Cattle and Sheep Herding at Cheia Romania, at the Turn of the Fifth Millennium cal BC (original) (raw)

Defined by , when archaeological excavations were conducted at the eponymous site, the Hamangia culture in Romania and Bulgaria has seen limited archaeological research over the last half century. The particularities of the Hamangia culture, including its genesis, its periodisation, the degree of mobility of these communities and the intercultural exchange dynamics all remain to be further deepened. In this effort, a particularly important step was the work conducted at the cemetery of Durankulak, where the layout of space and the funeral inventory showed the existence of a complex social organisation . For a long time, Hamangia communities were characterised by conservatism and isolation. The intercultural relationships were considered unidirectional, from neighbouring communities to the Hamangia area, as exchanges or even displacement of communities (Boian, Precucuteni, Marica) , Slavchev 2004. However, the archaeological finds of the last two decades have revealed the presence of specific Hamangia items -clay figurines and fine pieces of Spondylus -beyond the line of the Danube in the Romanian plain, in north-east Muntenia and southern Moldova .