From the Aegean to the Adriatic: Exploring the Earliest Neolithic Island Fauna

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.