Cernavoda culture
Encyclopedia
Cernavodă culture, ca. 4000
—3200
BC, a late copper age archaeological culture
of the lower Eastern Bug River
and Danube
located along the coast of the Black Sea
and somewhat inland. It is named after the Romania
n town of Cernavodă
.
It is a successor to and occupies much the same area of the earlier neolithic
Karanovo culture
, for which a destruction horizon seems to be evident.
It is characterized by defensive hilltop settlements. The pottery shares characteristics with that found further east on the South-Russian Steppe
s. Burials similarly bear a resemblance to those further east.
It is considered part of the "Balkan-Danubian complex" that stretches up the entire length of the river, and into northern Germany via the Elbe
and the Baden culture
. Its northeastern portion is said to be ancestral the Usatovo culture
.
4th millennium BC
The 4th millennium BC saw major changes in human culture. It marked the beginning of the Bronze Age and of writing.The city states of Sumer and the kingdom of Egypt were established and grew to prominence. Agriculture spread widely across Eurasia...
—3200
32nd century BC
-Events:* c. 3150 BC: Narmer started to rule in Ancient Egypt.* c. 3125 BC: Narmer died.* 3102 BC: The Beginning of Kali Yuga according to Vedic Scriptures....
BC, a late copper age archaeological culture
Archaeological culture
An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of artifacts from a specific time and place, which are thought to constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between the artifacts is based on archaeologists' understanding and interpretation and...
of the lower Eastern Bug River
Southern Bug
The Southern Bug, also called Southern Buh), is a river located in Ukraine. The source of the river is in the west of Ukraine, in the Volyn-Podillia Upland, about 145 km from the Polish border, and flows southeasterly into the Bug Estuary through the southern steppes...
and Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
located along the coast of the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
and somewhat inland. It is named after the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n town of Cernavodă
Cernavoda
Cernavodă is a town in Constanţa County, Dobrogea, Romania with a population of 20,514.The town's name is derived from the Slavic černa voda , meaning "black water". This name is regarded by some scholars as a calque of the earlier Thracian name Axíopa, from IE *n.ksei "dark" and upā "water"...
.
It is a successor to and occupies much the same area of the earlier neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
Karanovo culture
Karanovo culture
The Karanovo culture is a neolithic culture named for the Bulgarian village of Karanovo . The site at Karanovo itself was a hilltop settlement of 18 buildings, housing some 100 inhabitants....
, for which a destruction horizon seems to be evident.
It is characterized by defensive hilltop settlements. The pottery shares characteristics with that found further east on the South-Russian Steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
s. Burials similarly bear a resemblance to those further east.
It is considered part of the "Balkan-Danubian complex" that stretches up the entire length of the river, and into northern Germany via the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
and the Baden culture
Baden culture
Baden culture, ca 3600 BC-ca 2800 BC, an eneolithic culture found in central Europe. It is known from Moravia, Hungary, Slovakia and Eastern Austria...
. Its northeastern portion is said to be ancestral the Usatovo culture
Usatovo culture
Usatovo culture, 3500—3000 BC, an archaeological culture facing the Black sea between the mouths of the Bug River and the Danube in present-day Romania, Moldavia, and southern Ukraine....
.
Sources
- J. P. Mallory, "Cernavoda Culture", Encyclopedia of Indo-European CultureEncyclopedia of Indo-European CultureThe Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture is an encyclopedia of Indo-European studies and the Proto-Indo-Europeans. The encyclopedia was edited by J. P. Mallory and Douglas Q. Adams and published in 1997 by Fitzroy Dearborn...
, Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.