Eneolithic Cultures of Central and West Balkans

Abstract

The study of Eneolithic sites and cultures, and of the Eneolithic in general, does not have a long tradition in former Yugoslavia. If we take as its starting point the systematic excavations of Ig (Ljubljansko Barje) carried out by K. Deschman in 18751 we are left with a period of some 120 years. Extensive material has been collected during that time, relating to Eneolithic settlements and necropolises, the material and non-material culture of the period, the relative and absolute dating of the cultures, cultural groups, and their variants, as well as the period as a whole, so that it is now possible to offer a fairly accurate synthetic survey of the development of the cultures, their stylistic and typological features.