Papers by Stefan Milosevic
Quaternary science reviews, 2024
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Quaternary International, 2021
Recent research in the southern Central Balkans has resulted in the discovery of the first Middle... more Recent research in the southern Central Balkans has resulted in the discovery of the first Middle Paleolithic sites in this region. Systematic excavations of Velika and Mala Balanica, and Pešturina (southern Serbia) revealed assemblages of Middle Paleolithic artifacts associated with hominin fossils and animal bones. This paper focuses on Pešturina Layer 4, radiometrically and biostratigraphically dated to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, which yielded traces of temporary hunting camps. The remains of large ungulate prey are associated with predominantly Quina-type artifacts made of quartz. Artifacts from Pešturina Cave have no parallels at Mousterian sites in the Balkans but are rather similar to the Central European Charentian, which demonstrates that this cultural unit was widespread during MIS 5, not only in the southern Pannonian Basin but also in the Central Balkans. The position of the site – on the outskirts of the known spread of the Quina model of techno-economic behavior during MIS 5 – raises several questions related to population movements, residential mobility, and technological variability in the early Middle Paleolithic of Central and Southeast Europe.
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Avian remains presented here were collected from the deposits spanning between late MIS 5 to 3, a... more Avian remains presented here were collected from the deposits spanning between late MIS 5 to 3, and give a rare opportunity to observe Last Interglacial/Last Glacial avian succession in the Central Balkans. The Late Pleistocene avifauna from Pešturina cave (Niš District, SE Serbia), comprises 26 taxa from 18 families and 10 orders, 16 of which are reported for the first time from Pleistocene deposits of the Central Balkans. Today, these species live in a variety of habitats-open grassland, forest, rocky, and aquatic habitats. The species from forest habitat were the most abundant. All species (еxcept black grouse) are present in the country's modern avifauna. The cave provides some examples of "mixed" Pleistocene avifaunas, including species both of Euro-Siberian and Mediterranean/temperate present day distribution. The occurrence of rock sparrow marks one of the northernmost Pleistocene ones in Europe so far, while presence of other species is suggestive for complex mosaic ecosystems, which probably characterized Last Glacial landscapes in the Central Balkans, at least until the LGM.
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The Central Balkans, in present-day Serbia, was a potentially dynamic zone during the Middle and ... more The Central Balkans, in present-day Serbia, was a potentially dynamic zone during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic (MP-UP), as it is situated between hypothesized dispersal routes of modern humans and refuges of late Neanderthals. However, the population history of the region remains poorly understood because there are little chronometric data from Late Pleistocene sites in Serbia. Here, we review the existing paleoanthropological record for the MP-UP in the Central Balkans and surrounding areas. Then, we add to it by reporting radiocarbon dates from two Serbian cave sites, Pešturina and Hadži Prodanova, which contain Middle Paleolithic and Gravettian assemblages. The results provide reliable human occurrence-dates older than 39 ka calibrated radiocarbon years before present (cal BP) and between 34 and 28 ka cal BP. As shallow palimpsest deposits with low artifact yields, the sites are not ideal contexts for establishing chrono-cultural stratigraphy. However, it is proposed that the occupants before 39 ka cal BP were Neanderthals producing MP artifacts, while those after 34 ka cal BP were modern humans with Gravettian traditions.
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We present the detailed analysis of a cervical vertebra from a cave bear,
found at Pešturina cave... more We present the detailed analysis of a cervical vertebra from a cave bear,
found at Pešturina cave, Serbia, in a Mousterian archaeological level dated by radiocarbon
at 43.5–44.6 kyr cal BP, and by ESR to between 93.5 and 102.5 kyr BP.
Identified as a portion of the cranial articular facet, the fragment displays ten subparallel
grooves. The microscopic study of these grooves and other surface modification
present on the bone fragment, conducted with multifocus optical and confocal microscopes
and complemented by a taphonomic analysis of the associated faunal assemblage,
supports the hypothesis that the incisions were made by humans. Results are
used to critically examine ambiguities implicit in the analysis and interpretation of early
engravings, a category of material culture that has been playing a key role in the
identification of early instances of symbolically mediated behavior.
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Hadži Prodanova Cave in western Serbia is a multilayered site which, in addition to Palaeolithic ... more Hadži Prodanova Cave in western Serbia is a multilayered site which, in addition to Palaeolithic tools, has yielded a relatively rich fauna of small and large vertebrates. In this paper the rodent fauna from this site is described. In total, 13 species of rodents have been found: This fauna has a mixed character and includes species of both open and forest habitats, the former being more numerous. According to its overall composition, it is tentatively ascribed to a relatively mild and wet period of the Last Glacial, probably MIS 3.
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MOKRANJSKE STENE. Kulturno nasledje Negotinske Krajine, Kapuran A., Bulatović A. (ur.), 2015
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Books by Stefan Milosevic
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JSAS volumes/ GSAD sveske by Stefan Milosevic
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Papers by Stefan Milosevic
found at Pešturina cave, Serbia, in a Mousterian archaeological level dated by radiocarbon
at 43.5–44.6 kyr cal BP, and by ESR to between 93.5 and 102.5 kyr BP.
Identified as a portion of the cranial articular facet, the fragment displays ten subparallel
grooves. The microscopic study of these grooves and other surface modification
present on the bone fragment, conducted with multifocus optical and confocal microscopes
and complemented by a taphonomic analysis of the associated faunal assemblage,
supports the hypothesis that the incisions were made by humans. Results are
used to critically examine ambiguities implicit in the analysis and interpretation of early
engravings, a category of material culture that has been playing a key role in the
identification of early instances of symbolically mediated behavior.
Books by Stefan Milosevic
JSAS volumes/ GSAD sveske by Stefan Milosevic
found at Pešturina cave, Serbia, in a Mousterian archaeological level dated by radiocarbon
at 43.5–44.6 kyr cal BP, and by ESR to between 93.5 and 102.5 kyr BP.
Identified as a portion of the cranial articular facet, the fragment displays ten subparallel
grooves. The microscopic study of these grooves and other surface modification
present on the bone fragment, conducted with multifocus optical and confocal microscopes
and complemented by a taphonomic analysis of the associated faunal assemblage,
supports the hypothesis that the incisions were made by humans. Results are
used to critically examine ambiguities implicit in the analysis and interpretation of early
engravings, a category of material culture that has been playing a key role in the
identification of early instances of symbolically mediated behavior.