VinÄa symbols
Vinča Vinča signs or symbols ( this is considered by some researchers such as Marija Gimbutas Harald Haarmann or for an old European type) are signs of prehistoric Vinča culture, which were found in Southeastern Europe. The signs have been dated to about 5300-3200 BC. The first working hypothesis assumed character, but this was doubtful, because of the brevity of character rows (85% of the finds consist of only one character ) and the lack of repeated symbols. The view that the image written Sumerian cuneiform (approx. 3400 BC) is the first form of writing, is widespread. Most experts assume that the Vinča signs represent a kind of precursor font, which means that they contained a message, but described no language or abbildeten. For the view of the sign as a font but can also give good reasons.
The discovery
1875 archaeologists discovered during excavations in Turda ( Romania today ) many objects with previously unknown symbols. A similar discovery has been made in 1908 in Vinča, a suburb of Belgrade, about 120 km west of Turda. Later they made further discoveries in Banjica in Belgrade. To date, at various archaeological sites in South-East Europe, especially in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, found in eastern Hungary in southern Ukraine and the former Yugoslavia more than 1000 pieces with such characters.
The finds
Most of the characters found on ceramic vessels and small figures; few on another carrier objects. The characters consist of abstract symbols (crosses, strokes etc. ), pictograms (eg, animal-like figures) and comb or brush patterns. Some of the objects contains several icons that are ordered according to no discernible principle. A significant trend is the fact that characters that stand on their own, are situated mainly on earthenware, symbol groups on whorls.
Significance of the findings for the study of Scripture
General knowledge or the use of the font assigned to the high cultures. This is done in the reliable assumption that only complex societies had record includes administrative acts and to invent sign systems. On the Vinča culture, this clearly is not true.
The significance of the findings is that they are dated to about 1000 years before the birth of the writing of the Sumerians, who is the oldest font. A confrontation with characters of the Middle East shows that the character arose independently of the Sumerian civilization. Some similarities can be identified to symbols of other Neolithic sign systems that have been found in Egypt, Crete and even in China. Chinese scientists suggest, however, that some cultures produced such characters independently. Accordingly, they at best represented a afferent development to what one might call a precursor of writing. In Sumer tokens ( counting stones ) with symbols are the precursors of the characters.
Although a total of a large number of symbols was found, made the most of the finds of very few together these symbols so that it is very unlikely that they represent complex text. The only exception is a close Sitowo ( Northeast Bulgaria ) found stone with about 50 characters. From the controversial dating apart, is not to determine whether the numbers represent ever written information.
Interpretation of the symbols
The purpose of the symbols are still unclear. Whether it is a writing system is debatable. If so, the question would be whether there are logograms, syllabic, or alphabetic characters. Attempt to decode the symbols, not led to the generally accepted results.
First, it was assumed that the sign as owner - symbols were no longer (about as branding ). A prominent representative of this opinion is the archaeologist P. Biel. This theory was largely abandoned because of the same symbols in the whole territory of Vinča culture were found, partly hundreds of miles apart and separated by centuries. The prevailing theory assumes that the symbols in an agriculture company incorporated religious purposes served, so were Hierogramme. The symbols have been used for centuries with minor changes. Culture and rituals that represent the symbols are, therefore, also remained constant for a long time, apparently without cause for development.
The use of the sign seems to have been abandoned at the beginning of the Bronze Age to be (along with the objects on which they appeared ). The new technology probably pulled incisive social and religious changes by itself.
An argument against a cultic significance of the sign vehicle is that the objects on which they are located, are usually found on waste places, so they are likely to have had no lasting significance for their owners.
Certain items, mainly small statues, were often found buried under houses. This speaks for the assumption that they concerned religious ceremonies were made for the house. By signs were incised, the figures of a particular deity in the polytheistic pantheon were assigned, were addressed to the wishes and hopes. At the ceremony, the articles were buried ritually (which some interpret as Weihopfer ).
Some of the so-called comb and brush symbols, which account for about one-sixth of all previously discovered symbols could represent numbers. Scientists point out that a quarter of the characters are at the bottom of ceramic vessels, one by our mindset for religious symbols not just obvious point.
The Vinča culture seems to have their ceramics spread through barter. The drawn vessels were found in a large area. Early civilizations such as the Minoan or the Sumerian used their original fonts for accounting purposes. The Vinča symbols could have had a similar purpose.
Other symbols, mainly those that are only on vessel bottoms, are unique. Such symbols perhaps marked the manufacturer of the vessels.
The controversy
The Vinča signs have not attracted so much attention of linguists, like other known non- deciphered writings, such as Linear A or Rongorongo Easter Island. Nevertheless, the material was to be able to trigger controversy.
One of the main advocates of the opinion, at the sign if it were a font, the archaeologist Marija Gimbutas was (1921-1994), which is also the term " old European magazine" coined. This also represents Harald Haarmann in his history of the font ( Campus Verlag, 1990) and in his more recent work.
Most archaeologists and linguists agree with the interpretation of Gimbutas and Haarmann not. It is widely accepted among scholars that the Sumerian cuneiform is the earliest writing. One only occasionally controversial theory comes from Radivoje Pešić, Belgrade. In his book The Vinca alphabet he indicates that all Vinča symbols in the Etruscan alphabet are included and vice versa, are to be found all Etruscan characters among the Vinča symbols. This thesis is hardly discussed, since the Etruscan alphabet derived from western Greek, and this from the Phoenician writing system. This is again consistent with Pešićs term, as part of its continuity theory suggests that the Phoenician system of the descended the Vinča culture. Pešić is accused by critics that his support for the continuity theory nationalist motives has.