Alojz Benac (20 October 1914 – 6 March 1992) was a Bosnian and Yugoslav archaeologist and historian.

Biography

Benac studied classical philology and archaeology in Belgrade's Philosophy Faculty (1937), and received his doctorate from Ljubljana University (1951). He worked in the

National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Zemaljski muzej Bosne i Hercegovine'' / Земаљски музеј Босне и Херцеговине) is located in central Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and ...

from 1947 to 1967 (in the role of Director from 1957 to 1967). He then left to assume a professorship in archaeology and ancient history in the Faculty of Philosophy of the

University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a public university located in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the largest ...

(1968–78). He later became the founder and first Director of the Centre for Balkan Studies, within the

Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

(ANUBiH), of which he was General Secretary from 1971 to 1977 and President from 1977 to 1981 Benac focused his research on prehistory within the Western Balkans, and undertook numerous systematic archaeological excavations on sites including Arnautovići (

Visoko Visoko ( sr-cyrl, Високо, ) is a city located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the municipality had a population of 39,938 inhabitants with 11,205 liv ...

), Crvena Stijena (

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

), Hrustovača in Hrustovo (

Sanski Most Sanski Most ( sr-cyrl, Сански Мост, ) is a town and municipality located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of the Sana River in northweste ...

), Obre I and II (Kakanj), Zecovi (

Prijedor Prijedor ( sr-cyrl, Приједор, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 89,397 inhabitants within its administrative limits. Prijedor is situated in ...

), Zelena Pećina in

Blagaj Blagaj is a village in the south-eastern region of the Mostar basin, in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It stands at the edge of Bišće plain and is one of the most valuable mixed urban and rural built environments in ...

(

Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...

) and others. He became Chief Editor of the five-volume series "''Praistorija jugoslavenskih zemlja''" (Prehistory of the Yugoslavian countries) (1979–86), as well as several books and articles, including the following: • ''Obre II – neolitsko naselje butmirske grupe na Gornjem polju'' (Obre II – A Neolithic Settlement of the Butmir Group on the Gornje plain) (1971) • ''Prehistorijsko naselje Nebo i problem butmirske kulture'' (The prehistoric settlement of Nebo and the problem of the Butmir Culture) (1952) • ''Glasinac'' Vols I & II (1957; 1959) • ''Studien zur Stein und Kupferzeit im nordwestlichen Balkan'' (Studies on stone and copper age in north-western Balkans) (1962) In 1967, Benac was inducted as a regular member of ANUBiH. During his lifetime, he also became a corresponding member of the Yugoslav/Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts,

Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...

Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( sl, Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti (SAZU)) is the national academy of Slovenia, which encompasses science and the arts and brings together the top Slovene researchers and artists as members ...

, and a member of numerous other international scientific institutions.

Historiography

Nada Miletić and Benac dated the phenomenon of the stećak to the thirteenth century, but this dating has been debated, in particular by Šefik Bešlagić and Dubravko Lovrenović, who date the tombstones to the mid-twelfth century.

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benac, Alojz 1992 deaths 1914 births Members of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina culture University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy alumni University of Sarajevo faculty Yugoslav historians Bosnia and Herzegovina medievalists 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina historians Bosnia and Herzegovina archaeologists