Opovo Ugar-Bajbuk, a Late Neolithic Vinča settlement in Serbia, is much larger and more complex than earlier work indicated. New fieldwork (2022-2024) using geomagnetic survey, surface collection, cores and fresh radiocarbon dates expands the occupation from about 5 hectares to roughly 9.4 hectares, revealing 180-220 house structures and a peak population estimated as high as 711 people rather than the previously thought ~200. Main occupation is now dated to c. 4850-4725 BCE. Settlement development shows an initial 4.3-hectare nucleus enclosed by a ditch around 4850 BCE, then expansion around 4820 BCE with parts of the original ditch filled and up to five enclosing ditches built, indicating large coordinated earthworks executed without archaeological signs of forced labor.
House-size analysis produces a median Gini index of 0.22 for material wealth, pointing to relatively low economic inequality and a social organization capable of cooperative mass projects rather than strong ranking. The study emphasizes that house area captures material differences only and that other status markers require separate study. Causes of abandonment after c. 4725 BCE remain unknown. Methodologically, the work demonstrates how non-invasive prospection can reshape understanding of Neolithic settlement scale and will be followed by investigations of ditch sequencing, production zones, and regional comparisons to situate Opovo within Vinča exchange networks.
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