Clear antecedents for the Vinča sign system, which apparently emerged suddenly can not as yet be linked to the long heritage of pre-Neolithic ritual marking. (8)
Engraved bands on stone objects at Vlasac and Lepenski Vir, in the Iron Gates region of the Danube River, precede and resemble the early Neolithic register pattern of decoration, and the disorganized linear incisions on pottery of the Neolithic Starčevo culture may reflect an old tradition whose cultural content has been lost.

But, in any case, Upper Paleolithic symbolism was integrated into a world view that was fundamentally altered during the development of a food-producing economy. (Note, however, that Foster (1984) observes continuity of the Paleolithic signs (as set forth by Leroi-Gourhan) for female

and male

in early alphabetic and hieroglyphic depictions for the phonemes "w" and "y".
It will be noted that these signs are significant in the Vinča sign system and occur frequently on the Lepenski Vir stone).