When did the ‘Neolithic package’ reach Lepenski Vir? Radiometric and faunal evidence

Abstract

A recent dating program on animal bone samples from Lepenski Vir, along with faunal and various archaeometric analyses, allows us to suggest a new stratigraphic and chronological sequence for the Mesolithic-Neolithic site of Lepenski Vir in the north-central Balkans. In this paper, we particularly focus on the question of the introduction of domesticates to this site. By directly dating bones of domestic animals from the preserved faunal assemblage of Lepenski Vir, we show when the full ‘Neolithic package’ reached the site and interpret the character of this transformation.