1. Stone panopticum : rethinking on the monumental stone sculpture of the Iron Age HistriMartina Blečić Kavur, 2026, original scientific article Abstract: Stone as a durable and symbolic material played a central role in the visual culture and social practices of Histrian communities during the last millennium BCE. This paper examines the fragmented stone sculpture from Nesactium (Croatia), focussing on its meaning, function and cultural context. Using the concepts of material agency and object biography, it shows how these monuments, in addition to their monumentality, structured space and belonging, shaped collective memory and social identities as well as ideological forms of expression and representation. Nesactium sculpture thus emerges as a visually articulated social practice with a multi-layered and multifunctional role within the community. Their production testifies to a high level of artisanship and strong links to the Italo-Adriatic cultural sphere.
Keywords: Histri, Iron Age, material culture, monumental stone sculpture
Published in RUP: 05.06.2026; Views: 322; Downloads: 13
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2. Carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis of the Middle/Late Bronze individuals from Bezdanjača Cave, Lika region, CroatiaMario Carić, Emily Zavodny, Mario Novak, Ivor Janković, Siniša Radović, Sarah B. McClure, 2026, original scientific article Abstract: Almost immediately upon its discovery in 1965, the Middle-Late Bronze Age cave site of Bezdanjača was recognized as one of the earliest, largest, and most important cemeteries in the Lika region of Croatia. Yet, despite its significance, not much is known about the people who were buried there. By combining bioarchaeological and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of a subset of the burial population, this study aims to (i) systematically reconstruct the diet and health of these individuals, (ii) investigate possible differences in dietary habits within this community based on sex and age, and (iii) contextualize results from Bezdanjača with other Bronze Age assemblages from the surrounding area.
Keywords: Bronze Age, Necropolis, cave, diet, millet, childhood health
Published in RUP: 01.04.2026; Views: 552; Downloads: 14
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3. The Emergence of the Iron Age in Osor Through Representative Material CultureMartina Blečić Kavur, original scientific article Abstract: Situated at a strategically important position within the Cres–Lošinj archipelago, Osor developed during later prehistory into a (proto)urban settlement and became one of the key centres of the Kvarner region and the northern Adriatic. This research is based on a typological-stylistic, and comparative analysis of published and previously unpublished attire and jewellery finds from three cemeteries, considering their archaeological context and funerary practices. Special emphasis is placed on the types of artefacts identified and their integration into patterns of Iron Age social practices in the Adriatic and wider European regions. The analysis draws on data from archival, systematic, and rescue archaeological investigations, as well as the results of recent absolute dating and bioarchaeological studies. The aim of the paper is to expand the concept of Osor’s archaeology of death through an analysis of representative material culture from closed grave assemblages dating to the initial phase of the Early Iron Age, and to examine its role in the construction of social structures, identities, and networks of interaction. The results indicate internal social differentiation and regional and supra-regional cultural connections, thereby confirming Osor’s role as an important node of interaction between the 10th and 8th centuries BCE.
Keywords: Osor, Early Iron Age, burials, material culture, social structure and cultural contacts
Published in RUP: 09.03.2026; Views: 514; Downloads: 17
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4. Shifting tin imports into the broader Eastern Mediterranean region during the Bronze and Early Iron Ages (ca. 2000-900 BC)Wayne Powell, K. Aslihan Yener, Cemal Pulak, Ryan Mathur, Gojko Barjamovic, Boris Kavur, Martina Blečić Kavur, Nicola Ialongo, David Gilman Romano, Jay Stephens, 2026, original scientific article Abstract: Lacking substantial local tin deposits after 2000 BC, the Eastern Mediterranean depended on the importation of large quantities of tin from extraneous sources. Situated roughly equidistant (ca. 3000 km) between the large tin deposits of Western Europe and Central Asia, both localities have been proposed as potential sources of tin metal used in Eastern Mediterranean bronze production. However, such speculation must be substantiated. Herein, we assert that the application of a central-tendency-based approach to the comparison of tin isotope analyses of artifact assemblages with those of tin ores is an effective approach to differentiating between Central Asian and European tin sources in both pure tin metal and tin alloys. We apply the TIA approach to the reinterpretation of existing tin isotope analyses of tin ingots and introduce a large body of new evidence drawn from tin isotopes analysis of ancient (2000-900 BC) bronze artifacts from the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, Tell Atchana in the Amuq Valley of Turkey, the eastern part of the northern Adriatic/Istria and Kvarner (Croatia), Egypt and Peloponnese, Greece. A general chronological trend from high δSn in artifacts dating to 2000-1600 BC to moderate values in the Early Iron Age (1100-900 BC) indicate a gradual shift from tin dominated by Central Asian imports to tin derived from European deposits. These changes in the movement of tin are mirrored in other traceable commodities such as Baltic amber and glass.
Keywords: Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Bronze Age, Iron Age, tin
Published in RUP: 20.02.2026; Views: 740; Downloads: 9
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5. Suicide-related mortality trends in Europe, 2012–2021Marco Zuin, Diego De Leo, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Aims: Updated data regarding the suicide-related mortality trend in Europe remain scant. We assess the age- and sex-specific trends in suicide-related mortality in the European states (EU) between the years 2012 and 2021. Methods: We retrieved data on cause-specific deaths and population numbers by sex for European countries from the publicly available EUROSTAT mortality dataset for the years 2012–2021. This study was chosen because 2012 was the first year with complete uninterrupted suicide mortality data for all EU member states, while 2021 was the most recent year with confirmed estimates in the EUROSTAT database. Suicide-related deaths were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision codes X60–X84 and Y870 as the underlying cause of death. We calculated annual trends by assessing the average annual percentage change (AAPC) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using joinpoint regression. Results: During the study period, there were 391,555 suicide-related deaths in Europe (313,835 men and 77,720 women). The age-adjusted mortality rate (AAMR) decreased linearly from 12.3 (95% CI: 12.0 to 12.6) per 100,000 people in 2012 to 10.2 (95% CI: 10.0 to 10.5) per 100,000 people in 2021 [AAPC: −2.3% (95% CI: −2.9 to −1.8); p < 0.001]. This decline was more pronounced among men [AAPC: −2.4% (95% CI: −2.9 to −2.0), p < 0.001] compared to women [AAPC: −1.9% (95% CI: −2.7 to −1.0), p < 0.001] (p for parallelism = 0.003). A more significant decrease was observed in individuals under 65 years compared to older individuals (p for parallelism = 0.001). Some EU subregions and demographic groups showed stagnation in suicide-related mortality rates. Conclusions: Over the past decade, age-adjusted suicide-related mortality has declined in Europe, particularly among males and individuals under 65 years old. However, disparities persist between countries and EU subregions.
Keywords: suicide, Europe, age, mortality rate, sex, older adults
Published in RUP: 18.12.2025; Views: 625; Downloads: 6
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6. The Impact of Demographic Dynamics on Household Saving in Pre-COVID-19 South AfricaAfamefuna Emmanuel Nwogbo, Joel Hinaunye Eita, Sivan Chetty, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: This paper examines the effect of demographic dynamics on household saving in pre-COVID-19 South Africa, across all nine provinces of South Africa. The study used panel autoregressive distributed lag (PARDL) and Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality methods. The results revealed a longrun relationship between demographic dynamics and household saving in South Africa, showing that the White working age population had a significant effect on South Africa’s household saving in both the long-run and short-run, while the Black and Coloured working age population groups significantly impacted household saving only in the long-run. However, the Asian/Indian working age population had no effect on household saving in either the long run or short run. The Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality analysis revealed a bidirectional causality running between Asian/Indian, Black, and Coloured population groups and household saving, while a unidirectional causality was found running from the White population group to household saving.
Keywords: demographics, working age population, aged/elderly population, life-cycle hypothesis, household saving, panel ARDL, Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality
Published in RUP: 18.12.2025; Views: 476; Downloads: 2
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8. Osor, insularity and its surroundings : the creation of a regional identity caught between the global economy and local subsistenceMartina Blečić Kavur, Boris Kavur, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: When observed from a broader perspective, in the 1st millennium BC, the regions of the Adriatic underwent structuring processes that affected many domains. On a political level, this was marked by the emergence of municipal and even state-like institutions; on a social level, it involved both the affirmation of elites and the development of specialized classes of craftspeople and traders. Lastly, in terms of settlements, it entailed the more intensive hierarchization of agglomerations in the region and the creation of special forms of public infrastructure within settlements. In this paper, we discuss the settlement of Osor, which transformed during this period from a prehistoric settlement into a major proto-urban center of the northern Adriatic. Its location within the landscape and long-distance trade networks, reinforcing its insularity, shaped an economy and identity that was unique due to its cosmopolitan character and distinctive form – even in comparison to geographically close centers such as the Histrian Nesactium.
Keywords: Osor, Iron Age, insularity, economy, identity
Published in RUP: 26.09.2025; Views: 1195; Downloads: 16
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9. Isotope and archaeobotanical analysis reveal radical changes in mobility, diet and inequalities around 1500 BCE at the core of EuropeClaudio Cavazzuti, Anikó Horváth, Anett Gémes, Kristóf Fülöp, Tamás Szeniczey, János Gábor Tarbay, Ashley McCall, Beatriz Gamarra Rubio, Magdolna Vicze, Annamária Bárány, Mario Novak, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: The transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age (around 1500 BCE) in the Carpathian Basin was parallel by drastic cultural changes in Central-Europe, which strongly influenced the dynamic of prehistoric Europe. The cultural fragmentation of the Middle Bronze Age (2000 − 1500 BCE) Carpathian Basin was followed by a more homogeneous development at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age (1500 − 1300 BCE), with the appearance of the Tumulus culture. In the beginning of this period, the long-used tell-settlements were abandoned, furthermore new pottery styles and metal types appeared. Whether these changes were caused by immigration, or a local adaptation to external influxes, has long been a matter of debate. Our study investigates this transition from the point of view of diet and mobility from several key-sites of Hungary. Our results show (1) low migration rates and a shift of migration trajectories; that (2) the beginning of the systematic consumption of Panicum miliaceum was from 1540 − 1480 BCE; that (3) the decrease of average animal protein intake was parallel by an increase of cereal consumption and a tendency to less unequal diet. Overall, our results shed new light on the dynamics of complex change in Bronze Age Europe.
Keywords: Bronze Age, Hungary, stable isotopes
Published in RUP: 26.08.2025; Views: 710; Downloads: 7
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