Trade and Exchange in Prehistory
Venue: Zagreb, Archaeological Museum, Trg Nikole Subica Zrinskog 19
Duration: 21st December 2006 - 15th March 2007
Type: archaeological
Author: Sanjin Mihelic
Spatial layout and graphic design: Robert Vazdar
Graphic design and layout of panels: Srecko Skrinjaric
Scope: 550 exhibits, textual panels, drawings, photographs
Accompanying publication: 168 pages in colour, group of authors
The exhibition is conceived as a thematically coherent unit dealing with the topics of prehistoric trade and exchange, from the earliest periods of human development up until contacts of the last prehistoric populations with the advanced historic civilizations of classical antiquity. In addition to the analysis of the phenomena of trade and exchange through various periods, the exhibition offers elaboration of certain aspects of importance for a more comprehensive understanding of the analysed topics. One can thus learn about trade routes and transport devices, agents of trade and exchange, raw materials used in production, to name a few of represented topics.
The exhibition is designed in a contemporary fashion, with the use of computer, video and audio technology, with emphasis on graphic presentation. The exhibition is conceived as a dynamic introduction to the concepts and phenomena characterizing prehistoric trade and exchange, with the avoidance of static models of presentation.
The exhibits consist of artefacts representing exchanged items. In addition to the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, the exhibits were provided by the following institutions: Archaeological Museum of Istria, Vinkovci Municipal Museum, Croatian Museum of Natural History, Hungarian National Museum, Museum of Cetinska Krajina, Hvar Heritage Museum, Museum of Slavonia in Osijek, Turopolje Museum, Museum of Vojvodina, Department of Underwater Archaeology of the Croatian Conservation Institute, Department of Archaeology of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Institute for the Paleontology and Geology of the Quarternary Period of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
The exhibition is accompanied by a book with the same title, with contributions from twenty experts from Croatia and abroad, each providing an analysis of a topic of their professional interest.