ABSTRACT
Research in physical anthropology in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia began alongside the first archaeological excavations. The first anthropological investigations were carried out in the 1930s. B. Šljivicˇ, professor of anatomy at the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, conducted analyses of the scanty skeletal remains discovered at the Iron Age necropolis in Trebeništa near Ohrid, which was subject to excavation between 1930 and 1933 (Schlyvitch 1935). After the SecondWorldWar there was no legal obligation to recover, collect and curate skeletal
remains. Nevertheless, there were many examples of professional conduct by archaeologists excavating cemeteries. In the absence of trained experts in the country, anthropologists from other republics of the former Yugoslavia or further abroad were engaged in anthropological research. In the 1950s, during several years of archaeological excavations at the mediaeval necropolis in
Demir Kapija, anthropologist Z. Dolinar (Republic of Slovenia) became involved. Complete anthropological analysis was not carried out, however, although the skeletal material was recovered, carefully packed and stored in the Archaeological Museum in Skopje. Somewhat similar was the destiny of the skeletal material from Stobi, one of the most important
ancient towns in Macedonia, which was discovered in the frames of the international YugoslavAmerican research project carried out at this site between 1970 and 1976. US anthropologist A. Wesolowsky was involved as part of the excavation team. The first palaeopathological study of human remains from Stobi was written by Wesolowsky (1973, 1975). Another international project brought about the discovery of skeletal remains at the Neo-
lithic settlement Anzabegovo near Sveti Nikole (1960, 1969-70). These were chronologically the earliest skeletal finds in Macedonia, and were examined by two Hungarian anthropologists, J. Nemeskéri and L. Lengyel. Besides the standard anthropological examinations, palaeoserological and chemical analysis were also carried out for the purpose of identifying the sex and age of the skeletons (Nemeskéri and Lengyel 1976). A paper by B. Miszkiewicz (Poland) dealing with the anthropological structure of mediaeval
populations in Macedonia was published in the 1970s (Miszkiewicz 1972). In the 1980s anthropologists Ž. Mikicˇ (Serbia) and M. Štefancˇicˇ (Slovenia) worked in Macedonia. At that time the number of published work on skeletal remains from different archaeological periods
(the Iron Age, Antiquity and the Middle Ages) increased considerably owing to their intense research (Mikicˇ 1981, 1984, 1987; Štefancˇicˇ 1985, 1988). In the 1980s, the Archaeological Museum in Skopje began its continual collection and treatment of skeletal remains discovered during archaeological excavations in Macedonia up to the present day. The oldest discovered skeletons in Macedonia are from the Neolithic (6100 BC), while the
most recent ones date from the 19th century. Apart from the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Eneolithic, for which no skeletal remains have been discovered so far, all other periods have provided human remains. Several skeletal assemblages dating from prehistoric and historic periods have been analysed so far (Table 24.1). The most scantily documented period is the Neolithic, although some new discoveries have
taken place in recent years (Veljanovska 2006a). Skeletons in inhumation and cremation burials have been recorded from the Bronze Age (Veljanovska 2005a, 2008); while the most significant Iron Age palaeo-Balkan group in Macedonia, the Paeonians, are represented by several hundreds of skeletons discovered in four necropoli in the Vardar Valley (Veljanovska 1990a, 1991a, 1992, 1994, 1996). The bulk of the anthropological remains, however, come from Antiquity (Veljanovska 1990b, 1991b, 1993, 1995a, 1995b, 1999a, 2002, 2003, 2006b, 2006c) and the Middle Ages (Veljanovska 1989, 2001a, 2001b, 2001c, 2004a, 2005b, 2006a, 2007). Specific analyses have been carried out in palaeodemography (Veljanovska 1999b), epigenetic
and anthropogenetic processes (Veljanovska 2000, 2005a) as well as in palaeopathology (Veljanovska 1999c). For the purpose of raising awareness of the discipline, including pathological changes in bone
and facial reconstruction, several archaeological exhibitions have taken place (Veljanovska 2004b) (Table 24.1). A great number of finds has been published in professional journals. Most of the anthropological analyses in Macedonia have been undertaken at the Anthro-
pological Cabinet of the Museum of Macedonia. The Cabinet employs a full-time anthropologist, as well as a junior associate and a skeletal finds conservator. The activities of the Anthropological Cabinet are organized by adhering to the Law on Museums. Skeletal finds have been divided into three collections here: craniological, palaeopathological and a teaching collection. These collections include all skeletal remains discovered in archaeological excavations carried out by the Museum of Macedonia. The craniological collection comprises 400 crania from 40 archaeological sites dating from different periods. The palaeopathological collection consists of 2000 specimens, dating mostly from Antiquity. All skeletons have been documented and are logged into a special inventory book. There is also photo-documentation of every cranium, as well as every palaeopathological specimen and elements with particular epigenetic variations. The anthropological documentation is, however, much more extensive, since it also embraces data on over 12,000 individual skeletons that have been studied and interpreted so far, and they come from research conducted in all museums in Macedonia. In other words, the entire anthropological evidence that has been discovered in Macedonia in the past 25 years has been subject to anthropological study, and has been documented. Since 2005, physical anthropology is being taught at undergraduate and post-graduate level in
the department of Archaeology at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of St Cyril and Methodius in Skopje. The course includes osteology, sex and age-at-death identification, osteometry, morphology, palaeopathology, as well as excavation techniques and conservation of skeletal finds; and there is also a course on the anthropology of past populations in Macedonia. The Association of Physiologists and Anthropologists of Macedonia (Здрузение на физио-
лози и антрополози на Македонија) was established in 2004, but there is no single specialized anthropological journal in the country.
