Vinča culture

The Vinča culture was a culture that existed during the Stone Age, from around 5400 BC to 4600 BC. It was the first to develop the knowledge and skills to process copper, in the late 6th millennium BC.^[2]

Influence of different cultures during the stone age, in Europe. Vinča is shown in light purple.

The culture is named for a large site found close to modern-day Belgrade, Serbia. Other sites have also been discovered in Romania, Hungary and Bosnia.

Vinča artifacts include many ceramic figurines. Some of these have symbols on them which have been interpreted as an early form of writing. These symbols are called Vinča symbols.

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  Tărtăria amulet, showing some of the symbols found
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  Clay figurine, British Museum.