Previous research on archaeological skeletal remains in Bosnia and Herzegovina rarely included odontological analysis. The objective of this research was biological profiling through odontological ...analysis (dental morphological characteristics, estimation of sex and dental age at death) in medieval archaeological skeletal remains samples from Krešića greblje in Paoča (Čitluk municipality, Bosnia and Herzegovina). After the excavations of the archaeological site, odontological analysis was performed before genetic analysis. The sample comprised 22 permanent teeth from 6 individuals. Odontological analysis included odontometric estimation of sex, estimation of age at death by two morphological methods, and an analysis of dental traits and dental pathology. Genetic analysis was used for sex determination. The results of odontological analysis classified all individuals as adults, with estimated age at death 20-25 in one individual, 30-35 in three individuals, 35-45 in one individual, and one individual older than 45 years of age. Odontometric sex estimation was in high concordance with sex determination by genetic analysis, and correctly classified five individuals’ sex (four females and one male). In one individual odontometric sex was assessed as female while genetic analysis revealed male. Morphological dental traits and dental pathology were investigated as well, adding to a better understanding of the odontological characteristics of the medieval population in the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sex and dental age estimation given by odontological analysis provide fast and cost-effective information, and should be performed as an auxiliary before genetic analysis.
Previous research on archaeological skeletal remains in Bosnia and Herzegovina rarely included odontological analysis. The objective of this research was biological profiling through odontological ...analysis (dental morphological characteristics, estimation of sex and dental age at death) in medieval archaeological skeletal remains samples from Krešića greblje in Paoča (Čitluk municipality, Bosnia and Herzegovina). After the excavations of the archaeological site, odontological analysis was performed before genetic analysis. The sample comprised 22 permanent teeth from 6 individuals. Odontological analysis included odontometric estimation of sex, estimation of age at death by two morphological methods, and an analysis of dental traits and dental pathology. Genetic analysis was used for sex determination. The results of odontological analysis classified all individuals as adults, with estimated age at death 20-25 in one individual, 30-35 in three individuals, 35-45 in one individual, and one individual older than 45 years of age. Odontometric sex estimation was in high concordance with sex determination by genetic analysis, and correctly classified five individuals’ sex (four females and one male). In one individual odontometric sex was assessed as female while genetic analysis revealed male. Morphological dental traits and dental pathology were investigated as well, adding to a better understanding of the odontological characteristics of the medieval population in the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sex and dental age estimation given by odontological analysis provide fast and cost-effective information, and should be performed as an auxiliary before genetic analysis.
U članku se donose rezultati arheoloških istraživanja groblja sa stećcima na lokalitetu Krešića greblje - Paoča, općina Čitluk. Arheološka građa koja se analizira dobivena je istraživanjem dijela ...nekropole na kojemu su se nalazila četiri stećka. Istraživanja su važna zbog toga što upotpunjuju dosad malobrojne podatke dobivene arheološkim istraživanjem kao i malobrojne rezultate antropoloških analiza ljudskog osteološkog materijala. Rezultati bioarheološke analize, provedeni na ljudskom koštanom materijalu, sugeriraju da su stanovnici ovoga prostora bili svakodnevno izloženi teškome fizičkom radu.
U radu se nastoji osvijestiti problem nedostatka teorijskih perspektiva u diskursima veznim za proučavanje stećaka. Rezimiraju li se dosadašnja proučavanja fenomena nekropolâ stećaka, evidentno je ...kako su ona na marginama znanstvenih disciplina poput arheologije, povijesti umjetnosti, povijesti, lingvistike i sl. Stoga se javlja potreba za kritičkim razmišljanjem na neke uvriježene i u znanosti ukorijenjene "zakonitosti". Evidentno je kako sukladno napretku epistemološke misli, proučavanje stećaka zahtijeva interdisciplinaran pristup i znatno širi interpretativni okvir. Kritičko promišljanje ne bi bilo moguće bez terenskoga istraživanja autorice ovoga rada, te osvrta na teorijske perspektive u svjetskoj arheološkoj znanosti. Iste će se uzeti kao osnova za nove interpretacije i pokušaj inkorporiranja stećaka u suvremene arheološke tokove. Svrha tako postavljenih istraživanja pokušaj je da se što bolje razumije srednjovjekovna sepulkralna kultura i propitaju postojeće paradigme.
The article presents the results of the archeological excavation of a cemetery with stećaks at the Krešić cemetery - Paoča, municipality of Čitluk. The analyzed archeological materials were obtained ...from excavating part of a necropolis containing four stećaks. The research is important because it supplements the existing scanty data obtained from archeological excavations and the scanty results of anthropological analyses of human osteological materials. The results of the bio-archeological analysis conducted on the human bone samples suggest that the inhabitants of the region had been exposed to heavy physical labor on a daily basis.
For the purpose of a better understanding of the meaning of the medieval landscape, the discourse covers not only the stećci necropolises in the Western Herzegovina but also other visible material ...traces from earlier archeological periods. Just these material traces are indicators of the interaction between space and man who for generations has been projecting his cognitive map onto the environment, shaping it and giving the places new meanings. The paper will discuss the fitting of necropolises of the Western Herzegovina into the natural ambiance, along water courses and springs, former communications lines or by burial sites, which points to the vestiges of pagan beliefs and to the superstitions of the late medieval populations. Since this cannot be corroborated by written traces, the reconstruction of the actions of the late medieval populations in choosing the locations for the burial of their dead will be considered hypothetically. The deliberations of the author are the result of the years-long field work and the consultations of expert literature from theoretical archeology of space and landscape.
The article seeks to raise awareness on the lack of theoretical perspectives in discourses related to studying stecaks. If we summarize previous studies of the stecak necropolises phenomenon, it is ...obvious that they are in the margins of the scientific disciplines such as archaeology, art history, history, linguistics, etc. Therefore it is necessary to give a critical opinion on some ingrained and in the science rooted "regularities". It is obvious that according to progress of the epistemological thought, studying of stecaks requires an interdisciplinary approach and significantly wider interpretative framework. Critical thinking could not be possible without the field research of the author of this article as well as review of theoretical perspectives in the world archaeological science. The same will be taken as the basis for new interpretations and attempt to incorporate stecaks in contemporary archaeological flows. The purpose of the research set in that way is to try to understand medieval sepulchral culture better and question the existing paradigms.
As a unique cultural and artistic phenomenon, the mediaeval tombstones Stećci are distinguished by their numerousness in a wider European area, whereby they greatly contribute to the world cultural ...heritage. The stone reflects, in a lapidary way, the language, alphabet, religion, culture, customs, history and folk art of the mediaeval man. Its development is determined by the permeation of mutual influences of the Western European and Byzantine cultural history.
They have drawn attention of both foreign and home scientists, and have become a subject of multidisciplinary research in the 20th century. In an attempt to reconstruct the truth about their cultural, time period and ethnic belonging, dogmas, heresies and numerous myths have been created in both scientific circles and in the works of famous poets and painters. Setting aside the circumstances of their origin in a society which worshiped either eastern or western funeral customs, they are undoubtedly a symbol of an eschatological contemplative character. This paper highlights the problem of their preservation and research on the original territory, as well as the need for changes in the school curricula.
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