Central Bosnian culture () was a
Bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
and
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
cultural group. This group, which ranged over the areas of the upper and mid course of the rivers
Vrbas (to
Jajce
Jajce (Јајце) is a town and municipality located in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 7,172 inhabitants, with ...
) and
Bosna (to
Zenica
Zenica ( ; ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna (river), Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. Th ...
, but not including the
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
plain), constituted an independent cultural and ethnic community. Typical of this group are hillfort-type settlements located close to the major areas of cultivable land, with a high standard of housing. Around 120 hilforts belonging to this culture were identified in the area of
Central Bosnia
Central Bosnia (, ) is a central subregion of Bosnia, which consists of a core mountainous area with several basins, valleys and mountains. It is bordered by Bosnian Krajina to the northwest, Tropolje (Livno area) to the west, Herzegovina to the ...
. This group is commonly associated with the later
Illyrian tribe of
Daesitiates
Daesitiates were an Illyrian tribe that lived on the territory of today's central Bosnia, during the time of the Roman Republic. Along with the Maezaei, the Daesitiates were part of the western group of Pannonians in Roman Dalmatia. They were pr ...
.
Periodization
Central Bosnian culture coexisted with
Glasinac culture
The Glasinac-Mati culture is an archaeological culture, which first developed during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in the western Balkan Peninsula in an area which encompassed much of modern Albania to the south, Kosovo to the east, Monte ...
. One of the most significant sites of this group is
Fortress Pod in
Bugojno
Bugojno ( sr-cyrl, Бугојно) is a town and municipality located in Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on river Vrbas, to the northwest from Sarajevo. Acco ...
which was declared as national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Stratified
Stratification may refer to:
Mathematics
* Stratification (mathematics), any consistent assignment of numbers to predicate symbols
* Data stratification in statistics
Earth sciences
* Stable and unstable stratification
* Stratification, or st ...
material found in Pod as well as other fortified settlements helped define this cultural group of
late Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
.
Archaeologist identified 7 phases of this cultural group. Phase 1 was from middle of 11th to 8th century BC and Phase 2 was from 750/725 until 625/650 BC. Phases 3 and 4 that lasted from 625/650 till 450 BC were characterized by big fortifications like those in Lašva,
Kiseljak
Kiseljak (Кисељак) is a town and municipality located in Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies in the valley of the Fojnica River, the Lepenica and the Kreševka ...
and in Sarajevo field. This period is marked by increased use of
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
. These period saw development of fortress Pod and
Debelo Brdo which were important factor in the economy of wider area.
From 450 to 300 BC pottery mainly retained its style, but there is influence from
Glasinac culture
The Glasinac-Mati culture is an archaeological culture, which first developed during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in the western Balkan Peninsula in an area which encompassed much of modern Albania to the south, Kosovo to the east, Monte ...
and early
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
types of jewelry, buckles, rings and other items. This was a result of increased trading connections between the valleys of rivers Bosna and Vrbas to
Pannonian plain
The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewhat different sense, with only the ...
and also between the valley of
Neretva
The Neretva ( sr-cyrl, Неретва, ), also known as Narenta, is one of the largest rivers of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. Four HE power-plants with large dams (higher than 150,5 metres) provide flood protection, power and water s ...
that was open to
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
. Final phase laster from 3 to 1 BC
that saw rapid shift to incineration of the dead. Necropolis Kamenjača in
Breza contained urns and other items from Central Bosnian culture, but also Celtic and
Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
artifacts.
There is possibility that Kamenjača was a cult place.
Artifacts
Pottery had characteristic Western Balkan geometric style of late Bronze Age. It is characterized with strict symmetry and abstract art. There are numerous artifacts pointing to developed metallurgy. This culture had access to copper, gold, lead, silver and iron ore in Central Bosnia.
Right up until the beginning of 3rd century BC burial of the dead was common practice as evidenced by Warriors tomb in Vratnica,
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 livi ...
from 4th century.
See also
*
Illyrians
The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo ...
*
Pod
*
Glasinac culture
The Glasinac-Mati culture is an archaeological culture, which first developed during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in the western Balkan Peninsula in an area which encompassed much of modern Albania to the south, Kosovo to the east, Monte ...
*
Early history of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Within the boundaries of today's Bosnia and Herzegovina, there have been many layers of prehistoric cultures whose creation and disappearance are linked to migrations of unidentified ethnic groups.
Prehistory
The Paleolithic in Bosnia is marked ...
Sources
*
* Andrijana Pravidur,
Prilog poznavanju metalurških središta željeznodobnih naselja Srednje Bosne u svijetlu novih istraživanja (A contribution to the knowledge of the metallurgical centers of the Iron Age settlements of central Bosnia) –
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 ...
, Sarajevo, 2011
References
{{Reflist
External links
Early Iron Age in Central Bosnia – an overview and research perspectives (2018)
Bronze Age cultures of Europe
Archaeological cultures in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Prehistory of Southeastern Europe
Iron Age Bosnia and Herzegovina
Iron Age cultures of Europe
Illyrians
Illyrian Bosnia and Herzegovina