Regional Absolute Chronologies of the Late Neolithic in Serbia. The case study of At near Vršac

Abstract

The paper presents the concept, methodology and preliminary results of the project Regional Absolute Chronologies of the Late Neolithic in Serbia that started in 2020 using a case study from the site of At near Vršac in northeast Serbia. The aim of the project is to create multiple new regional chronological strands consisting of Bayesian modelled radiocarbon dates from sites with material culture belonging to the tradition of the Late Neolithic period Vinča culture. Combining statistical seriation of pottery assemblages and the Bayesian statistical modelling framework of several case studies from various regions of Serbia, new regional chronological anchor points will be created, thus avoiding constant comparison with the assemblage and dating of the eponymous site of Belo Brdo in Vinča. This approach will overcome the effects of the regionalization of material culture evident in most ceramic assemblages located further than 100 kilometres away from the type site. Using archival archaeological records from previous excavations will enable an establishment of a geography of chronological reference points which would then provide new insights into the dynamics of the evolution of the Late Neolithic Vinča societies and changes that occurred throughout its territory during the late sixth and the larger part of the fifth millennia BCE.