The Settlement of Serbs on Balkans and the First State
Neolithic
- latest period of the Stone Age
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This chapter contains only a fragment of the artifacts excavated from many Neolithic sites. They show the progress in the working of implements from stone, bones and fired earth. The various vessels for practical use or cult (religious) purposes, as well as human and animal plastics, reflect both the daily and spiritual life of these people.
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The people of the early Neolithic built houses in square-trapezoid foundations, on wooden frames, pasted with mud and weed. Houses were probably grouped within families. Barns found (buried in the ground) with charred barley and wheat indicate farmers, while bones of domestic animals point to stock raisers. Remains of game animals found in houses or their vicinity show that the early Neolithic people also lived by hunting. A large numbers of awls, spatulas, harpoons and fishhooks indicate fishing, because the settlements were situated by rivers.
Judging by the remains of their material culture, the people in the Starcevo culture lived south to Macedonia, though there is evidence of their habitation in Bosnia.
Pottery was mainly bomb-like in shape. Barbotine ware - vessels, beakers and bowls, were decorated by pinching and pulling fingers over fresh coatings. Much human and animal plastic was found. Figures of animals were made realistically. Figurines featured mainly the female body, reflecting belief in the cult of fertility.
The mid-Neolithic people were created through a mixture of the indigenous population and communities known by the site Vinca (Vinca culture). Their habitats were made by the old principle and from the same material. The Vinca houses were more massive; they were made up of two sections with hearths. Pottery and stone tools were made in houses. People knew how to weave matting from reed and bast, while artifacts of parts of looms indicate they knew how to process wool.
Many remains of the material culture evince skill in pottery. Vessels were mostly oval in shape, though some were biconical in shape. Particular dexterity is noticeable in the making of vessels and firing. Human plastic acquired new forms; rigidly stylized figurines appeared with long necks and faces resembling masks.
The Vinca culture of the latest Neolithic lived in families owned stock (cattle, sheep, and pigs) which they kept in their yards. Their houses were arranged in rows, with "streets", which leads to the conclusion that their villages had "urbanistic" solutions.
Their pottery was more sophisticated and decorated. Bowls biconical and conical in shape prevailed. Ornaments were incised and frequently red in color. Human plastics still featured the woman, the pregnant woman and the mother with child, though there were also figurines emphasizing the male attributes.
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