During excavation of the Vinča-Belo Brdo site a significant number of decorated items made from clay, stone, bone, and seashells or snail shells have been collected over the years. Amongst the decorated objects which could be classified as jewellery the majority are bracelets, pendants, and beads made from Spondylus and Glycymeris shells, as well as beads made from Dentalium shells. The appearance of these beads and the question of their origin have not yet been specifically considered within studies of prehistoric cultures in the central Balkans. Furthermore, they have rarely been illustrated and mentioned in archaeological site inventories, which we presume has not been because of their poor representation, but rather because of their being unfamiliar. The aim of this work is therefore to: a) systematize data about Dentalium beads from all phases of excavation of the Belo Brdo site in Vinča; b) to show the importance of this kind of jewellery in the study of resources around the Vinča settlement; and c) to indicate the wider chronological perspective and the significance of studying Dentalium beads within the prehistory of the central Balkans. Dentalium is a carnivorous Scaphopoda sea mollusc, uncommon and insufficiently studied. Representatives of this class of Scaphopoda have been found on Serbian territory in the Badenian sediments, deposited fifteen million years ago. Badenian sediments were discovered around Loznica, Belgrade, Aranđelovac, Golubac, Zaječar, and Negotin. The region of Belgrade and the surrounding area had been covered by a warm, shallow sea of normal salination. On the territory of Belgrade, offsprings of the Badenian sediments, rich in fossils, have been discovered in the city centre (Tašmajdan, Kalemegdan), as well as in many surrounding places (Rakovica, Kaluđerica, Leštani, and Jajinci) (fig. 2). Scaphopod shells found at the Vinča-Belo Brdo archaeological site are usually transversally broken. Judging by the basic appearance of the shells and their ornamentation (longitudinal stripes and rising lines) on better preserved examples (fig. 3: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) the Fissidentalium badense type is distinct. The ornamentation of the shell is in most cases well preserved, save that in a few examples the longitudinal stripes are broken (fig. 3:22) or the outer surface of the shell has been abraded/dissolved by a physical-chemical agent. Dentalium shells have been used for making jewellery from prehistoric times right up to the present day. The reason for this lies in the regular shape of the shell, which is completely unchanged, or, with a little effort, can be used as one longer or (by breaking it laterally) a larger number of shorter cylindrical beads. On the territory of Serbia today, pre-Neolithic beads have not been known to date. Neither have they been cited in published materials from early-Neolithic to mid-Neolithic Starčevo sites. On the basis of literature, we would say that they appear for the first time in late Neolithic/early Eneolithic times, that is, in the period of the Vinča culture. After that time, it seems that Dentalium beads were mostly used during the Bronze Age, judging from the grave inventories of the necropolis in Mokrin (Moriš culture), where there are findings in around 10% of graves. These are formed from fossilized shells. The beads are usually strung together and were worn around the neck. Usually they were strung in combination with beads and pendants made from other materials (for example teeth, bones, kaolin, stone, bronze etc). Since excavation of the Vinča-Belo Brdo site began in 1908, until 2009, 362 Dentalium beads were found. With the exception of one case, beads were formed …