Anthropologists at war?

This guest editorial addresses issues to do with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. An initial statement by one professional association prevaricates on the cause of the war by blaming NATO expansion. Here the story is told of why statements need to be unambiguous in their condemnation of Russia, which is not to say that this makes for ‘NATO anthropologists’ as some have claimed on social media.     

Sulphur isotope evidence for freshwater fish consumption: a case study from the Danube Gorges,SE Europe

To explore the use of sulphur isotopes as an indicator of the consumption of freshwater fish, we undertook sulphur isotope analysis on bone collagen extracted from humans and animals from five archaeological sites from the Danube Gorges region dating from the Mesolithic to the middle Neolithic periods. The results show a difference in the sulphur isotope values between freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems of 8.7‰. To reconstruct human diets, bone collagen from 24 individuals was analysed for carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotopic values. The nitrogen isotope ratios ranged from 10.3 to 16.5‰ and the carbon isotope ratios ranged from −20.8 to −18.3‰. Low nitrogen isotope values were found for individuals with low sulphur isotope ratios reflecting the low sulphur isotopic values of the terrestrial animals. The highest human nitrogen isotope values coincided with higher sulphur isotope ratios, which are related to the higher sulphur isotope values of the freshwater fish. Intermediate human sulphur isotopic ratios between these two extremes showed mixed diets of both terrestrial and freshwater resources.     

Iron Age Diet at Sisak,Croatia: Archaeobotanical Evidence of Foxtail Millet (Setaria Italica [L.] P. Beauv.)

Recent excavations at Sisak, Croatia, unearthed an Early Iron Age pot filled with archaeobotanical remains within the floor of a structure dating to between the sixth and fourth centuries BC. Burnt in situ the archaeobotanical remains provide unique evidence for diet and agriculture in a region where archaeobotanical evidence is rare. The preliminary results from this analysis are outlined here, with a focus on the discovery of foxtail millet (Setaria italica [L.] P. Beauv.) and its contribution to the diet of the Early Iron Age population at Sisak.     

Nationalist geographies in interwar Yugoslavia: manoeuvring between national and transnational spaces

Taking into consideration several seemingly contradictory characteristics of Yugoslav geography, this article examines the employment of transnational spaces by the competing nationalist geographical narratives in interwar Yugoslavia. Though preoccupied with Yugoslavia and its political crises, at the beginning and the end of the interwar period Yugoslav geographers were concerned with international political developments, especially in East Central Europe. There were tensions between a geographical region and a national space as a preferred framework of research as well as between the belief that the political, economic and cultural development of Yugoslavia was unique and that it was comparable to development of other parts of East Central Europe. The determinist understanding of the nation as shaped by the physical landscape emphasized not only the ability, but also the necessity, of nationalist geographies to function on multiple spatial levels. Yugoslav geographers used the conceptual apparatus developed by French and German geographical traditions to establish a comparative framework in which they elaborated on various geographical characteristics of Yugoslavia, especially those politically significant, by referring to other European countries because it seemed difficult to describe the new country in terms of itself. German Geopolitik became particularly influential and, although taking different stands on it, several Yugoslav geographers pointed to geopolitical similarities with Czechoslovakia and Poland to draw conclusions regarding Yugoslavia. But geographical comparison had ambiguous implications, as it was used both to fortify and challenge the interwar Yugoslav state.     

Ruptures and continuities in nationhood narratives: reconstructing the nation through history textbooks in Serbia and Croatia

While the (mis) use of history to fuel particular constructions of the nation is well‐documented in the literature, the ways in which nationhood narratives and national ideologies evolve and transform over time are rarely explored. When ruptures – such as state failure or civil war – occur, interpretations of history and nationhood narratives cannot be completely rewritten. Rather, they need to follow up upon previous, established versions, relying on anchoring motives that offer a minimum level of continuity. Relying on a systematic analysis of over forty years of history revisionism in Serbia and Croatia (1974 to 2017), I demonstrate the discursive ways in which nationhood narratives evolved over time and space: from the dismantling of the former common Socialist narrative, replacement with new ethno‐national narratives, the bumpy transformations through the democratic transitions, to the gradual consolidation into the ‘new’ reconstructed nationhood narratives prevailing in the two countries today.     

Effect of the joint type on the bearing capacity of a multi–drum column under static load

The results of an experimental study on the effect of the joints between the blocks on the ultimate bearing capacity of a multi-drum column loaded to centric vertical force and horizontal force in the middle of its height are shown. The column is approximately 2.5 m high, with one hinge at the top and another hinge at the bottom. Four types of joints between the blocks were considered: a dry joint (column C-DJ) and joints with stone powder (column C-SPJ), lead (column C-PBJ), and epoxy (column C-EPJ). The applied vertical and horizontal forces, horizontal displacement, vertical strains, and horizontal circumferential strains in the middle of the column height, as well as shortening of the column, were measured. Under axial compression, ratios between the ultimate load bearing capacities of tested columns were C-EPJ: C-DJ: C-SPJ: C-PBJ = 1: 0.68: 0.59: 0.51. The bearing capacity of the tested columns with regard to the horizontal force depended on the level of the applied centric compression force. Columns with soft joints (C-PBJ, C-SPJ) had the largest shortening and the largest horizontal displacements for the equal forces.     

Exploring the Concept of (Un)familiarity: (Un)familiarity in Border Practices and Identity-Formation at the Slovenian–Croatian Border on Istria

In border region studies, the concept of (un)familiarity is applied in empirical studies of consumer culture across borders, illustrating how feelings of unfamiliarity can have an off-putting influence on cross-border interaction (e.g. because of dislike of or lack of attraction to the other side) at the same time as it can be an incentive for people living at borders to cross them (e.g. to explore the exotic other side). The concepts explanatory scope has, thus, far responded to the normative claim that a borderless Europe encourages and increases mobility. However, in previous studies applying the concept of (un)familiarity, an explanatory problem remains concerning people's unarticulated and perhaps deeper reasons for mobility and lack thereof. This leaves a question mark as to why feelings of (un)familiarity occur in the first place as well as the actual degree to which they constitute barriers and provide incentives for mobility. The concern in this article is to deepen our understanding of the concept of (un)familiarity. It enriches the bandwidth of the unfamiliarity concept by relating it to a notion of socio-spatial identity-formation, which takes into consideration the psychological aspects involved when identities form. By doing so, the concepts explanatory scope is extended, making it possible to explain some of the complexity involved when feelings of (un)familiarity occur. It, thus, also answers the question why (un)familiarity cannot be translated into normative claims about cross border mobility.     

St Paraskeve in the Balkan Context

The cult of the great saints is usually much wider and involves more than their hagiographies alone. These, as a special literary genre, have to consider strict compositional principles and an even stricter church canon. Not even the apocryphal hagiographies, although they most often originate in oral tradition, can completely escape the influence of these norms, which come into play as soon as an oral legend starts gaining the form of a literary composition. The cult is rather freer and much less dependent on the Church. Once they become a part of popular religion, the officially recognised saints almost invariably enter a ready-made semantic field that acts as their natural surroundings. Here, by the working of many generations, they build up the multilayered, developed, often unexpected, but always logical connections with the tradition and the culture to which they belong. These fertile and inescapable interactions are reflected in elements of folklore, especially folk literature, from the major prose forms like folktales and epic poetry, to the so-called minor genres (nursery rhymes, incantations, proverbs, and so on). In association with other elements of material and spiritual traditional culture (such as rites, customs and beliefs), stories about the saints tended to spread everywhere, rendering their roots and influences difficult to elucidate.