The Vinca culture was a Neolithic culture of southeastern Europe, named after the village of Vinca near Belgrade, where a large settlement mound was excavated in the early twentieth century. Its people lived in large villages of well-built houses and are known for their elaborate pottery and clay figurines. Signs incised on some objects, the so-called Vinca symbols, have led to debate on whether they were an early form of writing, although most scholars think they are not true writing. Vinca communities also practised early copper metallurgy, with mining and smelting, for example at Plocnik in Serbia, which is among the earliest evidence of copper smelting in the world.
Before and after
- c. 5,550 BCEEruption of Mashu
- from 56th century BCE to 35th century BCEUbaid period
- from 56th century BCE to 20th century BCESumer
- from 55th century BCE to 27th century BCECucuteni–Trypillia culture
- from 55th century BCE to 45th century BCEVinča culture
- 6th millennium BCEDiscovery of silver
- 6th millennium BCEOrigins of Indian religions
- 6th millennium BCEDiscovery of iron
- c. 5,001 BCECopper is smelted in the Balkans
More in Evolution & life
- about 20,000 years agoThe earliest known pottery is made in China
- from 10th millennium BCE to 6th millennium BCEMesolithic
- 76th century BCECats begin to live with farmers
- from c. 5,600s BCE to 4,900s BCELinear Pottery culture
- from c. 3,500 BCE to 2,500 BCEAfanasevo culture
- from c. 3,300 BCE to 600 BCEBronze Age
The era
This moment belongs to the Human prehistory (300,000 years ago to 3,200 BCE), the human story before writing.