Archaeological Society of Yugoslavia and Its Significance in the Devel­opment of Archaeological Discipline in the Period from 1949 to 1991

The work Archaeological Society of Yugoslavia and Its Significance in the Devel­opment of Archaeological Discipline in the Period from 1949 to 1991 discusses the development of the Yugoslav archaeological society in all its organisa­tional forms between 1949 and 1991 and its significance for the development of archaeology. The text consists of five parts. In the introduction we discuss the importance of this topic, research methodology and the taxonomy of historical sources. The second part presents the predecessors of the society. The five-chapter long central part deals with the formation and functioning of the society’s different organisational forms – The Coordination Council of Yugoslav Archaeologists, Archaeological Council of Yugoslavia, Archaeo­logical Society of Yugoslavia and the Association of Archaeological Societies of Yugoslavia. It highlights the importance of the society for the coordina­tion of the development of archaeology, internationalisation, development of national and other specialized sections of the society, and the importance of the society in organising professional meetings and congresses. We have observed the activities of the society on two levels – at the Yugoslav (federal) and the individual national levels. The principal topic of the fourth part is the process of the federalisation of the society, and its effects in the structure of membership and financial aspects. In the final part we discuss the over­all importance of the society. We stress its importance in the development and reconstruction of national archaeologies in former Yugoslavia and note that, at its beginnings, it was able to build a supra-national archaeological community, that allowed for the development of good practice on both the Yugoslav and national level.