Toponomastic and linguistic stratigraphy in Lika

Although Lika abounds in Pre-Croatian archaeological sites, there are not many Pre-Croatian substratum toponyms that have been preserved (Avendon, Ardocij, Ankus, Bag, Mrsinj, Turan, Kompolje, Skadar, Kosinj, Lika...), which signifies how discontinuant living was at the time of Croatian migrations: the indigenous population retreated into mountains and the Croats occupied the fields beside rivers: the Lika, the Krbava, the Gacka... in the region of the old cultural soil which they were perseveringly colonizing and intensively cultivating. Therefore, many names of land plots in the fields of Lika are inspired by water (cret, kal, resnik, gat, prespa, brlog, bruvno, brod...). Mountains of Lika were rich in forests. Hence many settlements were named after trees: drezga (Dreznice), dubrava (Dubrava), cer (Cerje), jela (Jels$Fhaane), *breza (Brizna), ples$FhA 'bare rocky countryside' (Ples$Fhaevica), plas 'forest clearing', gvozd 'forest' (Gvozd), etc. Consequently, there is a very rich geographical nomenclature in Lika, which was reflected in toponymy. In medieval toponymy of Lika there are ethnic oychonyms ending in -jane: Resane, Brodnjane, Brusane, Podstenjane... Such oychonyms always indicate 'the location a particular group selected for its permanent settlement', unlike the patronymic oychonyms (most frequently formed by the suffix -ici), which denote 'a multitude that is in a certain relationship with the clan's founding father whose name is in the root of the oychonym' and indicate a living and long after preserved clan community of the settlement. This rich and developed medieval oychonymy was submitted to radical changes after the battle of Krbava in 1493. Following the battle, many Cakavian indigenous inhabitants left Lika and (new-Stokavian, Ikavian) Catholics mostly from Western Herzegovina and (new-Stokavian, Ijekavian) Orthodox from the inland of the Balkan peninsula took their places. Adapted from the source document