Mesolithic and Neolithic (Dis) Continuities in The Danube Gorges: New Ams Dates From Padina and Hajduc Ka Vodenica (Serbia)

AND PRESTON MIRACLE AN BORI C DUS
MESOLITHIC AND NEOLITHIC (DIS)CONTINUITIES IN THE DANUBE GORGES: NEW AMS DATES FROM PADINA AND KA VODENICA (SERBIA) HAJDUC
Summary. In this paper we present 17 new AMS dates from the ka Vodenica and discuss MesolithicEarly Neolithic sites of Padina and Hajdu c the continuity and nature of occupation at them in the context of the MesolithicNeolithic transformations in the Danube Gorges region (northcentral Balkans), c.100005500 Cal BC. The dates indicate long occupation sequences and help rene the stratigraphies of the two sites. They, also enable us to date architectural features, burial positions and bone/antler tools, and to further our understanding of the impact of the noted aquatic reservoir effect on radiocarbon dating of human and dog remains from this region. Finally, these dates suggest continuity of occupation at sites other than Lepenski Vir in the Danube Gorges at the time of the MesolithicNeolithic transition, c.63005950 Cal BC.
introduction
Since the excavation of MesolithicEarly Neolithic sites in the Danube Gorges (Iron Gates) region of the north-central Balkans (Fig. 1) in the 1960s and 1970s it has not been easy to estimate the actual depths of the occupational sequences or to phase numerous human burials and architectural features to particular chronological periods. This situation is due to the complex stratigraphic superposition of features and the nature of occupation at these locations. New AMS ka Vodenica in the Danube Gorges,1 which we present dates from two sites Padina and Hajdu c here, allow us for the rst time i) to distinguish clearly Mesolithic and Early Neolithic contexts ka Vodenica, at the site of Padina, ii) to obtain the rst radiometric dates for the site of Hajdu c iii) to provide further information about the noted freshwater reservoir effect in this region with regard to differences in dating human burials and associated bone tools, iv) to date specic burial positions found in this culture complex, and v) to date specic typological categories of antler/bone tools. We further examine whether the distribution of the current radiometric
1 Six AMS dates (OxA-9052, OxA-9053, OxA-9054, OxA-9055, OxA-9056, OxA-9034) were obtained in the course of the NERC-funded project directed by Alasdair Whittle (Whittle et al. 2002) and the remaining seven ka Vodenica came through the NERC-funded ORADS facility AMS dates from Padina and four dates from Hajdu c s Ph.D. project, supervised by Preston Miracle, and in collaboration with the in the course of Du s an Bori c . ka Vodenica, Borislav Jovanovi c excavator of Padina and Hajdu c
OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 23(4) 341371 2004

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MESOLITHIC AND NEOLITHIC (DIS)CONTINUITIES IN THE DANUBE GORGES
2225'
ROMANIA
Baile Herculane
DANUB E
Privod Alibeg
Vodneac Padina Stubica Lepenski Vir Vlasac
4430'
Razvrata Icoana Veterani Climente I & II Cuina Ilisova Turcului Izlaz

Svinita Virtop
Ostrovul Banului Hajducka Vodenica Schela Cladovei
Velesnica
>1000 700-1000 m 500-700 m 300-500 m 100-300 m < 100 m
Ostrovul Corbului
SERBIA
25
cave sites open-air sites

0
Kula
Ostrovul Mare km 875 & 873
km
Figure 1 Map of the Danube Gorges with Mesolithic and Early Neolithic sites.
evidence in this region indicates continuity of occupation during the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods.
conventional and bone collagen radiocarbon dates from padina

Padina (4430 N 2225 E) is situated in the Upper Gorge of the Danube in the vicinity of the sites of Lepenski Vir and Vlasac (Fig. 1). There are three excavated sectors of this settlement along the Danubes bank with a complex stratication of the remains of several 1969a, 1987). A superposition of Mesolithic and Early prehistoric and later periods (Jovanovi c Neolithic features and nds was noted in all three sectors. Mesolithic architectural features were mainly represented by elongated stone constructions, primarily in Sectors II (Fig. 2) and III (Fig. 3; see Fig. 7), while an Early Neolithic date for buildings with trapezoidal oors has been evo-Krs-Cri s suggested on the basis of the associated Early Neolithic Star c pottery found in 1969a, 1987; Bori c 1999, 2002b, g. 2). The trapezoidal buildings situ on their oors (Jovanovi c were found only in Sectors I (Fig. 2) and III. There are nine previous conventional radiocarbon dates from Padina. Six dates on bone collagen samples from all three sectors were made at the British Museum (Table 1), ve on human bones (BM-1143, BM-1144, BM-1146, BM-1147 and BM-1404) and one on a bear bone ivanovi c 1980; Radiocarbon 24, 1689). These dates indicated a (BM-1403) (Burleigh and Z mostly Early Mesolithic occupation at the site. On the other hand, three charcoal dates (GrN8229, GrN-8230 and GrN-7981) came from trapezoidal structures in Sector III (Table 2), i.e.
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OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY Figure 2 ). Architectural features and burials, Sectors III, Padina; provenance of dated samples marked (plan: courtesy B. Jovanovi c
AND PRESTON MIRACLE AN BORI C DU S
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344
Figure 3 ). Architectural features and burials, Sector III, Padina; provenience of dated samples marked (plan: courtesy B. Jovanovi c
table 1 ivanovi c 1980, table 1). All dates calibrated with OxCal v. 3.9 Bone collagen dates from Padina (after Burleigh and Z (Bronk Ramsey 1995, 2001) using INTCAL98 calibration curve (Stuiver et al. 1998)
lab ID BM-1146 context Burial 12 (Sector III) burial position exed/right, perpendicular to the Danube head upslope/away from the Danube (?) (?) extended, perpendicular to the Danube head upslope/away from the Danube n/a extended, parallel to the Danube head downstream species Homo sapiens
14
C Age (bp) 9331 58
Cal BC at 1 s.d. 87208470
Cal BC at 2 s.d. 87508330
BM-1404 BM-1147 BM-1144
Burial 39 (?)2 Burial 14 (Sector III) Burial 7 (Sector II)
Homo sapiens Homo sapiens Homo sapiens
9292 148 9198 103 8797 83
87308290 85408280 82007650
91508200 86908230 82507600
BM-1403 BM-1143
(?) Sector III Burial 2 (Sector I)
Ursus arctos Homo sapiens
8138 121 7738 51
75406800 66406480
75506700 66506460
table 2 Charcoal dates from Padina (source: Groningen Database). All dates calibrated with OxCal v. 3.9 (Bronk Ramsey 1995, 2001) using INTCAL98 calibration curve (Stuiver et al. 1998)
lab ID GrN-8229 GrN-8230 GrN-7981 context trapezoidal bldg(?) hearth occupation layer(?) trapezoidal bldg(?) material charcoal charcoal charcoal
14
C Age (bp)
Cal BC at 1 s.d. 56105470 60605840 60005840
Cal BC at 2 s.d. 56305380 61605780 60305800
6570 55 7100 80 7075 50
from hearths and charred remains of timber beams of roofs and posts that framed the upper construction of buildings (Groningen Database, obtained from Centrum voor Isotopen 1999, g. 6). At the moment we lack more precise information Onderzoek, Groningen; see Bori c about the exact provenience of the latter dates at the level of building associations. However, these dates indicate that the occupation of trapezoidal structures coincides with the duration of the Early Neolithic in the wider region (cf. Whittle et al. 2002).
ams dates and correcting the aquatic reservoir ages in the danube gorges
Absolute dating by using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) on human and domesticated dog bone samples in the Danube Gorges is affected by the freshwater reservoir effect (cf. Bonsall et al. 1997, 2000; Cook et al. 2002; Whittle et al. 2002). This situation is due to the substantial intake of both freshwater and migratory sh, and possibly other food sources
2 ivanovi c 1980 mention it as Infans I. However, It is not clear to what burial this date relates. Burleigh and Z 1999, Appendix I). there is no burial marked as Infans I at Padina (see Roksandi c

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et al. rich in protein, depending on the complexity of the food web (Grupe et al. 2003; Bori c in press). This situation makes the measurements older due to the deposition of old carbon (e.g. Lanting and van der Plicht 1998) and requires a correction of uncalibrated measurements. These corrections are critical for the dating of specic contexts and for the question regarding the continuity of occupation at Padina. Here, for the correction of the freshwater reservoir effect, we adopt one of three methods suggested by Cook et al. (2002). According to that study, one should apply the correction of 200500 years to those dated human burials with high d15N values, depending on individual values of d15N and d13C and their ratios. In order to estimate the correction factor for the reservoir effect, these authors take the highest d15N value of +17 measured for an adult individual from Lepenski Vir (Burial 89a: Bonsall et al. 1997, table 5) as an end-point for a 100 per cent aquatic diet while an end-point of +8 is equated with a 100 per cent terrestrial diet (Cook et al. 2002, 81). Cook et al. suggested three methods of correcting the freshwater reservoir effect in the Danube Gorges on the basis of d15N values of particular human burials and associated ungulate bone tools/weapons that were either found as grave offerings with dated burials or were embedded in a skeletal part of deceased humans (the latter due to violent encounters) from the site of Schela Cladovei (ibid., table 3). They approximate a weighted mean age offset for a 100 per cent diet to 540 70 radiocarbon years. According to Method 1, the applied correction factor depends on the percentage of estimated aquatic diet and it is calculated with regard to d15N values (e.g. the value of +15.1 indicates 79 per cent of aquatic diet). Method 2 relies on all the data from table 3 in Cook et al. (2002) and applies the correction factor of 440 45 years offset (100 per cent aquatic diet) for those measurements that show d15N values are >+13 and 220 23 years offset (50 per cent aquatic diet) when d15N values are between +10 and +13. Finally, Method 3 relies on 19 dated bone artefacts from Schela Cladovei, which relate to the Mesolithic period, and ten dated human burials from the same period, calculating a weighted mean of this series of measurements for an average human diet with d15N values of 15.4
table 3 Corrected ages for human and dog AMS dates with d15N values >+10 (affected by the aquatic reservoir effect) from ka Vodenica using all three methods suggested by Cook et al. (2002). The d15N values used to Padina and Hajdu c estimate percentage of aquatic diet
lab ID burial/ specimen no. 21 11 15 1a 8.70/358/1 8.70/347/1 species
14 C age (bp)
d15N ()
protein (aquatic?) signal (%)* 67 55 63 84 37 50 89 86 84 90
corrected 14 C age (bp) Method 1 9733 9703 9140 7521 7485 7355 8146 7526 7526 7389 72 72 70 77 65 65 90 81 77 84
corrected 14 C age (bp) Method 2 9655 9780 9040 7535 7465 7405 8205 7550 7540 7435 71a 64b 71a 67a 64b 60b 79a 71a 67a 71a
corrected 14 C age (bp) Method 3 9668 9649 9078 7439 7449 7306 8077 7441 7444 7301 72 72 70 77 65 65 90 81 77 84
Padina OxA-11106 OxA-11104 OxA-11105 OxA-11107 OxA-9053 OxA-9056
Homo Homo Homo Homo Canis Canis Homo Homo Homo Homo
10095 10000 9480 7975 7685 7625 8645 7990 7980 7875
55 60 55 50 60 55 65 55 50 55
14.1 13.0 13.7 15.5 11.3 12.5 16.0 15.8 15.6 16.1
ka Vodenica Hajdu c OxA-11128 8 OxA-11127 12 OxA-11126 15-younger OxA-11109 20
* used for Methods 1 and 3; a = 100 per cent reservoir correction applied (440 45 years); b = 50 per cent reservoir correction applied (220 23 years).
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approximated to 638 70 years. We nd Method 1 inadequate, pretending to provide unattainable accuracy, which is at the current state of research unrealistic. Moreover, it is misleading to suggest that +17 indicates a 100 per cent aquatic diet in humans, and one should be reminded that d15N values signal the contribution of protein in general, which can be a et al. in press). On combination of several protein-rich food sources and not only sh (cf. Boric the other hand, Method 3 relies on a limited number of artefacts from Schela Cladovei that were not associated with particular burials, only assuming the contemporaneity of the two. In fact, all three methods are to some degree speculative and at best tentative at present, relying on a rather limited number of dated burials and associated artefacts from Schela Cladovei alone. However, in order to approximate the real age of samples affected by the freshwater reservoir ka Vodenica by all three effect we have corrected new AMS dates from Padina and Hajdu c methods (Table 2). In the following discussion all new dates with d15N values >+10 from these two sites are corrected according to Method 2 (see Tables 46). Although Method 2 provides only a rough
table 4 AMS dates on animal bones and antler from Padina (OxA-9055, OxA-9034, OxA-9053, OxA-9056, OxA-9052 and OxA-9054 after Whittle et al. 2002). AMS dates with d15N values >+10 corrected for the freshwater reservoir effect according to Method 2 as described by Cook et al. (2002, 82). All dates calibrated with OxCal v. 3.9 (Bronk Ramsey 1995, 2001) using the INTCAL98 calibration curve (Stuiver et al. 1998) a = 100 per cent reservoir correction applied (440 45 years); b = 50 per cent reservoir correction applied (220 23 years)
lab ID sample context underneath House 14 midden, Prole 3 segm. 1, exc. level 3 above House 12 under the level with animal bones offering in Burial 1 a underneath House 18 oor of House 9 hearth of House 17 oor of House 18 underneath House 15 species skeletal element & inv. no. astragalus 8.70/377/5 mandible 7.70/191/1 S# d15N () 4.6 4.7 d13C () -20.0 -20.8
14
C age (bp)
corrected 14 C age (bp) n/a n/a
Cal BC at 2 s.d. 99659275 76007340
OxA-11102 OxA-9055
Cervus elaphus Cervus elaphus
3 P5
9990 55 8445 60
OxA-9034
Canis familiaris
tibia 8.70/289/15
P1
8.6
-17.7
7755 65
n/a
n/a
OxA-11108 OxA-9053 OxA-9056 OxA-11103 OxA-9052 OxA-9054
Cervus elaphus Canis familiaris Canis familiaris Mammalia Cervus elaphus Mammalia
antler tool ulna 8.70/358/1 tibia 8.70/347/1 bone tool IB 395 antler 7.70/169/1 worked bone a 15/1 8.70/ku c
12 P3 P6 7 P2 P4
6.2 11.3 12.5 7.2 6.6 5.7
-20.9 -17.7 -18.1 -22.4 -22.2 -21.5
7750 50 7685 60 7625 55 7315 55 6965 60 6790 55
n/a 7465 64b 7405 60b n/a n/a n/a
66506460 64406210 64106090 62506025 59905720 57805560

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table 5 AMS dates on human bones from Padina. All dates corrected for the freshwater reservoir effect according to Method 2 as described by Cook et al. (2002, 82) and dates calibrated with OxCal v. 3.9 (Bronk Ramsey 1995, 2001) using the INTCAL98 calibration curve (Stuiver et al. 1998) a = 100 per cent reservoir correction applied (440 45 years); b = 50 per cent reservoir correction applied (220 23 years)
lab ID burial no. & context 21 (stone construct.) 11 (beneath House 15) burial position skeletal element rib rib S# d15N () 14.1 13.0 d13C () -18.9 -18.9
14 C age (bp)
corrected 14 C age (bp) 9655 71a 9780 64b
Cal BC at 2 s.d. 92508790 93608920
OxA-11106 OxA-11104
seated (?) extended, perpendicular to the Danube head upslope/ away from the Danube seated with crossed legs extended, perpendicular to the Danube head upslope/ away from the Danube
10 8
10095 55 10000 60
OxA-11105
15 (stone construct.) 1a (Sector I)
trapezium
13.7
-19.0
9480 55
9040 71a
84507960
OxA-11107
long bone frag.
11
15.5
-17.9
7975 50
7535 67a
64706230
estimate of the correction factor, we nd it still the most realistic among the three offered methods. Method 2 closely relies on the relationship between dated burials affected by the freshwater reservoir effect and unaffected associated artefacts. It also takes into account differences in the d15N values in a realistic way with regard to the quality and type of date presently at our disposal. One should not forget, however, that these associated ungulate artefacts are only relatively contemporaneous with the individuals in whose burials they were found, and it would be reasonable to expect that the obtained date for these artefacts is always at least marginally older than the true age of the deceased.
ams radiocarbon dating at padina

Recently, 13 new AMS dates were obtained for Padina. Nine dates were made on animal (Table 4) and four on human bones (Table 5). In the case of Burial 1a (OxA-11107, uncorrected 7975 50 bp), both the skeleton and the associated antler mattock were dated in Sector I (see Fig. 2). Due to the correction for the freshwater reservoir effect for the deceased, the actual date could only be in the same range or younger than the associated antler mattock, which was dated in the range 6650 to 6460 at 95 per cent probability (OxA-11108, 7750 50 bp). The age offset between the dated burial and the dated tool is 225 71. On the other hand, by applying the correction for the freshwater
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table 6 ka Vodenica. All dates corrected for the freshwater reservoir effect according AMS dates on human bones from Hajdu c to Method 2 as described by Cook et al. (2002, 82) and calibrated with OxCal v. 3.9 (Bronk Ramsey 1995, 2001) using the INTCAL98 calibration curve (Stuiver et al. 1998) a = 100 per cent reservoir correction applied (440 45 years); b = 50 per cent reservoir correction applied (220 23 years)
lab ID burial no. & context 8 (older hearth) burial position skeletal element cranial frag. S# d15N () 16.0 d13C () -18.6
14 C age (bp)
corrected 14 C age (bp) 8205 79a
Cal BC at 2 s.d. 74807050
OxA-11128
extended, parallel to the Danube head upstream extended, perpendicular to the Danube head upslope/ away from the Danube extended, parallel to the Danube head downstream extended, parallel to the Danube head downstream
20
8645 65
OxA-11127
12 (ooring of the sacricial hearth area) 15 younger (grave chamber) 20 (grave chamber)
cranial frag.
19
15.8
-17.3
7990 55
7550 71a
65006230
OxA-11126
rib
18
15.6
-18.6
7980 50
7540 67a
64706230
OxA-11109
cranial frag.
17
16.1
-18.0
7875 55
7435 71a
64406090
reservoir effect according to Method 2 (Cook et al. 2002) the burial is dated in the range 6470 to 6230 Cal BC at 95 per cent probability (corrected 7535 67 bp). In this case the deceased seems to be at least 100 years younger than the tool placed in the burial. This date indicates a very late (terminal) Mesolithic3 occupation of this portion of the site. That this burial belongs to the local Mesolithic tradition in this region can further be suggested on the basis of its burial position an extended inhumation placed perpendicular to the Danube with its head pointing 1996, 160224; see below for the same upslope/away from the Danube (cf. Radovanovi c ka Vodenica). Burial 1a was placed directly position and date characterizing Burial 12 at Hajdu c on the bedrock (Fig. 4). The physical anthropologist who rst examined the skeleton noted that the postcranial skeleton is gracile and that the measurement indices are characteristic of ivanovi c ivanovi c 197374, 141). While Z (197374) identies the Neolithic skeletons ( Z sexed the individual deceased as adult male, in a more recent analysis of this skeleton, Roksandi c as old adult male? (1999, Appendix I). The associated antler mattock (OxA-11108, Fig. 5) falls under the typological category of tools that are frequently found in MesolithicEarly Neolithic and Letica 1978; Boronean t 2001). Yet, contexts at sites in the Danube Gorges (e.g. Srejovi c
3 The designation Mesolithic is used only as a heuristic tool here, and primarily to describe an archaeological context with no Early Neolithic pottery (for a discussion with regard to theoretical, conceptual and empirical in press a, in press b). problems of using Mesolithic/Neolithic labels in the Danube Gorges see Bori c

349
Figure 4 ivanovi c 197374, T. 1.1). Burial 1a (OxA-11107), Sector I, Padina (photo: after Z
currently, there are a limited number of dates for bone and antler tools only from the site of Schela Cladovei (Cook et al. 2002), and one would need more dated bone/antler tools to provide a rmer chronology for certain typological groups. The correction for the freshwater reservoir effect should also be applied to three dated dog bones, which were found immediately on or below oors of trapezoidal buildings in Sector III (Fig. 3). The isotopic values of the dogs are most probably indicative of a similar diet to that of humans, where a larger proportion of protein was from freshwater sh, particularly anadromous sh, reecting the higher d15N values in aquatic ecosystems. Humans might have fed the dogs with sh remains and/or dogs might have scavenged on the residues of human consumption. This explanation is largely based on their d13C values (Table 4). The d15N values of the two dogs (OxA-9053 and OxA-9056) are higher, too, while one dog (OxA-9034) has a conspicuously low d15N value for this explanation, and would perhaps require a new measurement. We have corrected two dated dog bones from Padina that have d15N values >+10 with the same method applied to the dated human samples since dogs show roughly the same general trend with regard to their d13C and d15N values as that in humans, and according to a general assumption that dog isotope values in certain instances can be used as proxies for human diets (Schulting and Richards 2002). However, in the future, one should try to develop a specic method for the correction of dates for dog bones since humans in the Danube Gorges et al. are clearly at the top of the food chain and are more enriched in 15N than dogs (see Bori c in press). With regard to OxA-9034 (House 12) with its relatively low d15N value of +8.6, we
350
Figure 5 AMS-dated antler mattock (OxA-11108) found in Burial 1a, Sector I, Padina.
refrain from applying any correction factor.4 OxA-9056 (uncorrected 7625 55 bp) provides the date for the occupation and/or abandonment of House 9 in the range 6410 to 6090 Cal BC at 95 per cent probability (corrected 7405 60 bp). On the other hand, the dated dog bone from House 18 (OxA-9053, uncorrected 7685 60 bp) originates from the area underneath the oor of this building and would represent a terminus ante quem for the construction and/or occupation of this later building, dated in the range 6440 to 6210 Cal BC at 95 per cent probability (corrected 7465 64 bp). Similarly, three new AMS dates made on ungulate bones, which do not require the correction for the freshwater reservoir effect, further reafrm the Early Neolithic context of
4 Due to its d13C value, which is almost identical to two other dog measurements, we may assume that the actual date for this individual has to be 200500 years younger.

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trapezoidal buildings. Thus, OxA-11103 (7315 55 bp) dates a bone projectile point (Fig. 6) from the hearth of House 17 in Sector III, indicating the occupation/abandonment of this building in the range 6250 to 6025 Cal BC at 95 per cent probability. A sample from House 18 (OxA-9052, 6965 60 bp) and another from House 15 (OxA-9054, 6790 55 bp) indicate a later phase of the Early Neolithic occupation at the site after 6000 Cal BC, i.e. they fall in the range 5990 to 5720 and 5780 to 5560 Cal BC at 95 per cent probability. Signicantly, these latter dates come from Houses 18 and 15, which on the basis of their archaeological context 1987). There could well be among the latest buildings to be occupied at the site (cf. Jovanovi c is also an expected chronological difference between OxA-9053 (sample beneath House 18) and OxA-9052 (sample on the oor of House 18), which are vertically stratied within the same building. In sum, these samples derive from bones found in association with Early Neolithic pottery, and they date the earliest phase of the Early Neolithic period in this region. This period overlaps with the beginnings of Early Neolithic settlements in the surrounding areas of the northcentral Balkans with the starting date at around 63006200 Cal BC (cf. Whittle et al. 2002). Early indications about a signicant chronological depth to the occupational sequence at Padina on the basis of the rst collagen dates made on human bones (Table 1), found in association with the area dened by the excavator as the stone construction of the necropolis in Sector III (Fig. 7), are now conrmed with new AMS dates. Burials 21 (OxA-11106, uncorrected 10095 55 bp) and 15 (OxA-11105, uncorrected 9480 55 bp, Fig. 8), also found
Figure 6 AMS-dated bone projectile point (OxA-11103) found inside the rectangular hearth of House 17, Sector III, Padina. OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY
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Figure 7 ). Stone construction of the necropolis, Sector III, Padina (plan: courtesy B. Jovanovi c
in association with the stone construction of the necropolis (Fig. 7) like previously dated Burial 12 (Table 1), despite the necessary correction for the reservoir effect are signicantly early, indicating an Early Mesolithic use of this location as a burial ground in the range 9250 to 8790 and 8450 to 7960 Cal BC at 95 per cent probability (corrected 9655 71 and 9040 71 bp) (Table 5). Burial 21 is identied as old adult female? and Burial 15 as old adult female 1999, Appendix I). Still earlier, Burial 11 (OxA-11104, uncorrected 10000 60 bp), (Roksandi c found partly in an area beneath the oor of House 15 (Fig. 9), falls in the range 9360 to 8920 Cal BC at 95 per cent probability (corrected 9780 64 bp). With regard to Burial 11, one has to emphasize the difference of at least c.3000 years between OxA-11104 dating Burial 11 and OxA-9054 dating the construction/occupation of this building (see above). Burial 11 was found at the level of the stone construction that was found underneath House 15 (Padina eld diary ivanovi c 197374, for 13/8/1970), placed in the loess soil, without visible traces of a burial pit ( Z 145). The deceased is identied as an 11-year-old child on the basis of its dental eruption stage 1999, Appendix I). This individual is characterized by the lowest d15N (ibid.; also Roksandic value of +13 if compared to other burials dated to the Mesolithic in the Danube Gorges (cf. et al. in press). This difference may signicantly relate to the young age Tables 3 and 5; Bori c of this individual, which if further conrmed, may signicantly differentiate dietary practices of adults and children during the Mesolithic in this region. In addition, one should note that there was a damaged area in the oor in the part of the building approximately above Burial 11
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Figure 8 Burials 15 (OxA-11105) and 16 (sitting positions with crossed legs), stone construction of the necropolis, Sector ). III, Padina (photo: courtesy B. Jovanovi c
(Figs. 3 and 9). Despite such conspicuous damage to the oor, it is unreasonable to expect that Burial 11 was interred from the level of the building (hence the damaged oor according to this logic), which would have been an extremely odd outlier to the overall chronology of the trapezoidal buildings in the Danube Gorges. This particular situation may rather indicate that there might have been a later awareness about the existence of this burial, and that this much older burial and other features at the site might have been imbued with some signicance in the course of the Early Neolithic occupation, as traces of previous occupation at the locale, maintaining some elements of habitual continuity of practices and social memory (for the same argument with regard to architectural and mortuary evidence at Lepenski Vir see Bori c 2003). Two new AMS dates also indicate that Sector III at Padina was not used only as a burial ground during this early phase but most likely also as a seasonal or more permanent occupation 2002c). OxA-11102 base (for evidence about the seasonality of occupation at the site see Bori c (9990 55 bp) dates the remains of occupation (a red deer bone) beneath (i.e. sealed with the oor of) House 14 in the range 9965 to 9275 Cal BC at 95 per cent probability, while OxA9055 (8445 60 bp) dates a midden deposit in the area around House 6 in the range 7600 to 7340 Cal BC at 95 per cent probability. Although there is a signicant chronological gap of at least around 1500 calendric years between these two dates, there is a possibility that the location might have been used continuously over several millennia during the Mesolithic period in the
354
Figure 9 House 15 (OxA-9054), Sector III, Padina; Burial 11 (OxA-11104) was found below the building oor (photo: courtesy ). B. Jovanovic
region. A large series of new dates from single features would be necessary to show clearly whether the site was continuously or discontinuously occupied during this period. In terms of dating specic burial positions in the Danube Gorges, Burial 15 is particularly interesting. This is one of two burials at Padina that were placed in a sitting position 1969a, T. XIII.1). Padina is the only site with crossed legs next to each other (Fig. 8; Jovanovi c in the Danube Gorges where two individuals were placed in this way since at all other sites with seated burials only one sitting individual was found per site. This burial position was noted at 1972, g. 52), Vlasac (Burial 17: Srejovi c and the sites of Lepenski Vir (Burial 69: Srejovi c and Sladi c 1994), Velesnica (Burial 2-skeleton G: Vasi c Letica 1978, 72), Kula (Burial 5: Miki c unescu 1996). In an attempt at relative (stratigraphic) 1986) and Ostrovul Corbului (Burial 25: Pa (1996: for dating of specic burial positions at the sites in the Danube Gorges, Radovanovi c
355
Padina pp. 171174; for Vlasac pp. 20910, 218) assumes that this burial position characterizes the later phase of the Mesolithic occupation in the region. However, OxA-11105 for Burial 15 at Padina indicates a much earlier Mesolithic date between 8450 and 7960 Cal BC for the appearance of this burial position, and it will be of some interest to date other burials in the region placed in the sitting position with crossed legs. The oldest among currently dated burials from Padina is child Burial 11, an extended inhumation with the orientation westeast ivanovi c 197374, 145), i.e. perpendicular to the Danube. The similar arrangement of Burial (Z 1a in Sector I (OxA-11107 and OxA-11108) (Fig. 4) indicates that this position of extended inhumations placed perpendicular to the Danube course with their heads pointing upslope/away from the river relates both to this very late Mesolithic occupation of the site and to the oldest ka Vodenica placed in the same dated burial at Padina (see below for Burial 12 from Hajduc position). Thirteen new AMS dates from Padina (Fig. 10; OxA is not included in this gure) have signicantly claried our understanding of the chronological sequence at the site. The dates indicate that people used and returned to the site over a very long time span, at least from the
Atmospheric data from Stuiver et al. (1998); OxCal v3.9 Bronk Ramsey (2003); cub r:4 sd:12 prob usp[chron]
OxA-11102 999055BP OxA-11104 978064BP OxA-11106 965571BP OxA-11105 904071BP OxA-9055 844560BP OxA-11108 775050BP OxA-11107 753567BP OxA-9053 746564BP OxA-9056 740560BP OxA-11103 731550BP OxA-9052 696560BP OxA-9054 679055BP 12000CalBC 10000CalBC 8000CalBC 6000CalBC
Calibrated date
Figure 10 Plot of calibrated AMS dates on animal bones and human burials from Padina; AMS dates with d15N values >+10 corrected for the freshwater reservoir effect according to Method 2 as described by Cook et al. (2002, 82). All dates calibrated with OxCal v. 3.9 (Bronk Ramsey 1995, 2001) using the INTCAL98 calibration curve (Stuiver et al. 1998). OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY
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mid-tenth to mid-sixth millennia Cal BC. This occupation span might have been discontinuous, with periods of abandonment, i.e. dispersion and renewed aggregation of occupation, up to around 6300 Cal BC. At this time, most likely, the construction of the rst structures with trapezoidal oors starts at Padina and at other sites in the Upper Gorge of the Danube coinciding with the appearance of Early Neolithic pottery. This Early Neolithic phase of occupation at the site can largely be characterized as continuous, most likely from around 6300 to 5500 Cal BC, when the location was nally abandoned by this regional tradition.
ams radiocarbon dating at hajduc ka vodenica

ka Vodenica (4428 N 2235 E) is situated at the downstream entrance to the Hajduc ka Vodenica, Lower Gorge of the Danube on the right bank of the Danube (Fig. 1). At Hajduc 1966, 1967, 1969b, 1984). In the rst area there are two distinctive areas of the site (Jovanovi c rectangular hearths were covered by stone constructions, which were piled up in four distinct levels. These elongated stone constructions follow the same outline. One could assume a Mesolithic date for the lowest levels of this construction with abundant bone tools and no pottery. evo-Krs-Cri s Early Neolithic pottery of Star c type was found in the two upper levels of the stone construction. This rst area of the site remains without radiometric dates. The second area of the site consists of a grave chamber where a number of burials were placed in extended positions parallel to the Danube, with their heads pointing downstream (Figs. 1112). The burials were found behind a rectangular hearth in an area named the sacricial hearth area, which was 1984, 307). Beneath the hearth, surrounded by a packed ooring of red burned earth (Jovanovi c on the lower level, remains of an older hearth and structure were recognized (ibid., 307). Two large ornamented boulders were found in the front part of the hearth area at a lower level. All these features were interred into virgin soil (loess-sandy deposit) while the accumulation of deposits above the features (e.g. Fig. 12) in certain areas reached up to 4 m in height (Jovanovi c 1967, 182). ka Vodenica Four new AMS dates on human burials from the described area at Hajdu c (Table 6) are the rst radiometric dates from this site. Our previous discussion about the freshwater reservoir effect correction applies here (see above). Burial 8 (OxA-11128, uncorrected 8645 65 bp) is currently the oldest dated burial as is also suggested by its stratigraphic position. It was placed before the sacricial hearth construction was built on a lower level than the rest of the burials. In contrast to most other burials at this site, which were placed parallel to the Danube with their heads pointing downstream, Burial 8 was placed also parallel to the Danube with its head pointing upstream. This burial provides a terminus post quem for the use of the rectangular hearth and ooring in the range 7480 to 7050 Cal BC (corrected 8205 79 bp). The deceased is identied as old adult 1999, Appendix I). male? (Roksandi c Burial 12 (OxA-11127, uncorrected 7990 55 bp) was placed over a ooring of burned earth, reddish in colour, that surrounded the area of the sacricial rectangular hearth. It provides a terminus ante quem for the use of this structure, and once corrected for the freshwater reservoir effect falls in the range 6500 to 6230 Cal BC at 95 per cent probability (corrected 7550 71 bp). The deceased has not been sexed; it is identied as an adult individual. Burials 20, unsexed old adult (OxA-11109, uncorrected 7875 55 bp) and 15younger, unsexed juvenile (OxA-11126, uncorrected 7980 50 bp) were placed inside the burial chamber, which contained 20 other articulated and partial human skeletons (for various
357
Figure 11 ). ka Vodenica; dated burials marked (plan: courtesy B. Jovanovi c Architectural features and burials, Hajdu c
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Figure 12 ka Isometric view of the sacricial hearth area, front part of the grave chamber, and Section 3-1, Hajdu c 1969c, 68 and 1967, g. 2). Vodenica (adopted after Jovanovi c
1999, 2000). After remarks concerning the physical anthropology of these burials see Roksandi c the necessary correction, Burial 20 falls in the range 6440 to 6090 and Burial 15-younger in the range 6470 to 6230 Cal BC at 95 per cent probability (corrected 7435 71 and 7540 67 bp). Burial 20 was accompanied by a stone axe (?) placed beside the deceased, while Burial 15 1996, 221). younger was accompanied by a herbivore mandible (Radovanovi c These three dates (OxA-11127, OxA-11126 and OxA-11109) form a relatively tight cluster that, at face value, seems to indicate a relatively short period of time during the Late Mesolithic occupation of the site (Fig. 13). After correction for the reservoir effect the dates fall in the range 6500 to 6090 Cal BC, which straddles the appearance of the Early Neolithic in the
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Atmospheric data from Stuiver et al. (1998); OxCal v3.9 Bronk Ramsey (2003); cub r:4 sd:12 prob usp[chron]
OxA-11128 820579BP OxA-11127 755071BP OxA-11126 754067BP OxA-11109 743571BP 8000CalBC 7500CalBC 7000CalBC Calibrated date
Figure 13 ka Vodenica; AMS dates with d15N values >+10 corrected Plot of calibrated AMS dates on human burials from Hajdu c for the freshwater reservoir effect according to Method 2 as described by Cook et al. (2002, 82). All dates calibrated with OxCal v. 3.9 (Bronk Ramsey 1995, 2001) using the INTCAL98 calibration curve (Stuiver et al. 1998).
6500CalBC
6000CalBC
wider region. This chronological bracketing can perhaps be applied to other articulated ka Vodenica. On the other hand, a group of inhumations found in the grave chamber at Hajdu c disarticulated bones labelled as Burials 2628 found in the rear of the grave chamber (Fig. 11) could be of older date. Both hypotheses remain to be tested by future radiocarbon measurements. In terms of their burial position, the placing of extended inhumations parallel to the s suggestion that this Danube with their heads pointing downstream conrms Radovanovi c specic position characterizes the Late Mesolithic phase of burial practices in the Danube Gorges (1996, 224), what she calls later type of formal disposal areas (1996, 222). However, it seems that on the basis of our radiometric evidence for Burial 12, which was placed in an extended position perpendicular to the Danube with its head upslope/away from the Danube, and is similar to Burial 1a at Padina, both dated to almost exactly the time span between 6500 s conclusion that the latter burial position and 6230 Cal BC, one cannot support Radovanovi c characterizes exclusively the earlier Mesolithic phase in this region. Her conclusion was primarily based on her stratigraphic analyses of burials from Vlasac (ibid., 218). Also, it seems that rather than accepting the claim that frequent orientation of graves parallel to the course of ka Vodenica Ib (ibid., 222), we are the river [. . .] became an absolute standard during Hajduc now able to assert that extended inhumations both oriented parallel to the Danube (heads pointing downstream) and perpendicular to the Danube characterize Late (terminal) Mesolithic ka Vodenica. The chronological difference is noted in the orientation burial practices at Hajduc of older Burial 8, which was placed parallel to the Danube but with its head pointing upstream. ka Vodenica appears as a site used as a burial location during the At present, Hajduc Mesolithic period from around 7500/7000 Cal BC, and possibly earlier. Again, it is possible that the site might have been temporarily abandoned for a part of the period between around 7500/7000 to 6500/6400 Cal BC. However, new dates in the future may cover this chronological gap. Our radiometric evidence shows that the location was certainly used again after 6500/6400 Cal BC for burial purposes. The spatial position of the later phase burials in relation to the early phase Burial 8 indicates likely recognition of the same location for the same purpose and possibly by people that belonged to the same culture/regional tradition as those earlier occupants of the site. This situation, similar to Padina, exemplies the depths of social memory, since the
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current chronological gap between these two radiometrically dated phases of occupation at the site is at least 500 years. The later phase of occupation most likely lasted up until around 6200 Cal BC but perhaps even longer. The presence of Early Neolithic pottery in the presently undated 1984, area of the site (two upper levels of the elongated stone constructions, cf. Jovanovi c 30910) could tentatively suggest an unbroken continuity of occupation at this location to the Early Neolithic.
gaps or continuities in the meso-neolithic transformations?

In a recent paper, Bonsall et al. (2002) suggest that there is a chronological gap between c.82507900 BP (calibrated), i.e. 6300 and 5950 Cal BC in the occupation of all sites in the 1969, 1972).5 In their view, Danube Gorges except at the type-site of Lepenski Vir (Srejovi c this discontinuity of occupation on the banks of the Danube in the region was caused by the 8200 BP event (Alley et al. 1997), a global phase of climatic cooling that might have caused the rise in water-levels of the Danube and frequent ooding of great magnitude and duration of the sites along the Danubes shores. The onset of this climatic event would signicantly correspond with the appearance of the rst Early Neolithic settlements in the wider region of the Balkans and signicant changes in the material culture of the sites in the Danube Gorges 1996; Bori c 1999, 2002b). The postulated ooding phase (cf. Whittle et al. 2002; Radovanovi c might have been an important stimulus for culture change (Bonsall et al. 2002, 11). This scenario is based on evidence of an apparent gap in the distribution of radiocarbon measurements from the sites of Padina, Vlasac, Schela Cladovei, Icoana, Ostrovul Banului and Ostrovul Corbului (Bonsall et al. 2002). Only at Lepenski Vir, as emphasized by Bonsall et al., is there continuity of occupation during the period between 63005950 Cal BC conrmed by a 1999, g. 7; 2002b, g. 5). continuous sequence of radiocarbon measurements (see also Bori c In their view, the continuity of occupation at Lepenski Vir was due to its conceptual importance and sacred character for Mesolithic communities in the region; hence the site could not have been abandoned or displaced to another location, like other less important sites, despite the ooding. The postulated ooding of the Danube in the period after 6300, according to these authors, necessitated the construction of strong, durable oors at Lepenski Vir, which only at this site were made of concrete-strong limestone, designed to resist ooding (Bonsall et al. 2002, 5), while large stone boulders with carved representations of hybrid sh-human beings had an apotropaic6 function of appeasing mysterious powers responsible for ooding. The argument with regard to the durability of trapezoidal oors and stone boulders in the Danube Gorges in resisting oods has already been previously advanced by Chapman (1993, 107). The authors rely on the view that the mentioned features could have resisted the incoming oods, whereas smaller artefacts might have been easily washed away (Chapman 1993, 100, 2000, 195).
5 Bonsall et al. (2002) use dates expressed in BP (calibrated). We use dates expressed in Cal BC years (see Figs. 1415), calibrated with OxCal v. 3.9 (Bronk Ramsey 1995, 2001) using the INTCAL98 calibration curve (Stuiver et al. 1998). Thus 8200 BP (calibrated) is the same as 6250 Cal BC. It is not quite clear what kind of meanings Bonsall et al. (2002) evoke by the term apotropaic. The concept of apotropaic power usually relates to protective qualities (mana) of material objects, visual images and performative practices against evil eye and other similar magical concepts. For the use of the idea with regard to the possible 2002a, 2003; instances and signicance of apotropaic practices and materialities in the Danube Gorges see Bori c and Stefanovi c 2004; Stefanovi c and Bori c in press. Bori c

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This catastrophic scenario concerning the appearance of well-known features at Lepenski Vir is an innovative and exciting venue of research, and it strongly suggests a discontinuity of occupational histories between Mesolithic and Early Neolithic periods at all other sites in the Danube Gorges but Lepenski Vir. However, there are a number of possible problems with such a scenario with regard to different lines of evidence that we would now like to examine more closely. (a) In previous publications concerning the geological history in the formation of archaeological sites in the Danube Gorges, we nd no mention of any evidence about the uvial deposits that would indicate that any of the examined sites were ooded either seasonally or -Marjanovi c 1969, 1978; Brnnacker 1971). Indeed, Bonsall et over the longer term (Markovi c al. indicate that the evidence of ooding might have been overlooked and would have left little trace in sedimentological records (2002, 4). We should mention that small pockets of thin ooding deposits (yellow sterile soil and river pebbles) indeed do appear at Padinas Sectors I and II (Padina eld diaries for 19681970). However, these lenses of uvial deposition are scattered across the settlement and appear to relate to the seasonal outburst of mountain creeks that run into the Danube over the two sectors at Padina (Fig. 2). They do not reect major ooding by the Danube. Moreover, the date for the deposition of these uvial sediments is most likely Early Holocene, signicantly earlier than the ooding phase postulated by Bonsall et al. (2002). Thus, it does not appear convincing that major oods during the period of c.300 years would leave no detectable trace. Furthermore, a reconstruction of the alterations in water-levels of the Danube based on the recorded data over the last 150 years indicates that even at the time of the greatest oods in this region architectural features of the MesolithicNeolithic sites were out of reach of the 2002c, g. 4.8; contra Chapman 1993, 100, 2000, 195). rising waters of the Danube (Bori c Undercutting, i.e. riverbank erosion, of certain features at the lowermost portions of archaeological sites is most likely the consequence of more recent changes in the water-level regimes of the Danube, due to the melioration works in the Great Hungarian Plain over the last 300 years draining massive amounts of underground water from the Plain into the Danube river system. This process might have caused the rise of the average water-level of the Danube in the region of the Danube Gorges over the last several centuries, and, as a more recent phenomenon, might have been responsible for the evident riverbank erosion of archaeological sites, making visible sections of stratied deposits in the river prole (cf. Bori c 1999, n. 1, g. 25). In sum, we see no direct evidence for major ooding in the region in the period 63005950 Cal BC. (b) Radiometric dates that Bonsall et al. (2002) use to suggest the continuity of occupation at Lepenski Vir come from the dated charcoal found on the oors of trapezoidal buildings. These charcoal samples originate from timber beams of post-framed upper constructions or from the remains of scattered charcoal found in rectangular stone hearths and 1999, g. 7, 2002c, Appendix 1). What remains over building oors (Quitta 1975, 283; Bori c unclear in the scenario proposed by Bonsall et al. for the construction of durable building oors at this site to resist oods can be summarized as follows: if the site was periodically ooded during the period 63005950 Cal BC, including all buildings that were built during this early phase, how is it possible that the charcoal used for dating (deposited on the oors of these buildings), and which provided measurements for the abandonment of these structures with dates covering the period 6300 to 5950 Cal BC, was not washed away by the oods? The same
362
question is relevant with regard to the presence of other smaller artefacts and disarticulated human bones found on the oors of these buildings. In addition to these dates on material (charcoal) that would have been washed away in a ood, there are two recent AMS dates (OxA 2002b, table 1; see Fig. 14) associated with 8725 and OxA-8618, cf. Whittle et al. 2002; Boric trapezoidal oors that cover exactly the period 63005950 Cal BC. (c) In the presentation of old charcoal dates and new AMS dates to suggest the chronological gap in the sequence, Bonsall et al. (2002, gs. 23) use radiocarbon mean ages depicted as individual circles/dots. This procedure of visual representation seems methodologically inappropriate due to the magnitude of the encountered errors at 1 and 2 standard deviations. Thus, if one represents those measurements from Vlasac that are on the margins of either side of the postulated gap in the range at 95 per cent probability as we have done in Figure 14, the sharp limits of the suggested chronological hiatus between 6300 to 5950 Cal BC blur. Furthermore, Bonsall et al., for no apparent reason, omit at least two dates from Vlasac that clearly fall in the range between 6300 and 5950 Cal BC (ibid., g. 2). These are and Letica 1978, 129), Bln-1168 (7475 60 bp) and Bln-1954 (7440 60 bp) (Srejovic indicating dates in the range 6440 to 6220 and 6430 to 6100 Cal BC at 95 per cent probability 2002c, table 4.7; see Fig. 147). (Boric ka Vodenica close (d) Most importantly, our new AMS dates from Padina and Hajdu c the 63005950 Cal BC gap (Fig. 16). New AMS dates from Padina practically cover the suggested gap in its entirety, indicating both a nal Mesolithic (Burial 1a: OxA-11107 and OxA11108) and an earliest Neolithic use of the site in the period 6300 to 5950 Cal BC with evidence of occupation of the following trapezoidal buildings in Sector III: House 12 (OxA-9034), House 18 (OxA-9053), House 9 (OxA-9052) and House 17 (OxA-11103). New AMS dates from this site rule out the possibility of a signicant chronological gap between the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. ka Vodenica, after the correction of dates made on As previously indicated for Hajdu c human burials for the freshwater reservoir effect, it is possible to suggest that the site was occupied during the nal Mesolithic phase, but perhaps signicantly overlapping with the development of the Early Neolithic in the wider region of the Balkans, with the dated occupation ka Vodenica, with only four dates, also up to c.6200/6100 Cal BC (Figs. 13 and 1516). Hajdu c closes the gap. Four dates, however, cannot be viewed as a representative sample from a single site. This limitation leads us to question the reliability of ve, four and two dates from, respectively, Icoana, Ostrovul Corbului and Ostrovul Banului to demonstrate the discontinuity of occupation (contra Bonsall et al. 2002, g. 3). Furthermore, new AMS dates are necessary ka Vodenica, where Early Neolithic to date the upper levels of the stone construction at Hajdu c pottery appears stratied above Mesolithic remains, and these new dates would provide rm evidence for a (dis)continuity from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic at this site. On the basis of the (lack of) ooding evidence, problems with Bonsall et al.s interpretation of charcoal dates from Lepenski Vir, their omission of some existing dates, as ka Vodenica, we reject their scenario of well as our new AMS dates from Padina and Hajdu c site abandonment caused by a catastrophic ooding associated with the 8200 BP event.
We have not included human bone collagen dates from Padina (Table 1) in Figures 14 and 16. It is reasonable to assume that these dates on human bones are also affected by the freshwater reservoir effect, and since there is no information regarding their d15N values we have not been able to apply the correction factor to these dates.

363
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Figure 14 Distribution of available radiometric evidence for the sites situated in the Upper Gorge of the Danube. AMS dates with d15N values >+10 corrected for the freshwater reservoir effect according to Method 2 as described by Cook et al. (2002, 82). All dates calibrated with OxCal v. 3.9 (Bronk Ramsey 1995, 2001) using the INTCAL98 calibration curve (Stuiver et al. 1998). Solid bars show 1 s.d.; lines show 2 s.d. Black ll: charcoal/conventional dates; white ll: AMS dates; graded shade: bone collagen. Sources: 2002b; Bori c and Miracle this paper, Table 1; Lepenski Vir: Quitta 1975; t 2001; Padina: Whittle et al. 2002; Bori c Alibeg: Boronean 2002b; Vlasac: Srejovi c and Letica 1978, 129; Bonsall et al. 1997, Bonsall et al. 1997, table 5; Whittle et al. 2002; Bori c table 3. Note: Bonsall et al. (1996, table 1, 1997, table 3, 5, 2000, table 3) report the same Lab ID OxA-5827 for Burial 83 from Vlasac and Burial 31a from Lepenski Vir.
Figure 15 areas of the Distribution of available radiometric evidence for the sites situated in the Lower Gorge and the Klju c Danube. AMS dates with d15N values >+10 corrected for the freshwater reservoir effect according to Method 2 as described by Cook et al. (2002, 82). All dates calibrated with OxCal v. 3.9 (Bronk Ramsey 1995, 2001) using the INTCAL98 calibration curve (Stuiver et al. 1998). Solid bars show 1 s.d.; lines show 2 s.d. Black ll: charcoal/conventional dates; white ll: AMS dates. Sources: ka Vodenica: Bori c and Miracle this paper, unescu 1978; Icoana: Boronean t 2001, 2034; Hajdu c Cuina Turcului: P a t 2001; Ostrovul Banului: Boronean t 2001; Schela Cladovei: Bonsall et al. Table 1; Razvrata: Boronean unescu 1996. 1997; Ostrovul Corbului: P a

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Figure 16 ka Vodenica in the period between 75005500 Cal Close-up distribution of new AMS dates for Padina and Hajdu c BC. AMS dates with d15N values >+10 corrected for the freshwater reservoir effect according to Method 2 as described by Cook et al. (2002, 82). All dates calibrated with OxCal v. 3.9 (Bronk Ramsey 1995, 2001) using the INTCAL98 calibration curve (Stuiver et al. 1998). Solid bars show 1 s.d.; lines show 2 s.d. Black ll: charcoal/conventional dates; white ll: AMS dates; graded shade: bone collagen.
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Danube Gorges Mesolithic-Neolithic (101 dates)

First Pottery "8200 BP Event" Late Mesolithic: Upper+Lower Gorges
18 16 14
C Dates
12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Epipalaeolithic Early Mesolithic: Upper Gorges
No
14
13000
12500
12000
11500
11000
10500
10000
9500
9000
8500
8000
7500
7000
6500
6000
Cal BC
Figure 17 Quantitative distribution of radiometric evidence in the Danube Gorges over the chronological span 13000 to 5500 Cal BC (for sources see Figs. 1415).
Furthermore, it could well be that larger series of dates from individual sites, which have been available for Lepenski Vir and are now also available for Padina, would bridge the postulated chronological gap. Nonetheless, there is a stark discrepancy in the number of radiometric dates that cover particular periods in the long development of the Danube Gorges Epipalaeolithic, Mesolithic and Early Neolithic sequences (Fig. 17). Individual sites (and also particular areas of respective sites) may exhibit differences in the chronological coverage, i.e. in the intensity of occupation, as well as in the nature of transformation from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic in this region during the period from 6300 to 5950 Cal BC. However, the newly available series ka Vodenica strongly suggest a continuous of radiometric dates from Padina and Hajdu c occupation during this period without major chronological gaps at the two sites.
conclusion
New AMS dates from Padina indicate a signicant chronological depth for the use of this site (this also applies to some other sites in the Danube Gorges, such as Vlasac, cf. Fig. 14) as both a burial ground and a seasonal or semi-permanent settlement, at least from c.9500 Cal BC. There are signicant chronological differences in dating individual human burials, scattered residual remains and remains found within architectural features, such as trapezoidal buildings. For the moment, it is difcult to claim unbroken continuity for almost 4000 years, i.e. during the MesolithicNeolithic development that the available radiometric dates cover at this site, and we suspect that there were discontinuous phases and (seasonal) episodes of occupation.
5500
367
However, it seems that populations which visited this site over several millennia of the Mesolithic development belonged to the same material culture/regional tradition throughout the period, with a good knowledge of the signicance of the locale. Furthermore, it seems that there is no major chronological break in the sequence of radiometric dates at the time when new material paraphernalia, such as pottery, Balkan yellow-spotted int and polished stone tools, appear in this region as general traits of Early Neolithic material culture tradition. We see no evidence to support a recently suggested scenario of ooding that would have caused the abandonment of this site in the period 63005950 Cal BC (Bonsall et al. 2002) since a number of new AMS dates cover exactly this period. ka Vodenica suggest the Mesolithic use of the site as a burial New dates from Hajdu c ground from at least c.7500 Cal BC. There is a possible gap of around 500 years between the earlier use and a later use of the site as a burial ground around 6500 to 6100 Cal BC. However, there might have been a clear recognition of the previous use of the site on the basis of stratigraphic and spatial relations of earlier and later dated burials and architectural features. Material culture associations at the site related to the lower two portions of stone constructions (without pottery and with abundant bone tools) also suggest that the site might have been used as an occupation settlement/base during the Mesolithic, which should be determined by future dating of bone tools and animal bones from this area. This revised chronological framework on the basis of new AMS dates from Padina and ka Vodenica also signicantly helps us understand the nature of the Meso-Neolithic Hajdu c transformations in this region, with abundant indications regarding the chronological overlapping in press a; in press b). and cultural coexistence of Mesolithic and Neolithic realms (Boric Further research and new AMS dates from both sites are necessary to achieve a negrained resolution of the chronological sequences and to discern particularities of very long and complex occupational histories at these and other locales in the Danube Gorges.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the National Environmental Research Council (UK) for funding new and the ka Vodenica. We are grateful to Borislav Jovanovi c AMS measurements from Padina and Hajdu c Archaeological Institute in Belgrade for their kind permission to sample osteological material from the and Borislav Jovanovi c for comments on earlier versions of two sites. We also thank Vesna Dimitrijevi c this paper.
(DB) Department of Anthropology Columbia University 452 Schermerhorn Ext. 1190 Amsterdam Avenue, MC 5538 New York, NY 10027 USA E-mail: db2128@columbia.edu (PM) Department of Archaeology University of Cambridge Downing Street Cambridge CB2 3DZ E-mail: ptm21@cam.ac.uk
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Mesolithic and Neolithic (Dis) Continuities in The Danube Gorges: New Ams Dates From Padina and Hajduc Ka Vodenica (Serbia)

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AND PRESTON MIRACLE AN BORI C DUS

OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 23(4) 341371 2004

MESOLITHIC AND NEOLITHIC (DIS)CONTINUITIES IN THE DANUBE GORGES

Vodneac Padina Stubica Lepenski Vir Vlasac

Razvrata Icoana Veterani Climente I & II Cuina Ilisova Turcului Izlaz

Ostrovul Banului Hajducka Vodenica Schela Cladovei

>1000 700-1000 m 500-700 m 300-500 m 100-300 m < 100 m

cave sites open-air sites

Ostrovul Mare km 875 & 873

conventional and bone collagen radiocarbon dates from padina

Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2004

Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2004

AND PRESTON MIRACLE AN BORI C DU S

AND PRESTON MIRACLE AN BORI C DU S

C Age (bp) 9331 58

Cal BC at 1 s.d. 87208470

Cal BC at 2 s.d. 87508330

BM-1404 BM-1147 BM-1144

Burial 39 (?)2 Burial 14 (Sector III) Burial 7 (Sector II)

Homo sapiens Homo sapiens Homo sapiens

9292 148 9198 103 8797 83

87308290 85408280 82007650

91508200 86908230 82507600

(?) Sector III Burial 2 (Sector I)

Ursus arctos Homo sapiens

8138 121 7738 51

Cal BC at 1 s.d. 56105470 60605840 60005840

Cal BC at 2 s.d. 56305380 61605780 60305800

6570 55 7100 80 7075 50

OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY

MESOLITHIC AND NEOLITHIC (DIS)CONTINUITIES IN THE DANUBE GORGES

protein (aquatic?) signal (%)* 67 55 63 84 37 50 89 86 84 90

Padina OxA-11106 OxA-11104 OxA-11105 OxA-11107 OxA-9053 OxA-9056

ka Vodenica Hajdu c OxA-11128 8 OxA-11127 12 OxA-11126 15-younger OxA-11109 20

OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY

Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2004

AND PRESTON MIRACLE AN BORI C DU S

corrected 14 C age (bp) n/a n/a

Cal BC at 2 s.d. 99659275 76007340

Cervus elaphus Cervus elaphus

OxA-11108 OxA-9053 OxA-9056 OxA-11103 OxA-9052 OxA-9054

6.2 11.3 12.5 7.2 6.6 5.7

-20.9 -17.7 -18.1 -22.4 -22.2 -21.5

7750 50 7685 60 7625 55 7315 55 6965 60 6790 55

n/a 7465 64b 7405 60b n/a n/a n/a

66506460 64406210 64106090 62506025 59905720 57805560

OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY

MESOLITHIC AND NEOLITHIC (DIS)CONTINUITIES IN THE DANUBE GORGES

corrected 14 C age (bp) 9655 71a 9780 64b

Cal BC at 2 s.d. 92508790 93608920

15 (stone construct.) 1a (Sector I)

long bone frag.

ams radiocarbon dating at padina

Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2004

AND PRESTON MIRACLE AN BORI C DU S

corrected 14 C age (bp) 8205 79a

Cal BC at 2 s.d. 74807050

OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY

MESOLITHIC AND NEOLITHIC (DIS)CONTINUITIES IN THE DANUBE GORGES

Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2004

AND PRESTON MIRACLE AN BORI C DU S

OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY

MESOLITHIC AND NEOLITHIC (DIS)CONTINUITIES IN THE DANUBE GORGES