Early Neolithic Ovens from the site of Lepenski Vir: New shape - old material

Even though the Early Neolithic material at the site of Lepenski Vir shows typical characteristics of the Starčevo culture, there are certain significant elements which are atypical for the Early Neolithic communities of the Central Balkans. One of the atypical elements are the ovens. In the Early Neolithic layers at the site of Lepenski Vir, a total of 5 ovens inside pit-dwellings were found. Based on the construction technology, 3 types can be distinguished – a dug-in structure made of burnt soil, an oven with floor and dome parts made of stone slabs, and an oven with stone slab foundation under the clay floor and a dome of an unknown material. The use of stone as a material for the construction of ovens, is yet unknown in the Early Neolithic of the Central Balkans. Ovens were usually features dug into the side of pit-dwellings and not free-standing installations. Only one out of the five ovens at Lepenski Vir shows the characteristics of a typical Starčevo culture oven. Moreover, stone was not a typical oven building material in other contemporaneous cultures in the surrounding areas. On the other hand, stone was used for the construction of fire installations (hearths) during the transformational Mesolithic-Neolithic and Mesolithic phases at Lepenski Vir. Strontium analyses have shown that the descendants of the local Mesolithic population and first-generation Neolithic migrants lived at Lepenski Vir during the Early Neolithic. The aim of this paper is to determine whether the “old” material used for the construction of a “new” type of fire installation at Lepenski Vir
can be an evidence of contact between two communities with different traditions, forming a new type of material culture, unique to this site, which reflects the social relations in the settlement.