The Late Middle Paleolithic in the Western Balkans: Results from Recent Excavations at Crvena Stijena, Montenegro

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "The Late Middle Paleolithic in the Western Balkans: Results from Recent Excavations at Crvena Stijena, Montenegro" at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The rockshelter of Crvena Stijena, Montenegro, is well-known as a key Paleolithic site in the Balkan peninsula. Its 20 m deep sequence, over half of which spans the Middle Paleolithic, contains lithic industries, abundant macrofauna bearing extensive traces of human butchery activities, and large combustion features. A new excavation project, led by the University of Minnesota and the National Museum of Montenegro since 2017, has focused on the Middle Paleolithic levels with an emphasis on documenting fire use by Neanderthals. A number of analyses have been carried out in order to understand pyrotechnological behaviors, reconstruct site formation processes, and reconstruct paleoenvironments. These include anthracology, micromorphology, archaeomagnetism, and chemical characterization of minerals (in artifacts and in sediments) altered by fire. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction has been accomplished through analysis of macrobotanical remains, plant alkanes, and microfauna. Neanderthal stone-tool making and using behaviors have been studied through raw material analysis and residue analysis. Refinement of the site chronology continues through a new radiocarbon dating program as well as cryptotephrochronology. Genetic analyses have extracted hominin DNA from sediments in the site. This symposium brings together the specialists who have contributed to the project since 2017 to present their results and allow for discussion and synthesis.