Niko Županić and Historical Anthropology of the Balkan Peoples

Abstract

Before the World War I, in his works on the historical anthropology of the Balkan peoples, Niko Županić laid down the theoretical and methodological foundations of the research into the population of the region from the prehistoric to the modern times, thus establishing a kind of long-lasting continuity. It is possible to assume that his doctorial studies of philosophy in Vienna, as well as specialization in anthropology in Munich and Zurich, have profoundly influenced the way in which Niko Županić conceptualized the study of the Balkan peoples. However, this was not a simple idea transfer, but a process of modification, in accordance to the understanding of his own identity and the political circumstances of Županić’s work. His research into peoples is particularly important in the light of perseverance of culture-historical paradigm in the Serbian/Yugoslavian archaeologies.