Regional absolute chronologies of the Late Neolithic in Serbia (RACOLNS)

Regional absolute chronologies of the Late Neolithic in Serbia (RACOLNS)

 

Partners

Institute for Balkan Studies, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Laboratory for bioarchaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade
Archaeological Institute

 

Coordinators and researchers

Miroslav Marić, PhD, Institute for Balkan Studies, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, project coordinator
Jelena Bulatović, PhD, Laboratory for bioarchaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade
Nemanja Marković, PhD, Archaeological Institute

 

About the project

The RACOLNS project aims to create precise regional chronologies of absolute dates obtained by combining the results of radiocarbon dates of organic samples and statistical seriation of ceramic assemblages collected during archaeological excavations of sites. During project course, a minimum of 5 archaeological sites date to the period of Vinča culture will be processed for samples and ceramic finds analysed statistically to produce data for the application of Bayesian modelling which will create absolute chronology of the site that can be used as a reference for future research of this period in the surrounding region of the analysed site. This method will demonstrate the potential of archive archaeological data for the construction of a referential chronological grid that would be used to precisely measure events occurring throughout the span of the Vinča culture in different geographic regions of the Central Balkans and southern Panonnia that it occupies for almost a whole millennium. The grid of reference points (one point is one analysed site) will aid a better understanding of the dynamics of the development of Vinča style pottery tradition communities and the changes that engulf the area of the Central Balkans during the late sixth and the first half of the fifth millennium BC.

 

Goals

  1. Creation of precise chronologies of absolute dates for the Late Neolithic Vinča period in different regions of Serbia

  2. Precise chronological definition of changes in material culture of Vinča communities

  3. Demonstration of advantage in using Bayesian modelling for absolute chronology of periods and the proposal of a template to use on other periods of prehistory in Serbia

  4. Dissemination of knowledge about the importance of precise absolute dating of the prehistory of the Balkans

 

Support and duration

RACOLNS is funded by Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia between 2020 and 2022.

Projects