Vucedol culture
Encyclopedia
The Vučedol culture was a Indo-European
culture that flourished between 3000 and 2200 BC (the Eneolithic period), centered in Syrmia
and eastern Slavonia
on the right bank of the Danube
river, but possibly spreading throughout the Pannonian plain and western Balkans
. Sometimes also called the Vučedol civilization, it was contemporary with the Sumer
period in Mesopotamia
, the Early Dynastic period
in Egypt
and the early Troy
(I and II).
, another wave of Indo-European people came to the banks of the Danube
. One of the major places they occupied is present-day Vučedol ("Wolf's Valley"), named after Vučedol, a location six kilometers downstream from the center of the town of Vukovar
, Croatia
. According to some opinions, proto-Illyrians
descended from this wave of Indo-European settlers. According to other opinions, this culture might be a predecessor of the Mycenaean Greeks
.
The early stages of the culture
tenanted locations not far from mountain ranges, where copper deposits were located, because of their main invention: making tools from arsenic
al copper
in series employing reusable, double, two-part moulds.
The center of the culture was Vučedol in modern day Croatia. It is estimated that the site had once been home to about 3000 inhabitants, making it one of the largest and most important centers of its time.
mainly in the pannonia
n plain and the Kostolac culture in northern Serbia
and western Romania
, so the primary region of Vučedol development is eastern Croatia and the Syrmia region. The archaeological stratigraphy of the Vučedol culture can be divided into four phases:
The Vučedol culture is the final eneolithic culture of the region because the following characteristics of the culture mark the end of eneolithic in eastern Europe and middle Europe:
The community chief was the shaman (medicine man), moulder, the owner of the knowledge of avoiding poisonous arsenic gas (and others, such as understanding the year cycle), which is connected to the technology of coppersmithing. Still, the whole life of moulder/shaman could not pass without biological consequences: slow loss of body movement coordination, and at the same time, stronger sexual potency. "That is why", quoting Aleksandar Durman, "all eneolithic, or later gods of metallurgy are identified with fertility, and also why all gods in almost all early cultures - limp."
It was a society of deep social changes and stratification, what led to the birth of tribe and military aristocracy. Also, Vučedol people had enough time to express their spiritual view of the world.
", "Venus", et cetera.
One of the most famous pieces is the ritual vessel, called by the speculative attribution of her founder (in 1938) M. Seper - the Vučedol Dove (vučedolska golubica). The latest, very deep synthesis and interpretation of many phenomena of the Vučedol culture by Aleksandar Durman from Zagreb
, is that the vessel is in the shape of the male partridge - the universal symbol of fertility (and limping, due to the defensive behavior of male partridge against predator attack on a partridge nest on ground). The figure is a remarkable example of artistic creation and religious symbol associated with a cult of the great mother. Made between 2800 and 2500 B.C. it became the symbol of style, culture and new arising European civilization. The Vučedol dove is a 19,5 cm high ritual vessel made from baked clay. Three symbols of doubled axes and a necklace were engraved on its neck with lines covering its wings and chest, and an unusual crest on the back of the head. Shape of the crest and carefully lined wings and chest, prove the figure as the domestic thoroughbred dove, raised in Europe 4500 years ago. This, as well, proves European pigeon breeding much older than we used to think. Moreover, Vučedol dove is the oldest dove figure found in Europe so far.
The ritual vessel is depicted on the reverse
of the Croatian 20 kuna
banknote, issued in 1993 and 2001.
, based on Orion cycle, shown by precise sequel of constellations on a vessel found in eneolithic tel in the very center of contemporary town of Vinkovci
. The climatic conditions corresponding to that latitude brought about four yearly seasons. The simple explanation of the Vučedol Calendar is that each of the four lateral bands on the vessel represent the four seasons, starting with spring on the top. Each band is divided into twelve boxes, making up 12 "weeks" for each season. Each of the little boxes contains a picture of what you see when you look at a certain point on the horizon right after twilight. The place of reference on the horizon is the point at which (in those days) Orion's belt disappeared from view at the end of winter, which meant the beginning of a new year. The pictographs in the boxes represent: Orion
, the Sun
, Cassiopeia, Cygnus, Gemini, Pegasus, and the Pleiades
. If the box has nothing in it, it means there was nothing visible at the reference point.
About the archaeoastronomy
in the wider area read also Kokino
and Miholjanec.
The houses found on the Vučedol site were places of birth and burial. A number of skeleton
s were found in the pits, once serving as food storage pits. Their bodies were placed in a ritual way, with some indications of possible human sacrifice
. Also, on foreheads of skull
s marks were found that could be attributed to some kind of initiation by a drop of molten copper
in an early childhood.
, on the right bank of the Danube. It is one of the most important sites of Eneolithic. Because of the importance of findings in Vučedol, the whole phase of Eneolithic period was named after it - the Vučedol Culture. It was the center of the great and widespread Vučedol culture.
Due to extremely favourable strategic position, Vučedol has always been open to colonization. During the Copper Age
, the settlement extended across most of the present-day archaeological site, covering an area of approximately 3 hectares (7.4 acres). The site is considerably larger than contemporary sites which indicates that it must have been a regional economic and social center. Some of the most important archaeological discoveries belonging to the Vučedol culture have been made at this site.
The highest part of the site at Vučedol was separated from the rest of the settlement by two parallel ditches. These ditches enclosed a large rectangular structure that was considerably larger than the houses located in surrounding residential areas, and this area also produced the only evidence of copper smelting on the site. Some scholars had argued that this part of the settlement may have been occupied by a local elite that exercised control not only over Vučedol but also over the production and exchange of precious goods and that dominated the smaller settlements in the area. Unfortunately, there is little convincing evidence for the presence of an elite class within that or any other settlement of the Late Copper Age
in the area. Thus, while the settlement may have been an economic and ideological center where copper processing occurred, it seems unlikely that it would have been the center of a chiefdom.
During the Battle of Vukovar
in 1991, the Vučedol site was destroyed through being used as a firing base for Yugoslav People's Army
artillery and tanks in the three-month bombardment of Vukovar.
Final conclusion about genesis of the Vučedol culture population can be that they are definitely Indoeuropeans mixed with native Eneolithical or even late Neolithical European population (especially in region of Eastern Adriatic coast, Dalmatia and Herzegovina with some parts of Bosnia as well). Today stands open questions about eneolithical process in Dalmatia and Herzegovina because eneolithical process in those regions took place very slowly if we compare it with eneolithic in Eastern Europe, main reason is geological absence of copper very important for the Vučedol culture population. Another reason is that Adriatic coast is in one way relative cultural isolate and some neolithical cultural elements elements simply exist with small changes to Early Bronze Age
period.
Indo-European
Indo-European may refer to:* Indo-European languages** Aryan race, a 19th century and early 20th century term for those peoples who are the native speakers of Indo-European languages...
culture that flourished between 3000 and 2200 BC (the Eneolithic period), centered in Syrmia
Syrmia
Syrmia is a fertile region of the Pannonian Plain in Europe, between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia in the east and Croatia in the west....
and eastern Slavonia
Slavonia
Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
on the right bank of the 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....
river, but possibly spreading throughout the Pannonian plain and western Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. Sometimes also called the Vučedol civilization, it was contemporary with the Sumer
Sumer
Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....
period in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
, the Early Dynastic period
Early Dynastic Period of Egypt
The Archaic or Early Dynastic Period of Egypt immediately follows the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt c. 3100 BC. It is generally taken to include the First and Second Dynasties, lasting from the Protodynastic Period of Egypt until about 2686 BC, or the beginning of the Old Kingdom...
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and the early Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
(I and II).
Location
Following the Baden cultureBaden 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...
, another wave of Indo-European people came to the banks of the 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....
. One of the major places they occupied is present-day Vučedol ("Wolf's Valley"), named after Vučedol, a location six kilometers downstream from the center of the town of Vukovar
Vukovar
Vukovar is a city in eastern Croatia, and the biggest river port in Croatia located at the confluence of the Vuka river and the Danube. Vukovar is the center of the Vukovar-Syrmia County...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. According to some opinions, proto-Illyrians
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
descended from this wave of Indo-European settlers. According to other opinions, this culture might be a predecessor of the Mycenaean Greeks
Mycenaean Greece
Mycenaean Greece was a cultural period of Bronze Age Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese of southern Greece. Athens, Pylos, Thebes, and Tiryns are also important Mycenaean sites...
.
The early stages of the culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
tenanted locations not far from mountain ranges, where copper deposits were located, because of their main invention: making tools from arsenic
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
al copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
in series employing reusable, double, two-part moulds.
The center of the culture was Vučedol in modern day Croatia. It is estimated that the site had once been home to about 3000 inhabitants, making it one of the largest and most important centers of its time.
Cultural phases
The Vučedol culture developed from two older eneolithic cultures: the Baden cultureBaden 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...
mainly in the pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
n plain and the Kostolac culture in northern Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and western 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...
, so the primary region of Vučedol development is eastern Croatia and the Syrmia region. The archaeological stratigraphy of the Vučedol culture can be divided into four phases:
- Preclassic period A
- Early classic period B1
- Classic period B2
- Period of expansion with regional types, C:
- East Croatian (Slavonian-Syrmian type)
- West Bosnian (Hrustovac type)
- South Bosnian (Debelo Brdo type)
- North Serbian (Đurđevačka Glavica type)
- West Croatian-Slovenian (Ljubljansko Barje type)
- Transdanubian (Pannonian Hungarian type)
- East Austrian-Czech type
The Vučedol culture is the final eneolithic culture of the region because the following characteristics of the culture mark the end of eneolithic in eastern Europe and middle Europe:
- common use of the war axes ( Banniabik form of axes)
- new cults very different from the Neolithic Magna Mater conception (cult of Deer, womb-shaped solar motives, figures of women in clothes without sexual or fertility decoration, symbols of double axes, different form of pottery, new "rich" type of pottery decoration, finds of the Vučedol dove)
- massive exploitation of copper
- new forms of settlement that destroy earlier eneolithic settlements and new settlements developed in regions where none were previously
- rise of the hunter-warrior class that dominates in society. This feature is a preview of the changes that will be characteristic for the east and middle European early Bronze Age.
Social organisation
The difference to other earlier and contemporary cultures was diversity in food sources: they were hunters, fishermen and agrarians, with some strong indications that they cultivated certain domesticated animals. Thus culture could better avert food crises.The community chief was the shaman (medicine man), moulder, the owner of the knowledge of avoiding poisonous arsenic gas (and others, such as understanding the year cycle), which is connected to the technology of coppersmithing. Still, the whole life of moulder/shaman could not pass without biological consequences: slow loss of body movement coordination, and at the same time, stronger sexual potency. "That is why", quoting Aleksandar Durman, "all eneolithic, or later gods of metallurgy are identified with fertility, and also why all gods in almost all early cultures - limp."
It was a society of deep social changes and stratification, what led to the birth of tribe and military aristocracy. Also, Vučedol people had enough time to express their spiritual view of the world.
Ceramics
In modern times, the ceramics became famous worldwide. It has a very characteristic bi-conical shape, typical ornaments which evolved, and in many cases with typical "handles" which were almost unfunctional, but they were key of understanding of ornaments that had symbolic meaning representing term such as "horizon", "mountains", "sky", "underworld", "sun", "constellation of OrionOrion (constellation)
Orion, often referred to as The Hunter, is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous, and most recognizable constellations in the night sky...
", "Venus", et cetera.
Vučedol dove
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, is that the vessel is in the shape of the male partridge - the universal symbol of fertility (and limping, due to the defensive behavior of male partridge against predator attack on a partridge nest on ground). The figure is a remarkable example of artistic creation and religious symbol associated with a cult of the great mother. Made between 2800 and 2500 B.C. it became the symbol of style, culture and new arising European civilization. The Vučedol dove is a 19,5 cm high ritual vessel made from baked clay. Three symbols of doubled axes and a necklace were engraved on its neck with lines covering its wings and chest, and an unusual crest on the back of the head. Shape of the crest and carefully lined wings and chest, prove the figure as the domestic thoroughbred dove, raised in Europe 4500 years ago. This, as well, proves European pigeon breeding much older than we used to think. Moreover, Vučedol dove is the oldest dove figure found in Europe so far.
The ritual vessel is depicted on the reverse
Obverse and reverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags , seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...
of the Croatian 20 kuna
Croatian kuna
The kuna is the currency of Croatia since 1994 . It is subdivided into 100 lipa. The kuna is issued by the Croatian National Bank and the coins are minted by the Croatian Monetary Institute....
banknote, issued in 1993 and 2001.
Oldest European calendar
Among the most famous pieces is what has been alleged to be the oldest Indo-European calendarCalendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months, and years. The name given to each day is known as a date. Periods in a calendar are usually, though not...
, based on Orion cycle, shown by precise sequel of constellations on a vessel found in eneolithic tel in the very center of contemporary town of Vinkovci
Vinkovci
Vinkovci is a city in Croatia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County. In the 2011 census, the total population of the city was 35,375, making it the largest town of the county...
. The climatic conditions corresponding to that latitude brought about four yearly seasons. The simple explanation of the Vučedol Calendar is that each of the four lateral bands on the vessel represent the four seasons, starting with spring on the top. Each band is divided into twelve boxes, making up 12 "weeks" for each season. Each of the little boxes contains a picture of what you see when you look at a certain point on the horizon right after twilight. The place of reference on the horizon is the point at which (in those days) Orion's belt disappeared from view at the end of winter, which meant the beginning of a new year. The pictographs in the boxes represent: Orion
Orion (constellation)
Orion, often referred to as The Hunter, is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous, and most recognizable constellations in the night sky...
, the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, Cassiopeia, Cygnus, Gemini, Pegasus, and the Pleiades
Pleiades (star cluster)
In astronomy, the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters , is an open star cluster containing middle-aged hot B-type stars located in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky...
. If the box has nothing in it, it means there was nothing visible at the reference point.
About the archaeoastronomy
Archaeoastronomy
Archaeoastronomy is the study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky how they used phenomena in the sky and what role the sky played in their cultures." Clive Ruggles argues it is misleading to consider archaeoastronomy to be the study of ancient astronomy, as modern...
in the wider area read also Kokino
Kokino
Kokino is an important archaeological site and a megalithic observatory discovered in 2001 by archeologist Jovica Stankovski in the northeastern Republic of Macedonia, approximately 30 km from the town of Kumanovo, near the village of Staro Nagoričane Latitude: 42.260000N Longitude: 21.850000E....
and Miholjanec.
Lifestyle and religion
They lived in dwelling pits covered by branches and canebrake, and did not invent brick as construction material. In Vučedol People lived on hilltops with palisade walls. Houses were half buried, mostly square or circular (they were also combined in mushroom shape), with floor of burned clay and circular fireplace.The houses found on the Vučedol site were places of birth and burial. A number of skeleton
Human skeleton
The human skeleton consists of both fused and individual bones supported and supplemented by ligaments, tendons, muscles and cartilage. It serves as a scaffold which supports organs, anchors muscles, and protects organs such as the brain, lungs and heart....
s were found in the pits, once serving as food storage pits. Their bodies were placed in a ritual way, with some indications of possible human sacrifice
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
. Also, on foreheads of skull
Human skull
The human skull is a bony structure, skeleton, that is in the human head and which supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.In humans, the adult skull is normally made up of 22 bones...
s marks were found that could be attributed to some kind of initiation by a drop of molten copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
in an early childhood.
Connections with other advanced cultures
Some archeologists, researchers of the Vučedol culture claimed that there was establisheed trade connection between territorial position of the Vučedol culture and Mycenian civilisation on the south so that some cultural elements found in B2 phase in the Vučedol culture due it s existence to first period for middle Bronze Age of Helada.Vučedol site
The archaeological site of Vučedol is situated 5 km (3 mi) downstream from the Croatian town of VukovarVukovar
Vukovar is a city in eastern Croatia, and the biggest river port in Croatia located at the confluence of the Vuka river and the Danube. Vukovar is the center of the Vukovar-Syrmia County...
, on the right bank of the Danube. It is one of the most important sites of Eneolithic. Because of the importance of findings in Vučedol, the whole phase of Eneolithic period was named after it - the Vučedol Culture. It was the center of the great and widespread Vučedol culture.
Due to extremely favourable strategic position, Vučedol has always been open to colonization. During the Copper Age
Copper Age
The Chalcolithic |stone]]") period or Copper Age, also known as the Eneolithic/Æneolithic , is a phase of the Bronze Age in which the addition of tin to copper to form bronze during smelting remained yet unknown by the metallurgists of the times...
, the settlement extended across most of the present-day archaeological site, covering an area of approximately 3 hectares (7.4 acres). The site is considerably larger than contemporary sites which indicates that it must have been a regional economic and social center. Some of the most important archaeological discoveries belonging to the Vučedol culture have been made at this site.
The highest part of the site at Vučedol was separated from the rest of the settlement by two parallel ditches. These ditches enclosed a large rectangular structure that was considerably larger than the houses located in surrounding residential areas, and this area also produced the only evidence of copper smelting on the site. Some scholars had argued that this part of the settlement may have been occupied by a local elite that exercised control not only over Vučedol but also over the production and exchange of precious goods and that dominated the smaller settlements in the area. Unfortunately, there is little convincing evidence for the presence of an elite class within that or any other settlement of the Late Copper Age
Copper Age
The Chalcolithic |stone]]") period or Copper Age, also known as the Eneolithic/Æneolithic , is a phase of the Bronze Age in which the addition of tin to copper to form bronze during smelting remained yet unknown by the metallurgists of the times...
in the area. Thus, while the settlement may have been an economic and ideological center where copper processing occurred, it seems unlikely that it would have been the center of a chiefdom.
During the Battle of Vukovar
Battle of Vukovar
The Battle of Vukovar was an 87-day siege of Vukovar in eastern Croatia by the Yugoslav People's Army , supported by various paramilitary forces from Serbia, between August and November 1991. Before the Croatian War of Independence the Baroque town was a prosperous, mixed community of Croats,...
in 1991, the Vučedol site was destroyed through being used as a firing base for Yugoslav People's Army
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
artillery and tanks in the three-month bombardment of Vukovar.
Population
The settlement of Vučedol near Vukovar is well known to archaeologists and archaeological excavations are base to cultural stratigraphy for whole culture.Final conclusion about genesis of the Vučedol culture population can be that they are definitely Indoeuropeans mixed with native Eneolithical or even late Neolithical European population (especially in region of Eastern Adriatic coast, Dalmatia and Herzegovina with some parts of Bosnia as well). Today stands open questions about eneolithical process in Dalmatia and Herzegovina because eneolithical process in those regions took place very slowly if we compare it with eneolithic in Eastern Europe, main reason is geological absence of copper very important for the Vučedol culture population. Another reason is that Adriatic coast is in one way relative cultural isolate and some neolithical cultural elements elements simply exist with small changes to Early Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
period.