Bosnia and Herzegovina in Prehistoric Times

The exhibition Bosnia and Herzegovina in prehistoric times is located on the ground floor and in the gallery of the eastern wing of the Department of Archeology building. Carefully selected 3,000 archaeological finds through specially emphasized thematic units provide a chronological insight into the development and sequence of cultures of prehistoric periods. The earliest traces of modern human activity in these areas during the older Stone Age (Paleolithic) are documented in different forms of stone and bone tools and weapons. Changes in the organization of economic and social life that followed during the Younger Stone Age (Neolithic) were also reflected in the material remains of cultures characterized by the production of ceramic dishes as well as new techniques in the manufacture of stone products. The Copper Age (Eneolithic) is characterized by the use of metal, i.e. copper, which increasingly replaced bone and stone in the manufacture of tools and weapons. During the Bronze and Iron Ages, the use of various bronze and iron artifacts had far-reaching consequences for the further development of human communities, characterized by new forms of material and spiritual culture, the development of mining and metallurgy, and increasingly pronounced social differentiation.

Following the traces of material culture, the exhibition Bosnia and Herzegovina in Prehistoric Times illustrates the everyday life of scientifically identified prehistoric communities – from the culture of housing, economic activities to beliefs and art, reconstructing relationships within themselves as well as connections with other communities. This exhibition emphasizes general cultural achievements, the development of trade and technology, social contacts, the exchange of experiences, knowledge and ideas, the entire dynamics of life in a space that throughout a long period of prehistory was intensively involved in, or in some aspects even shaped, the social and cultural trends of the then known world.

The exhibited materials are accompanied by corresponding texts, drawings and photographs, as well as reconstructions of prehistoric houses, ceramic and metallurgical workshops and processes made according to authentic archaeological data, which aim to make it easier for visitors to understand the purpose, way of use and meaning of individual objects in the context of everyday life in different prehistoric periods.

Some of the sites from which the exhibited items come are: Badanj in Borojevići near Stolac, Butmir near Sarajevo, Obre I and Obre II near Kakanj, Lisičići near Konjic, Hrustovača cave near Sanski Most, Pivnica in Potočani near Odžak, Pod near Bugojno, Donja Dolina near Bosanska Gradiška, Ošanjići near Stolac, Jezerine, Ribić and Ripač near Bihać, Glasinac area.