| Alternative names | Giulești–Marița culture Marița culture |
|---|---|
| Horizon | Old Europe |
| Geographical range | Danube Valley: modern-dayRomania andBulgaria. |
| Period | Neolithic,Chalcolithic |
| Dates | 4300–3500 BC |
| Preceded by | Dudești culture EasternLBK |
| Followed by | Hamangia culture,Gumelnița culture,Cucuteni-Trypillia culture |
TheBoian culture (dated to 4300–3500 BC), also known as theGiulești–Marița culture orMarița culture, is aNeolithicarchaeological culture ofSoutheast Europe. It is primarily found along the lower course of theDanube in what is nowRomania andBulgaria, and thus may be considered aDanubian culture.
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The Boian culture originated on theWallachian Plain north of theDanube River in southeastern Romania. At its peak, the culture expanded to include settlements in theBărăgan Plain and theDanube Delta in Romania,Dobruja in eastern Romania and northeastern Bulgaria, and theDanubian Plain and theBalkan Mountains in Bulgaria. The culture's geographical extent went as far west as theJiu River on the border ofTransylvania in south-central Romania, as far north as theChilia branch of theDanube Delta along the Romanian border withUkraine and the coast of theBlack Sea, and as far south as theRhodope Mountains and theAegean Sea inGreece.[1]
Thetype site of the Boian culture is located on an island onLake Boian in the region ofMuntenia, on the Wallachian Plain north of the Danube River.[2]
The Boian culture emerged from two earlier Neolithic groups: theDudeşti culture that originated inAnatolia (present-dayTurkey); and the Musical note culture (also known as theMiddle Linear Pottery culture or LBK) from the northernSubcarpathian region of southeasternPoland and westernUkraine.[2]
The Boian culture is divided traditionally into four phases, each of which is given a name of one of the archaeological sites that are associated with it:[1][3][4]
The Boian culture ended through a smooth transition into theGumelnița culture,[3] which also borrowed from theVădastra culture.[2] However, a segment of the Boian society ventured to the northeast along the Black Sea coast, encountering the lateHamangia culture, which they eventually merged with[1] to form theCucuteni-Trypillian culture.[5]
The time when the Boian culture developed into the Gumelnița culture is referred to as atransitional period, during which there are commonalities found on both sides of the chronological divide between the two cultures; as such, Boian Phase IV and Gumelnița Phase A1 may be considered as a single, uninterrupted, transitional phase.[3][note 1] As a result, there are frequent references to this by scholars, who use the termBoian-Gumelnița culture to describe this specific period.[2] Sometimes, though, this term is mis-used by some to include both the entire Boian culture and Gumelnița culture periods, not just the transitional period overlapping the two cultures. Since each culture is distinct from the other during its main phases, they should each be considered and named separately, with the exception (as just mentioned) of the transitional phases of their development.
Boian archaeological sites have tended to be found next to rivers and lakes that had richfloodplains that provided fertile soil for agriculture.[1] There were three different types of structures found in Boian sites. During Boian phases I and II the dwellings of this culture were thrown-together, oval-shapedlean-to ordugoutpit-house shelters built intoriver banks andledges.[2] In Boian phases III and IV the dwellings became more sophisticated, resulting in structures that were small with raised wooden platform floors. The third type of houses were larger, rectangular (up to 7 by 3.5 meters, or 23 by 11.5 feet)wattle and daub structures with wooden platform floors covered in clay, androughly-thatched roofs, built at ground level.[1][2]
During phases III and IV the first settlements began to appear, resulting in the first of this region's archaeologicaltells.[2] These settlements were typically built on high, steepterraces orheadlands above the floodplain of the rivers or lakes that were always nearby.[2] At this time the houses began to incorporate more sophisticated elements, such as raised platform floors, painted interior walls exhibiting geographic designs in red and white patterns, painted clay furniture, and indoor clay ovens.[1] Later settlements also sometimes showed signs of possiblefortification in the form of deep, widedefensive ditches.[2]
The settlements in Phase III showed indications of having intersettlement and intrasettlement hierarchy, based on the sizes and locations of the residential buildings, which were built in nucleated rows around a central location. In Phase IV surface houses became dominant over subterranean, and the settlements grew to include up to 150 people.[1]
Their economy was characterized by the practice ofagriculture,animal husbandry,hunting,gathering andfishing.[2] The proximity of their settlements to deciduous forests and steppe vegetation provided a good supply of wild game for their diet and fuel for their fires, tools, and homes. In addition, their nearness to rivers, lakes, and marshes provided a good source of game fowl and fish, as well as a source of lithic materials (stone and clay) from the banks.[1]
Archaeological evidence indicates that members of the Boian culture included the following animals in their diet, or used their furs, bones, or flesh for making tools and clothes:[6]
Boianpottery exhibited influences from the earlier cultures from which it arose: chequers and flutings from the Dudești culture, and small triangles bordering the lines it inherited from the Musical Note Linear culture.[3] The pottery was polished afterfiring, and was decorated with carved or raised geometric designs, often with whiteclay used as aninlaidrelief to offset the charcoal grey or black clay used in the rest of the work.[2] In addition to the black/grey and white pottery, a few localized examples of red-inlaid clay decoration were found.[3] Beginning in Phase III, they began to usegraphite paint to decorate their pottery, a method probably borrowed from the south BalkanMarica culture.[note 2][4] The Boian culture continued to improve its ceramic technology until it reached its height during Phase III, after which it began to decline in quality and workmanship.[3]
The use oflithic technology occurred throughout this culture's existence, attested to by the presence ofdebitage found next to various types ofshapedflint andpolished stonetools. Towards the end of its existencecopper artifacts began to be found,[2] made from the high-grade copper found in the Balkan Mountains of Bulgaria.[7] There is evidence that the Boian culture acquired the technology for coppermetallurgy;[2] as a result, this culture bridged the change from the Neolithic to theCopper Age.[2]
Unlike later cultures that followed, there have not been many artifacts found in Boian culture sites of sculptures or figurines. However, the oldest bone figurine in Romania was found at theCernica site, dating back to Phase I.[3]
Published in conjunction with the Human Relations Area Files at Yale University
