The Global Prehistory Consortium at EURO INNOVANET
Republic of Serbia and Montenegro
UNUSUAL OBJECT WITH AN INSCRIPTION

Unusual object with an inscription

A long, complex dedication appears on an object, of unknown use, from Vincha (former Yugoslavia) that belongs to the Neolithic times.
Although most of the ancient European texts were brief, because composed by combining groups of two or more signs, some terracottas have sequences consisting of over a dozen characters, so formalised as to suggest a complex ritual dedication or a formula to record, preserve and transmit a myth.


References:

Haarmann H., Early Civilization and Literacy in Europe. An Inquiry Into Cultural Continuity in the Mediterranean World, Berlino, New York, 1995.
Merlini M., Was Writing Born in Europe? Searching for a Sacred Script, Rome ( in preparation )
Winn, Shan M.M., Pre-writing in Southeastern Europe: The Sign System of the
Vincha Culture ca 4000 BC, Western Publishers, Calgary, 1981