The Care of Serbian Medieval Rulers and High Church Dignitaries for Monastery Vineyards

Предмет рада су различити видови старања српских средњовековних владара, архиепископа, епископа, игумана значајнијих манастира и других истакнутијих духовних лица о потребама тек основаних или обновљених манастира за виноградима, који представљају једна од најважнијих црквених имања. Сагледани су посебни начини прибављања винограда личним залагањем ктитора, у виду формирања нових засада и проширивања постојећих, куповине виноградарских имања или земљишта на коме је тек требало засадити винову лозу, као и замене појединачних винограда или читавих поседа са виноградима и вршења комасације виноградарског земљишта. Указано је и на тежњу за обезбеђивањем винограда у непосредној близини храмова, поред чега су истакнуте и друге специфичности у контексту настајања манастирских виноградарских комплекса.Serbian medieval rulers and high church dignitaries acquired vineyards for newly established or restored monasteries, primarily in the vicinity of the temple but also further afield. Vineyards were acquired mainly by forming new and expanding existing plantations, as well as by purchasing vineyard plots or land where grapevines were to be planted. The vineyards of the Athonite monasteries of Vatopedi and Hilandar were cared for by monks Sava and Simeon at the end of the 12th century. During the 13th and the first half of the 14th century, the vineyards of Hilandar were tended by Byzantine emperors, King Milutin, Hilandar abbots, and certain hieromonks. The same can be observed in the case of the Monastery of St. George near Skopje, restored by King Milutin (1300), the Monastery of Žiča and the Peć Archbishopric/Patriarchate, whose vineyards were cared for by Archbishop Danilo II (1324–1337) and the Bishop of Peć, Marko (1411), as well as the Monastery of Ravanica, the endowment of Prince Lazar (1381). One of the first vineyards of the Monastery of St. Archangels near Prizren was planted thanks to Abbot Jacob (1343). The care of vineyards could also be associated with the personal needs of the benefactor to reside in the monastery, as in the case of Archbishop Sava Nemanjić and the Karyes Cell (1217–1219, 1229). Significant monasteries such as St. George near Skopje and St. Archangels near Prizren, located near developed urban settlements, were gifted vineyards in the closest proximity to the city. Vineyards were either purchased from citizens or acquired through the exchange of properties, undertaken at the initiative of rulers and with the owners' consent, often to create a consolidated vineyard complex. King Stefan Dečanski carried out the exchange of vineyards for the Dečani Monastery (1331), Emperor Dušan for the Monastery of St. Archangels near Prizren (1343–1349/50), and Lord of Zeta Ivan Crnojević for the newly built Monastery of St. Mary in Cetinje (1485). In performing the exchange of vineyards for the Monastery of St. Archangels, Emperor Dušan also consolidated vineyard land in one of the stretches of the urban metoch of Prizren (a land belt in the immediate vicinity of the city). The city towers where the wine of wealthier monasteries was stored could also be acquired through the exchange of properties, as in the case of the Višegrad fortress near Prizren for the Monastery of St. Archangels

Economic aspects of the activities of the rural population in the Medieval Serbian lands

Agriculture was a dominant enterprise in Slavic countries during the Middle Ages. In the Serbian lands, all the groups of the dependent people - serfs had labor duties towards their master. In medieval sources they are frequently referred to as “rabotnici” (workers), whereas their duty towards the feudal master is “rabota” (work, labor). It may be said that the Medieval Serbia tax system was not primarily based on barter or money (although there were such obligations), yet the focus was on the villagers work on feudal landlord’s field. Social differences inside serf layers were expressed by the quantity of labor they owe to their masters. The aim of this paper is to view economic contribution of the serfdom work duties. We shall try to compare this system with that of giving a tenth of the field yield (“desetak”), which was present in the Byzantine Empire7th Biennial Conference of the European Rural History Organisation [EURHO] Rural History 2025, 9 – 12 September 2025 Coimbra, Faculty of Arts and Humanities & Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, Portugal - Abstrac

Heritage (De)tangled: Not Just What We Make, but How and Why We Make It

For nearly 30 years now, interest in novel ways of interpreting, reinterpreting, using and discovering new meanings of heritage has been growing significantly, in both theory and practice. There is now a strong focus on the performative nature of heritage, i.e. on the practices involved in making it,1 and there are now, at last, more voices calling for heritage to be understood as something that is simultaneously tangible and intangible, the sum of all its parts. 2 Viewed through a process-based lenses, the most important element for investigation should be the practice of making and using heritage objects. The process by which objects are transformed into heritage is therefore one of the key aspects to be documented, interpreted, applied and re-applied by heritage institutions today. Crafts offer enormous potential for this kind of investigation, since craft objects were until recently the main – we could almost say, exclusive–focus of interes

Позновизантијске наушнице Палеологина из Овчег Поља и Смедерева и њихове могуће власнице

In this paper, we analyze two pairs of gold earrings from Ovče Pole and Smederevo, dating to the 14th and 15th centuries, using a multidisciplinary approach. The research focuses on understanding their creation and identifying their owners. The engraved Palaiologan monogram with a double-headed eagle suggests that these earrings were part of family jewelry and highlights the ideological concept of emphasizing their connection to the ruling dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. In the case of the earrings from Smederevo, it was concluded that they likely belonged to the mother of Mahmud Pasha Anđelović, as supported by historical sources. In contrast, the earrings from Ovče Pole may have belonged to Theodora Nemanjić, the only Palaiologina in the region confirmed by the sources.Користећи се мултидисциплинарним приступом, у раду је анализирано неко- лико пари лунуластих шупљих наушница од злата из Овчег Поља и Смедерева, чија израда се датује у XIV и XV век. Кључна питања на којима је базиран фокус истраживања тичу се разлога њиховог настанка и откривања идентитета власни- ца. Након идентификовања угравираног монограма Палеолога у комбинацији са хералдичким мотивом двоглавог орла, и увиђања идеолошког концепта који се понавља у оба случаја – наушнице су пронађене у гробовима женских особа у оквиру сакралних комплекса, што недвосмислено наводи на закључак да су пред- стављале део породичног накита Палеологина који је у идентитетском погледу толико важан да су сахрањиване са њима, а свакако намењен истицању њихове припадности рођачкој мрежи владајуће династије Византијског царства. У случају наушница из Смедерева изнет је закључак да су припадале мајци Махмуд-паше Анђеловића, што је поткрепљено подацима из наративних историјских извора. Са друге стране, за наушнице из Овчег Поља изнета је претпоставка о Теодори Немањић као потенцијалној власници, Палеологини са мајчине стране, и јединој чије је присуство на поменутом подручју потврђено у изворима

Diet and meat supply of the Roman army at the Danube limes. Case study of the fort of Diana-Karataš

Predmet istraživanja disertacije su ishrana i snabdevanje mesom rimske vojske stacionirane na dunavskom limesu između 1. i 6. veka, na primeru utvrđenja Diana – Karataš, koje se nalazi u blizini Kladova. Osnovu istraživanja predstavlja analiza i interpretacija životinjskih ostataka sa ovog lokaliteta. U pitanju je najveći auksilijarni logor u ovom delu Podunavlja, u kome su različite trupe bile stacionirane tokom čitavog istraživanog perioda. Osim vojne funckije, a usled geografskog položaja na samom izlazu iz Đerdapke klisure, predstavljao je i važan trgovinski punkt. Cilj istraživanja disertacije je rekonstrukcija značaja različitih domaćih i divljih životinja u ishrani vojnih jedinica u utvrđenju kroz vreme, kao i upoređivanje sa istovremenim nalazištima civilnog karaktera na teritoriji centralnog Balkana, odnosno sa drugim vojnim logorima na širem prostoru Evrope.Rezultati su pokazali da tokom vremena dolazi do značajnih promena u ishrani stacioniranih vojnika. Tokom najranije faze, krajem 1. i početkom 2. veka, ostaci domaće svinje najbrojniji su u analiziranom materijalu. Vremenom dolazi do promena, pa od 4. do 6. veka primat preuzimaju ostaci govečeta. Ovakve promene u zastupljenosti domaće svinje mogu biti rezultat pritiska koji dolazak rimske vojske predstavlja za lokalnu populaciju, koja nije bila u mogućnosti da odmah odgovori na značajno veću potražnju hrane. Vojne trupe redovno su dopunjavale ishranu divljim sisarima i ribama, što je posebno izraženo u periodu od 4. do 6. veka, za šta uzroke treba tražiti u društveno–političkim promenama do kojih u ovom periodu dolazi. Vojnici su se u najvećoj meri snabdevali lokalno, s obzirom da podaci govore su životinje kasapljene unutar utvrđenja, odnosno da su u njega stizale žive. Takođe, prisustvo veoma mladih jedinki pokazuje da je barem deo domaćih svinja i kaprina uzgajan u samom utvrđenju. Iako rezultati sugerišu izvesne promene u veličini domaćih životinja, što je u skladu sa sličnim istraživanjima u drugim delovima Evrope, detaljna analiza je pokazala da one nisu statistički značajne, odnosno da ne postoje jasni trendovi promena u veličini tokom perioda trajanja utvrđenja. Istraživanje je takođe pokazalo postojanje razlika u ishrani vojske i civilnog stanovništva na prostoru centralnog Balkana tokom ispitivanih perioda, što može biti rezultat geografskih odlika Đerdapske klisure, ali i činjenice da su vojne trupe imale mogućnost praktikovanja jedne vrste „povlašćene“ ishrane. Dodatno, upoređivanje dobijenih rezultata sa podacima iz vojnih logora u drugim delovima Evrope pokazuje da nije postojao uniformni vid „vojne ishrane“, već da je ona u mnogome zavisila od geografskih specifičnosti određene regije. Ova disertacija predstavlja pionirsko istraživanje kada su teme ishrane i snabdevanja rimske vojske u Srbiji u pitanju i kao takva polsužiće kao osnova za otvaranje novih istraživačih pitanja u budućnosti.This dissertation examines the diet and meat supply of the Roman army stationed along the Danube Limes between the 1st and 6th centuries, using the example of the Diana – Karataš fort, located near the city of Kladovo. The research is based on the analysis and interpretation of animal remains from this site, which represents the largest auxiliary fort in this part of the Danube region, where various troops were stationed throughout the entire studied period. In addition to its military function, due to its geographical position at the exit of the Iron Gates Gorge, it also served as an important trade center. The aim of the dissertation is to reconstruct the significance of domestic and wild animals in the diet of military units, over time, and to compare the findings with contemporary civilian sites in the central Balkans, as well as with other military sites across Europe.The results indicate significant changes when it comes to the diet of the soldiers stationed at Karataš. During the earliest phase, at the end of the 1st and the beginning of the 2nd century, domestic pig remains were the most abundant in the analyzed material. Changes occured over time, with cattle remains becomimng the most dominant between the 4th and 6th centuries. These changes may be the result of the pressure exerted by the arrival of the Roman army on the local population, which may not have been able to meet the increased food demand. The troops regularly supplemented their diet with wild mammals and fish, a practice that became particularly pronounced during the 4th – 6th centuries, likely due to the socio-political changes occurring at the time. The soldiers were mostly supplied locally, as animals were butchered within the fort itself, suggesting that they were brought to the fort still alive. Additionally, the presence of very young individuals indicates that at least a portion of domestic pigs and caprines were bred within the fort itself. Although the results suggest certain changes in the size of domestic animals, consistent with similar findings from other parts of Europe, a detailed analysis has shown that these changes are not statistically significant and that no clear trends in size variation are observed throughout the fort’s occupation. The study also revealed differences in the diet of the military and civilian populations in the central Balkans during the examined periods, which may be attributed to the geographical features of the Iron Gates and the fact that military troops could practice a form of "privileged" diet. Furthermore, comparisons with data from military camps in other parts of Europe indicate that there was no uniform "military diet"; rather, it largely depended on the specific geographical characteristics of each region. This dissertation represents a pioneering study on the topics of diet and food supply in the Roman army in Serbia and, as such, will serve as a foundation for future research on related questions

L’aristocratisme chez Nietzsche et la démocratie – une relation symbiotique ?

In this article, I will delve into Friedrich Nietzsche’s views on democracy in light of his professed aristocratism. First, I will discuss Nietzsche’s perfectionism, meaning his belief that humankind can be justified only by its perpetual advancement, made manifest in exceptional individuals. Afterwards, I will inquire into how this belief affected Nietzsche’s political views, particularly his notoriously critical stance towards democracy. This will be followed by a discussion of Herman W. Siemens’s arguments that Nietzsche’s views on democracy and their relationship with his aristocratic leanings are nuanced, as well as of the limitations of Siemens’s reading of Nietzsche. Finally, the article will show how Thomas Fossen expands upon Siemens’s analysis to include Nietzsche’s notable pathos of distance, as well as indicate directions for further research on this subject.U ovom ću članku razmotriti stavove Friedricha Nietzschea o demokraciji u svjetlu njegova deklariranog aristokratizma. Najprije ću se osvrnuti na Nietzscheov perfekcionizam, tj. njegovo uvjerenje da se čovječanstvo može opravdati jedino putem neprestanog napretka koji se očituje u iznimnim pojedincima. Zatim ću ispitati kako je to uvjerenje oblikovalo Nietzscheove političke stavove, osobito njegovu zloglasno kritičku poziciju prema demokraciji. Nakon toga slijedi rasprava o argumentima Hermana W. Siemensa, koji tvrdi da su Nietzscheovi pogledi na demokraciju i njihov odnos prema njegovim aristokratskim sklonostima nijansirani, kao i o ograničenjima Siemensova čitanja Nietzschea. Na koncu, članak će pokazati kako Thomas Fossen nadograđuje Siemensovu analizu uključivanjem Nietzscheova značajnog patosa distance te naznačiti smjerove za daljnja istraživanja ove teme.In diesem Beitrag werde ich mich in Friedrich Nietzsches Ansichten zur Demokratie im Lichte seines erklärten Aristokratismus vertiefen. Zunächst werde ich auf Nietzsches Perfektionismus eingehen, womit seine Überzeugung gemeint ist, dass die Menschheit einzig durch ihre fortwährende Höherentwicklung gerechtfertigt werden kann, die sich in außergewöhnlichen Individuen manifestiert. Anschließend werde ich untersuchen, wie sich dieser Glaube auf Nietzsches politische Ansichten auswirkte, im Besonderen auf seine berüchtigt kritische Haltung gegenüber der Demokratie. Darauf folgt eine Erörterung der Argumente von Herman W. Siemens, wonach Nietzsches Auffassungen zur Demokratie und deren Verhältnis zu seinen aristokratischen Neigungen differenziert zu betrachten sind, sowie eine Diskussion über die Einschränkungen von Siemens’ Nietzsche-Deutung. Abschließend wird der Beitrag darlegen, wie Thomas Fossen die Analyse von Siemens erweitert, indem er Nietzsches bemerkenswertes Pathos der Distanz einbezieht, und zugleich Richtungen für weiterführende Forschungen zu diesem Thema aufzeigen.Dans cet article, j’examine les positions de Friedrich Nietzsche sur la démocratie à la lumière de son aristocratisme revendiqué. Je commencerai par analyser le perfectionnisme de Nietzsche, c’est-à-dire sa conviction que l’humanité ne peut être justifiée que par son progrès perpétuel, qui s’incarne chez des individus exceptionnels. J’étudierai ensuite l’impact de cette conviction sur les vues politiques de Nietzsche, en particulier son attitude notoirement critique envers la démocratie. S’ensuivra une discussion des arguments de Herman W. Siemens, selon lesquels les positions de Nietzsche sur la démocratie et leur rapport à ses inclinations aristocratiques sont nuancées, ainsi que des limites de la lecture de Nietzsche proposée par Siemens. Enfin, l’article montrera comment Thomas Fossen enrichit l’analyse de Siemens pour inclure le pathos de distance caractéristique de Nietzsche, et indiquera des pistes pour des recherches ultérieures sur ce sujet

Socio-demographic characteristics of women and support systems as a potential determining factors of the fertility level in Serbia

Cilj ovog rada jeste da na osnovu rezultata empirijskog kvantitativnog istraživanja realizovanog na Filozofskom fakultetu u Beogradu u periodu od 2020. do 2023. godine, ispita korelacija različitih faktora i odluke žena o tome koliko će dece roditi. Prilikom analize podataka usmerili smo se na socio-demografske karakteristike i porodični i društveni kontekst za koje, držeći se nalaza dosadašnjih istraživanja, pretpostavljamo da utiču na odluku ispitanica da rode jedno ili više dece. Za ispitivanje korelacija pored testova odnosa varijabli, koristili smo i model binarne logističke regresije. Nakon analize zaključili smo da su se kao značajni prediktori pokazali godine starosti ispitanice, njen bračni status, starost ispitanice prilikom rađanja prvog deteta i ocena značajnosti vrtića za usklađivanje rada i roditeljstva. Prediktori za koje smo na osnovu teorijskog okvira pretpostavili da će se pokazati kao značajni, ali nisu, jesu materijalni položaj ispitanice, obrazovanje, njen radni status i to da li je imala pomoć u periodu odgajanja dece. Pri tome se testom korelacije pokazalo da je broj sati angažovanja starijih generacija ipak u korelciji sa odlukom o broju dece. Stoga se može zaključiti da pored individualnih karakteristika, spoljni faktori koji se prvenstveno očitavaju u podršci mladim majkama, imaju važnu ulogu prilikom planiranja porodice.This paper aims to examine, based on the results of an empirical quantitative study, the influence of various factors on women’s decisions regarding the number of children they will have. The research was conducted through a survey carried out between 2020 and 2023 at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. In analyzing the data, we focused on socio-demographic characteristics and the family and social context, which—according to our theoretical framework—are assumed to influence respondents’ decisions to have one or more children. To examine the correlation of these factors, in addition to variable relationship tests, we also used a binary logistic regression model. The analysis showed that significant predictors included the respondent’s age, marital status, age at the birth of the first child, and the perceived importance of kindergartens in balancing work and parenting. Predictors that were theoretically assumed to be significant but were not confirmed as such include the respondent’s material status, level of education, employment status, and whether she received help during the child-rearing period. However, correlation testing indicated that the number of hours of support provided by older generations is correlated with decisions about family size. Therefore, it can be concluded that, in addition to individual characteristics, external factors—especially support available to young mothers—play an essential role in family planning

Les autochtones sous les stećci ?

The phenomenon of the burials under the stećci, in spite of the long history of research, still deserves additional attention of scholars. These are interments of the deceased in the context of the monumental funerary markers (stećci), highly prominent in the landscape, typical for the period between the 12th and the 16th centuries. This funerary practice is most intense during the 14th and 15th centuries, and there are indications that it occurs even after the 16th century. In the region of the Western Balkans, more than 72 000 monuments have been registered, mainly in Bosnia-Herzegovina. During the 20th century, when these monuments were interpreted in the culture-historical archaeological key, researchers aimed at identifying a single religious or ethnic group intrinsically linked to this burial practice. Some of the solutions for the attribution of stećci were their ascription to the Bosnian Church, or to the Mediaeval Vlachs. The dedicated researchers, such as Šefik Bešlagić, recognized even under the traditional paradigmatic framework that the phenomenon of stećci is highly complex and that exclusive attribution to one ethnic/religious group is not highly plausible. Subsequently, with the interpretations of Dubravko Lovrenović in the beginning of the 21st century, stećci are interpreted as an interconfessional phenomenon. While the exclusive attribution to the Bosnian Church is easily refuted on the base of the inscriptions mentioning other confessions, the issue of the Vlachs as the conveyors of this material culture has remained unresolved in certain ways. The solution was sought for in the domain of physical anthropology. Starting from the 1970s, in the papers on the skeletal remains recovered from the necropolises with the stećci, the interpretation is offered that these are homogenous communities, with dominantly brachycranial characteristics, identified as the Dinaric anthropological type. The next interpretive step was to link them to the allegedly autochthonous Medieval non-Slavic Vlachs, understood as an ethnic group that derived from Antiquity or prehistory. The aim of the present paper is to critically reconsider the methodological core of the argument that the people buried under the stećci were of the Dinaric type, seen as the indigenous population, from the point of view of the history of Yugoslav archaeology.Sahranjivanje pod stećcima predstavlja kompleksan fenomen karakterističan za period između 12. i 16. veka, sa najvećom učestalošću u 14. i 15. veku. Ova praksa se odnosi na monumentalne nadgrobne spomenike kojih ima preko 72.000 na originalnim lokacijama širom Zapadnog Balkana, a najviše u Bosni i Hercegovini. Tradicionalna tumačenja, utemeljena u kulturno-istorijskoj paradigmi jugoslovenske arheologije, pokušavala su da stećke povežu sa jednom etničkom ili konfesionalnom grupom – najčešće sa Crkvom bosanskom ili srednjovekovnim Vlasima. Savremena istraživanja, a najpre radovi Dubravka Lovrenovića, ukazala su na interkonfesionalni karakter ove pojave. Od sedamdesetih godina 20. veka javlja se i fizičko-antropološki pristup, koji skeletne ostatke ispod stećaka tumači kao pripadnike homogenih, brahikranih populacija, identifikovanih kao dinarski antropološki tip. Iz toga se dalje izvodio zaključak da su ove zajednice etnički Vlasi, autohtoni neslovenski stanovnici povezani praistorijskim stanovništvom. Ovaj rad ima za cilj da kritički preispita takvo metodološko i interpretativno nasleđe kroz analizu istorije arheološke misli u socijalističkoj Jugoslaviji. Poseban fokus biće na pitanjima odnosa između fizičke antropologije i arheologije u konstrukciji narativa o poreklu i identitetu zajednica koje su usecale stećke za svoje mrtve.L’inhumation sous les stećci constitue un phénomène complexe, caractéristique de la période allant du XIIe au XVIe siècle, avec une fréquence maximale aux XIVe et XVe siècles. Cette pratique comprend des tombes monumentales jusqu’à présent recensées sur plus de 72000 monuments à travers les Balkans occidentaux, principalement en Bosnie-Herzégovine. Les interprétations traditionnelles, basées sur le paradigme historico-culturel de l’archéologie yougoslave, ont essayé d’associer les stećci à un groupe ethnique ou confessionnel – le plus souvent à l’Église bosnienne ou aux Valaques médiévaux. La recherche contemporaine, notamment les travaux de Dubravko Lovrenović, a indiqué le caractère interconfessionnel de ce phénomène. A partir des années 1970 du XXe siècle, une approche physico– anthropologique apparaît, interprétant les restes squelettiques sous les stećci comme appartenant à des populations homogènes et brachycéphales, identifiées comme le type anthropologique dinarique. Par la suite, on a conclu que ces communautés étaient des Valaques ethniques, des habitants autochtones non slaves, associés aux populations préhistoriques. L’objectif de cet article est d’examiner de façon critique cet héritage méthodologique et interprétatif, à travers l’analyse de l’histoire de la pensée archéologique en Yougoslavie socialiste. On se focalisera notamment sur les questions du rapport entre l’anthropologie physique et l’archéologie dans la construction du récit sur l’origine et l’identité des communautés qui gravaient des stećci pour leurs défunts

Preliminary Results of Investigations of Remesiana, Eastern Necropolis (Campaign 2023)

У кампањи из 2023. године откривено је 13 гробова од којих је истражено 12. Ради се о сахранама девет одраслих особа и троје деце. Највећи број сахрана је обављен унутар једноставних рака, док је код два гроба искоришћена опека у конструисању гроба. Откривен је још један фунерарни објекат потковичасте основе који је добрим делом оштећен, па је сачуван само део апсидалног зида на западној страни. У гробу који је припадао овој конструкцији, нису откривени остаци скелета иако је констатовано постојање сандука као и покретних налаза. Као и у случајевима са претходно откривеним фунерарним објектима на источној некрополи, приметно је да већи део гробова гравитира ка објекту, што нас упућује на закључак да је у тренутку сахране млађих гробова био делимично видљив. Гробне прилоге, откривене у свега неколико гробова, углавном чине предмети уобичајени у гробовима, са изузетком једне бронзане преслице која представља први овакав примерак на некрополи.Thirteen burials were discovered in the research campaign of 2023, and 12 of them were fully investigated. The burials contained nine adults and three children, most of them buried within simple pits, while the usage of bricks was detected in only two cases. Also, one more funerary object with a horseshoe-shaped base has been discovered (Object no. 7). The object is partially damaged, probably by later burials, hence, most of the eastern wall and NE corner were missing. No skeletal remains have been found in the grave within the construction (G56), and the grave was probably reused during the Antiquity. The situation at the field indicates the possibility that the original grave was opened (remains in the western part), the burial pit expanded, and a second body placed in the same grave. If that was the case, we can assume that the skeletal remains disintegrated due to the acidity of the soil. There was also a case of a (attempted?) grave robbery. The human remains in G61 were piled up in one end of the grave, and a possible entry pit was also detected immediately next to the grave. Grave goods, detected in only a small number of graves, consisted of usual items found all over the necropolis – necklaces made of glass beads, bronze bracelets, and coins. Among these, a bronze hand distaff was discovered in G59 – the first of its kind at the eastern necropolis

The Image of Serbia in Inverse Nationalism

This paper describes the normalization of the image of Serbia as a place of primitivism and evil. This is reflected in terms such as “Stinkland” (“Smrdija”), “Serbiatria” (“Srbijatrija”), “Savageland” (“Gedžovanija”), “Chetnikia” (“Četnikija”), “Serbistan” (“Srbistan”), etc. This negative (self-)essentialization may appear to be the result of hyper-radical (self-)criticism. The subject who makes use of such a discourse, however, positions himself as an exception, as someone who is disgusted by the “unworthy other”, in this case the unworthy, often class-wise underprivileged fellow citizen. Such dehumanizing stigmatization becomes part of a cultural pattern through which the middle and lower classes internalize a sense of inferiority. Thanks to the media, this toxic discourse penetrates deep into society and finds fertile ground among aspirational groups who expect the privileges of the middle and upper classes of the West, the privileged center of the global capitalist system. Through dehumanizing stigmatization, the collective identity of Serbian society is deconstructed and subsequently reconstructed. The frequent use of a particular discourse creates linguistic routines that are widely accepted as collective meanings. Embedded in this discourse is the eternal position of inferiority that justifies colonial rule over a barbaric country and its primitive people. The established self-contempt of the compradors reinforces the colonial position