Assoc. Prof. Dr. Anja Hellmuth Kramberger attended an international conference on the perspectives of Balkan archaeology in Varna, Bulgaria, at the end of September. She presented her research findings on cultural formations.
The conference was organized by the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, the National Archaeological Institute with Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Classical Archaeology of Charles University in Prague.
"Over four days, researchers from all over Europe discussed the 'matters of life' of the prehistoric inhabitants of the Balkans – from the formation of various prehistoric cultures to chronology, use of natural resources, metallurgy, archaeobotany, and archaeogenetics, as well as long trade routes and many other topics," said Dr. Hellmuth Kramberger.
The conference also included a visit to the archaeological site of Solnitsata near Provadia, the oldest salt production center in Europe, dating back to the 6th and 5th millennia BC. Salt, once called "white gold," was a valuable commodity in the past that brought wealth to those who had access to it. Today, however, salt is often too prevalent in our diet.
