Austrijsko-srpski projekat Praistorijski pejzaži u regionu Puste reke (Leskovac) – istraživanja 2017. godine

Izveštaj o aktivnostima projekta Pusta Reka tokom 2017. godine

Arheološka istraživanja na lokalitetu Svinjarička Čuka u 2018. i 2019. godini

Izveštaj o sistematskim arheološkim istraživanjima na lokalitetu Svinjarička čuka kod Lebana tokom 2018. i 2019. godine

From near and far: Stone procurement and exchange at Çukuriçi Höyük in Western Anatolia

The focus of this paper are the stone tools of Çukuriçi Höyük, a prehistoric site situated at the central Aegean coast of Anatolia. The settlement was inhabited from the Neolithic, through the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age 1 periods, a period lasting from the early 7th to the early 3rd millennium BCE. A long-term interdisciplinary study of the excavated lithics with different scientific methods on various stone materials (thin section analysis, pXRF, NAA, LA-ICP-MS) offer new primary data about the procurement strategies of prehistoric societies from a diachronic perspective. The results will be presented for the first time with an overview of all source materials and their distinct use through time. The lithic assemblages from Çukuriçi Höyük consist of a considerable variety of small finds, grinding stones and chipped stone tools. The high variability of raw materials within the different categories of tools is remarkable. In addition to stone tools manufactured from sources in the immediate vicinity of the settlement (i.e., mica-schist, limestone, marble, amphibolite, serpentinite), others are of rock types such as chert, which indicate an origin within the broader region. Moreover, volcanic rocks, notably the exceptionally high amount of Melian obsidian found at Çukuriçi Höyük, attest to the supra-regional procurement of distinct rock types. Small stone axes made of jadeite presumably from the Greek island of Syros, also indicate these far-reaching procurement strategies. The systematic and diachronic analyses of the stone tools found at Çukuriçi Höyük has demonstrated that as early as the Neolithic period extensive efforts were made to supply the settlement with carefully selected raw materials or finished goods procured from distinct rock sources.   Erratum:• This article was submitted and initially published with only the following authors listed: Christoph Schwall, Michael Brandl, Tatjana M. Gluhak, Bogdana Milić, Lisa Betina, Lasse Sørensen, Danilo Wolf, and Barbara Horejs. After publication of the article, the authors observed that they had forgotten to include Maria M. Martinez as an author and requested that she be added to the list of authors. The current version of the article includes Maria M. Martinez. She should be considered an author also for earlier versions of the article that might be in circulation. &nbsp

Prehistoric landscapes of the Pusta Reka river (Leskovac), new investigations along the Southern Morava River

A new Austrian-Serbian cooperation has been initiated to investigate the Leskovac Basin at the Southern Morava that will focus on the identification of potential early farming communities in the region. Additional analyses of the later prehistoric sites, dating to the Copper and Bronze Ages, seek to provide an insight into the long-term landscape use by prehistoric communities in the area. The first systematic survey campaign of the new Pusta Reka Project in 2017 provided new data regarding the prehistory in the region and a first insight into the landscape and the environmental conditions. The Leskovac Basin and its low elevations between the tributary rivers to the Southern Morava River, forms a settlement area presumably attractive to prehistoric communities. Extensive and intensive archaeological surveys formed the basis for geophysical surveys and corings in the selected areas. GIS analyses, material studies and radiocarbon dating of core samples have been conducted to gain a broad spectrum of new primary data about the prehistory in the region. The first results of the site Svinjarička Čuka situated east of Caričin Grad are presented and discussed in details regarding location, environment, chronological as well as cultural relations

The FLOW project – a contribution to the study of the cultural transmission of the central Balkan communities and the neighboring regions in later prehistory

The paper presents the basic research principles of the project THE FLOW (Interactions-Transmission-Transformation: Long-distance connections in Copper and Bronze Age of the Central Balkans), which is carried by the Institute of Archaeology in Belgrade, Institute of Nuclear Sciences “Vinča, and the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. The theoretical and methodological perspectives of the project research engage an interdisciplinary approach based on analytical techniques incorporated within archaeology and natural sciences such as physics and chemistry. The project's goal is to apply an exact method to the problems of the origin of raw materials for the production of four specific groups of objects made of obsidian, pottery, copper, and bronze. Each of those materials represents a unique problem and requires a specific treatment, presented within this paper, together with the existing practice, analytic techniques, and methodological procedures for the collected samples. Further, the project incorporates the collection of absolute dates through AMS and OSL dating, with the application of the latest OxCal 4.4. calibration. The acquired dates, combined with the disposition of samples and raw materials will serve as a backbone for the creation of spatio-temporal models and the formation of an SQL database, all with a goal to create the interpretative basis for the study of local paleo-economies, long-distance connections, and social networks in the Central Balkans during the Copper and Bronze Age

Local or imported: EDXRF spectometry comparison of pottery and local clay samples from Velika Humska Čuka (central Balkans)

The site of Velika Humska Čuka, represents one of the most important multilayered prehistoric settlements in the Balkans, with a continuous inhabitance for almost six millennia. The site is located on one of the main communications hubs of Southeastern Europe, with natural roads spreading towards the north, east, and south. The excavations at 605 the site have been conducted for almost a century, continuously yielding new finds and features from between the Eneolithic and the Late Bronze Age

First Half of the FLOW Project - Methods, Practices and First Results

The paper summarises the results achieved during the first 18 months of the project THE FLOW (Interactions-Transmission-Transformation: Long-distance connections in Copper and Bronze Age of the Central Balkans). The project team has visited 12 museums in the territory of Central Serbia and accumulated a total of 5,000 km of road trips. More than 400 pottery samples from 67 archaeological sites were collected for provenance analyses, thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence dating. Samples have also been collected from more than 150 bronze and 64 copper artifacts, as well as more than 25 samples from clay pits and ore deposits. A total of 30 samples from obsidian artifacts have been collected. Following the collection of samples, procurement procedures were conducted for AMS and TL/OSL dating, as well as calls for isotopic analyses of copper and tin provenance. Contracts for TL/OSL analyses have been signed with Instituto Universitario de Geología “Isidro Parga Pondal” from La Coruña (Spain), and for AMS analyses with Isotoptech Zrt. from Debrecen (Hungary), and Rutgers University in New Jersey (USA). Laboratory research within the project has so far brought many important results, among which are those on the origin of the raw materials for making the analysed ceramic vessels, as well as the pigments used for their decoration. Extremely significant data was obtained on the composition of the analysed items made of metal - weapons and jewellery, on the basis of which preliminary conclusions were made about the technology of their production, and them belonging to a certain region or workshop. The project initiated the creation of a network of scientific collaborations that can be continued through future joint projects and applications on international calls. The following project activities will be aimed towards the consolidation of already established methodological procedures as well as the interpretation of the awaited outcomes and their integration into explanatory models of complex processes in the societies in later prehistory

Vizualizacija nepoznatog Balkana

The visualization of the archaeological heritage from the Balkans turns the spotlight on the human past in this region that is in many ways essential for our understanding of European history in general. Southeast Europe represents one of the key areas for analysing the human past, where most of the major cultural developments started that had a long-lasting impact on the continent. This specific culmination of cultural and social dynamics over millennia took place in the highly diverse, but connected landscapes of the Balkans. These distinct characteristics form the backbone of one of the most exciting and challenging areas for archaeology on the globe. Visualizing the Unknown Balkans offers an overview of ongoing interdisciplinary fieldwork in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Serbia covering a time span of about six millennia. The results, in the form of maps, plans, geophysical screenings and digital reconstructions, open up new perspectives for potential future investigations and set the course for the broader public and scientific perception of archaeological research in the region

New Multi-disciplinary Data from the Neolithic in Serbia. The 2019 and 2021 Excavations at Svinjarička Čuka

The excavations at Svinjarička Čuka in the South Morava Valley in Serbia are presented with new primary data from the field and related material and scientific analyses. Newly recovered architectural remains from the classical Starčevo period revealed a variety of domestic features, so far belonging to an earlier and later occupation phase at the river terrace dating between 5700/5600 and 5500 BC. Details of the stratigraphy and certain materials are presented for selected domestic contexts, including one potential ‘Starčevo house’. Archaeological and scientific analyses are discussed and contextualised within the Neolithisation process in the chapters on new radiocarbon data and their Bayesian modelling, pottery studies, chipped stones and their raw material analyses, grinding kits, animal remains, archaeobotanical results and charcoal analysis. The later occupation at the site is presented with new results for the Middle and Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age, including domestic contexts, radiocarbon data and materials

New Muli-disciplinary Data from the Neolithic in Serbia. The 2019 and 2021 Excavations at Svinjarička Čuka

The excavations at Svinjarička Čuka in the South Morava Valley in Serbia are presented with new primary data from the field and related material and scientific analyses. Newly recovered architectural remains from the classical Starčevo period revealed a variety of domestic features, so far belonging to an earlier and later occupation phase at the river terrace dating between 5700/5600 and 5500 BC. Details of the stratigraphy and certain materials are presented for selected domestic contexts, including one potential ‘Starčevo house’. Archaeological and scientific analyses are discussed and contextualised within the Neolithisation process in the chapters on new radiocarbon data and their Bayesian modelling, pottery studies, chipped stones and their raw material analyses, grinding kits, animal remains, archaeobotanical results and charcoal analysis. The later occupation at the site is presented with new results for the Middle and Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age, including domestic contexts, radiocarbon data and materials.Der Text bietet einen Überblick zu neuen Ergebnissen der Ausgrabungen und naturwissenschaftlichen Untersuchungen an der Fundstelle Svinjarička Čuka im südlichen Morava-Tal in Serbien. Kürzlich gefundene Architekturreste der klassischen Starčevo Kultur belegen eine Reihe unterschiedlicher Siedlungsbefunde, die sich bislang einer früheren und einer späteren Besiedlungsphase auf der Flussterrasse zuordnen lassen, die absolut zwischen 5700/5600 und 5500 calBC datiert werden kann. Die Stratigraphie und Aspekte des Fundmaterials ausgewählter Kontexte werden vorgestellt, darunter ein potentielles „Starčevo Haus“. Archäologische und naturwissenschaftliche Untersuchungen werden diskutiert und im Rahmen des Neolithisierungsprozesses kontextualisiert, mit Abschnitten zu neuen Radiokarbondatierungen und ihrer Bayesschen Modellierung, Keramikuntersuchungen, der geschlagenen Steinindustrie mit ihren Rohstoffquellen, Reibsteinen, den Faunenresten, den Ergebnissen von archäobotanischen und Holzkohleuntersuchungen. Die späteren Besiedlungsphasen des Fundplatzes werden mit neuen Ergebnissen zu Siedlungskontexten, Radiokarbondatierungen und Fundmaterial der mittleren und späten Bronzezeit und der frühen Eisenzeit vorgestellt