Group identities in the Central Balkan Late Neolithic

Abstract

The final period of Neolithic Vinča culture, which occupied wide areas in the Balkans, is characterised by large settlements, which were built, judging by the most recent investigations, according to premeditated plan. What was their purpose? Were they autonomous or part of some wider communities? How large was the territory within which people of that time defined themselves as 'we' and where did communities of 'others' begin? The objective of this work is to indicate the possibilities for studying the complexity of group identities in the Late Vinča societies. We take as a starting point the micro-region of Drenski Vis in north-western Serbia, where five Late Vinča settlements have been discovered.