Continental deposits and archaeological data in the Trieste Karst area (north-east Italy: evidence of sea-level changes and possible tectonic activity in the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene

The relationships between the land and sea in the northern Adriatic at the Pleistocene—Holocene boundary are examined by considering sea-level curves and archaeological data. Changes in the Mesolithic (Early Holocene) economy of the inhabitants can be interpreted as a result of palaeoecological variations due to glacioecustatic sea-level changes and recent tectonics. This hypothesis is also supported by evidence of older tectonic movements which may have continued until the end of the Pleistocene.