Recent data on the lithic industry from the rock shelter of Malisina stijena in Montenegro (based on the results from the 2017 study)

In 2017, a joint research team of IAET SB RAS and the Museums and Galleries of Podgorica (Montenegro) resumed archaeological studies at the rock shelter of Malisina Stijena in Montenegro. The site was previously examined by the Serbian archaeologists in the 1980s. New excavation profile has revealed eight depositional layers (A-F); four of them have yielded archaeological evidence. Finds from layer A indicate that the assemblage can be attributed to the Final Paleolithic. Distinctive forms typical of both Middle and Upper Paleolithic, occur among the artifacts associated with layers В 2 and С1. The collection from layer С 2 shows the features similar to the younger assemblages, but includes more Middle Paleolithic tool forms. In general, new materials confirm the presence of transitional assemblages at the site and make it possible to further study the cultural processes that occurred during the change of two archaeological eras in the Eastern Adriatic region.