On some fundamental problems in the study of Balkan prehistory

Abstract

No other discipline is determined by external issues to such a degree as is archaeology. Let it suffice to mention the fact that very important archaeological finds are usually not discovered by archaeologists, but by amateurs and farmers in fields. Further, the direction of archaeological investigations is generally not defined by scientific reason, but by cultural, political and economic interests, including tourism and construction activity. Hence, one consequence is the lack of systematic research strategy. This inevitably leads to a poorly argued scientific synthesis, which has to be corrected every few years, or completely rejected. Such problems burden archaeological practice in all parts of Europe, yet the discipline has still not developed a comprehensive strategy for the systematic resolution of these issues. Due to a combination of different circumstances, all of these problems are particularly prominent in the study of prehistory of the Balkans, and this will become apparent from the tree examples presented in the paper.