Flint raw material transfers in the prehistoric Lower Danube Basin: An integrated analytical approach

The paper presents results of a research programme focused on the provenancing of flint raw materials used in the prehistory of the Lower Danube Basin of the Balkans. Field survey encompassed two adjacent regions connected by the Danube River. First, northern Bulgaria where rich flint-bearing Cretaceous deposits are known along with numerous Neolithic sites but with limited pre-Neolithic presence apart from several well-known Middle to Upper Palaeolithic sequences. Second, the Danube Gorges area on the southern, Serbian side of the river, characterized by relatively scarce deposits of flint, but with one of the best preserved concentrations of Mesolithic, transitional and Early Neolithic sites in the wider region of southeastern Europe. Focusing on both of the two selected regions allows one to follow diachronic dynamics in supply and circulation of local and non-local flint raw materials along the examined stretch of the Lower Danube Basin. In order to connect surveyed flint outcrops and different types of raw material used in archaeological contexts, an integrated approach was employed using both petrographic thin sections and LA-ICP-MS trace element chemical finger-printing analyses.