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The EAA's 13th Annual Meeting in Zadar, . Session’s website: http://www.iianthropology.org/eaazadar2007.html

Thematical block ARCHAEOLOGY AND MATERIAL CULTURE: INTERPRETATION OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORDS

Session PROBLEMS OF THE SOCIAL REPRODUCTION AND OF THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE SOCIAL POWERS IN PREHISTORIC EURASIA (HOW WERE THE ADVANCEMENT AND THE SOCIAL ASTUTENESS FUELLED IN PREHISTORY?)

Organized by Lolita Nikolova (Bulgaria/USA) & Marco Merlini (Italy)

List of Participants Session’s Program Participants’ Abstracts

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Organizers

1.Lolita Nikolova, PhD (Bulgaria/USA) Affiliations: Prehistory Foundation, 30 Krivolak St, Karlovo, Bulgaria (a scholar); Department of Anthropology, University of Utah (Adjunct-assistant Professor) & International Institute of Anthropology, Salt Lake City, Utah (a scholar) E-mail: [email protected]

2.Marco Merlini (Italy) Affiliation: Global Prehistory Consortium at EURO INNOVANET, Rome, Italy & Institute of Archaeomythology, P.O. Box 1902, Sebastopol, California 95473, USA (a scholar) E-mail: [email protected]

Participants

3. Alexandra Comºa, PhD ()

1 The EAA's 13th Annual Meeting in Zadar, Croatia. Session’s website: http://www.iianthropology.org/eaazadar2007.html

Affiliation: Institute of Archaeology – Center of Thracology, Casa Academiei, 13 Septembrie St, Sector 5, Bucharest 050711, Romania E-mail: [email protected]

4. Paola Demattè, PhD (USA) Affiliations: Associate Professor, Chinese art and archaeology, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence RI, USA & Research Associate, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California. Los Angeles, CA, USA E-mails: [email protected], [email protected]

5. Paola Gnesutta, PhD (Italy) Affiliation: Socio Collaboratore dell' Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria. Collaboratrice del Dipartimento di Scienze Archeologiche della Università di Pisa, Via Galvani,1 - 56126 Pisa, Italy E-mail: [email protected]

6. Svetlana V. Ivanova, PhD (Ukraine) Affiliation: Institute of Archaeology, Odessa, Ukraine Institute of Archaeology of Ukraine, Hero of Stalingrad 12, Kiev 04210, Ukraine E-mail: [email protected]

7. Mikola Kryvaltsevich, PhD (Belarus) Affiliation: The Institute of History National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 1 Akademichnaja str., 220072 Minsk, Belarus E-mail: [email protected]

8. Cristian Schuster, PhD (Romania) Affiliation: Institute of Archaeology – Center of Thracology, Casa Academiei, 13 Septembrie St, Sector 5, Bucharest 050711, Romania E-mail: [email protected]

9. Michel Séfériadès, PhD (France) Affiliation: Laboratoire d'Anthropologie, Université de Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042- Rennes Cédex, France. E-mail : [email protected]

10. Stefan Stamenov, M.A. (Bulgaria) Affiliation: Department of Geography, Faculty of Geology and Geography, Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski (a student), 15 Tzar Osvoboditel Blvd, Sofia 1504, Bulgaria. E-mail: [email protected]

11. Stiliyan Stanimirov, M.A. (Bulgaria) Affiliation: Central Archaeological Council – Bulgaria, Sergeevi St., bl. 26, apt. 15, Zlatica 2080, Bulgaria & Professional High School of Tourism and Food Technology, 2 Slavci St., Pirdop 2070, Bulgaria (a teacher) E-mail: [email protected]

2 The EAA's 13th Annual Meeting in Zadar, Croatia. Session’s website: http://www.iianthropology.org/eaazadar2007.html

12. Alenka Tomaž (Slovenia) Affiliation: Institute for Mediterranean Heritage, Science and Research Center Koper, University of Primorska, Slovenia E-mail: [email protected]

Discussant:

Diana Gergova (Bulgaria) Affiliation: National Institute of Archaeology, Suborna 2, Sofia 1000, Bulgaria E-mail: [email protected]

SESSION’S PROGRAM

Lolita Nikolova (Bulgaria/USA) & Marco Merlini (Italy). Introduction.

Paola Gnesutta (Italy) Figurative and Abstract Themes in Mobiliar Art of the Grotta delle Settecannelle (Viterbo - Italy). Implications and Interpretations within the Context of late Culture.

Michel Séfériadès (France). Shamanism through the Balkans area during the , Eneolithic and Early Age

Marco Merlini (Italy) Did Southeastern develop a rudimentary system of writing in Neo- Eneolithic times?

Paola Demattè (USA) The origins of Chinese writing: signs and symbols in archaeological context.

Stefan Stamenov (Bulgaria) Ornament as a symbolic and social communication mean (Structure, rhythm and meaning)

Mikola Kryvaltsevich (Belarus) The Early Metal on the Territory of Belarus: Periods, Ways of Supply, Cultural and Social Implications.

Stilian Stanimorov (Bulgaria) Symbols of Power in the Prehistoric Society (According to the Archaeological Finds from the Varna Eneolithic Cemetery)

Alenka Tomaž (Croatia) The Ceramic Jewelry in the Fifth Millennium Cal BCE

Alexandra Comºa (Romania). Social Differentiation in the of Romania. An Anthropological Approach.

Svetlana V. Ivanova (Ukraine). Problems of the Social Reproduction in the Pit Grave Culture communities

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Discussion: Diana Gergova (Bulgaria) (Discussant)

PARTICIPANTS’ ABSTRACTS

Paola Gnesutta, PhD (Italy). Dipartimento di Scienze Archeologiche. Università di Pisa, Via Galvani,1 - 56126 Pisa, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]

Figurative and abstract themes in mobiliar art of the Grotta delle Settecannelle (Viterbo - Italy). Implications and interpretations within the context of late Paleolithic culture.

The Epigravettian layers of Grotta delle Settecannelle, a cave situated near Viterbo in Northern Latium, have yielded about 40 engraved objects discovered in situ, with flint instruments and faunal remains, in connection with fireplaces. Few of these incised artifacts come from the level of Evolved Epigravettian, dated to 15.700 BP, while the majority of mobiliar art was found in levels of Final Epigravettian, dated between 12700 and 12000 BP, and of late Epigravettian, dated 10.700 BP.

Two pebbles used as retouchers have engraved animal figures. The other finds, stone and bone tools, non-utilitarian objects and body ornaments are decorated with abstracts and geometric patterns that appear at a relatively early stage at Grotta delle Settecannelle.

From archaeological evidences, it is possible to assume that and religious cerimonies, were not performed in special and secret sites, but took place in the same space where daily activity was practised, as observed in “open air sanctuaries” of France and of Spain. The presence of body ornaments indicate differences of status and role inside the human group.

Technological and stylistical analysis of the engravings and of the themes represented has pointed out similarities between Settecannelle art and contemporary manifestations discovered in Italian and European sites and reveals the emergence of new spiritual conceptions, common to a large part of Europe in Tardiglacial age.

Michel Séfériadès, PhD (France) Laboratoire d'Anthropologie, Université de Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042-Rennes Cédex, France. E-mail : [email protected]

Shamanism through the Balkans area during the Neolithic, Eneolithic and Early Bonze Age

The focus of the presentation are old and recent data related generally to the ancient religions and old ways of thinking (1962, Levi-Strauss’“La pensée sauvage”) of the Balkan area from the

4 The EAA's 13th Annual Meeting in Zadar, Croatia. Session’s website: http://www.iianthropology.org/eaazadar2007.html beginning of the Neolithic period till the dawn of the Bronze Age. Most of them allow a variety of interpretations while we will test selected data against the concept of shamanism in Antiquity.

From the Late Palaeolithic Anietovka 2 on the Bug, green polished Mushrooms (probably hallicinogen?) stones from Vinca, the well known Otzaki Proto-Sesklo sherd (dancing shamans), the Gomolava and Szentes-Ilonopart dancing shamans from Serbia and Southern etc, to the Serbian and Bulgarian contemporary folk customs, such as the Sourvaraki in Pernik district, we can trace shamanistic behaviours reproduced as relics in the folklore of the South-Eastern Europe cultural heritage.

KEY WORDS – Shamanism, Europe, Balkans, Neolithic/Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

SEFERIADES M. 2002. La représentation de l'élan de la Mer Baltique au lac Baïkal". In Dolukhanov P., Séfériadès M. (sous la direction de), "Russie, carrefour de l'Homo Sapiens, les révélations de l'archéologie russe", Dossiers d'Archéologie, Dijon, n° 270, 32-37.

SEFERIADES M. 2005. Note shamanique : à propos du bucrane néolithique de Dikili-Tash (Macédoine orientale grecque). In Honorem Silvia Marinescu-Bïlcu 70 de ani, Cultura si Civilizatie la Dunarea de Jos, Calarasi, 97-114.

SEFERIADES M. (forthcoming). L’ours néolithique des Balkans.

Marco Merlini (Italy) Global Prehistory Consortium at EURO INNOVANET, Rome, Italy & Institute of Archaeomythology, P.O. Box 1902, Sebastopol, California 95473, USA (a scholar) E-mail: [email protected]

Did Southeastern Europe develop a rudimentary system of writing in Neo-Eneolithic times?

The presentation inspects the internal structuring of the sign system developed in Neo-Eneolithic times in the Danube basin exploring a database that accounts more than 3000 signs from 647 inscribed objects and 756 inscriptions according to 118 variables. The statistics from the database give new information to verify whether these cultures might have expressed an early form of writing (i.e. the so-called “Danube script”) and to investigate the organizing principles of this possible system of writing. A specific notice will be done on the overall composition of the sign inventory utilized by the communities of the prehistoric Danube civilization attempting to answer the questions How many hundreds of signs were in use?, and Which were they? The investigation of sign employment on objects according to their typology (i.e. figurines, pots cult vessels, mignon altars, spindle whorls etc.), and the frequency of sign use with the regional differences and the time frame will be also discussed in broader social and cultural context according to the topic of the session.

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Paola Demattè, PhD (USA) Associate Professor, Chinese art and archaeology, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence RI, USA & Research Associate, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California. Los Angeles, CA, USA. E-mails: [email protected], [email protected]

The origins of Chinese writing: signs and symbols in archaeological context

The earliest deciphered and widely accepted form of writing from China are the late oracle bones inscriptions (ca. 1300 cal bce). While some scholars believe a number of inscriptions carved on ritual bronze vessels, , or jade may be slightly earlier (middle Shang, ca. 1500 bce), Chinese writing is generally said to have begun in the Shang dynastic period (ca. 1600-1300 bce) during the Middle Bronze Age.

This understanding of the origins of Chinese writing is based on a purely linguistic analysis of the writing phenomenon, which ignores the archaeological context and associated socio-political evidence. As a result of this linguist approach signs such as pot-marks, single graphs, indecipherable inscriptions, and pottery decorations which existed before the Shang period but whose exact linguistic value is still uncertain, are ignored. However, these Late Neolithic or early Bronze Age (ca. 3500-2000 bce) signs suggest that signing activities were well developed before full blown writing became widespread during the Shang period. In addition, archaeological evidence indicates that mature writing evolved from these earlier signing systems as a result of the increasing social and political complexity of the societies of the Late Neolithic.

This paper will analyze as number of early signing systems which may have led to the mature Chinese writing of the Shang oracle bone inscriptions, and will argue that non-linguistic visual signing (from pot-marks to pottery decorations or rock art) play a role in the development of writing systems.

Stefan Stamenov, M.A. (Bulgaria) Department of Geography, Faculty of Geology and Geography, Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski (a student), 15 Tzar Osvoboditel Blvd, Sofia 1504, Bulgaria. E-mail: [email protected]

Ornament as a symbolic and social communication mean (Structure, rhythm and meaning)

The analysis of the ornament requires destucturing two categories – composition and rhythm. The former is connected with the category of space, and the latter with the concept of time. It is well known that we have structure (or composition) in every picture. It is not so with the rhythm, which is considered specific for the art of ornament.

Investigating the structure of the ornament we can use the classical three hierarchical levels – composition, motive, element. If the ornament is geometrical the elements are represented by geometrical figures. Almost every one of them has its meaning, considered as symbolic meaning. An attempt to divide the elements to their presumable parts will lead to appearing of meaningless strokes and curves. This can be an argument that there is some level at which an image is able to transmit information. At the same time, composing a motive or group of motives shows that the

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location of the ornamental elements on the field forms patterns, that has geometrical shapes, which is an argument that the composition itself can’t be meaningless. It is also an argument that the ornamental structure consists of two parts. First part is compounded of the motives and elements that are painted on the surface. Second part consists of the composition itself, the arrangement of the motives and elements on the surface that forms shapes too, although not painted. The problem, which arise here is about the arrangement of the ornamental elements. Can we discover some rules that will predict this arrangement?

The other category, the rhythm, as it was mentioned is connected with time. The main question here is how an unmoving picture can express time. The widespread conception is that the rhythm, being repetition of similar elements has connection with the time category, which can be presented as a repetition of similar events ( natural or cultural ). But is every repetition able to create rhythm? In my opinion it is not, because the rhythm needs some regularity. Although the rhythm may be of the so-called irregular type, it is in some way regular. And since the ornament is a visual art, another question arises. Is the rhythm connected with the shape of the elements and the composition of the ornamental picture. I will try to argue that it is, and that this connection along with the logic of building ornamental structure can give us clue to the meaning of the ornamental picture.

The ornament was one of the strongest symbolic and social communication means in Prehistory when it functioned to connect communities and generations through reproduction of specific traditions or innovations and was used for distribution even of coded messages.

Mikola Kryvaltsevich, PhD (Belarus) The Institute of History National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 1 Akademichnaja str., 220072 Minsk, Belarus. E-mail: [email protected]

The Early Metal on the Territory of Belarus: Periods, Ways of Supply, Cultural and Social Implications

The territory of Belarus is stretching from the Bug region and the Prypiats catchment area to the Dzvina and the Upper Nioman regions and to the Upper Dnieper, outlying and bronze minefields explored for early raw-materials extraction.

First metal articles emerged in the Upper Dnieper region in the Middle-Dnieper Culture (MDC) burials. The MDC burial complexes containing copper and bronze articles date back to the end of III millennium BC – 1700 BC and are simultaneous with the period Br A1 (2350 – 1700 BC) of the Central European Bronze Age. Initially in the Upper Dnieper region the dominant role belonged to the metal coming from South-Eastern steppe and forest-steppe zones, primarily from the communities. Later, separate metal artefacts (including tin bronze ones) started to come from the metal work centres around Carpathians. Metal, as well as some other prestigious articles came from the communities of around Carpathians epicorded cultural area. Basing on oblique data, one can assume that separate articles could have been made directly by the MDC population.

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According to their functional use, the earliest metal articles detected on the territory of South- Eastern Belarus fit in the categories of jewellery and armour. Predominantly they are part of prestigious burial inventory complexes and accompany dead males. Metal articles as well as other rare imported artefacts (amber , faience bead, sophisticated stone articles made of imported raw materials etc.) acquired a symbolic implication emphasizing a relatively high social status of certain dead persons and kin groups they belonged to.

In other Belarusian regions, namely in Prypiats and Brest Palessie, the Upper Nioman and the Dzvina regions one can trace only occasional copper and bronze articles. The earliest of them could have been brought from Central Europe at the end of I – II Bronze Age periods (according to Northern European dating). The later spread of metal articles compared to South-Eastern Belarus can be explained by the lack of need for metal as an element of prestige. In this case it may signify that the communities residing on this territory had long been characterized by egalitarianism, preserving the traditional, sub-Neolithic mode of life.

From the III period of Bronze Age on metal articles penetrate to the territory of Belarus with grater intensity. Part of them has analogies among the articles of the Lusatian Culture. Supply routs of certain metal articles are being established from Central Europe and Baltic region. Nevertheless, bronze articles do not become abundant. These are mainly armour and jewellery.

In general, socio-cultural life on the territory of Belarus in the epoch of Central European Bronze Age was distinguished by a relatively long sub-Neolithic period. Copper and bronze articles were not in large demand, which makes one judge about certain peculiarities of social institutions’ development, some of which preserved conservatism and often remained at the level of sub- Neolithic period. Probably, only with the rise of iron industry utilizing local raw materials, one can observe the upsurge of social and cultural life as well as building of fortified settlements – hill forts.

Stiliyan Stanimirov, M.A. (Bulgaria) Central Archaeological Council – Bulgaria, Sergeevi St., bl. 26, apt. 15, Zlatica 2080, Bulgaria & Professional High School of Tourism and Food Technology, 2 Slavci St., Pirdop 2070, Bulgaria (a teacher).E-mail: [email protected]

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Symbols of Power in the Prehistoric Society (According to the Archaeological Finds from the Varna Eneolithic Cemetery)

The Varna Eneolithic Cemetery is a lurid science discovery which significance exceeds the limits of the Prehistory of the territory of modern Bulgaria.

The finds from the Varna cemetery have been curated in the Archaeological museum in Varna city where they are arranged in three exhibit halls. The larger part of the objects, as well as the most representative other types of the findings belong to three graves only. The staffs or the scepters – a symbol of the temporal power or religious authority are a distinguishing feature mark of those graves. Another group of three graves have been represented by sculptures of human faces from clay (by one in each grave). As it has been stressed the gold subjects have been appliquéd on the distinctive parts of the face - the forehead, the eyes, the mouth and the ears, as symbols of social power.

More than 3,000 discovered gold objects have a total weight of over 6 kilograms. Despite the big amount, there is a pattern and all finds can be distinguished into abt 38 different types. There is also a great number of finds from other materials - copper (over 160), flint (over 230), and abt 90 objects made of rock and marble . A multitude of nearly 1 100 ornaments - , beads and appliqués made of Mediterranean mollusks shells were found. The ceramics were quite frequently distributed as a grave inventory (over 650 earthen vessels from the excavated graves).

The pure information from the sunk settlements give no opportunity to research in depth the interrelation between the graveyard and those villages. It is possible a social and political complex has been discovered that had functioned as a center of a much bigger region.

The graves from the Varna necropolis illustrate a range of social identity in reference to the material status, the temporal power or religious authority.

Alenka Tomaž (Slovenia) Affiliation: Institute for Mediterranean Heritage, Science and Research Center Koper, University of Primorska, Slovenia. E-mail: [email protected]

The Ceramic Jewelry in the Fifth Millennium Cal BCE

Decorating the human body with different colours or ornamental items such as jewellery has been one of the most common practices since the earliest stage of the human civilization. We could say that it is old as are the human beings themselves. The oldest examples of small artificial personal ornaments were made from stones, shells, bones, antlers, etc. However, with the boom of pottery production, one of the most important technological innovations in the Neolithic period, and it wide use in the everyday life, the production of adornments took a new turn. Personal ornaments made of fired clay are relatively rare discovered from in the Neolithic period and therefore deserve a special attention; especially because they exhibit a series of elements, which can help us reconstruct some specific social and cultural aspects of past.

At Èatež–Sredno polje, which is located beside the Sava River in southern Slovenia, small personal ornaments and other parts of ceramic jewelry were discovered in settlement contexts

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dated from the first half of the fifth millennium cal BCE. Beads of different shapes made from fired clay, as well as perforated ceramic discs made from broken pots can be recognized as parts of jewelry. In our approach we are introducing some aspects of their production, use and distribution. And most importantly we are exploring a range of possible visible and invisible elements of social powers that make the personal ornaments what they are, embodying something individual on the one hand, and something social, on the other hand.

Alexandra Comºa, PhD (Romania) Affiliation: Institute of Archaeology – Center of Thracology, Casa Academiei, 13 Septembrie St, Sector 5, Bucharest 050711, Romania. E-mail: [email protected]

Social Differentiation in the Bronze Age of Romania. An Anthropological Approach.

The territory of Romania was an area of major changes during the Bronze Age and that was due to the significant population movements which occurred at that time. They resulted in more intense mixtures among the local and allogeneous communities, but also in relative changes of the funerary rituals or the appearance of new ones. Besides, in some cases, we consider that even the rite employed could be a rank mark of the individual, of course, when considering the archaeological context. Sometimes, the large families were grouped together, sometimes there were other criteria for burials.

In our paper, we try to use data regarding the sex or age category of the individuals, but also funerary aspects of ritual and rite, in order to point out the existence of a certain social stratification in the material cultures of the .

Svetlana V. Ivanova, PhD (Ukraine) Affiliation: Institute of Archaeology, Odessa, Ukraine Institute of Archaeology of Ukraine, Hero of Stalingrad 12, Kiev 04210, Ukraine E-mail: [email protected]

Problems of the Social Reproduction in the Pit Grave Culture communities

The long history of the Kurgan communities from the Early Bronze Age of Northwest Pontic and respectively the traditions of the kurgan burials provide a rich database for a detailed analysis of different aspects of the social reproduction of the prehistoric population of Eurasia. As a result of the study of the burial goods and changing dimensions of the tombs, we will offer some criteria to distinguish social status from and within sex and age groups.

We will point to the fact that the ritual burial goods and adornments are linked with children, adolescents and young males. The data show that the most various burial goods were deposited in male burials - implements made of flint, stone, bone; metal knives, awls, weapons (darts, bone and flint arrows), ritual burial goods (fragments of , astragals), adornments ( spirals, compound copper bracelets). Implements, weapons and anthropomorphic steles are related to male burials of mature and senile age. Some categories of burial goods are common for males, females and children. As for , their distribution relates to all age groups.

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The presence of children’s burials with specific categories of burial goods perhaps testifies some aspects of inheritance of the social status; though we believe that the social status was not steady in the Pit Grave society and it varies through ages. Based upon the data from the Pit Grave Culture, we will also discuss some opportunities to differentiate an inherent and attained social status in Prehistory.

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