Conference Presentations by Olga S (Perić) Bajčev
In this paper I would like to present aspects of food practices based on functional analysis of p... more In this paper I would like to present aspects of food practices based on functional analysis of painted pottery from the Middle Neolithic site Starčevo-Grad (5900 - 5500 BC) in Southern Banat, Serbia. The material comes from the excavations done by Serbian and American archaeological teams in 1932 and 1969/70. I will discuss actual function of painted pottery based on examination of use-alteration traces on vessel surfaces. Results indicate that painted vessels were not merely used as display pottery. Presence of both abrasive and non-abrasive traces on interior and exterior vessel surfaces indicates that painted vessels were used in different activities of food processing including storage and food preparation.
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The paper aims to present the results of organic residue analysis of pottery in the investigation... more The paper aims to present the results of organic residue analysis of pottery in the investigation of various culinary practices of the Vinča communities of the Middle Morava Valley. It also addresses a problem of determination of actual function of vessels involved in process of preparing, storage and consumption of different types of food. A total number of 50 potsherds from Motel-Slatina and 49 potsherds from Drenovac (Slatina-Turska česma) were carefully selected and studied using a combination of analytical techniques: gas chromatography (GC), gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and gas chromatography combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS). These examinations were combined with analysis of different attributes of pottery - form of vessel, fabric, technology and use-wear traces.
Five types of lipids have been identified: beeswax, ruminant dairy fats, ruminant adipose fats, mixed ruminant adipose/ruminant dairy fats and porcine adipose fats. The results confirmed the use of milk and dairy products on both sites in significant quantity. Presence of beeswax on vessels from Drenovac provided a direct proof for production of honey. The analyses enabled us to identify the vessels which have been used for processing of different types of animal products, especially ruminant dairy fats which were discovered on storage vessels, small and medium-sized bowls and perforated pots.
These researches revealed the importance of milk and dairy products in the diet and provided significant new information about different aspects of food processing in the Late Neolithic settlements.
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Studies of painted pottery of Early and Middle Neolithic of Central Balkans (Starčevo culture, 62... more Studies of painted pottery of Early and Middle Neolithic of Central Balkans (Starčevo culture, 6200 – 5400 BC) are mostly focused on developing chronological sequences of archaeological cultures in the area. Paint color and motifs were the primary tools to create these sequences, which is why other aspects of painted pottery have been neglected. So far little is known about how it was produced and what contributed to what has been viewed as a uniform style.
Since style is a result of learned practice, in this talk I will present different approaches to the phenomenon of painted pottery, which moves the research focus onto the specific knowledge, skills and practices behind style. Several aspects of painted pottery will be discussed: the planning and visualisation of ornamentation, the preparation and use of paint and painting as a motor skill required to create desired effect. Methodological issues and influences of postdepositional effects will be considered. Approach will be presented through the case study from the site Starčevo Grad.
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Осликана неолитска грнчарија југоисточне Европе својим сјајем, бојама и осликаним симболима изази... more Осликана неолитска грнчарија југоисточне Европе својим сјајем, бојама и осликаним симболима изазива научну знатижељу археолога, привлачи пажњу посетилаца музеја, а у давној прошлости утицала је на обликовање културног и визуелног идентитета неолитског света. Кроз радове Владимира Милојчића, Стојана Димитријевића, Милутина и Драге Гарашанин, у српској археологији формирано је мишљење о осликаној грнчарији као кључном елементу дефинисања релативно-хронолошких фаза развоја старијег и средњег неолита југоисточне Паноније, јужне карпатске области и Балкана. Посматрана као «луксузна грнчарија» и стављена на пиједестал врхунских домета неолитске културе, као да је управо због свог куриозитета и луксузности остала недостижна у истраживањима различитих аспеката технологије, стила и свакодневног живота.
Овај рад бави се специфичном врстом осликане старчевачке грнчарије са територије Србије, керамичким посудама осликаним тамно смеђим нијансама на подлози са белим премазом. Ова врста осликаних посуда за сада је пронађена на само неколико старчевачких локалитета као што су Старчево, Црнокалачка Бара, Супска, Дреновац, Павловац – Гумниште и Гривац. Анализа фрагмената осликане грнчарије из Дреновца представља покушај да се на једном узорку сагледају различити технолошки аспекти ове врсте грнчарије и да се отворе нова питања која ће анализу осликане грнчарије померити од анализа релативно-хронолошких система.
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Papers by Olga S (Perić) Bajčev
Social Dimensions of Food in the Prehistoric Balkans, 2018
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Nature, 2015
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This paper presents a study designed to test the assumptions that painted pottery was stationary ... more This paper presents a study designed to test the assumptions that painted pottery was stationary and non-utilitarian, or used only as tableware. Following the object biographical approach, I investigated how the biographies of these vessels can inform us about use activities and whether these activities are linked to food practices. The archaeological contexts of painted pottery from Neolithic sites in the Central Balkans most often do not reflect the use of painted pottery, but rather the way it was discarded. The only way to investigate its actual function was to look at the vessels themselves. Based on this recognition, use-alteration analysis was performed on painted pottery from the site of Starčevo-Grad, Serbia. This case study allowed me to investigate the ‘life-experiences’ of individual vessels and obtain the first direct evidence of how painted vessels were used at this particular site.
Bajčev, Olga
2018 Painted pottery and culinary practices: Use-alteration analysis of painted pottery from the site of Starčevo-Grad. In Social Dimensions of Food in the Prehistoric Balkans. M. Ivanova, B. Athanassov, V. Petrova, D. Takorova, and P. W. Stockhammer, eds. Pp. 86-108. Oxford: Oxbow.
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This paper addresses the issue of Neolithic settlement patterns in the middle Morava Valley in re... more This paper addresses the issue of Neolithic settlement patterns in the middle Morava Valley in relation to pedological features and proposed models of agriculture. The paper has two aims: 1) to test the hypothesis about the differences between the Early/Middle and Late Neolithic in the
criteria used for the establishment of settlements according to pedological features 2) to answer the question whether there was significant preference toward some soil type in Early/Middle and in Late Neolithic. In order to answer these questions method of statistical analysis (chi squared test) was applied. The analysis showed preference towards brown forest soil in both periods, although this preference was proved to be statistically important only in the test for the Early/Middle Neolithic. The results do not oppose the hypothesis that the lighter soils were preferred in the Early/Middle Neolithic, but they do not indicate drastic change and wider exploitation of heavier soil types in the Late Neolithic.
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In this paper we discuss the marine shell objects from old museum collections and recent archaeol... more In this paper we discuss the marine shell objects from old museum collections and recent archaeological excavations at the Neolithic sites in the Morava Valley (Pomoravlje): Slatina–Turska česma in Drenovac, Svojnovo and Pavlovac–Gumnište. The objects have been studied in terms of their raw material, morphology, type of preservation and fragmentation, and traces of manufacture and use. These new finds indicate that the apparent absence of exotic goods in the central Balkans south of the Danube might be the result of insufficient study or overseeing of the material. This paper provides a new insight into the
distribution of prestige items across the central Balkans, which may contribute to further discussions of complex issues of exchange of valuables across continental Europe.
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Within the project aimed at rescuing the archaeological heritage along the newly constructed rout... more Within the project aimed at rescuing the archaeological heritage along the newly constructed route of highway E75, development-led excavations were conducted at the site of Pavlovac-Gumnište near Vranje. Over the excavation season, the eastern edge of the Neolithic settlement was investigated. The large size of the excavated area (2400 m2) offered an opportunity to examine the complex horizontal and vertical stratigraphy. The investigations revealed that Pavlovac-Gumnište is a multi-layered Neolithic site composed of a Starčevo culture layer and at least two subsequent Vinča culture occupation horizons.
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by Alan Outram, Mélanie Roffet-Salque, Pascale Gerbault, Simona Mileto, Jessica Smyth, Lucija Soberl, Alfonso Alday, lotfi belhouchet, Mihael Budja, Gabriel Cooney, Miriam Cubas, Mariana Diniz, Cristina Fabbri, Jesus Gonzalez Urquijo, Daniela Hofmann, Isabel A . Hohle, James Mallory, Slavisa Peric, Olga S (Perić) Bajčev, Anne-Marie Pétrequin, Peter Stadler, Dushka Urem-Kotsou, Nenad Tasic, Sabine Wolfram, Jasna Vukovic, Pierre Pétrequin, Simone Mulazzani, Friedrich Lueth, Martin Mc Gonigle, Alasdair Whittle, and Lydia Zapata The pressures on honeybee (Apis mellifera) populations, resulting from threats by modern pesticid... more The pressures on honeybee (Apis mellifera) populations, resulting from threats by modern pesticides, parasites, predators and diseases, have raised awareness of the economic importance and critical role this insect plays in agricultural societies across the globe. However, the association of humans with A. mellifera predates post-industrial-revolution agriculture, as evidenced by the widespread presence of ancient Egyptian bee iconography dating to the Old Kingdom (approximately 2400 BC). There are also indications of Stone Age people harvesting bee products; for example, honey hunting is
interpreted from rock art in a prehistoric Holocene context and
a beeswax find in a pre-agriculturalist site. However, when and
where the regular association of A. mellifera with agriculturalists emerged is unknown. One of the major products of A. mellifera is beeswax, which is composed of a complex suite of lipids including n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids and fatty acyl wax esters. The composition is highly constant as it is determined genetically through the insect’s biochemistry. Thus, the chemical ‘fingerprint’ of beeswax provides a reliable basis for detecting this commodity in organic residues preserved at archaeological sites, which we now use to trace the exploitation by humans of A. mellifera temporally and spatially. Here we present secure identifications of beeswax in lipid residues preserved in pottery vessels of Neolithic Old World farmers. The geographical range of bee product exploitation is traced in Neolithic Europe, the Near East and North Africa, providing the palaeoecological range of honeybees during prehistory. Temporally, we demonstrate that bee products were
exploited continuously, and probably extensively in some regions, at least from the seventh millennium cal BC, likely fulfilling a variety of technological and cultural functions. The close association of A. mellifera with Neolithic farming communities dates to the early onset of agriculture and may provide evidence for the beginnings of a domestication process.
Authors: Roffet-Salque, M., Regert, M., Evershed, R. P., Outram, A. K., Cramp, L. J. E., Decavallas, O., Dunne, J., Gerbault, P., Mileto, S., Mirabaud, S., Pääkkönen, M., Smyth, J., Šoberl, L., Whelton, H. L., Alday-Ruiz, A., Asplund, H., Bartkowiak, M., Bayer-Niemeier, E., Belhouchet, L., Bernardini, F., Budja, M., Cooney, G., Cubas, M., Danaher, E. M., Diniz, M., Domboróczki, L., Fabbri, C., González-Urquijo, J. E., Guilaine, J., Hachi, S., Hartwell, B. N., Hofmann, D., Hohle, I., Ibáñez, J. J., Karul, N., Kherbouche, F., Kiely, J., Kotsakis, K., Lueth, F., Mallory, J. P., Manen, C., Marciniak, A., Maurice-Chabard, B., Mc Gonigle, M. A., Mulazzani, S., Özdoğan, M., Perić, O. S., Perić, S. R., Petrasch, J., Pétrequin, A.-M., Pétrequin, P., Poensgen, U., Pollard, C. J., Poplin, F., Radi, G., Stadler, P., Stäuble, H., Tasić, N., Urem-Kotsou, D., Vuković, J. B., Walsh, F., Whittle, A., Wolfram, S., Zapata-Peña, L. and Zoughlami, J.
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Conference Presentations by Olga S (Perić) Bajčev
Five types of lipids have been identified: beeswax, ruminant dairy fats, ruminant adipose fats, mixed ruminant adipose/ruminant dairy fats and porcine adipose fats. The results confirmed the use of milk and dairy products on both sites in significant quantity. Presence of beeswax on vessels from Drenovac provided a direct proof for production of honey. The analyses enabled us to identify the vessels which have been used for processing of different types of animal products, especially ruminant dairy fats which were discovered on storage vessels, small and medium-sized bowls and perforated pots.
These researches revealed the importance of milk and dairy products in the diet and provided significant new information about different aspects of food processing in the Late Neolithic settlements.
Since style is a result of learned practice, in this talk I will present different approaches to the phenomenon of painted pottery, which moves the research focus onto the specific knowledge, skills and practices behind style. Several aspects of painted pottery will be discussed: the planning and visualisation of ornamentation, the preparation and use of paint and painting as a motor skill required to create desired effect. Methodological issues and influences of postdepositional effects will be considered. Approach will be presented through the case study from the site Starčevo Grad.
Овај рад бави се специфичном врстом осликане старчевачке грнчарије са територије Србије, керамичким посудама осликаним тамно смеђим нијансама на подлози са белим премазом. Ова врста осликаних посуда за сада је пронађена на само неколико старчевачких локалитета као што су Старчево, Црнокалачка Бара, Супска, Дреновац, Павловац – Гумниште и Гривац. Анализа фрагмената осликане грнчарије из Дреновца представља покушај да се на једном узорку сагледају различити технолошки аспекти ове врсте грнчарије и да се отворе нова питања која ће анализу осликане грнчарије померити од анализа релативно-хронолошких система.
Papers by Olga S (Perić) Bajčev
Bajčev, Olga
2018 Painted pottery and culinary practices: Use-alteration analysis of painted pottery from the site of Starčevo-Grad. In Social Dimensions of Food in the Prehistoric Balkans. M. Ivanova, B. Athanassov, V. Petrova, D. Takorova, and P. W. Stockhammer, eds. Pp. 86-108. Oxford: Oxbow.
criteria used for the establishment of settlements according to pedological features 2) to answer the question whether there was significant preference toward some soil type in Early/Middle and in Late Neolithic. In order to answer these questions method of statistical analysis (chi squared test) was applied. The analysis showed preference towards brown forest soil in both periods, although this preference was proved to be statistically important only in the test for the Early/Middle Neolithic. The results do not oppose the hypothesis that the lighter soils were preferred in the Early/Middle Neolithic, but they do not indicate drastic change and wider exploitation of heavier soil types in the Late Neolithic.
distribution of prestige items across the central Balkans, which may contribute to further discussions of complex issues of exchange of valuables across continental Europe.
interpreted from rock art in a prehistoric Holocene context and
a beeswax find in a pre-agriculturalist site. However, when and
where the regular association of A. mellifera with agriculturalists emerged is unknown. One of the major products of A. mellifera is beeswax, which is composed of a complex suite of lipids including n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids and fatty acyl wax esters. The composition is highly constant as it is determined genetically through the insect’s biochemistry. Thus, the chemical ‘fingerprint’ of beeswax provides a reliable basis for detecting this commodity in organic residues preserved at archaeological sites, which we now use to trace the exploitation by humans of A. mellifera temporally and spatially. Here we present secure identifications of beeswax in lipid residues preserved in pottery vessels of Neolithic Old World farmers. The geographical range of bee product exploitation is traced in Neolithic Europe, the Near East and North Africa, providing the palaeoecological range of honeybees during prehistory. Temporally, we demonstrate that bee products were
exploited continuously, and probably extensively in some regions, at least from the seventh millennium cal BC, likely fulfilling a variety of technological and cultural functions. The close association of A. mellifera with Neolithic farming communities dates to the early onset of agriculture and may provide evidence for the beginnings of a domestication process.
Authors: Roffet-Salque, M., Regert, M., Evershed, R. P., Outram, A. K., Cramp, L. J. E., Decavallas, O., Dunne, J., Gerbault, P., Mileto, S., Mirabaud, S., Pääkkönen, M., Smyth, J., Šoberl, L., Whelton, H. L., Alday-Ruiz, A., Asplund, H., Bartkowiak, M., Bayer-Niemeier, E., Belhouchet, L., Bernardini, F., Budja, M., Cooney, G., Cubas, M., Danaher, E. M., Diniz, M., Domboróczki, L., Fabbri, C., González-Urquijo, J. E., Guilaine, J., Hachi, S., Hartwell, B. N., Hofmann, D., Hohle, I., Ibáñez, J. J., Karul, N., Kherbouche, F., Kiely, J., Kotsakis, K., Lueth, F., Mallory, J. P., Manen, C., Marciniak, A., Maurice-Chabard, B., Mc Gonigle, M. A., Mulazzani, S., Özdoğan, M., Perić, O. S., Perić, S. R., Petrasch, J., Pétrequin, A.-M., Pétrequin, P., Poensgen, U., Pollard, C. J., Poplin, F., Radi, G., Stadler, P., Stäuble, H., Tasić, N., Urem-Kotsou, D., Vuković, J. B., Walsh, F., Whittle, A., Wolfram, S., Zapata-Peña, L. and Zoughlami, J.
Five types of lipids have been identified: beeswax, ruminant dairy fats, ruminant adipose fats, mixed ruminant adipose/ruminant dairy fats and porcine adipose fats. The results confirmed the use of milk and dairy products on both sites in significant quantity. Presence of beeswax on vessels from Drenovac provided a direct proof for production of honey. The analyses enabled us to identify the vessels which have been used for processing of different types of animal products, especially ruminant dairy fats which were discovered on storage vessels, small and medium-sized bowls and perforated pots.
These researches revealed the importance of milk and dairy products in the diet and provided significant new information about different aspects of food processing in the Late Neolithic settlements.
Since style is a result of learned practice, in this talk I will present different approaches to the phenomenon of painted pottery, which moves the research focus onto the specific knowledge, skills and practices behind style. Several aspects of painted pottery will be discussed: the planning and visualisation of ornamentation, the preparation and use of paint and painting as a motor skill required to create desired effect. Methodological issues and influences of postdepositional effects will be considered. Approach will be presented through the case study from the site Starčevo Grad.
Овај рад бави се специфичном врстом осликане старчевачке грнчарије са територије Србије, керамичким посудама осликаним тамно смеђим нијансама на подлози са белим премазом. Ова врста осликаних посуда за сада је пронађена на само неколико старчевачких локалитета као што су Старчево, Црнокалачка Бара, Супска, Дреновац, Павловац – Гумниште и Гривац. Анализа фрагмената осликане грнчарије из Дреновца представља покушај да се на једном узорку сагледају различити технолошки аспекти ове врсте грнчарије и да се отворе нова питања која ће анализу осликане грнчарије померити од анализа релативно-хронолошких система.
Bajčev, Olga
2018 Painted pottery and culinary practices: Use-alteration analysis of painted pottery from the site of Starčevo-Grad. In Social Dimensions of Food in the Prehistoric Balkans. M. Ivanova, B. Athanassov, V. Petrova, D. Takorova, and P. W. Stockhammer, eds. Pp. 86-108. Oxford: Oxbow.
criteria used for the establishment of settlements according to pedological features 2) to answer the question whether there was significant preference toward some soil type in Early/Middle and in Late Neolithic. In order to answer these questions method of statistical analysis (chi squared test) was applied. The analysis showed preference towards brown forest soil in both periods, although this preference was proved to be statistically important only in the test for the Early/Middle Neolithic. The results do not oppose the hypothesis that the lighter soils were preferred in the Early/Middle Neolithic, but they do not indicate drastic change and wider exploitation of heavier soil types in the Late Neolithic.
distribution of prestige items across the central Balkans, which may contribute to further discussions of complex issues of exchange of valuables across continental Europe.
interpreted from rock art in a prehistoric Holocene context and
a beeswax find in a pre-agriculturalist site. However, when and
where the regular association of A. mellifera with agriculturalists emerged is unknown. One of the major products of A. mellifera is beeswax, which is composed of a complex suite of lipids including n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids and fatty acyl wax esters. The composition is highly constant as it is determined genetically through the insect’s biochemistry. Thus, the chemical ‘fingerprint’ of beeswax provides a reliable basis for detecting this commodity in organic residues preserved at archaeological sites, which we now use to trace the exploitation by humans of A. mellifera temporally and spatially. Here we present secure identifications of beeswax in lipid residues preserved in pottery vessels of Neolithic Old World farmers. The geographical range of bee product exploitation is traced in Neolithic Europe, the Near East and North Africa, providing the palaeoecological range of honeybees during prehistory. Temporally, we demonstrate that bee products were
exploited continuously, and probably extensively in some regions, at least from the seventh millennium cal BC, likely fulfilling a variety of technological and cultural functions. The close association of A. mellifera with Neolithic farming communities dates to the early onset of agriculture and may provide evidence for the beginnings of a domestication process.
Authors: Roffet-Salque, M., Regert, M., Evershed, R. P., Outram, A. K., Cramp, L. J. E., Decavallas, O., Dunne, J., Gerbault, P., Mileto, S., Mirabaud, S., Pääkkönen, M., Smyth, J., Šoberl, L., Whelton, H. L., Alday-Ruiz, A., Asplund, H., Bartkowiak, M., Bayer-Niemeier, E., Belhouchet, L., Bernardini, F., Budja, M., Cooney, G., Cubas, M., Danaher, E. M., Diniz, M., Domboróczki, L., Fabbri, C., González-Urquijo, J. E., Guilaine, J., Hachi, S., Hartwell, B. N., Hofmann, D., Hohle, I., Ibáñez, J. J., Karul, N., Kherbouche, F., Kiely, J., Kotsakis, K., Lueth, F., Mallory, J. P., Manen, C., Marciniak, A., Maurice-Chabard, B., Mc Gonigle, M. A., Mulazzani, S., Özdoğan, M., Perić, O. S., Perić, S. R., Petrasch, J., Pétrequin, A.-M., Pétrequin, P., Poensgen, U., Pollard, C. J., Poplin, F., Radi, G., Stadler, P., Stäuble, H., Tasić, N., Urem-Kotsou, D., Vuković, J. B., Walsh, F., Whittle, A., Wolfram, S., Zapata-Peña, L. and Zoughlami, J.