On May 30, 2011, at 12:30 PM, at the Department of Archaeology of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade, I defended my master’s thesis titled: “The Industry of Chipped and Polished Stone from the Neolithic Site of Rug Bair near Gorubinci, in a Broader Regional Context” before a committee consisting of Dr. Dušan Mihailović (mentor), Dr. Nenad Tasić, Dr. Dragana Antonović, and Dr. Boban Tripković. With this, I obtained the title of Master of Science in Archaeology (M. Sci.), which is just one step away from a doctorate, and given the weight of my thesis, that certainly won’t escape me. 🙂
Before enrolling in archaeology studies in Skopje, I was involved in speleology and was a member of the speleological society “Peoni” for many years. Thus, at the beginning of my studies, my attention was directed towards caves, the oldest prehistoric periods, and the tools those people made. My love for stone industries developed gradually, as I did not have adequate lectures at the Department of Archaeology in Skopje. These studies are still deficient today, making this faculty the only one in the world that produces flawed archaeologists who do not receive lectures on prehistory (domestic and world), alongside the lack of information on artifacts typical of these periods.
To round off my knowledge in processing stone collections, I participated in numerous archaeological field teams at Paleolithic and Neolithic sites across the Balkans and Europe. This enriched my field and laboratory expertise in lithic material. My development as a specialist in stone artifacts was greatly supported by many colleagues, both domestic and foreign. I extend immense gratitude to them and to the committee members for their valuable feedback on my thesis. Special thanks to my archaeologist colleagues from Macedonia who contributed to this scientific work.
During my 12-year work on collections, primarily of chipped stone artifacts, I was fortunate to receive assistance from Mr. Nedeljko Đorđević, a geologist from Kumanovo. Sadly, he passed away ТХЕ year just before I completed the full processing of the archaeological material. In honor of his invaluable contributions, I dedicate this thesis to my friend, Uncle Đokica, the only geologist who truly loved archaeologists and supported them until the end of his life. I also extend my gratitude to Prof. Dr. Blažo Boev from the Faculty of Mining and Geology in Štip for his help in the petrological processing of the material.
Serving as a guide for processing polished tools, chipped tools, and abrasive instruments, it includes essential tables and codes for scientific analysis, aiming to aid future archaeologists. I hope it will be available in both e-version and hard copy, reflecting my persistent and exciting journey through Balkan archaeology.
I am proud to have uncovered unpublished material from a museum depot in Macedonia, highlighting our country’s archaeology on the world scientific map. As Caius Titus once said in the Roman Senate, “Verba volant, scripta manent” (Words fly away, what is written remains forever).
– Abstract–
This work uncovers unpublished stone finds from the 1970 Rug Bair excavation, housed in the Museum and Institute in Štip, Republic of Macedonia. Through scientific processing, it aims to provide a comprehensive view of the raw material, technical, and typological characteristics of the Neolithic stone industry from this site and its relation to similar industries.
The stone items from Rug Bair were categorized into chipped, polished, and abrasive tools. Petrographic and technological-typological analyses were conducted, defining the basic categories and types based on morphological characteristics. The results and analogies with other Neolithic cultures in the southeastern Balkans help clarify regional processes during the Neolithic period.
The scarcity of stone artifacts in Macedonian Neolithic collections is due to non-recognition of lithic material, lack of sieving and flotation, and researchers’ selective retention of finds. Stone tools remain under-analyzed in Macedonian archaeology, with a predominant focus on ceramics.
This thesis aims to consolidate the study of the stone industry, contributing to and facilitating future research for archaeologists in the Republic of Macedonia.
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Keywords: Neolithic, Rug Bair, Amzabegovo-Vršnik, Macedonia, raw materials, chipped, polished, stone, abrasive, tool.