Laboratory for Bioarchaeology

The Laboratory for Bioarchaeology was established in 2008, as a teaching and research unit of the Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy – University of Belgrade. Bioarchaeology includes research and analysis of organic material from archaeological sites, namely through scientific disciplines of physical anthropology, archaeozoology and archaeobotany. The Laboratory was founded in order to improve the teaching process in the field of bioarchaeology, by means of interaction of lectures and research. The Laboratory provides macroscopic and microscopic analyses of human and animal remains, and collaborates with various institutions equipped for DNA, stable isotope and lipid analysis. The Laboratory houses two collections, the Palaeoanthropological and the Archaeozoological reference collection.

The Laboratory staff  have performed bioarchaeological analyses from a great number of archaeological sites and bioarchaeological collections, which extend in time from the earleist prehistory, up to the late medieval period, overwhelmingly in Serbia, but also some in Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Croatia. Research has been conducted through several major projects funded by European scientific funds (BEAN: Bridging the European and Anatolian Neolithic: demography, migration, and lifestyle at the advent ofcivilization, 2012-2015; PREFERT – PrehistoricFertility: length of lactation during Mesolithic and Neolithic of South-Eastern Europe (9500-5500BC), 20013-2014; the first ERC project in Serbia – BIRTH – Births, mothers and babies: prehistoric fertility in the Balkans between 10000-5000 BC,  2015-2020),  national scientific funds (Bioarchaeology of the ancient Europe: people, plant and animals in prehistory of Serbia (III47001), 2011-2020; ARCHAEOWILD – History of human-wildlife conflicts and coexistence during the Holocene in the Central Balkans, 2022-2024; NEEMO – Neanderthal and Early Modern Human interactions in the Central Balkans, 2022-2024), as well as many smaller scientific and cultural projects, international cooperation and cooperation with domestic institutions.

The Laboratory researchers are enthusiastic about creating and taking part in projects related to the wider community, as they believe that science can greatly contribute to the development of society. They organize workshops for children and youth, exibitions, take part in cultural manifestations like “Night of museums” and “Days of discoveries”, as well as various minor projects in which archaeology is utilised as a tool for developing scientific literacy among students.