Vinča culture

The Vinča culture was a Neolithic society that thrived in the Balkan region of Southcentral Europe more than seven thousand years ago. The Vinča (pronounced veen-CHA) were one of the most influential prehistoric societies in ancient Europe. Their settlements were some of the largest and most advanced in Europe, and they were among the first cultures to begin the transition from stone tools to metal. Symbols found on Vinčan tablets and pottery suggest that they may also have developed a very early form of writing—perhaps the oldest-known writing system in history. However, that contention is fiercely debated by archaeologists, many of whom say the symbols likely represent objects and concepts but not language. The Vinča culture was discovered by Serbian archaeologist Miloje Vasić in 1908. It was named after Vinča-Belo Brdo, an archeological site near Belgrade, Serbia, where Vasić performed his original excavation.

Background

Archeologists divide the development of human culture into several periods, typically classified by the types of tools and weapons used. The first, and longest, of these periods is the Stone Age, which began about 2.6 million years ago and ended in about 3300 BCE. The Stone Age itself is divided into three periods. The first is the Paleolithic, or “Old Stone Age,” a period in which human societies were mainly nomadic hunter-gatherers. The Paleolithic began about 2.6 million years ago and ended with the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to settled agricultural societies.

This transition period is called the Mesolithic, or “Middle Stone Age.” It began in different places at different times, with the earliest transitions taking place in the Near East—the region near modern-day Syria and Iraq—about 10,000 BCE. By the Neolithic, or “New Stone Age,” the transition to settled farming communities had been completed. During this period, humans began growing crops, raising livestock, and building the first communities.

The Neolithic period also began and ended at different times depending on geography. The earliest agricultural communities developed about 9000 BCE in the Near East. By about 7000 BCE, people in Turkey and other parts of extreme southeastern Europe were planting crops and raising livestock. Archeologists believe that waves of migrants brought farming with them as they moved into new regions.

Overview

The Neolithic period began in Southcentral Europe about 5500 BCE when the first farming cultures moved into the region. They came by way of the Mediterranean Sea and migrating along the Danube River. Modern archeologists named these farmers the Linear Pottery culture because of the lined and spiral patterns carved into their pottery. The culture is also sometimes called the Danubian culture based on its location near the Danube River.

The Vinča culture developed about 5300 BCE and lasted until its decline about 4500 BCE. The Vinča formed agricultural communities in a region of the Balkans that includes modern-day Serbia and parts of Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Romania. Archeologists disagree on the exact origins of the Vinča. Some believe they may have migrated from Anatolia, a peninsula that makes up most of modern Turkey, or simply developed out of the Linear Pottery culture.

Evidence for a Neolithic society in the region near Belgrade began to surface in the first decade of the twentieth century, prompting an investigation by archeologist Miloje Vasić. In 1908, he completed his excavation, uncovering ancient artifacts such as tools, weapons, pottery, and jewelry. His discoveries, combined with later excavations, unearthed numerous carved female fertility figures and those of animals with human-like characteristics.

Archeologists also found the remains of Vinča houses, indicating that their settlements were sizable for the time. Evidence found at the Vinča-Belo Brdo site suggests that it once housed about 2,500 people. The lifestyle of the Vinča was also surprisingly well-off. Some of the houses showed evidence of multiple rooms that were insulated. The layouts of the Vinča communities showed signs of organization and public spaces, suggesting that they were developing a form of urban planning. The number of artifacts found at the Vinča sites also seems to indicate that they produced these objects on a large scale—a sort of Neolithic version of mass production.

Archeologists define the end of the Stone Age as the time when humans predominantly began making tools and weapons out of metal. The first transition involved copper and later bronze, giving the next era in human development the name Bronze Age. This period first began about 3300 BCE and developed gradually over the next two millennia.

However, the Vinča culture showed early signs of metalwork more than a thousand years before the accepted start of the Bronze Age. Excavations have found many copper tools, such as chisels and axes, and copper bracelets and beads. Some experts believe the Vinča may have been the first culture to begin working with copper extensively.

Archaeological evidence has painted a picture of the Vinča as a significantly advanced society, but very little is known about their social and religious customs. Few burial sites have been found, and no information exists to shed light on the purpose of many Vinča artifacts. Many of these artifacts are inscribed with symbols and markings that some experts have interpreted as a very early form of writing. The symbols range from a circle with a cross inside to a sun-like image and a curved and straight line resembling a bow and arrow.

The most famous examples of the Vinča symbols are the Tărtăria tablets, three small stone objects covered in carved images. The tablets have been tentatively dated at about 5300 BCE, near the start of the Vinča culture. Those who argue that they are a form of writing claim that makes them the oldest example of a written language, predating Sumerian cuneiform writing by about two thousand years. However, most experts view the symbols as rudimentary pictographs that are meant to correspond with an object or idea, while a true writing system expresses the spoken language of a culture. Nevertheless, some archeologists theorize that the Vinča symbols influenced later writing systems, including Sumerian cuneiform and the scripts used by the Minoan culture on Crete.

Bibliography

Borić, Dušan, et al. “Enclosing the Neolithic World: A Vinča Culture Enclosed and Fortified Settlement in the Balkans.” Current Anthropology, vol. 59, no. 8, June 2018, doi.org/10.1086/697534. Accessed 12 May 2022.

Đorđević, Nikola. “How Vinča Culture Changed the Way We Think about the Stone Age.” Emerging Europe, 18 July 2020, emerging-europe.com/after-hours/how-vinca-culture-changed-the-way-we-think-about-the-stone-age/. Accessed 12 May 2022.

Gillis, Rosalind E., et al. “Of Herds and Societies—Seasonal Aspects of Vinča Culture Herding and Land Use Practices Revealed Using Sequential Stable Isotope Analysis of Animal Teeth.” PLOS One, vol. 16, no. 10, 7 Oct. 2021, doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258230. Accessed 12 May 2022.

Roberts, Ben, Miljana Radivojević, and Miroslav Maric. “The Vinča Culture: An Overview.” The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia, edited by Miljana Radivojević, et al., Archaeopress Publishing, 2021, pp. 38–46.

Spinney, Laura. “When the First Farmers Arrived in Europe, Inequality Evolved.” Scientific American, 1 July 2020, www.scientificamerican.com/article/when-the-first-farmers-arrived-in-europe-inequality-evolved/. Accessed 12 May 2022.

“The Vinča Culture: (Old Europe).” Ancient Wisdom, www.ancient-wisdom.com/serbiavinca.htm. Accessed 12 May 2022.

“Vinča, the Cradle of European Civilization.” Serbia.com, 2019, www.serbia.com/visit-serbia/cultural-attractions/archaeological-sites/vinca-the-cradle-of-european-civilization/. Accessed 12 May 2022.

Violatti, Cristian. “Neolithic Period.” World History Encyclopedia, 2 Apr. 2018, www.worldhistory.org/Neolithic/. Accessed 12 May 2022.