The Ancient Slavs

The political, economic and ethnic history of Eastern Europe was radically changed by Slav settlement following the end of the Migration Period. This introduction traces the evolution of the Slavs from a tribal and nomadic society to a more complex and settled ethnic group. It begins with an account of the outside pressures and internal dynamics of Slav settlement and then goes on to examine the archaeological evidence of the settlements themselves. The author concentrates mainly on hillforts and rural communities, including discoveries from his own excavations on the Roztoky Project. The text provides an analysis of the economic and social implications for early medieval Slavic society.