Socijalni i ekonomski status mrtvih: sahranjivanje u vreme ranog hrišćanstva
Social and Economic Status of the Dead: Burials in the Period of Early Christianity

Summary/Abstract: Traditionally, the necropolises of the 4th century have been considered in theframework of the spread of Christianity, conceived as a linear progression. Theresearch into the necropolises of this period is predominantly based upon thepremise that the earliest Christian burials are “poor”, so consequently the lackof grave offerings has often been identified as the indicator of Christianity. Fromthis starting point, the research goals have almost always been identified in termsof determination of religious character of the necropolises, i. e. whether theywere Christian or pagan. This text therefore aims to question this firmly heldbelief that the economic status of the individuals buried in the 4th century inthe territory of Serbia may be equated to their religious (Christian) identity. Thepremise which equates the absence of certain artefacts as the proof the presenceof religious ideas is problematic, especially since the graves with “rich” offeringswere registered during this period, some of them plausibly identified as burialsof the Christians. Furthermore, this premise severely limits the issues that can beraised, and the paper proposes the move from the perpetual goal to identify individualgraves as Christian or pagan. It is argued here that this period is characterizedby frequent and important political, economic, social, and religious changes.If we move from the assumption that the religious identity of individuals (andnecropolises) can be ascribed in a straightforward manner, the burials of this periodcan offer valuable insight into the lives of people who were not subsumed totheir religious affiliation, or at least not in the way we ascribe to them.

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