Pločnik () is a village in the municipality of

Prokuplje Prokuplje ( sr-Cyrl, Прокупље, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Toplica District in southern Serbia. As of 2022 census, the municipality has a population of 38,054 inhabitants. Prokuplje is one of the Roman sites of Serb ...

, Toplica District,

Republic of Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. According to the 2002 population census, it is populated by 182 people, all of whom are declared

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

History

Chalcolithic copper smelting

In 2007, an important European-archaeology excavation site was found in Pločnik. At this site, and in Belovode, archaeologists have found the earliest current evidence of

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron-making, iron, copper extraction, copper ...

, dating from between 5500 BCE and 5000 BCE. This shows that the

Copper Age The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in dif ...

started 500 years earlier than previously thought, and probably somewhere near this region.

Dog domestication

In November 2020 it was announced that the bones of the 6500 old female

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

found at the site in Pločnik by the

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

and the local Museum of Toplica crew show proof of Middle Eastern domestication, as one of the five branches of ancient canine-

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

common species that, along with the Siberian branches, gave rise to the modern dog.

Medieval Ottoman invasion

It was the site of the historically notable 1386 Battle of Pločnik. Ottoman Sultan

Murad I Murad I (; ), nicknamed ''Hüdavendigâr'' (from – meaning "Head of state, sovereign" in this context; 29 June 1326 – 15 June 1389) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1362 to 1389. He was the son of Orhan Gazi and Nilüfer Hatun. Mura ...

led a sizable Turkish army in an invasion of Serbia. Serbian Prince

Lazar Hrebeljanović Lazar Hrebeljanović ( sr-Cyrl, Лазар Хребељановић; – 15 June 1389) was a medieval List of Serbian monarchs, Serbian ruler who created the largest and most powerful state on the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empir ...

led the Serbian army to intercept him. The Ottoman army suffered a defeat. However, though beaten, the Turkish forces were still strong enough to conquer

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...

from the Prince on their return.

References

Populated places in Toplica District Vinča culture 1927 archaeological discoveries {{ToplicaRS-geo-stub