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Abstract The authors present an early evidence for the use of complex fishing techniques for obtaining variable fish resources in prehistoric south-east Europe as recovered at the Neolithic site of Vinca – Belo Brdo in Serbia. In particular, a group of bone artefacts have been analysed through the application of an integrated approach combining technological, use-wear, and residue analyses as well as the comparisons with ethnographic artefacts. The results of the functional analysis indicate that these artefacts were parts of lure hooks, i.e. composite hooks, probably used to catch large predatory fish. On methodological grounds, the discussion proposed in this paper could be relevant for other case studies worldwide where one finds prehistoric communities with evidence of fishing activities.

Abstract Mineralogical and chemical composition as well as production methods of the pottery from Caricin Grad, a significant early Byzantine urban complex and production centre of the northern Illyricum region, were determined by multi-analytical investigations that comprised optical analysis and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM–EDS), micro-Raman and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) methods. The obtained data indicate that all investigated pottery samples were made of similar raw material that, most likely, originated from the local geological environment. Estimated firing temperatures for the cooking pots vary between 600 °C and 900 °C, while for the glazed table and storage vessels they are more uniform, about 900 °C. The transparent high lead glaze was obtained by direct application of lead oxide to the ceramic surface.

This paper presents the results obtained for red pigments used on ceramics from the Neolithic period, excavated at three Vinca culture archaeological sites on the territory of present day Serbia. Emphasis was put on cinnabar, a characteristic red pigment, in order to define its possible origin and usage. Several spectroscopic techniques (EDXRF, PIXE, X-ray powder diffraction) were applied to identify the pigments. According to the results presented in this paper, the known record regarding the first cinnabar use in the Balkans can be extended to the end of the sixth millennium BC. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.