The FLOW project – a contribution to the study of the cultural transmission of the central Balkan communities and the neighboring regions in later prehistory

Abstract

The paper presents the basic research principles of the project THE FLOW (Interactions-Transmission-Transformation: Long-distance connections in Copper and Bronze Age of the Central Balkans), which is carried by the Institute of Archaeology in Belgrade, Institute of Nuclear Sciences “Vinča, and the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. The theoretical and methodological perspectives of the project research engage an interdisciplinary approach based on analytical techniques incorporated within archaeology and natural sciences such as physics and chemistry. The project's goal is to apply an exact method to the problems of the origin of raw materials for the production of four specific groups of objects made of obsidian, pottery, copper, and bronze. Each of those materials represents a unique problem and requires a specific treatment, presented within this paper, together with the existing practice, analytic techniques, and methodological procedures for the collected samples. Further, the project incorporates the collection of absolute dates through AMS and OSL dating, with the application of the latest OxCal 4.4. calibration. The acquired dates, combined with the disposition of samples and raw materials will serve as a backbone for the creation of spatio-temporal models and the formation of an SQL database, all with a goal to create the interpretative basis for the study of local paleo-economies, long-distance connections, and social networks in the Central Balkans during the Copper and Bronze Age.