Page 81 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 13(2) (2025)

tive appropriation and active reinterpretation in onally between Histrian Nesactium and Libur-
the second half of the 9th and early 8th centuries nian Nin. Its archaeological heritage is therefore
BCE, whereby imported items and formal con- crucial for understanding regional and supra-re-
cepts were integrated into the local aesthetic and gional social and cultural processes in the Adri-
symbolic system. Such combinations – for ex- atic landscape during the rise of the last prehis-
ample, the pairing of typologically distinct fib- toric millennium.
ulae, amber, and glass – indicate the existence of
prescribed visual codes and socially recognisable Acknowledgements
dress compositions. These did not merely reflect Zrinka Ettinger Starčić (Lošinj Museum, Mali
economic activity or material value but also the Lošinj), Maja Čuka (Archaeological Museum of
social control of the symbolic meanings of jewel- Istria, Pula), Morana Čaušević-Bully (University
lery, particularly in the context of female identi- of Franche-Comté – UMR Chrono-Environne-
ty and status. ment), and Dženi Los (Kaducej, Zagreb) enabled 81
In the Osor graves, however, ceramic vessels me to study, process, and publish the material cul-
are absent, although their fragments are found ture from both earlier and recent investigations of
around the graves at all necropolises. This clear- the Osor burials. Specialised analyses of the osteo-
ly reflects the rites performed during and after logical remains, as well as of the geochemical com-
the burials, including post-mortem vessel-break- position and isotopic signatures of bronze and am-
ing ceremonies, as observed in the graves at Sv. ber, were carried out by Mario Novak (Institute
Marija, Sv. Katarina, and Mala Prepoved, as well for Anthropological Research, Zagreb), Wayne
as the deliberate destruction – or ritualisation – Powell (Brooklyn College of CUNY), Mate-
of objects at the ceremonial cremation sites on usz Cwaliński (University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk),
Kavanela, which were undoubtedly accompa- and Dorota Wojewódka (Museum of Amber,
nied by funerary festivities (Mladin 1960; Blečić Gdańsk). Drawings were prepared by Monika Pe-
Kavur and Kavur 2024, 21). trović (Archaeological Museum of Istria, Pula)
In synthesis, the new data significantly en- and Valeria Medić (Zagreb). Endless discussions
hance our understanding of Osor’s archaeology and constructive critiques were once again gene-
of death and its representative material culture, rously provided by my Boris Kavur (University of
Primorska, Koper). The valuable comments of the
portraying the Osor community as a devel- two reviewers significantly improved the text. I The Emergence of the Iron Age in Osor Through Representative Material Culture
oped and hierarchically organised society with extend my sincere thanks to all of you.
clearly defined practices and traditions. The re- The author acknowledges financial sup-
sults of integrated interdisciplinary approach- port from the Slovenian Research and Innova-
es, which continue to be applied, enable Osor’s tion Agency for the Osor beyond the myth (N6-
graves to be understood not merely as a collec- 0292) and From Sea to Sea (N6-0297) projects.
tion of valuable finds, nor the material culture
simply as a passive or one-dimensional reflec- Catalogue of Graves
tion of daily life, but as an active and inclusive
medium of identity, ideology, and social memo- Preko Mosta
ry. Through this perspective, contacts and con- During infrastructure works in 2018, part of the
nections with the Adriatic and broader Europe- necropolis on the Lošinj side of Kavanela was
an spheres – particularly in the procurement of excavated.
diverse raw materials – become apparent. With- Grave 8: Extremely poorly preserved small
in this framework, Osor is confirmed as a princi- bones and cranial remains were placed on an
pal island centre and an interpretative model of earthen substrate covering a small-levelled pla-
a regional hub, both in vertical and horizontal teau of bedrock. Near the grave, two small amor-
connections across the Kvarner, as well as diag- phous ceramic fragments were found.