Cucuteni–Trypillia culture

ceramic vessels (from left to right): a bowl on stand, a vessel on stand and an amphora, ca. 4300–4000 BC; from Scânteia, Romania and displayed at the Moldavia National Museum Complex|267x267px The culture was first named and described in 1884 by Teodor T. Burada, after Cucuteni, a village in Iași County, Moldavia region, Romania. After having seen ceramic fragments in the gravel used to maintain the road from Târgu Frumos to Iași, investigated the quarry in Cucuteni from where the material was collected, where he found fragments of pottery and terracotta figurines. Burada and other scholars from Iași, including the poet Nicolae Beldiceanu and archeologists Grigore Butureanu, Dimitrie C. Butculescu and George Diamandy, subsequently began the first excavations at Cucuteni in the spring of 1885. and 1889, and presented in two international conferences in 1889, both in Paris: at the International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences by Butureanu and at a meeting of the Society of Anthropology of Paris by Diamandi. At the same time, the first Ukrainian sites ascribed to the culture were discovered by Vincenc Chvojka (Vikentiy Khvoyka), a Czech-born Ukrainian archeologist, in Kyiv at Kyrylivska street 55. The year of his discoveries has been variously claimed as 1893, 1896 and 1887. Subsequently, Vincenc Chvojka presented his findings at the 11th Congress of Archaeologists in 1897, which is considered the official date of the discovery of the Trypillia culture in Ukraine. with the Ukrainian-derived term "Cucuteni–Trypillia culture" gaining currency following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. == Geography ==

) The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture flourished in the territory of what is now Moldova, eastern and northeastern Romania and parts of Western, Central and Southern Ukraine. The culture thus extended northeast from the Danube river basin around the Iron Gates to the Black Sea and the Dnieper. It encompassed the central Carpathian Mountains as well as the plains, steppe and forest steppe on either side of the range. Its historical core lay around the middle to upper Dniester (the Podolian Upland). == Chronology ==

Periodization Traditionally separate schemes of periodization have been used for the Ukrainian Trypillia and Romanian Cucuteni variants of the culture. The Cucuteni scheme, proposed by the German archaeologist Hubert Schmidt in 1932, distinguished three cultures: Pre-Cucuteni, Cucuteni and Horodiștea–Foltești; which were further divided into phases (Pre-Cucuteni I–III and Cucuteni A and B). The Ukrainian scheme was first developed by Tatiana Sergeyevna Passek in 1949 and divided the Trypillia culture into three main phases (A, B, and C) with further sub-phases (BI–II and CI–II). The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture is commonly divided into Early, Middle, and Late periods, with varying smaller sub-divisions marked by changes in settlement and material culture. A key point of contention lies in how these phases correspond to radiocarbon data. The following chart represents this most current interpretation: During the early period of its existence (in the fifth millennium BC), the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture was also influenced by the Linear Pottery culture from the north, and by the Boian culture from the south. Settlements also developed in the southeastern stretches of the Carpathian Mountains, with the materials known locally as the Ariușd culture (see also: Prehistory of Transylvania). Most of the settlements were located close to rivers, with fewer settlements located on the plateaus. Most early dwellings took the form of pit-houses, though they were accompanied by an ever-increasing incidence of above-ground clay houses. Middle period (5000–3500 BC) In the middle era, the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture spread over a wide area from Eastern Transylvania in the west to the Dnieper River in the east. During this period, the population immigrated into and settled along the banks of the upper and middle regions of the Right Bank (or western side) of the Dnieper River, in present-day Ukraine. The population grew considerably during this time, resulting in settlements being established on plateaus, near major rivers and springs. Their dwellings were built by placing vertical poles in the form of circles or ovals. The construction techniques incorporated log floors covered in clay, wattle-and-daub walls that were woven from pliable branches and covered in clay and a clay oven, which was situated in the centre of the dwelling. As the population in this area grew, more land was put under cultivation. Hunting supplemented the practice of animal husbandry of domestic livestock. Tools made of flint, rock, clay, wood and bones continued to be used for cultivation and other chores. Much less common than other materials, copper axes and other tools have been discovered that were made from ore mined in Volyn, Ukraine, as well as some deposits along the Dnieper river. Pottery-making by this time had become sophisticated, however they still relied on techniques of making pottery by hand (the potter's wheel was not used yet). Characteristics of the Cucuteni–Trypillia pottery included a monochromic spiral design, painted with black paint on a yellow and red base. Large pear-shaped pottery for the storage of grain, dining plates and other goods, was also prevalent. Additionally, ceramic statues of female "goddess" figures, as well as figurines of animals and models of houses dating to this period have also been discovered. Some scholars have used the abundance of these clay female fetish statues to base the theory that this culture was matriarchal in nature. Indeed, it was partially the archaeological evidence from Cucuteni–Trypillia culture that inspired Marija Gimbutas, Joseph Campbell and some latter 20th century feminists to set forth the popular theory of an Old European culture of peaceful, egalitarian (counter to a widespread misconception, "matristic" not matriarchal), goddess-centred neolithic European societies that were wiped out by patriarchal, Sky Father-worshipping, warlike, Bronze-Age Proto-Indo-European tribes that swept out of the steppes north and east of the Black Sea. Late period (3500–3000 BC) During the late period, the Cucuteni–Trypillia territory expanded to include the Volyn region in northwest Ukraine, the Sluch and Horyn Rivers in northern Ukraine and along both banks of the Dnipro river near Kyiv. Members of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture who lived along the coastal regions near the Black Sea came into contact with other cultures. Animal husbandry increased in importance, as hunting diminished; horses also became more important. Outlying communities were established on the Don and Volga rivers in present-day Russia. Dwellings were constructed differently from previous periods, and a new rope-like design replaced the older spiral-patterned designs on the pottery. Different forms of ritual burial were developed where the deceased were interred in the ground with elaborate burial rituals. An increasingly larger number of Bronze Age artefacts originating from other lands were found as the end of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture drew near. In this, "the process of Indo-Europeanization was a cultural, not a physical, transformation and must be understood as a military victory in terms of successfully imposing a new administrative system, language, and religion upon the indigenous groups. Accordingly, these proponents of the Kurgan hypothesis hold that this invasion took place during the third wave of Kurgan expansion between 3000–2800 BC, permanently ending the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture. The theory "may find corroboration in the frequent evidence of violent death discovered in Verteba cave". In his 1989 book In Search of the Indo-Europeans, Irish-American archaeologist J. P. Mallory, summarising the three existing theories concerning the end of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, mentions that archaeological findings in the region indicate Kurgan (i.e. Yamnaya culture) settlements in the eastern part of the Cucuteni–Trypillia area, co-existing for some time with those of the Cucuteni–Trypillia. Another potential contradicting indication is that the kurgans that replaced the traditional horizontal graves in the area now contain human remains of a fairly diversified skeletal type approximately ten centimeters taller on average than the previous population. In the 1990s and 2000s, another theory regarding the end of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture emerged based on climatic change that took place at the end of their culture's existence that is known as the Blytt–Sernander Sub-Boreal phase. Beginning around 3200 BC, the Earth's climate became colder and drier than it had ever been since the end of the last Ice age, resulting in the worst drought in the history of Europe since the beginning of agriculture. The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture relied primarily on farming, which would have collapsed under these climatic conditions in a scenario similar to the Dust Bowl of the American Midwest in the 1930s. According to The American Geographical Union, However, the Blytt–Sernander approach as a way to identify stages of technology in Europe with specific climate periods is an oversimplification not generally accepted. A conflict with that theoretical possibility is that during the warm Atlantic period, Denmark was occupied by Mesolithic cultures, rather than Neolithic, notwithstanding the climatic evidence. Moreover, the technology stages varied widely globally. To this must be added that the first period of the climate transformation ended 500 years before the end of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture and the second approximately 1400 years after. == Economy ==

Throughout the 2,750 years of its existence, the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture was fairly stable and static; however, there were changes that took place. This article addresses some of these changes that have to do with the economic aspects. These include the basic economic conditions of the culture, the development of trade, interaction with other cultures and the apparent use of barter tokens, an early form of money. Members of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture shared common features with other Neolithic societies, including: • Almost nonexistent social stratification • Lack of a political elite • Rudimentary economy, most likely a subsistence or gift economy • Pastoralists and subsistence farmers Earlier societies of hunter-gatherer tribes had no social stratification, and later societies of the Bronze Age had noticeable social stratification, which saw the creation of occupational specialization, the state and social classes of individuals who were of the elite ruling or religious classes, full-time warriors and wealthy merchants, contrasted with those individuals on the other end of the economic spectrum who were poor, enslaved and hungry. In between these two economic models (the hunter-gatherer tribes and Bronze Age civilisations) we find the later Neolithic and Eneolithic societies such as the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, where the first indications of social stratification began to be found. However, it would be a mistake to overemphasise the impact of social stratification in the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, since it was still (even in its later phases) very much an egalitarian society. And of course, social stratification was just one of the many aspects of what is regarded as a fully established civilised society, which began to appear in the Bronze Age. there is no evidence that has been discovered of labour specialisation. Every household probably had members of the extended family who would work in the fields to raise crops, go to the woods to hunt game and bring back firewood, work by the river to bring back clay or fish and all of the other duties that would be needed to survive. Contrary to popular belief, the Neolithic people experienced considerable abundance of food and other resources. Each household was mostly self-sufficient and there was very little need for trade. However, there were certain mineral resources that, because of limitations due to distance and prevalence, did form the rudimentary foundation for a trade network that towards the end of the culture began to develop into a more complex system, as is attested to by an increasing number of artifacts from other cultures that have been dated to the latter period. Gallery File:02013 Der bemalten Keramik vom Trypillja-Typus am Anfang des 30.Jhs.v. Chr. beim Dorfe Biltsche-Solote, B4.JPG File:MuzeuldeistorienaturalavienaCucutenitripolieartefacts.JPG|Copper hoard, 4000 BC File:CucutenibirdGoddess.JPG File:Cucuteni IMG 3697.JPG File:Cucutenireprezentarezoomorfica.JPG File:Trypillian house.jpg File:Trypillian house2.jpg File:Cucuteni IMG 3666.JPG File:VasantropomorficCucuteni.JPG File:CucuteniOmegaPottery.JPG File:CucuteniPottery6.jpg File:CucuteniNeoliticBirdSpoon.JPG File:Cucutetenipottery.JPG File:CycyteniOmegaPottery34.JPG File:Finds at the Middle Tripolye settlement of Branzeni IV (the lower layer), Edinet District painted bomb-like goblet. (49537840277).jpg File:Expoziția Cultura Cucuteni, valori regăsite ale preistoriei moderne.jpg File:02013 Der "bemalten Keramik" vom Trypillja-Typus am Anfang des 30.Jhs.v. Chr. beim Dorfe Biltsche-Solote, B5.JPG File:CucuteniTokens.JPG File:Bone plaque in the shape of a bull’s head from Bilche Zolote (MAK-8475).jpg File:CucuteniLatePeriodClayFigure.JPG|alt= File:MuzeuldeistorienaturalavienaCucuteni3.JPG File:CucuteniShine.JPG File:Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte Berlin 095.jpg File:CucuteniIMG 3681.JPG|Copper jewellery File:Tezaurul de la Brad (cultura Cucuteni).jpg|Copper and gold hoard File:Vasul –„binoclu” de la Ciulucani.jpg File:Cucuteni IMG 3685.JPG File:Neolithic Pottery (28650540752).jpg File:CucuteniOmegaandbull.JPG File:NMHU011.jpg File:NHM - Menschenfiguren aus Sipinci, 1890 ausgegraben (01).jpg File:Vas pictat de la Traian (Cultura Cucuteni).jpg Diet , Western Ukraine The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture was a society of subsistence farmers. Cultivating the soil (using an ard or scratch plough), harvesting crops and tending livestock was probably the main occupation for most people. Typically for a Neolithic culture, the majority of their diet consisted of cereal grains. They cultivated club wheat, oats, rye, proso millet, barley and hemp, which were probably ground and baked as unleavened bread in clay ovens or on heated stones in the home. They also grew peas and beans, apricot, cherry plum and wine grapes – though there is no solid evidence that they actually made wine. There is also evidence that they may have kept bees. The inhabitants of the large settlements had an almost entirely vegetarian diet, with meat making up only 10% of their diet. The direct evidence remains inconclusive. Hunting supplemented the Cucuteni–Trypillia diet. They used traps to catch their prey, as well as various weapons, including the bow and arrow, the spear and clubs. To help them in stalking game, they sometimes disguised themselves with camouflage. Evidence from this and other sites indicates that the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture extracted salt from salt-laden spring-water through the process of briquetage. First, the brackish water from the spring was boiled in large pottery vessels, producing a dense brine. The brine was then heated in a ceramic briquetage vessel until all moisture was evaporated, with the remaining crystallised salt adhering to the inside walls of the vessel. Then the briquetage vessel was broken open, and the salt was scraped from the shards. The provision of salt was a major logistical problem for the largest Cucuteni–Trypillia settlements. As they came to rely upon cereal foods over salty meat and fish, Neolithic cultures had to incorporate supplementary sources of salt into their diet. Similarly, domestic cattle need to be provided with extra sources of salt beyond their normal diet or their milk production is reduced. Cucuteni–Trypillia mega-sites, with a population of likely thousands of people and animals, are estimated to have required between 36,000 and 100,000 kg of salt per year. This was not available locally, and so had to be moved in bulk from distant sources on the western Black Sea coast and in the Carpathian Mountains, probably by river. == Technology and material culture ==

The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture is known by its distinctive settlements, architecture, intricately decorated pottery and anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines, which are preserved in archaeological remains. At its peak it was one of the most technologically advanced societies in the world at the time, In terms of overall size, some of Cucuteni–Trypillia sites, such as Talianki (with a population of 15,000 and covering an area of 335 hectares) in the province of Uman Raion, Ukraine, are as large as (or perhaps even larger than) the city-states of Sumer in the Fertile Crescent, and these Eastern European settlements predate the Sumerian cities by more than half of a millennium. Some scholars suggested that Trypillia mega-settlements served as temporary housing for refugees from other Trypillia and related communities of the North Pontic area. A. Diachenko considers these to be climate refugees from Trypillia-settled areas in the northwest, while A. G. Nikitin suggests these were migrants from the Gumelnița-Karanovo VI sites in the west Pontic. Archaeologists have uncovered a large number of artefacts from these ancient ruins. The largest collections of Cucuteni–Trypillia artefacts are to be found in museums in Russia, Ukraine and Romania, including the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and the Archaeology Museum Piatra Neamț in Romania. However, smaller collections of artefacts are kept in many local museums scattered throughout the region. Researchers from the Collaborative Research Centre 1266 at the Kiel University found that the mega-sites were associated to a reduced social inequality. It was only after several generations that increased social differentiation re-emerged and this may explain the subsequent abandonment of the mega-sites. Thus, social complexity need not be associated with greater social stratification and that large aggregations of population can find mechanisms to reduce inequality. The houses of the Cucuteni–Trypillia settlements were constructed in several general ways: • Wattle-and-daub homes. • Log homes, called (). • Semi-underground homes called bordei. Some Cucuteni–Trypillia homes were two storeys tall, and evidence shows that the members of this culture sometimes decorated the outsides of their homes with many of the same red-ochre complex swirling designs that are to be found on their pottery. Most houses had thatched roofs and wooden floors covered with clay. File:Trypillia house.png|House with raised platform at Maidanetsk, c. 3700 BC, reconstruction File:Cucuteni houses 1.jpg|Illustration of interconnected houses from Maidanetsk Pottery Most Cucuteni–Trypillia pottery was hand coiled from local clay. Long coils of clay were placed in circles to form first the base and then the walls of the vessel. Once the desired shape and height of the finished product was built up the sides would then be smoothed to create a seamless surface. This technique was the earliest form of pottery shaping and the most common in the Neolithic; however, there is some evidence that they also used a primitive type of slow-turning potter's wheel, an innovation that did not become common in Europe until the Iron Age.. Sometimes decorative incisions were added prior to firing, and sometimes these were filled with coloured dye to produce a dimensional effect. In the early period, the colours used to decorate pottery were limited to a rusty-red and white. Later, potters added additional colours to their products and experimented with more advanced ceramic techniques. No traces of the iron magnetite pigment mined in the easternmost limit of the Cucuteni–Trypillia region have been found to be used in ceramics from the western settlements, suggesting exchange throughout the entire cultural area was limited. In addition to mineral sources, pigments derived from organic materials (including bone and wood) were used to create various colours. In the late period of Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, kilns with a controlled atmosphere were used for pottery production. These kilns were constructed with two separate chambers—the combustion chamber and the filling chamber— separated by a grate. Temperatures in the combustion chamber could reach 1000–1100 °C but were usually maintained at around 900 °C to achieve a uniform and complete firing of vessels. Finds of ceramic weights with drilled holes suggest that these were manufactured with a warp-weighted loom. It has also been suggested that these weights, especially "disposable" examples made from poor quality clay and inadequately fired, were used to weigh down fishing nets. These would probably have been frequently lost, explaining their inferior quality. Other pottery sherds with textile impressions, found at Frumușica and Cucuteni, suggest that textiles were also knitted (specifically using a technique known as nalbinding). Weapons and tools Cucuteni–Trypillia tools were made from knapped and polished stone, organic materials (bone, antler and horn), and in the later period, copper. Local Miorcani flint was the most common material for stone tools, but a number of other types are known to have been used, including chert, jasper and obsidian. Presumably these tools were hafted with wood, but this is not preserved. Weapons are rare but not unknown, implying the culture was relatively peaceful. The following types of tools have been discovered at Cucuteni–Trypillia sites: Wheels Some researchers, e.g., Asko Parpola, an Indologist at the University of Helsinki in Finland, believe that the CT-culture used the wheel with wagons. However, only miniature models of animals and cups on 4 wheels have been found, and they date to the first half of the fourth millennium BC. Such models are often thought to have been children's toys; nevertheless, they do convey the idea that objects could be pulled on wheels. Up to now there is no evidence for wheels used with real wagons. == Ritual and religion ==

Some Cucuteni–Trypillia communities have been found that contain a special building located in the centre of the settlement, which archaeologists have identified as sacred sanctuaries. Artefacts have been found inside these sanctuaries, some of them having been intentionally buried in the ground within the structure, that are clearly of a religious nature, and have provided insights into some of the beliefs, and perhaps some of the rituals and structure, of the members of this society. Additionally, artefacts of an apparent religious nature have also been found within many domestic Cucuteni–Trypillia homes. Many of these artefacts are clay figurines or statues. Archaeologists have identified many of these as fetishes or totems, which are believed to be imbued with powers that can help and protect the people who look after them. However, Gimbutas' theories have been partially discredited by more recent discoveries and analyses. One of the unanswered questions regarding the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture is the small number of artefacts associated with funerary rites. Although very large settlements have been explored by archaeologists, the evidence for mortuary activity is almost invisible. Making a distinction between the eastern Trypillia and the western Cucuteni regions of the Cucuteni–Trypillia geographical area, American archaeologist Douglass W. Bailey writes: Currently, the only Trypillian site where human remains dating to the first half of the 4th millennium BC have been consistently found is Verteba Cave in west Ukraine. The discovery of skulls is more frequent than other parts of the body, however because there has not yet been a comprehensive statistical survey done of all of the skeletal remains discovered at Cucuteni–Trypillia sites, precise post excavation analysis of these discoveries cannot be accurately determined at this time. Still, many questions remain concerning these issues, as well as why there seems to have been no male remains found at all. The only definite conclusion that can be drawn from archaeological evidence is that in the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, in the vast majority of cases, the bodies were not formally deposited within the settlement area. == Archaeogenetics ==

While the number of known settlements is large and single settlements alone most probably could have been home for more than 10,000 inhabitants, to date only from 1061 individuals are skeletal remains preserved. Important sites are the settlement of Kosenivka and the Verteba Cave. The former yielded evidence for the traumata, diseases, and social structures, They analyzed mtDNA recovered from Cucuteni–Trypillia human osteological remains found in the Verteba Cave (on the bank of the Seret River, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine). It revealed that seven of the individuals whose remains where analysed belonged to: two to haplogroup HV(xH), two to haplogroup H, one to haplogroup R0(xHV), one to haplogroup J and one to haplogroup T4, the latter also being the oldest sample of the set. The authors conclude that the population living around Verteba Cave was fairly heterogenous, but that the wide chronological age of the specimens might indicate that the heterogeneity might have been due to natural population flow during this timeframe. The authors also link the R0(xHV) and HV(xH) haplogroups with European Paleolithic populations, and consider the T4 and J haplogroups as hallmarks of Neolithic demic intrusions from the southeast (the north-pontic region) rather than from the west (i.e. the Linear Pottery culture). seven of them dating to the Trypillian period and one dating to the Iron Age. The Trypillia-age individuals carried haplogroups H, HV, HV0, H5a, as well as T2b, U8b1b, and U8b1a2. The authors linked H5a, T2b and U8b1 with Anatolian Neolithic Farmers (ANFs) and Early Neolithic Farmers of Europe (ENFs) influence on Trypillian population at Verteba. Since the representatives of the H clade of mtDNA comprised 28.6% of the sample, authors suggested a genetic link between the Trypillian population at Verteba and the Funnel Beaker culture groups, which displayed similar frequencies of H-bearing haplotypes. A study by Mathiesson et al., published 2018 in Nature, included a whole-genome analysis of four males from the Nikitin et al., 2017 study, and described them as roughly 80% EEF, with around 20% of the rest of their ancestry being intermediate between EHG and WHG. With respect to Y-DNA, two carried haplogroup G2a2b2a (G-CTS688 and G-PF3330), while one carried G2a-PF3141 and one E-CTS10894. With respect to mtDNA, they carried H5a, T2b, HV and U8b1b. According to admixture analysis they had approximately 75% EEF, 10% both Western and Eastern Hunter-Gatherer and less than 5% traces of Yamnaya-related ancestry. In 2020 Immel et al. published a study of four unrelated females from two late CTCC period sites in Moldova. EHG, CHG, and WHG components as described in Mathiesson et al., with the exception of one individual (I3151), who seems to be absent of any EHG/CHG ancestry". Phenotypically, all were lactose intolerant and almost all had a mutation associated with blue eyes. According to the paper, it indicates shared ancestry with the population of Baden culture, "in conclusion, the results show that Verteba Cave represents a significant mortuary site that connects East and West. The genetic structure of the CTCC peoples includes ancestry related to both earlier hunter-gatherers from the west and farmers from the Near East, and one that is genetically distinct from those of Moldovan CTCC peoples. The lack of local ancestry associated with Ukrainian Neolithic hunter-gatherers suggests that these farmers mostly replaced local foragers. Additionally, during the Bronze Age, Verteba Cave was used by successive waves of nomadic pastoralists from the east that eventually brought significant genetic and cultural changes to Europe that eventually mixed with the local descendants of Trypillia-culture population". In a 2023 study, individuals who have steppe-related ancestry can be explained by the increase of EHG-rich ancestry. == See also == == Notes ==