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Site plan of Vlasac showing only Late Mesolithic pits and burials (indicated with ''F.'' and ''H.'' prefixes respectively) in the central part of the area excavated in 2006-2009 in the southernmost part of the site with Trenches 1-3/2006, 2-3/2007, and 1/2008 (indicated with ''T.'' prefixes). Context numbers are in brackets. Drawn by Duš an BoricándBoricánd Miroslav Koč ic´.ic´ic´.
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Recent excavations (2006–2009) at the Mesolithic-Neolithic site of Vlasac in the Danube Gorges region of the north-central Balkans have focused on a reevaluation of previous conclusions about site formation processes, stratigraphy, chronology, and the nature of occupation. Mostly Late Mesolithic remains had been encountered in the preserved portion...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... on tool morphologies and use-wear traces, bone and antler edged tools were used for some heavy duty processing of hard materials such as wood; they were likely used as axes and wedges (FIG. 9: 4). Traces of use on some ivory burins and knives (FIG. 9: 8-10) indicate that these categories of tools were likely used for woodworking. Bone projectile points were used as hunting and fishing gear, but they might also have been used for tribal or interpersonal combat, as suggested by a bone point embedded in the pelvic In sum, the sample of osseous artifacts coming from the most recent excavations at the site is significantly smaller than the preserved assemblage of osseous tools coming from the area excavated in [1970][1971] where close to 3000 were discovered (Cristiani and BoricínBoricín press;SrejovicándSrejovicánd Letica 1978). The reason for this discrepancy relates to differences in the character of the settlement in each of the excavated zones. Yet, the repertoire of artifacts recovered in the two zones of the settlement is uniform and is characteristic of the typical European Mesolithic technological chaıˆnechaıˆne opératoire with a range of morphologies for foraging activities as well as intensive wood processing. Such a repertoire also characterizes other Late Mesolithic sites in the Danube Gorges region (e.g., Beldiman 2005; Dinu et al. 2007). The abundant traces of woodworking are most likely indicative of the long term occupation of the site in the Late Mesolithic. Woodworking with a range of tools might be related to the construction of dwellings, and also possibly to make canoes for water transportation. As mentioned above, there is clear evidence of the clearing of vegetation from the slope above the settlement, which caused the intensification of hillwash episodes in the Late Mesolithic. Contrary to some other elements of material culture at this site, the osseous industry from Vlasac does not exhibit any signs of change related to the introduction of a new technological chaıˆnechaıˆne opératoire or new morphologies during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition. Yet, this period saw the introduction of new tool shapes and techniques in the osseous industry during Phase I-II at the neighboring site of Lepenski Vir (BoricándBoricánd Cristiani in press). The likely reason for the lack of change at Vlasac lies in the changing nature of the site at the end of the 7th millennium B.C., at which time the site started to be primarily used as a burial ground (see ...
Context 2
... 2006-2009 field seasons at Vlasac covered an area of 326 sq m, investigating a 63 m stretch of the new riverbank section created after 1971 in the (likely peripheral) southernmost part of the site (FIG. 4). This new effort was upslope from the area that was excavated in 1970-1971. In the course of new excavations at the site, all archaeological deposits were watersieved using 3 to 5 mm mesh. Flotation samples were taken from every unit or context, commonly 20 L of soil but occasionally also 35 L per unit or more. Heavy residue fractions were sieved with the addition of 0.3 mm and 0.5 mm mesh, enabling the recovery of a large number of small artifacts, including different types of ...
Context 3
... were two main zones of human burials in the area excavated at Vlasac from 2006 to 2009. The first zone is characterized by exclusively Late Mesolithic, mid-7th millennium B.C. burials in Trenches 3/2007 and 1/2008 in the western part of the excavated area (FIG. 4). Five primary burials (H244, H254, H267, H317, and H326) were distributed over this area largely following the same position and orientation, that is, they were placed parallel to the Danube with their heads pointing downstream. In addition, burial H2 was found in this general area in front of the eroded riverbank section at the level of the beach gravel (Boric´2006Boric´Boric´2006). This burial was, at the time of the discovery, partly damaged and exposed by river erosion. It dates to 6775-6470 CAL B.C. (OxA-16541) (at 95% confidence) after the correction for the aquatic reservoir effect (TABLE 1). The burial included 642 perforated, unmodified, and fragmented phar- yngeal carp teeth once attached to some sort of cloak placed on the back of the deceased. There were also 32 Cyclope neritea marine gastropod beads, 15 of which were part of a closely knit line of beads found lying beneath the upper femurs of burial H2 (Cristiani and Boric´2012Boric´Boric´2012). There was also a large stone block placed over the lower legs of this individual. The dating of this burial, the range and quantity of ornaments and the pattern of their distribution in the burial as well as the placement of a large stone block over the lower legs are all strikingly similar to child burial H297 found in the second burial concentration in Trench 3/2006 (FIG. 10). These suggest standardized Late Mesolithic burial ...
Context 4
... the other five burials in this part of the site have not been dated directly, their general orientation and positions (in some cases with stone construc- tions) as well as their range of ornaments suggest that they might also be dated to the Late Mesolithic of the 7th millennium B.C. For instance, a concentration of 251 carp teeth ornaments was found in burial H267 (FIG. 11). In nearby burial H244, the torso and mandible were disturbed by a later intrusion, with possible burning of the disturbed bones, which left only one fragment of a carbonized right humerus in situ, while most of the other disturbed and likely burnt bones were removed. Possibly connected with this exhumation and burning is a cremation pit, Feature 23 (context 242), (TABLE 3) found in the vicinity (FIG. 4). Apart from burnt bones found in this cremation pit, there were 10 carbonized Cyclope neritea beads, suggesting that the fragments of burnt bone and ornaments relate to the disturbed torso of burial H244 (BoricétBoricét al. 2009). A few Late Mesolithic cremations also contained broken and burnt projec- tile points, which might have been comingled and burnt intentionally with disarticulated and fragmen- ted pieces of human bone. Cremation associated with the practice of disturbing parts of older burials is what characterizes mortuary rites at Vlasac during the Late Mesolithic (BoricétBoricét al. 2009). It seems that this practice also remained vital and relevant for the inhabitants of Vlasac throughout the Mesolithic- Neolithic transition as suggested by similar cremation events in the burial sequence in Trench 3/2006 (see ...
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Citations
... Among the formal tools recovered in excavations at Vlasac were a small number of trapezes which have been attributed to Late Mesolithic occupation of the site (Borić et al. 2014;Borić and Gri ths 2015). However, there is no general 'blade and trapeze' horizon in the Iron Gates Mesolithic equivalent to that in the eastern Adriatic. ...
The Balkan Mesolithic was a regional manifestation of indigenous hunter-gatherers’ adaptations to profound ecological change between the end of the Last Glacial Maximum and the establishment of Neolithic farming systems across Europe. Mesolithic sites are unevenly distributed across the peninsula. In the Dinaric-Pindus mountains in the west, evidence of Mesolithic settlement comes mainly from excavations in caves and rock shelters. Further east, the record is sporadic, with large areas lacking Mesolithic finds. The Iron Gates section of the Danube Valley at the border between Romania and Serbia is exceptional. There, archaeological investigations prompted by dam construction projects led to the discovery of cave- and open-air sites along the Danube banks, which provide a detailed record of Mesolithic culture and economy spanning almost seven millennia. The Mesolithic way of life in the Balkans came to an end as immigrant farmers from Anatolia gradually colonized the peninsula during the seventh millennium bc, introducing new methods of food production based on southwest Asian domesticated plants and animals, along with distinctive forms of architecture, funerary customs, art, and technology, including fired pottery. The agricultural frontier had reached the Danube by the end of the millennium. Individual burials at Lepenski Vir in Serbia dating to the period between c. 6,200 and 6,000 cal bc contain the remains of people of differing genetic ancestries—of Anatolian, indigenous, or mixed descent—signalling the beginning of the end of the Mesolithic in the Iron Gates and the wider Balkan peninsula, even if the processes of the transition are still debated.
... Here, ground stone tools start appearing in the archaeological record in the Early Mesolithic (Antonović, 2006), if not earlier. However, it is only in the Late Mesolithic that these tools became an essential component of the forager toolkit as documented at various sites across the region, such as Padina, Lepenski Vir, Hajdučka Vodenica, and Vlasac (Antonović, 2006;Borić et al., 2018Borić et al., , 2014Srejović, 1969). ...
Plants and plant-based foods played a crucial role in human evolution, and the interaction between plants and humans is a highly debated topic in archaeology. Ground stone tools are considered particularly valuable evidence due to their direct involvement in various plant processing tasks. This paper investigates the use of sandstone ground stone tools coming from the site of Vlasac in the Danube Gorges region, used in plant processing tasks, providing clues about the exploitation of vegetal resources during the Mesolithic of the region. Applying a novel approach based on the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, including optical microscopy, 3D surface texture analysis, and spatial analysis, we explore the use of ground stone tools in plant processing at the site. Our results highlight the existence of a specific plant-food processing technology in the area of the Danube Gorges during the eight millennium cal BC, alongside the familiarity of these Mesolithic foragers with the consumption of wild plants, long before the introduction of agriculture in this region.
... The length of such tools was usually be tween 8-10cm, and they were most likely used in wo odworking. In addition, chisel-like artefacts with a similar trimmed fan-shaped, flat, or circular working edge, were also made from red deer antler and wild boar (Sus scrofa) tusks (Srejoviae, Letica 1978;Boriae et al. 2014;Cristiani, Boriae 2021). The fragmented artefact from Pešterija was made from different raw material (i.e. from a long bone of a ruminant smaller than aurochs), but the similarity in the manufacture and the shape of the working edge suggests that it could have also been used as some sort of chisel. ...
... The production of ornaments (most likely garment appliqués) included the extraction of teeth from the pharyngeal bone, drilling through or gro oving at the tooth neck to enable fastening and suspension by sinew threads and binding organic compounds (Rigaud 2011;Cristiani, Boriae 2012;Cristiani et al. 2014b;Rigaud et al. 2014;Mãrgãrit et al. 2018b). Vyrezub teeth modified in such a manner have been discovered in Late Mesolithic burial and occu pational contexts in the Upper Danube region in Ger many (Probst fels, Falkensteinhöhle, Burghöhle von Dietfurt, Hohlenstein-Stadel) (Rigaud 2011;Grünberg 2013), in the Iron Gates (Lepenski Vir, Vlasac, Ico ana, Schela Cladovei, Kula) (Srejoviae, Letica 1978;Radovanoviae 1996b;Boriae 2003;Boriae et al. 2014;Boriae, Cristiani 2016;ivaljeviae 2017;ivaljeviae et al. 2017b;Mãrgãrit et al. 2018a), in the Crimea (Shan-Koba, Zamil-Koba I) (Kraynov 1938;Bibikov et al. 1994) and material (Gurova et al. 2022). The use of this material carried not only economic significance, but also social importance, indicating social openness (Mi hai loviae 2007b). ...
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... Further north, the karstic areas of Montenegro have also yielded several Mesolithic sites, covering both the earlier and later parts of this period (e.g., Mihailović 2004;Mercier et al. 2017). Last but not least, the Iron gates, at the border between modern-day Serbia and Romania, present the highest density of Mesolithic sites in the area, with iconic locations such as Lepenski Vir and Vlasac (e.g., Borić et al. 2014, Bonsall & Boroneanţ 2018. ...
The early Holocene in the Balkans is synonymous with extensive transformations of both environments and human societies. The new climatic conditions indeed led to a spatial expansion of thermophilous (warmth-loving) plant and animal species that were previously confined to refugial areas, eventually reshaping the local biomes, while glacial species disappeared from the region. These processes were paralleled by profound transformations in the distribution of the foraging populations, the existing yet sparse documentation suggesting clustering in specific ecological niches (e.g. Iron Gates, shores of the Adriatic coast). It is upon this template that, towards the second half of the 9th millennium cal BP, cultigens and animal domesticates appear in the local archaeological record, apparently under the impetus of an incoming population of eventual Near Eastern origins, as suggested by recent ancient DNA (‘aDNA’) research. This contribution will review the available environmental and archaeological evidence for the early Holocene, focusing on the extent to which ecological factors drove variation in human behaviours, especially food acquisition techniques (either foraging or farming). Particular attention will also be devoted to the identification and characterisation of population history as inferred from multiple categories of evidence, such as the 14C record, settlement patterns, aDNA.
... S9-S10). A sequence of overlapping burials with cremations, resembling the multi-inhumation pits encountered at the periphery of Lepenski Vir, has been documented at the nearby site of Vlasac, dating to the 7th-6th millennia BC, suggesting continuation of a Late Mesolithic practice in the Neolithic period (Borić et al., 2014). ...
... Ellipses generated with stat-ellipse (assuming a multivariate t-distribution) from the ggplot2 R library. Based on previously reported 14 C dates and stable isotope values (full references in Electronic Supplementary Material 1) example, descendants of Aegean farmers were more likely to bury their dead than Iron Gates HGs, who sometimes practised cremation (Borić et al., 2014;Borić, 2016, p. 260). There could have been fugitive architecture elsewhere with two styles of community present that the original excavation might not have revealed. ...
It is now widely accepted that agriculture and settled village life arrived in Europe as a cultural package, carried by people migrating from Anatolia and the Aegean Basin. The putative fisher-forager site of Lepenski Vir in Serbia has long been acknowledged as an exception to this model. Here, the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition—possibly inspired by interaction with the new arrivals—was thought to have taken place autochthonously on site. Our reinterpretation, based on ancient genomes, as well as archaeological and isotopic evidence, indicates that here, too, house construction, early village society and agriculture were primarily associated with Europe’s first farmers, thus challenging the long-held view of Lepenski Vir as a Mesolithic community that adopted Neolithic practices. Although aspects of the site's occupation, such as the trapezoidal houses, were inspired by local Mesolithic traditions, it is far from certain that the village was founded by Iron Gates foragers. A detailed timeline of population changes at the site suggests that Aegean incomers did not simply integrate into an established Mesolithic society, but rather founded new lineages and households. Iron Gates foragers and their admixed descendants largely appear to have been buried separately, on the fringes of the settlement. The diet of those buried outside in pits shows no major shift from aquatic to terrestrial food resources.
... The level of gene flow with neighboring groups remains unknown. But the rather high pairwise diversity observed among the Danube Gorges individuals compared to, for instance, individuals from Central Europe, as well as the elevated heterozygosity of at least some Danube Gorges individuals is indicative of a relatively large and well connected population, an interpretation well in line with the richness of archaeological finds from this period (Borić and Stefanović, 2004;Borić et al., 2014;Borić, 2016Borić, , 2021. The difference in diversity appears particularly stark when compared to the genomic data from Criewen (GR2), the most recently dated Central European individual with 100% Meso-European-like ancestry, or the Baltic site of Zvejnieki. ...
... Only in Lepenski Vir and possibly in Padina does the interaction take place at the same site -perhaps even into the Neolithic period. However, the Vlasac site was possibly no longer used as a settlement during the Transformation period, but only as an ancestral burial site by people with Meso European-like ancestry (Borić et al., 2014). ...
... The site was assigned to the Lepenski Vir culture and is mostly dated to Late Mesolithic, while there are dates as old as 9,800 cal BC known from the site (Bonsall et al., 2000;Borić and Stefanović, 2004;Borić, French and Dimitrijević, 2008). Additionally, new excavations (during seasons [2006][2007][2008][2009] showed that there was also an occupation parallel to the Transformation phase of Lepenski Vir with appearance of features influenced by the Neolithic (Early Starčevo ceramics, Spondylus shells and discoid beads) (Borić et al., 2014). Most of the settlement was abandoned . ...
While early Neolithic populations in Europe were largely descended from early Aegean farmers, there is also evidence of episodic gene flow from local Mesolithic hunter-gatherers into early Neolithic communities. Exactly how and where this occurred is still unknown. Here we report direct evidence for admixture between the two groups at the Danube Gorges in Serbia. Analysis of palaeogenomes recovered from skeletons revealed that second-generation mixed individuals were buried amidst individuals whose ancestry was either exclusively Aegean Neolithic or exclusively local Mesolithic. The mixed ancestry is also reflected in a corresponding mosaic of grave goods. With its deep sequence of occupation and its unique dwellings that suggest at least semi-sedentary occupation since the late Mesolithic, the area of the Danube Gorges has been at the center of the debate about the contribution of Mesolithic societies to the Neolithisation of Europe. As suggested by our data, which were processed exclusively with uncertainty-aware bioinformatic tools, it may have been precisely in such contexts that close interactions between these societies were established, and Mesolithic ancestry and cultural elements were assimilated.
... S9-S10). A sequence of overlapping burials with cremations, resembling the multi-inhumation pits encountered at the periphery of Lepenski Vir, has been documented at the nearby site of Vlasac, dating to the 7th-6th millennia BC, suggesting continuation of a Late Mesolithic practice in the Neolithic period (Borić et al., 2014). ...
... Ellipses generated with stat-ellipse (assuming a multivariate t-distribution) from the ggplot2 R library. Based on previously reported 14 C dates and stable isotope values (full references in Electronic Supplementary Material 1) example, descendants of Aegean farmers were more likely to bury their dead than Iron Gates HGs, who sometimes practised cremation (Borić et al., 2014;Borić, 2016, p. 260). There could have been fugitive architecture elsewhere with two styles of community present that the original excavation might not have revealed. ...
Today, it is widely accepted that agriculture and settled village life arrived in Europe as a cultural package, carried by people migrating from Anatolia and the Aegean Basin. The putative fisher-forager site of Lepenski Vir in Serbia has long been acknowledged as an exception to this model. Here, the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition - possibly inspired by interaction with the new arrivals - was thought to have taken place autochthonously on site. Our reinterpretation, based on ancient genomes, as well as archaeological and isotopic evidence, revisits this conclusion, indicating that here too, house construction, early village society and agriculture were primarily associated with Europe's first farmers, thus challenging the long-held interpretation of Lepenski Vir as a Mesolithic community that adopted Neolithic practices. A detailed timeline of population changes at the site suggests that Aegean incomers did not simply integrate into an established Mesolithic society, rather founded new lineages and households. Iron Gates foragers and their admixed descendants appear to have been buried largely separately, on the fringes of the settlement, their diet showing no major shift from aquatic to terrestrial food resources.
... All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations and all experimental protocols were approved by the NYU College of Dentistry. The Late Mesolithic (burial H326/7, ca 50 years old, Vlasac, Serbia [31]) and Early Neolithic (burial 6/A2309, Ajmana, Serbia [30,32]) specimens were known to be females through previously performed DNA analysis [28]. The Neanderthal specimens from Krapina had previously been studied by Wolpoff [29], who estimated their ages at death based on dental wear. ...
... Estimates based on wear are from Wolpoff[29] for the Neanderthal specimens, Borić & Price[30] for the Neolithic individual and from Borić et al.[31] for the Mesolithic one. ARF and ARM = contemporary specimens with known life history.Sex was estimated via DNA analysis[28]. ...
The evolution of modern human reproductive scheduling is an aspect of our life history that remains vastly uncomprehended. The present work aims to address this gap by validating a non-destructive cutting-edge methodology to infer adult life history events on modern teeth with known life history and then applying it to fossil specimens. We use phase-contrast synchrotron X-ray microtomography to visualize the dental cementum of 21 specimens: nine contemporary humans; ten Neanderthals from Krapina (Croatia, 130-120 ky); one Neolithic H. sapiens from Ajmana (Serbia); and one Mesolithic H. sapiens from Vlasac (Serbia). We were able to correctly detect and time (root mean square error = 2.1 years; R2=0.98) all reproductive (menarche, parturition, menopause) and other physiologically impactful events in the modern sample. Nonetheless, we could not distinguish between the causes of the events detected. For the fossil specimens we estimated age at death and age at occurrence of biologically significant events. Finally, we performed an exploratory analysis regarding possible sexual dimorphism in dental cementum microstructure, which allowed us to correctly infer the sex of the Neolithic specimen, for which the true value was known via DNA analysis.
... The first studies of Mesolithic faunal assemblages from the Iron Gates region were published several decades ago (Bokonyi 1970(Bokonyi , 1978Bolomey 1973aBolomey , 1973bClason 1980). Some collections were revisited recently (Dimitrijevic 2008 AMS 14C dates obtained for animal and human remains since the 1990s indicate that Middle Mesolithic occupations occurred at Ostrovul Corbului (Bonsall, Boroneant 2018), Ostrovul Banului and Razvrata in Romania (unpublished data, forthcoming) and Padina, Lepenski Vir and Vlasac in Serbia (Boric 2011;Boric et alii 2014). But the main problem when studying the older faunal collections from these sites and comparing the results to the more recent excavations is the apparent mismatch between the old relative (stratigraphy-based) chronologies and the more recent absolute chronologies. ...
Located in southwestern Romania in the Iron Gates Gorges, Icoana was among the sites submerged foiiowing the building of the Iron Gates I dam and hydro-power station. Eight trenches were excavated with a total area of 91m2 and a maximum depth ofca. 3 m between 1967 and 1969. According to the AMS 14C dates, Icoana saw two occupations, one between ca. 8500-7600 cal BC during the Middle Mesolithic and the second during the Final Mesolithic ('Mesolithic-Neolithic Transformation Phase' of some authors, ca. 6200-5900 cal BC). In this paper, we present a revision of the Middle Mesolithic faunal remains from Icoana based on the existing collection curated at the 'Vasile Pârvan' Institute of Archaeology in Bucharest.
