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The essay "Burying the Heroes: Identifying the Archaeological Background of the Homeric Burial" by Antonis Kourkoulakos discusses the historical and cultural significance of Homeric burial customs. The author argues that Homeric burial customs are the result of a mixture of traditions, contemporary customs, and collective memory. By examining archaeological findings and written sources, possible origins of Homeric burial customs are proposed. It is noted that burial practices in Anatolia show similarities to Homeric traditions, particularly regarding cremation and the use of urns. There are also similarities between the burial tradition in the Iliad and archaeological findings in Greece, the Aegean, and the Balkans. It is speculated that these similarities could indicate a connection between the Mediterranean and Central European regions. The western Balkan region appears to have been the area where the tumulus tradition originated and spread over a large area in the following centuries. Therefore, the epics are not only a marvel of early Greek poetry, but rather an example of the first truly "European" (and indeed Anatolian) literary work. [Extracted from the article]

Vrbjanska Čuka is a tell site in the region of Pelagonia (Macedonia) established 8000 years ago by the Neolithic communities. Later it was used as an agricultural unit during the Roman era and the Middle Ages when it was also employed as a burial area. The excavations performed in the 1980s and during the last five years indicate a Neolithic farming society that constructed large buildings made of daub in a settlement enclosed by a circular ditch. The buildings had many clay structures, such as ovens, granaries, bins and grinding areas for processing cereals and bread production. The Neolithic communities used sophisticated fine pottery and modeled figurines and altars, while the stone tools were mainly used for cutting trees, harvesting and grinding. Apart from the cereal-based food (einkorn wheat, emmer wheat or barley), the inhabitants of Vrbjanska Čuka consumed lentils, peas and a variety of gathered wild fruits, while cattle, caprovine, mussels, fish and wild game meat was also part of a diet, as well as the dairy products. This paper will be a summary of a variety of data provided from the current international and multidisciplinary research of the site that involves excavation, prospection, geomagnetic survey, study of material culture, examination of architecture, radiocarbon dating, geoarchaeological, archaeobotanical, archaeozoological, lipid and use-wear analyses, as well as the topographic and 3D modeling. The recent knowledge on Vrbjanska Čuka provides novel understanding of the Early Neolithic in Pelagonia and contributes to the more extensive research of first farming societies in the Balkans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]