Balkan Prehistory (Archaeology)

Coţofeni communities at their southwestern frontier and their realtionship with Kostolac population in Serbia

by Miloš Spasić

Dacia, N.S., tome LIV, Bucarest, 2010, p. 157-175

After more than a century of investigations into the Late Eneolithic Europe it is believed that Baden culture... more After more than a century of investigations into the Late Eneolithic Europe it is believed that Baden culture represents specific cultural phenomenon which covered vast territories of Central and Southeastern Europe. Coţofeni communities lived on the eastern edge of this complex, thus covering the territory similar in size with Baden cultural zone. Influences from those two late eneolithic cultural spheres affected different communities living from Transylvania to Lower Germany and Little Poland and from nowadays Slovakia to northern Greece, hence creating the first image of what cultural globalization could look like in prehistoric Europe. As we saw, different communities used to adopt current stylistic and material expressions in different way. The level of integration with contemporary cultural matrix depended on various socio-economic factors. As an outcome we recognize the general concept of ideas that shaped material culture of the period, but with certain degree of regional and cultural adaptations that appear through the acts of mutual contacts of late eneolithic communities. It is through those contacts-that is through the acts of local reinterpretation of the meaning of material culture that we should encounter for the life of Coţofeni culture communities living at their western frontier.

Die frühesten Metalldolche Südost-und Mitteleuropas (Praehistorische Zeitschrift 68, 1993/1, 103–145) and Die früheste dolche Bulgariens (Anatolica XVIII, 1992, 61-69)

by Ivan Vajsov

This article is of the earliest metal daggers, which in some cases are hardly distinguishable from knives, is compiled... more This article is of the earliest metal daggers, which in some cases are hardly distinguishable from knives, is compiled in the area between southern Bulgaria (Rohdope mountains), the western Ukraine and Upper Austria (Mondsee). They can be dated to the so called transitional phase between the Eneolithic and the Early Bronze Age according to current Bulgarian terminology. The oldest examples can be placed in the earlier part of the 4th millennium B. C. and are associated with the Bodrogkeresztur Culture. An analysis of the formal aspects of these daggers allows them to be divided into 12 types (with variants), which only partially show genetic connections. The distributions of the individual dagger types do not necessarily correspond to the areas occupied by archaeological cultures defined by pottery. Groupings based on spectral analysis result two main geographic concentrations. Daggers made with arsenic alloys are found in the western Pontic area where as west Carpathian and central Danubian examples show no arsenic inclusions. Interestingly, some Bodrogkeresztur type daggers in Transylvania are made with arsenic alloys, others are not (Arıuşd, Mereşti and Mastacän). Therefore we assume that the daggers first spread from west to east and later dispersed in the opposite direction. The earliest dagger horizon dealt with here, is seen as being a fundamental part of the deep seated changes which lead to the formation of the Early Bronze Age after Aegean terminology.

Kırklareli Höyüğü Aşağı Pınar Kazısı 2007 Yılı Çalışmaları

by Heiner Schwarzberg

Co-authored with M. Özdoğan, H. Parzinger and M. Özdoğan, published in: "30. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı, 2. Cilt", 2009.

Kırklareli Höyüğü 2008 Yılı Çalışmaları.

by Heiner Schwarzberg

Co-authored with E. Özdoğan and M. Özdoğan, published in: "2008 Yılı Kırklareli Höyüğü Çalışmaları, 31. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı, 2. Cilt", 2010.

Kinderspielzeug oder Kultobjekte? Überlegungen zu anthropomorphen Figurinen der Wietenberg- und Tei-Kultur.

by Oliver Dietrich

In: S. Berecki, R. E. Németh, B. Rezi (Hrsg.), Bronze Age Rites and Rituals in the Carpathian Basin. Proceedings of the International Colloquium from Târgu Mureş 8.-10.10.2010 (Târgu Mureş 2010), 87-106.

St. Eichert – M. Mehofer, Frühmittelalterliche Emailscheibenfibeln aus Villach, Archäometallurgie und experimentelle Archäologie, Neues aus Alt-Villach. Jahrbuch der Stadt Villach 48, 2011, 29–66

by Mathias Mehofer

Tönerne Distanzplatten – Ein Beitrag zur Tracht der Wietenbergkultur - Spacer plates made of clay - A contribution to the Wietenberg Cultures adornments

by Oliver Dietrich

SCIVA 61, 2010, 161-170.

Spacer plates made of clay - A contribution to the Wietenberg Cultures adornments

For the Wietenberg... more Spacer plates made of clay - A contribution to the Wietenberg Cultures adornments

For the Wietenberg Culture, until now, nearly nothing was known about dressing habits, as
the few bronze and bone adornments surviving come mainly from settlement sites. Little attention
was paid to spacer beads made of clay, of which three are known, including a new find from the
settlement of Rotbav. Their function as spacer beads in a complicated necklace arrangement can be
deduced from an anthropomorphic statuette found at Satulung-Finteuşul Mic, which has to be
contemporaneous with the Wietenberg Culture judging from the depicted bronze ornaments, which
are to be found in the same combinations in hungarian bronze hoards and, partly, as single finds in the
Wietenberg area. Further the article discusses a possible relation between the clay spacer beads and
those made of amber. Similar necklace arrangements with amber spacer beads are known from
southern Germany, but not from Greece, an area often employed as source of origin for inventions
(like „mycenaean“ swords and spiral decoration) in the Wietenberg area.

Ein kleiner Bronzedepotfund aus der Siedlung von Rotbav, „La Pârâuţ“ sowie einige Gedanken zum Auftreten zyprischer Schleifennadeln in der Noua-Kultur.

by Oliver Dietrich

In: Laura Dietrich, Oliver Dietrich, Bernhard Heeb, Alexandru Szentmiklosi (Hrsg.), In Honorem Tudor Soroceanu. Analele Banatului XVII, 2009, 97-107.

Η ελληνική επιρροή στα δυτικά και κεντρικά Βαλκάνια κατά την Προ-Ρωμαϊκή περίοδο – Σερβία και Μαυροβούνιο (Greek influence in the pre-Roman period in the central and western Balkans – Territory of Serbia and Montenegro.)

by Dubravka Ujes Morgan

Αρχαιολογία και τέχνες (Archaeology and Arts) 90
(Athens, Foundation Lambrakis ed., March 2004), pp. 86-97. Summary in English.

Zentralisierte Produktionsstrukturen? Überlegungen zur räumlichen Beziehung von bronzezeitlichen Gussformen und Fertigprodukten in Südosteuropa am Beispiel der rumänischen Tüllenbeile.

by Oliver Dietrich

Marisia 31, 2011, 77-91.

Bei der Bewertung des räumlichen Verhältnisses von Gussformen zu Fertigprodukten im Karpatenbecken müssen... more Bei der Bewertung des räumlichen Verhältnisses von Gussformen zu Fertigprodukten im Karpatenbecken müssen Überlieferungsfilter stärker als bisher in Betracht gezogen werden. Zunächst stammen Tüllenbeilgussformen, anders als die Fertigprodukte, ganz überwiegend aus Siedlungen und wurden bei Ausgrabungen entdeckt. Der Stand der Siedlungsarchäologie bestimmt damit die Verbreitung von Gussformen in hohem Maße mit.
Der zweite Überlieferungsfilter betrifft die bronzezeitliche Gusstechnik. Es ist kaum anzunehmen, dass allein steinerne Gussformen verwendet worden sind. Neben einigen Funden fragiler und daher selten überlieferter zweischaliger Tongussformen liegen Belege verschiedener Arten von Modeln zur Herstellung von Ton- oder Formsandgussformen vor. Dies deutet darauf hin, dass vermutlich auch archäologisch schwer sichtbare Gussverfahren einen Anteil am Gesamteindruck der Verbreitung von Tüllenbeilgussformen in Rumänien haben. Die Steingussformen können gut zur Herstellung dieser Model gedient haben, ohne dass hier ihre einzige Funktion gelegen haben muss.

On The Origins of Extractive Metallurgy: New Evidence from Europe

by Miljana Radivojević

M.Radivojević, Th.Rehren, E.Pernicka, D.Šljivar, M.Brauns and D.Boric
Article available upon request

The beginnings of extractive metallurgy in Eurasia are contentious. The first cast copper objects in this region... more The beginnings of extractive metallurgy in Eurasia are contentious. The first cast copper objects in this region emerge c7000 years ago, and their production has been tentatively linked to centres in the Near East. This assumption, however, is not substantiated by evidence for copper smelting in those centres. Here, we present results from recent excavations from Belovode, a Vinča culture site in Eastern Serbia, which has provided the earliest direct evidence for copper smelting to date. The earliest copper smelting activities there took place c7000 years ago, contemporary with the emergence of the first cast copper objects. Through optical, chemical and provenance analyses of copper slag, minerals, ores and artefacts, we demonstrate the presence of an established metallurgical technology during this period, exploiting multiple sources for raw materials. These results extend the known record of copper smelting by more than half a millennium, with substantial implications. Extractive metallurgy occurs at a location far away from the Near East, challenging the traditional model of a single origin of metallurgy and reviving the possibility of multiple, independent inventions.

Armorikanische Fremdlinge in Ost- und Südosteuropa? Quellenkritische Bemerkungen zur Verbreitung von Tüllenbeilen des armorikanischen Typs -- Armorican imports in Eastern and Southeastern Europe? Critical remarks on the spreading of Armorican type axes.

by Oliver Dietrich

in: Despina Măgureanu, Dragoş Măndescu, Sebastian Matei (Hrsg.), Archaeology: making of and practice. Studies in honor of Mircea Babeş at his 70th anniversary (Piteşti 2011), 123-138.

Starting from two socketed axes of the Armorican type, which were so far mistakenly attributed as chisels of local... more Starting from two socketed axes of the Armorican type, which were so far mistakenly attributed as chisels of local production to the hoard from Şpălnaca, Romania, the author discusses finds of Armorican axes from eastern and southeastern Europe. A number of pieces published as authentic finds can be suspected to be modern imports. Armorican axes circulated widely as gifts between researchers or through the art market especially in the late 19th and early 20th century following the big discoveries in France. Until now, this fact has not been taken into consideration in several important publications of finds. Only for Poland and Bohemia there are finds which could be the result of Early Iron Age contacts. But even their authenticity remains doubtful to some degree, as there are no finds which were discovered after 1950.

Палагута И.В. Проблемы изучения спиральных орнаментов трипольской керамики // Stratum plus, 2. СПб — Кишинев — Одесса, 1999. С. 148–159.

by Ilya Palaguta

Palaguta I.V. Problems of studying spiral ornaments of the Tripolye ceramics // Stratum plus. 2, 1999. P. 148-159.more Palaguta I.V. Problems of studying spiral ornaments of the Tripolye ceramics // Stratum plus. 2, 1999. P. 148-159.
The article is devoted to the research of spiral ornaments of the Cucuteni-Tripolye culture.
The pointed lines of the ornaments development allow to confirm that ornamental schemes of the Tripolye ceramics develop on the basis of initial composition which consists of snakes' images. Beginning with the Tripolye Bl - Cucuteni A period significant changes occur in the main scheme which gradually loses its initial meaning. Changes in the design technology have taken the important part of it.
"Reading" of those ornaments could be hardly done because of the decorating art. Various levels of stylization and repetition, rhythm of the ornamental motives initially open possibilities to interpret the pictures in a rather free way.
The typological research of the design is the most perspective as it opens wide possibilities to study relative chronology and local peculiarities of the Cucuteni-Tripolye monuments.

Палагута И.В. Явление обратимости и основные направления развития композиций орнаментов трипольско-кукутенской керамики // Материалы 9 и 11 заседаний научно-методического семинара «Тверская земля и сопредельные территории в древности» / Тверской археологический сборник. Вып. 7. Тверь, 2009. С. 411–418.

by Ilya Palaguta

I.V. Palaguta
A PHENOMENON OF REVERSIBILITY AND THE BASIC TRENDS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORNAMENT COMPOSITION OF... more I.V. Palaguta
A PHENOMENON OF REVERSIBILITY AND THE BASIC TRENDS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORNAMENT COMPOSITION OF THE TRIPOLYE-CUCUTENI POTTERY
Summary
The article considers the main streams of ornament evolution of Tripolye-Cucuteni culture belonging to the circle of «the cultures of painted pottery» of the South-Eastern Europe Chalcolithic (the 4th - 3rd millennium BC). In the base of the Tripolye-Cucuteni pottery decorum originally a composition of two «snakes» curled towards each other was put. Further development of ornamental compositions was determined by following conditions: 1) schematization of their basic elements; 2) increasing of decorative function owing to the entering of additional elements; 3) a «reversibility» of design, when parts of ornament background begin to be interpreted as decorative figures. Such transformations of the Tripolye-Cucuteni decorum evidence the changes in ornaments treatment by their own producers as well as the substantial role in their development of not so much a semiotic aspect which was often brought to minimum because of a mechanic, serial copying of a sample as an aesthetic factor.

2006 Yılı Kırklareli Höyüğü Çalışmaları.

by Heiner Schwarzberg

Co-authored with E. Özdoğan, M. Özdoğan, H. Parzinger and E. Güldoğan, published in: "2006 Yılı Kırklareli Höyüğü Çalışmaları, 29. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı, 1. Cilt", 2008.

Kırklareli höyüğü 2005 yılı çalışmaları.

by Heiner Schwarzberg

Co-authored with E. Özdoğan and M. Özdoğan, published in: "28. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı, 2. cilt", 2007.

Aşağı Pınar Kazı Çalışmaları – 2007

by Heiner Schwarzberg

Co-authored with E. Özdoğan, published in 'Türk Eskiçağ Bilimleri Enstitüsü Haberler 25', 2008.

On problems in identifying ritual pottery: The example of the so-called “cult-tables”.

by Heiner Schwarzberg

Published in: 'Early Symbolic Systems for Communication in Southeast Europe'. British Archaeological Reports, International Series 1139, ed. by L. Nikolova, Oxford 2003.

Aşağı Pınar Höyüğü Çalışmaları 2005

by Heiner Schwarzberg

Co-authored with E. Özdoğan, published in 'Türk Eskiçağ Bilimleri Enstitüsü Haberler 21', 2006.

Η αρχαιολογία της προϊστορικής αποθήκευσης: μια επισκόπηση (The archaeology of prehistoric storage: a review)

by Kosmas Touloumis

Ν. Μερούσης, Ε. Στεφανή, Μ. Νικολαϊδου (επιμ.), Ίρις, Μελέτες στη μνήμη της καθηγήτριας Αγγελικής Πιλάλη-Παπαστερίου από τους μαθητές της στο Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης, εκδόσεις Κορνηλία Σφακιανάκη, Θεσσαλονίκη 2010.

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF PREHISTORIC STORAGE: A REVIEW
Kosmas Touloumis

What are the theoretical principles... more THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF PREHISTORIC STORAGE: A REVIEW
Kosmas Touloumis

What are the theoretical principles that govern the archaeological approach to issues such as storage and surplus? In this short review we will try to summarize the research in this field, from culture-historical till post-processual archaeology, with emphasis on the last decade. These questions may be further specified in a way which will help us to clarify the objectives of our brief study. What is the meaning of prehistoric surplus? How it is recognized in the archaeological record? Are there any short or long – term variations in the Aegean prehistory, especially
during Paleolithic, Neolithic and Early Bronze Age that can be certified regarding the use and meaning of surplus? The socio-economic institutions, the values of a specific, historically-defined prehistoric community and the way the social subjects
of this community perceived surplus, together with the wider conditions under which surplus was produced are the key components for the determination of its importance.
It is clear that surplus can be recognizable in the archaeological record. It is too restrictive, though, to be treated only as an adaptive behavior, as a survival strategy which responds exclusively to ecological factors associated with a good or
a bad harvest. Storage and storage practices can be related to underlying social knowledge and human perceptions of the world. On the other hand, we cannot deny that any role storage-related spaces and practices may have played in the
formation of social identities derived, at least at an early stage, from the food surplus’ economic and social value. The key to understanding the role and meaning of surplus in prehistory is to consider it not only on the synchronic but also on the diachronic scale, focusing on the changes that occurred from the Paleolithic
till the Early Bronze Age. The “institutionalized” presence of surplus is the final challenge. This transformation, must be connected to a specific prehistoric period and is the result of processes within a community, associated with the meanings,
the ideology and the social identities of its members. Understanding of this transformation ultimately depends on the archaeologist’s theoretical standpoint.