Research groups

Archaeological Perspectives on Identity and Death – IARH APIS

Graves and cemeteries as archaeological sources are shaped by the community’s relationship to the body and to the final resting place of individuals and groups in the past. The study of cemeteries broadens the perspective on past communities beyond everyday existential activities, extending it into the spiritual realm. Cemeteries reflect people’s relationships with the landscape, material culture, animals, and plants. The existence of sacred places and landscapes shaped by past communities also bears witness to their spiritual heritage.

The research group Archaeological Perspectives on Identity and Death – IARH APIS focuses on the study of graves, cemeteries, and ritual spaces—from archaeological excavations and post-excavation analyses to integrated interpretations that combine contextual analysis with bioarchaeological data. Current research topics include individual identities and shared community identities, the health of past populations, diet and lifestyle, mobility, communication, connections expressed through material culture and customs, the relationship between contemporaneous cemeteries and settlements, and human adaptations to changes in climate, resources, and society through time. Case studies and planned research from continental and Adriatic Croatia examine these open questions and contextualize them within the framework of current themes in European archaeology.

Members of the IARH APIS research group:

Researchers: Juraj Belaj, Katarina Botić, Marko Dizdar, Siniša Krznar, Daria Ložnjak Dizdar, Sebastijan Stingl, Tatjana Tkalčec, Marina Ugarković

Assistants and Senior Assistants: Pio Domines Peter, Mateja Hulina, Tea Kokotović, Martina Korić

Head of the research group: Daria Ložnjak Dizdar

Competitive scientific projects carried out in the framework of the research group

Croatian Science Foundation projects

Transforming the Adriatic cosmos: insularity, connectivity and glocalized identities of pre-Roman Dalmatia– AdriaCos[ak4], CSF, IRP-2020-02-2419, PI Marina Ugarković

Internal projects of the Institute – NextGeneration EU (NPOO)

Medieval communities on the eastern Adriatic coast through the prism of interdisciplinary cemetery research (MedComm), PI Siniša Krznar
Transformation of identities through past (TIPS), PI Marina Ugarković

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IARH SPECTRA - Spatial, Technological, and Socio-Economic Transformations

The research group Spatial, Technological and Socio-Economic Transformations (IARH SPECTRA) studies the processes through which past communities shaped, used, and experienced the spaces in which they lived. Special attention is devoted to the emergence and development of different types of settlements—rural, proto-urban, and urban agglomerations —and to fortifications; to economic zones and communication networks within diverse landscapes; and to understanding the social meanings of these spaces. The aim is to trace long-term changes in the relationship between humans and the environment through a diachronic approach, and to analyse strategies of natural resource use, adaptation to environmental conditions, and the organization of space for habitation, production, and economic activities. In this context, material culture is essential for understanding everyday life and social relations. By analysing technological and economic practices, as well as the ways objects were used, reused, and discarded, insights are gained into the production, function, and distribution of material goods. By integrating material and environmental data, a comprehensive analytical framework is developed that allows for the interpretation of everyday life, the economy, and the spatial organization of past communities, with an emphasis on understanding human life in its inseparable connection with the environment and on reconstructing the development of cultural landscapes and spatial dynamics over time.

Members of the IARH SPEKTRA research group:

Researchers: Antonela Barbir, Katarina Botić, Hrvoje Kalafatić, Tena Karavidović, Ana Konestra, Saša Kovačević, Andreja Kudelić, Goranka Lipovac Vrkljan, Ivana Ožanić Roguljić, Tajana Sekelj Ivančan, Bartul Šiljeg, Tatjana Tkalčec, Asja Tonc, Snježana Vrdoljak

Assistants and Senior Assistants: Jere Drpić, Mateja Hulina, Natali Neral

Head of the research group: Ana Konestra