Combining relative chronology and AMS 14C dating to contextualize ‘megasites’, serial migrations and diachronic expressions of material culture in the Western Tripolye culture, Ukraine

Scholarship regarding the Eneolithic Cucuteni-Tripolye cultural complex of Romania, Moldova and Ukraine has recently focused on ‘megasites’ of the Western Tripolye culture (WTC) in Central Ukraine. However, in order to properly contextualize such unusual phenomena, we must explore the broader typo-chronology of the WTC, which is suggestive of a high degree of mobility and technological transfer between regions. We report 28 new AMS 14C dates from sites representing diagnostic types and propose a high-resolution chronological sequence for the WTC’s development. Our results support the relative chronology and offer an opportunity to propose a new chronological synthesis for the WTC.

Utility structures of the Tripolye culture

Over the hundred years of explorations of the Tripolye sites resulted in the excavation of hundreds dwellings. This paper discusses the identification of the Tripolian utility structures, their construction details, interior, and function. The differences between utility structures and houses are also addressed. The results of the presented analysis make possible the distinguishing of three variations of the utility structures. Each of these is exemplified by the cases from sites of different chronology.

Giant-settlements of Tripolye–Cucuteni: problems and prospects of the immediate investigations

This paper is a review of the most recent investigations of the giant-settlements of the Tripolye culture which was developing in the south of East Europe in the 5th–4th millennium BC. Results of magnetometric surveys and their interpretations are considered, as well as the hypothetic reconstructions of the sequence of formation of these sites. Critical analysis was conducted on the proposed concepts, including the hypothesis about the giant-settlements as “places of pilgrimage”; particular characteristic features of the art of this period of Tripolye are presented.

Symmetry in ornamentation of the Tripolye culture

This paper,is the first in terms of the laws of symmetry that analyses Tripolian ornamental patterns of stages СI (pottery of the settlements of Popudnya, Shipintsy, and Kanev group) and CII (ware from the Vykvatintsy cemetery). It has been established that among the linear designs (borders) on the pottery of stage CI, mirror symmetry and symmetry of rotation are the predominating types. In the linear schemes of Vykhvatintsy, compositions with a verti- cal reflection of the motif predominate and the number of designs without a symmetry increases. In rosettes (composi- tions in a circle) from Popudnya, Shipintsy and Kanev group of stage СI, cyclic motifs with rotation around the central point are the most numerous. In Vykhvatintsy, there are only dihedral schemes with a rotation and mirror symmetry. The investigations have shown that the types of symmetry in the patterns of the Tripolye pottery were changing with the cardinal changes in the culture at the final stage of its development.

Approaching the Unification and Diversity of Pottery Assemblages

This paper questions the cycling nature of the unification and diversity of pottery forms through a case study of ceramics of the Western Tripolye culture in the Southern Bug and Dnieper interfluve in modern Ukraine. We identified the cultural cycle representing the transition from more unified ceramic assemblages to more diverse ones, and then back to more unified assemblages. This cultural cycle is disturbed by the increase in the diversity of pottery sets at three of ten subsequent time periods we have analysed. The obtained results are discussed in frames of deterministic explanations and the dynamic behaviour of complex systems.

Late Bronze Age anthropological materials from the Nepljuevski kurgan cemetery

The body of works on craniological and paleoodontological analyses of the materials from the Bronze Age sites of the Southern Trans-Urals still has not clarified the question of the genesis of the people who lived in this area. This is partly due to fragmentary state of the available materials, so that publication of new data appears highly relevant. This paper deals with the results of craniological and dental analyses of an osteological sample from two kurgans of the Nepljuevski burial ground, excavated between 2015 and 2017 by a Russian-German archaeological expedition. The burial ground is located 300 km south-west of Chelyabinsk city, in Kartalinsky dis-trict in the steppes of the Southern Trans-Urals. The recovered materials are dated to the Late Bronze Age and attributed to the Srubnaya-Alakul Culture variant. Materials and methods. Metric description of 5 male and 6 fe-male crania is given. The dental sample comprised remains of 14 children and adolescents and 12 adults. Stan-dard craniometric and paleoodontological protocols were used. Statistical procedures included principal compo-nent analysis (PCA) for craniometric traits and correspondence analysis for odontological traits. Results. Gener-ally, the crania show morphology characteristic for the European (Caucasian) groups. The male crania are ho-mogenous in such traits as narrow, vividly protruding nose and a pronounced horizontal profiling. The sample is dominated by individuals with a high facial height. Females and males generally show morphological similarities, but females, on average, have a relatively higher braincase, wider and lower orbits, a relatively wider nose, and slightly less pronounced horizontal profiling. The odontological analysis is in line with the cranoimetric data indi-cating European ancestry. One of the distinct characteristics of this sample is the presence of «enamel pearls» — a usually rare trait — in 5 out of 12 individuals, which may indicate an increased percentage of biological relatives in it. Conclusion. Overall, the crania from kurgan 1 find analogies among gracilized high-faced forms widespread in Southern Urals and Kazakhstan during the Bronze Age, often linked to the southern ancestry. The attribution of the Nepljuevski sample to the circle of gracile forms is indicated by the results of odontological analysis, which revealed its proximity to the Tripolye culture sample.

Two Rare Finds from the Maikop-Novosvobodnaya Sites in the Black Sea Region

We describe two unique fi nds from the 2018 excavations at the Maikop-Novosvobodnaya settlements of Pervomayskoye and Chekon in the Krasnodar Territory: a pendant and a clay figurine of a goddess, respectively. The parquet ornament on the pendant is paralleled by that on a cylindrical pendant-seal from Chekon. Such ornamentation is frequent on Near Eastern button-seals, and occurs on Anatolian artifacts symbolizing the fertility goddess and the magic related to her. Therefore, the Pervomayskoye and Chekon pendants, too, may be associated with the fertility cult. The figurine of a goddess from Chekon can be attributed to the Serezlievka type of the Late Tripolye culture. It testifies to ties between Maikop and Tripolye in the late 4th to early 3rd millennia BC. Both finds shed light on the vastly diverse beliefs of the Maikop-Novosvobodnaya tribes at the middle and late stage of that culture.

Impact of the Baden Complex Upon the Tripolye and Funnel Beaker Cultures in Western Ukraine

In scientific literature the discussion over the evident ties between the Baden complex and Tripolye culture dates back to the mid 1990s and is related to Sofievka type complexes. In earlier papers by scholars on TC Stage CII only passing mention was given to Baden influences, the exception being works by Mykhailo Videiko, who paid particular attention to contacts with the Carpathian Basin. He noted their impact upon Troyaniv-Gorodsk type complexes and pointed out the presence of the Baden pottery style in the settlements of the Kasperivtsy-Gordineşti complex. The adoption of Baden traits by communities belonging to the Funnel Beaker and Tripolye cultures in western Volhynia ran along very different lines. The quantity of data on Baden influence upon Funnel Beaker culture communities in the area between the Western Bug, Upper Dniester and Styr rivers remains small.

New Radiocarbon Dates for Stage Cii Tripolye Culture, Northern Moldova

According to Tamara Movscha, vessels from the Funnel Beaker culture settlement in Zhvanets can be synchronized with the period of existence of the settlements in Zimno, Leżnica and Gródek. Based on the currently available radiocarbon dates, we can say that the long-term settlements in Gródek and Zimno existed from around 3650 BC. The older phase of the settlement in Gródek is dated to 3650-3400 BC, while the younger ones to 3400-3100 BC. The first is characterized by the presence of imports of tableware with the characteristics of the Brînzeni group dated to 3400-3100 BC. In order to verify the current attempts to position the above at a more precise time, several radiocarbon analyses of the samples from the sites of Brînzeni and Gordinești group in northern Moldova were conducted.