Nebelivka: From Magnetic Prospection to New Features of Mega-Sites

The international project at Nebelivka included three field seasons, funded by grants obtained by Prof. John Chapman (Durham University, UK).1 The Institute of Archaeology of NAS Ukraine, for its part, has provided researchers, obtained the necessary permits for excavations, organized the storage of finds and worked with them, and worked on the field reports. The Kirovohrad region provided administrative support, plus cooperation with the Vynnychenko University and the Kirovohrad Museum of Natural History. During four seasons at Nebelivka, several objects were investigated which changed the image of megasites. They were large public buildings (‘megastructure’), fortifications (symbolic ditch or real palisade), and a kiln (Figure 14). This ‘triad’ marked such wellknown features of urbanization, as monumental architecture and developed craft, which as some people still believe, were totally absent in Trypillia (see, for example, Tolochko, 2015: 32). Magnetic prospection discovered not only one large building, but also an impressive system of more than ten smaller objects, which later became common features for other mega-sites, like Dobrovody, Petreni, and Maidanetske. The kiln explored at Nebelivka is now the earliest of eight similar devices, discovered in 2013–2014 at Trypillia sites in Ukraine. The characteristics of the furnace put a stop to long discussions of whether there was a developed craft economy at large sites or not. Investigations of the households,which included houses and pits, were important for the reconstruction of different aspects of life at the large sites. New data obtained during excavations in Nebelivka substantially complemented data from large Trypillia settlements

The ‘disappearance’ of Trypillia culture

The Trypillia-Cucuteni cultural complex over a period of almost 2000 years was an outstanding phenomenon east of the Carpathians, but it fell into decay. The Late period of Trypillia culture dates back to 3200–2700 BC and is represented by a few local types or so-called ‘post-Trypillia cultures’, all located in regions with different natural conditions and resources, from forest to steppe zones. Local features displayed different trends of change in the economy and material culture and also in social structures. The most conservative were groups with the highest development of social organisation and economy based on a division of labour, with proto-cities, as ‘points of rest’. On the borders of Trypillia culture, intercultural relations took on a special significance and led to changes in material culture and economy that materialised as a process of ‘disappearence’. It seems that these changes had a common point of departure – changes in the environment since 3200 BC.Kulturni kompleks Trypillia-Cucuteni je predstavljal izjemen fenomen vzhodno od Karpatov v časovnem razponu več kot 2000 let, vendar je razpadel. Pozno obdobje kulture Trypillia datira v čas 3200–2700 pr.n.št. in je predstavljeno v obliki lokalnih tipov t.i. ‘kultur po-Trypillia’, ki so locirane na področjih z različnimi naravnimi pogoji in viri, od gozda do stepe. Lokalne posebnosti kažejo različne trende sprememb v gospodarstvu in v materialni kulturi, pa tudi v družbenih strukturah. Najbolj konservativne so bile skupine z najviše razvito družbeno organizacijo in gospodarstvom, ki je temeljilo na delitvi dela, s proto-mesti kot ‘točkami počitka’. Na mejah kulture Trypillia so medkulturne povezave dobile poseben pomen in so privedle do sprememb v materialni kulturi in gospodarstvu, ki se je materializiral kot proces ‘izginotja’. Zdi se, da so imele te spremembe skupno izvorno točko – in sicer spremembe v okolju okoli leta 3200 pr.n.št

Життя на східних рубежах Старої Європи

The concept of Old Europe defines its boundaries with the proliferation of ancient farming cultures. Its eastern boundary is designated by the districts of Trypillia Сulture, the Eastern part of Cucuteni-Trypillia Cultural Unity, which reached Dnipro valley at the second half of the Vth Millenium BC. At this time we see several local types of Trypillya Culture, each with some differences at material culture (mainly at pottery stylistics), some different features in the economy. Subsequently, this added to the difference in the public organization. These groups were completely autonomous, while there is a tendency for their active interaction, perhaps the subordination of the less powerful groups by stronger. Marked by complicated pottery assemblages ‘multiculturality” at Dnipro region developed around 600- 800 years and led to more cultural differentiation inside the area to North from Ros river. At the same time groups with painted pottery, located to South from this area still remained homogeneous. For nearly a millennium (from 4300 to 3400-3200 BC), we can observe the few different strategies of life at the Trypillia Culture Eastern frontiers. From one side here we have some large groups, resistant to external influences, and small groups of population, aimed at the formation of multicultural communities. At the same time, trade was always an important connecting factor at all times.Концепція Старої Європи визначає її межі оширенням стародавніх хліборобських культур. Східну її межу позначають райони Трипільської культури, східної частини Кукутень-Трипільської культурної єдності, які досягли долини Дніпра у другій половині V тисячоліття до нашої ери. У цей час ми бачимо кілька місцевих типів трипільської культури, кожна з яких має деякі відмінності в матеріальній культурі (головним чином у стилістиці кераміки), деякі різні особливості в економіці. Згодом це додало різниці в громадській організації. Ці групи були повністю автономними, в той час як існує тенденція до їх активної взаємодії, можливо, підпорядкування менш чисельних і слабших груп сильнішими. Характеризована різноманітними керамічними комплексами «мультикультурність» у Дніпровському регіоні розвивалася приблизно упродовж майже тисячі років років і призвела до значної культурної диференціації в районі на північ від річки Рось. У той же час групи з розписною керамікою, розташованої на південь від цієї області, як і раніше залишалися однорідними. Протягом майже тисячоліття (від 4300 до 3400-3200 рр. до н.е.) ми можемо спостерігати декілька різних стратегій життя на східних кордонах Трипільської культури. З одного боку, ми маємо деякі великі групи, стійкі до зовнішніх впливів, і невеликі групи населення, спрямовані на формування мультикультурних спільнот. У той же час торгівля завжди була важливим фактором, що сполучала різні культурні спільноти

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Об’єкт дослідження: ранні міські орнанізми на території України V-IV тис. до н.е. - ІХ-ХІІ ст., відомі за свідченнями археологічних досліджень Предмет дослідження: аспекти становлення та розвитку міського життя — цивілізаційні, економічні соціально-політичні, технологічні, ідеологічні. Мета дослідження:. Отримання, упорядкування та узагальнення археологічних джерел, пов’язаних із становленням давніх міст та міського життя на території України, виявлення особливостей та загальних закономірностей цього процесу

The ‘disappearance’ of Trypillia culture

The Trypillia-Cucuteni cultural complex over a period of almost 2000 years was an outstanding phenomenon east of the Carpathians, but it fell into decay. The Late period of Trypillia culture dates back to 3200–2700 BC and is represented by a few local types or so-called ‘post-Trypillia cultures’, all located in regions with different natural conditions and resources, from forest to steppe zones. Local features displayed different trends of change in the economy and material culture and also in social structures. The most conservative were groups with the highest development of social organisation and economy based on a division of labour, with proto-cities, as ‘points of rest’. On the borders of Trypillia culture, intercultural relations took on a special significance and led to changes in material culture and economy that materialised as a process of ‘disappearence’. It seems that these changes had a common point of departure – changes in the environment since 3200 BC

The dynamics of the development of the system of “centers of power” in the Precucuteni-Cucuteni-Trypillia cultural complex

“Centers of power” refers to large settlements with 1,000 or more inhabitants. They appear in Ancient Europe before 5000 BC and known there for the next thousand years. To the east of the Carpathians, the oldest settlements of this type appear already in the II-III phases of Precucuteni-Trypillia A. In this period, their area did not exceed 20 hectares. After 4500 BC,centers with an area of 30-70 hectares appear. They existed in every local group in the territory between the Carpathians and the Dnieper. The eponymous site Trypillia, the territory of which reaches 70 hectares, belongs to this time. Research results indicate that the entire territory was settled at the same time. Rapid growth can be attributed to demographic processes. During this period, a planning scheme for large settlements was formed. It includes an unbuilt center and two ovals of houses located at a certain distance from each other. Settlements were fortified with palisades. The magnetic survey showed the presence of large, probably public buildings located in a certain part of the settlement in all such settlements

Urbanization the Eastern Borders of Old Europe

Maria Gimbutas created an impressive picture of Old Europe, using, among others, materials from Trypillia Culture. From the very beginning, she took into account new archaeological discoveries from the 70s of the 20th century, namely, information about the large settlements. But fifty years ago, their studies were just beginning and this topic was not particularly popular among researchers outside of Ukraine. Today, news about life on the eastern borders of Old Europe, where these megasites, appeared more than 6000 years ago, appeares on the pages of leading archaeological publications and becomes the subject of discussions among archaeologists from different countries

News from the eastern borders of old Europe

Maria Gimbutas created an impressive picture of Old Europe, using, among others, materials from Trypillia Culture. From the very beginning, she took into account new archaeological discoveries from the 70s of the 20th century, namely information about the large settlements. But fifty years ago, their studies were just beginning and this topic was not particularly popular among researchers outside of Ukraine. Today, news about life on the eastern borders of Old Europe, where these mega-sites, appeared more than 6000 years ago, appeared on the pages of leading archaeological publications and became the subject of discussions between archaeologists from different countries.Marija Gimbutienė sukūrė įspūdingą Senosios Europos paveikslą, šalia kitų naudodama ir Tripolės kultūros medžiagą. Nuo pat pradžių ji atkreipė dėmesį į XX a. 70-tųjų archeologinius atradimus, būtent į informaciją apie mega-gyvenvietes. Bet prieš 50 metų jų tyrimai tik buvo beprasidedą ir ši tema nebuvo ypatingai populiari tarp tyrėjų už Ukrainos ribų. Šiandien naujienos apie gyvenimą Senosios Europos rytiniuose pakraščiuose, kur prieš 6000 metų buvo kuriamos milžiniškos gyvenvietės, pasirodo pirmaujančių archeologų publikacijų puslapiuose ir tapo diskusijų tarp įvairių šalių archeologų objektu

Chronology and Demography: How Many People Lived in a Mega-Site?

Since the discovery of the huge dimensions of Trypillia BIVCI mega-sites, estimations about their population size have mainly resulted magnitudes which are as extraordinary for European prehistory as the dimensions of the sites themselves. A variety of population calculations is known, usually (e.g. for Taljanky and Maidanetske) focusing on around 7500-25,000 inhabitants per site (Shmaglij, 1982; Shmaglij & Videiko, 1987; Kruts, 1989; Ohlrau, 2015). A basic assumption for these population estimations is the contemporaneity of the majority of houses in each megasite, which might be problematic. Also, for the reconstruction of the overall population density in the Southern Buh and Dnipro Interfluve, the question of the contemporaneity, or alternatively a sequential appearance, of mega-sites is very important. In many views, the mega-sites Nebelivka-Dobrovody-Taljanky-Maidanetske are described as a chronological sequence of about 15,000 people, moving after about fifty years from one site to the next, at a distance of about 20 km (Kruts, 1989). In other views, a contemporary existence of some of the mega-sites is supposed (MUller et al, in print). In such an argumentation, no less than about 30,000 people were projected as living contemporarily in mega-sites of the Volodymyrivsko-Tomashivska group