Repository of the Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade (RAI)
Not a member yet
2254 research outputs found
Sort by
Anthropologists at war?
Get PDFBesides extensive human suffering and immense material destruction, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February revealed differences among anthropologists on how to grasp the logic and the causes of this war.1 It has uncovered some issues related to interpretation (as well as the limits of relativism) and raised questions concerning anthropologists’ ideas about their (and their professional associations) place in the contemporary world.
Anthropologists’ stances on war have a long history. In 1919, Sir Charles Read, the President of the Royal Anthropological Institute, started his Presidential address: ‘Of all the many kinds of social catastrophe due to human action, none is more subversive and disturbing than war’ (1919: 12). Another former President of the RAI, W.H.R. Rivers, treating soldiers suffering from what was later known as post-traumatic stress syndrome, claimed that the instinct for self-preservation is key to understanding human behaviour, a guide to the unconscious. This understanding led him to establish a new technique for treating these patients (Rivers 1919).
Another ancestor, Bronislaw Malinowski, writing over eight decades ago, proposed that ‘the task of evaluating war in terms of cultural analysis is today the main duty of the theory of civilization’ (1941: 522). Situations become especially problematic when we try to relate to the war in our own country (Greverus 1995) or when confronted with the violence waged by our own government (Günay 2013).This is the peer reviewed version of the paper: Bošković, Aleksandar. “Anthropologists at War?” Anthropology Today, vol. 38, no. 3, 2022, pp. 3–4., [https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12724
Level Up With Archaeogaming
No full textArheogejming se, u svojim disciplinarnim pocecima, fokusirao na (pre)ispitivanje
odnosa izmedu prikazivanja i percepcije arheoloskog terenskog i istrazivackog rada, kao
i nacine prenosa znanja o arheologiji i/ili proslosti, siroj i ne-strucnoj javnosti kroz produkte
kreativnih industrija kao sto su video-igre, ali i filmovi, serije, stripovi itd. Fokus
na video igrama istaknut je iz razloga sto one poseduju najveci potencijal za interaktivnost
cime omogucavaju lakse usvajanje znanja. Kroz vec oformljenje razlicite skole
misljenja (Laiden i York) unutar ovog polja definisani su neki od potencijala i poteskoca
koriscenja video-igara; koncept interaktivne proslosti koji dolazi iz prve skole misljenja
fokusira se na poboljsavanje odnosa sa sirom javnoscu kroz ovaj medium , dok je druga
struja vise orijentisana ka teorijskim aspektima samih video-igara i digitalnih prostora u
sirem smislu. Kroz primere popularnih igara kao sto su Assassin’s Creed (Unity i Odessey),
World of Warcraft, Minecraft nastojali smo da prikazem o pozitivne i negativne rezultate
koje video igre mogu imati na siru svest o proslosti i kulturnom nasledu, kao i da li i kako
mogu biti korisceni kao prostori za (re)prezentaciju i edukaciju. Ipak, smatram o da u
domenima ovog polja treba posvetiti paznju i onim igram a koje su manje kompleksne, a
igraju se preko mobilnih telefona i/ili Facebook-a kao sto je igra razvijena u nasem neposrednom
okruzenju tj. u Slovackoj, Diggy’s adventure.
Ova nova oblast moze biti sam o pocetak u nacinu na koji komuniciramo proslost,
stvarajuci promenu u paradigm i u kojoj ce prenosenje znanja biti orijentisano ka siroj
javnosti, ali i samoj akademskoj zajednici
Emergence of monopoly–Copper exchange networks during the Late Bronze Age in the western and central Balkans
Get PDFIn this paper we present the first results of an interdisciplinary research project focused on Late Bronze Age metallurgy in the western and central Balkans. The comprehensive chemical and lead isotope analysis, and a strict consideration of archaeological criteria, has provided a deeper insight into supra regional metal exchange networks between the 14th and 9th century BC in this part of Europe. Particularly interesting and surprising are results regarding the provenance of raw materials for copper production, which have a chemical composition and lead isotope ratios that closely correspond to ore deposits in the southern Alps (North Italy). Based on the examination of 57 objects of different functions, chronology and distribution, it becomes apparent that copper from the southern Alps was almost an omnipresent raw material in the territories of the western and central Balkans with only a few finds from North Macedonia to indicate alternative sources. The analyses demonstrate that the reuse of fahlore-based copper is attested for the first time in the regions under study. The remarkable fact that other archaeological parameters do not indicate such an intensive connection between the Balkan area and Northern Italy raises a number of questions. The sustained and long-lasting networks of raw material procurement stand in contrast to the expected cultural interaction between metal producing and metal consuming prehistoric societies. The results of this work also highlight the currently underestimated role of the southern Alps as one of the main copper producing areas in Bronze Age Europe, and demonstrate for the first time that the region of western and central Balkans was one of the major recipients
Bassarabi Decorative Style as a Material Culture Trait of the Initial Stages of the Early Iron Age in the Western Parts of the Serbian Danube Region - Abstract
Get PDFThe initial stages of the Early Iron Age in the western parts of the
Serbian Danube region are marked by several material culture traits
separating them from the preceding Late Bronze Age. More frequent iron
object finds from the 8th century BC were accompanied by elements of
Pontic-Caucasian properties and pottery decorated in a distinctive
Bassarabi manner. Said territory was characterized by the development of
the Bosut archaeological group since the 10th century BC, with its middle
phase distinguished by the predominant Bassarabi style of decorating
pottery vessels.
The Bosut group was differentiated from the rest of the Bassarabi
complex due to local particularities in pottery production, and the fact that
uninterrupted continuity with the previous Kalakača horizon was
stratigraphically confirmed. Bassarabi horizon also owes most of its pottery
forms to the local traditions, while adopting a new style of adorning.
Being primarily defined by pottery design, its categorization as a
culture is debatable. While indicating the possible origin of some pottery
ideas in the preceding cultures (e. g. Insula Banului and Babadag), the
Bassarabi phenomenon spread through most of modern-day Romania and
neighboring regions in the 8th century BC. In contrast to the more heterogenous image of archaeological groups and their material culture
(specifically pottery) of the previous period, the Bassarabi phenomenon
symbolized an epoch of a widespread pottery trend.
Since the majority of the sites with Bassarabi pottery were
discovered in the large river basins (Danube, Mureș, Siret, and Dniester),
this could be owed to the intensified communication down the river valleys,
catalyzing the transfer of styles and techniques. This paper will investigate
the appearance of Bassarabi decoration in western parts of the Serbian
Danube region as a possible effect of style and technique trends transfer, as
well as its participation with traditional pottery forms in the creation of a
unique identity in material culture
African Political Systems Revisited: Changing Perspectives on Statehood and Power
No full textReexamining a classical work of social anthropology, African Political Systems (1940), edited by Fortes and Evans-Pritchard, this book looks at the colonial and academic context from which the work arose, as well as its reception and its subject matter, and looks at how the work can help with analysis of current politics in Africa. This book critically reflects upon the history of anthropology. It also contributes to a political anthropology which is aware of its antecedents, self-reflexive as a discipline, conscious of pitfalls and biases, and able to locate itself in its academic, social and political environment.Integration and conflict studies, vol. 2
The Right Book at the Right Time : Early Reactions and Continuing Debates
No full textIn this chapter, I will first analyse the critical responses
to the book, as published in the leading anthropological and sociological journals
of the time, and will conclude with the general view about the issues that
the contributions in this volume address
Heroes and Identities: Relativism, Myth, and Reality
No full textThe chapter presents a case study of how a society deals with violence. The case is of the convicted war criminal, Serbian Army General Ratko Mladić, and the overwhelming support that he enjoyed within the Serbian society. This example demonstrates the power of mythical thinking, and how it can obscure the apparently rational segments of dealing with a society's past
Бронзани бодеж са локалитета Стража код Жагубице
Get PDFУ овом кратком раду приказује се налаз бронзаног бодежа откривеног нелегалним активностима на познатом локалитету Стража у близини Жагубице у Хомољу. Налаз представља ретко сведочанство о бодежима са трапезоидном закивном плочицом и четири отвора за нитне нађених на овим просторима, с обзиром на то да се чини да је њихова матична територија негде између Карпата, Алпа и Балтика. Хронолошки, ови бодежи могли би се определити у време краја средњег бронзаног доба, тј. у период око 1.650 до 1.450 године пре н.е., што би према Рајнекеовој хронологији отприлике било синхроно са његовим фазама Br B/C1. Нажалост, на самом локалитету, иначе вишеслојном, од енеолита до раног средњег века нема потврда о керамичком материјалу који би хронолошки одговарао бодежу. Додуше,сви досадашњи налази са овог простора су случајни и припадају периодима од енеолита до раног средњег века, тако да за сада немамо скоро никаквих поузданих података о овом налазишту
Prehistory of Serbia: A Breef Overview
No full textesearch has shown that the territory present-day Serbia was continuously inhabited from the earliest prehistoric to historic times. Covering most of what is Serbia today, the Central Balkans acted as an important migration corridor that connected Southwest Asia with Central and Western Europe. Moreover, the Central Balkans represented an important ecological and social refugium for European human communities during harsh glacial periods and other crises. The highest population densities throughout the region’s prehistory were recorded in river valleys, as well as the lowland and low hilly areas at their peripheries, while occupations of hilly-mountainous areas were more frequent during Paleolithic and Metal Ages. Apart from historical and social circumstances, population densities and the occurrence of specific settlement patterns were also influenced by the distribution of mineral and food resources exploited during particular intervals. Prehistoric cultural and demographic links between the Balkans and Central Europe or Southwest Asia have been well documented. However, the Balkans also saw the rise of authentic cultural manifestations such as the Lepenski Vir culture which have not been documented in other parts of Europe
Прелиминарни резултати истраживања остатака касноантичког бедема у Прахову: кампање 2021. и 2022. године
Get PDFТоком 2021. и 2022. године обављена су сондажна археолошка истраживања у Прахову (општина Неготин), на простору западног дела јужног бедема касноантичког града Акве (Aquae). Истраживања су спроведена на једином данас очуваном и приступачном делу некада значајног античког и касноантичког насеља. Циљ археолошких ископавања било је дефинисање остатака јужног бедема, његовог начина градње, као и утврђивање стратиграфске ситуације extra muros, са јужне стране брањеног простора. Истраживањима су добијени и подаци о постојању некрополе, од које је истражено седам гробова скелетно сахрањених индивидуа, оријентисаних у правцу запад-исток, из касне антике