Late Glacial knapped stone industry of Kopačina Cave

Vukosavljević, Nikola and Perhoč, Zlatko and Čečuk, Božidar and Karavanić, Ivor. (2011). Late Glacial knapped stone industry of Kopačina Cave. Vjesnik za arheologiju i povijest dalmatinsku, 104(1). pp. 7-54. ISSN 1845-7789

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Abstract

The article presents the results of a lithic analysis of stone artefacts discovered over the course of multiple years of excavations in Kopačina Cave (1978-1993). The frequency of backed bladelets and curved backed points served as the criteria for distinguishing between two phases: the older, lithic phase I and the younger lithic phase II. Based on the absolute dates and the lithic analysis, an interpretation of the cultural stratigraphy (late Upper Palaeolithic, Bronze Age) is proposed here which differs from prior interpretations (late Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Bronze Age). In terms of technology and typology, Kopačina exhibits considerable similarity to the Late Glacial industries of Vela Spila and Badanj. Microscopic and macroscopic analysis of a portion of the lithics set of finds has facilitated the definition of 8 petrographic groups, among which the group of local micritic cherts dominates. The group of red and green radiolarites, although few in number, is an indicator of the ties between the Kopačina hunter-gatherers and the deep Eastern Adriatic hinterland. There is a similar pattern of raw materials use running through the entire stratigraphic sequence.

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