Modelling Obsidian Trade Routes During Late Neolithic in the South-East Banat Region of Vr[Ac Using Gis*

MIROSLAV MARI] Institute for Balkan Studies, Serbian Academy of Science and Arts, Belgrade MODELLING OBSIDIAN TRADE ROUTES DURING LATE NEOLITHIC IN THE SOUTH-EAST BANAT REGION OF VR[AC USING GIS* UDK: 903.3"634"(497.11) ; 903.03"634"(497.11) e-mail: [email protected] 903"63":528.856(497.11) Received: February 10, 2015 DOI: 10.2298/STA1565037M Accepted: May 29, 2015 Original research article Abstract. – The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the possible trajectory of the movement of the obsidian that was brought to the region of present day Vr{ac from Carpathian 1 and Carpathian 2 sources, located between Ko{ice and Mi{kolc (the present day border area between Hungary and Slovakia). This objective has been fulfilled using computer aided modelling performed within the constraints of geographic information system software based on the physical characteristics of the terrain and the reconstruction of paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic conditions in the period of the late Neolithic. The second largest obsidian collection in the territory of Vin~a culture originates from the site of Potporanj, south of Vr{ac. The abundance of finds indicates the importance this region had in the distribution of this resource during late Neolithic. In the paper the modelling of two different possibilities of land based distribution from the flow of the river Tisza are shown; the first from Perlez/Opovo (western route) and the other from Mureº (northern route), i.e. present day Arad and Timiºoara. The modelled results indicate the existence of a settlement patterning close to the modelled pathways in the period of Vin~a culture. Key words. – Neolithic, Vin~a culture, GIS, Modelling pathways, trade and exchange, obsidian. n this paper the primary focus is on GIS modelling structed past landscapes, based upon data obtained of import and distribution routes within a well through geological surveys performed in the area, has I defined micro-region containing sites attributed to been used. Using GIS modelling, I show the possible the late Neolithic and early Copper age. Vin~a culture, routes of local exchange of a very specific and much a distinct feature of The Balkans and the southern edge sought after commodity in the Neolithic of The Central of the Pannonian plain between the end of 6th and the Balkans – volcanic obsidian glass – in respect to the mid 5th millennium cal. BC, is native to The Central reconstructed landscape of late Neolithic in the region, Balkans region, but extends northwards into eastern defined by the Alibunar depression in the west and parts of the Pannonian plain, and is analyzed here. Even northwest, the Vr{ac mountains in the east, and the though such analyses are not a novelty in modern archa- rivers Kara{ and Brzava in the south and northeast eology, this study represents the first such attempt of respectively (Fig. 1). Several thousand obsidian finds,1 this nature in the area of the Vin~a culture for the period of the late Neolithic and early Copper Age. In this ana- lysis, besides archaeological records, a model of recon- 1 Chapman 1981, 80. * The article results from the project: Society, Culture and Communications in the Balkans in Proto – and Early History (no. 177012) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological development of the Republic of Serbia. 37 Miroslav MARI], Modelling obsidian trade routes during late Neolithic in the south-east Banat… (37–52) STARINAR LXV/2015 VR[AC REGION WITH GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS Fig. 1. The Vr{ac region Sl. 1. Region Vr{ca originating from three meagrely excavated sites (At, 1918, it was a single region of the Habsburg Kingdom Potporanj, Granice) dictate the importance of the re- of Hungary. The early establishment of museums in construction of trade and exchange routes in the area. the larger cities of the region (Vr{ac city museum Combining the archaeological data with the geomor- established in 1882, Timiºoara Muzeul Banatului in phology of the region it becomes evident that the Vr{ac 1872 and Zrenjanin museum in 1906) made possible region was a prominent corridor for travel leading from archaeological surveys and excavations by the end of The Danube to important Vin~a culture sites such as XIXth century. In the Vr{ac area, the first archaeologi- Uivar,2 southwest of the present day Timiºoara, in cal surveys and excavations were carried out by Felix Romania, or Turdaº, east of Deva, in Transylvania. The Müllecker, the custodian of the museum between 1882 results of the analyses provide new evidence of the and 1942. Müllecker’s six decade long archaeological importance of the Vr{ac region through the late Neo- career, the basis of an extensive archaeological collec- lithic of the eastern edges of the Pannonian plains, tion housed in the City Museum of Vr{ac today, is very already accentuated by the copious finds now housed important for the archaeology of the region, but even in the Vr{ac museum. Even though the modern day more important are his field surveys that have led to the Vr{ac municipality borders with the republic of discovery of numerous archaeological sites dated from Romania, no attention was given to modern territorial prehistory to the medieval period. Another important boundaries, but rather the boundaries were set by the archaeological legacy of Felix Müllecker’s work is the extents of the 1:25 000 scale topographic maps of the abundant documentation related to the evidence of past Military Geographic Institute of Serbia used to pro- cultures occupying the region. After the Second World duce a 3D model of the terrain in question. War, further surveys were performed, especially during The region of Vr{ac in the south east part of the first phase of the Danube-Tisza-Danube channel Serbian Banat (Fig. 2) is, today, a part of the Vojvodina construction started in 1957. Today, close to 300 archa- province encompassing the north of Serbia. As a geo- eological sites are known in the Vr{ac municipality, graphical region, Banat is a much larger area now divi- with about 80 being dated to the Neolithic period. ded between three countries of the region; Hungary (Csongrád county), Romania (Timiº, Caraº-Severin, Arad and Mehedinþi counties) and Serbia (North, Central and South Banat regions) However, before 2 Schier 2008. 38 Miroslav MARI], Modelling obsidian trade routes during late Neolithic in the south-east Banat… (37–52) STARINAR LXV/2015 Fig. 2. The Banat region Sl. 2. Banat THE LANDSCAPE OF VIN^A CULTURE the Korkana saddle. Approximately rectangular in IN SOUTHEAST BANAT shape, Mali Rit (Fig. 2) is 11 km long and 2.2 km wide, extending southwest to northeast between Vr{ac and One of the key aspects of this paper is the realisa- Veliko Sredi{te. The southeast side of Mali Rit is mostly tion that the modern landscape of the Vr{ac region is formed of mountainous material of an older age, with not necessarily identical to the landscape of a period sporadic loessoid accumulations, with the opposite side roughly dated between 5300 and 4500 cal. BC. In this a loess terrace. The bottom section of Mali Rit comprises view the analyses of past landscape will be based on a older and younger marsh/lake sediments. The initial comparison of modern geographic and geological data, formation of the region lasted until approximately available paleoenvironmental analyses performed in 8000 BC and was followed by the beginning of the the region and comparable macrobotanical studies per- deposition of marsh/lake sediments and the formation formed on nearby archaeological sites of the period. of a marsh or a lake which lasted until approximately In the geomorphological sense, the area in question 5500 BC.5 The second large geomorphological char- is dominated by the Vr{ac mountain range, sometimes acteristic of the Vr{ac region is the loess flats, which subdivided into hilly and mountainous parts.3 The cen- constitute a larger morphological unit – the South tral mass of the mountains consists of four peaks and Banat loess flats encircling the Deliblato sands to the three saddles. The highest peak (called Gudurica peak) southwest of Vr{ac on three sides (Fig. 2). The loess reaches 641 metres above sea level. The mountains zone consists of clay loessoid soils in the north and loess comprise old rocks, crystalline schists (mostly gneiss) proper in the south, towards Deliblato. Geological cor- and younger, predominantly Pliocene, sediments which ing of this region has shown the existence of three loess dominate the northern and southern piedmonts. The horizons, separated by two horizons of fossil soil. The Vr{ac mountain range is a well known source of water, loess accumulation appeared during the Würm I–III with springs on the steep northern side situated mostly periods, with fossil soil forming during the Würm I–II between the Gudurica peak and Donji Ver{i{or, whilst and Würm II–III interstadials.6 To the northwest and on the gentler southern side are found larger water sour- northeast of the loess flats is an area of loess terrace that ces, such as the Mesi}, Guzajna and So~ica streams almost completely encompass Veliki Rit (Big Marsh or beneath the watershed. The river and stream valleys on Alibunar depression), the most prominent geomorpho- both sides of the mountain range are narrow and steep- logical feature in the region, aside from the Vr{ac sided in the upper part of the stream, gradually widen- mountains. The loess terrace is, on average, around 83 ing and meeting with tributaries in the hilly regions of the range, and in the flats.4 The sub-mountainous region extends from the foot- 3 Zeremski 1985.

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