The best known cultural archaeological discoveries from the prehistoric period on the territory of modern-day Serbia are the Starčevo and Vinča cultures dating back to 6400-6200BC.

Serbia's strategic location between two continents has subjected it to invasions by many nations.

The territory of present day Serbia is situated in the central region of Balkan peninsula. It lays on one of the major migration routes connecting middle-east with central Europe. Traces of human population in this area go back to at least to 250 000. Morava-Vardar corridor has seen regular waves of migrations throughout its history. It is one of probable paths of original human expansion into Europe.

This regions was home to several important Mesolithic and Paleolithic cultures. Some of the oldest traces of agriculture in Europe are found in this area. It's fertile river valleys are probable conduit through which agriculture has spread from middle-east and Asia minor to central Europe.

Archeological sites in present day Serbia contain some of the earliest examples of metallurgy, especially copper processing.

Serbia ⁱ/ˈsɜrbiə/, officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Република Србија / Republika Srbija, pronounced [rɛpǔblika sř̩bija]), is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans. Serbia borders Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; the Republic of Macedonia to the south; and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro to the west; additionally, it borders Albania through Kosovo, whose status as part of Serbia is disputed. Serbia covers an area of 88,361 km² and has a population of just over 7.1 million, while the capital and largest city is Belgrade.

The arrival of the Serbs to the Balkans in the 7th century, established several states, eventually forming the Serbian Empire in the 14th century. By the 16th century, Serbia was conquered and occupied by the Ottoman Empire, at times interrupted by the Habsburgs. In the early 19th century the Serbian revolution re-established the country as the region's first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory and pioneered the abolition of feudalism in the Balkans. The former Habsburg crownland of Vojvodina united with Serbia in 1918. Following World War I, Serbia formed Yugoslavia with other South Slavic peoples which existed in several forms up until 2006, when the National Assembly of Serbia declared independence and the legal succession to the former State Union. In February 2008 the parliament of UNMIK-governed Kosovo, Serbia's southern province, declared independence, with mixed responses from international governments.