The Danube (Old European) Script:
Ritual use of Signs in the Balkan-Danube Region c. 5200-3500 BC

Shan M. M. Winn (USA)

Abstract

The pioneering research by Shan Winn on early script signs in the central Balkans is presented here in three parts. The introduction recounts his initial study of symbols on Vinča and Tisza artifacts in northern Yugoslavia and southern Hungary After collecting signs from more than forty Vinča sites in 1971, he catalogued 210 sign types in his doctoral dissertation, Pre-Writing in Southeastern Europe (1973).   His term “pre-writing” reflects scholarly resistance to his initial use of the term Ascript.@ Having recently completed a reassessment of the signs, he gives special recognition to those who were instrumental in that effort.

The second part consists of the author=s more recent reassessment of the signs, including fifteen categories and 242 signs and symbols based on distinctions in usage. Two categories are important for their use of diacritical markers to differentiate signs and meanings. Other distinctive features of the script are goddess-related signs and the ritual use of numbers.

The final part focuses on two spindle whorls that can be viewed as evidence for writing. Although two virtually identical inscriptions were recognized by the author in 1971, it was not until the numerous parallel lines of the script were identified that their potential meanings could be inferred. Based on the premise that the inscriptions are best interpreted in the context of ritual, the author identifies several signs and submits a tentative interpretation.