South-Eastern Europe and the Balkans are a key region for understanding the European Neolithic. Many new ways of life and economic systems, which continue to shape our lives today, first emerged there in Europe and later spread across the entire continent. A archaeological culture named after the Vinča site in present-day Serbia marks a late phase of the Neolithic period in the region. More than 6,500 years ago, people there lived in large settlements for extended periods for the very first time. They maintained extensive trade networks. Pottery and stoneworking demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of materials, as well as a wide range of decorative styles.

In the journal Archaeologica Austria, researchers from Kiel University (CAU), the National Museum in Pančevo (Serbia), the Museum of Vojvodina (Serbia) and the University of California, Berkeley (USA) have now published the latest data on the Vinča site at Opovo Ugar-Bajbuk. “With this data, we can reassess earlier assumptions about the social structure of the settlement and its integration into the region, thereby refining our overall picture of the late Neolithic period,” says Dr Fynn Wilkes, a postdoctoral researcher in the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence at CAU and lead author of the study.

Parts of the settlement had already been archaeologically investigated in the 1980s. “Opovo is one of the largest known Late Neolithic settlement sites in the southern Banat. It is therefore also of great interest for understanding supra-regional networks during that period,” explains Fynn Wilkes.

Based on the excavations carried out forty years ago, researchers had estimated the settlement area to be around five hectares and the population to be around 200 people. Opovo appeared to be either a small agricultural village or a moderately active centre within the regional trade networks of the late Neolithic period.

From 2022 to 2024, the German-Serbian team carried out new investigations at Opovo. The researchers systematically collected surface finds and used geophysical methods to identify underground structures over a wide area without opening the ground. Building on this, the team carried out geoarchaeological coring at selected points. Only at the very end did they carry out a targeted excavation at an enclosure ditch.

“Thanks to the new data, we now estimate the settlement area to be more than nine hectares. We have identified up to 220 house structures and estimate the peak population to have been more than 700,” reports Fynn Wilkes.

Updated radiocarbon analyses now date the main phase of the settlement to around 4850 to 4725 BCE. This indicates a slightly longer period of continuous occupation than the data from the 1980s had suggested. Furthermore, the new data enabled the team to identify two phases of settlement and an expansion of the settlement’s area over the course of its existence.

The large-scale geophysical surveys also provide new insights into the settlement’s social structure. “An analysis of the different house sizes suggests a relatively low level of inequality in material wealth. There were probably economic differences, but these did not lead to significant social stratification,” says Professor Martin Furholt, speaker for the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence and co-author of the study.

Furthermore, the presence of up to five perimeter ditches suggests a well-organised community capable of coordinating large-scale labour efforts. There is no evidence of coercion, suggesting that these were cooperative rather than hierarchically organised undertakings.

“With these new data and interpretations of the Opovo site, future studies and fieldwork can contribute to a deeper understanding of the social structure, settlement development and the role of Opovo in the region. When viewed in conjunction with other sites, this will refine our picture of a region that is crucial to our understanding of the Neolithic period,” says Fynn Wilkes.

The archaeologist adds: “Apart from the new insights into the Late Neolithic settlement at Opovo, the study demonstrates, more generally, how precise, minimally invasive investigative methods can be used to re-evaluate old excavation findings and thus yield significantly expanded insights.”