(Dis)continuities in fishing practices at the onset of Neolithic: a case study from Starčevo, Serbia

Whereas the significance of fishing is well documented at a number of Mesolithic and Early Neolithic (c. 9500 - 5500 cal BC) sites in the Danube Gorges (the Danube stretch between present-day Serbia and Romania) and is corroborated by archaeozoological, isotopic and archaeological evidence, this important activity has received less attention in the study of surrounding areas. The issue of determining the role of fishing is particularly relevant for the understanding of transitions from foraging to first food producing economies in the North-Central Balkans, the latter commonly associated with the Starčevo-Körös-Criş cultural complex (c. 6200 - 5500 cal BC). Existing data on isotopic dietary signatures of human remains from Early Neolithic Starčevo-Körös-Criş sites signal a more terrestrial diet (Whittle et al. 2002; 2005), however archaeozoological data from several Körös sites in Hungary (Bartosiewicz et al. 2012) suggest that the role of fishing, in addition to being obscured by inadequate recovery techniques, would have varied greatly depending on site location and other socio-economic factors. In this paper, we present and discuss the results of the analysis of fish remains from the eponimous, Early Neolithic site of Starčevo-Grad in Serbia. The site is situated on the former bank of the Danube at the edge of its floodplan, little over a 100 km upstream from the Danube Gorges as the crow flies. The faunal remains collected over the course of 1932 and 1969-1970 excavation campaigns (originating from both domestic and wild animals, waterfowl and fishes) were previously published by Clason (1980), and are indicative of a both stock-breeding and a hunting/fishing economy. The fish remains, albeit few, were collected mostly by hand; and the role of fishing was probably more substantial. The occurrence of large fish hooks and fishing net weights speak in favour of such hypothesis, as well as the environment of the site, which was located in the very proximity of the river. In addition to the re-analysis of the remains from older excavations of Starčevo-Grad, our study also included the analysis of fish remains collected during 2003-2008 excavation campaigns. The aim of this paper, as well as future analyses of Early Neolithic faunal assemblages is to problematize the presumed dichotomy between Mesolithic and Early Neolithic subsistence strategies and to assess the role of fishing at the advent of food producing economies in the Central Balkans