Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.33254/piaz.43.1.1
Vergotinova Pećina: results of direct radiocarbon dating of human remains and revision of lithic material
Luka Bariša
; Croatian Conservation Institute, Division for Archaeological Heritage, centre Jurišići, Svetvinčenat, Croatia
Darko Komšo
; Archaeological Museum of Istria in Pula, Pula, Croatia
Nadia Dunato Pejnović
; Natural History Museum Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Ivor Karavanić
; Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Vergotinova Pećina is mentioned in numerous papers as a possible site of human remains from Upper Palaeolithic/Mesolithic period. Despite this, the results of chronometric dating have not yet been published. Therefore, this paper deals with the analysis of lithic material and the radiocarbon dating of human and animal remains, as well as charcoal samples from Mirko Malez’s and Darko Komšo’s research campaigns. The goal is to provide a clearer chronological determination of the finds from Vergotinova Pećina by radiocarbon dating the charcoal samples along with the human and faunal remains and to present the results of the lithic analysis. A clear and reliable chrono-cultural determination of the lithic assemblage was not possible due to its unremarkable features. The results of the radiocarbon dating of faunal samples have confirmed the existence of a deposit formed during the Pleistocene, although human presence during that period remains questionable. The results of radiocarbon dating obtained from human remains and charcoal have shown that they originate from the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Medieval periods, which refutes previous claims about Vergotinova Pećina as a site with human remains from the Upper Palaeolithic/Mesolithic.
Keywords
Vergotinova Pećina; human remains; lithic material; prehistory; Middle Ages; radiocarbon dating
Hrčak ID:
353252
URI
Publication date:
10.11.2026.
Visits: 0 *