The Oxford Handbook of Neolithic Europe

by Chris Fowler

  EARLY TO MIDDLE COPPER AGE7 (C. 4500–3500 BC)

  The eastern Balkans

  In the eastern Balkans, the period after 4500 BC, termed the Kodžadermen- Gumelniţa-Karanovo VI (or KGK VI) culture complex, largely continues earlier trends. New tell settlements appear and various regional groups across south-east Europe came to share certain cultural elements. In the eastern Balkans in particular, there are stronger continuities with previous late Neolithic developments than in areas to the west. Extramural cemeteries continue, such as Durankulak and Varna I on the Black Sea coast, well known for its spectacular gold, copper, and Spondylus finds (Ivanov 2000). Some burials show traces of possible organic coverings (textile or hides) and wooden planks (coffins?); as at the contemporaneous Devnja cemetery (Todorova and Simeonova 1971). At Durankulak many burials were covered by stone slabs (e.g. Fig. 49.4b; Todorova 2002; Boyadžiev 2008), indicating the continuity of local mortuary rites. At both Varna I and Durankulak, lumps of ochre were found in several burials. One-third of burials (primarily male) at both these sites were found in extended supine positions, with a further 20–30 per cent in flexed positions on their right sides (primarily female). Most are oriented with their head to the north or north-east. There are also cenotaphs, and these are among the richest burials on site (Lichter 2001, 94). There is a correlation between the number of vessels and the age of individuals (e.g. child burials never have more than two vessels), but even in the richest burials, ceramics were poorly fired compared to those from settlements. As in the late Neolithic, tools (of copper, stone, flint, or red deer antler) were mainly found with male individuals, particularly around the right shoulder (e.g. Fig. 49.4a), indicating a specific male embodiment shared by the contemporaneous communities of the region (see below).

  FIG. 49.4. Varna culture phase: (a) female Burial 245 and (b) male Burial 404 from Durankulak (adapted after Todorova 2002, tab. 23 and 58).

  FIG. 49.5. Map showing areas with Neolithic and Copper Age cemeteries containing extended supine burials as possible indications of Mesolithic mortuary rites in Muntenia, north-east Bulgaria and Dobrudža; shaded areas indicate zones of primary Neolithization in these regions (adopted after Lichter 2001, fig. 71).

  More artefacts and exotic ornaments were found with the 294 inhumations at Varna I than at any other cemetery. The burials richest in copper and gold objects were extended supine burials, alongside a number of cenotaphs and disarticulated burials from the south-east of the cemetery.

  The iconic Varna burial 43 received several copper axes and chisels, an antler pick/axe, and various golden appliqués, possibly attached to clothing, including the exceptional golden penis sheath. Recent isotopic analyses of Varna I and Durankulak single out Varna 43 on the basis of higher trophic levels, suggesting that this individual consumed more marine protein (Honch et al. 2006). Recent direct AMS dating of 18 out of 300 Varna I burials suggests a relatively short use of this burial ground from around 4560 to 4450 BC (Higham et al. 2007). The dates are earlier than expected on the basis of typological studies and suggest that the richest burials were among the first to be interred. Keeping in mind their extraordinary richness compared to neighbouring areas or earlier periods, what caused such a rapid change in the canons of social representation and the ability of particular individuals to accumulate goods is enigmatic. Varna is used to suggest the first incipient hierarchical and hereditary social structure in European prehistory (e.g. Chapman 1983, 1991; Renfrew 1978), but perhaps it is more fruitful to discuss the opportunities for self-representation and particular types of embodiment that this burial record offers.

  Cemeteries have also been found in the hinterland of north-east Bulgaria and in Romanian Muntenia. They belong to the Gumelniţa culture group and consist of both extramural cemeteries (e.g. Goljamo Delčevo, Vinica, Tărgovište) and groups of burials in settlements (e.g. Junacite; Mazanova 1992). Some single burials (mainly children) or disarticulated human bones (mostly skulls) are also found in settlements and may have been relics (for details see Lichter 2001, 85–86). In contrast to the Varna culture, around 80 per cent of Gumelniţa burials, males and females, were left crouched (Radunčeva 1976) with head to the east or south-east. Cenotaphs were discovered at Goljamo Delčevo (Todorova et al. 1975) and Vinica. On average, there were fewer and lower quality vessels the further away a site lies from the coastal area. Copper axes are completely lacking, and stone examples are found primarily in male burials. There are a number of copper, gold, and Spondylus ornaments, but overall the Gumelniţa graves are ‘poor cousins’. Some regularity can be observed in the spatial division between male (eastern) and female with children (western) parts of the cemeteries at Goljamo Delčevo and Tărgovište (Lichter 2001, 125–126).

  In the central Balkans and the Carpathian Basin, the burials of the Sălcuţa culture were primarily found in Oltenia and in the Danube Gorges. An early lone Sălcuţa burial (phase I–II) from Lepenski Vir (Letica 1970) has been dated to c. 4300 BC (see Borić 2009, 237). The fifteen probable Sălcuţa burials at Gârlești (Nica 1994) were flexed on their right or left sides. The only grave goods, some copper beads, were associated with two children. The largest number of burials (50 with 54 individuals) were found at the later Sălcuţa cemetery of Ostrovul Corbului (Roman 1996). Most were flexed on their left, some on their right, and eastern orientations dominate. Several so-called Milchtopf vessels could indicate contacts with the Carpathian Basin and the Bodrogkeresztúr complex. Flint and obsidian blades and shell, copper, and gold ornaments were found in several graves.

  The Carpathian Basin

  With the beginning of the early Copper Age, a new style of pottery known as Tiszapolgár became dominant across the Alföld and the southern Carpathians. Settlement organization changed and numerous extramural cemeteries appeared. It has been suggested that large cemeteries, such as Tiszapolgár-Basatanya (Bognár-Kutzián 1963, 1972), were established and shared by distant contemporaneous settlements (e.g. Chapman 2000, 75). Yet newly investigated settlements such as Polgár-Bosnyákdomb and Polgár-Cibó-hát (Raczky and Anders 2009) were only 1–2km from Tiszapolgár-Basatanya. Other sites, such as Tibava (Šiška 1964) or Hajdúszoboszló, yielded individual burials on their periphery or in their immediate vicinity, and there are occasional intramural burials (e.g. Hódmezővásárhely-Bodzáspart (Bognár-Kutzián 1972, 37, 67–68), Tiszaföldvár (Siklódi 1983, 13), Tiszaug (Bognár-Kutzián 1963, 101–102)). Parts of some late Neolithic tells, still inhabited, were used as burial grounds (e.g. Vésztő-Mágor: Farkas 1974). There are also double burials, generally of an adult and a child (e.g. Tibava, Tiszapolgár-Basatanya).

  Burials in the cemeteries of Tibava and Tiszapolgár-Basatanya were placed north–south in rows, whilst at Ve’lké Raškovce (Nevizánsky 1984) burials were found in groups. The position of Tiszapolgár burials is differentiated by sex/gender: male burials are placed on the right side, females on the left. Where burials are extended, as at Tiszapolgár-Basatanya, males generally have their heads turned to the right and females to the left. Children equally follow this trend. This pattern indicates the continuity of older burial traditions with possible roots in Mesolithic burial practices, but also a strongly imposed norm of sex/gender differentiation expressed through binary oppositions of left-female (facing north) and right-male (facing south). The main orientation is with head to the east, perhaps again representing older burial traditions. Cremations were found at Tibava and Ve’lké Raškovce and two cenotaphs at Tiszapolgár-Basatanya, one containing a pig mandible and ceramic vessels, reminiscent of some late Neolithic burials of the Carpathian Basin.

  Ceramic vessels are the most frequent burial goods, with eastern Slovakia boasting more vessels per burial than areas further south (e.g. at Tibava, several burials had more than 15 vessels). The pottery is usually of high quality. Mainly adult male burials were also furnished with axes, adzes, copper, stone or antler chisels, obsidian blades, large flint nodules, copper shaft-hole axes, and wild boar tusks. Golden rings and pend
ants were found only in male burials in east Slovakia. On the other hand, copper finger-rings were primarily with females, and strings of beads, reminiscent of older Lengyel artefacts, were with adult women and girls. Copper, shell, and limestone beads occur in both male and female burials. Copper spiral arm-bands mostly occur with males. At Tiszapolgár-Basatanya, domestic pigs and wild boar mandibles accompanied male individuals; five males had whole dog skeletons placed near their legs.

  The contemporary Decea Mureşului group of Transylvania is characterized by burials placed on their backs, with lightly flexed legs and heads toward the south-west. The dating of a burial with a granite mace-head to the second half of the fifth millennium BC (Govedarica 2004) suggests contemporaneity with Tiszapolgár burials. Ceramics, lumps of ochre, long flint blades, and copper awls were found in several burials, alongside copper beads and necklaces and worked Unio sp. shells forming belt chains. Child burials are separated from adults and never receive copper awls. Various elements indicate continuities with late Neolithic Iclod and possible influences from the steppe regions to the east (see Lichter 2001, 298–304). In the western Carpathians, Transdanubia, and western Slovakia, intramural burials of the Brodzany-Nitra phase of the Lengyel culture complex are known (e.g. Nevizánsky 1985, 75; Raczky 1974).

  It is generally believed that the early Copper Age Tiszapolgár complex in the eastern Carpathian Basin is followed by the middle Copper Age Bodrogkeresztúr complex, but both older and new dates (Csányi et al. 2009; Raczky and Siklósi 2013; Yerkes et al. 2009) indicate an overlap between both phases from 4500 to 4000 BC. Cemeteries with Bodrogkeresztúr pottery are also very similar to Tiszapolgár burials, as males are primarily crouched and on their right with women crouched on their left. Tiszapolgár-Basatanya contains 94 burials attributed to the Bodrogkeresztúr phase and exhibits significant continuities from the Tiszapolgár ‘phase’, such as the predominantly western orientation of burials. Osteological analysis indicates the predominance of adult individuals over children (Lichter 2001, 314–316). The rare multiple burials usually contain an adult female (perhaps a mother?) with a child. Traces of fire and ochre are occasionally found. Only a handful of burials can be identified as cremations and cenotaphs, whilt partial or disarticulated bones may indicate occasional exhumations. Cemeteries usually have regular rows of graves running north–south, with the burials generally placed with the head to the east. It has been estimated that cemeteries served communities of less than 50 people (Meisenheimer 1989, 65–69).

  Around 50% of all Bodrogkeresztúr burials have between one and three vessels per burial, whilst about one-third have between four and six vessels, and some up to 12 vessels. It is rare to have none. Females tend to have more pottery than males. One of the most recognizable characteristics of Bodrogkeresztúr burials are the so-called Milchtopf vessels, often forming a set with a small cup. Shaft-hole axes, adzes, mace-heads, and chisels of copper, stone, or antler were relatively rare. At each of the larger cemeteries there are one or two adult males with a copper and/or stone shaft-hole axe. Copper knives, flint and obsidian blades, and copper awls were found with about two thirds of right crouched males, mostly adults. Wild boar tusk blades were almost always found in male burials. The older, late Neolithic practice of placing pig mandibles in male burials survives during the Copper Age of the upper Tisza region (e.g. Patay 1978), but is also found in some burials placed on their left sides. Pointed bone and antler tools, as well as pebbles, are usually found in female burials. As with Tiszapolgár burials, adult females and girls can have identical types of grave offerings, including the rare gold ornaments found at cemeteries. More common were marble or limestone beads near the hands, feet, belt, knees, or neck of deceased women. The exceptional girdle from Szihalom-Pamlényi-tábla consisted of around 5,500 Spondylus beads in several rows (Raczky et al. 1997, 51–53). Copper rings and arm-bands were also found. Many burials, mostly right crouched ones, also contained parts of sheep/goat, cattle, and pig. Only a few children were accompanied by such remains.

  In sum, as no child burials were found with stone or copper shaft-hole axes, and assuming that these axes represent status distinctions, it seems that status for males was not hereditary but achieved through life. In contrast, gold objects are found both in burials of female adults and likely female juveniles, indicating hereditary status transmitted through the matriline. Yet, whilst these patterns are attractive for reconstructing social structure, living society and the mortuary domain are non-isomorphic and must be understood in their own right.

  The middle Copper Age Lažňany group of eastern Slovakia shows affinities with the Bodrogkeresztúr type of burials, but several cemeteries (e.g. Barca, Lažňany, Šebastovce: Šiška 1972) have crouched inhumations and cremations in approximately equal numbers. As a rule, cremations were not associated with copper artefacts and had fewer flint or obsidian tools than inhumations, which were accompanied by copper knives (right-sided burials) and copper arm-bands and beads (left-sided burials). In contrast, the western Slovakian Ludanice culture group (see Točik 1991; also Pavúk and Bátora 1995) does not obey strong gendered differences, and most burials come from settlement pits. There are both left and right flexed burials, generally with westerly orientations. Commonly, one to two vessels are found per burial. Both males and females could receive stone adzes or flint and obsidian blades. Some left-sided burials had small copper ornaments and Spondylus and marble beads. Animal bones accompanied some of the deceased.

  Finally, the Balaton-Lasinja group in southern areas and on the edge of the western Carpathian Basin has yielded several settlement burials. However, the largest number of individuals (25) came from the cave site of Ajdovska Jama, where the bones of males, females, and children were mixed with animal bones and other cultural material (cf. Bonsall et al. 2007). The nature of these deposits is open to speculation.

  ORIGIN MYTHS, TASKSCAPES, BODY SURFACES

  Three main aspects of the mortuary evidence from Neolithic and early–mid Copper Age south-east Europe can be singled out: i) the survival of older burial traits across the region; ii) tools/weapons placed in the construction of desirable personhoods; and iii) the social construction of body surfaces by ornaments.

  Whilst the new early–middle Neolithic burial practices represent a discontinuity from Mesolithic burial traditions, especially with regard to body position, the late Neolithic sees a resurgence of extended inhumations, which at certain sites co-exist with flexed burials, and can even dominate. This phenomenon occurs across south-east Europe, but extended inhumations have not been found in the core region of the Neolithic Balkans and instead concentrate in areas where the first Neolithic communities appear only from the second half of the sixth millennium BC, such as the Black Sea coast, Dobrudža, and Muntenia in the eastern Balkans, and the northern Tisza region and parts of Transylvania in the northern Carpathian Basin (Fig. 49.5). This suggests that the descendants of Mesolithic communities in these newly Neolithicized areas actively incorporated their origin myths and beliefs into the mortuary repertoire whilst opportunistically adopting the life-styles (food-producing economy, exchange networks, etc.) and certain beliefs (exemplified by figurines) of the first farmers. This created a hybrid cultural milieu. Moreover, whilst the orientation of supine burials varies, there is a slight preference for northern and western orientations, whilst eastern and southern orientations dominate for flexed inhumations, possibly suggesting the mythical origin of these different traditions. Apart from body position and orientation, red deer canine ornaments are more frequent with extended inhumations, indicating a revival or continuity of decorative traditions widespread in Mesolithic Eurasia. Yet such ornaments often occur in the same burials as beads of a Neolithic tradition (e.g. made of Spondylus, limestone, etc.). Areas of south-east Europe incorporated into an expanding network of Neolithic communities only after around 5400 BC may have had more resilient Mesolithic beliefs and customs.

  Certain burial offerings appear for the first time in the
late Neolithic. They set the standard for iconographic representations of gendered categories and persons across south-east Europe. Therefore, the appearance of stone, copper, and antler axes and adzes primarily in male burials and the ornament-rich burials of certain women and children could be interpreted in ways other than as wealth or status indicators. The assumption that the number and quality of burial offerings directly correlate to social positioning in life is now considered methodologically flawed. An obsessive focus on recognizing incipient social inequality within an evolutionary scheme is similarly problematic. It would be more interesting to use burial offerings to explore the structuring of gendered and age-related roles in a society, or as ways of creating social personae based on the taskscape, the everyday activities possible in a specific landscape and social milieu (cf. Ingold 1993).