Same Shape, Different Meanings? Original and Imitation among Body Ornamenting Items of the Ariuşd-Cucuteni-Tripolye Cultural Complex, in C.-E. Ursu, A. Poruciuc, C.-M. Lazarovici (eds.), Symbols and Signs as a Communication System. In Memory of Gheorghe Dumitroaia (original) (raw)
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Documenta Praehistorica, 2019
The Necropolis of Chirnogi-Suvita Iorgulescu (Calarasi county) was located on the high terrace of the Danube and was investigated by Done Serbanescu (in 1989) by means of the archaeological excavations carried out for the construction of the Danube-Bucharest Channel. For this study, we analysed the archaeological assemblage preserved in the Museum of Gumelnita civilization from Oltenita (Calarasi county) coming from 10 graves, out of a total of 58, which are attributed to the Gumelnita culture (the second half of the 5 th millennium BC). The personal adornments are mainly bracelets made of Spondylus valve (16 specimens) which appear in most of the graves, along with an equal number of perforated plates made of Sus scrofa canine, this time the pieces being grouped into two graves. The funeral inventory is complemented by small cylindrical, tubular or biconvex beads, made of various raw materials: Spondylus valve, bone, malachite, coop-er and green slate. At the technical level, attention is drawn towards the technological transformation scheme of the raw material, which is extremely uniform for the two main categories of ornaments. Also, the analysed pieces showed different degrees of use-wear, demonstrating on the one hand that they were worn before the deposition in graves, and on the other that the accumulation of these items took place over time.
The paper proposes an interpretation of ornamental patterns in Tripolye-Cucuteni pottery. In the past decades, abstract and geometric ornamental motifs have often been viewed quite subjectively as images of the ‘moonfaced Goddess’, the ‘world egg’, ‘shells’, etc. The meaning of the ornamentation has been reconstructed on the basis of various ethnographic analogies, usually rather distant from the material under study. Within the framework of the structural-semiotic approach, the ornamentation has been analysed as a sign system or proto-writing where each element or motif is supposed to have a particular meaning. However, careful study of the dynamics inherent in the development of ornamental patterns shows that such interpretation cannot really be substantiated. Most signs seem to have been elements of technical design. The patterns were mostly created by dividing ornamented areas and not by building whole sequences of signs as it is done in texts. What was meaningful was the ornament itself as an integrated whole, not its elements. Ethnographic evidence shows that interpretation of identical motifs may vary considerably even within the same society. This has been confirmed by the author’s study of variation in the Tripolye patterns, which seem to have no unambiguous meaning. The main areas of future research lie in paleo-ethnological and paleo-cultural studies, where ornamental patterns are regarded as specific markers which reflect changes in the ethnic composition and social structure of prehistoric communities, and which provide information about interactions between different human groups.
2024
The main approaches for the study of Tripolye-Cucuteni painted ornaments Elena Starkova | Get into the groove: Decorative techniques and motifs on the Late Eneolithic pottery from the site of Adžine Njive (Western Serbia) Marija Svilar, Dragan Milanović, Miroslav Kočić | The development of ceramic decoration at the Late Bronze Age settlement of Hlyboke Ozero-2: Can we learn more with data mining methods? Anastasiia Korokhina | Apulo-Lucanian Hellenistic Ware. An entangled node between Aegean and Italic pottery production Carlo De Mitri | Ars ornamentum: Analysis of the decorative repertoire present on the tin-glazed wares of southern production from Cencelle (VT) Flora Miele MESSAGES AND MEANINGS | Double zigzag decoration in the Prehistory of Eastern Europe Nadezhda Kotova and Simon Radchenko | Pottery Function and Use: A Diachronic Perspective | Mixed pottery traditions in the 5 th millennium western Serbia: Insights from the site of Šanac-Izba near Lipolist Jasna Vuković and Boban Tripković | Trapped in the aesthetics: Understanding style and decoration of handmade pottery in Albania Esmeralda Agolli | Shapes and meanings. A preliminary study of the matt-painted pottery decorations and their role in the communication systems of ancient communities in Southern Italy (mid-7 th to mid-5 th century BC) Cesare Vita | Transformation of pottery styles during the formation of kingdoms. A Scandinavian example from c. 500-800 AD Thomas Eriksson | Stick figures on early medieval pottery vessels Ivan Bugarski | Message on the pot: Sgraffito pottery decoration and group identities in the medieval Balkans Vesna Bikić DECORATIVE STYLES AND CULTURAL INTERACTIONS | Rocky Road to Sokolica: Middle Bronze Age pottery in Central Serbia from Vatin to Bubanj-Hum IV-Ljuljaci Culture Marija Ljuština and Katarina Dmitrović | Basarabi decorative style as a material culture trait of the initial stages of the Early Iron Age in the western parts of the Serbian Danube region Ivan Ninčić
Die Cucuteni-Kultur und ihre südlichen Nachbarn Forschungsgeschichte – Kulturbeziehungen – offene Fragen. Herausgegeben von George Bodi, Blagoje Govedarica, Svend Hansen, Alexander Rubel und Constantin-Emil Ursu, 2020
By the term of treasures, the authors define the assemblages of objects used in ritual purpose and kept together, which proves that the group of artefacts (regardless of the raw material from which they were made) had a special value (material / spiritual) within the community that created and used them. These sets can be found in several forms: • in a storage state (usually in a terracotta container) within a building – ideal situation for interpretation, as it indicates the exact composition in terms of numbers and categories of artefacts; • in a display state, probably during a ceremony, held usually around the fireplace– where there is some uncertainty about the exact composition of the assemblage, due to possible intervention of subsequent factors; • buried, as a foundation offering, usually deposited in a container – also an ideal situation for the archaeological interpretation; • discarded (often with pieces in a fragmentary state), after the ceremony for which it was created – in which case the composition can only be roughly estimated. The paper focuses on two levels: a) the presentation and the analysis of the treasures discovered in the Precucuteni-Cucuteni area from Romania; b) the comparison with other treasures discovered in the southern areas of the cultural complexes Vinča and Gumelniţa-Karanovo V-VI. This particular space coincides with the one of the factors that contributed to the formation and evolution of the Precucuteni-Cucuteni cultural complex, being at the same time the area with which Precucuteni-Cucuteni populations have maintained close ties throughout its existence. The analysis takes into account the evolutionary aspect of the composition of these treasures, which reflect certain changes of the mentality and structures within these communities, throughout their history of about a millennium and a half. The similarities and the differences between these treasures must therefore take into account both the spatial, and the chronological-cultural aspects. A number of recently expressed views bring to the fore the social significance of these assemblages (in terms of gender, kin, hierarchy, agency etc.), often obstinately denying, up to the limit of absurd, any of their spiritual implications. Unlike these approaches, our analysis focuses on the symbolic and magical-religious meaning of the treasures, considering their creation and use as an evidence of the syncretic actions of prehistoric communities. In other words, to reconstruct the life of a Chalcolithic community, the spiritual element cannot be separated / ignored / denied; it is always present and determines decisions about all other aspects – social, economic, artistic. To disregard this fact does not mean to absolve the archaeological interpretation of the so-called cultural-historical sins, but it means instead to diminish it and, moreover, it means underestimating the organic complexity of the actions and the experiences of the prehistoric people.
SCIENCE BEYOND BOUNDARIES II / Nauka bez granica II, medjunarodni tematski zbornik, 2019
The growing interest in the period of Late Antiquity and the place objects of applied art have gained within the framework of contemporary visual culture studies served as reasons for re-examining the role and iconographic solution on a group of Late Antique objects. These include two lamps kept at the Belgrade City Museum, a reliquary from the National Institute of Archaeology and Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NIAM-BAS) in Sofia and a cameo from the collection of the National Museum in Belgrade. One of the lamps from the Belgrade City Museum is decorated with the representation of a bearded man on the disc. On other objects, we encounter a cross flanked by figures identified as St Constantine and Helen. There are no known analogies for the lamp with a bearded male portrait from the Belgrade City Museum. Judging by the craftsmanship, the lamp is of North African provenance, produced at Sidi Marzouk Tounsi in the fifth century. The figure on the disc has been identified as both Christ or the emperor Julian the Apostate, the latter version being adopted by a number of authors. Still, the provenance and date of these objects disprove both identifications. The iconographic solution does not correspond to the type of a beardless Christ appearing on the lamps of this period. On the other hand, it is difficult to imagine the mass production of objects depicting the apostate emperor in the time of the anti-pagan measures of Theodosius and his successors, as well as in the spiritual climate of the North African provinces marked by the personality of Augustine of Hippo. Comparisons with other, accurately identified portraits of Julian, demonstrate that he is always shown bearing prominent imperial insignia, primarily a diadem and a fibula adorned with precious stones. However, the figure depicted on the lamp shows similarities with the description of the Neopythagorean philosopher Apollonios of Tyana and the portrait on the contourniate issued in Rome at the end of the fourth century. An ascetic, miracle worker and healer, Apollonios was the subject of controversy between Christians and pagans in Late Antiquity. Whereas pagan circles regarded him as a holy man, Christians perceived Apollonios as a threat to the authority of Christ the Miracle Worker, yet acknowledging him some qualities due to the spirituality and ascetic life he was leading. We meet the same ambivalent attitude towards Apollonios in Augustus, who mentiones him in two of his epistles. As for the objects showing figures flanking the cross, which have been thought to represent St Constantine and Helen, it turned out that in all three cases, the identification was imprecise or insufficiently substantiated. On the basis of analogies from Athens and Florence, the Egyptian provenance of the lamp from the Belgrade City Museum has been established. The iconographic details of the representation, above all the naked and accentuated breasts of a female figure, suggest that the scene depicts St Thecla and Minas. Thecla was a saint from Asia Minor, whose cult spread throughout the Mediterranean in the fourth century. It was particularly accepted in Egypt, where Thecla was associated with St Minas, a well-venerated Egyptian saint and miracle worker. The connection between the two cults and their popularity in Egypt from the forth to the seventh centuries can be confirmed by written sources and pilgrimage items depicting St Minas and Thecla, appearing individually or together, in several iconographic variants. Regarding the reliquary from Yabalkovo, we may still find sources supporting the claim that St Constantine and Helen are shown on the lid of a silver box, despite the fact that already in 1990 Vikan pointed to the analogy with the engagement and wedding rings, based on the inscription OMONOIA and a pair of busts, male and female, flanking the cross. The inscription and form of the representation speak in favour of the thesis of a married couple on a small chest that was part of the bride’s trousseau. The context of the finding indicates that the object was secondarily used as a reliquary. Intaglio of jasper, today housed at the National Museum in Belgrade, is decorated with a delicate and very stylised representation of a cross flanked by figures. There are not enough elements to determine whether the figures be male and female or two males. The formal and stylistic details point to Sassanid art production. Although we cannot completely reject the possibility that the figures show St Constantine and Helen, the existing analogies suggest two male figures, possibly the Apostles Peter and Paul. When it comes to the cultural climate of Late Antiquity, a group of seemingly unrelated objects appears illustrative enough. They reveal the simultaneous persistence of pagan and Christian traditions, the Christianisation of pagan customs, and the way secular objects gain cultic purpose by means of recontextualization. A lamp with orants is a confirmation of the widespread pilgrimage practice, while the cameo from the National Museum in Belgrade attests to the interculturality of the period.
Acta Musei Tiberipolitani, nr. 3,, 2019
Anthropomorphic representations are part of the complex manifestations of spiritual life of the Cucuteni Culture communities, at the end of the Neolithic civilization. Their knowledge and interpretation remains, therefore, a necessary component in understanding the daily life of man at that time, but also of the manifestations that underpin the collective mentality of the bearers of this brilliant culture. In the analysis of the religious phenomenon of the Cucuteni culture communities, the anthropomorphic representations play an important role alongside painted ceramics, both because it is one of the few categories of artifacts that have been preserved very well over time. Considering the impressive number and direct iconographic message they represent one of the most importat artifacts, which show us some sort of mentality and abstract ideeas. The figurines and the statuettes represent sometimes symbolic meanings, easy to perceive and with a strong impact on the viewer. The statuettes from Cucuteni A-B phase have as a general characteristic the tendency to elongate the body, even if this occurs gradually. The renunciation of the burly woman's archetype, in favor of the young woman (nubile virgin) occurs mainly in stage A-B2, when the statuettes become thinner and the body flattens and elongates. We notice a reduction in the size of the thighs and hips and a flattening of the feet, both for male and female statuettes. Some of the feminine representations have several incised or painted representation of the sexual triangle, several of them ephasised in the shape of a large apron. These were made using incisions and small dots. From excavations and field surveys were recovered several anthropomorphic statuettes which have this specific decorative pattern. The same decorative pattern was also found on a fragmented vessel, a possible representation of the woman, discovered at one of the most impressive Cucuteni A-B1 sites, Ripiceni-Holm, Botoşani County, Romania. Our presentation is discussing the statuettes decorated with aprons from Cucuteni culture and the ceramic fragment presenting the same decorative pattern. The present article is concerned with the way of representing a clothing item that appears in multiple situations on the stat-uettes belonging to the Cucuteni culture, namely the apron. Cucuteni culture is one of the few prehistoric cultures that has a rich and varied documentation referring to clothing items, considering the number and diversity of anthropomorphic representations. Regarding the frequency of occurrence of this decorative motif among the anthropomor-phic representations of women, we can say that they are quite rare. Also, from the data available so far, we can say that this article of
2015
The preventive archaeological research fulfilled on the Deva – Orăştie highway route, led us to discover a large settlement dating in Late Bronze Age. Some of the investigated features from this site contain ceramic and bone artefacts, which could have cultic role. Among these, there are animal bones such as vertebras and phalanges, some of them processed and with intense using traces. They are associated with fragmentary decorated hearths and portable stoves (pyraunoi). There are also such vessels decorated with anthropomorphic plastic applications. We consider that these artefacts had utility in rituals of some cult and also being used, probably, in shamanic practices.