Results of the recent excavations of the Late Neolithic Site Kotlina, Baranya county: flint, stone and bone artefacts

Abstract

The site of Kotlina was discovered in 2009 during a large archaeology prospection project of Baranya in NE Croatia. Systematic archaeological research of the site was initiated in 2018 and the project “Kotlina, the prehistoric site” encompassed non-invasive field survey and excavations. Until today, the area covering approximately 150 m2 was excavated, revealing diverse archaeological structures: post holes, rubbish pits and graves. The portable archaeological finds were rich and diverse and consist of pottery sherds, animal bones, bone artefacts, chipped stone artefacts, polished and abrasive stone artefacts as well as one bead made from mollusc shell. Also, one very small fragment of copper and a large quantity of obsidian tools were discovered during the excavations. Portable archaeological finds and absolute dates show that the site can be attributed to the Late Neolithic Lengyel culture. In this paper, the results of the analysis of flint, stone and bone artefacts using variety of techniques that focus on the raw materials selection, technology and typology will be presented. Both local and imported raw materials were used, thus showing a complex pattern of raw material acquisition and management. The study of archaeological implements provided important information about the Lengyel communities located to the south of the Drava River. It will be very interesting to compare these data with other Lengyel sites in the north.