Encyclopedia of Prehistory, Volume 4, Europe

Dumitrescu, Vladimir (1986). "A doua coloana de lut ars din sanctuarul fazei Boian-Spantov de la Cascioarele (Jud. Calarasi)."

Cultura si civilizatie la Dunarea de los 2: 69-72.

Galbenu, Doina (1962). "Asezarea neolitica de la Harsova." Studii si

Cercetari de Istorie Veche 13,2: 285-304.

Mantu, Cornelia Magda (1995). "Cateva consideratii privind cronologia absoluta a Neo-Eneoliticului din Romania." Studii si Cercetari de Istorie Veche si Arheologie 46, 3-4: 213-235.

Morintz, Sebastian (1959). "Sapaturile de la Spantov: Asezarea neolitica." Materiale 5: 163-167.

Necrasov, Olga, and Maria Cristescu (1962). "Contributions al'etude anthropologique des squelettes de la culture Boian (necropole de Cernica)." Analele Stiintifice ale Universitatii din Iasi 8, 2.

Necrasov, Olga, and S. Haimovici (1959). "Fauna din complexele Boian de langa satul Bogata." Materiale si cercetari arheologice 5: 127-130.

Schroller, Hermann (1933). Die Steinund KupJerzeit Siebenbiirgens: Vorgeschichtliche Forschungen. Berlin.

Serbanescu, Done (1987). "Depozitul de margele descoperit in tell-ul neolitic de la Vladiceasca, judetul Calarasi." Cultura si civilizatie de la Dunarea de los 3-4: 35-37.

Ursulescu, Nicolae (1998). Inceputurile istoriei pe teritoriul Romaniei.

Iasi: Demiurg.

Hamangia III-IV (Sava, for the Southern Extension) (Price

1993: 175, 184)

Phase III (Ceamurlia de Jos phase): c. 6150-5800 B.P. (synchronous with Boian-Vidra) (Hasotti 1991: 253); Phase IV (Mangalia-Durankulak phase): 5800-5500 B.P. (synchronous with Precucuteni III) (Mantu 1995: 224).

LOCATION: Dobrouja in southeastern Romania and the littoral lakes of the Black sea up to Shabla in eastern Bulgaria (Hasotti 1997: 19). Hamangia subtradition is assimilated by the expanding Boian subtradition.

DIAGNOSTIC MATERIAL ATTRIBUTES: Polished tumblers and

bowls decorated with incisions with spiraled bands are a diagnostic feature of Hamangia III; polished biconical red-colored vases decorated with triangles are a diagnostic feature of Hamangia IV. The last phase is characterized by the use of graphite (Bojadjiev et al. 1993: 72-74). Bracelets and beads of Spondylus shell, funerary female figurines, complete or beheaded, medi- um-size flint blades, burials with grave goods, inhumations in necropoles are also specific for Hamangia. Fortified tell settlements are characteristic for the last phase (Bojadjiev et al. 1993: 78).

Southeastern European Early Chalcolithic 361

CULTURAL SUMMARY

Environment

The climate of the Hamangia subtradition in Dobrouja was characterized by high average temperatures in summer and mild winters with a marine microclimate in the coast area. The topography of Dobrouja consists mainly of plateaus containing rich deposits of flint and mountains with minerals and copper in the north, covered by deciduous forests (Hasotti 1997: 10) populated by deer, Cervus elaphus, and Saiga tartarica. Costal lakes and river valleys were settled by the Hamangia communities, which exploited their resources (Berciu

1966: 64-65; Bojadjiev et al. 1993: 72).

Settlements

Flat open settlements generally positioned on low river terraces and costal lakes in the first phase and nucleated tells with fortifications at the end (Bojadjiev et al. 1993: 73). At the same time, the small subterranean round houses (Berciu 1966: 138ft) are replaced by rectangular houses, made of wattle and daub, sometimes with stone foundations (Bojadjiev et al. 1993: 73; Pernicka et al. 1997: 60). The walls of some buildings were painted red (Cornsa 1993: 155).

Economy

Hamangia had a mixed economy, with agriculture, fishing of large fish and dolphins, and breeding of bovids, ovicaprids and pigs, all with a larger share than big game hunting had (Necrasov and Haimovici 1962). The primary utensils were (1) pottery of three types: ((a) coarse vases with barbotine, (b) polished vases with barbotine, and (c) incised fine ceramics) made of welded parts, baked in open pits and (2) small and middle-size blades, made of a local good flint, sometimes produced in household workshops (Berciu 1966: 49, 177, 197ft). Characteristic of the pottery for daily use are bowls and cups with thin walls and decorated with incision; for funerary use are small grooved quadrangular funerary vases (Hasotti 1991: 260). The first copper ornaments from southeastern Europe (Pernicka et al. 1997: 44) as beads or bracelets; more weighty in the south, were made by hammering. Craft specialization in Spondylus (Galbenu 1965) and Dentalium (Hasotti 1991: 263) shell work suggests long-distance trade with the south in raw materials and in prestige goods with the neighboring Boian-Vidra Subtradition (Comsa 1993: 156; Hasotti

1991: 263).

362 Southeastern European Early Chalcolithic

Sociopolitical Organization

There is some evidence of a ranked society as early as Hamangia lIb phase, postulated by the first funerary ornaments made of malachite and copper. In the last phase, rank seems to be related to male lineage descent, as funerary evidence suggests (Pernicka et al. 1997: 62). Settlement fortifications attest the presence of a political authority to control labor, which is also an index of emerging conflicts.

Religion and Expressive Culture

The use of necropoles in Hamangia illustrates an emergent separation between the "world of the living" and the "world of the dead." The positioning of the body in necropoles reflects gender differentiation in funerary rituals (Hasotti 1991: 260). Funerary rituals consist of deposition of grave goods (Pernicka et al. 1997: 60) or bovine heads and covering the tomb with stones (Bojdajiev et al. 1993: 72). The presence of cenotaphs and the deposition in pits of fragments of utilitarian objects, house walls, and animal bones (Berciu 1966: 138ft) reflect a ritualistic activity probably related to afterlife. The rarity of female funerary figurines in the last phase suggests a decline in the ritual of fertility related to the human body and ancestors.

References

Berciu, Dumitru (1966). Zorile istoriei in Carpati si la Dunare.

Bucharest: Editura Stiintifica.

Bojadjiev, Javor, Todor, Dimov, and Henrietta Todorova (1993). "Les Balkans Orientaux." In Atlas du Neolithique Europeen, ed. M. Otte. Liege: Universite de Liege, 61-110.

Comsa, Eugen (1993). "La Roumanie meridionale." In Atlas du Neolithique Europeen, ed. M. Otte. Liege: Universite de Liege, 151190.

Galbenu, Doina (1965). "Neoliticeskaia morteskaia dlia obrobotki ukrasenii v Harsova." Dacia n.s. 7: 501-519.

Hasotti, Puiu (1991). "La Culture neolithique Hamangia: Quelques remarques sur Ie stade actuel des recherches." In Le Paleolithique et Ie Neolithique de la Roumanie en contexte europeen, ed. V. Chirica and D. Monah. Iasi: Institut d'Archeologie, 250--265.

Hasotti, Puiu (1997). Epoca Neolitica in Dobrogea. Constanta: Muzeul de Istorie Nationala si Arheologie.

Mantu, Cornelia-Magda (1995). "Cateva consideratii privind cronologia absoluta a neo-Eneoliticului din Romania." Studii si cercetari de istorie veche si arheologie 46: 213-235.

Necrasov, Olga, and Sergiu, Haimovici (1962). "Studiul resturilor de fauna neolitica (cultura Hamangia) descoperite in cursul sapaturilor de la Techirghiol." Materiale 8: 175-185.

Pernicka, Ernest, F. Begemann, S. Schmitt-Strecker, H. Todorova, and I. Kuleff (1997). "Prehistoric Copper in Bulgaria: Its Composition and Provenance." Eurasia Antiqua 3: 41-179.

Price, R. P. S. (1993). "The West Pontic 'Maritime Interaction Sphere': A Long-term Structure in Balkan Prehistory?" Oxford Journal of Archaeology 12, 3: 175-195.

Marica II-IV (Karanovo V)

TIMEPERIon: c. 5900---5500 B.P. (Pernicka et al. 1997: 45).

LOCATION: Bulgaria, from the Balkan mountains and Tundza river to the Rhodope mountains and Maritza river. According to some scholars, Marica transformed itself into Gumelnita-Karanovo VI-Kodjadermen because of Boian expansion (Comsa 1991: 240); others reject an outside interference (Todorova 1978: 31).

DIAGNOSTIC MATERIAL ATTRIBUTES: Storage jars incised

with white and red encrusted spirals (Todorova 1978: 29), tulip-shaped vases (Gheorghiev 1963: 171), graphite drawn vases inside and outside with meanders angular and spiral, lozenges, triangles, concentric circles (Bodjadjiev et al. 1993: 76), as well as polychrome ceramics (Todorova 1978: 30), are the primary diagnostic feature of Marica. Medium-size blades and square-section stone axes, flat copper axes, wattle-and-daub houses, tell settlements are also diagnostic of this subtradition.

CULTURAL SUMMARY

Environment

The climate of Marica communities was generally warm with mild winters. The topography was diverse: flat with river valleys in the Maritza plains and plateaus crossed by rivers in eastern Bulgaria. Deciduous forests and steppe vegetation contained a rich diversity of wild animals; rivers and marshes provided small game and fish. The Hasanov, MaIka Tumba, and Ceairliskata limestone hills in the south of the Balkan mountains contain hydrothermal copper veins (Chernykh 1975: 134).

Settlements

Marica sites were generally of tell type, surrounded by ditches and with rectangular wattle-and-daub houses with wooden pole structures and ovens. There is evidence of a preconceived plan of small groups of houses displayed in two rows and of an intrasettlement and intersettlement hierarchy (Bojadjiev et al. 1993: 76; Gheorghiev 1963: 158).

Economy

Marica communities had a mixed economy consisting of agriculture, animal breeding, and hunting (Bojadjiev et al. 1993: 76). Primary utensils used were ceramic vases, stone tools, and copper tools. Characteristic pottery is generally thin walled and consists of bowls, tulip-shaped vases (Gheorghiev 1963: 171), askoi decorated with incised or graphite drawn curvilinear or angular designs or concentric circles (Bodjadjiev et al. 1993: 76). Copper exploitation is attested at the AiBunar mine suggesting a craft specialization in mining activity (Todorova 1978: 30). Copper pieces were exported to the northern oreless area; there is evidence of trade with the Boian subtradition (Comsa 1993) in the Lower Danube and with Precucuteni (Todorova 1978: 30) in the northwestern Pontic areas.

Sociopolitical Organization

The last phase of the Marica subtradition is characterized by an intensive use of graphite (Todorova 1978: 29) and stylistic changes in ceramics, suggesting an increasing demand in prestige objects and therefore the presence of an elite. The intrasettlement hierarchies of houses support this (Bojadjiev et al. 1993: 76). Another feature of the epoch is its conflictual condition, visible in the burned settlements (Todorova 1978: 30), which can be related to the emergence of the first metal-trade system linking Thrace with the north Danubian area.

Religion and Expressive Culture

The absence of necropoles (Bojadjev et al. 1993: 76) suggests an off-site funerary ritual. Ceramic female figurines indicate a belief related to fertility.

References

Bojadjiev, Javor, Todor Dimov, and Henrietta Todorova (1993). "Les Balkans Orientaux: Atlas du Neolithique Europeen." In Etudes et Recherches Archeologiques de rUniversite de Liege, ed. M. Otte. Liege: Universite de Liege, 61-110.

Chernykh, Evgeny (1975). "Ai-Bunarskii mednii rudnik IV tisyachetie do n.e. na Balkana." Sovetskaia Archeologiia 4: 132-153.

Comsa, Eugen (1993). "La Roumanie Meridionale: Atlas du Neolithique Europeen." In Etudes et Recherches Archeologiques de rUniversite de Liege, ed. M. Otte. Liege: Universite de Liege, 151-189.

Comsa, Eugen (1995). "La Culture de Boian." In Le Paleolithique et Ie Neolithique de la Roumanie en contexte europeen, ed. V. Chirica and D. Monah. Iasi: Institut d'Archeologie, 225-249.

Gheorghiev, Gheorghi (1963). "Glavnii rezultati ot razkokite ha Azmaskata celisha mogila prez 1961 g." Bulletin de fInstitut cfArcheologie 26: 157-176.

Southeastern European Early Chalcolithic 363

Pernicka, Ernest, F. Begemann, S. Schmitt-Strecker, H. Todorova, and I. Kuleff (1997). "Prehistoric Copper in Bulgaria: Its Composition and Provenance." Eurasia Antiqua 3: 41-179.

Todorova, Henrietta (1978). The Eneolithic Period in Bulgaria in the Fifth Millennium R.C. British Archaeological Reports, International Series 49.

Precucuteni-Tripolye

(Precucuteni III = Tripolye A)

TIME PERIOD: 5900-5500 B.P. (Mantu 1995: 228).

LOCATION: From central Romania (southeastern Transylvania) to Moldova (the Bug river). The subtradition extends eastward to the Dniester and farther to the Siniuha river in Ukraine (Marinescu-Bilcu 1993).

DIAGNOSTIC MATERIAL ATTRIBUTES: Incised and excised

ceramic cups, vases with tall cylindrical necks, biconical vases, pedestal vases with white-encrusted linear and curvilinear patterns, and horizontal and circular polished channels are the primary diagnostic features of the Precucuteni 111-Tripolye A subtradition. Medium-size flint blades, clay female figurines, and surface wattle- and-daub architecture are also diagnostic of this subtradition (Marinescu-Bilcu 1991: 14).

CULTURAL SUMMARY

Environment

The Precucuteni-Tripolye evolved during the Atlantic climatic optimum characterized by hot humid summers and mild winters (Petrenko 1992). The topography of the region is very diversified, consisting of mountains, plateaus, and plains. The Carpathian mountains provided a rich variety of minerals, copper, salt, and hard stones; the Transylvanian, Moldavian, Volino-Podololic plateaus as well as the Moldavian plain crossed by alluvial rivers provided rich soils for agriculture. A large part of the western Precucuteni-Tripolye area was covered with deciduous forests of elm, lime, oak, hornbeam (Marinescu-Bilcu et al. 1985); the eastern part was covered with forest-steppe with grasslands, cereal-parti- grass steppes on watersheds (Kremenetski 1991: 80). Wild fauna consisted of wild bovines, red deer, roe deer, wild pigs, bears, beavers (Ellis 1984: 24-25). Rivers and lakes provided a rich diversity of birds and fish.

364 Southeastern European Early Chalcolithic

Settlements

Precucuteni 111-Tripolye A flat settlements with medium population density were positioned on river terraces and were surrounded by defensive ditches (Marinescu-Bilcu 1991: 16). The subtradition is characterized by an evolution from oval subterranean and semisubterranean houses to surface wattle-and-daub houses (from 10 up to 88 sq m) with an improved platform (Marinescu-Bilcu 1993: 202), organized in small and large settlements, of up to 3 ha (Sorokin 1994: 68). Houses seem to have been disposed in three patterns: (1) in rows; (2) in circle or oval groups; (3) grouped or scattered (Sorokin 1993: 72). The circular plan allowed a central open space. House dimensions suggest unifamilial and larger groups. The eastern part of the subtradition is characterized by larger settlements (Sorokin 1993: 75) with houses grouped (Cernys 1982: 181) or positioned in the round (Zbenovic 1980: 10-12).

Economy

Precucuteni III-Tripolye A has a mixed economy, consisting of agriculture, animal breeding, hunting, and gathering (Ellis 1984: 20). Wild bovid, horse, roe deer, wild pig, bear, and beaver were hunted (Ellis 1984: 24-25). Hunting was more intensely practiced than agriculture in the eastern part of the subtradition (Sorokin 1993: 37). Wild fruits, nuts, wild cereals completed the daily diet. The tradition is characterized by a continous process of deforestation and an emerging strategy of cereal storage (Marinescu-Bilcu 1991: 15). The cultivated plants were cereals, pea, and vetch (Marinescu-Bilcu 1993: 201).

Cattle, ovicaprid, and pig breeding was important for the western Precucuteni communities (Marinescu-Bilcu 1991: 15). The subtradition is also characterized by the beginning of the domestication of the horse, prior to the steppic populations (Videiko 1994: 15). Agriculture was practiced with antler plows (Videiko 1994: 11) in the west and with hoes in the east (Sorokin 1994: 71). It seems that animal-pulled vehicles were used (Gusev 1998). Specialized workshops produced flint, silicolite, antler, and bone instruments (Sorokin 1994: 69), as well as ceramic vases (Marinescu-Bilcu 1993: 201). The primary utensils of Precucuteni III-Tripolye A were (1) pottery manufactured from local clay and fired in kilns, and (2) stone tools manufactured from local and imported flint and silicolite. Characteristic ceramic containers are of three kinds: (l) coarse ceramic vases; (2) incised and impressed globular, bitronconical vases and tumblers made of fine clay mixed with crushed sherds and sand; and (3) incised and grooved globular vases, dishes, conical and semi-

spherical lids (Sorokin 1994: 69-70). Bifaced knives and flint scrapers are common instruments (Chernykh 1992: 37), as well as copper tools made by hammering (Passek 1964: 5). Heavy hot-forged copper instruments, imported from the Balkans (Cernykh 1992: 40, 41), such as axhammers and adze chisels, were rare (Marinescu-Bilcu 1974: 107), compared with the stone production of planconvex or biconvex stone axes (Chernykh 1992: 37). Small copper decorative and votive objects were hoarded (Passek 1964: 8). Long-distance trade, in hard stone and obsidian (Marinescu-Bilcu et al. 1981: 29), salt, metal, and prestige goods, occurred with neighbors up to the Balkans (Cernykh 1992: 40).

Sociopolitical Organization

There is evidence of social difference based on wealth and intrasettlement organization. The end of the subtradition is characterized by defended settlements and copper hoards, suggesting political control as well as an emerging intersettlement conflictual state starting with the emergence of the first metal trade system linking Precucuteni with the Balkans. The defended settlements could also be a protective strategy for expanding flocks.

Religion and Expressive Culture

Clay, bone, and copper female figurines suggest the practice of a cult of fertility associated with human body. Ceremonies performed in closed spaces by small groups of persons are suggested by figurines placed in vases and by small cuitic spaces containing household instruments, furniture, or fragmented and complete figurines (Makarevic 1960: 290ft). Rituals also include the deposition in ritual pits of fragments of burned houses and sherds and vases.

References

Chernykh, Evgeni (1992). Ancient Metallurgy in the URSS: The Early Metal Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Cernys, Ekaterina C. (1982). "Eneolit Pravoberejnoi Ukraini i Moldavii." Eneolit SSSR: 165-262.

Ellis, Linda (1984). "The Cucuteni-Tripolye Culture: A Study in Technology and the Origins of Complex Society." British Archaeological Reports, International Series 217.

Gusev, S. A. (1998). "C voprosu 0 transport'h sredstvah Tripolskoy cultur." Rossiskaia Arheologia I: 15-28.

Kremenetski, K. (1991). Paleoekologiya drevneyshikh zemledeltsev i skotovodov Russkoy Ravniny. Moscow: Institut geografii AN SSSR.

Makarevic, M. L. (1960). "Ob ideologiceskikh predstavleniajakh u tripolskikh plemen." Zapiski Odesskogo Arkheologiceskogo Obscestva 1,34: 290-301.

Mantu, Cornelia Magda (1995). "Cateva consideratii privind cronologia absoluta a Neo-Eneoliticului din Romania." Studii si Cercetari de lstorie Veche si Arheologie 46,3-4: 213-235.

Marinescu-Bilcu, Silvia (1974). Precucuteni pe teritoriul Romaniei.

Bucharest: Academiei.

Marinescu-Bilcu, Silvia (1991). "Sur quelques problemes du Neolithique et du Eneolithique a I'est des Carpates Orientales." Dacia 35: 5-59.

Marinescu-Bilcu, Silvia (1993). "Les Carpathes Orientales et la Moldavie: Atlas du Neolitique Europeen, L'Europe Orientale." In

Etudes et Recherches Archeologiques de I'Universite de Liege, ed. M. Otte, Liege: Universite de Liege, 191-241.

Marinescu-Bilcu, Silvia, Marin Carciumaru, and Adrian Muraru (1981). "Contribution to the Ecology of Preand Proto-Historic Habitation at Tirpesti." Dacia 5: 7-31.

Marinescu-Bilcu, Silvia, M. Carciumaru, and A. Muraru (1985). "Contributii la ecologia locuirilor Pre si Protoistorice de la Tarpesti." Memoria Antiquitatis 9 to II: 643--695.

Passek, Tatiana S. (1964). Du neufsur l'histoire des tribus Tripoliennes d'entre Ie Dnieper et Ie Dniestr." Congres international des sciences anthropologiques et ethnologiques: 1-15.

Petrenko, V. (1992). "Opit korrelatsii klimaticheskikh i kulturykh ritmov." Severo-Zapadnoye Prichernomorye: Ritmy kulturogeneza.

Odessa: 23-25.

Sorokin, Victor (1993). "Modalitatile de organizare a asezarilor complexului cultural Cucuteni-Tripolye." Arheologia M oldovei, 16: 69-86.

Sorokin, Victor (1994). "Culturi eneolitice din Moldova." ThracoDacica 15, 1-2: 67-92.

Videiko, Mihailo (1994). "Tripolye-'Pastoral' Contacts: Facts and Character of the Interactions: 480()""3200 Be, Nomadism and Pastoralism in the Circle of Baltic-Pontic Early Agrarian Cultures:

500()""1650 s.c." Baltic-Pontic Studies 2: 5-28.

Zbenovic, V. G. (1980). Poselenie Bernasovka na Dnestre. Kiev: Naukova dumka.

SITES

Ceamurlia de Jos

TIME PERIOD: 5880 B.P. (cf. Mantu 1995: 227)

LOCATION: Ceamurlia de Jos is located on the Babadag plateau in North Dobrouja. The site shows three phases of expansion (Berciu 1966: 124).

DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Local Environment

Ceamurlia de Jos is located near the mouth of the Sava river and an old marine gulf. The surrounding hills, covered by deciduous forests and steppe vegetation, contain copper ore.

Physical Features

The first flat site level seem to have been surrounded by a defensive ditch, filled later, although some scholars deny its defensive role (Hasotti 1997: 227). Outside the ditch perimeter, there are several deposition pits con-

Southeastern European Early Chalcolithic 365

taining a standardized quantity of fragments of various utensils, house walls, and animal bones (Berciu 1966: 138). Because of destruction from modern road works, the real dimensions of the site are unknown, but it is supposed to have been a large Hamangia III settlement (Hasotti 1997: 27). Semisubterranean round and oval houses with a wooden structure made of posts and plaited twigs and reed are characteristic for the first level (Berciu 1966: 143). There are a few small surface dwellings (Hasotti 1997: 24) with thin walls of wattle and daub in the third level, some of them having the interior walls painted in red (Berciu 1966: 133, 153).

Cultural Aspects

The richness of stone and antler utensils suggests that the principal economic activities were agriculture and hunting. Ceamurlia de Jos displays evidence of long-lasting residential and ritual activity. The residential features and the richness and variety of fine decorated ceramics suggest a hierarchical intersettlement position and the emergence of a local elite, perhaps owing to the location of the site, which favored maritime trade (Berciu 1966: 196).

References

Berciu, Dumitru (1966). Cultura Hamangia. Bucharest: Editura Acad-

emiei.

Hasotti, Puiu (1997). Epoca Neolitica in Dobrogea. Constanta: Muzeul de Istorie Nationala si Arheologie.

Mantu, Cornelia Magda (1995). "Cateva consideratii privind cronologia absoluta a Neo-Eneoliticului din Romania." Studii si Cercetari de [storie Veche si Arheologie 46, 3-4: 213-235.

Radovanu

TIME PERIOD: 5850+/-70 B.P. (Cosma 1990: 115)- 5770+/-lO0 B.P. (Mantu 1995: 227)

LOCATION: Near the Danube in the southern Romanian plain.

DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Local Environment

Radovanu is situated on a relatively high terrace with slopes. The site was surrounded by a sylvosteppe of hornbeam, beech, walnut, and hazelnut trees, steppic vegetation, and marshes (Comsa 1990: 18).

366 Southeastern European Early Chalcolithic

Physical Features

This complex site had four levels and included a 350- sq-m settlement positioned on a high terrace, bounded by a round ditch (Comsa 1990: 70), and outside the enclosure were two small groups of households (one modest and the other with houses on platforms of wood and clay) and a necropolis. On the third level, the fortified area included four surface wattle-and-daub houses with platforms made of wood and clay, ovens, and clay benches. One relatively large house distinguishes itself by its interior painted in red with spiraled white patterns and relief ornaments (Comsa 1990: 81). On the second level, 12 nucleated houses positioned in two rows, forming a narrow street, demonstrate a demographic growth (Comsa 1990: 72, 77). On the last level, the grouping of the houses formed a central open space (Comsa 1990: 75).

near the springs of a tributary of the Topolita river, an area covered by oak forests.

Physical Features

The site is sourrounded by a defensive ditch of approximately 130 m long, 1.5-1.9 m deep, and 3-3.5 m wide (Marinescu-Bilcu 1974). Tirpesti, a lO-house settlement, with moderate building densities (Chapman 1989: 36), was abandoned probably because of a fire (Marinescu-Bilcu 1981). The wattle-and-daub houses with a structure of wooden posts had hearths inside and outside the households (Marinescu-Bilcu 1981). The houses are grouped in the center and northwest of the defended perimeter (Marinescu-Bilcu 1981: fig. 3).

Cultural Aspects

Radovanu is a typical site of the transitional phase to Gumelnita. The site shows a long inhabitancy and a protective strategy from its beginning. The changes in the topography, the differences between houses and the presence of prestige objects imply the existence of a ranked society. Prestige ornaments such as copper rings, SpondyIus and Dentalium shell, and graphite-drawn ceramics (Comsa 1990: 93, 96, 115) indicate a practice of longdistance trade with Hamanagia and Marica subtraditions.

References

Comsa, Eugen (1990). "Complexul neolitic de la Radovanu." Cultura si civilizatie la Dunarea de Jos 8: 5-115.

Mantu, Cornelia Magda (1995). "Cateva consideratii privind cronologia absoluta a Neo-Eneoliticului din Romania." Studii si Cercetari de Istorie Veche si Arheologie 46, 3-4: 213-235.

Tirpesti

TIME PERIOD: 5530 B.P. (Ellis 1984: 22; Mantu 1995: 228).

LOCATION: Moldavian plateau, on the Moldova-Siret corridor.

DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Local Environment

Cultural Aspects

There is evidence of a social differentiation in the intrasettlement structure; of the 10 houses of the site, only 3 large houses with platforms of wood and clay contain rich inventory offlint tools, stone, bone, pottery, and anthropomorphic figurines. An intense ritual activity can be identified in the houses, rites of foundation (Marinescu-Bilcu 1968: 403) with fragmented and complete figurines under the house floors (Marinescu-Bilcu 1981). Ceramic female figurines and vases representing groups of people are also evidence of ritual activity. Valuable objects, such as awls, chisels, and fishing hooks, are an index of long-distance trade in prestige goods.

References

Chapman, John (1989). "The Early Balkan Village." Varia Archaeologica Hungarica 2: 33-53.

Ellis, Linda (1984). "The Cucuteni-Tripolye Culture: A Study in Technology and the Origins of Complex Society." British Archaeological Reports, International Series 217.

Mantu, Cornelia Magda (1995). "Cateva consideratii privind cronologia absoluta a Neo-Eneoliticului din Romania." Studii si Cercetari de Istorie Veche si Arheologie 46, 3-4: 213-235.

Marinescu-Bi1cu, Silvia (1974). Precucuteni pe teritoriul Romaniei.

Bucharest: Academiei.

Marinescu-Bi1cu, Silvia (1968). "Unele probleme ale neoliticului moldovenesc in lumina sapaturilor de la Tarpesti." Studii si Cercetari de Istorie Veche 3.

Marinescu-Bi1cu, Silvia (1981). Tirpesti: From Prehistory to History in Eastern Romania. Oxford: BAR International Series.

DRAGOS GHEORGHIU

c. 5700-4500 B.P.

Follows the Southeastern European Early Chalcolithic tradition, precedes the Southeastern European Bronze Age.

LOCATION: Southeastern and northeastern Bulgaria, southern Romanian plain and Dobrouja, Eastern Carpathian plain and plateau in Romania, up to Bugo Dnieper plain in Ukraine. After the extinction of Gumelnita-Karanovo VI-Kodjadermen subtradition in the southern area of the east Balkans and north Danube, the tradition continues in the eastern Carpathiannorthwestern Pontic zone.

DIAGNOSTIC MATERIAL ATIRIBUTES: The tradition is char-

acterized by the emergence of massive copper tools and by prestige items made of gold (the tradition in the East Balkans is also named Chrysolithic), the development of surface architecture, and the gradual complexity of form and growth in size of settlements. The East Balkan area was characterized by fortified nucleated settlements of tell type with necropoles outside the residential area, and the eastern Carpathian-North Pontic area by flat macrosettlements with central plazas. Specific for the

tradition is the wattle-and-daub house with wooden and clay platform. Medium and large-size flint blades or massive stone axes are also characteristic. Ceramic vases, very well fired, were decorated with angular or/ and curvilinear patterns with graphite or incision and encrusted color in the east Balkan and north Danube zone. In the eastern Carpathian area, bior thrichrome painting was practiced. Anthropomorphic and zoomorphic clay figurines and architectural clay models are also diagnostic features of the tradition. The eastern Carpathian and northwestern Pontic area is characterized by the absence of necropoles.

REGIONAL SUBTRADITIONS: Gumelnita A, B-Karanovo

VI-Kodjadermen; Petresti; Phases A, AB, B; Cucuteni A, AB, B-Tripolye BI, BII, CI-CII.

IMPORTANT SITES: In the East Balkans and Lower Danube area: Goljamo Delcevo, Ovcarovo, Gumelnita, Sultana, Harsova, Cascioarele, Varna, Aldeni. In the East Carpathian-Northeast Pontic area: Habasesti, Traian Dealul Fantanilor, Cucuteni-Cetatuia, Petreni, Rusestii Noi I, Varvareuka VIII, Veseli Kut, Maydanetskoye, Talyanki. In the western Carpathian area: Petresti.

368Southeastern European Late Chalcolithic

CULTURAL SUMMARY

Environment

Climate. The Chalcolithic tradition evolved during the Atlantic climatic optimum, characterized by hot and humid summers and mild winters. The tradition ends with the completion of the climatic optimum, characterized by higher temperatures, a decrease in rainfall quantity, and aridization of the climate at the beginning of the Subboreal.

Topography. The environment of the tradition is varied, in the Balkan-Carpathian area consisting of the Lugodorie plateau, the flooded Danube plain, the Dobrouja plateau, the eastern Carpathian mountains and hills, the eastern part of the Transylvanian plateau, the Moldavian plateau, and the south of the Volino-Podolic plateau. The topographic structure of the tradition, mainly of plains and plateaus positioned between the Black sea, the Danube, and the eastern Carpathians that form the North Pontic-Dobrouja corridor, justifies the demographic diffusions between south and north.

settlements with a surface up to 15,000 sq m. In the northeastern area of the tradition, the settlements are divided into small (I ha), medium (2-10 ha), large (5- 10 ha), and very large flat settlements (450 ha). These settlements were planned as (I) concentric circles, (2) parallel rows, (3) grouped or dispersed. Generally large settlements were built in concentric circles with radial streets and a central open space. Seasonal settlements were built for mining or salt exploitation. The settlements seem to have been organized in a coastal maritime and riverine communication network.

Community Organization. Throughout the tradition, the settlements were usually positioned near rivers and lakes, sometimes on high locations, in areas with good agricultural soils. In the south, settlements were built according to a set plan, frequently with a massive central residence, with a system of parallel streets and canalization. In the northeast area of the tradition, the planned flat settlements are generally oval or round shaped and fortified with ditches and palisades.

Geology. The southeastern European Chalcolithic tradition has a varied geology, from the eastern Carpathians and the Balkan mountains to the chernozemic and alluvial soils of the Lower Danube and Pontic plains. The main geological resources include hard rocks and alluvial flint deposits on the Danube tributaries, and flint deposits in the eastern Carpathian mountains, south and central Dobrouja, and Bulgaria. Copper deposits were in East Rhodope, Sredne Gora, the Black sea coast, Dobrouja, the Transylvania plateau, and the eastern Carpathians; alluvial gold was available from the Danube's tributary rivers, the western Balkan and Srednde Gora mountains, and probably also through trade from the metaliferous mountains of Transylvania.

Biota. Specific for the tradition is the passage from sylvosteppe to steppe vegetation. The Balkan-Carpathi- an region was characterized by a sylvosteppe vegetation, whereas the plain between the Danube and Dniester rivers had a steppic vegetation. A rich variety of animals populated the deciduous forests, steppes, marshes, and rivers.

Settlements

Settlement System. The communities in the south of the tradition seem to be hierarchically organized in (I) small villages and (2) specialized, highly nucleated fortified tell

Housing. In the south, rectangular wattle-and-daub surface houses with wooden structures, containing one to three rooms, are of two kinds: (I) spaces of 20 sq m for domestic use, containing hearths, and (2) spaces up to 170 sq m for ritual use, in decorated buildings. A particular type of building is the stone megaron type. House dimensions suggest a change in the family structure, a tendency for larger family units. In the north, two kinds of buildings are common: (I) semisubterranean houses with a surface 4-20 sq m, and (2) surface rectangular wattle-and-daub houses. In the east, L-shaped buildings are recorded.

Population, Health, and Disease. Improvements in food productivity and housing seem to have caused a demographic explosion as seen in the settlements' dimensions: from settlements of 40 to 100 houses with a population of 200 to 500 people to settlements of 1500 houses with 10,000 to 12,000 people. In the south, the population pressure produced a diffusion northward leading to the emergence of the Stoicani-Aldeni subtradition; in the northeast, the demographic boom pushed the population eastward. The absence of necropoles in the northeast of the Chalcolithic tradition does not allow a population-age estimation. In the south, the average age at death for adults was 24, with a medium mortality rate for children; children with malformations were sacrificed.

Economy

Subsistence. Chalcolithic populations had a mixed subsistence economy, with the prevailing strategy of subsistence on agriculture. A storage strategy with large ceramic vases, pits, and granaries with a capacity of up to 2 tons of grain was the result of an improved technology in plowing. It is thought that, at the end of the tradition in the northeastern area, pastoralism was the principal occupation as an adaptation to the new climatic conditions.

Wild Foods. There is evidence that wild fruits were part of the diet. Hunting of stag, roebuck, wild boar, otter, and horse was practiced in more or less all communities. Fishing in rivers and lakes for carp, pike, wells, zander, and sterlet was intensive, as was shell-fish collecting in some riverine communities.

Domestic Foods. Various species of wheat and millet formed the basic food, but pea, vetch, and lentil were also consumed. Domesticated bovine, sheep, goat, pig, and horse were sources of animal food in all the tradition. The consumption of secondary products may also have been practiced.

Industrial Arts. In the Late Chalcolithic tradition the technology of ordinary objects seems to have been less accessible to every household, but was performed by specialized craftsmen. The first proof of serial and standardized production in modeling and decoration of ceramic vases developed in all subtraditions. Raw materials for prestige items were imported from long distances, because ordinary objects were made from locally available resources, intensively exploited.

Utensils. Principal utensils were (1) ordinary and prestige pottery, (2) flint midsize and large blades, (3) heavy copper instruments, and (4) spindle whorls. Prestige thin-walled pottery, richly decorated by incision or painting, was fired in kilns. Flint blades up to 50 cm long were produced by pressure technology and trapezium axes by chipping. Heavy shaft-hole axhammers, shaft-hole cruciform ax-adzes, and nonperforated massive adze-chisels were made by smelting. Copper was exploited with antler and stone instruments. The improvement in utensils suggests an increase in productivity. Animal traction is proved by ceramic zoomorphic figurines.

Ornaments. Houses with a particular use were decorated with paintings and relief decorations. Copper and shell ornaments were common body decorations;

Southeastern European Late Chalcolithic 369

elites also used gold ornaments on costumes. In the south, funerary offerings for the elite, beside copper utensils, were made of massive gold or gold sheets. Prestige ceramic vases had a complex painted decoration.

Trade. Late Chalcolithic elites developed a longdistance trade in prestige goods, especially in metal, and in heavy copper tools, organizing the first economic system of the Old World, which linked the Balkans with the North Pontic area in the earliest metallurgical province formed by the East Balkans, East Carpathian, and Northwest Black sea regions. Trade routes followed the Danube or the Black sea coast to the northeast, for more than 1500 km, up to the Don and Volga rivers. Trade in metal, prestige ceramics, and symbolic objects of power with the steppe pastoralists created an economic interdependence in time. The metallurgical autonomy of the tradition was due to an independent development based on local resources. After the collapse of the southern metallurgical province in the Balkans, new trade routes in the Carpathian area were formed, and copper production continued in the East Carpathian area in a second phase of autonomous development of the metallurgical province. Also salt exploitation in the Carpathian and pericarpathian area, large flint blades coming from the south, and painted ceramics coming from the north suggest a medium-distance trade in utilitarian and prestige goods.

Division ofLabor. A characteristic of the tradition is the development of specialization in crafting of flint, ceramics, and metal. Better control over the temperature in ceramic kilns led to metal smelting and to a new specialization. Mining created many specialized subfields and improvement for agriculture through deforestation. In the south, there is evidence that mining specialization produced a social separation. It is possible that in the north unspecialized activities were developed with labor forces from neighboring steppic populations.

Differential Access or Control of Resources. Metal, salt, and painted ceramics were sources of social differentiation and extra wealth accumulation for the economic elites because of their export and redistribution. The developed consumption of objects of value in the funerary rituals of elites implies a centralization of exchange networks, a ritual control of value.

370 Southeastern European Late Chalcolithic

Sociopolitical Organization

Social Organization. In the south, there is evidence of patrilinear descent groups and a division of the society into elites and nonelites. Rich burials of children could be interpreted as an index of hereditary status.

Political Organization. In the south, intercommunity settlement hierarchies and mortuary wealth in gold and copper, as well as labor-intensive double fortifications, suggest social control by a small group of individuals with authority. In the north, the gigantic fortified villages with concentric structures and central residential places also suggest the existence of small groups with authority. Throughout the tradition, metal production seems to have been linked to authority and possibly to religion. Population boom, residential complexity and density, intersettlement hierarchies reflected in the settlements' and cemeteries' size and wealth differences, the rise of productivity, the degree of specialization in crafts and rituals, the use of symbols of authority and wealth by a restricted group of people-all suggest the emergence of simple chiefdoms in some areas of the subtradition.

Conflict. At least one scholar has stressed that an invasion of steppic cultures in the northern area of the Late Chalcolithic tradition is not realistic, stressing rather interdependence between agriculturalists and steppic pastoralists. The collapse of the gigantic settlements in the northeast occurred before the emergence of antagonistic forces in the steppe. However, there is evidence of frequent intersettlement wars, as defense systems and fires prove. There is general agreement that the south collapsed from alien population pressure.

Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs. The Late Chalcolithic tradition had a complex religious system, including beliefs in ancestors, fertility (of the female and male or of domestic animals), and an afterlife.

Ceremonies. As clay architectural models and some building features indicate, cultic activities were performed in special dwellings. The houses positioned in the center of settlements could have had this cultic role. It is presumed that the rites of building-founding with vases and human sacrifices were related to such cultic buildings. Domestic ceremonies were also performed in relation to rites of foundation or with the oven. In the northeastern area of the tradition, the absence of

cemeteries implies the existence of an off-ground funerary ritual; in the south, the funerary ceremonial included, besides the usual burial deposition of the body and goods, gender segregation by the positioning of the body and by the offered wealth, as well as symbolic burials in cenotaphs with and without deposition of wealth, and secondary burials. The relation between clay female figurines with vases, architectural models or architectural spaces, and their fragmentation implies the existence of a complex fertility ritual involving the human body. There is also evidence of a cult of the head throughout the tradition.

Arts. In the Late Chalcolithic tradition, the female body was represented in various materials, such as ceramics, bone, gold, or marble, and was modeled in both geometric and realistic ways. The iconography emerging in the late phase of the northeastern part of the tradition illustrates ritual scenes with animals and landscapes. In the south, images of domestic animals were made in ceramic and gold.

Death and Afterlife. In the northeastern area of the tradition, the data referring to death and afterlife include sacrificial pits, with a deposition of vases and food offerings. In the south, there are differences in ritual according to gender. Funerary rituals for persons of high rank were extravagant, and included depositing extensive wealth in tombs and symbolic tombs which also suggests a belief in an afterlife.

Suggested Readings

Chernykh, Evgeny N. (1992). Ancient Metallurgy in the USSR: The Early Metal Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Dumitrescu, Vladimir (1985). Prehistoric Art in Romania. Bucharest: Meridiane.

Kozlowski, Janus, and Paul-Louis Van Berg (1993). "Atlas du Neolithique Europeen." In Etudes et Recherches Archeologiques de l'Universite de Liege, ed. M. Otte. Liege: Universite de Liege.

Lichardus, Jan, and Marion Lichardus-Itten (1985). La Protohistoire de l'Europe: Le Neolithique et Ie Chalcolithique entre fa Mediterranee et la mer Baltique. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.

Lichardus, Jan (1991). "Die KupJerzeit als historische Epoche: Versuch einer Deutung." In Die KupJerzeit als historische Epoche, vol. 2, ed. J. Lichardus. Bonn: R. Habelt, 763-800.

Monah, Dan, and Felicia Monah (1997). "The Last Great Chalcolithic Civilization of Europe." In Cucuteni. the Last Great Chalcolithic Civilization oj Europe, ed. C. M. Mantu, G. Dumitroaia, and A. Tsaravopoulos. Bucharest: Athena Publishing and Printing House,

15-96.

Pernicka, Ernest, F. Begemann, S. Schmitt-Strecker, H. Todorova, and I. Kuleff (1997). "Prehistoric Copper in Bulgaria: Its Composition and Provenance." Eurasia Antiqua 3: 41-179.