Interests and methodology of research

Dr. Ognjen Mladenović has participated in several national and international research projects, as well as numerous systematic and preventive archaeological investigations of multi-layered prehistoric sites. His research focuses on material culture, settlement patterns, and the interrelationships between prehistoric settlements. Within these research activities, he applies an interdisciplinary approach encompassing archaeological and geological prospection, isotope analyses, radiocarbon dating, and physicochemical analyses of ceramics. His professional work combines archaeological field research, the analysis of archaeological material, and interdisciplinary methodologies, with the aim of reconstructing the economic, technological, and social processes that shaped prehistoric communities in the Balkans, as well as the relationships between them. He participated in more than 70 campaigns of systematic and preventive archaeological research.

Education

2023 –PhD  thesis in Archaeology. Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

2017 – Master’s thesis in Archaeology. Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. MA: Origin and distribution of tin in the territory of Serbia in the period of the Late Bronze Age and the transitional period

2016 – Bachelor’s degree in Archaeology. Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

Employment

2023 – Institute of Archaeology, Research Associate

2021 – Institute of Archaeology, Research Assistant

2019 – Institute of Archaeology, Research Trainee

Languages: English, French

Participation in projects

(2022-2025) THE FLOW: Interactions-Transmission-Transformation: Long-distance connections in the Copper and Bronze Age of the Central Balkans; Institute of Archaeology Belgrade; the “Vinča” Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade; under the patronage of the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia

(2019-) Archaeological Investigation of the Settlement Systems, Burials, and Mining Resources in the Prehistory of North-western Serbia, collaboration with Brooklyn College, City University, New York

(2017 – ) Prehistoric landscapes of the region of Pusta Reka, Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade and Institute for the European and Oriental Archaeology, Austrian Academy of Sciences Vienna

Memberships

– Serbian Archaeological Society (secretary)

National Conferences

• (2017-2022) Annual meetings of the Serbian Archaeological Society

Bibliography

Chapters in monographs or edited volumes

• Filipović, V. i Mladenović, O. 2019. Prirodne karakteristike severnog Stiga i njegov strateški značaj u praistoriji i ranoj istoriji/Natural Characteristis of the Northern Stig Area and its Strategic Importance During the Prehistory and Early History, u: Viminacijum u Praistoriji/The Prehistory of Viminacium, ur. A. Kapuran, A. Bulatović, S. Golubović, V. Filipović, 11-24, Beograd: Arheološki institut.
• Mladenović, O., Jovičić, M. i Danković, I. 2019. Naselje Skordiska na lokalitetima Rit i Nad klepečkom/Scordisci Settlement at the Sites of Rit and Nad Klepečkom, u: Viminacijum u Praistoriji/The Prehistory of Viminacium, ur. A. Kapuran, A. Bulatović, S. Golubović, V. Filipović, 177-222, Beograd: Arheološki institut.
• Mladenović, O. 2019. A New Find of Bronze Hinged Fibula from the Vicinity of Svrljig, in: Papers in Honour of Rastko Vasić 80^th Birthday, eds. V. Filipović, A. Bulatović, A. Kapuran, 355-366, Belgrade: Institute of Archaeology

Papers in scientific journals

• Filipović, V., Vučković, V. i Mladenović, O. 2019. Archaeological site of Bolnica and its importance for the prehistory of Central Morava Region. Старинар LXIX: 113-138
• Bogić, J. i Mladenović, O. 2019. Археолошка истраживања локалитета Бањица подно Сврљиг града у 2017. години: прелиминарни резултати. Етно-културолошки зборник XXII: 21-35.
• Filipović, V. i Mladenović, O. 2017. Prilog proučavanju članaka astragalnih pojaseva sa teritorije centralne i jugoistočne Evrope. Prilozi instituta za arheologiju u Zagrebu 34: 143-183.
• Mladenović, O., Sremac, R. i Filipović, V. 2017. Astragal belt from Kablarovac and several chance finds from the vicinity of Šid. Arheologija i prirodne nauke 12: 9-18.
• Младеновић, О. 2017. [Лозница, културна страртиграфија праисторијских локалитета у Јадру, Рађевини и Азбуковици/ Loznica, cultural stratigraphy of the prehistoric sites in Jadar, Rađevina i Azbukovica. Археолошка грађа Србије X]. Гласник САД 33: 365-369.
• Младеновић, О. 2017. Локалитет Градиште у Давидовцу код Врања: Покретни налази из старијег гвозденог доба са заштитних истраживања из 2011. године. Гласник САД 33: 7-22.
• Mladenović, O. 2017. Some remarks on tin ore deposits in the Balkans. Етно-културолошки зборник XXI: 11-20.
• Mladenović, O. 2017. O primeni izotopskih analiza kalaja u Arheologiji. Artefakti 1: 19-30.
• Filipović, V., Bulatović, A., Bankoff, H. A., Powell, W., Mladenović, O., Gligorić, R. i Mason, A. 2019. Jadar: Preliminarni rezultati kampanje 2017. godine, u: Arheologija u Srbiji – projekti Arheološkog instituta u 2017. godini, ur. I. Bugarski, N. Gavrilović Vitas, V. Filipović, 78-86.
• Horejs, B., Bulatović, A., Milić, B., i Mladenović, O. 2019. Austrijsko-srpski projekat Praistorijski pejzaži u regionu Puste reke (Leskovac) – istraživanja 2017- godine, u: Arheologija u Srbiji – projekti Arheološkog instituta u 2017. godini, ur. I. Bugarski, N. Gavrilović Vitas, V. Filipović, 169-172.

Participation in national conferences

Annual Meeting of the Serbian Archaeological Society (2017-)

Младеновић, О., Живановић, С. 2026. Културне интеракције на ободу Панонске низије: Северозападна Србија токком металних доба, Peripheria – културни живот, друштво и истгоријски процеси на ободу, Ваљево 2026.

Participation in international conferences

Mladenović, O., Bulatović, A., Gajić-Kvaščev, M., Kapuran; A., Filipović, V., Ljuština, M., Milojević, P., Milić, B. 2023. Local or Imported: EDXRF spectrometry comparison of pottery and local clay samples from Velika Humska Čuka (Central Balkans), Weaving Narratives, 29^th EAA Annual Meeting in Belfast, Northern Ireland, 30^th August – 2^nd September 2023.

Mladenović, O., Bulatović, A. 2024. Copper Deposits and Settlement Patterns: A Case Study of Eastern Serbia, The 4^th PeBA International Conference (Perspectives on Balkan Archaeology), The Things of Life: Resources and Religion in the Metal Ages in Southeastern Europe, Varna, Bulgaria, 25^th – 28^th September 2024.

Mladenović, O., Bulatović, A., Grujić, D. 2024. Mogila-Cigansko Brdo: Middle Bronze Age horizon. A Contribution to the study of chronology and distribution of the Vatin group, 1^st Symposium of Balkan Prehistory (4^th-2^nd Millennia BCE), Targu Jiu, Romania, 14^th – 18^th May 2024.

Bulatović, A., Mladenović, O. 2024. Changes in Material Culture between the Late Neolithic and the Early Eneolithic in the Central Balkans: A Case Study of Marjansko Brdo, 1^st Symposium of Balkan Prehistory (4^th-2^nd Millennia BCE), Targu Jiu, Romania, 14^th – 18^th May 2024.

Mladenović, O., Horejs, B., Bulatović, A. 2022. New Research at the Site of Svinjarička Čuka (Leskovac) and its Contrubution to the Bronze and Iron Age of Southeastern Serbia, The 3^rd PeBA International Conference (Perspectives on Balkan Archaeology), The Mechanism of Power in Bronze and Iron Ages in Southeastern Europe, Ohrid, North Macedonia, 26^th – 28^th May 2022.

Monographs

Bulatović, A., Mladenović, O. 2026. Meanište (Ranutovac), an Early Iron Age settlement in the central Balkans, BAR International Series 3281, Oxford 2026.

Chapters in monographs and edited volumes

Mladenović, O. 2026. Caves, Herdsmen, and Migrants of the Late Eneolithic, in: Ars Praehistorica: Commemorating Nikola Tasić’s Legacy in Balkan Antiquity, (ed.) V. P. Petrović, Belgrade 2026: 131-159.

Mladenović, O., Filipović, V., Powell, W., Bulatović, A., Mathur, R. 2025. Jászladány axes from Northeastern Serbia: An insight into copper isotope analysis, in: The FLOW, Interactions-Transmission-Transformation. Long-distance Connections in Metal Ages of Southeastern Europe, (ed.) A. Bulatović, Belgrade 2025: 49-61.

Milić, B., Mladenović, O., Ljuština, M., Filipović, V., Bulatović, A. 2025. Obsidian Artefacts in Post-Neolithic Central Balkans: Exploring Assemblage Features and Regional Dynamics, in:  The FLOW, Interactions-Transmission-Transformation. Long-distance Connections in Metal Ages of Southeastern Europe, (ed.) A. Bulatović, Belgrade 2025: 237-247.

Mladenović, O., Bulatović, A., Horejs, B. 2024. The Settlement from the Metal Ages at Svinjarička Čuka, Serbia: An Insight into the Bronze and Iron Ages of the Leskovac Basin, in: The Mechanism of Power. The Bronze and Iron Ages in Southeastern Europe, (eds.) M. Gavranović, D. Heilmann, M. Vercik, P. Ardjanliev, Verlag Marie Leidorf GmbH 2024: 289-302.

Mladenović, O., Jovičić, M. 2023. A Three-Headed Glass Bead from Viminacium, in: A Step into the Past. Approaches to Identity, Communications and Material Culture in South-Eastern European Archaeology, (eds.) B. Govedarica, I. Vranić, A. Kapuran, Belgrade 2023: 137-143.

Mladenović, O., Jovičić, M., Danković, I. 2019. Scordisci Settlement at the Sites of Rit and Nad Klepečkom, in: Viminacium in Prehistory, (eds.) A. Kapuran, A. Bulatović, S. Golubović, V. Filipović, Belgrade 2019: 177-222.

Mladenović, O. 2019. A New Find of Bronze Hinged Fibula from the Vicinity of Svrljig, in: Papers in Honour of Rastko Vasić 80^th Birthday, (eds.) V. Filipović, A. Bulatović, A. Kapuran, Belgrade 2019: 355-366.

Papers in international scientific journals

Mladenović, O., Bulatović, A. 2026. New Absolute Dates for Three Early and Middle Bronze Age Burials in the Serbian Danube Region, Archaeologia Austriaca 110: I-XIV.

Mladenović, O. 2025. New Absolute Dates for the Early and Middle Bronze Age in The Central Balkans, Archaeologia Bulgarica XXIX (2): 1-20.

Gajić-Kvaščev, M., Mladenović, O., Milojević, P., Bulatović, A. 2025. Where Did Vessels Come from? A Study of Pottery Provenance from the Site of Velika Humska Čuka, Serbia, Materials 18: 1083.

Horejs, B., Bulatović, A., Brandl, M., Dietrich, L., Milić, B., Mladenović, O., Waltenberger, L., Webster, L. 2025. Fresh light on Balkan prehistory: highlights from Svinjarička Čuka (Serbia), Antiquity Project Gallery 2025.

Horejs, B., Bulatović, A., Bulatović, J., Burke, C., Brandl, M., Dietrich, L., Filipović, D., Milić, B., Mladenović, O., Schinnerl, N., Schroedter, T. M., Webster, L. 2022. New Multi-disciplinary Data from the Neolithic in Serbia. The 2019 and 2021 Excavations at Svinjarička Čuka, Archaeologia Austriaca 106: 255-317.

Filipović, V., Mladenović, O. 2017. Contribution to the Study of Astragal Belt Segments from the Territory of Central and Southeastern Europe, Prilozi Instituta za arheologiju u Zagrebu 34: 143-183.

Papers in national scientific journals

Bulatović, A., Pernicka, E., Mladenović, O., Waltenberger, L., Horejs B. 2025. The Early Bronze Age Grave from the Site of Svinjarička Čuka, South-Eastern Serbia. New Data on Burial Customs and Cultural Interactions of the Early Bronze Age in the Central Balkans, Starinar LXXV: 7-22.

Mladenović, O., Bulatović, A. 2024. The Problem of the Early Bronze Age in the Territory of Northeastern Serbia. A contribution to the study of the Early Bronze Age in the Central Balkans, Starinar LXXIV: 27-57.

Bulatović, A., Kapuran, A., Mladenović, O., Milojević, P., Gajić-Kvaščev, M. 2023. Set of Bronze Jewellery from the Site of Velika Humska Čuka near Niš, SE Serbia. A contribution to the study of interactions between Bronze Age communities of Central Europe and the Central Balkans, Starinar LXXIII: 27-51.

Mladenović, O., John, J., Bankoff, A., Bulatović, A., Powell, W., Chvojka, O., Filipović, V. 2020. Geomagnetic Surveys and Archaeological Excavations of two Prehistoric Sites in North-western Serbia: Preliminary Results and New Methodological Questions, Archaeology and Science 20: 27-44.

Powell, W., Mladenović, O., Cruse, S., Bankoff H. A., Mathur R. 2020. Revisiting “Tin in South-eastern Europe?” Starinar LXX: 85-94,