The Glasinac-Mati culture is an
archaeological culture
An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between thes ...
, which first developed during the
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 prin ...
and
Early 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 ...
in the western
Balkan Peninsula
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
in an area which encompassed much of modern
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...
to the south,
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...
to the east,
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = ...
, southeastern
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...
and parts of western
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
to the north. It is named after the
Glasinac
Glasinac is a karst plateau, situated in the eastern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Romanija mountain, in the middle of Dinaric Alps. The main feature of the plateau is the Glasinačko Polje (), a polje of 22 square kilometres, 7 km long ...
and
Mati type site
In archaeology, a type site is the site used to define a particular archaeological culture or other typological unit, which is often named after it. For example, discoveries at La Tène and Hallstatt led scholars to divide the European Iron A ...
areas, located in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania respectively.
The Glasinac-Mati culture represents both continuity of middle Bronze Age practices in the western Balkans and innovations specifically related to the early Iron Age. Its appearance coincides with a population boom in the region as attested in numerous new sites which developed in that era. One of the defining elements of Glasinac-Mati is the use of
tumuli
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...
burial mounds as a method of inhumation. Iron axes and other weapons are typical items found in the tumuli of all subregional variations of Glasinac-Mati. As it expanded and fused with other similar material cultures it came to encompass the area which was known in classical antiquity as
Illyria
In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...
.
Nomenclature
The term "Glasinac-Mati" was coined in 1974 by archaeologists Frano Prendi and Klaus Kilian independently of each other.
The word "Mat" is the indefinite variant of Mati in Albanian. As such, the term may appear in bibliography as "Glasinac-Mat" or simply as "Glasinac" (a reference to being the earliest type site that was identified and studied). "Mat-Glasinac" is an alternative of the binomial term.
Other terms include "Mat-Glasinac-Drilon", as a reference to the particular variant which developed in historical Dardania and Glasinac-Burrel as a more narrow reference to the type site in Mat, which is located near
Burrel
Burrel (alternate forms ''Burrel'', ''Mat'') is a town in northern Albania, 91 km from Tirana. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision and the seat of the municipality Mat. It was the seat of the former District of Mat. ...
.
Sites
Research in Glasinac began in 1880 after the chance discovery of a burial mound of an Iron Age priest. The discovery signified the beginning of organized archaeological research in the region. From 1888 to 1897, a total of 1,234 mounds were excavated. They contained 1,000 tumuli with 3,000 to 5,000 finds in total. The first catalogues of the finds in Glasinac were produced in 1956-57 by archaeologists
Alojz Benac
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 Ljubljan ...
and
Borivoj Čović. In 1981, a revised catalogue which included an additional 192 graves from the Iron Age was produced by archaeologist Nora Lucentini. In total, 352 graves have been analyzed and subsequently catalogued. They represent 7%-12% of excavated finds in the graves of the Glasinac type site area.
The Mat and lower
Fan river valleys in the area of the
Zadrima plain developed tumuli sites which contained graves of a warrior class whose material culture matched that of Glasinac. These burial sites typically included many weapons and armor. They remained in use until the 4th century BCE when new burial practices emerged. In central Albania, the Glasinac-Mat culture is represented in the tumuli of Pazhok which appeared in the Late Bronze Age (c. 1300 BCE). Further to the south are the Late Bronze Age tumuli of Barç and the closely related early burials of Kuç and Zi, near present-day
Korçë
Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau som ...
, which represent the southernmost extension of the Glasinac-Mati culture. The 9th-8th century fortifications of Symizë, Bellovodë, Bilisht, and Tren near the
Small Prespa Lake, could also be related to them. The Drin river valley to the north-east of Mat around
Kukës and to the east up to present-day
Debar
Debar ( mk, Дебaр ; Albanian: ''Dibër''/''Dibra'' or ''Dibra e Madhe;'' ) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, near the border with Albania, off the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality. Debar has ...
is marked by burial sites which appear in the Late Bronze Age and are closely linked to the Mat valley sites. These sites in turn are related to the sites which developed in western Kosovo around the
Prizren
)
, settlement_type = Municipality and city
, image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg
, imagesize = 290px
, image_caption = View of Prizren
, image_alt = View of Prizren
, image_flag ...
area such as the site of
Romajë.
Culture
Ceramics
The ceramic corpus of the Glasinac-Mati group followed geometric patterns. It developed no significant variations until the late Iron Age. In Albania, excavated sites on both sides of the
Shkumbin river have yielded little significant evolution in decorative patterns and forms until the end of the 6th century BCE.
Interpretation
The Glasinac-Mati culture represents a local material development of the communities which emerged in the east Adriatic. These groups became known as
Illyrians
The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan populations, a ...
in historical times. Despite its eventual spread, the Glasinac-Mati culture is neither the "definitive" Illyrian material culture, nor is it the only material culture which developed among the historical Illyrians. The Glasinac-Mati culture also developed its own variants. It is classified as the central Illyrian group among related material cultures which were observed in the Iron Age with which it interacted. In total, at least six material cultures have been described to have emerged in Illyrian territories. Based on existing archaeological finds, comparative archaeological and geographical definition about them has been difficult.
See also
*
Hallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European culture of Late Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallstatt C, Hallstatt D) from the 8th to 6th centuries ...
*
Urnfield culture
The Urnfield culture ( 1300 BC – 750 BC) was a late Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremating the dead and p ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
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Archaeological cultures of Southeastern Europe
Archaeological cultures in Albania
Archaeological cultures in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Archaeological cultures in Croatia
Archaeological cultures in Kosovo
Archaeological cultures in Montenegro
Archaeological cultures in Serbia
Prehistory of Southeastern Europe
Iron Age cultures of Europe
Iron Age Bosnia and Herzegovina
Iron Age Serbia
Illyrian Albania
Illyrian Bosnia and Herzegovina
Illyrian Kosovo
Illyrian Montenegro
Ancient peoples
Illyrians
History of Dalmatia
Glasinac plateau