Dentalium beads - shells of fosillised sea molluscs at the Vinca-Belo brdo site

Abstract

During excavation of the Vinca-Belo Brdo site a significant number of decorated items made from clay, stone, bone, and seashells or snail shells have been collected over the years. Amongst the decorated objects which could be classified as jewellery the majority are bracelets, pendants, and beads made from Spondylus and Glycymeris shells, as well as beads made from Dentalium shells. The appearance of these beads and the question of their origin have not yet been specifically considered within studies of prehistoric cultures in the central Balkans. Furthermore, they have rarely been illustrated and mentioned in archaeological site inventories, which we presume has not been because of their poor representation, but rather because of their being unfamiliar. The aim of this work is therefore to: a) systematize data about Dentalium beads from all phases of excavation of the Belo Brdo site in Vinca; b) to show the importance of this kind of jewellery in the study of resources around the Vinca settlement; and c) to indicate the wider chronological perspective and the significance of studying Dentalium beads within the prehistory of the central Balkans. Dentalium is a carnivorous Scaphopoda sea mollusc, uncommon and insufficiently studied. Representatives of this class of Scaphopoda have been found on Serbian territory in the Badenian sediments, deposited fifteen million years ago. Badenian sediments were discovered around Loznica, Belgrade, Arandjelovac, Golubac, Zajecar, and Negotin. The region of Belgrade and the surrounding area had been covered by a warm, shallow sea of normal salination. On the territory of Belgrade, offsprings of the Badenian sediments, rich in fossils, have been discovered in the city centre (Tasmajdan, Kalemegdan), as well as in many surrounding places (Rakovica, Kaludjerica, Lestani, and Jajinci) (fig. 2). Scaphopod shells found at the Vinca-Belo Brdo archaeological site are usually transversally broken. Judging by the basic appearance of the shells and their ornamentation (longitudinal stripes and rising lines) on better preserved examples (fig. 3: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) the Fissidentalium badense type is distinct. The ornamentation of the shell is in most cases well preserved, save that in a few examples the longitudinal stripes are broken (fig. 3:22) or the outer surface of the shell has been abraded/dissolved by a physical-chemical agent. Dentalium shells have been used for making jewellery from prehistoric times right up to the present day. The reason for this lies in the regular shape of the shell, which is completely unchanged, or, with a little effort, can be used as one longer or (by breaking it laterally) a larger number of shorter cylindrical beads. On the territory of Serbia today, pre-Neolithic beads have not been known to date. Neither have they been cited in published materials from early-Neolithic to mid-Neolithic Starcevo sites. On the basis of literature, we would say that they appear for the first time in late Neolithic/early Eneolithic times, that is, in the period of the Vinca culture. After that time, it seems that Dentalium beads were mostly used during the Bronze Age, judging from the grave inventories of the necropolis in Mokrin (Moris culture), where there are findings in around 10% of graves. These are formed from fossilized shells. The beads are usually strung together and were worn around the neck. Usually they were strung in combination with beads and pendants made from other materials (for example teeth, bones, kaolin, stone, bronze etc). Since excavation of the Vinca-Belo Brdo site began in 1908, until 2009, 362 Dentalium beads were found. With the exception of one case, beads were formed from fossilized shells. Most fossilized shells were used by the inhabitants of Belo Brdo in the form in which they were found. Very rarely, traces of workmanship on the edges of beads can be noticed under magnification - carving and polishing (fig. 3: 21), showing that beads were sometimes finished off, probably when natural breaks were not rounded off but were too sharp, or when they the shells were broken to obtain smaller pieces. Beads are located in all levels of Vinca culture settlements, with depths of between ?0.7-?9.0 m (fig. 4a). However, at depths of between ?6.5 and ?7.3 m, only one bead has been found (at ?7.0 m) which indicates a reduced interest in Dentalium beads, to the extent of the cessation of their use in the corresponding period. It is not clear whether the beads were worn individually or in a string. Most beads were found individually, but this does not necessarily mean that they were not worn in strings, since these may have been dismantled prior to their deposit. Twenty-nine beads found together indicates that at least some were worn strung (?8.2 m), as do two pairs of connected beads (with the narrow end of one placed in the wider end of the second bead (fig. 3: 24). Regarding the question of how inhabitants of the Belo Brdo settlement found Dentalium shells, there is no doubt that they were collected in deposits of fossils situated in the wider surroundings of Vinca. The same kind of scaphopod Fissidentalium badense is present among shells used as beads, as well as in Miocene deposits in the area. The taphonomic characteristics of archaeological examples do not differ from samples collected in fossil deposits. It is interesting that inhabitants of the Belo Brdo collected other fossils too, sometimes bringing them to the settlement, but rarely using them for jewellery. Undoubtedly Dentalium shells were accepted as ?ready made? beads, but it is also possible that the Dentalia were chosen because they were ?in fashion?, since the Belo Brdo inhabitants may have known that they were used in other parts of the pre-historic world.