Female costume from the Early Iron Age period at Glasinac in the heart of Western Balkans

Abstract

The article discusses female costume from the Early Iron Age period at Glasinac. For this purpose, graves from tumuli in Podilijak, Ilijak and Pešter, which on the basis of characteristic jewellery can be defined as female, have been analysed. Anthropological analyses further revealed that among these female graves there are also infant or girl interments, which particularly stand out as regards their costumes, rich in jewellery. Our research demonstrated that the female costume was not uniform, but rather varied. Moreover, it appears that the costume had been specific and designative of social status of single female individuals within the framework of their family/clan communities and can accordingly be seen as reflecting the social role of these females.