Archaeology - ROMANIA
History - Prehistory - Neolithic village

A look at a south-eastern Neolithic village

Case studies

People tend to consider themselves superior to those who lived between 2,000 and 4,000 years ago. Many view Neolithic societies in this way. Unfortunately we do not have any documents, which originated from the Neolithic period; all that we have is their material remnants, which are in the ground waiting to be discovered.

The people of the Neolithic period were not in actual fact that different from us, although we have a greater amount of technology available today. The Neolithic period (5,500 - 2,500 BC) was a revolution for the human race as during this time we evolved from being able to shape stones and make holes in rocks during the Paleolithic period, to the beginnings of manufacturing in the form of spinning, weaving and making pottery. People also began to tame animals such as pigs, horses and cows.

Houses were built near rivers. The common Neolithic settlements are called tells, a term which originates from the Arabic language and means hill. A Tell is formed artificially in time through the accumulation and sedimentation of the remains of human activity. People built their houses using wood, clay, straw and reed. They made holes in the ground in which they put stakes. A woven latticework of wooden stakes called wattles was daubed with a mixture of mud and clay, animal dung and straw to create the house's structure. The roof itself was made of reed and some of the houses were even painted (to increase the resistance to rain).

The houses themselves were arranged in east-west rows in the settlements. The remains of the discovered houses also suggest that there was a general plan for building them. At the back of the house there are special places for the garbage and toilet. The houses generally had two rooms: a day room and another one for sleeping and eating. The floors were made of clay or wood. Near the houses a lot of evidence of waste, including coprolite (faeces), has been found; these areas were covered with clay from time to time.

These settlements were actually the first villages and only the invasions of the Indo-Europeans stopped their transformation into cities. "Invasion" however is not a strictly accurate term, as no evidence of weapons or fighting has been recovered and there is no evidence of extermination of the local population. However it is very obvious that the Neolithic culture was debased, and therefore the Indo-Europeans were victorious from a cultural point of view. This is extremely unusual, as generally throughout history it seems that when there is contact between two cultures the more advanced one remains prominent. The interesting thing about this period is that the superior Neolithic culture disappeared whilst the less sophisticated Indo-European culture prevailed, although no one is sure exactly why this was the case.

Archaeological findings show the Neolithic people had a very rich spiritual life. Almost all the poetry that has been discovered is illustrated with images which express the beliefs of the people. In Bordusani-Popina a body has been discovered which was ritually sacrificed. The body was discovered underneath the doorway of one of the houses. The body was in a wicker basket in a foetal position. It is believed that the person was sick and buried alive, due to the discovery of coprolite on the dorsal part of the body.

The men were divided into two categories: the older ones went hunting whilst the younger ones took care of the animals and worked around the house. There were probably coming of age rituals that young men had to take part in before being able to go hunting. Unfortunately the evidence which is available is quite flimsy and based only on ethnographic findings. The women of this period were probably in charge of childcare and cooking.

Trading was very intense at this time both domestically and between different foreign populations. Evidence has been found showing that people travelled between settlements. For example, in Romania a type of silex which originated in the South East (Dobrogea) was found in all the settlements, whilst a silex which originated from Bulgaria has been found in other settlements. An example of foreign trade can be seen in the discovery of an invention from the Near East which was found in the area only fifty years after it was originally made. These examples of trade are very important as they show that the Neolithic people were aware both of people who lived near as well as in different geographical areas.

People also started to practise agriculture cultivation in the form of a series of corn plants. Pottery, which contains remnants of carbonized wheat, suggest that people were making some type of bread. Another discovery, which supports this idea, is the presence of a rock hand mill.

During this period the taming of animals took place. The majority of the animal remains which have been uncovered are those of tamed animals for example cows, sheep, goats, pigs and dogs. Due to the discovery of the dog bones the researchers realised that the people probably ate dogs, although only in extreme situations when they had nothing else. The remarkable thing about the Neolithic animal remains is that they show the animals from that period were very big, almost twice the size as the animals today, the exception being the Neolithic dogs which are much smaller than those today.

The people also ate wild animals such as wolves, foxes, martens, badgers, polecats, otters, wild horses, wild pigs, stags, roebucks, aurochs, beavers, rabbits, and shellfish. There is not enough evidence to support cannibalism in those communities.

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