Alojz Benac

Alojz Benac (20 October 1914 – 6 March 1992)^[1] was a Bosnian and Yugoslav archaeologist and historian.

Alojz Benac
Born	(1914-10-20)20 October 1914 Derventa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria-Hungary
Died	6 March 1992(1992-03-06) (aged 77) Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Alma mater	University of Belgrade Ljubljana University
Known for	Research on Prehistory of the Balkans Director of Centre for Balkan Studies, Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Scientific career
Fields	Archaeology
Institutions	University of Sarajevo Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Biography

Benac studied classical philology and archaeology in Belgrade's Philosophy Faculty (1937), and received his doctorate from Ljubljana University (1951). He worked in the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1947 to 1967^[2] (in the role of Director from 1957 to 1967). He then left to assume a professorship in archaeology and ancient history in the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Sarajevo^[3] (1968–78). He later became the founder and first Director of the Centre for Balkan Studies,^[4] within the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ANUBiH),^[5] of which he was General Secretary from 1971 to 1977 and President from 1977 to 1981.^[6][7]

Benac focused his research on prehistory within the Western Balkans,^[8] and undertook numerous systematic archaeological excavations on sites including Arnautovići (Visoko), Crvena Stijena^[9] (Montenegro), Hrustovača in Hrustovo (Sanski Most), Obre I and II^[10] (Kakanj), Zecovi (Prijedor), Zelena Pećina^[11] in Blagaj (Mostar) and others.

He became Chief Editor of the five-volume series "Praistorija jugoslavenskih zemlja"^[12][13] (Prehistory of the Yugoslavian countries) (1979–86), as well as several books and articles, including the following:

• Obre II – neolitsko naselje butmirske grupe na Gornjem polju (Obre II – A Neolithic Settlement of the Butmir Group on the Gornje plain) (1971)

• Prehistorijsko naselje Nebo i problem butmirske kulture (The prehistoric settlement of Nebo and the problem of the Butmir Culture) (1952)

• Glasinac Vols I & II (1957; 1959)

• Studien zur Stein und Kupferzeit im nordwestlichen Balkan (Studies on stone and copper age in north-western Balkans) (1962)

In 1967, Benac was inducted as a regular member of ANUBiH. During his lifetime, he also became a corresponding member of the Yugoslav/Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and a member of numerous other international scientific institutions.

Historiography

Nada Miletić and Benac dated the phenomenon of the stećak to the thirteenth century, but this dating has been debated, in particular by Šefik Bešlagić and Dubravko Lovrenović, who date the tombstones to the mid-twelfth century.^[14]

References

1. "BH-LEKSIKON - Alojz Benac". Archived from the original on 2015-01-31. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
2. Lozny, Ludomir R (Ed.) Comparative Archaeologies: A Sociological View of the Science of the Past p.405 New York: Springer
3. Lozny, Ludomir R (Ed.) Comparative Archaeologies: A Sociological View of the Science of the Past p.407 New York: Springer
4. Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina "Centar za balkanološka ispitivanja" Archived 2013-10-28 at the Wayback Machine (in Bosnian)
5. Lozny, Ludomir R (Ed.) Comparative Archaeologies: A Sociological View of the Science of the Past p.409 New York: Springer
6. "BH-LEKSIKON - Alojz Benac". Archived from the original on 2015-01-31. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
7. Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina "Former Presidents" Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine
8. Lozny, Ludomir R (Ed.) Comparative Archaeologies: A Sociological View of the Science of the Past p.406 New York: Springer
9. "The Archeological Site of Crvena Stijena (Red Rock Cave)". 26 March 2014.
10. Obre II – Neolitsko naselje butmirske grupe na Gornjem polju (1971)
11. Commission to Preserve National Monuments "The archaeologial (sic) site of Zelena pećina" Archived 2014-10-30 at the Wayback Machine, 21 November 2007
12. Praistorija jugoslavenskih zemalja.
13. Lozny, Ludomir R (Ed.) Comparative Archaeologies: A Sociological View of the Science of the Past p.408 New York: Springer
14. Begović, Azra (2020-09-06). "Echoes of the Culture of Remembrance in the Posthumous Memorialisation of the Bosnian Nobility". Südost-Forschungen (in German). 79 (1): 151–169. doi:10.1515/sofo-2020-790110. ISSN 2364-9321. S2CID 237506126.