In the post-war period an enorrnous industrial transformation has occurred in the economy and social str~ct~re of Yugoslavia . The Republic of Serbia has fully shared in this developmental growth accompanying these changes has been a mass migration from villages to towns. In addition, many of those who have continued to live in villages have obtained employment in industry and cornmerce l. Before the war the peasantry constituted the overwhelming majority of the population, while now, in the 1970's, the peasant past although not totally extinct is increasingly a subject for historical interest. Looking toward the 21st century it seems probably that the details of the peasant past will become more the subject of scientific investigation, for logically, as we become further removed from the past, so will our curiosity about the humblest details of population and social structure increase as we attempt to better understand ourselves and our future by exploring «the world we have lost.