From the Aegean to the Adriatic

Exploring the Earliest Neolithic Island Fauna

Bibliographic Data

ID12807705
AuthorsE Pilaar Birch (0000-0003-1544-5881, University of Georgia, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume13
Issue2
Pages256-268
Publication date2017-04-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1556-4894 • E-ISSN: 1556-1828
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15564894.2017.1310774
OpenAlexW2605816822
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited51

Frameworks for understanding Neolithization have increasingly recognized the complex and multifaceted nature of the spread of domesticates from Southwest Asia into Europe. But how do these factors interplay in unique island settings as compared to the continental scale? This article takes a comparative approach using sites located on islands from the Aegean and the Adriatic to discuss subsistence in the earliest Neolithic, between approximately 7000 and 6000 cal BC. Based on zooarchaeological evidence, I explore differences between island and mainland use of terrestrial and marine fauna, and consider the role of island size, vegetation, and access to water resources. Located along a “crossroads” and presenting distinct environmental challenges, the islands of both the Aegean and the Adriatic are ideally situated for considering human ecodynamics at this pivotal transition from hunting and gathering to farming and herding

Agriculture · Archaeology · Fauna · Geography · Mainland · Subsistence agriculture · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Ecology