Starcevo

a Neolithic archaeological culture (5,000–4,000 B.C.) in Yugoslavia. The culture was discovered in 1928 in the settlement of Starčevo, near Belgrade. It is represented by settlements of rectangular surface dwellings and of pit houses on the banks of rivers. Pottery, including spherical and hemispherical vessels on trays and cups on stems, is characterized either by an irregular surface and decorations in the form of depressions and ridges or by a well-finished glazed and painted surface. Weapons were made of bone and stone, for example, polished axes. Clay statuettes of humans and animals, bobbins from looms, and other objects have also been found. The dead were buried in the settlements. The main occupations of the inhabitants were land cultivation and cattle raising. The origin of the Starcevo culture is linked with the early farming cultures of Southwest Asia and the Mediterranean region.