fossils preserved during changes of land and water phases. A great diversity of fossil communities has been confirmed, which contains a multitude of flora and fauna that point to the environmental conditions of time. The presumed age of investigated deposits is Middle Miocene

Antique Glass Vessels from Siscia

Tekst se bavi malom skupinom neobjavljenih staklenih posuda svakodnevne i funerarne namjene. Posude predstavljaju dio privatne zbirke, pronađene su u Sisku, a pripadaju razdoblju od 1. do 4. st.In this short article a small group of glass vessels of Siscian origin from an important private collection in Sisak is presented. Individual find groups from the same collection have already been published (Prilozi 15-16/1999, 17/2000, 18/2001 and 19/2002). The collection also contains jewellery (carneol gems, rings, armbands, earrings, bracelets, beads and pendants), locks, keys and padlocks, different tools (hammers, awls, mallets, hooks) and other accessories (lamp hooks, ansae, handle fastening systems, knives, forks), weapons (lance and arrow heads, battle axes, spurs etc.), play-tokens, coins (aureus, argenteus) and ceramic vessels (amphorae, jugs, urns) and other objects. With the exception of the first of the Siscian glass specimens, No. 1, which has a broken rim, the remaining six vessels are completely preserved. Among the balsamaria, bottles with a round bottom (Pl.1, 1, 2, Fig. 1 a,b) represent shapes common in the first century. The rather specific bottle with a long neck and a standing plate (Pl.1, 3., Fig. 2d) remains without more precise chronological definition for lack of parallels, and in a broader context it can be dated to the first-third centuries. The spherical bottle (Pl.1, 4, Fig. 2a) overlaps with such finds from the first century, as well as the patera-shaped little plate (Pl.1, 6, Fig. 2e) and on the basis of numerous analogous Italic and Pannonian examples it can be dated to the second part of the first century. A closer dating of the conical glass with engraved line decoration (Pl.1, 5, Fig. 2c) cannot be determined within the expanse of first-third century period, to which other similar specimens have been dated. Parallel to other identically designed vessels, the rectangular olla cineraria (Pl.1, 7, Fig. 2b) probably dates from the second part or the end of the first century and from the second century

The natural diet of bleak (Alburnus alburnus Linnaeus 1758)

Istraživanje prehrane provedeno je na 171 jedinki uklije (Alburnus alburnus Linnaeus 1758.) prikupljenih na različitim lokalitetima Dunavskog sliva u rijekama Dravi, Dunavu i Savi. Cilj ovog rada bio je istražiti prirodnu prehranu uklije u Hrvatskoj radi boljeg razumijevanja ekologije ove vrste. Uklija preferira podjednako i hranu animalnog podrijetla, kao i hranu biljnog podrijetla, a hrani se u cijelom stupcu vode. Prvenstveno se hrani jedinkama koje dominiraju u zajednici. Uspoređujući podatke dobivene analizom prehrane uklije s uzorcima makrozoobentosa prikupljenih na istim lokalitetima na kojima su uzorkovane i ribe, vidimo kako ishrana uklije ovisi o količini dostupne hrane. U sastav prehrane uklije ulazi 13 skupina makroskopskih beskralješnjaka (Nematoda, Annelida, Isopoda, Amphipoda, Aranea, Ephemeroptera, Odonata, Homoptera, Thysanoptera, Trichoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera i Hymenoptera). Prisutnost biljnog materijala utvrđena je u 41 probavilu, a paraziti su pronađeni u svega 12 probavila. Od ukupno 171 analiziranog probavila, 14 ih je bilo praznih. Sva prazna probavila su zabilježena na postajama Davor i Toplana na rijeci Savi.The natural diet of bleak (Alburnus alburnus Linnaeus 1758.), was investigated on 171 individuals. The specimens were collected in the Drava, Dunav and Sava River at 9 investigated sites. The aim of this research was to investigate the natural diet of bleak in Croatia in order to understand better the ecology of the species. In general, bleak belongs to the zoophagous and phytophagous group. In the digestive tract thirteen groups of macroinvertebrates were found: Nematoda, Annelida, Isopoda, Amphipoda, Aranea, Ephemeroptera, Odonata, Homoptera, Thysanoptera, Trichoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera i Hymenoptera. Based on the analyses of the macrozoobenthos collected in the investigated rivers, it is evident that natural diet of bleak depends on quantity of available food. Parasites were found in 12 digestive tract. Fourteen stomachs were empty and all of them were found in the Sava River

Altars and Idols of the Starčevo Settlement on Galovo in Slavonski Brod

U sustavnim arheološkim istraživanjima ranoneolitičkoga starčevačkog naselja na Galovu u Slavonskom Brodu otkriveno je do sada 74 žrtvenika i 3 idola. U skupini običnih žrtvenika na 4 noge može se izdvojiti pet različito oblikovanih recipijenata: žrtveni stolić (tip 1), žrtvenici s posudicom na sredini recipijenta (tip 2), žrtvenici vodoravnog recipijenta sa životinjskim protomama na uglovima (tip 3), žrtvenik izvana četverokutnog, a s unutrašnje strane kružnog recipijenta s protomama na uglovima (tip 4) i žrtvenik poput oltara (tip 5). Žrtvenici tipa 6 su male žrtvene posude na višoj nozi. Žrtvenici tipa 3 i 4 za sada su otkriveni samo u Slavonskom Brodu, dok ostali tipovi žrtvenika imaju brojne analogije u ranoneolitičkim naseljima starčevačke i Körös kulture u Vojvodini i južnoj Mađarskoj. Zoomorfni žrtvenici su rijetki u starčevačkim naseljima, a žrtvenik u obliku bika za sada je jedinstven primjerak žrtvenika u starčevačkome kulturnom kompleksu. Antropomorfna plastika - stupasto-zvonoliki idoli imaju brojne analogije u ranoneolitičkim nalazištima, a brodski - najstariji primjerci dokazuju da je panonski prostor bio njihovo izvorište. Otkrića žrtvenika i idola u Slavonskom Brodu dokazuju da su već u početnim fazama (Linear A) starčevačke kulture bile zastupljene sve skupine kultnih predmeta.The southern parts of the Pannonian valley, particularly its peripheries – the valley of the Sava River and the lower course of the Danube River – were areas particularly favorable for the establishment and development of centers of the oldest farming cultures in this part of Europe. The extraordinarily favorable agricultural conditions provided for the sudden development of Neolithic cultures and a rapid break with the older Mesolithic forms of life and opinion. Thus in Posavina, which belongs to the southernmost part of the Pannonian Valley, the two oldest settlements of northern Croatia were discovered in the past 13 years, belonging to the early phase of the Starčevo culture – Linear A (around 5700-5300 BC): the “crafts settlement” in Zadubravlje and the settlement with a fenced ritual-burial site in Slavonski Brod (Minichreiter, 1992a, 29; ibid 1997, 40-43). Not only within the Starčevo culture, but also within the entire Neolithic Starčevo culture complex, the most significant and famous cult artifacts were altars and figural plastic. Up until lately it was believed that these artifacts were characteristic of the late Neolithic – the Vinča culture – but extensive investigations of Starčevo settlements in the past two decades have radically changed this picture of their forms, development and role in the early Neolithic period. The function of the altars has not been entirely clarified so far. Yet it is safe to say that in the pit-dwellings they served as house altars, and with the deceased as their personal objects. Worth mentioning is the assumption made by S. Stanković that the main sacrificial rite was conducted collectively on a certain spot in the settlement, where sacrifices were offered on large altars. After the rite, each family or home would get a part of the sacrifice, which they used to put on their small house altars and took into the field or in their pit-dwellings (Stanković, 1986, 12-13; ibid 1992a, 244-245). The altars found in Slavonski Brod may be classified in two basic groups: ordinary and zoomorphic altars. The group of ordinary altars has the basic form in common – a rectangular recipient on four feet. The recipient appears in different shapes, so that five varieties can be sorted out: the sacrificial table – type 1 (Fig. 3; T. 1, 1); altars with a vessel in the middle of the recipient – type 2 (Fig. 3; T. 1, 2-7; T. 2, 1-2); altars with a horizontal recipient with animal protomes in its corners – type 3 (Fig. 3; T. 2., 3-5, T. 3., 1-4); an altar with a rectangular outer and circular inner recipient with protomes in the corners – type 4 (Fig. 3; T. 4, 1-4); and an altar resembling a church altar – type 5 (T. 4., 5-6). Altars of types 1, 2 and 5 have numerous analogies in the early Neolithic settlements of the Starčevo and Körös culture in Vojvodina and southern Hungary, whereas altars of types 3 and 4 have up to the present been discovered only in Slavonski Brod (further analogies to Lánycsók in Hungary and the somewhat younger Kaniška Iva in western Slavonia). According to the latest research we can stress that altar types 3 and 4 bear a special form and were discovered only in Brodska Posavina (Slavonski Brod), and can – just as the remaining altars from Slavonski Brod – be dated in the group of the oldest altars in Croatia – phase Linear A. Zoomorphic altars (T. 5.) bear the shapes of certain animals with a realistically presented anatomy. On the back they have a deep, flat or erect conical recipient (vessel). This type of altar is particularly rare in Starčevo settlements, whereas its number significantly increases in the later late Neolithic cultures (Stanković, 1992a, 223). The bull-shaped altar from Slavonski Brod with a flat recipient on its back is, so far, a unique sample of an altar in the Starčevo cultural complex, even though bull-figurines appearing as zoomorphic terracotta are a common inventory of Starčevo pit-dwellings. It is well known that cattle horns were buried as a sacrifice in the center of large and most significant pit-dwellings in the Starčevo settlements on Obre (Benac, 1973, 16), in Zadubravlje (Minichreiter, 2001c, 205, Fig. 8) and Slavonski Brod (Minichreiter, 2001c, 209, Fig. 13). Already in the Neolithic the bull was a symbol of fertility and as such closely connected to the great goddess-mother, the symbol of fertile land (Milićević, 1988, 30). In the large early Neolithic settlement Çatal Hüyüku in Anatolia already in the X and oldest layer (around 6300 BC) clay altars were unearthed with implanted real bullhorns (Mellart, 1967, 52, 104, Fig. 27, 28, Fig. 17). Apart from that bulls are often represented on frescos and reliefs of the altars from the X-VI layer. Another important group of cult artifacts is also anthropomorphic plastic – idols (T. 6.) that used to play a substantial role in the life of the early Neolithic populations. The finds of an ever larger number of variously shaped idols in Starčevo settlements of all development phases account for their significance in cult rites throughout the Neolithic. Idols discovered in Slavonski Brod show that already in the earliest stages of the Starčevo culture their form was pillared/bell-shaped, their eyes indicated by engravings, their nose and hands slightly emphasized and their hair or cap represented as a relief. Stylized human figures were an abstract artifact and did not represent any particular deities. Probably in the beginning they were made of wood with engraved eyes and hair. This shape remained throughout all the development phases of the Starčevo culture, and at the beginning of the Vinča culture the idols became more and more human-shaped. The pillared idols probably have their origin in Pannonia, whereas the Asia Minor idols are more realistically modeled with a hypertrophied body (Brukner, 1968, 47-48). Intensive investigations of early Neolithic settlements in the last 20 years bring us to the conclusion that already in the initial phases of the Starčevo culture all groups of cult artifacts were represented, even though they were smaller in number, to become larger in the later phases. Thus S. Stanković shows the percentage of cult artifacts in relation to the complete archaeological material according to the chronological classification by D. Srejović: Protostarčevo I (Monochrome after S. Dimitrijević) – 10.9%; Protostarčevo II (Linear A) – 38%; Starčevo I (Linear B and Girlandoid) – 32%; and Starčevo II (Spiraloid A/B) – 18.9% (Stanković, 1992a, 273). Throughout the development of the Starčevo culture, certain groups of cult artifacts disappear and no new groups appear. This points to the fact that the Starčevo population continued the religion and cults from the Paleolithic and Mesolithic traditions. Different rites caused the diversity of forms within the groups of cult artifacts. Most probably a particular form of altars served exclusively for particular rites or sacrifices devoted to particular forces. Therefore the appearance of new altar forms throughout the development of the Starčevo culture stands for the advancement of the religion and magic of the Neolithic man. A continuation of archaeological investigations of the early Neolithic settlement in Slavonski Brod shall enable a better and more comprehensive understanding of cult rites, religion and beliefs of the oldest populations of the south Pannonian territory

Some forms of Eastern Mediterranean relief ware from the Archaeological Museum in Split

U radu se objavljuju primjerci reljefnih korintskih zdjelica i knidske antropomorfne keramike koji se čuvaju u Arheološkome muzeju u Splitu. Obje vrste keramike izvozile su se na prostor zapadnog Mediterana premda ne u velikim količinama.Examples of Corinthian small relief bowls and Cnidian anthropomorphic ware held in the Archaeological Museum are published. Both types of ware were imported to the Western Mediterranean, albeit not in large quantities

Torčec-Međuriče – a Contribution to the Understanding of the Material Culture of the Hallstatt Settlements in the Podravina Region around Koprivnica

U ovom radu predstavlja se arheološki lokalitet Međuriče, u Torčecu, u koprivničkoj Podravini. Velika se pozornost pridaje rezultatima probnih arheoloških istraživanja koja je na ovom nizinskom lokalitetu tijekom 2007. godine proveo Institut za arheologiju, kao i materijalu prikupljenom u višegodišnjim obilascima lokaliteta od strane braće Zvijerac, lokalnih arheologa-amatera. Istovremeno se donose i rezultati interdisciplinarnih analiza obavljenih na uzorcima prikupljenim tijekom sondiranja. Svi se podaci objedinjuju u skicu, u kojoj su ocrtani obrisi novoga podravskog nizinskog naselja iz razdoblja starijega željeznog doba.This paper presents the archaeological site of Međuriče, in Torčec, in the Podravina region around Koprivnica. Great attention is given to the results of test archaeological investigations carried out at this lowland site by the Institute of Archaeology in Zagreb in 2007, as well as to the material collected by the Zvijerac brothers, local amateur archaeologists, in their surveys of the site over a number of years. At the same time the results of interdisciplinary analyses carried out on the samples collected during the test excavation are presented. All the data are brought together in a sketch which outlines a new lowland settlement in Podravina from the Early Iron Age