Its object of study is the earliest traces of human society in the Albanian territory during the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Eneolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. This study is achieved through archaeological research and excavation projects.
Palaeolithic and Mesolithic.
The Albanian archaeological researcher on these two periods is still at a starting point. The surveys carried out during the last years in the Mallakaster and Sarande areas have made possible the discovery of several new Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites which open new perspectives in these fields.
Neolithic and Eneolithic.
These are the most studied periods of Albanian Prehistory.
The research on these periods started on 1948 with the discovery of Maliq, one of the most important multi layer settlements not only of Albania, but also of the whole Balkans area.
It later continued with the discovery of other 21 settlements in Berat, Diber, Fier, Korce, Librazhd, Kukes, and Mat etc. where Korce area is distinguished for its intensity of occupation and the level of economic and cultural development.
The future studies and researches on the Neolithic and Copper Age, requires the organisation of projects which interact with other fields such as paleobotany, archaeozoology, geoarchaeology, etc., in order to obtain more information and to create a complete understanding of the life and environment in these periods.
Bronze Age.
It includes the period of the third and second millennium BC during which many important ethno-cultural changes took place, especially with the arrival of the Indo-European population in the Balkans. These factors created new populations in the area. Such important problems were the object of the studies and researches of the Albanian archaeology in the Bronze Age.
The main archaeological information on this period comes from the excavations of several tumuli in Vodhine, Bajkaj, Dukat, Vajze, Pazhok, Barc, Mat, Germenj, etc., these tumuli are spread geographically throughout the Albanian territory, but we also have excavations in settlements of this period such as at Gajtan, Nezir, Maliq, Tren, etc.
The Iron Age.
This period dates from XI - V century BC. The excavations tumuli and other settlements continue to have a major role and also a wide and rich variety of material has been obtained from them. The study of this period is crucial on the identification of the Illyrians material and spiritual culture and their economic and social developments on the conditions of the mutual interactions with other Balkan civilizations. Basing on these facts the Iron Age remains one of the principal objectives of the Prehistory Department
researches.
The Prehistory Department during the last years has organised many projects with fellow foreign institutions like the:
Mallakastra Regional Archaeological Project (with the University of Cincinnati, USA),
Sovjan Project, Korce (with the French school of Athens),
the Proger Project, Korce (with the University of Salonica, Greece), and
Kamenica Project, Korce (with the Rescue Archaeology Unit of the International Centre for the Albanian Archaeology).
