Rite to Memory: Neolithic Depositional Histories of an Adriatic Cave

Excavations at Grapceva Cave, a major eastern Adriatic Neolithic site, yielded evidence of ritual activities during the 5th millennium B.C. Structured deposits in the cave’s main interior chamber included large burnt areas with extremely high frequencies of animal remains and artefacts, notably richly decorated Late Neolithic 'Hvar-style' pottery, as well as scattered human remains. It is argued that Grapceva was a mortuary ritual site, where feasts, offerings, and secondary burials took place. These same activities produced and reproduced memories. At Grapceva the materialization of memories came at a time when group histories and genealogies were gaining importance among the newly settled Neolithic food producers of the Adriatic.