Bodin
Finds showing features of the Scythian style are important clues in the study of ethno-cultural movements in the central Balkan and Danubian regions at the end of the early Iron Age. They are not numerous in this territory. An exceptional area in this respect are the banks of the Danube in the vicinity of Belgrade, where most of the finds of this type have been discovered. Outstanding among them is the decorative plate in the form of an animal stylized in the Scythian fashion, which was found in one of several horsemen's graves discovered by chance at Ritopek near Belgrade.
The plate is a typical ornament of the headgear for horses and probably adorned the cheek piece. The decorative scheme of the plate is striking: it is fashioned in the form of a fantastic animal – griffin - and shows only some parts of its body (pars pro toto). This is a characteristic feature of Scythian art, particularly prominent on the plates dating from the 5th-4th centuries B.C. The head of the animal, crested and bearded, is clearly visible, while the body is neglected. The fan-like spiral ringlets in the lower part represent the griffin's claws. The appearance of this and similar Scythian finds in the territory of Belgrade may be associated with the increased contacts between the local tribes and the communities settled in the lower Danubian region and in Thrace, where Little Scythia was formed after an influx of some Scythian tribes from the Euro-Asian steppes in the 5th-4th centuries B.C.
This model stove of anthropoid shape belongs to a special group of miniature clay objects of specific use and is a rare find of the Vinča culture in Serbia. Its base is circular and it has an ellipsoid opening for the fire. On the front side of the calotte are moulded arms and incised crescent-shaped breasts. Presumably a head with the neck originally grew out of this mystical representation. The stove is undoubtedly a cult object personifying the deity of fire, guardian of the house, of the ancestors, and of the family. The model stove was also used as an altar, and it may have served as an amulet which people carried with them so that they might be at all times connected with their home and its hearth. The appearance of objects of this kind complements the picture of the spiritual life of prehistoric communities, of which only material traces have come down to us. It may be justly said that the more complex forms of religion which appeared in the later periods had deep roots in the Neolithic tradition.
The quadrangular vessel from Prigrevica, decorated with moulded pellets along the side edges and with two lugs and a flat lower part is a rare find of the Salcuţa IV culture discovered in the vicinity of Belgrade. Since these vessels-beakers are typical of the Salcuţa culture, they are important for the study of influences and of the spreading of new cultures caused by the penetration of the tribes from east Hungary and Oltenia into this region,. Finds of this type provide evidence of the movements of immigrants and of the way the native population was affected by cultural and ethnic upheavals. The symbiosis of the old and the new in this territory brought about substantial changes towards the end of the 4th millennium B.C., and finds from this period contribute significantly to our knowledge of a very complex historical and cultural process.
This exceptional gold find from the early phase of the Vinkovci culture was discovered in the grave of a woman. Such objects are rather rare in the period of transition from the Eneolithic to the Bronze Age. Three similar examples, made from copper and bronze, have been found in the territory of Panonia. The luxurious diadem, decorated by punctuation along the edges, held the veil on the head of a rich and distinguished woman who belonged to the tribal aristocracy of the early Bronze Age. Its elegance and grace testify to the master's skill in the working of gold.
The model house discovered in an urn with the remains of cremation represents a unique find in the Serbian part of the Danubian region. The house is probably associated with the ritual of placing models and objects into graves, so that the dead person might have in afterlife something belonging to this world, something that might help him resume his interrupted work. The model undoubtedly represents a faithful replica of a prehistoric house; its proportions are correct and it is fashioned with great skill. The way it is decorated shows that it belongs to the Žuto Brdo culture, which is remarkable for its ornamentation, superior to that of all the other cultures of the time. A specific feature of this culture is rich decoration arranged in friezes and metopes. The white incrustation fits in well with the imaginative and well balanced drawing, imparting a special visual effect to the object.