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Image Credit: Karavanić et al., Antiquity (2026)
Scientists Uncover Evidence of Much Earlier Neanderthal Occupation in Croatia
New optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating has pushed back the earliest confirmed Middle Palaeolithic occupation of Mujina Cave (Mujina pećina) in Dalmatia, Croatia, showing that Neanderthals were present in the eastern Adriatic around 80,000 years ago—approximately 30,000 years earlier than previously established.
Mujina Cave is the first systematically excavated and securely dated Middle Palaeolithic site in Dalmatia. The cave preserves a well-stratified sequence of Quaternary deposits containing Mousterian stone tools, including industries attributed to the Balkan Charentian tradition, together with animal remains that document repeated Neanderthal occupation.
The Mousterian stone tool industries are archaeological traditions associated primarily with Neanderthals across Europe and parts of western Asia during the Middle Palaeolithic. They are characterized by carefully shaped stone tools—including scrapers, points, and denticulated implements—produced using sophisticated knapping techniques. These tools were used for hunting, butchering animals, woodworking, and hide processing, providing important evidence for Neanderthal technology, adaptation, and daily life.
Earlier radiocarbon and electron spin resonance (ESR) dating had placed the site's occupation between roughly 49,000 and 39,000 years ago, but the deepest archaeological layers lay beyond the effective range of radiocarbon dating. To resolve this gap, researchers collected sediment samples from the cave's oldest deposits and analyzed them using OSL, a method that determines when mineral grains were last exposed to sunlight before burial.
The new results show that the upper Middle Palaeolithic layer dates to approximately 35,000–39,000 years ago, confirming previous chronologies. More significantly, two of the cave’s deepest archaeological layers produced much older ages of about 65,000–73,000 years and 73,000–82,000 years, placing the earliest occupations around the transition between Marine Isotope Stages MIS 4 and MIS 5a. Also known as Oxygen Isotope Stages, these chronological divisions are used to trace alternating cold and warm phases in Earth’s ancient climate through changes in oxygen-isotope ratios preserved in marine sediments.
These findings substantially revise the chronology of human occupation in Dalmatia and indicate that Neanderthals inhabited the region far earlier than previously documented. The new dates also align with evidence from other important Middle Palaeolithic sites in the Adriatic, including Crvena stijena in Montenegro, helping to refine the broader timeline of Neanderthal settlement across the eastern Adriatic.
Beyond extending the known history of the site, the revised chronology provides a stronger chronological framework for comparing Mousterian stone tool industries across southeastern Europe and contributes to a better understanding of Neanderthal populations and their movements during the Late Pleistocene.
Published on: 23-07-2026
Edited by: Abdulmnam Samakie
Source: Antiquity
