Lepenski Vir

the remains of an ancient settlement on the right bank of the Danube River at the Iron Gate in Serbia (in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia).

The site was excavated between 1965 and 1968 under the direction of the Yugoslav scholar D. Srejović. The upper cultural layer (III) belongs to the early Neolithic period, and the two lower layers (II and I) belong to the Mesolithic (radiocarbon dating, 5400–4600 B.C.). The remains of about 20 trapezoidal houses of vertical-pole construction were revealed in layer I; the areas of the houses ranged from 5.5 to 30 sq m. The foundations were dug slightly into the ground; the floors were coated with lime and had a thin polished red or white surface. Hearths edged with stones were discovered inside the houses, and stone sculptured representations of people and fish were found nearby. Human burials were discovered in shallow pits near the hearths in a number of houses. The skeletons resemble the eastern European Cro-Magnon man of the Upper Paleolithic. The population of Lepenski Vir engaged in fishing and in hunting the red deer. The only domesticated animal was the dog. The population’s implements were made of stone, flint, and bone.