Belo Brdo Research Articles

Bone technology in the Late Neolithic Vinča culture: Manufacturing pointed tools

The bone industry of the Late Neolithic/Early Eneolithic Vinča culture was rich and diverse; different osseous raw materials (diverse skeletal elements) were used for the production of everyday items, weapons and ornaments. The selection of raw materials was usually strict – certain skeletal elements were consistently used for specific artefact types, often depending on their physical properties. The manufacturing techniques display a certain level of standardisation, in particular, the most common tool type, medium-sized pointed tools (awls), was generally produced by using the same manufacturing techniques and resulting in more or less standardised products. In this paper, an overview will be provided of manufacturing techniques used for the production of pointed tools from several Vinča culture sites: Vitkovo, Pločnik and Vinča – Belo Brdo, reconstruction of the chaîne opératoire, the morphological features of the subtypes and variants, and their overall cultural and economic importance will be discussed.

Harmonization of conflicts in the areas of cultural heritage sites: The case of Belo Brdo-Vinca in Belgrade, Serbia

This paper researches the problems of protection and management of cultural heritage sites in Serbia and the possibilities of harmonization of conflicts in these areas. As a case study, the Belo Brdo archaeological site in the city of Belgrade was analyzed. The Belo Brdo archaeological site is of international importance and represents the largest and the most significant multi-layered prehistoric settlement in Europe and the eponymous site of the younger Neolithic, Vinca cultural group. The main research problem is how conflicts, between cultural heritage protection and other activities could be harmonized in the areas of cultural heritage sites. The basic goal of this research is to define the possible directions of improvements of planning and management practices in the areas of cultural heritage sites, including institutional and policy mechanisms, as well as a suitable management model. The results of the research could be applicable in the future planning practices of other cultural heritage sites in the country and region.

Bioanthropological Analysis of the Medieval Population from Vinča – Belo Brdo: Preliminary Results

Bioanthropological Analysis of the Medieval Population from Vinča – Belo Brdo: Preliminary Results

Geochemical characterization of sediments from the archaeological site Vinča – Belo Brdo, Serbia

In this study, a multidisciplinary approach was used for a detailed characterization of sediments from the archaeological site Vinča – Belo Brdo, Serbia, one of the most important Neolithic settlements in Europe. This research aimed to determine the paleoenvironmental conditions during Pleistocene and Early Holocene sedimentation prior to Early Neolithic settlement (~5800 cal BC) and provide novel insight into the interaction between humans and the environment during the Middle and Late Neolithic (5300–4550 cal BC). For the first time, organic geochemical characterization, combined with organic petrography, grain size, mineralogy, and inorganic analysis were done on sediment samples from geological and archaeological sections of the Vinča – Belo Brdo site. In the archaeological section, the layer with remains of the burned house and the overlaying leveling layer were particularly interesting.The samples from the oldest geological layers were characterized by the relatively high content of carbonates, the largest amount of soluble organic matter (OM), predominance of liptinite macerals, along with the prevalence of short and mid-chain n-alkanes indicating a marsh-lake depositional environment. The sedimentation of overlaying geological layers continued in an oxbow lake, followed by a shallow depositional environment with stronger input of vascular plants. This was indicated by an increase of the terrigenous component, a high amount of huminite maceral, especially textinite, the predominance of odd long-chain n-alkanes, as well as the presence of diterpanes, pimarane, and 16α(H)-phyllocladane.Quartz was the most abundant mineral in paleosol, while the OM had a mixed origin with a major input of microorganism in the precursor biomass. Estimated average paleosol temperature around 12–16 °C and mean annual precipitation of 938 mm/yr were favorable for ancient civilization settlement.In archaeological samples, the OM was predominantly formed by microorganisms, with a certain contribution of terrestrial plants. Their occurrence was substantiated by the presence of telohuminite, detrohuminite, resinite, and sporinite. The prevalence of n-alkane C18, along with the occurrence of inertinite macerals, semifusinite and fusinite, in the layer with the burned house remains confirmed the incomplete combustion of woody biomass at temperatures <500 °C. Organic and inorganic geochemical parameters for the leveling layer covering the destroyed buildings showed analogous composition as the lowest geological layers. This proved that Vinča inhabitants excavated material for leveling at a site in their vicinity, and used it for covering the burnt debris, clearing the areas for a new settlement. In this context, the decades long archaeological dilemma of the origin of the leveling material was resolved.

The early Vinča culture in Transylvania: Considerations regarding its chronological position using correspondence analysis

By applying a correspondence analysis to the morphological characteristics of the early Vinča culture pottery from the Miercurea Sibiului-Petriș site and using the results as prior-estimates for the Bayesian approach, we show the time span of the Vinča layer no. II corresponds only to Vinča B phase. This is contrary to prior assertions connecting this layer to the Vinča A phase. Enlarging the territory and using the eponymous site of Belo Brdo as a comparison, we conclude that a Vinča A horizon exists in Transylvania, a horizon that corresponds to the same phase from Romanian and Serbian Banat and Middle Danube region. The Vinča B stage from Transylvania is rather different than that one from Middle Danube region, reopening the discussions about a Transylvanian aspect of the Vinča culture.

The Vinča group - (Almost) 40 years on John Chapman (independent scholar)

My inspiration for an undergraduate dissertation (1972) on the origins of the Vinča group and, then, a PhD on the group as a whole (1976) came from a 1971 trip to the Belo Brdo tell. The PhD was transformed by new analyses to become the 1981 BAR publication - a processually-oriented work which, in an unexpected way, remains the only general synthesis of the Vinča group until this very day.In this self-critical and -reflexive paper, based upon the keynote speech I was invited to present to the Tübingen 2019 ‘LBK – Vinča’ Conference, I look backwards to those aspects of the synthesis which remain relevant; examine those parts which have been overtaken by more recent research; and consider why it is that the synthesis has yet to be superceded.It is interesting that landscape studies and especially settlement studies remain some of the most relevant parts of my research. Although new fieldwork has led to incrementally better distribution maps, the basic premises remain true of the changes in settlement structure from Starčevo to Vinča.The remote sensing revolution, the Bayesian analyses of unimaginably large numbers of AMS dates and the contextual recording of finds have made the greatest impacts on Vinča research. Site planning and site size studies have progressed enormously. The analyses of site densities of figurines still poses important research questions but lacks the current contextual detail of figurine deposition.Apart from congenital idleness, I cannot imagine why no other specialist has written a new synthesis of the Vinča group. It is not that no new ‘cultural syntheses' have appeared in the Balkans - syntheses are not yet a threatened species. Admittedly, a rather large amount of new material has appeared in the last 50 years - together with a tendency to paint pictures on smaller canvases. Yet my hope for the next 50 years is that several new general syntheses will be written on the Vinča group.

Tick Fauna of Small Ruminants in South Part of Serbia, with Emphasis to North Kosovo

The study regarding tick fauna and season distribution of ticks of small ruminant in the south part of Serbia, with emphasis on north Kosovo was performed during 2017. During the study we examined a total of 114 flocks of goats and sheep from Zvečan and Leposavić districts (villages Ceranja, Majdevo, Zemanica, Mure, Rudine, Žitkovac, Oraovica, Mošnica, Donji Krnjin, Belo brdo, Mioliće, Drenova and Beliće). Infections occurred at and on 56.14% of examined sheep and 31.42% of examined goats. The most abudant tick species were Ixodes ricinus, followed by Dermacentor marginatus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, R.bursa, Haemaphysalis punctata and D.recticulatus.

Korenove nematode na korenastom povrću

Root vegetables have been present in our country from the earliest times. Paleobotanical sources indicate the presence of seeds of plants of the family Apiaceae (carrots or parsnips) from the 6th millennium BC from the Belo Brdo site. The greatest damage to these plants is caused by nematodes of the genus Meloidogyne, whose larvae burrow into the roots and transform into adult organisms inside the tissue, causing tissue deformation, tumor formation and can completely jeopardize vegetable yields. The populations of M. hapla were found on carrots and parsnips from the vicinity of Leskovac and Belgrade, respectively and they are morphologically characterized. The larval morphometric data show no significant differences between the populations however, M. hapla from parsnips shows more variations in the female perineal pattern, which is a characteristic of the species.

A Vinča potscape: formal chronological models for the use and development of Vinča ceramics in south-east Europe

Recent work at Vinča-Belo Brdo has combined a total of more than 200 radiocarbon dates with an array of other information to construct much more precise narratives for the structural history of the site and the cultural materials recovered from it. In this paper, we present the results of a recent attempt to construct formal models for the chronology of the wider Vinča potscape, so that we can place our now detailed understanding of changes at Belo Brdo within their contemporary contexts. We present our methodology for assessing the potential of the existing corpus of more than 600 radiocarbon dates for refining the chronology of the five phases of Vinča ceramics proposed by Milojčić across their spatial ranges, including a total of 490 of them in a series of Bayesian chronological models. Then we outline our main results for the development of Vinča pottery. Finally, we discuss some of the major implications for our understanding of the source, character and tempo of material change.

The origin, production and use of quartz crystals in the Neolithic of Serbia: Vinča-Belo Brdo

Abstract The scope and importance of utilisation of quartz crystals in the prehistoric period of Serbia were smaller in comparison with cherts, and the reasons for their manufacture and purpose are not sufficiently known. Definition of the origin of quartz crystals from the Grivac site, outside the assumed mine at Mali Sturac, and artefacts from Vinca-Belo Brdo from the mine on Avala, as well as definition of working operations carried out using quartz crystal tools represent the initial framework of a systematic approach to the investigation of this group of raw materials. Precise determination of the main components and the character of lithic organization of quartz crystals is one of the important markers of the exchange of raw materials and artefacts in the network of Neolithic settlements in the territory of Serbia. This paper opens up new questions of interrelationships among Vinca settlements of large and small areas and different demographic capacities in the Final Neolithic and during the Chalcolithic.

Fishing with lure hooks at the Late Neolithic site of Vinča – Belo Brdo, Serbia

The authors present an early evidence for the use of complex fishing techniques for obtaining variable fish resources in prehistoric south-east Europe as recovered at the Neolithic site of Vinča – Belo Brdo in Serbia. In particular, a group of bone artefacts have been analysed through the application of an integrated approach combining technological, use-wear, and residue analyses as well as the comparisons with ethnographic artefacts. The results of the functional analysis indicate that these artefacts were parts of lure hooks, i.e. composite hooks, probably used to catch large predatory fish. On methodological grounds, the discussion proposed in this paper could be relevant for other case studies worldwide where one finds prehistoric communities with evidence of fishing activities.

The end of the affair: formal chronological modelling for the top of the Neolithic tell of Vinča-Belo Brdo

Abstract

New questions for the old setting

Abstract The site of Vinca is often regarded as a yardstick for the entire Late Neolithic period of southeast Europe. Neolithic farmers, cattle-breeders, fishers, hunters, craftsmen, tradesmen and artists lived here for more than a millennium between 5600 and 4500 B.C. The site contains more than 9 m of cultural deposits, and its exceptional position at the crossroads of natural routes, at the bank of the River Danube, between the vast Pannonian plain and hilly inland made it ideal for scientific research. The site of Vinca-Belo Brdo became known among archaeologists and general public soon after its discovery in 1908. Since then, there three generations of archaeologists have been excavating here. Miloje M. Vasic will be remembered as the first one to bring to light artefacts and dwelling objects of what later became known as the Vinca culture. He had excavated the entire cultural deposit in ten campaigns between 1908 and 1934 at the central part of the site and discovered at least ten dwelling horizons, all yielding rich and abundant archaeological material. The excavations of 1978–1987, led by N. Tasic, D. Srejovic and G. Marjanovic-Vujovic, have ascertained the existence of post Neolithic dwelling horizons dated in the Copper Age, late Bronze Age and Medieval periods. Archaeological material from the site that has been excavated in the course of 105 years has been thoroughly studied, analysed, and published. It seems that it has given all the answers regarding internal division, style and function of pottery, procurement of raw materials, and relationship with other contemporaneous populations, but there are questions which cannot be answered by traditional archaeological means. The ongoing research at Belo Brdo in Vinca which started in 1998 and directed by the author of this text focuses not only on archaeological research but also on attracting and involving experts from different scientific disciplines. Archaeo-botany, archaeo-zoology, geology, geophysics, chemistry, IT, soil sciences, and geography will be used in our attempt to reconstruct some aspects of the palaeoenvironment of the site of Vinca. These new results of applied sciences, combined with archaeological knowledge, will help us answer much more complex questions concerning the relationship of human populations and their environment; explain some of the choices these people made; and perhaps give us an answer as to why they had left the site by the end of the Neolithic.

Pottery versus sediment: Optically stimulated luminescence dating of the Neolithic Vinča culture, Serbia

Abstract Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was applied to the Neolithic Vinca culture's type-site, Vinca Belo-Brdo, to establish best protocols for routine luminescence dating of similar Holocene sites, critical in understanding Neolithic to Chalcolithic cultural development. Equivalent dose (De) values were investigated for sediment samples using 63–90 μm grains on large and small aliquots, and single-grain laser luminescence (SGLL), and for pottery samples using large aliquots of 4–11 μm grains. The effects of changing water content and the different techniques available to establish radionuclide concentration were explored for their impacts on dose rate (Dr) estimates. Ages for two pottery samples of 6.74 ± 0.37 ka and 7.04 ± 0.47 ka are in line with the existing AMS radiocarbon chronology for the site and are regarded as the best dates available. Sediment samples at Vinca show poor signal strength, and the uncertainty over past water content, in addition to the possibility of mixing and/or partial bleaching of the quartz, means that we do not recommend the use of sediment-derived ages at complex archaeological sites such as Vinca. OSL dating of fired pottery however, presents a powerful tool for generating independent chronologies at archaeological sites as well as providing additional constraints for Bayesian age models.

Vinca-Belo Brdo, a late neolithic site in Serbia consideration of the macro-botanical remains as indicators of dietary habits

The analysis of macro-botanical remains from the late Neolithic site of Vinca-Belo Brdo has provided first information on the range of crops and wild plants present at the site, and revealed their potential role as foodstuffs. The abundance and distribution of certain plant taxa across different archaeological deposits suggests to what extent they were used within the settlement. The analyzed plant remains also offer insight into the types of food consumed by Vinca residents and serve as a basis for inferring the seasonality and method of food provision/production and activities related to plant use.

Analysis of human osteological material from the eastern part of site no. 37 in Sremska Mitrovica

The direct reason for writing this paper was the new find of skeletons in the medieval necropolis (10th-12th century) discovered as far back 1968 at the Site No. 37 in Sremska Mitrovica (Sirmium). Institute for the protection of cultural monuments in Sremska Mitrovica undertook protective archaeological excavations in the eastern part of the site in 2010, discovering 29 skeletons. Since that archaeological analysis of Belo Brdo communities is still in its infancy and considering that there is not a sufficiently big sample for a more precise monitoring of this population?s inner dynamics, it is considered useful to present results gained by studying these skeletons on Site No. 37. Although the results in many ways match the results gained up until now, there are some paleopathological changes that so far, have not appeared and for which we had no direct confirmation in the osteological material. One of these paleopathological changes is certainly syphilis.

Dentalium beads - shells of fosillised sea molluscs at the Vinca-Belo brdo site

Dentalium beads - shells of fosillised sea molluscs at the Vinca-Belo brdo site

Vinca-Belo Brdo: Vernissages of eneolithic belgrade and its vicinity I

The following paper will discuss the problems of Eneolithic settlements of Baden and Kostolac culture at Vinca near Belgrade. Eneolithic horizons from Vinca site were scarcely published owing to the fact that both Baden and Kostolac layers are not well stratified because of heavy medieval devastations. In spite of all post-depositional destructions Eneolithic settlements at Vinca show enormous significance for understanding the life of the period, both on the micro and macro-regional scale. At the same time, this work is a sort of an insight into the results of ongoing analysis of material culture and socio-economic patterns of Eneolithic period settlements in Belgrade and its vicinity.

The origin and exchange of obsidian from Vinca-Belo Brdo

Since the time of the revolutionary characterization of obsidian in the 1960's only a small number of artefacts from the Serbian sites have been analyzed, of which at least seven samples come from the site of Vinca. These results showed that obsidian was coming from Carpathian sources, disproving old romantic ideas of the existence of local obsidian sources in the central Balkans. These results allowed for the development of ideas about exchange networks of interregional importance during the Late Neolithic in which obsidian was an integral component. In this paper we will be discussing the results of the characterization of 60 obsidian samples, representing ca. 4% of the entire obsidian assemblage from the site. The samples were taken from the whole Neolithic sequence at Vinca selecting macroscopically different obsidian types.

Early-Christian monuments on the eastern slopes of the Kopaonik mountain

Significant Early-Christian localities referring to the rich mining activities of this region were found on the Kopaonik Mountain or in the Silver Mountain, as it was named by Roman, Venetian, and Turkish sources. From broader point of view, even from the times of Roman provinces settlement on the Balkan, the area of Serbia with very thick settlements? net was used as a logistic and strategic support of the Roman Empire. The territory being the subject of our research is the zone where provinces Moesia Prima Mediterranean Dacia (Dacia Mediterranea) and Dardania meet. The sites that offer new data for the process of settlement and Christianization of these regions are CELESTIAL CHAIRS on the top of Kopaonik at the altitude of 1,800 m, DUB in Mala Vrbnica in the bottom of the Mountain and Gradac in Gornje Levice at 1,089 m altitude. They are in the northern part of Dardania, in the Province where silver with lead were dug as well as golden silver together with exploitation of iron, copper and mercury ores. The zone of these findings gravitates to Roman administrative center Municipium Dardanorum near to Socanica at Kosovo. Thus, it may be assumed that still non-referred northern border of Dardania could have covered eastern slopes of Kopaonik up to the bottom and border with Aleksandrovac Zupa. On the eastern slopes of Kopaonik three early-Christian basilicas were found; one in Celestial Chairs with floor mosaic; another in Gradac site in Gornje Levi}e within the fortress and the third one in the Dub site in a village Mala Vrbnica, with stone decorative plastic. All these buildings date from the period of 5-6th century based on archeological material. Sites in Celestial Chairs and the one in Gornje Levice have, as many castles in broader vicinity, continuity of 4-6th century proved by founding of secular objects like fibula with bent legs, cross-like fibulas, money, ceramic fragments with rake ornaments. Porkpie stated that Dardania had reconditioned 68 fortresses out of 70 original ones, and only 8 were new-built. Celestial Chairs visually dominate the whole area. From this place, one can see as on his palm Early-Byzantine fortresses on Vojetin, Cucaica and in Gornje Levice, as well as the mines in Zaplanina and Belo Brdo. Having in mind natural features of the terrain historical surrounding, and, first of all, archeological finding, we think that Celestial Chairs and Gornje Levice could be the spot to look for spiritual and administrative center of the northern part of Roman province Dardania.