# Mostly marks, with a small notation subset

> Still possible: The corpus is mixed: most signs are pottery marks and whorl ornament, and a minority of longer sequences form a non-phonetic notation of…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vinca-signs/answers/ANS0DEDY5KJ4CYS/mostly-marks-with-a-small-notation-subset  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Vinča signs](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vinca-signs)[Do the Vinča signs record language, a conventional notation, or neither?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vinca-signs/questions/QST0DEDW2Y5RPT1/do-the-vinca-signs-record-language-a-conventional-notation)Answer

Answer · Vinča signs

# Mostly marks, with a small notation subset

The corpus is mixed: most signs are pottery marks and whorl ornament, and a minority of longer sequences form a non-phonetic notation of limited scope that is neither writing nor proto-writing.

**Still possible** Answers **1** question0

## Where it stands

**Still possible** One piece of evidence for, none against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- Partitioning the corpus by object class and position separates a high-structure subset (figurines, tablets, compounds) from a no-structure majority (bases, whorls).
- The notational subset shows repetition within a site but little across sites.
- No numeral system with bundling appears even in the notational subset.

## What would rule it out

- The supposed notational subset shows no more structure than the pottery marks when retested on an independent corpus.
- The notational subset proves large, long and repeated enough across sites to function as a record system.

## Evidence 1 for · none against

[Mäder's three-way classification (59 per cent pottery marks, 11.5 per cent whorl ornament, 29.5 per cent possible…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vinca-signs/evidence/EVD0DEE9ET12F63/maders-three-way-classification-59-per-cent-pottery-marks-11)

Supported

FOR

[Mäder's classification is built on Winn's and Merlini's published sign identifications, which Mäder himself…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vinca-signs/evidence/EVD0DEEAWP0Q4V7/maders-classification-is-built-on-winns-and-merlinis)

Suggestive

NEUTRAL

## The questions it answers

[Do the Vinča signs record language, a conventional notation, or neither?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vinca-signs/questions/QST0DEDW2Y5RPT1/do-the-vinca-signs-record-language-a-conventional-notation)

Open6 answers, none ahead

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Mostly marks, with a small notation subset [Answer ANS0DEDY5KJ4CYS]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0DEDY5KJ4CYS
```

Key

**ANS** 0DEDY5KJ4CYS

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Version

1

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