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Interwoven Strands for Refining the Chronology of the Neolithic Tell of Vinča-Belo Brdo, Serbia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 August 2016

Nenad Tasić ,
Miroslav Marić ,
Dragana Filipović ,
Kristina Penezić ,
Elaine Dunbar ,
Paula Reimer ,
Alistair Barclay ,
Alex Bayliss ,
Bisserka Gaydarska  and
Alasdair Whittle
Nenad Tasić
Affiliation:
Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade University, Čika Ljubina 18–20, Belgrade, Serbia
Miroslav Marić
Affiliation:
The Institute for Balkan Studies, Serbian Academy of Science and Arts, Knez Mihailova 35, Belgrade, Serbia
Dragana Filipović
Affiliation:
The Institute for Balkan Studies, Serbian Academy of Science and Arts, Knez Mihailova 35, Belgrade, Serbia
Kristina Penezić
Affiliation:
Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade University, Čika Ljubina 18–20, Belgrade, Serbia
Elaine Dunbar
Affiliation:
SUERC Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, Scottish Enterprise Technology Park, Rankine Avenue, East Kilbride G75 0QF, UK
Paula Reimer
Affiliation:
14CHRONO Centre, Queen's University Belfast, 42 Fitzwilliam Street, Belfast BT9 6AX, UK
Alistair Barclay
Affiliation:
Wessex Archaeology, Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury SP4 6EB, UK
Alex Bayliss
Affiliation:
Historic England, 1 Waterhouse Square, 138–42 Holborn, London EC1N 2ST, UK
Bisserka Gaydarska
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology and Conservation, Cardiff University, John Percival Building. Colum Drive, Cardiff CF10 3EU, UK
Alasdair Whittle*
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology and Conservation, Cardiff University, John Percival Building. Colum Drive, Cardiff CF10 3EU, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: whittle@cardiff.ac.uk.
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Abstract

A formally modeled radiocarbon chronology for a new profile through the great Neolithic tell of Vinča-Belo Brdo, Serbia, is the third interwoven strand in refining the chronology of the tell. This now joins models for the whole sequence based on the archive of early excavations, and for the last two known horizons at the top of the settlement mound, investigated in recent decades. In the new deep sounding, Vinča culture occupation from the 52nd century cal BC is slightly later than in the main sequence, probably reflecting the horizontal extension of the tell as it began to grow. The last dated occupation falls in the late 47th–early 46th century cal BC, slightly earlier than in the main sequence, but the top of the profile is affected by the slippage that caused the new excavations. Formal estimates are given for the succession and varying durations of burnt and unburnt houses, and indicate a period in the first part of the 5th millennium without house burning. Overall, the combined results from the three interwoven strands serve to produce a radically enhanced understanding of the temporality of the tell, which builds on, rather than supplants, previous research. We knew previously that Vinča-Belo Brdo was very long-lived, but now we can time that history with much greater precision. We can assert with much greater confidence that its vertical buildup was steady and largely uninterrupted. We have begun, from the work on the top of the tell and in the new deep sounding, to grasp better the fluctuations in house durations from generation to generation, and can now contrast the relative fortunes of unburnt and burnt houses. We can say much more about the timing and tempo of the ending of the tell, and about the possible circumstances in which that took place.

Keywords

VinčaNeolithictellradiocarbon datingBayesian chronological modelinginterwoven strandshouses
Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 58 , Issue 4 , December 2016 , pp. 795 - 831
Copyright
© 2016 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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