Settlement and landscape archaeology of the Late Neolithic and Copper-Age in eastern Romania

• Applicant: Dr. Carsten Mischka
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 493521969

In the last years, research has focused on various phenomena concerning the landscape and settlement archaeology of Cucuteni-Trypillia. In addition to climatic and vegetation history aspects, various studies are devoted to the stratification of society, demographic and settlement development, and the question of whether the Ukrainian giant settlements can be called early cities. Excavations and geophysical surveys are currently being conducted as the main methods of field research. The primary purpose of excavations is to get information on the construction and destruction of buildings and to clarify chronological relationships within the settlements, some of which are very large. However, they are lengthy, expensive, and have so far not yielded satisfactory results for a more precise dating. The aim of geophysical surveys is to gain the layouts of entire villages and to understand the internal organization of the buildings in relation to each other, the path systems, the pottery kilns, etc., as well as to select the excavation areas more effectively. Surveys record large scale data and information on the structure and size of settlements. But only a few systematically conducted field surveys are available for the sites’ chronological differentiation. The origins of the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture are considered to be in eastern Romania as well as in the Carpathian region and also west of the Carpathians in Transylvania. Within the framework of this project, two small regions of eastern Romania (Neamț Depression - Carpathian foothills; Baseu Valley - Moldavian Plateau) will be systematically surveyed by geomagnetic and with site-adapted surface collections and drillings. All known sites of the Cucuteni and Precucuteni cultures in these two settlement regions are recorded. The complete settlement plans in the two selected areas allow the testing of hypotheses of diachronic phenomena (increasing settlement expansion from Precucuteni to Cucuteni) and spatial population shifts (larger settlements the further Cucuteni-Trypillia spreads to the northeast). Population estimates are based on house locations, internal structuring of settlements, and the location and number of special structures. The systematic field surveys provide the chronological precision for the necessary comparisons.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants