The Opovo Project: A Study of Socioeconomic Change in the Balkan Neolithic Ruth Tringham; Bogdan Brukner; Barbara Voytek Journal of Field Archaeology, Vol. 12, No. 4. (Winter, 1985), pp. 425-444. Stable URL: hitp://links.jstor.org/siei?sici=0093-4690% 28 198524%2912%3A4%3C425%3ATOPASO%3E2,0,.CO%3B2-S Journal of Field Archaeology is currently published by Boston University ‘Your use of the ISTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR’s Terms and Conditions of Use, available at hhup:/www.jstororg/about/terms.huml. JSTOR’s Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at hup:/www jstor-org/journals/boston htm Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the sereen or printed page of such transmission, JSTOR is an independent not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of scholarly journals. For more information regarding JSTOR, please contact support @jstor.org. hupulwwwjstor.org/ Tue Mar 7 04:32:08 2006The Opovo Project: a Study of Socioeconomic Change in the Balkan Neolithic Ruth Tringham University of California, Berkeley Bogdan Brukner Institute of History Novi Sad, Yugoslavia assisted by Barbara Voytek University of California, Berkeley with Contributions by Various Staff Members This report provides the preliminary results of an archaeological project cur- rrenily underway in the Vojvodina, Yugoslavia, The project focuses on the site of Opovo-Ugar Bajbuk, which lies in the lower valley of the Tamis River, north of the Danube. Excavation of the site began in the summer of 1983. Materials so far uncovered indicate that the site represents a late neolithic! early eneolithic settlement, belonging to the Vinéa-Ploénik culture. The pro- Ject is designed to investigate problems generated by earlier research efforts in the area of the late neolithic and early eneolithic of se Europe. In addi- tion, it provides an opportunity to study variation within the Vinca culture, in terms of its regional setting and its economic activities. Introduction ‘The summers of 1983 and 1984 witnessed the suc- cessful beginning of a research project that focuses on the site of Opovo-Ugar Bajbuk, Vojvodina, Yugoslavia,’ ‘The combined efforts of the international team provided the data presented here which, although preliminary, 1. The project is funded by the Joint U.S.-Yugoslay Fund for Co- operative Scientific, Cultural and Technical Research and sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Additonal funding is provided by the University Research Expeditions Program (URED), University of Califia. The joint American-Yugoslay team worked under the co-dtetion of Dr. Ruth Tringham of the Department of Anthropology, University of Calferia, Berkeley, and Dr. Bogdan Brukner of the Institute of History. University of Novi Sa, in con junction with the Narodni Muze, Pangevo. During the 1983 season, ‘numberof student volunteers from England and Yugoslavia assisted withthe excavation. During the 1984 season, eight volunteers from UUREP participated. In addition, four students from the Department fof Soil Science, Agricultural University, Wageningen, Holland, a ried ou a series of pedological sondages and auger borings under the ‘Supervision of Professor Pons ad Professor Van der Pls, The project core team consisted of eight American and Yugoslav archaeologists: LL. Bukvie, T. Kaiser, N. Russell, P. Stehi, M. Stevanovig, B. ‘Voytek, and the two co-director. Figures were dawn for publication by Nina and Vladimie Wi demonstrate the potential of this project for the study of socioeconomic developments during the neolithic in sé Europe. Setting and Background The site lies in the lower valley of the Tami8 River, 20 km from its confluence with the Danube. Iis situated in the sw part of the Banat in the Autonomous Region of Vojvodina in the S.R. Serbia, Yugoslavia (FG. 1). ‘The modem village of Opovo lies ca. 20 km north of the city of Pangevo to whose “opstina” (county) it be- longs. The site of Opovo-Ugar Bajbuk is located on a well drained hillock. It covers an area ca. 250 m x 200 m (ca, 5 ha) that is surrounded by seasonally waterlogged land (FIG. 2). The elevation represents a degraded loess terrace following an old meander path of the Tamis River ca. 78 m above sea level. Over most of this area, the ‘cultural deposits are found at a depth of 1.6 m, but in certain places they reach a depth of 2.5 m below the surface. The deposits all belong to the period of the late Vinéa-Tordowearly Vinéa-Plotnik culture dated by com- parative carbon-14 dates (uncalibrated) to 4300-3700426 Opovo: the Balkan NeolithicITringham, Brukner, and Voytek Figure 1. Map of Yugoslavia, se European context of sites of Opove, Selevac, Gomolava, Vinéa, and Potporan} bc. Surface collection as well as the results of the first ‘excavation seasons indicated that the archaeological data consist of rich debris of well preserved wattle-and-daub structures, bone and stone tools, faunal remains, ceram- ics and figurines, and other artifacts of clay. ‘The site at present is ca. 4 km from the banks of the ‘Tamis River, but in prehistoric times the river, or at least cone of its branches, lay very close to the site. In recent historical times, the Tami8, like the Tisza to its west, has been straightened and drained. It has been suggested, however, that in the period of the Vinéa culture, the river and its branches were much more liable to flooding and created numerous lakes, ponds, and marshes by its dead or inactive meanders. Moreover, the water table ‘was higher and much of the land was seasonally, if not constantly, waterlogged. The soils formed on the loess are fertile chernozems which, it has been suggested, were developed under steppe vegetation,’ although forest-steppe has also been hypothesized.* At present these soils are intensively used for grain cultivation and otherwise are covered by steppe grassland. As the loess degrades into brown earth, es- pecially towards the east of Opovo, the dominant veg- tation, where not under cultivation, becomes mixed oak forest with thick undergrowth. In the marshy depressions 2, J. Nandris, "Ground Water as a Factor in the First Temperate Neolithic Setlement ofthe Kits Region,” Zbormk Narodnog Muzeja VE (1970) 59-69; K. Késse, Settlement Ecology of the Kéros and Linear Potery Cultures in Hungary (BAR: Oxford 1979) 68 3. P. Vujevi,“Geopolitiki i Faitko-Geograski Prkaz Vojvodine,” Vojvodine 1 (1939) 1-28, 4. A. Gamett, “The Loess Regions of Central Europe in Prehistoric “Times,” Geographical Journal 106 (1948) 132-41 Figure 2. Topographic map of Opovo 1984, After Pons, Van der Plas, Kruk, and Greenendik and the river flood plains there are ribbon forests of willow, poplar, and alder as well as water meadows.* Its clear that the varied vegetation was likely to have supported a rich variety of fauna: birds, deer, pigs, fish and so on, The natural environmental conditions for early agriculturalists were favorable, especially if they were prepared to take advantage of the broad spectrum of natural food resources. The drainage pattern caused problems for cultivation and settlement, but also served {o enrich the local biomass, In addition, the Banat is accessible from, and has access to, all parts of the Balkan peninsula and Central Europe by way of its central position in the middle part of the Danube Basin, near the confluences of a number of the latter’s largest tributaries: the Drava and Sava from the west; the Tisza, Maros, and Tamis itself from the north and Ne; and the Morava from the south (FIG, research problems that have been generated by the large corpus of excavated data on the late neolithic and early eneolithic cultures of st Europe,* and the Vinéa culture of NE Yugoslavia in particular.” It also follows directly 5. N. Babig, “Nizinke livade Podunavlj.” Rad Vojvodanskih Mu- a 4 (1955) 155-164; A. Bankoff, “The End ofthe Middle Bronze ‘Age inthe Banat,” unpublished Ph.D. disseraton, Harvard Univer sity (1974); B, Jovanovic, “Staija Vinéanska Grupa u juznom Ban- stu," Rad Vojvodanskik Muzeja 4 (1965) 15-40. 6. 4, Chapman, The Vinéa Culture of Souheast Europe (BAR: Ox- ford 1981}; H. Todorova, The Eneolithic in Bulgaria (BAR: Oxford 1978}; R. Tringham, Humers, Fishers and Farmers of Eastern Eu rope, 6000-3000 8. (Hutchinson: London 1971). 7. B, Brukner, B. Jovanovié, and N, Tasié, Praistorja Vojvodine (Novi Sad 1974); Chapman, op. cit. (in note 6)out of two recent field projects in Yugoslavia in which both the American and Yugoslav co-directors have been involved. The two projects comprised the excavation of Vinéa culture settlements at Selevac and Gomolava (FG, 1).* The research was designed for the study of many of the problems arising out of both these projects Long-Term Objectives of the Project In view of the potential of the site of Opovo-Bajbuk and the results obtained to date, the objectives of the project have been decided as follows. 1. To investigate the process by which the culture and ‘economy ofthe early agriculturalists north of the Danube Jirst transformed their food production and resource ex- pploitation into a successful and productive system ‘The project at Opovo represents the first attempts to investigate the processes of socioeconomic change north of the Danube. The focus of this objective is the study of intensification of production following the reduction in residential mobility that characterized late neolithic society in Europe. One of the most significant research aims of the Opovo research is to provide data on the exploitation of food and non-food resources that will enable comparison of this same process with that studied south of the Danube in the lower Morava valley at Selevac, and with comparable data in the Danube valley itself, from Gomolava and Vinéa, for example, and fur- ther north in Hungary.” 2. To investigate the increasing permanence of settle- ‘ment (degree of sedentismireduction of residential mo- bility) during the occupation of the site of Opovo-Ugar Bajbuk, Sedentism, although perhaps not the direct cause, appears to be a precondition of complex social organi- zation. It has been argued that, in response to the conditions imposed by the development of sedentary, Permanent settlements, various changes occurred during the neolithic in Yugoslavia, reflecting processes of in- tensification, specialization, and diversification of pro- duction activities. ° The strategy to investigate increasing permanence of settlement lies in estimating the duration 8. B. Bruker, “Nasele Vintanske grupe na Gomolavi,” Rad Vojvo danskih Muczeja 6 (1980) 5-85, Bruker etal, op. cit. (in note 7), R. Tringham, D. Ket, T. Kaiser, and B. Voytck, “The Early Agricultural Setlement of Selevac, Yugoslavia,” Archaeology 33 (1980) 24-32 9. Papers on this topic were presented a the 1983 annual meeting of the Society for American Archacology in Pitsburgh by T, Kaiser, N. Russell, R.Tringham, and B, Voytek 10. A. Sherratt, “Mobile Resources: Setlement and Exchange in Early Agricultural Europe,” in A. C. Renfrew and 8. Shennan, eds. Ranking, Resources and Exchange (Cambridge University Press Cambridge 1982) 13-26. Journal of Field ArchaeologyiVol. 12, 1985 427 ‘or period of occupation of houses, and examining the pattern of the replacement of houses and formation of the archaeological deposits, and estimating the invest- ‘ment and commitment made by a society to its land by modifying the landscape. Thus an important part of the testing for increasing permanence of settlement lies in the examination of structural remains throughout the history of the settlement to reconstruct changes in the use of building materials and methods of construction. 3. To investigate the emergence of the household as the primary unit of social and economic organization during the occupation of Opovo. It has been hypothesized that during the emergence of the Domestic Mode of Production, the household be- comes the primary unit of social reproduction."* In this model the household with its regular cycle of demo- graphic and economic growth and decline promotes long-term stability of social organization in which short- term inequalities rather than cumulative salient ranking are a characteristic feature." The aim at Opovo is to begin to test whether or not such a process is operating in the early agricultural societies of the Middle Danube Basin The problem is how to test such a model of social transformation with the archaeological data available. Obviously, it is dangerous to assume that a “house” can be equated with a “household,” without investigation of the architectural units and their associated finds. The Opovo project aims at such an investigation by combi ing detailed analyses of production sequences and loci with systematic investigation of the houses themselves and associated finds. The project, therefore, involves large-scale exposure of a building area, as at Gomolava, but in contrast to the research design implemented at Selevac, Preliminary Report of the 1983 and 1984 Field Seasons of the Opovo Archaeological Project Magnetometer Survey Prior to the start of the excavation at Opovo-Ugar Bajbuk in 1983, a survey by proton magnetometer was 11. T. Kaiser and B, Voyte, “Sedemtism and Eeonomic Change in the Balkan Neolithic,” Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 2 (1983) 323-353, 12. M, Rowlands, “Kinship, Aliance and Exchange inthe European Bronze Age,” in J. Barret and R. Bradcy, eds, Settlement and Society inthe British Late Bronze Age (BAR: Oxford 1980) 15-55; M. Sahlins, Stone Age Economics (Aline: Chicago 1972) 41-99; R ik and W. Rathje, “Archaeology of the Household: Building & Prehistory of Domestic Life,” American Behavioral Scientist 25 (1982) 6428 Opovo: the Balkan Neolithic/Tringham, Brukner, and Voytek @) ® sou 6D) / Tien? e Tae GaN +o Ses § NX ¢ —_— Ry. ayowauy SS an foo Intensity i SG | em sergin BY +0 | [aR Figure 3. Results of the magnetometer survey carried out by Ing. Mutijevié of the Geophysical Inst- tute (Geoinstitut), Beograd, of a 45 m X 200 m strip across the site, including the proposed area of the ex- ccavation (F1G. 3). Bighteen major anomalies of high mag- netic intensity (degree of intensity varying from 20 to 100) were identified. An area of exceptional frequency of the anomalies was noted in the NW of the analyzed area and proposed as an area that would be suitable for excavation, in that the areas of magnetic anomalies ‘would be likely to correspond to the mass of burned clay rubble that represents the burned and collapsed remains of neolithic houses. Archaeological Excavation ‘The area chosen for the site of the excavation lies towards the northern edge of the prehistoric site (FIG. 4). In July, 1983, a 16 m x 20 m block was marked out for the archaeological excavation. The block is oriented lengthwise 6's, in line with the basic 10-m-square grid of the site. It was divided into 2-m quadrats, which form the main units of excavation and recording of the ar- chaeological materials. Two arbitrary levels (or “spits") were excavated in 1983 to an average depth of 0.44 m below the surface (level 1: 0.29 m; level 2: 0.45 m). During 1984 one artificial excavation layer was excavated (designated 0. 3) entirely, except for the NE corner of the block where Feature 4 is situated, The maximum depth reached is ca 0.65 m below the moder surface. The soil matrix is humic chemozem of a very dark brown color. The plough does not seem to have cut below the level of the first artificial spit in general. It appears to have spread and redeposited rubble from only the surface of the highest architectural features (i.c., Features 1 and 5 and the top of 2 and 4). ‘A horizon of domestic features was clearly recogniz- able from the base of the first arbitrary level to the base of 0.s. 3. The features comprise areas of concentrated burned clay (house rubble), distinctive in their com- ppactness and bright orange color. The areas vary as to size and degree of compactness (FIG. s). Some of them represent areas of primary deposition from the in situ ‘burning and collapse of structures (probably dwellings— e.g., Features 2 and 4 and possibly the western part of Feature 1). Some represent the secondary deposition of primary materials from spreading, weathering, and er0- sion after the collapse and abandonment of the dwellings (e.g., Feature 5). ‘The three areas of primary deposition of rubble (Fea~ tures 2 and 4 and the western part of Feature 1) lie completely within the area of the excavated block so that their shape and dimensions may be defined (FIG. 5). As far as can be determined at the base of the third arbitrary level, these three areas are roughly square in plan and represent the foundations of structures (houses) oriented NE-SW, whose dimensions are 5-7 m X 5-8 m. ‘The mass of bumed clay rubble contains numbers of complete crushed ceramic vessels, clay weights, figu- rines, grindstones, polished and flaked stone edge tools, bone tools and broken pieces of bone from food debris, and many other remains of domestic activites. In ad tion, in the burned clay, there are well preserved impres- sions of the wood and wattle frame of the structure. ‘Three other areas of primary deposition of structural materials lie mainly outside the area of the excavatedJournal of Field Archaeology/Vol. 12, 1985 429 ry see Figure 4. Archacological research at Opovo 1979-1984, @ agence macneroveren Exeaiatea AREAS LMS OF THe ste ae block. These are Features 3, 9, 10, and 6. Two large areas of secondary deposition of structural materials lie to the north of Feature 2 (Feature 5) and in the easter part of Feature 1. Between July 7 and 22, 1983, these features were cleaned of the humic earth that covered them. ‘The excavation season of July 5 to August 5, 1984, focused on the careful cleaning of the burned structural features, lifting up the rubble and mapping it layer by layer, and taking systematic samples for later analysis. Within excavation layer 3, two main levels of house rubble collapse were defined; the lower (second) level ‘was more solid and was the basis of the mapping of the ‘ree impressions in the clay rubble (FIGs, 5,6). Recording was carried out according to cells (ea. 1 sqm) in and around the structural features. The remains of the wattle- and-daub houses were more carefully excavated and more systematically and fully mapped, recorded, and sampled than on any other neolithic sites yet excavated in Se Europe. This was because one of the main aims of the Opovo Archaeological Project was the detailed i vestigation of the construction and use-lives of buildings in order to test hypotheses on resource utilization, du- ration of settlement, and differentiation in the architec- tural process with the change in the unit of economic and social cooperation of the early agricultural socie- ties." 13. M. Stevanovig, “Middle Range Analysis ofthe Use-Lives of Neolithic Domestic Buildings in Yugoslavia,” and R. Tringham, “Architectural Investigation into Household Organization in Neo” lithie Yugoslavia,” both papers presented a the 83rd annval meet- ing of the American Anthropological Asociation (Denver 1984)430 Opovo: the Balkan Neolithic!Tringham, Brukner, and Voytek Figure 5. Levels 1-3 of Block lof ‘Opovo. Building horizon 1 Feature 1 No clear outline of a structure was visible and after the first layer of troweling and cleaning, the feature had virtually disappeared except for a thicker, more solid area along the western edge. There was some doubt, after excavation, that Feature 1 actually represents a primary deposition of occupation and structural debris. ‘The interpretation will have to await confirmation from the presence of postholes and other substructural foun- dations in the 1985 season. In the clearly secondarily deposited material on the easter side of Feature 1, were found two very small (but definite) fragments of copper. Feature 2 ‘The best preserved parts of this structure are its west- tem and sw parts. The dimensions are ca. 5.5 m x 8.0 m and its orientation is NE-Sw. The external walls are not preserved as upright, in situ foundations, but on the sw side the external wail can be clearly seen collapsed into the interior ofthe structure. A clear division between rubble concentration and the area outside the building is visible on all sides except the northern edge and possibly the NW edge. In other areas the surrounding soil matrix has virtually no house rubble, Internal divisions and furniture are most visible inthe wwestem half of the feature. One internal wall, whose base is still standing (ca. 25 cm high) partially defines ‘room in the Nw part ofthe structure (FIG. 7). The room so defined contained the following. ) Oven: the collapsed but clear superstructure and floor of an oven is the main feature ofthe room. It has the usual character, shape, and size (ca. 70 cm D.) of Vinéa ovens. ‘The oven is abutted against the internal wall ofthe building, ‘and apparently against its outside NW wall. This arrange ‘ment is also quite characteristic of Vinéa-Plotnik structures (FIG. 7, nos. 6,9). 14, B. Brukner, “Ein Beitag 2ur Formierung der neolithschen lund eneolithischen Siedhingen im jugoslvischen Donaugebict”Figure 6. Feature 2 (1984), (Photo: M. Tinie) ) Storage pot: dug slightly below the “floor” of the building, with its walls made of very poorly fired clay (possibly made of the same clay as the house walls them- selves); it protrudes above the level ofthe building “floor” ‘and is incorporated into the corner of the internal wall of the “room” (FIG. 7, no 3. ©) Clay “pedestal”: a solid clay “pedestal,” 40 em high, 40-cm in diameter at its base, 30 em at its top, lying on is side (FG. 8). Originally it stood upright to the north of the ‘oven. AS it fell over, it crushed one or two pots. The “pedestal” is made of what appears to be the same clay as the building superstructure. It was fired reddish on the out- side and greyer on the inside. As it lay on its side, a slab 20 em thick was sliced off its side by the plough. It is associated with a number of bowls and pots, crushed in the fire and building collapse, including one bowl with a spiral symbol impressed on its surface (FIG. 8). In the vicinity Paper presented atthe symposium “Palast und Hott” (1982); ex- amples found atthe sites of Gomolava and Vinga, Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol. 12, 1985 431 ‘were a bumed grindstone and a storage pot surrounded by building clay and incorporated into the floor of the building, ‘The pedestal is also associated with a hollow clay “head” molded into a half-dome with two “ears,” but otherwise without any surviving surface decoration (FIG. 8). Itis sug- gested, because of its postion, diameter of its base, and similarity of the base surface with that of the top of the “pedestal” that originally this “head” stood on top of the “pedestal.” The “head!” is made of the same coarse building clay (or o it seems at first glance) asthe "pedestal." Similar hheads and pedestals are known, for example, from the neo- lithic settlements of south Bulgaria, such as Stara Zagora Bolnica." In addition to the large number of crushed pots in this “room,” especially in the area to the north of the ‘oven, there was a group of 11 ceramic sherds, perforated at one end, and all trimmed to a uniform ovaloid shape, Which it has been suggested were reused as weights or tallies 15. M. Dimitrov, Neon Zita (Sofia 1988),432. Opovo: the Balkan NeolithiciTringham, Brukner, and Voytek Figure 7. Detail of Feature 2:Nos. 6,9, ‘oven; No 3 storage pot; No.1, pedestal, clay "head," and ceramic vessel. (Photo: M. Trninié) Feature 5 This is a secondary deposition from Feature 2. It is rich in fragments of grindstones, clay figurines, faunal debris, and, in the NW comer of the feature, a number of fragments of burmed human bone. The latter do not seem to come from any cremation burial nearby, but ‘would seem more likely to represent the remains of an exposed corpse, which had been carried (by dogs, on the basis of gaw-marks on some of the bones) into the settlement area and had burned in the house-fire. Fea- tures 9 and 10 are areas of relatively solid burned house rubble which adjoin Feature 2. Feature 4 ‘The foundations of an external wall were visible on the NE edge of the feature, which measures ca. 6 m X 6 m and is oriented NESW. There are no clear outside walls on any other side, but there is a clear demarcation of the concentration of house rubble from the surround- ing soil matrix, in which there is virtually no house rubble. Internal features are hard to see as yet, since the excavation of Feature 4 is not yet compiete. It seems, however, that there is no evidence for internal walls or an oven. In the NE comer of the building, a round gap in the house rubble concentration (ca. 1m D.) has variously been interpreted as a tree hole, intemal pit within the house, and later pit dug into the building from above. Its resolution must await further study. Feature 3 This feature lies to the north of Feature 4. At the end ‘of the 1983 season it comprised a solid area of house rubble, but in fact was only one layer thick. It is thus an area of solid but nevertheless secondarily deposited hhouse rubble. Our impression is, therefore, that this house rubble was probably moved from Feature 4 by ploughing, but not moved very far. It is most logical to conclude that it followed the same pattern of dispersal as that from Feature 2 to Feature 5, ie., in a northward direction (following also the visible ploughmarks).. ‘The possibility remains, however, that we are mis- taken about the secondary nature of Feature 3 and that it is part of an in situ deposition of a structure. In the SE edge of the feature is a group of 7-8 grindstones and large fragments, which may originally have been depos- ited outside the northem edge of Feature 4. The same may be said for the remains of a large amphora on its SW edge. It is possible thatthe wall foundation in Feature 4 is an extemal one and that Feature 3 represents an extension of it. The final interpretation of the feature thus must await the completion of the excavation of Feature 4, The boundaries of Features 2 and 4, as defined at present, would lead us to suppose that they are both smaller and squarer than the Vinéa-Plotnik houses known from the Morava and middle Danube valleys." 16, V, Markoic, The Vinca Culture (Calgary 1984).In both cases, however, there is some doubt as to whether or not we have the definite limits of the struc- ture. Feature 2 could expand westwards, but its width’ length of 8 m is definite; Feature 4 could expand north- wards, but its width/length of 6.6 m is definite. The definition of limits of the features by observations of, subsurface foundations (postholes) will be one of the goals of future excavation. AAs to the interpretation of the structures, there is no doubt that Feature 2is a domestic structure for residence. It has the internal features observed in many other resi- dential structures from this period in sé Europe: ovens, internal divisions, crushed pots, etc. Feature 4, on the other hand, so far has no oven or internal divisions, but has probably been less well preserved than Feature 2. At present it seems likely that it, too, represents a resi- dential structure. These two structures will be compared from the point of view of duration of occupation, period of use-life in which destruction occurred, methods and materials of construction, cause of destruction (all through observations of microstratigraphy), nature of associated artifacts and debris, and nature of the burned and collapsed clay rubble. ‘The materials associated with the features can safely be dated by ceramic typological affinities to the late Vinéa culture (Vinéa-Plognik C2, possibly D1), which has been dated by comparative C-14 dates (uncalibrated) 0 3850-3700 b<. Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol. 12, 1985 433 Figure 8. Detail of pedestal, clay “head” ‘and ceraie vessel nit. (Photo: M. minis) Pedological Sampling ‘The aim of the pedological sampling (see note 1) was to get information on the agricultural and other resources of the micro-region (5 km radius) of the site during the period of the neolithic settlement, as well as on the nature and depth of the anthropogenic and natural soils across the site. These aims naturally include a study of the formation of the palaeosoils on the site and its im- mediate vicinity. Towards these aims in 1983 a N-s transect of 18 bore- holes was made across the site to a maximum depth of 3 mat intervals ca. 30 m on a line parallel to the grid of the site, and 2 m from the eastern edge of the exca- vated block (F16. 4). In 1984 two additional transects of soil probes were made across the site. These probes were ‘50 m apart, except near the archacological site where they were closer, and were to a depth of 2-4 m (FIG. 4). From the borings, the following measurements were de- termined (FIG. 9) (1) The depth of the decalcified chernozem, which in the southem part of the site is very close to the surface and in the northern part (i.e., near the excavated block) is ca, 50 em below the present surface. 2) The Ah, AC, and C horizons. Below the black homogeneous humic chernozem (Ah zone) a mixed soil (AC zone) occurs in which black humic chemozem ma- terial is mixed with pure loess. This zone extends nor- mally from about 50 cm to 100 cm and shows the extensive biological activity in these soils. In the area434 Opovo: the Balkan NeolithiciTringham, Brukner, and Voytek — aati ae aiSge AN08 B eae A : Seat qa \ 1 Figure 9, Soil probe transects at Opovo 1983-84,of the archaeological site, and especially in the excavated block, the cultural layer coincides with the Ah horizon and partly with the AC zone. At depths between 100 em and 300 em the C horizon lies under the AC. In the case of two borings immediately east of the excavated area, the lowest level of the cultural horizon actually lies on the boundary of the mixed soil and the loess (C zone) itself. (G) The levels of house rubble. The main level, rep- resented also by the burned house remains excavated during the 1983 and 1984 seasons, lies across the site at 4 depth of 50-80 cm. In one or two borings, just north of the excavated area, there occurs a later burned rubble horizon at a depth of 30 cm superimposed on the major horizon. Earlier bummed rubble horizons at 1.60-2.99 m depth occur in most borings across the site. A very early horizon (that lying directly on the loess) lies at a depth ‘of 3.00 m in two borings immediately east of the exca- vated area (Block 1). To what extent these “burned rubble horizons” represent actual occupational horizons or re- deposited materials will be tested by subsequent borings, sondages, and excavations. ‘The north and south boundaries of the neolithic site are clearly seen in the borings, and coincide well with (although they mark a smaller area than) those observed ‘on the basis of surface collection of prehistoric materials. ‘On this basis, the Vinéa-Ploénik occupation area is at least 280 m across, and the northern edge of the exca- vated block lies 60 m south of the northern edge of the site. The wider spread of cultural materials on the surface is to some extent the result of modem ploughing. In addition to the transects, a pedological sondage was dug, 1m x 1m, 60 m north of the excavated block, in order to investigate more carefully the soils at the edge of the site, Furthermore, in 1983 two more sondages (1 ‘m X Im) and six borings were made on an -W line north of the prehistoric site to study the formation of the cchernozem zones and the salt- and sodium-rich soils, to take palynological samples, and to aid the reconstruction of the area of running and stagnant water in the vicinity of the site (see FIG. 2) ‘A L-m X I mest trench, Sonda I, was excavated in 1983 to a depth of 3 m, 1.5 m south of Block I at the sw comer (FIG. 4). The sondage shows that the humic chemnozem extends from the surface to a depth of ca. 60 cm. The cultural layer extends from the surface down- wards to 1.65-1.85 m. Below this are pits dug at least 2.35 m deep into the loess subsoil Immediately to the east of Sonda I, Sonda I was dug in 1984 to a depth of 3 m (FIG. 4). At the bottom, a probe was made to a depth of 5 m below the surface Groundwater was met at 4.5 m below surface. The fol- lowing brief summary combines the observations of both sondages: Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol. 12, 1985. 435 ‘Ah Horizon. & thick humic chernozem, surface to 170 cm, this horizon contains much evidence of human activity, To a depth of 80 cm, only few small artifacts are found, ‘Thus, the archaeological horizon seen in 1983-84 was not clear’ in the SW of the block. A concentration of larger artifacts is present from 80 to 100 em, which can be rec- ‘ognized as an occupation level. This level, however, is older than the houses excavated in Block 1 in 1983-84; it contains large pieces of burned clay rubble (bummed at different tem- peratures), faunal remains, lithic fragments, and numerous ceramic sherds, ‘AC Horizon. This transition between the upper humus layer and the soil parent material (depth, 170-280 cm) is ‘dominated by animal activity. This horizon contains many ‘more or less vertical earthworm holes and large, filled holes formed by sisals. No artifacts were found in the matrix of this horizon, C Horizon. This horizon, (the raw soil material), starts at a depth of 280 cm; it contains much fewer earthworm holes with very few pieces of small burned rubble, which were brought down by the worms. The matrix comprises so-called lowland loess, which was deposited by riverlike curents. We may thus conclude that, at the point of the sondages, only one occupation level existed. Latex profile molds were taken of both Sonda I and IL in order to study the structure of the soils on a micro- scopic scale and their chemistry at the laboratory in Wageningen, ‘There is no doubt on the basis of the preliminary observations made in these soundings that the area around the site was marshy, with a great deal of water (either running or stagnant) and a high water table. It is supposed, on this basis, that the area actually available for cultivation would have been limited al- though highly fertile. It is also supposed (but by no ‘means proven) that the area of wooded country around the site would have been limited and that the natural vegetation on the nonmarshy areas would have been steppe grassland, ‘The loess subsoil, along with its chemozem product, very clayey (30%) and rich in calcareous products (before decalcification). This means that, at least i prehistoric state, the humic soils and immediate subsoils would both have been suitable as building materials and probably also for the manufacture of ceramics. Geomorphological Study During the 1984 season, a geomorphological map was constructed, based on a contour map. The landscape is considered to be a fluviatile “lowland loess” landscape, in which the sediments are modelled by riverlike cur- rents. The sediments are loessoid, rather heavy textured, containing some sand, and strongly calcareous. The following geomorphological divisions were de- termined.436 Opovo: the Balkan Neolithic/Tringham, Brukner, and Voytek 1. Hiigh natural river levees (max. ca. 78 m above sea level). 2. Lower natural river levees (76.5-15.5 m above sea level). 3. Flat areas (76-74.5 m above sea level) not affected by salinity with a normal crop, 4, Small gullies relatively high lying. 53. Broad gullies, low lying with solonetzic soils, partly filled-up old river beds with flat bottoms, covered by grass- land (7474.5 m above sea level). 6, Closed depressions. 7. Archaeological tell-like area. Relatively high-lying area with archaeological remains (average 76 m, highest point is 77 m, above sea level) ‘The results of the pedological investigations so far indicate that the site comprises a kind of “tell” ca. 2.5~ 3 m high with a diameter of 200-250 m. The level of the “tell” is 75.5-77 m above sea level; it is located more or less in the middle of an island surrounded by the remains of a very broad (250 m) river course. Along, this river course natural levees formed to a level of more than 78 m above sea level; i.e., more than I m higher than the highest point of the “tell” and up to 2 m higher than most of the area of the site ‘Thus, during the formation of the highest levees the tell-like area was covered by at least 2-3 m of water, so that any human activity would have been impossible at the site. The occupation of the site, therefore, must have ‘occurred either before or after the formation of the high natural levees. The occupation before its formation seems more likely. Subsequently, the original landscape, in which the telllike area was located and formed the highest point, would have been buried or eroded with time and transformed into the present landscape. Originally the “tell” would have been an irregular mound, surrounded by much lower land. The river was developing broad meanders with natural levees at a dis- tance from the tell. Before completing the formation of its levees and the filling up of its valleys, the river abandoned its course and began to form a new channel. ‘The landscape shows a number of these abandoned, unfilled depressions, all bordered by unfinished natural levees, pointing to a rapid shift of the Tami8 River to its present position North and west ofthe tell-like area, the concentrations of artifacts dip deeply into the subsoil, and are covered by thick, very black and very heavy-textured clay layers, which originally were considered more recent colluvial layers. They contain small fragments of pottery and house rubble. Unfortunately, however, no clear buried ‘Ah (humic) horizon of the original landscape has been found, cither because of erosion of the original surface or the enormous biological activity that has disturbed all original structures. Also, on the “new” surface to the north of the tell-like area, any sign of the presence of artifacts from the Vinéa culture is lacking. The soils on this younger levee are much more shallowly developed and scem to be younger than those of the tell-like area. ‘The overall conclusion is that the prehistoric inhabi- tants settled in a fluviatile landscape which was much different from the present one. After the settlement was abandoned, the landscape was totally changed by river activity. The foot of the tell-like area was covered by new river sediment while the river was rapidly shifting its bed into the present river valley. Analysis of Materials ‘The materials recovered during the 1983 and 1984 excavations are categorized in Table 1 A system of recording artifact attributes by computer was used in 1983-84 based on that used at Selevac and Gomolava in Yugoslavia, and Aldenhovener Platte in Germany. ‘Ceramics (Timothy Kaiser, Peter Stebll) ‘The ceramic technological aspects of sherds (fabric, firing, etc.) are recorded separately from the typological aspects of “diagnostic” sherds. Of the total ceramic as- semblage, 19.4% (4,803 sherds) has been analyzed for its technological and typological aspects. Microscopic examination of the diagnostic sherd sam- ples showed relatively little variability inthe clay matrix. ‘Typically, the clay body contains very fine-grained, silt- sized quartz accessories as well as numerous flakes of mica, which are normally larger than the quartz. This composition is superficially similar to that of certain soil horizons at the site, where fluvial deposits have thor- ‘oughly mixed loess, clay, and sand. The question of whether the loess or the clay-rich chemnozems at the site were used by the Opovo potters is at present under investigation by means of neutron activation analysis at the University of Toronto (T. Kaiser) Four main fabric types were observed; the presence ‘or absence of various inclusions was the basic classifi- catory criterion. The types are designated as Sherd Tem- per, No Temper, Multilithic Sand (MLS), Chaff Temper, and Crushed Rock. Most vessels were made of sherd- tempered clay (60%); the next largest fabric category is No Temper (33%), followed by Multlithic Sand and Crushed Rock (each category 3%) and Chaff (1%). ‘There is a good correlation between fabric type and vessel shape at Opovo (FIG. 10). AS is customary at late Vinga sites, sherd-tempered vessels at Opovo are usually thick-walled large vessels such as jars, necked jars, and‘Table 1. Total materials excavated. 1983 1984 Number % of Total_Number_% of Total Ceramics 9,517" 71.00 15,428 70.66 Bone 26.99 5,814 26.63 Stone 199 4642.12 Copper — a Other clay ” 126 0.58 Figurines @) Amulets @ TOTALS — 13,404 21,834 ‘counts of “other clay artifacts inluded with cooking pots. It may be inferred that the Opovo potters employed crushed sherds as temper in recognition of their highly advantageous properties with respect to ther- imal shock. There is also a trend, however, towards the use of smaller-sized sherd particles in the tempering of some of the thinner-walled bowls. This is a characteristic not regularly encountered at other Vinéa sites. Untempered. vessels are almost exclusively thin- walled, with the exception of certain open bowls and necked jars; these latter forms are usually highly polished and this may have been a factor in the decision not to use a tempering agent. Sand temper is rare and may represent the importation of pottery or the use of a clay source as yet undiscovered by us. Finally, the number of chaff-tempered sherds is also very low. Chaff temper is exclusively associated with large jar forms—some possibly fixed in their original positions, others of which ‘were not, to judge from the presence of handles. Only those sherds with distinctive features (rim, base, shoulder, handle, etc.) can be studied by typological analysis. A type-variety system was established on the basis of types of the Vina culture already known from such sites as Vinéa, Selevac, and Gomolava, with input —— Zoot Figure 10. Fabric and vessel shape association, Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol. 12, 1985 437 from the hierarchical type-variety system created for the analysis of neolithic sherds in the Rhine valley by Stebli."” ‘The sherds and reconstructed vessels from excavation layer 3 comprise for the most part bowls, especially sharply biconical bowls and straight-sided bowls; they are frequently decorated by fine channelling of the upper shoulder. The typological analysis confirms the 1983 conclusion, that the ceramics of this building horizon at Opovo belong to the Vinéa-Ploénik C2 phase (possibly also D1) with a certain amount of regional variation, ‘Most unburned pottery at Opovo is black or grey, usually the result of smudging. A significant number of sherds are, however, the products of true reduction fir- ing; their chemical and mineralogical composition is at present being compared to that of the smudged sherds, Preliminary analyses of firing temperatures subsequent to the field season have been conducted on 10 represen- tative samples by means of the Thermal Expansion Mea- surement (T. Kaiser). On the basis of these analyses, it appears that the Opovo pottery was fired at somewhat lower temperatures than pottery at Selevac and Gomo- lava."" The average firing temperature is ca. 860° C. Untempered vessels seem to have been fired in the 800 840° range, while sherd-tempered vessels were fired in the 900-950" range. These results are quite tentative and will certainly be modified as additional samples are an- alyzed and as other techniques for determining firing temperature are employed. Figurines and Other Clay Artifacts Nonceramic clay artifacts excavated during the 1984 field season totaled 126, of which the majority were conical in form (ca. 6-10 cm in length) and perforated (possible clay weights), along with their fragments, and clay spheres of various sizes. Eight anthropomorphic figurines were found, including the large hollow “head” found in Feature 2. ‘The number is less than usual for sites of the Vinéa culture in this region (such as Potpor- anj). Moreover, the figurines have very little surface ‘omamentation, such as eyes and clothing. They are standing figurines with heads with pinched-out noses and a “bear-like” form (iG. 11). Thus they are not typical of the Vinéa-Ploénik C2/D1 phase, to which the ceramics 17. P. Sth, "Zur Methode der chronologschen Gliederung. des bandkeramischen Siedlungsplatzes Langueilr 8,” paper presented at the International Colloquium on Linearbandkeramik settlements in Europe (Nira 1982, 18, T. Kaiser, “Vinéa Ceramics: Economic and Technological As- pects of Late’ Neolithic Pottery Production in Southeast Europe,” Uunpubished Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley 984)438 Opovo: the Balkan Neolithic/Tringham, Brukner, and Voytek Figure 11. Bear-shaped figurine. (Photo: M. Tinie) typologically belong, but, rather, appear to be later. It is likely that this reflects a definite regional variance of the culture in this area. Flaked-Stone Industry (William McCormack) ‘The preliminary examination of the flaked-stone as- semblage from the 1984 season at Opovo combined macroscopic and microscopic observations for the ‘material technology and utilization. Detailed use-wear analysis was done on one-third of the assemblage. The remainder was examined simply for the presence/ab- sence of wear. Other aspects of the industry that were examined include: typological character, size, raw ma- terial, technology, evidence of thermal alteration, evi- dence of hafting, resharpening and reuse, and breakage patterns. ‘The Opovo industry can be characterized as a small- blade industry, made on very high quality, sometimes thermally-altered material, usually chert, opal, and chal- cedony. Numerically, the assemblage is quite small; only 180 artifacts were found during the 1984 season. Ty- pologically, the assemblage is only moderately diverse; only 10 tool types are represented, though these consti- tute a sizable proportion of the total assemblage (33%; n= 59), Similarly, utilized pieces are also quite nu- ‘merous, comprising some 48% of the total. The inci- dence of cortex-bearing stone is remarkably low (24 of 180), suggesting that raw materials may have been ar- riving at the site in some kind of trimmed state, perhaps as shaped cores or even as blades already detached from their cores. The absence of debitage concentrations in the excavated portion of the site adds to this impression. Blade and flake lengths show that the majority of the whole artifacts are small, generally less than 30 mm length, although in some instances they reach 66-70 mm, ‘The analysis of raw materials has been done in some detail with the object of generating data that will be of eventual use in sourcing studies. Raw materials from the site are of six kinds: obsidian, opal, chert, chalcedony, rhyolite, and radiolarite, with subdivisions of these. To date, sourcing has not been done on these raw materials, though from a review of the geological literature, and from discussions with the project geologists, itis appar- cent that the Opovo raw materials are from sources out- side the immediate region. The Opovo area, because of its rich loess and chemozem deposits, lacks bedrock ‘outcroppings, the nearest major outcrops being in the Belgrade region (30 km to the south) and Fruska Gora (45 km to the Ne). Both regions have deposits of chert and chalcedony and both would have been readily ac- cessible during the Middle Holocene by river transport and/or exchange. The obsidian comes from an even greater distance away—possibly from sé Slovakia or Romania, ca. 150 km distant. The rhyolite, also being an igneous rock, may come from one of these regions as well. The radiolarite, being a form of chert, is prob- ably from the Fruska Gora or the Belgrade area. ‘The typology used in classifying the Opovo flaked- stone industry involves two major divisions: retouched antfacts. and unretouched/modified artifacts. These in tum are subdivided into various technological and mor- phological classes. The retouched pieces from Opovo, in nearly every instance, are made on small, paralel- sided blades. Typologically, they comprise only 10 types (raBLE 2) ‘The picture that emerges thus far from the technolog- ical data on the Opovo flaked-stone industry concerns five aspects of the systems of raw material acquisition and tool production. 1) The process of procurement involved the exploi- tation of stone from sources apparently 45 km away or reater. 2) If we may judge from the high quality of the material, extraction was a discriminating process. 3) By the time the stone arrived atthe site it may have already been trimmed, a circumstance that would explain‘Table 2. Chipped-stone tools Journal of Field ArchaeologyiVol. 12, 1985 439 % Toot Obs. Opat Cher. Chal. Rhy. Rad, Total Total Ret. Blades 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 7 ‘Trunc. Blades 0 0 2 0 ° 0 2 LI Mise, Blades 3 5 5 2 1 0 16 88 Burin Blades 0 0 1 0 ) 0 1 05 Geometries 0 0 I 0 0 0 1 05 Sickles 1 3 6 3 1 ° 16 88 Borers 0 4 I 1 0 0 6 33 Fiera Points 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 os Endscrapers I 1 0 4 1 1 25 B98 Dbl. Endserps 0 0 It 0 0 0 1 05 Sidescrapers 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 7 Debitage 6 B 2 20 ° 0 101 56.1 Core Trimmers 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 17 Core Frags. 0 0 I 0 0 0 1 os TOTAL 7 26 91 3 3 I 180 100.0 Obs. pat Cher. Chal. Rhy: Rad. Total Not Utira 16 10 49 16 0 0 91 Utilized 7 16 2 16 3 1 85 No Use Data 2 0 2 0 0 ° 4 TOTAL 5 26 8 2 3 1 180 the absence of workshops at the site and the prevalence ‘of noncortical flakes and blades. A corollary is that tool production at the site centered on the later stages of ‘manufacture: retouch, resharpening, and hafting. 4) For reasons that may relate to the distance the stone travelled and to the mode of its importation, little ma- terial appears to have actually reached the site. Related to the low quantities is the fact that the flaked stone was used judiciously, as is evidenced by the high incidence of retouch and reuse. 5) Conceming the patterns of consumption, there is evidence for intensive utilization of the artifacts. De- tailed examination of a sample of the utilized pieces indicates that many of the tools were involved in the cutting and boring of wood, while others, specifically the sickles, were used in the cutting of silica-rich plants such as grasses (possibly cereals) and perhaps reeds. Many of the tools show signs of hafting, as expected, zziven the small sizes of these pieces. Ground-Eage Tools (Barbara Voytek) A total of 83 ground-edge tools were examined from the Opovo 1983-1984 excavations. The raw materials of these tools are presented in Table 3 All the adzes, chisels, and other ground-edge tools from 1983-84 had been flaked and then ground on pro- gressively finer sandstones. Perhaps the best example ‘was an adze of actinolite schist which had been polished {in manufacture and then itself used as a polisher (perhaps (on pottery), during which use it was polished even more finely on one surface. This object was found within Feature 2. It was the only example of an actinolite adze ‘One of the most interesting aspects of the assemblage is the total lack of waste products. The lack of trimming flakes, preforms, or other debitage suggests that either the tools were being produced away from the settlement ot else in a special area or areas that have not been Table 3. Ground-edge stone tools. 1983 1984 # % of Toral ‘opal (opaline chert) = 913.82 dehydrated 30 46 0 chaleedony ‘metamorphic 37 569-7 ALD quartzite sllcifed siltstone and 10 1843176 claystone(arilite volcanics including = 57.7 S94 2 basalt axes limestone en actinoite schist 1 1s 0 = Totals 66 1000 17 100.0440 Opovo: the Balkan NeolithiciTringham, Brukner, and Voytek ‘excavated and may be distant from the house structures. ‘On the whole, the ground-edge tools had been inten- sively used and frequently resharpened and reused. Ca. 38.5% of the assemblage had been reground, reflaked, and then reground again, or reused/recycled as pounders ‘or hammers. The only pieces of debitage uncovered were resharpening flakes, suggesting that only resharpening activities were associated with the houses. ‘The most common tool type was the polished stone adze, although some examples had been reworked into pounders, hammers, etc. The adzes made of opaline chert and chalcedony had been made on flakes, while the metamorphic types were more aligned with the bed- ding planes of the original sedimentary rocks and thus tended to be flatter and thinner. The two basalt axes had been perforated most likely by a bone drill using sand as an abrasive. ‘The heavy reuse and recycling of the ground-edge tools suggests that raw material was relatively scarce and carefully curated. The lack of production debitage may also reflect the fact that semi-finished adzes had been brought to the site and had been intensively used. Grindstones (Barbara Voytek) During the 1983 excavations, 80 grindstones and frag- ments were recovered from the humus layer. During the 1984 excavations at Opovo, 218 grindstones and grind stone fragments were uncovered, mainly from within the concentrations of house rubble, including eight in the SE corer of Feature 3. In the analysis conducted at Opovo, these materials were examined in terms of their raw materials and evidence for their usage. ‘The most common stone used for grinding activities ‘was sandstone (55% of all pieces of grinding materials) ‘Three general types of sandstone were discerned. The balance of the raw materials comprised volcanic (two types of gabbro; one fragment of andesite; one fragment of granite; pyroxenite; and dacite) and sedimentary rocks (coarse-grained limestone; a breccia; and an unknown clastic rock which appears usually in burnt form), Some of these rocks could be from the Fruska Gora, including the andesite and the limestone. The gabbro, however, does not appear to have a Fruska Gora context and thus could be Carpathian in origin, from the VrSac area. The sandstones could be either from the Fruska Gora or Vi8ae. The use of these grinding rocks was determined by studying the area of wear relative to the entire rock and the nature of the wear as seen both micro- and macro- scopically in terms of the condition of individual mineral grains. Because of the heavy deposits of calcium car- bonate on all grinding surfaces, it was impossible to consider any type of pollen wash or other test for organic remains. No evidence of grinding in terms of scratches could be determined on the stones that were not whet- stones. ‘The grindstones from Opovo show little evidence of having been used in grinding wheat or other grains. The sandstone grindstones appear to have been used for sharpening tools of stone or bone in that the area of usage is invariably small and concave, as though a rep- etitious rubbing were involved rather than the crushing and grinding of grain. One large, flat stone which may have served as a quem in processing grains was made of the fine, loose sandstone which would have certainly produced grit in the ground product. It is unlikely that such a rock would have been used in the processing of foodstuffs. The hard, compact sandstone, however, is suitable for grinding grain, and it is possible that those rocks were used for grain processing The other rocks are also problematic at this point. The gabbros may have been used in grinding grains. Their surfaces are invariably pecked, and they definitely i curred some type of pounding, which may have involved grains or perhaps some harder foodstuff (e.g., nuts) or ‘other materials to be used, for example, in pottery man- uufacture. Unlike the sandstone examples, the gabbro stones were never worn through. A mica-schist grind- stone was another example of a very flat surface, with ro hint of concavity, but with a number of holes that probably preclude the possibility that a powdered sub- stance was sought Faunal Remains (Nerissa Russel) During the 1984 field season, 2,385 fragments of bone were analyzed (TABLE), Of these, 1,391 were excavated in 1983, completing the analysis ofthe 2,546 bone frag ments recovered in the first season of excavation. The 994 fragments analyzed from the 1984 season represent ca. one-third of the total bone excavated during the Close to one-third (676) of the 2,385 fragments was identified at least to the family level, and in most cases to genus or species. This is a fairly high proportion of identifiable bones, attesting to the good bone preserva- tion at this site. A high proportion of wild species is seen in the fauna analyzed both in 1983 and 1984, (TABLES 4, 5); at least 62% of the identified fauna is wild, and the actual proportion is probably much higher Many of the cattle and most of the pigs were probably 19. S, Bakinyi, “A New Method forthe Determination ofthe Num ber of Individuals in Animal Bone Material,” AJA 74 (1970) 291 292.‘Table 4. Opovo fauna analyzed in 1984, Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol. 12, 1985 441 wild, as can be established through the study of the bone measurements, Moreover, the presumably wild fish, Tan reg Tel 60 expr hanan | birds, mussels, smalls, and turtles are not included with iene 23 the identified species. This predominance of wild fauna Yojmiment 3 is highly unusual forthe Vinéa culture, but not unheard Sal mama BG of in the Tisza culture to the north, nor the preceding Nctty'sea Oe Kords culture, although Opovo falls atthe extreme end tend mead aba of the variation even there. Po Another striking feature of the Opovo bones is the tape woul $8 relatively large number of himan remains. Almost 15% orcas «2208 ofthe identified fauna is human, Not all of these ae ori opra ee positive identifications, however, as most are shat frag- Coe 2 tm 6388 ments. There are 12 definitely human, 14 probably hu- oo 3 St ows oe than, and 72 possibly human bone fragments, in addition rosie Rane to the two human bones analyzed last year. It should be Sus 14 52 183 2s stressed that these human remains do not represent bur- eam anid s 02 07 08 ials, but isolated bones scattered in the midden. They ee oe are concentrated most heavily in the Nw comer of Fea- Urs 1 008 OL 02 ture 5, not all of which has been analyzed as yet. Many Ros sis of these bones are burnt, but so are the animal bones = ree Ss from this area, so they are probably not the remains of tio sous a cremation. Aditionally, the find ofa human ulna with foe oa A Ki 4 clear traces of gnawing in the 1983 analysis was supple- Ta a mented by four more human bones with possible gnaw ra uote marks in 1984. sel st was Toot 2385, Analysis of House Rubble (Mirjana Stevanovié) ‘The burned clay rubble of Features 2 and 4 was sys- tematically mapped and recorded; each piece of signifi- cant size (=10 cm length/width) (total: 715 pieces in Feature 2; 94 pieces in Feature 4) was recorded for its dimensions, and the exact nature of its location of col- Iapoe it dip and strike; the diameter, arc, and orientation of the impressions of logs, planks, reeds, wating, and Tiamnoe Table 5. Opovo fama analyzed in Taxon Specimens _% _MNI*__% Zones % 1983, OvisCapra $25. 295. +2 20 Osis anes $0232 83S Bos taurus 0 2 § Oa Canis fam, 2 10 1 48 2 20 Total domestic 2 32 9 no 2 Bo C. capreous % 134302 (Cer elaphus © 49 4 Io a Sus scrofa © 02 4 10 12 Vulpes —t 0S 4 48 1 10 Total wld 16 882TH 788 Tota 98 2 99 ‘Minimum Nunber of Individual (MND ealcled according 1 the method cated by Boktay (ce note 19, taking age se, and sir io secant.442. Opovo: the Balkan NeolithicITringham, Brukner, and Voytek other features of the frame of the building.*® These re- corded observations are being transferred to computer disc, and will be quantified and reconstructed by a com- puter mapping program. The purpose of this mapping is to enable reconstruction of the original construction of the building as well as the nature of its collapse. At the same time, samples of the rubble from these features have been taken systematically to analyze the clay and temper composition of the rubble in different parts of the building, and in the different buildings, and the temperature of firing, in order to reconstruct the path of the fires, and the production sequence in the construction of the building, Finally, all the rubble from all features was weighed (total: 5,835 kg) in order to construct density maps of the relative amounts of rubble across this building ho- rizon in Block I. Conclusions of the 1984 Field Season ‘The results of the architectural investigation must ob- viously await the analyses currently underway of the ‘excavated data, Our preliminary conclusions, however, formed from impressions after the 1983-84 excavations, indicate that there are some significant differences be- tween the buildings of Opovo-Ugar Bajbuk and those of other Vinéa-Ploénik settlements to the south. The buildings seem smaller and squarer than the usual \Vinéa-Ploénik buildings, but the future investigation of the substructural foundations will determine whether this impression is correct, or whether the excavated buildings ‘were in fact longer. Another difference observed was the virtual absence of a bumed clay floor under the rubble at Opovo, in contrast to the solid clay floors noted at most other Vinéa-Ploénik sites sch as Gomolava, Vinéa, Divostin, and Selevac. That is, the floor was not constructed in the usual manner of a layer of clay over- lying a wooden substructure. It was either made of wood, which rotted or burned, or else comprised a sim- ple, unprepared beaten earth surface. In this case, the burned or rotten organic materials have been subse- {quently removed or rendered completely unidentifiable by the natural processes of soil formation and animal activity. It seems likely then that the Opovo buildings ‘were built with unusually flimsy or fragile floors, which might suggest that the buildings were not so long-lived as those further south. On the other hand, at least in one building (Feature 2), the complexity of internal furniture in the form of partitions, oven, and storage features is as great as the other Vinéa-Plognik and se European late neolithic/early eneolthic buildings. 20, G. Shatfer, “Neolithic Building Technology in Calabria, Italy” ‘unpublished Ph.D. disseration, SUNY, Binghamton (1984). ‘Thus, from the architectural point of view, our obser- vations of 1983-84 suggest that, although the houses were smaller and perhaps less permanent than those further south, they responded to the same needs for fixed division and’ apportionment of space as seen in other ina houses. The superstructure was made of similar ‘materials (A-horizon soil deposits, plus chaff and other organic materials) which were locally available, using reeds, wooden planks, and whole and split logs as the framework of the outer walls. The houses were destroyed by fires which may have started as separate fires in each case, since each building had its concentration of vitri- fied clay, from which, itis presumed, the fire spread to the rest of the building Observations of other materials excavated in 1983-84 confirm the fact that there is a combination of charac- teristics that are typical of the Vinéa culture and others having sharp differences from the Vinéa culture. For example, in terms of settlement location, the pedological survey confirmed that the site was located on a small island surrounded by waterlogged or marshland areas which were rich in wild game and plants, but whose area of nearby agricultural soils was limited. This loca- tion is unusual for a Vinéa culture settlement and needs to be explained. ‘The analysis of faunal remains confirmed an unusually high percentage of wild animals (including fish and binds), especially deer and pig, among the faunal re~ mains. The study of the parts of body and sex/age ratios suggests that this reflects a real emphasis on hunting activities in the procurement of food at Opovo. The analysis of the relatively large number of grind- stones at Opovo shows that very few of them were made in materials suitable for grinding grain, nor do they show the resulting contact traces of this task. The majority was made of sandstone and was used for grinding and sharpening, bone and stone tools. The others have traces ‘of pounding rather than grinding. As yet, the flotation samples have not been analyzed for macrofloral remains in any detail, but their prelimi- nary examination shows a complete absence of grains of cultivated wheat or barley. Our dominant impression remains, therefore, that the subsistence activities at Opovo differed from all other Vinga-Ploénik sites in focusing on the exploitation of wild resources, both plants and animals. Whether or not this was a seasonal activity has yet to be investigated. We should note, however, that accommodation for storage in the form of storage pots, and for food preparation in the form of ‘ovens in the buildings, is identical to that in other Vinca- Plocnik sites. ‘Overall, there are relatively few flaked- and potished- stone tools, particularly the former, and their fragments