Urbanization in archaeological interpretation: Case study: 'Hellenized settlements' in the Central Balkans

Problem urbanizacije i gradova u arheološkoj literaturi najčešće se rešavao kroz pitanje nastanka država i prvih 'civilizacija'. Kako u starijoj, tako i savremenoj evolucionističkoj literaturi, podrazumeva se da je reč o naseljima zajednica na 'nivou' države i potpuno razvijenog kompleksnog društva. Teorija evolucije, kao evrocentrični pristup, prisutna je i u kulturno-istorijskoj arheologiji na Balkanu gde se koristi za klasifikovanje naselja kao gradova, predstavljajući svojevrsno vrednovanje nasleđa kao 'boljeg' ili 'naprednijeg'. Ovaj rad iz dva različita ugla ispituje problem urbanizacije na primeru tzv. helenizovanih naselja gvozdenog doba Balkana. Prvi je, uz prihvatanje svih postmodernih kritika, primena savremenih evolucionističkih teorija gde se zaključuje da gvozdenodopske zajednice nemaju sve karakteristike kompleksnih društava, što baca određenu sumnju na interpretacije naselja kao gradova. Drugi ugao, kroz pitanje nasleđa i njegove aktivne uloge u savremenom svetu, ispituje razloge za ustaljeno tretiranje ovih naselja kao gradova.In the archaeological literature, the problem of urbanization and the emergence of cities have most often been solved in the framework of the formation of states and first 'civilizations'. Both in traditional and more recent works based on evolutionary theory, it has been presupposed that these are the settlements of the communities on the 'state level', with fully developed complex society. Evolutionary theory, as an Eurocentric approach, is frequently present in the archaeology of the Balkans, used as a tool in the classification of settlements and identification of cities, thus leading to the practice of evaluation of heritage as 'better' or 'more advanced'. The paper examines the problem of urbanization from two theoretical starting points, focusing on the case study of the so-called 'Hellenized settlements' of the Balkan Iron Age. The first line of inquiry is based upon the contemporary evolutionary theory, taking into account the post-modern critique of the approach. The conclusion is that the Iron Age communities do not comply with all the characteristic traits of complex societies, raising considerable doubt concerning the interpretation of the settlements as cities. The second part of the paper examines the issue of heritage and its active role in the modern world, aiming to explain the reasons for the widely accepted interpretation of the Iron Age settlements as urbanized.