Bioarchaeology of Ancient Europe: People, Animals and Plants in the Prehistory of Serbia

The prehistoric heritage of Serbia is an inseparable and significant part of the European culture. People who had established the(Pre-)Neolithic cultures of Lepenski Vir, Starčevo or Vinča,are among the founders of Ancient Europe. Yet, much of this heritage has remained inadequately explored when it comes to today available scientific methods in the study of the past. Our team of experts consists of competent archaeologists, physical anthropologists, archaeozoologists, archaeobotanists, molecular biologists and chemists. We will research the interactions among humans as well as the web of relations established at various times between humans, animals and plants, in order to better understand transitions from the hunting lifestyle to crop-growing as one of the most important steps in the human evolution. By applying modern methods of analysis, from various natural sciences, by direct analyses of human, animal and plant remains,as well as through archaeometric procedures on artefacts, we will get answers with regard to questions about the beginnings and consequences of accepting the Neolithic way of life, which had profound impact for the further development of the humankind.The team will analyse ancient DNA by PCR, the traces of lipids, by GC-MS,as well as non-organic remains, using XRF methods. The program will enable our researches to contribute to the exploration of some the most important phenomena of European prehistory,such as,the first use of milk and dairy products.