The First Civilisation? Vinča culture with Ben Elliott

The Vinča culture of Serbia is one of the first human civilisations. Possibly the first to smelt copper, one of the earliest uses of a symbolic proto-script and a hyper industrious producer of advanced ceramics including the earliest anthropomorphic life size clay busts. Yet few know of the wonders of this ancient culture. In this episode, I spoke to the historian Ben Elliott who travelled to Serbia to make a film called Quest for Vinca which aims to increase awareness of these fascinating Neolithic people.

The OLDEST TOMBS on Earth? Megalithic Origins (4900 - 2700 BC) | Ancient...

 

The entire history of the megalith builders of Neolithic France's western Brittany region from the migration and rise of the first farmers to the demise of the culture. This feature length documentary shows how the famous megalithic monuments of Britain and Ireland, such as Stonehenge, derive from much earlier ones in Brittany. Who were the first farmers in France? Why did they start building the impressive megalithic chambered tombs or the enormous standing stones known as menhirs? This documentary looks at the world’s first tombs, some close to 7000 years old, and traces the development of the dolmens and other tombs from 5000 BC to 2700 BC. We also learn how the first farmers interacted with the Mesolithic Western Hunter Gatherers who were already there, and how they may have influenced this megalithic monument tradition. Learn how the exquisite jadeite axe heads of the Neolithic were symbols of power imported from the far away Alps. We visited the tombs of Gavrinis, Petit Mont, Table des Marchands, the Barrow tomb of Kercado and the truly ancient Saint-Michel tumulus among others. You will also learn about the 4 mile long alignments of Carnac and what they were made for. The adventure starts at the 9 maidens stones in Cornwall and ends on the stunning coasts of Morbihan in Brittany.

 Sources:

• Cassidy el al (2016)  
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• Fowler, C., Olalde, I., Cummings, V. et al. A high-resolution picture of kinship practices in an Early Neolithic tomb. Nature 601, 584–587 (2022).  
• Paulsson, B. S., (2018)  
• Petrequin, P. et al,.- The production and circulation of alpine jade axe-heads (2016) 
• Rivollat et al., 2015 
• Scarre, Chris, 'The Study of Neolithic Brittany', Landscapes of Neolithic Brittany (Oxford, 2011; online edn, Oxford Academic, 16 Mar. 2015) 
• Shennan, S. “The First Farmers of Europe” (2018) 
• Le Roux, C-T., 1999a. L’outillage de pierre polie en métadolérite ue type A. Les ateliers de Plussulien (Côtes-d”Armor): production et diffusion au Néolithique dans la France de l’ouest et au-delà. Rennes: Travaux du Laboratoire Anthropologie. Préhistoire et Quaternaire Armoricains 
• Le Roy et al.,Funerary behaviour of Neolithic necropolises and collective graves in France. Evidence from Gurgy «Les Noisats» (Middle Neolithic) and Passy/Veron «La Truie Pendue» (Late Neolithic) (2014) 
• Whittle, A., ‘Very Like a Whale’: Menhirs, Motifs and Myths in the Mesolithic–Neolithic Transition of Northwest Europe. 2000.