Individual finds are documented on Central Dalmatian islands, Palagruza, Northern Adriatic, deep in the interior of the Western Balkans, Albania, Southern and Eastern Italy, and Greece.

According to Heyd (2013) and Maran (1998), Cetina people from the Adriatic region migrated into southern Greece at the transition from Early Helladic II to III, c. 2200 BC.

The most significant deposits of Cetina culture were discovered in the Škarin Samograd cave located at the foot of the Mogli brdo, six kilometers northwest of Unešić.

The stratigraphy of Škarin Samograd enabled Ivan Marovic and Borivoj Covic to produce a three-phase periodization of Cetina culture, which is still used.

The deceased were laid in a crouched position in a stone chest or their cremated remains were stored in a clay urn, most often placed in the center of the tumulus.

In both burial methods, fragments of a large number (from two to as many as 67) of ceramic vessels were discovered in the stone layer of the tumulus, and it is possible that these are traces of the ritual breaking of dishes used during the posthumous feast.

The Mathieson et al. (2018) archaeogenetic study included two Early to Middle Bronze Age samples (1631-1521/1618-1513 calBCE) from Veliki Vanik, Dalmatia, Croatia (near Vrgorac).

They carry similar ancestry to a Copper Age sample from the site of Beli Manastir-Popova Zemlja (late Vučedol culture), eastern Croatia.