Some remarks on the genesis of the early Eneolithic in the Central Balkans

Abstract

The study addresses an imprecisely defined period between the end of the Neolithic and the beginning of the Eneolithic in the Central Balkans. The study primarily refers to the characteristic ceramic forms common to both the Vinca culture and the Early Eneolithic groups, especially the Bubanj-Hum I group. The pottery under consideration originates exclusively from absolutely dated sites, single-layered sites, and sites that possess a well-defined vertical stratigraphy. The analyses of pottery, combined with brief reviews on economic strategies, the chipped stone industry, settlement topography and the process of metallurgy indicate that the transitional period from the Vinca culture to the Bubanj-Hum I group was a gradual process in the Central Balkans, without major external factors, yet continuous cultural contacts with the neighbouring communities, especially into the east. This gradual process of vertical genetic transmission between the 47th and the 45th century calBC resulted in the formation of the Bubanj-Hum I group.

Animal diseases in the Central Balkan Eneolithic (ca. 4500–2500 BC)—A diachronic perspective on the site of Bubanj, south‐eastern Serbia

“…4500/4400) to the mid‐3rd (ca. 2500/2400) millennium BC (Bulatović, Bankoff, et al, 2020; Bulatović, Gori, & Vander Linden, 2020). Based on the stylistic and typological characteristics of ceramic vessels, several different cultural groups/complexes were recognized as emerging during the Central Balkan Eneolithic: Bubanj‐Sălcuţa‐Krivodol, Cernavodă III‐Boleráz, Baden, Kostolac, Coţofeni, and Vučedol (Borić, 2009, 2015; Boyadziev, 1995; Bulatović & Milanović, 2020; Bulatović et al, 2018; Bulatović & Vander Linden, 2017; Kapuran et al, 2018; Lazarovici, 2006).…”

The Cultural and Chronological Context of Sites of Bubanj and Velika Humska Čuka Near Niš (Southeastern Serbia) and Their Significance for Understanding the Emergenceand Development of the Central Balkans Eneolithic

“…However, new radiometric measurements have indicated a prolonged duration of the Vinča culture in certain micro-regions (up to approximately 4400 cal BCE) 1 [9; 10], compared to the previous stance of D. Borić. Likewise, fresh data indicate that early BSK settlements have existed in the territories of both Serbia and Romania 2 [10].…”

“…Recent research suggests that Vinča settlements have rarely been formed on dominant and rasied ground, while it seems like the number of such settlements gradually increases, although their chronology is often unknown [11; 12], and the material culture resembles the earliest BSK settlements, which aggravates the precise cultural distinction [10]. What is certain is that during the BSK cultural complex (4500-3800/3700), the number of such settlements increases [12; 13] 3 .…”