ARTICLE IN PRESS

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 580 (2007) 714716

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14

C dating of early Neolithic settlement Galovo near

Slavonski Brod in Northern Croatia
I. Krajcar Bronica,, K. Minichreiterb
a

Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Bijenicka 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Institute of Archaeology, Ul. grada Vukovara 68, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Available online 18 May 2007

Abstract
In Northern Croatia, more than hundred settlements are known from the period of the Starcevo culture, the rst Neolithic period in
south-east (SE) Europe. Here we present the 14C dating of nine charcoal samples from the Neolithic settlement Galovo in Slavonski
Brod. According to archaeological ndings, it belongs to the early phase (Linear A) of the Starcevo culture and has a special ritualburial
area separated by two wooden fences from its residential part. The vertical stratigraphy revealed two phases of the settlement
construction in period 60705630 cal BC. In the younger phase (53804960 cal BC) the settlement expanded and the burial area became
smaller. Combination of archaeological ndings and 14C dates thus allowed a reconstruction of the 1000-year-long existence of this
settlement that existed simultaneously with the nearby settlement ZadubravljeDuzine, dated earlier to 60005000 cal BC. These are the
rst absolute dates of the beginning of neolithization in Northern Croatia.
r 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
PACS: 93.85
Keywords:

14

C dating; Neolithic; Starcevo culture; Croatia

1. Introduction
In the region of the Northern Croatia about a hundred
settlements are known from the period of the Starcevo
culture, the rst Neolithic period in SE Europe, and 15 of
them in the Sava River Basin around the city of Slavonski
Brod. In this area, two large and important early Neolithic
archaeological sites have been recently discovered. The 14C
dates from ZadubravljeDuzine were presented in Ref. [1],
and here we present the 14C dates from the Neolithic
settlement Slavonski BrodGalovo (Fig. 1).
2.

14

C dating

One of the most well-known and most often used

methods of absolute age determination of organic samples
(such as wood, bone, charcoal, cereals) is the radiocarbon
(14C) method. The concentration of the 14C activity in the
Corresponding author. Tel.: +385 1 4571 271; fax: +385 1 4680 239.

E-mail address: krajcar@irb.hr (I. Krajcar Bronic).

0168-9002/$ - see front matter r 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.nima.2007.05.132

atmosphere and biosphere is approximately constant,

because the balance has been established between the
natural production and the radioactive decay of that
isotope. However, following the death of an organism, 14C
decays without replenishment. Thus, by measuring the
remaining concentration of the 14C activity in a material
one can determine the time elapsed from the death of the
organism (maximal age of 50,000 years).
At the Rudjer Bos kovic Institute in Zagreb, the 14C
method has been used for dating various samples for more
than 30 years [2]. The measurement techniques by gas
proportional counter (GPC) and liquid scintillation counter (LSC) are used [3]. After pretreatment by the
acidbaseacid method, organic samples (charcoal) are
combusted in a stream of pure oxygen. The obtained and
puried CO2 is then catalytically converted to methane,
which is used as the counting gas in GPC. Alternatively,
CO2 is used for benzene synthesis: CO2 in reaction with
lithium produces lithium carbide that is subsequently
hydrolyzed to acetylene, which is after purication polymerized on the vanadium catalyst [3]. We use Oxalic Acid I

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I. Krajcar Bronic, K. Minichreiter / Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 580 (2007) 714716

715

Fig. 1. Locations of Neolithic settlements in northern Croatia. Settlements Slavonski BrodGalovo and ZadubravljeDuzine are marked.

(for GPC) and Oxalic Acid II (for LSC) as modern

standards, and anthracite as a background standard. Age
calculation follows the conventional protocol [4] based on
Libby half-life of 5568 years and using AD 1950 as the
reference year. The results are presented as the conventional 14C age expressed in years before present (BP, where
0 BP AD 1950), with 1s error, and normalized for stable
isotope fractionation by using the default d13C values
(24%) for charcoal [4]. The ranges of calibrated calendar
years (cal BC) are obtained using OxCal v.3.10 [5] and are
given with condence level of 68.2%. Here, two samples
(Z-2935, 2936) were measured by the GPC technique and
the others by the LSC.
3. Site and sample description
The settlement Galovo in Slavonski Brod has been
extensively studied since 1995 when it was discovered
during excavations for the brickyard. Archaeological
ndings place it into the early Neolithic period, at the
beginning of the development of the Starcevo culturethe
Linear A phase. This settlement is among the earliest sites
within the Starcevo culture complex with a ritualburial
area separated by wooden fences from the residential part.
Nine charcoal samples were dated by the 14C method
(Fig. 2).
From the burial area of the settlement, samples were
taken from a larger pit 9 (sample Z-2936) and a smaller pit
15 (Z-2935). The burial pit 9 contains a clump of pottery
with animal bones in its centre, and a cattle horn, buried
cult-like at the bottom of the central space. This burial is of
the same kind as the one found in pit 10 of Zadubravlje
Duzine [1]. Two kilns of a cigar-like shape in the northern
part of pit 9 are also similar to kilns from Zadubravlje
Duzine, but the fuel sources are outside the pit, and they
probably served only for ritual purposes. Between the
kilns, two human skeletons in a contracted position were
discovered [1]. The third skeleton without its skull was

Fig. 2. Map of settlement Galovo near Slavonski Brod, Croatia. Positions

of charcoal samples for 14C dating are marked by stars. Three samples
from a stratigracally lower layer are marked by squares.

found in the southern part of the pit, near three groups of

pottery vessels with numerous animal bones (ceremonial
feasts). The pit-dwelling 9 had no large roof construction. In a small burial pit 15 a crouched male skeleton
with only a rear portion of its skull was buried and a
large group of stone axes and other tools, pottery
fragments, clay discs, and parts of zoomorphic religious
sculpture (duck head) were discovered around it. The
pit was surrounded by holes for wooden beams arranged
in rows so that a wide arcade existed above the entrance
section of the dwelling. The arcade outside the pit
and an internal fence indicate a special formal character
of this pit, where probably a prominent member with a
high position in the tribal community hierarchy was
buried.
In the residential area, several large pits (pit 64, 153 and
155) were discovered. Interior of some of them was divided
into areas for different purposes, e.g., the large working pit
house 155 consisted of two areasin the western part four
kilns were built (sample Z-3588 from one of them) and the
eastern part was used for pottery preparation. Working pit
house 205 contained two kilns, one for baking bread
(Z-3574) and the other for ring pottery vessels, and with
the upright loom (Z-3575) for making fabric.
Stratigracally below three large pits (64, 153, 155,
Fig. 2) some cult structuresarched wooden fenceswere
discovered and dated (Z-3584, Z-3586, Z-3587 from
structures 89, 149 and 389, respectively). Most likely,
rituals in honour of the deceased took place here.
Pit house 37 (Z-3583) in the northern part of the studied
area could not be stratigracally connected to other pits. It
also differs from others pits in the settlement having only
one room inside, which together with the absence of
ritual items points to the purpose of the pitit was used as
a sleeping room.

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I. Krajcar Bronic, K. Minichreiter / Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 580 (2007) 714716

GALOVO
Z-3586 7061152BP
Z-3584 6994140BP
Z-3587 686665BP
Z-2936 6835110BP
Z-3574 687537BP
Z-3575 684958BP
Z-3588 682271BP
Z-3583 630080BP
Z-2935 6190130BP

6000CalBC
Calibrated date

5000CalBC

Fig. 3. Conventional 14C ages (numerical values) and ranges of calibrated

years (distributions) of nine charcoal samples.

4. Results and discussion

Fig. 3 shows the numerical conventional 14C ages and
graphical distribution of calibrated ages of all dated
samples. The obtained 14C dates correspond to the
expected archaeological age. The period between 6070
and 4960 BC is the most probable time of existence of the
settlement at Galovo.
The 14C data alone (Fig. 3) show two obvious periods of
the settlement development. However, the vertical stratigraphy in the western, residential part revealed two phases
of the settlement construction both dated by 14C to
60705630 cal BC. The oldest samples were taken from
wooden fencesritual objects (samples marked by squares
in Fig. 2) stratigracally below working pits, indicating
that in the earlier phase the ritualburial area occupied
larger space in the western part.
In the later phase (around 5700 cal BC) the settlement
extended towards the pits with the dead. Above the western
cult structure and its northern arched wooden fence, which
lost its function through this new construction, three large
pit houses were built (pit 64, 153, 155). Respecting the
tradition and signicance of the cult structure, the group of
new pit houses was built in a semicircle around it instead in
the northsouth direction, which was a rule in the
settlement for the building of other pit houses. In this
phase of settlement extension, between the eastern burial
area and the pit houses a new short wooden partition was
built in order to detach the ritual space from the residential
one, even though the separation of these two spaces was
more symbolic than physical.

The residential pit house 37 and the small burial pit 15 in

the burial area belong to the latest known phase of the
settlement (53804960 cal BC).
The dates obtained for the second Neolithic settlement
of the Starcevo culture in the surroundings of Slavonski
Brod (ZadubravljeDuzine, 60005000 cal BC) indicate the
simultaneous existence of both settlements [1]. The
corresponding archaeological ndspottery, stone tools,
kilns, kult-like burialssubstantiate such a conclusion,
and place both settlements to the Linear A phase of the
Starcevo culture, the rst Neolithic culture in this area.
However, in ZadubravljeDuzine the burials were found
within the residential area, while at the settlement Galovo a
special area for rituals and burials was established
separated by arched wooden fences from the residential
part. The settlement Galovo is thus the oldest Neolithic
settlement in Croatia having such an organization.
5. Conclusions
Combination of archaeological ndings and 14C dates
allowed a reconstruction of the 1000-year-long existence of
the Neolithic settlements Galovo near Slavonski Brod
(60704960 cal BC), that existed simultaneously with the
settlement ZadubravljeDuzine. Systematic archaeological
investigation of the Galovo settlement will continue also in
future, because there are indications that the settlement
occupied a much larger area than studied up to now.
By using the 14C dating method, we obtained the rst
absolute dates of the beginning of neolithization, i.e., the
beginning of the Starcevo culture in Northern Croatia. Our
dates, together with other 14C dates from various Neolithic
settlements in Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Hungary can
help in studies of the chronology of neolithization of
southeast Europe.
Acknowledgments
This work supported by projects 098-0982709-2741 and
197-1970685-0681 by the Ministry of Science, Croatia.
References
[1] I. Krajcar Bronic, K. Minichreiter, B. Obelic, N. Horvatincic, in:
Radiocarbon and Archaeology, Oxbow Books, Oxford, 2004,
pp. 229246.
[2] B. Obelic, N. Horvatincic, A. Durman, in: J. Evin, Ch. Oberlin, J.-P.
Daugas (Eds.), 14C at Archeologie, Lyon, France, 1999, pp. 233238.
[3] N. Horvatincic, J. Bares ic, I. Krajcar Bronic, B. Obelic. Radiocarbon
46/1 (2004) 105116.
[4] M. Stuiver, H. Polach. Radiocarbon 19/3 (1977) 355363.
[5] Ch. Bronk Ramsey. The OxCal Program, v.3.10, /http://www.
rlaha.ox.ac.uk/oxcal/oxcal.htmS, 2005.