Участник:Dmitri Lytov/Доисторическая Румыния

Трансильвания — плато на северо-западе Румынии, где обнаружено большое количество археологических памятников.

Доисторический период в истории Румынии известен по данным археологии, антропологии, сравнительной лингвистики и других наук.

Довольно велика концентрация археологических культур в Трансильвании — плато в северо-западной части Румынии, ограниченном Карпатами на востоке и юге и Апушеньскими горами на западе. В горах Трансильвании имеется большое количество пещер, служивших убежищами как для животных, так и для первобытных людей. В частности, Пещера медведей (en:Peştera Urşilor) была местом обитания большого числа пещерных медведей (Ursus spelæus), чьи останки были обнаружены при открытии пещеры в 1975 г. В ряде других пещер обнаружены останки первобытных людей.

Палеолит

См. также: en:Peștera cu Oase, en:Peștera Muierilor, en:Paleolithic Romania и en:Paleolithic Europe

Палеолит — эпоха, охватывающая период 2600000 — 13000 лет назад. В свою очередь, делится на нижний палеолит (древнейшие гоминиды), средний палеолит (эпоха господства неандертальцев в Европе) и верхний палеолит. The chronological frame of the Paleolithic coincides with that of the Pleistocene (the first period of the Quaternary), and is marked by four great glaciations, as established in the Alps (гюнц, миндель, рисс и вюрм).

Fundamental elements for the technic description of a en:lithic flake

While an ever increasing amount of data has become available on the evolution of the climate, fauna and vegetation of present day Romania, there is very little in the fossil record to give researchers an idea of what Paleolithic man in Romania looked like. To date, no human skeletal remains dating from the Low Paleolithic have been found, while the only Middle Paleolithic remains that have been discovered were a number of phalanges unearthed by M. Roska in the en:Bordu Mare Cave at en:Ohaba Ponor (en:Hunedoara County). A skull capsule discovered by Roska in the en:Cioclovina Cave displays features attributed to Homo sapiens sapiens, and dates back to the Upper Paleolithic as indicated by three flint objects peculiar to the ориньякская культура discovered next to them. Likewise, in the en:Ciurul Mare Cave in the Pǎdurea Craiului Mountains (Трансильвания) speleologists have discovered some distinctively male, female and child footprints. An anthropological analysis has identified Cro-Magnon and even Neanderthal characteristics in these footprints.

The economy of the Paleolithic communities consisted mainly of exploiting natural resources: gathering, fishing and especially hunting were the main pursuits of the diverse human groups. As early as the Lower Paleolithic, human groups either hunted or trapped game. We can assume that in Transylvania, alongside mammoths or deer, horses were a fairly important food source, if our dating of the painting on the ceiling of the cave at Cuciulat (Sǎlaj County) is correct.

Нижний палеолит

Нижний палеолит в Румынии, ввиду малочисленности данных, практически не изучен. Хотя остаётся фактом открытие ашельских lithic item at en:Căpuşu Mic (en:Cluj County) and of several Pre-Mousterian lithic items at en:Tălmaciu (en:Sibiu County), остаётся неясным их стратиграфический контекст. То же можно сказать об открытиях в en:Ciucului Basin at en:Sândominic (en:Harghita County) where several tools, and a rich fauna, have been encountered in certified stratigraphic positions, belonging to the geo-chronological interval covering the late Mindel to the early Рисское оледенение.

Средний палеолит

The Middle Paleolithic — мустьерская культура — covers a time period incomparably shorter than that of the prior epoch (около 100 — 30 тыс. лет назад). It is a period set largely in Early Upper Pleistocene, and corresponds within the alpine glacial chronology to the interval covering the late Riss-Würm interglacial, or rather the Lower Würm, through middle Würm, as indicated by the dating of the late Mousterian dwellings in the en:Gura Cheii Cave — en:Râşnov (en:Braşov County), and the en:Spurcată Cave — en:Nandru (Hunedoara County).

The Mousterian period is closest to the alpine Paleolithic. Both periods were characterized by the presence of numerous quartzite slivers and chips, with the bones of hunted game outnumbering the tools. Consequently, specialists consider this Mousterian to be an «Eastern Charentian».

Likewise, North-Western and Northern Transylvania with the settlements at Boineşti (Satu Mare County) and Remetea (Maramureş County) have revealed several typically Mousterian tools (flake scrapers, blade scrapers, tanget points etc.), some of which have been associated with a later stage of the Mousterian, or even with a transition stage to the Upper Paleolithic, at the onset of the Aurignacian culture of the Upper Paleolithic.

Верхний палеолит

Ориньякский двугранный скребок: вид с 3 сторон.

Уже в 34 тыс. до н. э. пещеры Румынии населяли люди современного вида Homo sapiens, которые, возможно, некоторое время сосуществовали с более древними неандертальцами.

The process of regional diversification among cultures was accelerated in the Upper Paleolithic through the middle to upper Würm. The beginnings of the Upper Paleolithic on the territory of Romania is dated somewhere between 32 000/30 000 — 13 000 BP, corresponding paleoclimatically to the onset of the Arcy oscillation, and is marked by the development of the two great civilizations: the Aurignacian and the Gravettian both featuring several stages of development as established by stratigraphy.

The onset of the Aurignacian culture seems to have paralleled the late Mousterian facies in the Carpathian caves, if we accept as valid the C14 dating of level IIb in the cave of Gura Cheii — Râşnov. Northwestern Transylvania is the site where layers of the Middle Aurignacian culture have been identified, as signaled by the presence of blade scrapers, refitted core, burins. In Banat, the settlements of Tincova, Coşova and Româneşti-Dumbrăviţa, have produced flint tools demonstrating that the Aurignacian in this area evolved closely with that in Central Europe (the Krems-Dufour group). Aurignician items were also found in the caves in the Western Carpathians, the most famous of which is the Cioclovina cave (Hunedoara County) — the site, at the turn of the 20th century, of the first Paleolithic discoveries in Transylvania.

The Eastern Gravettian had a long evolution, featuring several stages of development as documented especially by the settlements in Moldova. The Gravettian has left traces in the Ţara Oaşului and Ţara Maramureşului, the sites of microlite fashioned mainly out of obsidian indicating the connection with the Gravettian in the neighboring regions (Moldavia, South-Carpathian Ukraine, Eastern Slovakia, and Northeastern Hungary).

The Late Gravettian covers Banat too, particularly the area of the Porţile de Fier of the Danube, where heads identical to the Laugerie-Basse type heads were discovered in grottos and open air dwellings. Still in Banat, a culture with several stages of development was identified and subsequently named the Quartzite Upper Paleolithic by its discoverer, considered to be synchronous with the local Aurignacian, later the Gravettian, and regarded as a prolongation of the late stages of the Mousterian with quartz and quartzite tools (Eastern Charentian).

Эпипалеолит и мезолит

Эпипалеолит

(13,000 — 9,500 BP)

См. также: Epipaleolithic Europe

The Iron Gates of the Danube

The populations evolving at the onset of the Bölling oscillation (approximately 12,000 BP) and which have continued to the end of the Preboreal have been generally attributed to the Epipaleolithic. Consequently, this historical period could be associated with the interval between 13,000 and about 9,500-9,000 BP. These communities continued the lifestyles of the Upper Paleolithic. Due to numerous factors, including changes in the climate, the small groups of hunters-fishermen-gatherers innovated tool and weapon types — producing, for instance, microlites (trapeze) — while also keeping the traditional tool types.

The area of Porţile de Fier (Iron Gates) is settled by a population attributed to the Late Epigravettian or Mediterranean Tardigravettian. The first stage of this period has been made known to us by the discoveries in the Climente II cave (Mehedinţi County), and the second stage, by discoveries in the shelter under the rocks at Cuina Turcului, Dubova, both of which are located in the same limestone massif — Ciucaru Mare. The two dwelling levels at Cuina Turcului have produced a large quantity of tools and weapons made of flint in particular, and less so of obsidian, bone and horn, as well as body ornaments (shells and drilled teeth, bone pendants, etc.) The ornaments are often decorated with incised geometrical patterns. The most remarkable is a drilled horse phalange, wholly ornamented and probably representing a female figure.

Besides the mammal (beaver, boar, mountain goat, etc.), bird and fish remnants, fragments of human skeletons were also found. The Climente II cave has produced a human skeleton, set in a crouching position, and covered by a thick layer of red ochre, which is attributed to the Tardigravettian dwelling and which predates Level I at Cuina Turcului.

The discoveries in the Clisura area display striking similarities to the industries of the Italian Peninsula — the expression of the migrant human bearers of the Late Epigravettian in the mentioned area.

Мезолит

(9,500 — 7,500 BP)

См. также: Mesolithic Romania, Mesolithic Europe и Cro-Magnon

Male Cro-Magnon skull

Specialist opinions fix the beginning of the Mesolithic era at the end of the Preboreal, its development throughout the Boreal, and its end as late as the beginnings of the Atlantic. Chronologically then, it can be set between 9,500-9,000 and 7,500 BP. Two cultures are documented on the territory of Romania in this time period: the Tardenoisian and the Schela Cladova types.

The Tardenoisian spread in several of the country’s regions (Moldavia, Muntenia, Dobrogea), including the mountainous area of Transylvania in the southeast (Cremenea-Sita Buzăului, Costanta-Lădăuţi) and northwest (Ciumeşti-Păşune). In the settlement of Ciumeşti (Satu Mare County), besides the typically Central and East European Tardenoisian microlitice tools made of flint and obsidian, some artefacts were found in the form of circular segments and two triangular ones, in addition to trapezes. The fauna remnants indicate the presence of wild boar and deer.

Some specialists do not exclude the possibility of identifying the Late Tardenoisian communities of the north-western Pontic or central European types (of which the settlement at Ciumeşti is one) as being in the process of neolithization, albeit incomplete, that is, displaying an incipient productive economy, whose foundations were laid by animal domestication and plant cultures.

The en:Schela Cladovei culture is known through the nine open air settlements in the proximity of the Danube. The lithic utensils come in numerous atypical forms and are fashioned of quartzite and siliceous sandstone while an additional small number are made of flint. The horn tools (agriculture artefacts with one or two handle attachment holes) apparently indicate the debut of plant cultivation. Some of the larger river rocks flattened by water or some of the thicker slabs might have served for grinding. The examination of the fauna indicates an economy based mainly on hunting. The targeted game were deer, roebucks, European bisons, wild boars, hares, wild donkeys, foxes, etc. Furthermore, it would seem that the representatives of this culture domesticated the dog.

Anthropological data are quite consistent. The physical type was evaluated as Oriental Cro-Magnon. The skeletons of the deceased were laid in rectangular holes, some dug in the floor of the dwelling itself. Part of them was laid in a crouching position, part was laid on their back, together with some of their personal belongings. Child mortality was high, while the average life expectancy for adults was 36.2 years. The discovery of some skeletons with arrowhead marks speaks of violent death. Research so far has proved that this culture does not have its roots in the Mediterranean type Tardigravettian, but rather originated by some new migration into the Porţile de Fier region. In addition, it would seem that on the arrival of the first bearers of the Neolithic civilisation (Precriş culture), the Schela Cladovei culture had already come to an end.

Неолит

Основные статьи: Балканский неолит и Неолит Европы

Трипольская культура на территории Румынии

The Neolithic began with the slow migration of communities from the south of the Balkan Peninsula (the Protosesklo culture from the Thesalo-Macedonean area), who brought with them momentous economic progress. Consequently, the process of neolithisation, which is essentially a shift to plant growing and animal breeding, was not an innovation of the local Mesolithic population but rather the result of the penetration of this territory by communities carrying the Neolithic civilization.

The normal divisions of the Neolithic are: Early Neolithic, Developed Neolithic and Chalcolithic (Copper Age). The Neolithic epoch on the territory of Romania, as certified by calibrated 14C dates, began around 6600 BC, and ended around 3800-3700 BC, and no later than 3500 BC.

The Early Neolithic (c. 6600 — 5500 BC) consists of two cultural layers: genetically linked and with similar physiognomies. The first (layer Gura Baciului — Cârcea/Precriş) is the exclusive result of the migration of a Neolithic population from the South Balkan area, while the second (the Starčevo-Criş culture) reflects the process of adjusting to local conditions by a South Balkan community, possibly a synthesis with the local Tardenoisian groups.

Layer Gura Baciului — Cârcea, also called the Precriş culture, is a spin-off of a Protosesklo culture group that advanced north and reached the North Danubian region where it founded the first culture of painted pottery in Romania. The small number of sites attributable to this early cultural time has not allowed the route followed by the group, to penetrate the Inter-Carpathian area, to be firmly established, yet in all likelihood, it was the Oltului Valley.

Based on the stratigraphy in the site of Gura Baciului (Cluj County) and Ocna Sibiului (Sibiu County) the development of the culture is divided into three major stages.

The settlements are situated on high terraces strung along secondary valleys. The dwellings are most often underground, but there are also ground level houses, usually standing on river stone platforms. Pottery (bowls, cups) is refined, with white painted dots or geometrical patterns on red or brown-red background. Concomitant with pottery, plant cultures and animal breeding, the new culture introduces implements of polished stone and the first clay statuettes. The dead are buried on the grounds of the settlements sometimes directly under the dwellings. Gura Baciului is the first site on the territory of Romania attesting incineration as a funerary practice.

Anthropomorphic and zoomorphic plastic art reveals a bipolar system of beliefs: the Great Mother, representing the female principle, and the Bull, representing the male principle. The presence among the findings at Gura Baciului of some anthropomorphic stone heads, similar to the famous stone heads of Lepenski Vir, signify possible contact between the locals, the Mesolithic cultures, and the newcomers. Furthermore, the adoption of these alien deities, even if exclusively a plastic substantiation, speaks of a remarkable process of assimilation, characteristic of the layer above mentioned.

At Ocna Sibiului, at Precriş, level II, a small conical stone statuette was found, with a shape representing a couple embracing, and a plinth of the same material associated with the figure. On the statue and the plinth several symbols can be distinguished interpreted by the discoverer as ideograms.

Культура Старчево-Криш

Основная статья: Старчево-Кришская культура

Neolithic clay amulet (retouched), part of the Tărtăria tablets set, dated to 5500-5300 BC and associated with the Turdaş-Vinča culture. The Vinča symbols on it predate the proto-Sumerian pictographic script. Discovered in 1961 at Tărtăria, Alba County, Romania by the archaeologist Nicolae Vlassa.

The Starčevo-Criş culture, representing the generalisation of the early Neolithic in the Intra-Carpathian territory, has been regarded by some as the prolongation of the Gura Baciului-Cârcea/Precriş culture, disregarding that it is probably the result of a new south Balkan migration (the Presesklo culture) arriving in Transylvania via Banat. The Starčevo — Criş culture has a long evolution in four stages.

Dwellings were set up on meadows, terraces, hills and even in caves, wherever the environment was friendly. The dwellings were embedded in the early phases and were huts at ground level, in the later phases. Asymmetrical receptacles, bowls, spherical cups, all of which were made of clay, furnish the interiors of this culture. The lithic utensil inventory includes flint and obsidian microlites, as well as large polished stone axes of the Walzenbiele type. It is now, too, that the first small copper items occur sporadically. The pintaderas decorated with geometrical patterns as well as the Spondylus and Tridacna shells testify to possible connections with Eastern Mediterranean regions. Burials were performed both inside and among the dwellings. Anthropological analyses have revealed a major Mediterranean component suggesting a southern origin of this population.

The Developed Neolithic (c. 5500 — 4000 BC) covers the interval between the last phase of the Starčevo – Criş culture and the beginnings of the en:Petreşti culture, the period including what has long been known as middle and late Neolithic.

The Developed Neolithic is marked by the migration of some new groups of populations, whose point of departure was the south of the Balkan Peninsula, as part of the group of cultures with polished black pottery. These same groups created the Vinča culture (more commonly divided into four main phases: A, B, C and D), whose beginning is synchronous with the final phase of the Sesklo culture (Greece) occupying Banat and most of Transylvania. In about the same period, the north-east of Transylvania was penetrated by several groups, bearing the linear and musical note pottery culture.

Культура Винча in Romania comes in many forms depending on the local background against which it developed (the Starčevo-Criş culture and the linear pottery) and the degree of southern influence. The synthesis of the above mentioned elements gave birth to numerous related regional elements, so that when referring to the Transylvania territory, specialists do not speak of a Vinča culture per se, but rather that of the Banat culture, the Bucovăţ group, the Pişcolt group, the Turdaş culture, the Cluj-Cheile–Turzii-Lumea Nouă-Iclod complex, the Iclod group. A general characteristic of these groups is the black polished pottery (cups, bowls, lids, etc.). The decorations are variously incised and impressed (bands filled in with stripes, in particular) in addition to displaying fine grooves. The statuettes feature oblong heads (possibly indicating a mask), cross-like bodies, and are often decorated with spiral winding patterns.

In Banat, with the end of the Vinča A2 stage there emerges the Banat culture with several distinctive regional peculiarities (groups Bucovăţ and Parţa). The Parţa settlement, thoroughly researched, demonstrates that the culture reached a high level of civilization, attested to by the one storey buildings and by a complex spiritual life, partly decoded by the components of the great sanctuary studied here. The cult edifice (with maximum dimensions of 12x6x7m), with two stages of construction, had two chambers, the one to the east, the other to the west, separated by an altar table and then a wall. The west chamber served as a depository for daily offerings. In the foundation of the south entrance to this chamber was laid a zoomorphic idol and a tiny vessel. The east chamber served for the initiation ceremonies. Religious centers of this type through their prestige and grandeur most certainly congregated the population of an extended area.

The charred seeds found in the Liubcova settlement indicate that several cereals were grown. Wheat prevailed, particularly the Triticum dicoccum species, as well as the Triticum monococcum and Triticum aestivus species in proportion of approx. 10 %. The first occurrence on the territory of Romania of the Hordeum vulgare barley is seen. Also present are such leguminous plants as lentil and vetch. Of paramount interest is that wheat was harvested, as discovered in a settlement south of the Carpathians (Teiu, the Gumelniţa culture), and was possibly used in other areas, too. The wheat was harvested by pulling out, then was sheaved and tied with a switch, vine shoots or ivy. Once carried to the settlement, the grain was threshed.

Культура Турдаш-Винча

Основная статья: Культура Винча

Артефакты культур Турдаш и Деча-Мурешулуй в Аюдском музее истории, Аюд

Общины культуры Винча, продвигавшиеся по среднему течению реки Муреш, под влиянием старчево-кришских традиций и с включением отдельных элементов линейной керамики создали новый культурный феномен, который в румынской археологии носит название культура Турдаш. The occurrence of signs incised on the bottom of several vessels, particularly on those at Turdaş (Hunedoara County), have often been regarded as the potter’s mark. В последнее время ряд исследователей рассматривают их как протописьменность — ранние попытки графического представления информации. Характерными примерами данной протописьменности являются таблички из Тэртэрии (округ Альба), которые обнаружил археолог Николае Власса в ритуальном отверстии в земле, next to clay and alabaster idols and a fragment of an anchor, all of which have triggered hot debate over the stratigraphy and chronology of the settlement.

The preservation by some Starčevo-Criş communities of painted pottery, in addition to the Vinča elements, engendered in the area of the eastern arch of the Western Carpathians the Cluj-Cheile–Turzii-Lumea Nouă-Iclod cultural complex. This complex represents the substratum for the emergence of the Petreşti culture. Long term research at Iclod has demonstrated that this station possessed a complex fortification system built during the Iclod, Phase I, still in use for some time in the Iclod II phase, eventually abandoned when the settlement expanded. It is in the same spot that research has been carried in two inhumation necropoles, where the dead were laid on their backs hands across their chests or abdomens or along their bodies; the bodies were oriented east-west, their heads facing east. The inventory consists of vessels (cylindrical, painted bowls, and S profile pots), ochre, stone utensils, ornaments and animal offerings.

Трипольско-кукутенская культура

Основная статья: Трипольская культура

Энеолит

См. также: Энеолит в Европе

Artefacts of the Cucuteni-Ariuşd-Tripolie culture. On display at the National Museum of Transylvanian History, Cluj-Napoca

The Chalcolithic, Eneolithic or Copper Age (c. 4600/4500 — 3800/3700 BC) is characterized by an ever increasing number of copper items, as well as the presence of stone, bone, horn and baked clay utensils. It marks the first production of heavy copper tools and moulds, (axes — chisels and axes), in close conjunction with the exploitation of copper deposits in Transylvania. Gold is used for ornaments and the fashioning of such idols as those at Moigrad in the Bodrogkeresztúr-Gorneşti culture. The craft of pottery reaches a peak, exemplified by the great number of exquisitely decorated pots discovered in the Eneolithic strata.

Cultures typical for this period are the Cucuteni-Ariuşd, Petreşti, Tiszapolgár-Româneşti and Bodrogkeresztúr-Gorneşti. The first two cultures are among the numerous Eneolithic cultures with pottery painted in bi- and tri-chromatic patterns.

In the eastern territory of Transylvania, at Ariuşd (Covasna County), the first systematic excavations were undertaken in what is considered the neo-Eneolithic epoch in Romania. The material discovered has been integrated into the greater painted pottery complex of Cucuteni-Ariuşd-Tripolie, whose development is classified into three phases (A, AB and B).

Петрештская культура

en:Petreşti culture pottery belonging to a ritual complex from Ghirbom, Alba. On display at the National Museum of the Union, Alba Iulia

The Petreşti culture, whose evolution displays three phases (A, A-B and B), diffused across almost all of Transylvania, is regarded as local in origin by some specialists, and as a migration originating from the southern areas of the Balkans, by others. It is primarily known for its painted decoration — patterns painted in red, brown-red, later brown, on a brick-red background, which testifies to the high standard of civilization of the bearers of this culture. The ornamental motifs consist in bands, rhombuses, squares, spirals and windings. The typical forms are bowls, tureens, high stands. Plastic art is fairly scarce and so are brass items.

Культура Деча-Мурешулуй

Stone mace head of Decea Mureşului type found at Șard, Alba. On display at the National Museum of the Union, Alba Iulia

The end of this culture has been associated with the entry into central Transylvania by the bearers of the Decea Mureşului culture/horizon and the Bodrogkeresztúr-Gorneşti culture.

The graves at Decea Mureşului, according to some, are a continuation of the rituals of Iclod, whereas according to others, they are hard proof of the penetration of central Transylvania by a north-Pontic population. The presence of red ochre scattered over the skeletons, or laid at their feet in the form of little balls, as well as other ritual elements find better analogies, however, in the necropolis at Mariopol in south Ukraine.

Бодрогкерестур-горнештская культура

Бодрогкерестурская культура, известная в Румынии как горнештская культура, характеризуется наличием так называемых амфор с высокой шейкой с двумя небольшими protuberances pulled at the margin and drilled vertically. Она является дальнейшим развитием тисаполгар-романештской культуры (featuring receptacles with bird bill protuberances and decorated with step or nettle incisions), in turn descended from the Tisa culture in the developed Neolithic period.

The settlements of the neo-Eneolithic cultures were located on the low or high river terraces, on hilltops or hillspurs and consisted in several dwellings whose positions sometimes observed particular rules. Recent research has tended to focus on the defense systems (ditches and scarps) of these sites. The culture strata are thick and superposed forming at times regular tells.

The dwellings of this period were of several types. The earth houses displayed an oval shaped hole, with a maximum of 5-6m and a minimum of 3m in diameter. On one of the edges a simple fireplace was built out of a smoothed layer of clay. The thatched roof was conical or elongated and was supported by a trestle. The one room rectangular surface dwellings are also documented as dating back to the beginning of the Neolithic. They had wattle walls pasted with clay mixed with straw. The roof was double sloping, and the floor was made of trodden clay. The Cucuteni dwellings in south-east Transylvania are spacious (40-100 m² and more), often have a platform and are divided into two or more rooms.

Vessel from the Middle Eneolithic Period found at Cheile Turzii. On display at the National Museum of the Union, Alba Iulia

Neo-Eneolithic sculpture is represented by cultic figures, idols, and talismans fashioned out of bone, stone or clay. These are human or animal representations conveyed by stylized or exaggerated body parts. Among the thousand anthropomorphous statues discovered, the female ones, symbols of fertility and fecundity, prevail by far.

Herculane-Cheile Turzii culture vessel, dated 3800-3500 BC (Middle Eneolithic Period), found at Cheile Turzii. On display at the National Museum of the Union, Alba Iulia

Copper was first used for fashioning small implements or ornaments (needles, awls, fishing hooks, pendants, etc.), while gold was used solely for aesthetic and decorative purposes. For a long time the items were produced by the technique of hammering, for the technique of the casting mould as well as that of «cire perdue» (lost wax) emerged much later. Although there is no proof of the provenance of the first metal items, they are seemingly local rather than imported products. That does not necessarily suggest that metallurgy was the invention of the local population, for it might have been introduced as a result of contact with regions where metal processing had started earlier (in the East or the Caucasus).

The Eneolithic marked a notable advancement in the development of metallurgy. Throughout this period copper artifacts are present in the settlements, in grave inventories or even in deposits (assemblies of whole or fragmentary objects concentrated in one, usually isolated, place). This period also marks a high incidence of flat axes, pins, simple or multi-spiral bracelets or necklaces. The most complex of all Eneolithic achievements is the axe. These weapon-implements are bound to the late phases of the Cucuteni, Decea Mureşului and Bodrogkeresztúr-Gorneşti cultures. The gold Eneolithic items, outnumbered by the copper, actually constitute the beginning of goldsmithing in the Transylvanian lands. An outstanding artifact was the great gold pendant in the thesaurus of Moigrad (Sălaj County), which is 30 cm in height and weighs 750g.

We know little about the racial types of the Transylvanian Neolithic population. The area of some of the cultures, for instance Cucuteni, lack funeral finds, for they are the expression of ritual practices that elude archeological methods. The little anthropological data available (Gura Baciului, Iclod) suggests Mediterranean-type physical features.

The role of the invasion of the pastoral tribes coming from the north-Pontic (supposedly Indo-European kinship) in bringing to an end the Eneolithic culture of sedentary farmers, represents one of the hotly debated issues among specialists in the prehistory of south-eastern Europe. What once might have seemed exclusively a migration of nomadic tribes, now may be understood as a socio-economic transformation of the local population—its adaptation to the new environment, to the evolution of society (the increasing role of the animal breeders and shepherds, the development of metallurgy, extended mobility, the increasingly military role of the elites, changes in the belief systems, etc.).

In conclusion, the archeological data available present the Eneolithic as a period of stability, in which the sedentary populations created some of the most spectacular civilizations within the European area.

Бронзовый век

Основная статья: Румынский бронзовый век

Характеристика

The Neolithic society is characterized by a predominantly agrarian economy with stable settlements and funerary practices specific to a religion based on a fertility cult. This type of society is near the peer polity described by Colin Renfrew. One of the most important Neolithic archaeological cultures in the Romanian territory is the Cucuteni culture, one the oldest in Europe (see Old Europe). This culture is probably the last that created painted pottery in Europe.

During the Bronze Age there were some important developments from Chalcolithic, with significant improvements in the economy.

The local Bronze Age economy was based on sheep, goats and pigs. In particular, the Wietenberg culture used large cattle, along with horses utilized both for traction and food. At the same time, the artistic manifestations have also significantly increased, as is shown by the very involved works on the Gârla Mare culture clay statuettes.

In the Early Bronze Age (ca. 3500-2200 BCE), various archaeological cultures began to develop, including the Baden-Coţofeni culture, the Cernavodă III-Belleraz culture, the Glina culture and the Verbicioara culture. During this period, the most important crop in Muntenia and Oltenia was Glina culture. Common occupations were agriculture, mining and animal husbandry. Houses were rectangular and medium sized. The last period of the Early Bronze Age produced broad types of ornaments (loop rings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants especially made of copper, gold, silver and bronze in particular).

Вербичоарская культура была определена в 1949 г. при раскопках эпонимного памятника. Первоначально её приняли за западные комплексы печицкой или ватинской культур, пришедших в Олтению и вытеснивших шнекенбергскую культуру на восток. Regarding the burial custom, it was considered the beginning of the burial of the dead, then the third phase to be held cremation practice. Based on material content, Verbicioara culture was divided in five phases.

In the Middle Bronze Age (ca.2200-1600/1500 BCE), the population of Romania and neighboring countries was demarcated by the appearance of several major cultures. Some that stand out include the Otomani culture (seen also in Slovakia), Wietenberg culture (seen in Transylvania), Mureş culture, and Gârla Mare culture (from which impressive clay figurines and statuettes have been found).

Религия

Артефакты Витенбергской культуры. Национальный музей истории Трансильвании, г. Клуж-Напока

The Bronze Age introduced solar, or Uranian, cults. Some ornaments, considered to be solar symbols, were frequently pictured on ceramic or metal parts: concentric circles, circles accompanied by rays, and the swastika. Cremation itself is considered to be connected to these cults.

На территории Румынии известно 3 святилища бронзового века: Сэлача, округ Бихор (Отоманская культура, стадия II), Гырла-Маре, округ Мехединць (культура Balej-Gârla Mare culture) и Сэрата-Монтеору, округ Бузэу (культура Монтеору). A Wietenberg culture, Phase II, place of worship has also been found at Oarța de Sus, Maramureş County.

По сравнению с неолитом, в бронзовом веке антропоморфное искусство представлено намного реже. The only cultures of this area well represented in this regard are the Gârla Mare Zuto Brdo culture and the Bijelo Szeremle Brdo-Dalj culture (also present in Hungary and Croatia). About 340 pieces were found in the area of the two cultures, of which 244 are in the Gârla Mare area.

Clay miniature axes (axes, hammers or double axes) belonging to this period have been found. Labrys double-axes are frequently found in the Cretan and Mycenaean worlds, where it occurs most often in complex rituals and tombs (for example the Tomb of double ax of Knossos). In the Mycenaean space it can have a wide range of sizes, from miniature to giant forms of 1.20 metres. However, the labrys site is frequently associated with the moon and can be a symbol of a goddess of vegetation, the forerunner of Demeter, which is depicted on Mycenaean seals placed under a tree. The goddess has an ax in her hand and receives as gifts poppies and fruits.

Железный век

1100 г. до н. э. — 150 г. н. э.

Кельтское влияние

The First Iron Age period, also called the Halstatt (after the finds in the locality of Hallstatt, Austria) covers the 10th to 5th centuries BC (1000—400 BC) and is divided into three periods: early (1000—700 BC), middle (700—600 BC) and late (600—400 BC). The Second Iron Age, also called La Tène, generally covers the period between 450 BC and the peak of Roman Empire.

The defining phenomenon of the epoch is the use of iron with a paramount impact on humanity’s subsequent evolution.

Киммерийцы

В VIII веке до н. э. на территорию Румынии с востока вторглись киммерийцы.

Гето-даки

Основные статьи: Даки, Дакия и Геты

The Helmet of Coţofeneşti — a full gold Geto-Dacian helmet dating from the first half of the 4th century BC, currently at the National Museum of Romanian History

В отличие от разнородности культур предшествующих эпох, железный век на территории Румынии характерен своей впервые появившейся однородностью, что было результатом возникновения и широкого распространения новой культуры чёрной керамики, украшенной канавками. This cultural homogenization in the First Iron Age represents essentially the material proof of the constitution within the Carpathian Danubian space of the early Geto-Dacians, who are culturally distinguishable from the southern Thracians and the other neighboring peoples. We are told this by the father of history himself—Herodotus. Recounting the Persian king Darius’ expedition to the mouth of the Danube in 514 BC he mentions the Getae, praising them for their valour.

Over 600 sites are known so far across the territory of Transylvania from the First Iron Age. Most sites were occupied during all stages of this epoch. Twenty-six fortifications, some inhabited permanently, others used for refuge and defense in times of peril, are among the more remarkable.

The fortified settlements and the refuge fortifications were usually located on inaccessible elevations and close to water courses and fertile areas. Their sizes vary with the location and its possibilities. For instance, the fortified settlement at Sântana (Arad County) with an area of approximately 100 hectares or those at Ciceu-Corabia (Bistriţa-Năsăud County) and Teleac (Alba County), each measuring 30 hectares, count among the largest in Europe. The first Iron Age fortifications are also known in the county of Cluj, in Dej, Huedin and Someşul Rece.

The sanctuaries at Sarmizegetusa Regia, the capital of ancient Dacia

The defense systems surrounding these regular strongholds consisted of a ditch, rampart and palisade, the last of which was designed as a wooden wall erected on the ridge of the rampart representing the most important part of the system. So designed, the fortifications generally measured 7-8 m in height, but could reach 10-12 making them difficult to conquer.

As tribal centers, the fortified settlements had multiple functions, the foremost of which was to ensure the defense of the community. The discovery of metallurgical workshops for manufacturing tools indicates that the settlements housed skilled craft activities, which included permanent exchange relations.

Agriculture was still the main pursuit in the First Iron Age and supplied food for the communities. Finding charred seeds indicates the cultivation of wheat, barley, rye, millet, as well hemp for linen, while the large size pots and the storage pits indicate how the harvests were preserved. The emergence of the first iron farming implements, scythes and grubbing hoes, indicate notable progress in the agricultural practice.

The large quantity of bones discovered in the settlements, most originating from domestic animals, cattle, sheep, swine—as well as game—indicate the importance of domestic animals to supplement hunting, as well as the importance of meat in the daily diet.

Finally, besides some such crafts as metallurgy which imply special skill, members of every family engaged in a series of activities such as weaving, spinning, and leather dressing, shown by the discovery in the dwellings of spindle, spools, sewing needles, and scrapers for cleaning hide.

The occurrence of decorations on a large number of vessels, the most perishable of categories, as well as on numerous body ornaments (hair pins, fibulae and others) shows that in the First Iron Age the artistic phenomenon was manifested especially in decorative art as geometric patterns.

Dacian blacksmith workshop including tongs, sledgehammer, bellows, anvil. In display at the Orăştie Ethnography Museum, Orăştie

Religion was demonstrably a daily presence in prehistoric communities. Thus, besides the magic practice and the fertility cult of ancient tradition, the depositing of offerings in appropriate ground holes, as well as the representations linked to the Sun cult, foreshadow the two components: chtonian and Urano-solar to become the characteristics of the Geto-Dacian religion in the classical period.

During the First Iron Age, the local culture was influenced by neighboring areas. Midway through the epoch, on the middle course of the Mureş River there arrived from Banat elements of a culture called Basarabi. Displaying ceramics with specific decorations (incised and impressed), the culture was assimilated by the autochthonous background.

Subsequently, at the beginning of the late period of this epoch (6th century BC), a group of Scythian-Iranian extraction came into Transylvania from the direction of the North-Pontic. This group is marked by a series of inhumation graves with a typical inventory: arrow heads, lances called akinakai, and animal art representations. Research shows that in about the mid-5th century BC this group disappears through assimilation into the local culture. Actually, the end of the century also delimits the First Iron Age. During the following centuries the Geto-Dacians would attain a level of development that would lead them to form a state.

См. также

• en:Ancient history of Transylvania

См. также

• Доисторический Карпато-Балканский регион

Литература

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Ссылки

• en:Prehistoric Transilvania — статья в английской Википедии, содержит большую часть материала данной статьи
• Карты доисторических культур Балкан

Категория:Доисторический Карпато-Балканский регион Категория:Археология в Румынии