Papers by Jelena Bulatović
Ancient chicken remains reveal the origins of virulence in Marek’s disease virus
Science 382(6676):1276-1281, 2023
The pronounced growth in livestock populations since the 1950s has altered the epidemiological an... more The pronounced growth in livestock populations since the 1950s has altered the epidemiological and evolutionary trajectory of their associated pathogens. For example, Marek’s disease virus (MDV), which causes lymphoid tumors in chickens, has experienced a marked increase in virulence over the past century. Today, MDV infections kill >90% of unvaccinated birds, and controlling it costs more than US$1 billion annually. By sequencing MDV genomes derived from archeological chickens, we demonstrate that it has been circulating for at least 1000 years. We functionally tested the Meq oncogene, one of 49 viral genes positively selected in modern strains, demonstrating that ancient MDV was likely incapable of driving tumor formation. Our results demonstrate the power of ancient DNA approaches to trace the molecular basis of virulence in economically relevant pathogens.
Svinjarička Čuka in Serbia: Highlights from 8000 to 3000 Years Ago, 2025
Папир коришћен у овој публикацији је сертификован према DIN EN ISO 9706 стандарду и испуњава усло... more Папир коришћен у овој публикацији је сертификован према DIN EN ISO 9706 стандарду и испуњава услове за трајно складиштење писаног културног наслеђа.
Dating the Late Neolithic of the central Morava region: The Bayesian chronological modeling of archival samples from the site of Stublina (Supska, Serbia)
Radiocarbon, 2025
The site of Stublina, first excavated in 1956 by Milutin Garašanin of the Institute of Archaeolog... more The site of Stublina, first excavated in 1956 by Milutin Garašanin of the Institute of Archaeology and Radoslav Galović of the National Museum Belgrade is located at the southeast outskirts of the Supska village near the town of Ćurpija, in Central Serbia. Its location on the edge of the flood plain of the Central Balkans’ major waterway, the Velika Morava River, places it on a major corridor extending south to north, linking southern Europe and the Aegean with the Pannonian plains in the north. Based on material finds, the site predominantly belongs to the Late Neolithic and is attributable to the so-called Vinča culture complex; however, sporadic finds of Early Neolithic Starčevo type pottery and Late Medieval burials were also reported. The results of the excavation were published in a single monograph in 1979, containing information on roughly half of the excavated area. However, radiocarbon dating was never performed on the site. The site of Stublina, containing evidence for the life span of the so-called Vinča culture complex in the Velika Morava River basin, one of the most important corridors during the entire Neolithic period of Southeast Europe, is a valuable chronological beacon based on its vast material record of pottery fragments, traditionally used to construct relative chronological sequences in the past. In this paper, we present the results of contextual radiocarbon dating using Bayesian chronological modeling with 28 new AMS 14C radiocarbon dates, selected from the material archive located in the depos of the National Museum of Serbia in Belgrade. The samples were chosen from stratigraphically well-defined contexts published in the 1979 Garašanin and Garašanin volume on Supska. These contexts provide secure chronological order of layers and features, representing the entire life span of the site in the Late Neolithic period. Our results provide strong validation for archival records originating from old archaeological excavations and breathe new life into their potential for contemporary archaeological research, using techniques and methods unavailable at the time of their creation.
Beyond heterogeneities : New perspectives on social and cultural diversity from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age in the Carpathian Basin, 2025
The site of Gradište, located near the town of Kikinda, in the Serbian part of the Banat region, ... more The site of Gradište, located near the town of Kikinda, in the Serbian part of the Banat region, has been the subject of multidisciplinary archaeological research since 2014, focusing on the formation and transformation of human societies between the Neolithic and the Late Bronze Age, human – landscape interactions, local area networks, communications, and trade and exchange in a liminal area constantly washed by inɦuences of major traditions originating both in the Balkans and in the Carpathian Basin. The site was occupied between the late 6th and the 1st millennium BC and encompasses a large area of diverse traces of human activities, illustrating its varying use through time. In our efforts to elucidate the origins, development and transformations of the local Late Neolithic population, we use a multidisciplinary approach to the material culture remains, Bayesian chronological dating of events, and scientific analysis of period proxy data. The approached showed significant alterations to material culture and societal organisation through time, from the settlement organisation and architecture building to pottery making and firing, to subsistence adaptation to local environment.
The BIAD Standards: Recommendations for Archaeological Data Publication and Insights From the Big Interdisciplinary Archaeological Database
Open Archaeology, 2024
This article presents a series of recommendations for the publication of archaeological data, to ... more This article presents a series of recommendations for the publication of archaeological data, to improve their usability. These 12 recommendations were formulated by archaeological data experts who mined thousands of publications for different data types (including funerary practices, accelerator mass spectrometry dating, stable isotopes, zooarchaeology, archaeobotany and pathologies) during the initial construction of the Big Interdisciplinary Archaeological Database (BIAD). We also include data harmonisation vocabularies utilised for the integration of data from different recording systems. The case studies we cite to illustrate the recommendations are grounded in examples from the published literature and are presented in a problem/solution format. Though practically oriented towards the facilitation of efficient databasing, these recommendations – which we refer to as the BIAD Standards – are broadly applicable by those who want to extract scientific data from archaeological information, those who work with a specific region or theoretical focus and journal editors and manuscript authors. We anticipate that the use of the BIAD Standards will increase the usability, visibility, interoperability and longevity of published data and also increase the citations of those publications from which data were mined. The Standards will also help frame a unified foundation to support the continued integration of the natural sciences with archaeological research in the future.
Zbornik Narodnog Muzeja Srbije, 2023
In 1956, the Institute of Archaeology and the National Museum in Belgrade carried out excavation... more In 1956, the Institute of Archaeology and the National Museum in Belgrade carried out excavations at the site of Supska, near Ćuprija, in Central Serbia. Based on the material culture findings, the site is mostly known as a Late Neolithic one; however, archaeological findings from other periods were discovered too. In the 1956 excavations, the cultural layers, and archaeological features with the Vinča culture archaeological materials were examined, as well as one grave, marked as Grave 1. The results of this excavation have been previously published in one monograph; however, an anthropological analysis of the individual found in Grave 1 has not been conducted before. In this paper, we present the results of contextual, bioanthropological, stable isotopes and C14 analyses of human skeletal remains found in Grave 1. The results showed that a young adult, who had experienced nonspecific metabolic stress during childhood, as evidenced by traces of linear enamel hypoplasia and porotic hyperostosis, was buried in this grave. AMS date revealed that this individual lived between 1280–1390 cal. AD, while the results of the stable isotope analyses suggested that it had mixed diet based on C4 plants (such as millet) and/or C3 plants, with larger amounts of animal protein, possible deriving from freshwater fish.
Гласник Српског археолошког друштва 39, 2023
Relatively Absolute. Relative and Absolute Chronologies in the Neolithic of Southeast Europe, 2023
Late Neolithic chronology in the contact zone between the
south edge of the Carpathian Mountains ... more Late Neolithic chronology in the contact zone between the
south edge of the Carpathian Mountains and the Pannonian
plain – the case study of the Vršac region
Relatively Absolute. Relative and Absolute Chronologies in the Neolithic of Southeast Europe, 2023
Various socio-economic changes, including the introduction of metallurgy, mark the long duration ... more Various socio-economic changes, including the introduction of metallurgy, mark the long duration of the Vinča culture. For detailed studies of the transformations of the Vinča societies, analyses of subsistence and economy must also be placed on the chronological line. The small-sized excavations carried out in 2018 at the Late Neolithic site of Jablanica
(c. 5000–4700 BC) in central Serbia provided a faunal assemblage that enabled analyses of animal exploitation patterns, bone technology and also provided the samples for radiocarbon dating. The faunal remains show the predominance of domestic species, especially cattle.
The site also yielded approximately 90 artefacts produced from bone and antler, including finished objects, preforms and manufacturing debris. Predominant raw materials were bones, mainly long bones, metapodials and ribs, followed by red deer antlers. Also, one artefact from Spondylus shell was found. Awls were the most frequent techno-type, and the typological repertoire also included other pointed tools, scrapers and other tools. Several preforms (mainly awls) and manufacture debris provided evidence of a working area or workshop within the settlement. Absolute dates showed that the beginning of the Late Neolithic occupation at the site of Jablanica could be equated with the relative depths of 4.5 meters at the type site of Vinča – Belo Brdo, or the late Vinča Pločnik I (Vinča C) period, while the radiocarbon dates associated with the end of the Late Neolithic occupation of the site can be correlated to layers
between 4.0 and 3.5 meters at the type site of Vinča, i.e., the Vinča Pločnik IIa.
Nova antička Duklja XIII, 2022
U ovom radu predstavljeni su rezultati arheozoološke analize životinjskih ostataka sa nalazišta M... more U ovom radu predstavljeni su rezultati arheozoološke analize životinjskih ostataka sa nalazišta Medun. Na osnovu pisanih izvora i arheoloških istraživanja sprovedenih tokom 2020. i 2021. godine, na ovom prostoru identifikovani su tragovi naseljavanja sa prekidima, počev od bronzanog doba i helinističkog perioda, preko ranovizantijskog, do kasnog srednjeg veka i turskog perioda koji se završava oslobođenjem tvrđave 1876. godine, ubrzo posle čega život na ovom prostoru i prestaje. Iako je faunalni uzorak sa nalazišta Medun relativno mali, dobijeni su podaci o njegovim tafonomskim karakteristikama, kao i o zastupljenosti vrsta domaćih i divljih životinja tokom različitih perioda života na ovom prostoru. Od domaćih životinja, identifikovani su ostaci govečeta, svinje, ovce, koze, konja i kokoške, a od divljih – zeca i jelena.
Bird bone artifact from the Late Eneolithic/Early Bronze Age site of Zók (Hungary)
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology , 2023
Bird bones were rarely used for production of artifacts, due to various reasons—they were much sm... more Bird bones were rarely used for production of artifacts, due to various reasons—they were much smaller and thinner than bones of mammals usually selected for tool production; they also have specific shapes and fine structure, inadequate for the majority of common artifact types. They were occasionally used for some specific objects, such as flutes, pipes, needle cases, and amulets. When it comes to the Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age periods in south-eastern Europe, bird bone artifacts are rare; only few have been discovered thus far. In this paper, we will present one additional finding of a bird bone artifact, from the site of Zók–Gradina, situated in present-day Hungary. Excavations carried out in 1920 by the National Museum in Belgrade revealed a multi-period site, with major parts of the stratigraphic sequence belonging to the Late Eneolithic/Early Bronze Age Vučedol culture (2900–2500/2400 BC). Vučedol layers yielded relatively large quantities of worked bone, including one artifact produced from a bird bone, that will be presented here. The object in question was produced from the right radius of a Cygnus sp.; it is in the shape of an elongated tube; carefully cut at both ends. The function of this item is uncertain—it may have served as some sound-producing instrument (flute), or it was some sort of a handle or needle case. It is interesting to note that bird representations, in particular, ornithomorphic vessels, are among the specific traits of the Vučedol culture; therefore, the choice of a bird bone for the production of this artifact may have had a certain symbolic significance as well.
The paper presents the concept, methodology and preliminary results of the project Regional Absol... more The paper presents the concept, methodology and preliminary results of the project Regional Absolute Chronologies of the Late Neolithic in Serbia that started in 2020 using a case study from the site of At near Vršac in northeast Serbia. The aim of the project is to create multiple new regional chronological strands consisting of Bayesian modelled radiocarbon dates from sites with material culture belonging to the tradition of the Late Neolithic period Vinča culture. Combining statistical seriation of pottery assemblages and the Bayesian statistical modelling framework of several case studies from various regions of Serbia, new regional chronological anchor points will be created, thus avoiding constant comparison with the assemblage and dating of the eponymous site of Belo Brdo in Vinča. This approach will overcome the effects of the regionalization of material culture evident in most ceramic assemblages located further than 100 kilometres away from the type site. Using archival archaeological records from previous excavations will enable an establishment of a geography of chronological reference points which would then provide new insights into the dynamics of the evolution of the Late Neolithic Vinča societies and changes that occurred throughout its territory during the late sixth and the larger part of the fifth millennia BCE.
Archaeologia Austriaca, 2022
The excavations at Svinjarička Čuka in the South Morava Valley in
Serbia are presented with new ... more The excavations at Svinjarička Čuka in the South Morava Valley in
Serbia are presented with new primary data from the field and related
material and scientific analyses. Newly recovered architectural
remains from the classical Starčevo period revealed a variety of domestic
features, so far belonging to an earlier and later occupation
phase at the river terrace dating between 5700/5600 and 5500 BC.
Details of the stratigraphy and certain materials are presented for selected
domestic contexts, including one potential ‘Starčevo house’.
Archaeological and scientific analyses are discussed and contextualised
within the Neolithisation process in the chapters on new radiocarbon
data and their Bayesian modelling, pottery studies, chipped
stones and their raw material analyses, grinding kits, animal remains,
archaeobotanical results and charcoal analysis. The later occupation
at the site is presented with new results for the Middle and Late
Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age, including domestic contexts,
radiocarbon data and materials.
Antiquity Project Gallery, Nov 9, 2022
A recent study from Central Europe has changed our perception of the cat's domestication history.... more A recent study from Central Europe has changed our perception of the cat's domestication history. The authors discuss how this has led to the development of an interdisciplinary project combining palaeogenetics, zooarchaeology and radiocarbon dating, with the aim of providing insight into the domestic cat's expansion beyond the Mediterranean.
Severe traumatic lesions in the Late Neolithic cattle from the site of At-Vršac, Serbia
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2022
Бубањ, праисторијско насеље и некропола из новог века , 2022
Овај рад даје преглед досадашњих резултата анализа биљних и животињских остатака прикупљених на е... more Овај рад даје преглед досадашњих резултата анализа биљних и животињских остатака прикупљених на енеолитским налазиштима у Србији. Ове врсте анализа су до сада обављене на малом броју локалитета и величина узорка је ограничена како нивоом очуваности тако и методологијом издвајања и обраде материјала. Иако скромни, подаци који су на располагању ипак нуде основ за општа запажања о економским активностима енеолитских заједница на територији Србије.
Godišnjak CBI, 2021
The Selimiye is a mosque complex located in the old city's center of Doboj-the Upper Town (čaršij... more The Selimiye is a mosque complex located in the old city's center of Doboj-the Upper Town (čaršija). We present the results of the first interdisciplinary analysis of archaeological and bioarchaeological finds from its excavations in 1994 attempting to get the first insights into living conditions of the Ottoman period Bosnia. Archaeological assemblage dated to the 16 th-19 th century is composed of pottery, clay tobacco pipes, small everyday metal objects, functional parts of costume, and glass fragments. Animal remains were probably associated with ritual context of food consumption during the Eid al-Adha feasts. Burial of a child inside the mosque's harem indicates its belonging to an upper class Muslim family of Doboj.
Radivojević, M., Roberts, B. W., Marić, M., Kuzmanović Cvetković, J., Rehren, Th. (Eds.). The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia: Evolution, Organisation and Consumption of Early Metal in the Balkans. Oxford: Archaeopress., 2021
Chapter 14 Belovode: technology of pottery production �������������������������������������������... more Chapter 14 Belovode: technology of pottery production ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������186 Silvia Amicone Chapter 15 Figurines from Belovode ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 199 Julka Kuzmanović Cvetković Chapter 16 Ground and abrasive stone tools from Belovode ���������������������������������������������������������������������������205 Vidan Dimić and Dragana Antonović Chapter 17 Bone industry from Belovode ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������215 Selena Vitezović Chapter 18 Chipped stone industry at Belovode ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������221 Elmira Ibragimova Chapter 19 Chemical and technological analyses of obsidian from Belovode ������������������������������������������������233 Marina Milić Chapter 20 Archaeobotanical evidence of plant use at the site of Belovode���������������������������������������������������236 Dragana Filipović Chapter 21 Animal remains from Belovode ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������249
PLOS ONE, 2021
Late Neolithic Vinča communities, spread over much of central and northern Balkans during the lat... more Late Neolithic Vinča communities, spread over much of central and northern Balkans during the late sixth to mid-fifth millennium BC and characterised by unusually large and densely population centres, would have required highly organised food production systems. Zooarchaeological analysis indicates that domesticate livestock were herded, but little is known about the seasonal husbandry practices that helped ensure a steady supply of animal products to Vinča farming communities. Here, we present new stable carbon (δ 13 C) and oxygen (δ 18 O) isotopic measurements of incremental bioapatite samples from the teeth of domesticated livestock and wild herbivore teeth from two late Neolithic Vinča culture sites: Vinča-Belo brdo and Stubline (Serbia). Our results show a low variation overall within sheep and goats in terms of pasture type that may have been composed of seasonal halophyte plant communities, which have higher δ 13 C values due to the saline rich growing environments. Cattle feeding strategies were more variable and provided with supplementary forage, such as cut branches or leafy hay, during winter. The sharp distinction in the management of cattle and sheep/goat may be associated with the development of herding strategies that sought to balance livestock feeding behaviours with available forage or, more provocatively, the emergence of household-based control over cattle-an animal that held a central economic and symbolic role in Vinča societies.
Radivojević, M., Roberts, B. W., Marić, M., Kuzmanović Cvetković, J., & Rehren, Th. (Eds.). (2021). The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia: Evolution, Organisation and Consumption of Early Metal in the Balkans. Oxford: Archaeopress. by Miljana Radivojević, Thilo Rehren, Benjamin Roberts, Neda Mirković-Marić, Patrick Mertl, Milica Rajicic, Silvia Amicone, Vidan Dimic, Dragana Filipovic, Jelena Bulatović, Marko Porčić, Enrica Bonato, and Ernst Pernicka The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia: Evolution, Organisation and Consumption of Early Metal in the Balkans, 2021
The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia is a landmark study in the origins of metallurgy. The project a... more The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia is a landmark study in the origins of metallurgy. The project aimed to trace the invention and innovation of metallurgy in the Balkans. It combined targeted excavations and surveys with extensive scientific analyses at two Neolithic-Chalcolithic copper production and consumption sites, Belovode and Pločnik, in Serbia. At Belovode, the project revealed chronologically and contextually secure evidence for copper smelting in the 49th century BC. This confirms the earlier interpretation of c. 7000-year-old metallurgy at the site, making it the earliest record of fully developed metallurgical activity in the world. However, far from being a rare and elite practice, metallurgy at both Belovode and Pločnik is demonstrated to have been a common and communal craft activity.
This monograph reviews the pre-existing scholarship on early metallurgy in the Balkans. It subsequently presents detailed results from the excavations, surveys and scientific analyses conducted at Belovode and Pločnik. These are followed by new and up-to-date regional syntheses by leading specialists on the Neolithic-Chalcolithic material culture, technologies, settlement and subsistence practices in the Central Balkans. Finally, the monograph places the project results in the context of major debates surrounding early metallurgy in Eurasia before proposing a new agenda for global early metallurgy studies.
Open access and fully downloadable from:
https://doi.org/10.32028/9781803270425
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Papers by Jelena Bulatović
south edge of the Carpathian Mountains and the Pannonian
plain – the case study of the Vršac region
(c. 5000–4700 BC) in central Serbia provided a faunal assemblage that enabled analyses of animal exploitation patterns, bone technology and also provided the samples for radiocarbon dating. The faunal remains show the predominance of domestic species, especially cattle.
The site also yielded approximately 90 artefacts produced from bone and antler, including finished objects, preforms and manufacturing debris. Predominant raw materials were bones, mainly long bones, metapodials and ribs, followed by red deer antlers. Also, one artefact from Spondylus shell was found. Awls were the most frequent techno-type, and the typological repertoire also included other pointed tools, scrapers and other tools. Several preforms (mainly awls) and manufacture debris provided evidence of a working area or workshop within the settlement. Absolute dates showed that the beginning of the Late Neolithic occupation at the site of Jablanica could be equated with the relative depths of 4.5 meters at the type site of Vinča – Belo Brdo, or the late Vinča Pločnik I (Vinča C) period, while the radiocarbon dates associated with the end of the Late Neolithic occupation of the site can be correlated to layers
between 4.0 and 3.5 meters at the type site of Vinča, i.e., the Vinča Pločnik IIa.
Serbia are presented with new primary data from the field and related
material and scientific analyses. Newly recovered architectural
remains from the classical Starčevo period revealed a variety of domestic
features, so far belonging to an earlier and later occupation
phase at the river terrace dating between 5700/5600 and 5500 BC.
Details of the stratigraphy and certain materials are presented for selected
domestic contexts, including one potential ‘Starčevo house’.
Archaeological and scientific analyses are discussed and contextualised
within the Neolithisation process in the chapters on new radiocarbon
data and their Bayesian modelling, pottery studies, chipped
stones and their raw material analyses, grinding kits, animal remains,
archaeobotanical results and charcoal analysis. The later occupation
at the site is presented with new results for the Middle and Late
Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age, including domestic contexts,
radiocarbon data and materials.
This monograph reviews the pre-existing scholarship on early metallurgy in the Balkans. It subsequently presents detailed results from the excavations, surveys and scientific analyses conducted at Belovode and Pločnik. These are followed by new and up-to-date regional syntheses by leading specialists on the Neolithic-Chalcolithic material culture, technologies, settlement and subsistence practices in the Central Balkans. Finally, the monograph places the project results in the context of major debates surrounding early metallurgy in Eurasia before proposing a new agenda for global early metallurgy studies.
Open access and fully downloadable from:
https://doi.org/10.32028/9781803270425