National Museum Čačak

National Museum Čačak

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The Bronze Age

After the turbulent Copper Age, when the mobile cattle breeders rotated on the wide Balkan territory, the beginning of the Bronze Age represent a very important phase regarding the new techological revolution and the beginning of ethical formation of paleobalkanian tribes. Beside the massive usage of bronze for weapon and jewelery production, the specifity of this period, which lasted from the mid of 3rd millenium BC until the end of the 2nd millenium BC, is a completely new relation to the sepulcral cult. Only two settlements were found – a hillfort of Sokolica in Ostra and Slatina in Gornja Gorevnica, that the most probably points on cattle breeding ecomony of this period. The main characteristic of the Bronze Age in this region is exclusively erection of the tumuli, whose excavation enabled a good base for better understanding of the period.

The biritual burying of the deceased was practiced during the Early Bronze Age; the pottery represented the majority of grave goods, rarely weapon made of stone. A special characteristic represented grave structures in the form of a cist, made of stone slabs. The early phase belongs to the culture named as Belotić – Bela Crkva, which is typical for western Serbia. During the later Bronze Age phases, the grave inventory became more rich, especially in bronze jewelery. Burial remained biritual, while incineration prevails. New ceramic urns shapes are tied to the synchronous cultures from serbian Danube region, especially to the Belegiš culture, through the recognizable local expression named as Westserbian variant of the Middle Bronze Age. The Late Bronze Age represents the period of great changes dated to the transition to the 1st millenium. In the Čačak region it is still pretty unknown period, despite numerous excavations and surveys of terrain.

The Bronze Age period is presented by characteristic material from mounds – ceramic urns or specific jewelery made of bronze (torcs, spectacle-shaped pendants, bracelets et al.), out of which certain items represent the unique examples, the most probably made in the territory of the western Serbia, very likely in the Čačak vicinity.