The eastern Adriatic coast and the Caput Adriae lie along one of the main route of the spread of farming into Europe. The studied area covers Dalmatia, Istria, Karst and Friuli which present varied environmental and geomorphological peculiarities. In recent time, researches have disclosed a complex archaeological picture of Neolithic communities well adapted to different local environments. This area is also significant for the understanding of contacts and interactions between the Mediterranean world and the continental regions during the full development of the Neolithic and in the subsequent prehistoric phases. Nevertheless, only in Dalmatia long and relatively detailed pottery sequences offer a reliable cultural and chronological framework of the Neolithic in several phases between 6000 and ca 4000 BC. Full Neolithic evidence is occasionally attested here and there in Istria and Karst regions, while it is known in the western margin of Friulian plain. The Eneolithic evidence is instead not yet full attested; its recognition rests in fact almost entirely on certain stylistic traits of pottery and the first appearance of copper objects as isolated artefacts. The paper presents an outline of the emergence of Neolithic communities and their economic and social transformations between the sixth and the third millennium BC.
