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The Istrian Peninsula is rich in mineral resources, primarily carbonate and siliceous sedimentary rocks, which are inextricably linked by a process called silicification. Due to their hardness and conchoidal fracture, siliceous sedimentary rocks (cherts) are very suitable for knapping tools, therefore the knowledge about the location of chert deposits was very important for prehistoric communities in Istria. In this paper, we will present basic data on primary and secondary chert deposits in the Croatian part of the Istrian Peninsula, visual and mechanical characteristics of the collected samples, as well as micropetrographic characteristics determined using a binocular polarizing microscope. We will present data on the geological age of the host rock in which cherts were recorded. We will mention the terminological issues in the archaeological literature and raise the issue of research into the provenance of Istrian chert, that is, the possibility of identifying the raw material from different deposits on the Peninsula. We will also mention the archaeological sites where the presence of Istrian raw materials was recorded. Artifacts and cores used to knap flakes and blades were also found and recorded on some of the surveyed chert deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resnik is the first underwater Paleolithic site in Croatia to be systematically investigated. The site is located in the Kaštela Bay in central Dalmatia which, like the rest of the Adriatic Basin, has undergone geomorphological changes caused, among other factors, by marine transgression. Sea level rise at the Pleistocene to Holocene transition destructively affected the Pleistocene strata and caused the submergence of the site. The lithic finds are typologically placed in the Mousterian culture, with the exception of a few finds belonging to the Upper Paleolithic. The paper presents the results of technological and typological analysis of findings collected by I. Svilan in Kaštela Bay and, for the first time, raw material analysis of lithic finds from systematic research but also from the collection of I. Svilan, which confirm that Neanderthals occupied Kaštela Bay during the Middle Paleolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of the spatial analysis of finds from the lower levels (complex E3 and levels E2 and E1) at the Mousterian site of Mujina pećina, Croatia. The horizontal spatial distribution of finds from level D2 is also included here since it contains the remains of two Mousterian hearths, which makes this level significant for the comparison with the lower levels. To increase the possibility of comparison of all levels at the site, particular segments of vertical dispersal of finds are also presented in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents fragments of silver jewelry from grave nos. 9 and 10 at Dragišic hillfort near Šibenik that were explored in 2001, and from grave n. 26 excavated in 2003. The jewelry consists of new finds of plate fibulae of the Liburnian type in the area of Southern Liburnia. The plate fibulae have been classified in two groups: plate fibulae and plate fibulae with serpentinelike features. The fibulae fragments from Dragišic presented in this paper possibly belong to versions nos. 3 and 4 dated to the period B of the last phase of the Liburnian Culture (2nd and 1st century BC). The finds of plate fibulae of the Liburnian type from coastal Croatia and Lika have been analysed, and the following sites have been added to their distribution map: Dragišic and Nezakcij in Istria. Dragišic hillfort is the southernmost site in coastal Croatia where plate fibulae of the Liburnian type have been found, while the northernmost site is Rijeka in Kvarner Bay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents molecular analysis of archaeological human remains from Zagajci near Belišće in Croatia. Bone sample from a single human cranium and two tooth samples obtained from teeth in a scanty "set" of remains found in farther vicinity (all secondary finds) were employed in DNA typing. DNA was analysed for autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci and the amelogenin – sex typing locus. The aim was obtaining STR loci profiles in order to investigate possible molecular relatedness between examined materials. Another aim was molecular identification of unknown sex of an individual represented by scanty remains, and confirming of the sex of the individual whose skull was estimated female by morphology. We obtained either low/partial STR loci allelic profiles for tooth samples, or a complete STR loci dropout for a bone sample. There was a single allele (17) of the D3S1358 locus shared among tooth samples. However, molecular sex identification confirmed the presence of a female individual in a scanty "set" of remains in accordance with archaeological data. Major or complete loci STR allele dropout is suggestive of a severe DNA degradation. A complete allelic loci dropout in a bone sample is also suggestive of the lack of contamination with modern DNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents an analysis of human remains from two medieval sites in continental Croatia: Crkvari and Kliškovac. To date, the remains of 121 persons (47 children, 27 women and 47 men) have been excavated from the two sites, and the remains of adult individuals (n=74) have been studied to determine the frequency and distribution of traumas. The average age of males in the analysed sample was 37.4 years, while the average age of females was 36.5 years. A total of 573 long bones were analysed. The overall frequency of trauma on postcranial bones was 2.8% (16/573). In 14 persons (8 females and 6 males), signs of antemortem trauma were observed, while in 6 individuals (4 women and 2 men) perimortem trauma were observed. All perimortem traumas were caused by sharp bladed weapon (probably a sword or battle knife). The overall frequency of cranial trauma was 16.7%. Similar to the postcranial traumas, among these traumas there were several perimortem injuries. A comparison with a number of osteological series from Croatia and other parts of the world shows that the Crkvari and Kliškovac sample is specific because of the high frequency of cranial traumas and the large number of perimortem fractures. Considered together, these results indicate that there was a high risk of interhuman violence at the analysed sites. The fact that four out of six persons with perimortem cuts were women suggests that the observed injuries may have been the results of violence committed by swiftly-moving armed marauding gangs, set on terrorising and looting the civilian population, rather than the results of armed clashes between two military groups. Further multidisciplinary research incorporating osteological, archaeological and historical analysis is necessary to confirm the results obtained from this sample, and to attempt to identify specific episodes of intentional violence that resulted in the observed traumas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]