Arheologija kao znanje o alternativnim rešenjima. Atinska demokratija i susedstvo
Archaeology as Knowledge of Alternative Solutions: Athenian Democracy and its Neighbours

Summary/Abstract: From the early modern age, democracy has been regarded as one of the keysocial values, (meant to) secure equal representation of all the members of acommunity in political decision-making. The roots of this mode of social organizationare explicitly linked to the ancient role-model, embodied in the Athenianconstitution of the 5th century. The initial knowledge upon which the modernnotions of ancient democracy are founded is derived almost exclusively fromthe preserved written sources. On the other hand, the considerations of the widercontext in which the Athenian democracy emerged have often neglected the insightsinto the social ordering of the communities who simultaneously inhabitedthe European hinterland, encompassed by the term Iron Age. Archaeologicalknowledge of these communities, generated over the last couple of decades,indicates a variety of situations transcending the traditional interpretation basedupon the concept of chiefdom. Situating the Athenian democracy in the contextof various other social solutions, simultaneously realized in its hinterland, mayelucidate the ways of its functioning, as well as the whole range of possiblealternatives. Finally, such comparative approach may lead to a more detailedunderstanding of similarities and differences between the ancient model of democracyand the modern modes of organization denoted by the same term.

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