Early history of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Within the boundaries of today’s Bosnia and Herzegovina, there have been many layers of prehistoric cultures whose creation and disappearance are linked to migrations of unidentified ethnic groups.

The Paleolithic in Bosnia is marked by the oldest Paleolithic monument in southeastern Europe, the engravings in Badanj Cave near Stolac in Herzegovina. A magnificent one is Horse attacked by arrows, preserved in fragments and dated around 14-12000 BC.

During the time when Neolithic cultures were appearing in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there existed interesting mixtures of Mediterranean and Pannonian cultures. Herzegovina was under the influence of impresso ceramics from the western Mediterranean, as seen in Green Cave near Mostar, Čairi near Stolac, Lisičići near Konjic and Peć Mlini near Grude. People then lived in caves or simple settlements on hilltops. On the upper mainstream of the Bosna river and in northeast parts of Bosnia (Obra I near Kakanj), people lived in wooden houses built by the river. In this culture we can see influences from Adriatic cultures in the south and the Starčević culture in the northeast. Original expressions of this culture are ceramic pots on four legs, called riton. We can also find them in the Danilo culture on the Croatian coast. Due to these objects, Kakanj culture is considered a part of the wide circle of Neolithic populations that followed a cult of life force (from northern Italy, Dalmatia and Epirus to the Aegean). The Butmir culture near Sarajevo is distinctive, with fine glazed ceramics and miscellaneous geometrical decorations (often spirals). Figures from Butmir are unique sculptures modeled with hand; heads are almost like portraits with emphasized parts of body.

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