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

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 The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Zemaljski muzej Bosne i Hercegovine'' / Земаљски музеј Босне и Херцеговине) is located in central Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and ...

from 1947 to 1967 (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 (1968–78). He later became the founder and first Director of the Centre for Balkan Studies, within the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ANUBiH), of which he was General Secretary from 1971 to 1977 and President from 1977 to 1981 Benac focused his research on prehistory within the Western Balkans, and undertook numerous systematic archaeological excavations on sites including Arnautovići ( Visoko), Crvena Stijena (

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), Hrustovača in Hrustovo ( Sanski Most), Obre I and II (Kakanj), Zecovi ( Prijedor), Zelena Pećina in Blagaj ( Mostar) and others. He became Chief Editor of the five-volume series "''Praistorija jugoslavenskih zemlja''" (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 Stećak (, ) or Stećci in plural form (, ) is the name for monumental medieval tombstones, that lie scattered across Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the border parts of Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. An estimated 60,000 are found within the bo ...

to the thirteenth century, but this dating has been debated, in particular by

Šefik Bešlagić Šefik Bešlagić (6 April 1908 – 19 November 1990) was a cultural historian from Yugoslavia. From 1953 to 1967 Šefik Bešlagić was the director of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He explored t ...

and

Dubravko Lovrenović Dubravko Lovrenović (30 August 1956 – 17 January 2017) was Bosnian and Herzegovinian medievalist, author and essayist, who worked at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Sarajevo, Departme ...

, who date the tombstones to the mid-twelfth century.

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benac, Alojz 1992 deaths 1914 births Members of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina culture University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy alumni University of Sarajevo faculty Yugoslav historians Bosnia and Herzegovina medievalists 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina historians Bosnia and Herzegovina archaeologists