Lepenski Vir instance of archaeological site
Lepenski Vir (Serbian Cyrillic: Лепенски Вир, "Lepena Whirlpool"), located in Serbia, is an important archaeological site of the Mesolithic Iron Gates culture of the Balkans. The latest radiocarbon and AMS data suggests that the chronology of Lepenski Vir spans between 9500/7200–6000 BC. There is some disagreement about when the settlement and culture of Lepenski Vir began, but the latest data indicates that it was between 9500–7200 BC. The late Lepenski Vir (6300–6000 BC) architectural phase saw the development of unique trapezoidal buildings and monumental sculpture. The Lepenski Vir site consists of one large settlement with around ten satellite villages. Numerous piscine sculptures and peculiar architectural remains have been found at the site.
Archaeologist Dragoslav Srejović, who first explored the site, said that such large sculptures so early in human history, and the original architectural solutions, define Lepenski Vir as a specific and very early phase in the development of European prehistoric culture. The site was notable for its outstanding level of preservation and the overall exceptional quality of its artifacts. Because the settlement was permanent and planned, with an organized societal life, architect Hristivoje Pavlović labeled Lepenski Vir as "the first city in Europe".The Đerdap national park, which includes Lepenski Vir, was established in 1974. On 10 July 2020, the park's wider area was designated a UNESCO global geopark. Apart from the Iron Gates  gorge, the Đerdap UNESCO Global Geopark includes parts of the Miroč and Kučaj mountain massifs, with total area of 1,330 km2 (510 sq mi), and was the first such designation in Serbia.Discovery
The site was discovered on 30 August 1960, on a lot owned by a local farmer, Manojlo Milošević.Subsequently, after almost three years of inactivity, archaeological exploration of the region was organized by the Belgrade Institute for Archaeology. Construction of the Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station, which would flood the bank regions with its artificial lake, was slated to begin, so archaeologists wanted to explore the area as much as possible before that happened. The head of the project at the time was Dušanka Vučković-Todorović, a fellow at the Institute. The area to be investigated was located between the villages of Prahovo and Golubac. Archaeologist Obrad Kujović explored the Lepenski Vir section with his assistant Ivica Kostić, following the work of previous visitors and archaeologists such as Felix Philipp Kanitz and Nikola Vulić. The location appeared ideal for a settlement, so Kujović and Kostić surveyed it. They found so many ceramic fragments that it was like uncovering a ceramics workshop. Kujović recognized it as an important archaeological site, collected fragments, dated them as being part of the Starčevo Culture and made a report for the Institute. Srejović, intrigued by the findings, contacted Kujović in 1961 for detailed information.History
The main site consists of several archeological phases starting with Proto-Lepenski Vir, then Lepenski Vir Ia through Ie, Lepenski Vir II and Lepenski Vir III, whose occupation spanned 1,500 to 2,000 years, from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic period, when it was succeeded by the Neolithic Vinča culture and Starčevo culture, both upstream the Danube, 135 km (84 mi) and 139 km (86 mi) from Lepenski Vir, respectively. A number of satellite villages belonging to the same culture and time period were discovered in the surrounding area. These additional sites include Hajdučka Vodenica, Padina, Vlasac, Ikaona, Kladovska Skela, and others. Found artifacts include tools made from stone and bone, the remains of houses, and numerous sacral objects including unique stone sculptures.
It is assumed that the people of Lepenski Vir culture represent the descendants of the early European population of the Brno-Předmostí (Czech Republic) hunter gatherer culture from the end of the last ice age. Archeological evidence of human habitation of the surrounding caves dates back to around 20,000 BC. The first settlement on the low plateau dates back to 9500–7200 BC, a time when the climate became significantly warmer.
A group of 80 institutes and 117 researchers, including archaeologists Andrej Starović and Dušan Borić from Serbia, published the results of their genomic research in Nature magazine in February 2018. Genomes of 235 ancient inhabitants were studied. In terms of the area surrounding Lepenski Vir (localities of Starčevo, Saraorci-Jezava, Lepenski Vir, Padina, and Vlasac), it was established that the region's original population, the hunter-gatherers, inhabited the area for an extended time. Then, starting from c.7500 BC, a new population began to settle the Balkans and the Danube valley. Evidence shows that these Neolithic newcomers mixed with the indigenous population in Lepenski Vir. Arriving from Asia Minor, the immigrants had a completely different lifestyle. They brought the first grain crops, knowledge of agriculture, and the husbandry of sheep, cattle, and goats.  Based on their research, Starović concluded that the blending of the populations occurred almost immediately, during the first immigrant generation, which was unique, as in other parts of Europe two such different communities would initially live in proximity to each other. He believes that this melting pot was a keystone of human development in Europe. It produced the burgeoning of the Lepenski Vir culture, establishing the Balkan Neolithic, the most original occurrence in the entire prehistory in Europe. This was the foundation of the concepts of village, square, family - which then took hold across the continent. The modern Serbian population still incorporates some 10% of their genes from this original mix.Trescovăț, a bare porphyritic cliff (679 m (2,228 ft) high) rises on the left bank of the Danube opposite Lepenski Vir like a giant sentinel of the prehistoric settlement. Trescovăț may have been important to the inhabitants of Lepenski Vir  as a solar observatory. The development of the settlement was strongly influenced by the topology of the surrounding area. It sat on a narrow promontory on the bank of the river, hemmed between cliffs and the flow of the Danube. As such it offered only limited resources in terms of food, raw materials and living space. This is reflected in the findings from the earliest layer. Proto-Lepenski Vir represents only a small settlement of perhaps four or five families with a population of less than one hundred. The primary food source of the inhabitants was probably fishing. Fishing communities of this type are typical for the wider Danube valley region during this period.
In later periods, the problems of overpopulation of the settlement became evident and led to the occurrence of important sociological changes.
Archaeological findings in the surrounding area show evidence of temporary settlements, probably built for the purpose of hunting and gathering of food or raw materials. This suggests a complex semi-nomadic economy with managed exploitation of resources in the area not immediately surrounding the village, something remarkable in terms of the traditional view of Mesolithic people of Europe. More complexity in an economy leads to occupational specialization and thus to social differentiation.
These developments are clearly evident in the layout of the Lepenski Vir Ia-e settlement. The village was well planned. All houses were built according to a single complex geometric pattern. The remains of these houses constitute the distinct Lepenski Vir architecture. The main layout of the village is clearly visible. The dead were buried outside the village in an elaborate cemetery. The only exceptions were apparently a few notable elders who were buried behind the fireplaces (hearths) of houses.
The complex social structure was dominated by a religion which probably served as a binding force for the community and a means of coordination of activity for its members. Numerous sacral objects that were discovered in this layer support this theory. The most remarkable examples are piscine sculptures, unique to the Lepenski Vir culture, which represent one of the first examples of monumental sacral art on European soil.
Lepenski Vir gives us a rare opportunity to observe the gradual transition from the hunter-gatherer lifeways of early humans to the agricultural economy of the Neolithic. An increasingly complex social structure influenced the development of the planning and self-discipline necessary for agricultural production.
Once agricultural products became a commodity, a new way of life replaced the old social structure. Distinct characteristics of Lepenski Vir culture, such as its house architecture and piscine sculptures, gradually disappeared. Lepenski Vir III is representative of a Neolithic site and is more typical of other comparable sites across a much wider area. The exact mechanism of this transition remains unclear, but the evidence suggests development through evolution rather than invasion from without.Assessment
The findings of the Lepenski Vir study, published for the first time on 16 August 1967 at a press conference organized by Lazar Trifunović, radically reenvisioned the history of Europe. It was noted that the printing of some history textbooks was delayed so that they could be revised. Opposing voices, however, claimed that Lepenski Vir can't be dated to the Mesolithic, as Europe was barely inhabited at the time and the population lived in caves and other natural shelters.The research issues that Lepenski Vir presents are typical of similar archaeological sites from prehistoric periods: without written evidence and because of the absence of wider context, excessively broad conclusions tend to be extrapolated from a quite narrow base of information. Incomplete data diverts the exploration and analysis of Lepenski Vir into diffuse directions. Classicist Milan Budimir described the findings as "bold hypotheses which shed a dubious light on the (historical) dark".Yet, Lepenski Vir is the oldest planned settlement in Europe and has unique, trapezoidal-shaped houses seen nowhere else. Its culture has yielded not only the earliest discovered portrait sculptures, but also the first sculptures larger than life-size in the history of human art. The sculptures are the largest up to that period and among the first to have a carved mouth or ears. Additionally, the skeletal remains from Lepenski Vir comprise almost half of one of the largest Mesolithic anthropological series, and are important for the future bio-archaeological and DNA research.By 26 May 1966, the State Institute for the protection of the cultural monuments had already protected Lepenski Vir as a cultural monument (Decision 554/1), expanding the level of protection on 3 February 1971 (Decision 01-10/21). In 1979 Lepenski Vir was declared a Cultural Monument of Exceptional Importance (State Gazette, No. 14/79). Despite its immense importance, However, Lepenski Vir has not yet been nominated for the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. 
This was partially due to the bureaucracy of the state and certain technicalities, and partially because the Museum of Lepenski Vir had to be finished first. Another problem may be the fact that the original location of the site has been flooded, and the site elevated to higher ground. Houses 61 and 65 were not moved and at the low water level, they are only 59 cm (23 in) below the surface, so technically, they could be nominated for the UNESCO listing.Architect Branislav Krstić (1922–2016), a former commissioner UNESCO commissioner, suggested in 2010 that Lepenski Vir should be nominated together with the entire Iron Gates Gorge, as an "integral cultural and natural monument". As Krstić stated, apart from the ancient cultures, the wider area of Lepenski Vir was later part of the Roman, and later Byzantine, Danubian Limes, contains Roman and mediaeval fortresses, like Golubac Fortress and Fetislam, while the massive Iron Gates Dam is a monument to industrialization and electrification in the 20th century. Ristić opposed this course of action, saying that the original, "crystal clear" artifacts (sculptures) should be separated from the architectural remains which were ruined, partially because of the submergence and partially because of "catastrophic archaeological mismanagement during the 1960s excavations". He asserted that the architectural remains were fragile to begin with, and that during the excavations it was only partially presented but totally destroyed during the relocation. Architect and artist Aleksandar Deroko called it the "largest cultural massacre of the 20th century" and said that "world-renowned scientists will no longer be able to explore the site". The elevated and reconstructed section in the museum was to be relocated by a project, led by Milorad Medić, which envisioned the relocation of entire house floors in steel frames. During the relocation, however, the fragile floors crumbled into pieces and dust, so they were moved in parts and then reassembled in the museum. Ristić believes that the focus should be on the sculptures, which are fully preserved: "Just as the cave paintings (in Lascaux) revealed the soul of the Paleolithic man from 20,000-30,000 years ago, so the pebble sculpting (in Lepenski Vir) reveal the soul of the Mesolithic man from 7,000-9,000 years ago". He denounced the museum as being an "incomplete forgery...that possesses neither soul nor science, and has no purpose". He concluded that Lepenski Vir, due to its importance, deserves a fitting monument, a counterpart to the monumental cliff sculpture of the face of Decebalus, leader of the Dacians from the 1st century. He proposed that Serbian counterpart should be a gigantic face from the Lepenian sculptures, which would appear to arise out of the Danube, and that Lepena Rock, halfway between Lepenski Vir and Vlasac, would be a suitable site for the monument.
type of example of manifestation of representation of