Hearts and ovens in the Neolithic of the Central Balkans - building techniques and usage

Predmet istraživanja disertacije je utvrđivanje načina izrade i funkcije peći i ognjišta u neolitu centralnog Balkana, zanemarenih u dosadašnjim istraživanjima. Cilj istraživanja, pored definisanja tehnika korišćenih za izradu ognjišta i peći i njihove funkcije u ranom i kasnom neolitu ovih prostora, jeste i sistematizacija tipova termalnih struktura. Tehnike izrade predstavljaju društveno uslovljene kategorije i nemoguće je odvojiti ih od ostalih kulturnih aspekata, te su u ovoj disertaciji ponuđeni potencijalni društveni razlozi odabira konkretnih tehnika izrade. Na osnovu podataka iz publikovane literature i nepublikovane terenske dokumentacije, određeni su tipovi ognjišta i peći. U određivanju tehnika izrade, ključnu ulogu ima pravilno detektovanje materijala od kojeg su izrađene strukture. Kod ognjišta, u funkcionalnom smislu, odabir materijala ne predstavlja značajan podatak, dok je kod peći krucijalan, pošto određuje njene akumulativne sposobnosti i način pripreme hrane. Pretpostavlja se da su peći, između ostalog, služile za pripremu hleba. Pretpostavljene tehnike izrade i upotreba, testirane su eksperimentalnom izradom i upotrebom ognjišta i peći. Pored utvrđivanja tehnika izrade, rezultati eksperimenata su ukazali na mogućnost pripreme dva različita tipa hleba – lepinja u ranom i hleba od kiselog testa u kasnom neoltu. Predložena je i nova metodologija iskopavanja peći, putem koje je moguće odrediti tačne tehnike njene izrade. Primenom ove metodologije tokom iskopavanja peći sa lokaliteta Vinča, utvrđeno je da je peć izrađena u tehnici pločica, tehnici koja do sada nije razmatrana prilikom rekonstrukcija načina izrade vinčanskih peći. Upoređivanje karakteristika termalnih struktura sa ostalim kulturnim aspektima, pokazalo je da su na izbor tehnika izrade ognjišta i peći značajnu ulogu mogli imati stepen mobilnosti u ranom i sedentarnosti u kasnom neolitu. Obradom ranoneolitskih peći sa Lepenskog vira, utvrđen je jedinstven tip peći na Balkanu i šire, koji je mogao biti posledica kulturnog kontakta između dve populacijeThe aim of this research, besides defining building techniques and usage of hearths and ovens in the Early and Late Neolithic of this territory, is the systematization of thermal structure types. Building techniques are social constructs and one cannot separate them from other cultural aspects. With that in mind, this dissertation explores potential social phenomena which influenced these technical choices. Hearth and oven types were determined based on the data collected both from published literature and unpublished field documentation. Accurate detection of thermal structure building material plays the key role in the determination of building techniques. Material type does not pay a significant role in hearth function, while it is crucial when ovens are concerned. Oven material determines its ability to store heat, which affects its performance in food preparation. It is supposed that ovens, inter alia, were used for bread baking. Experimental hearths and ovens were made in order to test their assumed building techniques and usage. Besides determining construction techniques and usage, experiment results showed that during the Neolithic, two different bread types could have been prepared – flatbread during the Early, and sourdough bread during the Late Neolithic. New oven excavation methodology was proposed. This methodology allows the archaeologists to determine exact building techniques used for oven construction. By applying this methodology during the excavation of an oven from the site of Vinča, we were able to detect its building technique. The oven was built in the slab technique, which, up until now,was not considered as a Vinča culture oven construction method. After comparing thermal structure characteristics with other cultural aspects, certain social elements for hearth and oven technical choices emerged. These technical choices could have been influenced by the higher mobility rate in the Early and the pronounced sedentism in the Late Neolithic. At the site of Lepenski Vir, a unique oven type was detected. This unique technical choice could have been a result of cultural contact between two different population