Lepenski Vir

Lepenski Vir is a Mesolithic archaeological site in Serbia featuring one of Europe's earliest known permanent settlements, with evidence of hunter-gatherer occupation dating from circa 9500–7200 BC and transition to Neolithic farming communities by 5500 BC [1]. The site is renowned for its distinctive trapezoidal house plans and monumental sculpture, including carved stone figures representing hybrid human-fish motifs that reflect the inhabitants' ritual relationship with the Danube River [1]. Discovered in 1960, Lepenski Vir demonstrates the complex cultural evolution from Mesolithic foragers to Early Neolithic agriculturalists in the Balkans [1].