History of Croatia before the Croats

The area known as Croatia today has been inhabited throughout the prehistoric period, ever since the Stone Age, up to the Migrations Period and the arrival of the Croats.

The earliest traces of human presence on Croatian soil date back to the Palaeolithic Age. In Šandalja Cave near Pula, and in Punikve near Ivanec, flints made by pre-Neanderthal people have been found, while the remains of Neanderthal prehistoric humans have been discovered on Hušnjakovo near Krapina. In the middle Paleolithic period, Neandertals lived in modern Zagorje, northern Croatia. Dragutin Gorjanović-Kramberger discovered bones and other remnants of a Neandertal, subsequently named Homo krapiniensis, on a hill near the town of Krapina. Palaeolithic site on Hušnjakovo near Krapina, counted among the largest and richest sites in the world where Neanderthal remains have been found. During excavations from 1899 to 1905, led by the palaeontologist and geologist Dragutin Gorjanović-Kramberger, abundant remains of Palaeolithic items and the bones of extinct prehistoric animals were discovered. The Krapina finds are estimated to be 130,000 years old. Archaeological finds from the Palaeolithic Age have been discovered in other places throughout Croatia (Vindija Cave, Veternica, etc.). Vindija sediments are 12 m thick, divided in 13 layers designated from unit A (youngest) to unit M.

The Neolithic period (c. 6000 BC – c. 3000 BC) was characterised by the emergence of permanent, organised settlements, and by the production of earthenware and other items. In the Adriatic area, the most significant Neolithic cultures are the Impresso, Danilo and Hvar cultures, and, in the interior, the Sopot and Korenovo cultures, while the major sites where finds have been recovered are Smilčić near Zadar, Danilo near Šibenik, Markova and Grapčeva Caves on Hvar, and others. In the early Neolithic period, the Starčevo, Vinča and Sopot cultures were scattered between and around the Sava, the Drava and the Danube. Notable are the excavation sites of Ščitarjevo near Zagreb, Sopot near Vinkovci, Vučedol near Vukovar, Nakovanj on Pelješac.

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