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Videos by Vladimir Mihajlovic

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Papers by Vladimir Mihajlovic

Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology 18/3, 2023

The paper reviews previous studies of slavery in the Central Balkan provinces concluding that the... more The paper reviews previous studies of slavery in the Central Balkan provinces concluding that the issue was marginal and has received very limited research attention. It also attempts to outline possible future directions for investigating archaeological evidence suggestive of an enslaved population. First, it explores funerary contexts that indicate the interments of slaves in a few urban necropolises, aiming to stimulate further discussion of similar cases. Similarly, the paper revises several architectural examples that may have been associated with slaves, mostly from imperial estates and residences, but also from one fortified metallurgical complex. Although the views expressed here are hypothetical and tentative, the purpose of the paper is to emphasize the importance of keeping the topic open and trying to improve our analytical and methodological tools for dealing with it.

Recueil du Musée national de Serbie 26/1, 2023

Systematic archaeological research of the eastern necropolis of Remesiana began in 2018 (Јанковић... more Systematic archaeological research of the eastern necropolis of Remesiana began in 2018 (Јанковић и др. 2021). During the last two research campaigns (2021–2022), 21 grave units were examined, making up for a total of 50 burials in the eastern necropolis of Remesiana. As in the previous years, a diversity in grave forms can be noted – aside from the largest number of burials in common pits, a brick grave was discovered, as well as funerary objects with a platform for a “sigma” table (mensa-type graves). It is precisely the discovery of the mensa-type graves (4 in total) that represents one of the most important traits of this Late Antique necropolis, since this type of graves hasn’t been archaeologically researched in the territory of Serbia up to now. Even though a large number of luxurious items comes from thenecropolis (gilded fibulae, silver hairpin), as well as other items of exceptional production quality, their distribution is not in a correlation with grave forms – such items are equally present in funerary constructions and graves with common pits, and burials of both adults and adolescents. It is also important to point out that most of the buried individuals in this necropolis are children, many of whom were new-borns. It is interesting to note that in the cases of new-borns there are no complex grave constructions, instead, they were all laid into simple shallow pits. It can be assumed that there was a wooden casket in only one case (G47), while in other cases it is more probable that they could have been wrapped in cloth. These burials were most probably unmarked, because a large number of such graves was damaged, and bones were often found dislocated in infills of other graves. There were no grave goods in any of the preserved graves of new-borns, which leads us to assume that children of this age were treated differently in comparison to the rest of the community. The necropolis is characterised by a high preservation level of both grave constructions and items discovered in graves, which makes it exceptionally important for all future research not only of funerary practices, but also the life of the inhabitants of the Late Antique Remesiana.

Archaeological Theory at the Edge(s), 2023

The paper continues the discussion about the characteristics, advantages, and limitations of the ... more The paper continues the discussion about the characteristics, advantages,
and limitations of the so-called ontological/material turn and posthumanist perspectives in archaeology. It specifically focuses on the application, possibilities of improvement, and usefulness of these theoretical approaches within Roman archaeology. After reviewing the current debate, the “pros and cons,” it is proposed that materialities, as well as relational associations composed of various kinds of entities in general, cannot be divorced from ideational aspects that humans inevitably bring in. Therefore, it is suggested that the critical synthesis of material-ideological antagonism is required, because it is impossible to separate relational associations (aka. assemblages, constellations) from power distribution, as well as that their qualities, capacities, and agency are not neutral, but, on the contrary, hegemonic. Some examples from the Balkan-Pannonian part of the Roman Empire are provided in an attempt to clarify the reasoning.

Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology, 2022

The paper considers the issues related to slavery in the Central Balkans in the proto-historic i.... more The paper considers the issues related to slavery in the Central Balkans in the proto-historic i.e. Late Iron Age period. It is conceived as a first step towards more profound future study, and deals with the history of research and theoretical-methodological approaches to the problem of slavery among the Late Iron Age communities. The text revisits earlier interpretations of slavery derived from ancient written accounts and archaeological evidence, and then offers insights that rely on recent research of slavery in general, and in prehistoric period in particular. Finally, it is argued that it is necessary to consider the possibility of 'societies with slaves' when researching the Central Balkan Iron Age communities, even though they are often regarded as 'small-scale societies' that profoundly differed from the Mediterranean 'slave societies'.

Beautiful Bodies Gender and Corporeal Aesthetics in the Past, 2022

The paper considers burials that contained mirrors in two Roman period necropolises from the prov... more The paper considers burials that contained mirrors in two Roman period necropolises from the province of Moesia Superior – Viminacium and Demessus. Using the qualitative and quantitative analysis and comparisons of grave assemblages I address the issue of the roles mirrors had played within the provincial social setting. By examining the archaeological contexts of mirrors in burials I question if the widespread supposition about connection between mirrors and specific gender and age is as obvious and straightforward as generally held. Although the literary, visual and archaeological evidence from Rome and Italy suggests that mirrors were the prominent piece of the female beauty kit (mundus muliebris), the discussed case studies do not completely conform to the presumed rule. This raises several important questions that I tackle in the paper: how and to what extent the idea of mirrors as a device for feminine beauty had spread in the province of Moesia; was the bond of mirrors and certain age cohorts of females indeed so clear-cut; did the graves containing mirrors exclusively belonged to young unmarried or newly married females; could we speak of general social and gender class of “women” or such categorisation actually misses very important nuances of identity and oversimplifies the picture; were there other social and gender categories associated and buried with mirrors.

Glasnik Srpskog arheološkog društva 37, 2021

Etnoantropološki problemi, 2021

The paper reviews long-standing interpretation of the late Iron Age site of Židovar as "Celtic", ... more The paper reviews long-standing interpretation of the late Iron Age site of Židovar as "Celtic", "Dacian" and "Celto-Dacian". Arguing that this standpoint is derived from biased culture-historical ethno-determinism, the evidence is reconsidered from excavation journals of Branko Gavela and published research on Židovar. Evidential basis is discussed, such as sratigraphic difficulties and chronology, as well as some common misconceptions of the site's characteristics. Deadlocks are emphasized regarding the conclusions on its ethnic belonging. The paper calls for a new approach that goes beyond ethno-cultural determinism and urges the employment of "relational locality". This perspective considers the site and its immediate surroundings as the first order community, i.e. the spatio-social focal point entangled in diverse, multidirectional and supra-regional relational networks. This would mean that the community of Židovar actively mediated different templates coming from the "globalized" koines of La Tène Pannonian, Danubian-Carpathian and Roman worlds, and bricolaged them in distinctive local ways.

Issues in ethnology and anthropology, 2021

Pervading Empire: Relationality and Diversity in the Roman Provinces (https://elibrary.steiner-verlag.de/book/99.105010/9783515127387), 2020

Beyond the Romans: Posthuman Perspectives in Roman archaeology, eds. I. Selsvold and L. Webb. Oxbow Books, TRAC series 3., 2020

The common academic view asserts that funerary monuments were used as status markers, communicati... more The common academic view asserts that funerary monuments were used as status markers, communicating various identifications of the deceased, simultaneously distinguishing them as singularized social personae, and placing them within the various groups of social peers. Funerary monuments are seen as discursive devices and rhetoric statements about the dead, produced and capitalized by the living. Nevertheless, drawing from ‘posthumanism’ perspectives, the question arises whether the ‘objects’ of funerary monumental-epigraphic practice could be instead understood as ‘subjects’ of agency per se. The paper discusses the possibility that funerary monuments were comprehended as ‘living things’ and interactive members of (local/residential/family) communities, mediating between this and ‘other’ worlds. Through their materiality, by appropriation of identification data, visual representations of the deceased or allegoric references to their lives, along with the spatial association to the resting place of a body, and the part played in mortuary ritualized behaviors, funerary monuments could have assumed the role of the reified biographical entities. Their capacity to integrate various concepts, mobilize different meanings and practices, articulate ‘the presence of the absent’ and the state of ‘in-betweenness’ could have made them powerful incarnated agents in their own right. Using the postulates of actor-network and theory entanglement theories the papers offers a view on how could inscribed funerary monuments participate in the network of relationalities between the living and dead, past, present and future and in what ways could they acted as material part of the concept of the deceased.

Sastre, I. and Currás, B. X. (eds.) Alternative Iron Ages: Social Theory from Archaeological Analysis, 218–256. London: Routledge., 2019

Very convenient opening lines for the questions addressed in the remainder of this chapter have b... more Very convenient opening lines for the questions addressed in the remainder of this chapter have been provided by Appian many centuries ago:

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, 2019

The paper considers cultural and imaginative construction of the Ister/ Danube, and its implicati... more The paper considers cultural and imaginative construction of the Ister/
Danube, and its implications in the creation of the limes area of the provinces of
Moesia and (part of) Pannonia. It discusses how the Danube was used as an element
in construing the Scordisci as a Roman enemy and (pseudo)ethnic tribe, what was the
meaning of this connection, and did such conceptualization have real repercussions
in the area of waterscape associated with the ‘tribe’. It is proposed that the Danube
emerged as a hydrographical frontier thanks to its specific longue durée symbolic
meaning of liminality embedded in the imperialistic agency in the course of creating
provincial/frontier/imperial space. The basic point is that the ancient imagological
tradition had an important effect on the construction of Roman imperial space thanks to
the intellectual and political elites’ capacities to shape powerscapes by projecting their
own conceptualizations of the world into the webs of relations under their influence.

The paper reviews the conventional notion of the straightforward relation between the presence of... more The paper reviews the conventional notion of the straightforward relation between
the presence of warrior equipment, its quantity and quality, and the warrior status of the deceased
in the area of middle Danube by revising the evidence from Karaburma necropolis. It
is argued that the concept of the warlike late Iron Age Scordisci is derived from ancient written
accounts and that the role of war and violent character of communities in the middle Danube
region are overemphasized and uncritically taken as an axiom. The paper suggests other
possible paths of interpretation which point to the diversification of social roles, possible
professionalization within the late Iron Age social structure, as well as (probably) diverse
meanings and utilization of weaponry in the funerary context.

Reflecting Roman Imperialisms, 2018

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Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology 18/3, 2023

Recueil du Musée national de Serbie 26/1, 2023

Archaeological Theory at the Edge(s), 2023

Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology, 2022

Beautiful Bodies Gender and Corporeal Aesthetics in the Past, 2022

Glasnik Srpskog arheološkog društva 37, 2021

Etnoantropološki problemi, 2021

Issues in ethnology and anthropology, 2021

Pervading Empire: Relationality and Diversity in the Roman Provinces (https://elibrary.steiner-verlag.de/book/99.105010/9783515127387), 2020

Beyond the Romans: Posthuman Perspectives in Roman archaeology, eds. I. Selsvold and L. Webb. Oxbow Books, TRAC series 3., 2020

Sastre, I. and Currás, B. X. (eds.) Alternative Iron Ages: Social Theory from Archaeological Analysis, 218–256. London: Routledge., 2019

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, 2019

Reflecting Roman Imperialisms, 2018

The Edges of the Roman World, 2014

Along the last two decades, Iron Age research on Western Europe has moved away from classical evo... more Along the last two decades, Iron Age research on Western Europe has moved away from classical evolutionist narratives towards a new understanding of social formations. Strong hierarchies, warrior aristocracies, chiefdoms, centralized landscapes… are not seen any more as a necessary and consubstantial part of Iron Age. Under the light of a new social theory, "non triangular societies", heterarchy, segmentarity have been identified inside complex political landscapes showing that "different iron ages" exist.

Bandrol Uygulamasına İlişkin Usül ve Esaslar Hakkındaki Yönetmeliğin 5. Maddesi'nin ikinci fıkras... more Bandrol Uygulamasına İlişkin Usül ve Esaslar Hakkındaki Yönetmeliğin 5. Maddesi'nin ikinci fıkrası çerçevesinde bandrol taşıması zorunlu değildir.

status -points to community-wide rituals of feasting and cooking that cross-cut those more indivi... more status -points to community-wide rituals of feasting and cooking that cross-cut those more individual identities. These rituals suggest that a complex negotiation of group identity was occurring at all levels of society. The use of feasting and food as a means of strengthening communal ties is well attested in ethnographic contexts, and the ritual of graveside feasting can be seen as an important locus through which individuals and groups may negotiate their membership of the community at large (Brey 2003; Dietler 1996 Dietler , 2001. Of course, the burials of Peucetia cannot be interpreted as static reflections of one communal identity anymore than they can be seen to represent a single individual identity. They are clearly constructed as combinations of these facets, they are not solely indicative of one aspect but are complex and layered articulations. They reflect the very nature of identity as fluid and dynamic, and must surely be interpreted as composite constructions containing both individual and communal aspects simultaneously. This paper seeks to foreground this complexity and to stress the active role that all members of the community had in the creation of sociocultural identity.

Pervading Empire: Relationality and Diversity in the Roman Provinces, 2020

Pervading Empire addresses the issue of diversity within the Roman Empire and promotes interpreta... more Pervading Empire addresses the issue of diversity within the Roman Empire and promotes interpretations that go beyond general and often abstract theoretical framings. The baseline of the volume is the notion that reality is created by the endless and multi-directional relations of different human and inhuman actors, and that the sorts and modes of correlations create specific phenomena.
The volume offers a variety of theoretically and methodologically well-informed geographical, chronological and thematic case studies, written by established and emerging specialists in the field of Roman Studies, on a range of different research questions such as the integration in the Roman world, inter-cultural perceptions, (mis)communications, transfers and exchanges, transformations of social structures and landscape, patterns of consumption and related identities and the dynamics in the sphere of religion among others. Thereby, Pervading Empire demonstrates the complex and fluctuating nature of the Roman world and emphasizes the fertility of such approaches within Roman Studies.

Apstrakt: Period mlađeg gvozdenog doba (c. III v. pre n.e.-I v.n.e) na području centralnog Balkan... more Apstrakt: Period mlađeg gvozdenog doba (c. III v. pre n.e.-I v.n.e) na području centralnog Balkana i južne Panonije decenijama je u istoriografiji i arheologiji bio sagledavan kao vreme dominacije plemenske zajednice keltskih Skordiska. Razumevanjem populacija koje su u poslednja tri veka stare ere živele na pomenutom području kao kompaktne etničke celine, uslovilo je da se i njihovi kontakti i odnosi sa Rimskom imperijom tumače kao interakcije dva jasno omeđena etno-kulturna entiteta. Sleđenjem antičkih pisanih izvora, relacije između Rimljana i Skordiska shvatane su kao jednolinijski proces postepenog potpadanja pod rimsku vlast, od inicijalnih sukoba i manje-više konstantnih neprijateljstava do konačnog pokoravanja i romanizovanja Skordiska. U disertaciji se preispituju epistemološke osnove i teorijskometodološki pristupi pomoću kojih su formirana navedena tumačenja i ukazuje se na drugačije mogućnosti interpretacije ovog dela prošlosti i problema interkulturnih odnosa na relaciji lokalne zajednice i Rimska imperija. Upotrebom teorijskih postulata koji su unutar arheologije proklamovani postprocesnim pristupom, rad se fokusira na mogućnosti upotrebe konstruktivističke teorije o identitetima. Shvatanjem pojedinačnih i grupnih određenja kao pluralnih, situaciono uslovljenih i promenljivih načina svrstavanja, skreće se pažnja na pristupe lišene etničkog determinizma koji je, od kraja XIX veka, dominirao arheološkim i istoriografskim proučavanjima protoistorijske i antičke epohe u domaćem akademskom kontekstu. Kritičkim preispitivanjem konstitutivnih činilaca postojećeg akademskog narativa o Skordiscima i procesu njihove romanizacije, u radu se ukazuje da su dosadašnje interpretacije bile pod suviše jakim uticajem vizura iz antičkih pisanih izvora i modernih teorija o etnosu/naciji kao najvažnije vrste kolektivnog identiteta. Pošto su i antički literarni izvori i moderne teorije o nacionalnom grupisanju nastale u specifičnim socio-političkim i ideološkim okolnostima, njihove perspektive nemaju karakter objektivnih naučnih pristupa za tumačenje identitetskih određenja kasnogvozdenodopskih zajednica na označenom području. Odatle, u disertaciji se predlaže da je pojam Skordisci antička imagološka konstrukcija za okvirno označavanje i pseudo-etničko definisanje balkanskih i južnopanonskih "varvara", koja je nekritički preuzeta i dalje reifikovana u domaćoj istoriji i arheologiji. Udaljavanjem od pretpostavke da Skordisci predstavljaju jedinstvenu etničku zajednicu u radu se predlažu drugačiji interpretativni putevi za sagledavanje kasnogvozdenodopskih socio-kulturnih struktura i njihove integracije sa Rimskom imperijom. Uzimanjem u obzir sheme naseljavanja i pogrebne prakse, ukazuje se da su u poslednja dva veka stare ere na području južne Panonije i Balkana postojale mnogobrojne zajednice na mikroregionalnim i regionalnim nivoima, koje se pre mogu okarakterisati kao heterogene i heterearhične/segmentarne/korporativne, nego kao hijerarhijski organizovana i centralizovana plemenska zajednica Skordiska. Ovakvim pristupom se problematizuje pitanje etniciteta, u smislu preispitivanja koliko je ovakav vid društvenog grupisanja uopšte bio važan u kasnogvozdenodospskom svetu. Posledično, interakcije sa Rimskom imperijom ne mogu se tumačiti kao jednosmeran socio-kulturni uticaj Rimljana na Skordiske, niti romanizovanjem skordističke kulture, već kao čitav niz različitih lokalizovanih odnosa, od nivoa pojedinaca do nivoa manjih geografskih područja. S tim u vezi, rad preusmerava pitanje interkulturnih odnosa od generalizirajućih koncepata kompaktnih kultura (rimske i skordističke) na partikularna iskustva i raznovrsne ishode interakcija, koji su zavisili od konteksta u kojima su se odigravali i različitih društvenih aktera koji su u njima učestvovali. Ključne reči: Interkulturni odnosi, rimski imperijalizam, Skordisci, centralni Balkan, južna Panonija, mlađe gvozdeno doba, romanizacija, konstrukcije identiteta, antički pisani izvori, etnički determinizam Naučna oblast: Arheologija Uža naučna oblast: Arheologija Abstract: Inside Serbian/Yugoslavian historiography and archaeology, the late Iron Age (c. III c. BCE-I c. CE) of the Central Balkans and Southern Pannonia has been for decades seen as a period of domination of the Celtic Scordisci. The understanding of the populations of mentioned areas as compact ethnic whole caused the interpretations of their contacts and relations with the Roman Empire as interaction between two clearly defined ethno-cultural entities. Following the ancient written sources, modern scholars have been conceptualized these interactions as linear process of the Scordiscian gradual subjugation by the Romans, starting from the initial conflict and almost constant enmity to consequent Romanization. The thesis reviews epistemological backgrounds and methodological approaches used in the construction of these interpretations, and points to other possibilities for studying the late Iron Age in the region as well as the problem of intercultural relations between the local communities and the Roman Empire. Drawing on theoretical postulates proclaimed inside the post-processual archaeology, thesis focuses to the possibilities of the usage of constructivist theory of identities. By understanding the individual and group identifications as plural, situational and changeable ways of affiliation, the attention is directed to the interpretative approaches deprived of ethnic determinism which dominated Serbian/Yugoslavian Iron Age and Classical studies since the end of the 19 th century.

Roman Heritage in Serbia: Academia, Education and the Public, 2023

Rimsko nasleđe u Srbiji: nauka, prosveta i javnost, 2023

Ova monografija je štampana uz finansijsku pomoć Ministarstva prosvete, nauke i tehnološkog razvo... more Ova monografija je štampana uz finansijsku pomoć Ministarstva prosvete, nauke i tehnološkog razvoja Republike Srbije u okviru projekta Vojvođanski prostor u kontekstu evropske istorije ISBN: 978-86-6065-521-1 NAPOMENA O AUTORSKOM PRAVU: Nijedan deo ove publikacije ne može se preštampavati, reprodukovati ili upotrebiti u bilo kom obliku bez pisanog odobrenja autora, kao nosioca autorskog prava.

Етноантрополошки проблеми, н. с. год. 14 св. 3 , 2019

Metaarheologija je knjiga koja se ne može u potpunosti uporediti ni sa jednom iz svog akademskog ... more Metaarheologija je knjiga koja se ne može u potpunosti uporediti ni sa jednom iz svog akademskog polja i koja izlazi iz uobičajenosti arheološke i istoričarske literature. U stvari, jedna od prvih zapitanosti prilikom svakog od (za sada) četiri čitanja knjige bila mi je ,,kako je, za ime sveta, iko uspeo da ovako nešto sastavi i napiše?!" Posledično, prikazivanje štiva ove vrste ne predstavlja lak poduhvat i rizikuje da bogatu sadržajnost ošteti prostim pobrajanjem poglavlja i tematskih celina ili umanji kratkim prepričavanjem glavnih zaključaka. Upravo iz ovih razloga je ovaj prikaz samo grubo mapiranje glavnih tokova koje je autorka sledila i upućivanje na najvažnija naravoučenija koja nam Staša Babić u svom tekstu srdačno nudi. Metaarheologija - Ogled o uslovima znanja o prošlosti bavi se manje ili više vidljivim i nevidljivim ali veoma jakim i sveprisutnim nitima kojima je izatkano znanje unutar arheologije. Ovakvih ,,saznajnih vlakana" najčešće nismo svesni ili se, čak i kada jesmo, ne udubljujemo previše u razmišljanja o njihovoj važnosti, putanjama i moći nosivosti. Mimo metaforičkih poštapalica, predmet istraživanja knjige je arheološka epistemologija, u smislu međuzavisnosti i međusobnih uticaja filozofije nauke i opšteg ustrojavanja naučnog znanja s jedne, i naučnih disciplina koje se bave prošlošću, a prven-stveno arheologije, s druge strane.