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ThePrehistory of Transylvania describes what can be learned about the region known asTransylvania througharchaeology,anthropology,comparative linguistics and other allied sciences.
Transylvania proper is aplateau or tableland in northwest centralRomania. It is bounded and defined by theCarpathian Mountains to the east and south, and theApuseni Mountains to the west. As a diverse and relatively protected region, the area has always been rich in wildlife, and remains one of the more ecologically diverse areas in Europe. The mountains contain a large number ofcaves, which attracted both human and animal residents. ThePeștera Urșilor, the "Bears Cave", was home to a large number ofcave bears (Ursus spelæus) whose remains were discovered when the cave was discovered in 1975. Other caves in the area sheltered early humans.
Prehistory is the longest period in the history of mankind, throughout of which writing was still unknown. In Transylvania specifically this applies to thePaleolithic,Neolithic,Bronze Age, andIron Age.[citation needed][dubious –discuss]
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ThePaleolithic epoch, the oldest and longest period in the history of mankind, is divided by specialists into three stages of development:Lower Paleolithic,Middle Paleolithic, andUpper Paleolithic. The chronological frame of the Paleolithic coincides with that of thePleistocene (the first period of theQuaternary), and is marked by four greatglaciations, as established in theAlps (Günz,Mindel,Riss, andWürm).
While an ever-increasing amount of data has become available on the evolution of the climate, fauna and vegetation of present-dayRomania, there is very little in the fossil record to give researchers an idea of what Paleolithic man in Romania looked like. To date, no human skeletal remains dating from the Low Paleolithic have been found, while the only Middle Paleolithic remains that have been discovered were a number ofphalanges unearthed byMárton Roska [hu] in theBordu Mare Cave atOhaba Ponor,Hunedoara County. A skull capsule discovered by Roska in theCioclovina Cave displays features attributed toHomo sapiens sapiens, and dates back to the Upper Paleolithic as indicated by three flint objects peculiar to the Aurignacian discovered next to them. Likewise, in theCiurul Mare Cave in thePădurea Craiului Mountains (Transylvania)speleologists have discovered some distinctively male, female and child footprints. An anthropological analysis has identifiedCro-Magnon and evenNeanderthal characteristics in these footprints.
The economy of the Paleolithic communities consisted mainly of exploiting natural resources: gathering, fishing and especially hunting were the main pursuits of the diverse human groups. As early as the Lower Paleolithic, human groups either hunted or trapped game. We can assume that in Transylvania, alongside mammoths or deer, horses were a fairly important food source, if our dating of the painting on the ceiling of the cave atCuciulat,Sălaj County, is correct.
The Lower Paleolithic in Transylvania, because data are scarce, is largely a mystery. If the discovery of anAcheuleanlithic item atCăpușu Mic,Cluj County, and of severalPre-Mousterian lithic items atTălmaciu,Sibiu County, are a certain fact, their precise stratigraphic position remains to be established. The same cannot be said about the discoveries in theCiuc Depression [ro] atSândominic,Harghita County, where several tools, and a rich fauna, have been encountered in certified stratigraphic positions, belonging to the geo-chronological interval covering the lateMindel to the earlyRiss.
The Middle Paleolithic –Mousterian – covers a time period much shorter than that of the prior epoch (c. 100,000 – 33,000/30,000BP). It is a period set largely in Early Upper Pleistocene, and corresponds within the alpine glacial chronology to the interval covering the late Riss-Würm interglacial, or rather theLower Würm, through middleWürm, as indicated by the dating of the late Mousterian dwellings in theGura Cheii Cave,Râșnov,Brașov County, and theSpurcată Cave,Nandru,Hunedoara County.
The Mousterian period is closest to the alpine Paleolithic. Both periods were characterized by the presence of numerous quartzite slivers and chips, with the bones of hunted game outnumbering the tools. Consequently, specialists consider thisMousterian to be an "Eastern Charentian".
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Likewise, North-Western and Northern Transylvania with the settlements atBoinești,Satu Mare County, andRemetea,Maramureș County, have revealed several typically Mousterian tools (flake scrapers,blade scrapers,target points etc.), some of which have been associated with a later stage of the Mousterian, or even with a transition stage to theUpper Paleolithic, at the onset of theAurignacian culture of the Upper Paleolithic.
The process of regional diversification among cultures was accelerated in the Upper Paleolithic through the middle to upper Würm. The beginnings of the Upper Paleolithic on the territory of Romania is dated somewhere between 32,000/30,000 – 13,000BP, correspondingpaleoclimatically to the onset of theArcy oscillation, and is marked by the development of the two great civilizations: the Aurignacian and theGravettian both featuring several stages of development as established bystratigraphy.
The onset of the Aurignacian culture seems to have paralleled the late Mousterianfacies in the Carpathian caves, if we accept as valid theC14 dating of level IIb in the cave ofGura Cheii inRâșnov. Northwestern Transylvania is the site where layers of theMiddle Aurignacian culture have been identified, as signaled by the presence of blade scrapers, refitted core,[clarification needed]burins. InBanat, the settlements ofTincova,Coșava, andRomânești-Dumbrăvița, have produced flint tools demonstrating that theAurignacian in this area evolved closely with that inCentral Europe (theKrems-Dufour group). Aurignician items were also found in the caves in the Western Carpathians, the most famous of which is theCioclovina cave inHunedoara County – the site, around the start of the 20th century, of the firstPaleolithic discoveries in Transylvania.
The Eastern Gravettian had a long evolution, featuring several stages of development as documented especially by the settlements in Moldova. The Gravettian has left traces inȚara Oașului andMaramureș, the sites ofmicrolite fashioned mainly out ofobsidian indicating the connection with theGravettian in the neighboring regions (Moldavia, South-Carpathian Ukraine, EasternSlovakia, and Northeastern Hungary).
TheLate Gravettian covers Banat too, particularly the area of theIron Gates of theDanube, where heads identical to theLaugerie-Basse type heads were discovered in grottoes and open air dwellings. Still inBanat, a culture with several stages of development was identified and subsequently named the Quartzite Upper Paleolithic by its discoverer, considered to be synchronous with the local Aurignacian, later the Gravettian, and regarded as a prolongation of the late stages of the Mousterian with quartz and quartzite tools (Eastern Charentian).
The populations evolving at the onset of theBölling oscillation (approximately 12,000BP) and which have continued to the end of thePreboreal have been generally attributed to theEpipaleolithic. Consequently, this historical period could be associated with the interval between 13,000 and about 9,500-9,000BP. These communities continued the lifestyles of theUpper Paleolithic. Due to numerous factors, including changes in the climate, the small groups of hunters-fishermen-gatherers innovated tool and weapon types – producing, for instance, microlites (trapeze) — while also keeping the traditional tool types.
TheIron Gates mesolithic culture of the central trans-Danube region, named by archaeologists after the gorge ofPorţile de Fier ("Iron Gates"), was settled by a population attributed to theLate Epigravettian orMediterranean Tardigravettian. The first stage of this period was discovered by archaeologists in theClimente II cave (Mehedinți County), and the second stage, by discoveries in the shelter under the rocks atCuina Turcului,Dubova, both of which are located in the same limestone massif —Ciucaru Mare. The two dwelling levels atCuina Turcului have produced a large quantity of tools and weapons made offlint in particular, and less so of obsidian, bone and horn, as well as body ornaments (shells and drilled teeth, bone pendants, etc.) Theornaments are often decorated with incised geometrical patterns. The most remarkable is a drilled horsephalange, wholly ornamented and probably representing a female figure.
Besides the mammal (beaver, boar,mountain goat, etc.), bird and fish remnants, fragments of human skeletons were also found. TheClimente II cave has produced a human skeleton, set in a crouching position, and covered by a thick layer of redochre, which is attributed to theTardigravettian dwelling and which predates Level I atCuina Turcului.
The discoveries in theClisura area display striking similarities to the industries of theItalian Peninsula — the expression of the migrant human bearers of the Late Epigravettian in the mentioned area.[clarification needed]
Specialist opinions fix the beginning of the Mesolithic era at the end of thePreboreal, its development throughout theBoreal, and its end as late as the beginnings of theAtlantic. Chronologically then, it can be set between 9,500-9,000 and 7,500 BP. Two cultures are documented on the territory ofRomania in this time period: theTardenoisian and theSchela Cladova types.
TheTardenoisian spread in several of the country's regions (Moldavia,Muntenia,Dobruja), including the mountainous area of Transylvania in the southeast (Cremenea-Sita Buzăului,Costanța-Lădăuți) and northwest (Ciumești-Pășune). In the settlement of Ciumești,Satu Mare County, besides the typicallyCentral and East European Tardenoisianmicrolitice tools made offlint andobsidian, someartefacts were found in the form of circular segments and two triangular ones, in addition to trapezes. Thefauna remnants indicate the presence ofwild boar and deer.
Some specialists do not exclude the possibility of identifying theLate Tardenoisian communities of the north-westernPontic or central European types (of which the settlement at Ciumești is one) as being in the process ofneolithization, albeit incomplete, that is, displaying an incipient productive economy, whose foundations were laid by animal domestication and plant cultures.
TheSchela Cladovei culture is known through the nine open air settlements in the proximity of the Danube. Thelithic utensils come in numerous atypical forms and are fashioned ofquartzite and siliceoussandstone while an additional small number are made of flint. The horn tools (agriculture artefacts with one or two handle attachment holes) apparently indicate the debut ofplant cultivation. Some of the larger river rocks flattened by water or some of the thicker slabs might have served for grinding. The examination of the fauna indicates an economy based mainly on hunting. The targeted game were deer,roebucks,European bisons, wild boars, hares,wild donkeys, foxes, etc. Furthermore, it would seem that the representatives of this culturedomesticated the dog.
Anthropological data are quite consistent. The physical type was evaluated asOriental Cro-Magnon. The skeletons of the deceased were laid in rectangular holes, some dug in the floor of the dwelling itself. Part of them was laid in a crouching position, part was laid on their back, together with some of their personal belongings. Child mortality was high, while the average life expectancy for adults was 36.2 years.[citation needed] The discovery of some skeletons witharrowhead marks speaks of violent death. Research so far has proved that this culture does not have its roots in the Mediterranean typeTardigravettian, but rather originated by some new migration into theIron Gates region. In addition, it would seem that on the arrival of the first bearers of theNeolithic civilisation (Precriș culture), theSchela Cladovei culture had already come to an end.
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TheNeolithic began with the slow migration of communities from the south of theBalkan Peninsula (theProtosesklo culture from theThesalo-Macedonean area), who brought with them momentous economic progress. Consequently, the process ofneolithisation, which is essentially a shift to plant growing andanimal breeding, was not an innovation of the local Mesolithic population but rather the result of the penetration of this territory by communities carrying the Neolithic civilization.
The normal divisions of the Neolithic are:Early Neolithic,Developed Neolithic, andChalcolithic (Copper Age). The Neolithic epoch on the territory ofRomania, as certified by calibrated 14C dates, began around 6600 BC, and ended around 3800–3700 BC, and no later than 3500 BC.
The Early Neolithic (c. 6600–5500 BC) consists of two cultural layers: genetically linked and with similar physiognomies. The first (layerGura Baciului –Cârcea/Precriș) is the exclusive result of the migration of a Neolithic population from theSouth Balkan area, while the second (theStarčevo-Criș culture) reflects the process of adjusting to local conditions by a South Balkan community, possibly a synthesis with the localTardenoisian groups.
The layer Gura Baciului – Cârcea, also called thePrecriș culture, is a spin-off of aProtosesklo culture group that advanced north and reached theNorth Danubian region where it founded the first culture of painted pottery in Romania. The small number of sites attributable to this early cultural time has not allowed the route followed by the group, to penetrate the Inter-Carpathian area, to be firmly established, yet in all likelihood, it was theOlt Valley.
Based on the stratigraphy in the site ofGura Baciului,Cluj County, andOcna Sibiului,Sibiu County, the development of the culture is divided into three major stages.[clarification needed]The settlements are situated on high terraces strung along secondary valleys. The dwellings are most often underground, but there are also ground level houses, usually standing on river stone platforms. Pottery (bowls, cups) is refined, with white painted dots or geometrical patterns on red or brown-red background. Concomitant with pottery, plant cultures and animal breeding, the new culture introduces implements of polished stone and the first clay statuettes. The dead are buried on the grounds of the settlements sometimes directly under the dwellings. Gura Baciului is the first site on the territory of Romania attesting incineration as a funerary practice.
Anthropomorphic andzoomorphic plastic art reveals a bipolar system of beliefs: theGreat Mother, representing the female principle, and theBull, representing the male principle. The presence among the findings at Gura Baciului of some anthropomorphic stone heads, similar to the famous stone heads ofLepenski Vir, signify possible contact between the locals, theMesolithic cultures, and the newcomers. Furthermore, the adoption of these alien deities, even if exclusively a plastic substantiation,[clarification needed] speaks of a remarkable process of assimilation, characteristic of the layer above mentioned.[which?]
At Ocna Sibiului, at Precriș, level II, a small conical stone statuette was found, with a shape representing a couple embracing, and aplinth of the same material associated with the figure. On the statue and the plinth several symbols can be distinguished interpreted by the discoverer asideograms.
TheStarčevo-Criș culture, representing the generalisation of the early Neolithic in theIntra-Carpathian territory, has been regarded by some as the prolongation of the Gura Baciului-Cârcea/Precriș culture, disregarding that it is probably the result of a new south Balkan migration (thePresesklo culture) arriving in Transylvania viaBanat. The Starčevo–Criș culture has a long evolution in four stages.
Dwellings were set up on meadows,terraces, hills and even in caves, wherever the environment was friendly. Thedwellings were embedded in the early phases and were huts at ground level, in the later phases. Asymmetrical receptacles, bowls, spherical cups, all of which were made of clay, furnish the interiors of this culture. The lithic utensil inventory includesflint and obsidianmicrolites, as well as large polished stone axes of theWalzenbiele type. It is now, too, that the first small copper items occur sporadically. Thepintaderas decorated with geometrical patterns as well as theSpondylus andTridacna shells testify to possible connections withEastern Mediterranean regions.Burials were performed both inside and among the dwellings. Anthropological analyses have revealed a major Mediterranean component suggesting a southern origin of this population.
TheDeveloped Neolithic (c. 5500–4000 BC) covers the interval between the last phase of theStarčevo–Criș culture and the beginnings of the Petrești culture, the period including what has long been known as middle and late Neolithic. The Developed Neolithic is marked by the migration of some new groups of populations, whose point of departure was the south of theBalkan Peninsula, as part of the group of cultures with polished black pottery. These same groups created theVinča culture (more commonly divided into four main phases: A, B, C, and D), whose beginning is synchronous with the final phase of theSesklo culture (Greece) occupyingBanat and most of Transylvania. In about the same period, the north-east of Transylvania was penetrated by several groups, bearing thelinear and musical note pottery culture.
TheVinča culture in Romania comes in many forms depending on the local background against which it developed (the Starčevo-Criș culture and the linear pottery) and the degree of southern influence. The synthesis of the above-mentioned elements gave birth to numerous related regional elements, so that when referring to the Transylvania territory, specialists do not speak of a Vinča culture per se, but rather that of theBanat culture, theBucovăț group, thePișcolt group, theTurdaș culture, the Cluj-Cheile–Turzii–Lumea Nouă–Iclod complex, and theIclod group. A general characteristic of these groups is the black polished pottery (cups, bowls, lids, etc.). The decorations are variously incised and impressed (bands filled in with stripes, in particular) in addition to displaying fine grooves. The statuettes feature oblong heads (possibly indicating a mask), cross-like bodies, and are often decorated with spiral winding patterns.
In Banat, with the end of the Vinča A2 stage there emerges theBanat culture with several distinctive regional peculiarities (groups Bucovăț andParța). TheParța settlement, thoroughly researched, demonstrates that the culture reached a high level of civilization, attested to by the one storey buildings and by a complex spiritual life, partly decoded by the components of the great sanctuary studied here. The cultedifice (with maximum dimensions of 12x6x7m), with two stages of construction, had two chambers, the one to the east, the other to the west, separated by analtar table and then a wall. The west chamber served as a depository for daily offerings. In the foundation of the south entrance to this chamber was laid azoomorphic idol and a tiny vessel. The east chamber served for the initiation ceremonies. Religious centers of this type through their prestige and grandeur most certainly congregated the population of an extended area.
The charred seeds found in theLiubcova settlement indicate that several cereals were grown. Wheat prevailed, particularly theTriticum dicoccum species, as well as theTriticum monococcum andTriticum aestivus species in proportion of approx. 10%.[clarification needed] The first occurrence on the territory of Romania of theHordeum vulgare barley is seen. Also present are such leguminous plants as lentil and vetch. Of paramount interest is that wheat was harvested, as discovered in a settlement south of the Carpathians (Teiu, theGumelnița culture), and was possibly used in other areas, too. The wheat was harvested by pulling out, then was sheaved and tied with a switch, vine shoots or ivy. Once carried to the settlement, the grain was threshed.
The Vinča communities that advanced on the middle course of theMureș River, under the influence of the Starčevo-Criș traditions and the elements of the linear pottery, created a new cultural synthesis called theTurdaș culture. The occurrence of signs incised on the bottom of several vessels, particularly on those atTurdaș (Hunedoara County), have often been regarded as thepotter's mark. More recently they have been considered by some researchers as early attempts at recording dates graphically. That things might stand this way[clarification needed] is demonstrated, apparently, by thebaked clay tablets covered with incised pictographic patterns atTărtăria (Alba County), discovered, according toNicolae Vlassa, in a ritual hole in the ground, next to clay and alabaster idols and a fragment of an anchor, all of which have triggered hot debate over thestratigraphy and chronology of the settlement.
The preservation by some Starčevo-Criș communities of painted pottery, in addition to the Vinča elements, engendered[clarification needed] in the area of the eastern arch of the Western Carpathians the Cluj–Cheile Turzii–Lumea Nouă–Iclod cultural complex. This complex represents the substratum[clarification needed] for the emergence of thePetrești culture. Long-term research atIclod has demonstrated that this station possessed a complex fortification system built during the Iclod, Phase I, still in use for some time in the Iclod II phase, eventually abandoned when the settlement expanded. It is in the same spot that research has been carried in two inhumationnecropoles,[clarification needed] where the dead were laid on their backs hands across their chests or abdomens or along their bodies; the bodies were oriented east–west, their heads facing east. The inventory consists of vessels (cylindrical, painted bowls, and S profile pots),ochre, stone utensils, ornaments and animalofferings.
TheChalcolithic,Eneolithic orCopper Age (c. 4600/4500 – 3800/3700 BC) is characterized by an ever-increasing number of copper items, as well as the presence of stone, bone, horn and baked clay utensils. It marks the first production of heavy copper tools and moulds, (axes – chisels and axes), in close conjunction with the exploitation of copper deposits in Transylvania. Gold is used for ornaments and the fashioning of such idols as those atMoigrad in the Bodrogkeresztúr-Gornești culture. The craft of pottery reaches a peak, exemplified by the great number of exquisitely decorated pots.
Cultures typical for this period are the Cucuteni-Ariușd, Petrești,Tiszapolgár-Românești and Bodrogkeresztúr-Gornești. The first two cultures are among the numerous Eneolithic cultures with pottery painted in bi- and tri-chromatic patterns.
AtAriușd,Covasna County, in the east of Transylvania, the first systematic excavations were undertaken in what is considered the neo-Eneolithic epoch inRomania. The material discovered has been integrated into the greater painted pottery complex of Cucuteni-Ariușd-Trypillia.
The Petrești culture diffused across almost all of Transylvania, is regarded as local in origin by some specialists, and as a migration originating from the southern areas of the Balkans, by others. It is primarily known for its painted decoration – patterns painted in red, brown-red, later brown, on a brick-red background, which testifies to the high standard of civilization of the bearers of this culture. The ornamental motifs consist in bands,rhombuses, squares, spirals, and windings. The typical forms are bowls, tureens, high stands. Plastic art is fairly scarce and so are brass items.
The end of this culture[clarification needed] has been associated with the entry into central Transylvania by the bearers of theDecea Mureșului culture/horizon and theGornești culture.
The graves atDecea Mureșului, according to some, are a continuation of the rituals ofIclod, whereas according to others, they are hard proof of the penetration of central Transylvania by a north-Pontic population. The presence of red ochre scattered over the skeletons, or laid at their feet in the form of little balls, as well as other ritual elements find better analogies, however, in the necropolis atMariupol in south Ukraine.
The Gornești culture, characterized by the occurrence of the so-called high-necked milk pots with two small protuberances pulled at the margin and drilled vertically, is a continuation of the [Românești] (featuring receptacles with bird bill protuberances and decorated with step[clarification needed] or nettle incisions), in turn descended from the Tisa culture in the developed Neolithic period.
The settlements of the neo-Eneolithic cultures were located on the low or high river terraces, on hilltops or hillspurs and consisted in several dwellings whose positions sometimes observed particular rules. Recent research has tended to focus on the defense systems (ditches and scarps) of these sites. The culture strata are thick and superposed forming at times regulartells.
The dwellings of this period were of several types. The earth houses displayed an oval shaped hole, with a maximum of 5–6 metres (16–20 ft) and a minimum of 3 m (9.8 ft) in diameter. On one of the edges a simple fireplace was built out of a smoothed layer of clay. The thatched roof was conical or elongated and was supported by atrestle. The one room rectangular surface dwellings are also documented as dating back to the beginning of the Neolithic. They had wattle walls pasted with clay mixed with straw. The roof was double sloping, and the floor was made of trodden clay. TheCucuteni dwellings in south-east Transylvania are spacious (40–100 square metres (430–1,080 sq ft) and more), often have a platform and are divided into two or more rooms.
Neo-Eneolithic sculpture is represented by cultic figures, idols, and talismans fashioned out of bone, stone or clay. These are human or animal representations conveyed by stylized or exaggerated body parts. Among the thousand anthropomorphous statues discovered, the female ones, symbols of fertility and fecundity, prevail by far.
Copper was first used for fashioning small implements or ornaments (needles,awls, fishing hooks, pendants, etc.), while gold was used solely for aesthetic and decorative purposes. For a long time the items were produced by the technique of hammering, for the technique of the casting mould as well as that of "cire perdue" (lost wax) emerged much later. Although there is no proof of the provenance of the first metal items, they are seemingly local rather than imported products. That does not necessarily suggest that metallurgy was the invention of the local population, for it might have been introduced as a result of contact with regions where metal processing had started earlier (in the East or theCaucasus).
The Eneolithic marked a notable advancement in the development of metallurgy. Throughout this period copper artifacts are present in the settlements, in grave inventories or even in deposits (assemblies of whole or fragmentary objects concentrated in one, usually isolated, place). This period also marks a high incidence of flat axes, pins, simple or multi-spiral bracelets or necklaces. The most complex of all Eneolithic achievements is the axe. These weapon-implements are bound to[clarification needed] the late phases of the Cucuteni, Decea Mureșului, and Bodrogkeresztúr-Gornești cultures. The gold Eneolithic items, outnumbered by the copper, actually constitute the beginning of goldsmithing in the Transylvanian lands. An outstanding artifact was the great gold pendant in the thesaurus of Moigrad,Sălaj County, which is 30 cm (12 in) in height and weighs 750 g (26 oz).
We know little about the racial types of the Transylvanian Neolithic population. The area of some of the cultures, for instance Cucuteni, lack funeral finds, for they are the expression of ritual practices that elude archeological methods. The little anthropological data available (Gura Baciului, Iclod) suggests Mediterranean-type physical features.
The role of the invasion of thepastoral tribes coming from the north-Pontic (supposedly Indo-European kinship) in bringing to an end the Eneolithic culture of sedentary farmers, represents one of the hotly debated issues among specialists in the prehistory of south-eastern Europe. What once might have seemed exclusively a migration of nomadic tribes, now may be understood as a socio-economic transformation of the local population—its adaptation to the new environment, to the evolution of society (the increasing role of the animal breeders and shepherds, the development of metallurgy, extended mobility, the increasingly military role of the elites, changes in the belief systems, etc.).
In conclusion, the Eneolithic was a period of stability, in which the sedentary populations created a spectacular civilization.
For a long time the Romanian Bronze Age had been divided into four periods, but the archeological facts have imposed in the last decades the use of a three-part system: Early, Middle, and Late Bronze.
As communities acquired the secrets ofalloying brass and arsenic, tin, zinc, or lead, achieving the first items in bronze, the long period during which stone constituted the main raw material for fashioning implements and weapons was coming to an end. The emergence and development of bronze metallurgy is accompanied by numerous substantial changes in economic and social life, in the spiritual life, and in the arts. The ensemble of these modifications – archeologically identifiable especially midway in the Bronze Age, yet already prefigured early on in the transition period from the Eneolithic to the Bronze Age – indicates a civilization far more sophisticated than we had imagined.
The first stage of theEarly Bronze Age is a genuine cultural mosaic, juxtaposing transitory civilizations with those typical of the Bronze Age. For the first, the most typical is theBaden–Coțofeni cultural bloc, which perpetuated in many aspects a transitory lifestyle, but evolved in parallel to the pre-Schneckenberg andSchneckenberg civilisations, which were more active in taking over[clarification needed] the products of theAegean-Anatolian Early Bronze. One can no longer speak ofEneolithic or neo-Eneolithic cultures, as defined by this historical period, for the changes occurring in the social structure are radical. The rise in status of the chieftains, indicated by the erection of tumulus funeral monuments, the different type ofmetallurgy, the different type of economy based on greater mobility as evinced by the impressive number ofsettlements belonging to theCoțofeni culture.
During the second stage, in the center of Transylvania there develops a cultural group bearing the name of the locality ofCopăceni,Cluj County, which favored the locations afforded by the elevated sites in the eastern, and probably western, arch of theWestern Carpathians and the upper basin of theSomeș rivers. Their main pursuits were agriculture, animal breeding and ore extraction. They had surface dwellings, medium-sized (3x4m) with a rectangular layout, and pottery displays mainly high-necked pots with a short bottom portion often decorated withbarbotine. Frequently the pots' rims are thickened and decorated with rope impressions. The dead are buried intumuli such as those atCheile Aiudului,Cheile Turzii, andCheile Turului. The Copăceni group evolved in parallel to theȘoimuș andJigodin groups, the former in the south-west, and the latter in south-east Transylvania.
Finally, the third stage is the least known, and is characterized by the use ofceramics with brush decorations andtextile impressions.
Non-ferrous metallurgy inEarly Bronze Age, given the substantial fall in production as compared to theEneolithic, should be regarded as undergoing some sort of realignment, or repositioning, rather than indicating an acute decline. The causes of this phenomenon are many and diverse (exhaustion of the usualmineral sources, major technological changes, disturbing ethnic reshuffling, etc.). Significantly, the first bronze items (brass alloyed witharsenic, and later tin) now emerged.
Thearcheological sites of this period have uncovered more varied jewelry (hair rings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants made incopper, bronze or gold),poniards, flat axes as well as 'raised margin' axes. Yet the most important achievement of the age is the single-edged axe. Apparently the majority of these products were manufactured in local workshops. The proof is the numerous moulds for casting axes discovered atLeliceni,Harghita County, part of theJigodin group. Hard to ignore is the often evoked ritual hole atFântânele, part of theCopăceni group, where were found fragments ofmoulds for casting metal items (littlechisels, poniards, massive axes), testifying that the level of theVâlcele,Cluj County, type ofaxe had certainly been attained.
This culture occupied the Middle andLate Bronze Ages. In the diffusion of the archeological cultures on the lower course of theMureș River, thePeriam-Pecica/Mureș culture emerges, bordered in the south by theVatina culture and in the north (territories in Hungary and Slovakia included), by the Otomani culture; theTransylvanian Plateau was occupied by theWietenberg culture, which gradually ceded part of its northern area to theSuciu de Sus culture. All of these cultures evolved together, the earliest being evidently theMureș culture, the Suciu de Sus culture appearing later. Among the five regional cultural groups, the Wietenberg andOtomani cultures occupy a special position. The division into periods, according to the stratigraphy of the sites atDerșida,Sălaj County, andOtomani,Bihor County, represents in addition to that ofSărata Monteoru inMuntenia, the major demarcations of the Romanian Bronze chronology.
The late period of the Bronze Age brings to Transylvania a marked process of cultural uniformity, whose direct manifestation is the local variety of theNoua culture. It is now, too, that theLăpuș groups spins off theSuciu de Sus culture while the western areas are covered by theCehăluț andIgrița groups.
Ceramics are the prehistoric artifacts that have been available in the greatest quantity and variety, thus providing the foundation of all of the above-mentioned cultural classifications.
The pattern repertoire of these cultures is abstract and geometric. The Wietenberg, Otomani andSuciu de Sus cultures, regularly and predominantly, displayed dynamically designed solar symbols (continuous spirals, crosses with spirals etc.) in the early stages of their cultural development. The same symbols appeared, in static form, (crosses, spiked wheels, rays, etc.) for the other cultures (Vatina,Mureș). Natural elements occurred rarely, and mainly as figurative art.
Most remarkable in this context were the super-elevated handles, shaped into ram heads, of a large size receptacle found south of the Carpathians, atSărata Monteoru,Buzău County. The motif is repeated in markedly stylized forms on numerous pot handles of theWietenberg culture. They were abstract to the extent that an animal was represented by a single defining element, for example a ram's horns. The same culture exhibits two rare achievements: a fragment of a cult wagon, exquisitely decorated, with both extremities ending inprotomes, shaped as sheep-goat heads, discovered atLechința de Mureș,Mureș County, and a gold axe displaying a fine engraving of a human silhouette next to a bovine silhouette, whose provenance is the thesaurus ofȚufalău,Covasna County.
Close scrutiny of the production technique of the more complex vessels—the perfect duct[clarification needed] of some complex decoration patterns—strengthens the probability that the ceramics were produced by specialists. This does not exclude the possibility that other social groups, mainly children and adolescents, performed a secondary role. The transport of receptacles over long distances, in the absence of good roads, must have been an equally difficult operation, requiring itinerant craftsmen or special workshops near the more important centers.
The partial representations, the schematic physiognomies, as well as the faithful thematic rendering, though rare, all speak of a new symbolic expression that dominated the art of statuettes too. The moulding of thezoomorphic andanthropomorphic statuettes no longer attain the rich realism of the prior epoch, which is explained by the changes occurring in the religious and cult structure of the society. The incised and engraved decorations focus particularly on the details of the costume and the jewelry worn (hair rings, diadems, pendants, necklaces, etc.)
The importance of the settlements, as a constructed and limited human space for the prehistoric population, is graphically suggested byMircea Eliade,[citation needed] when he interprets them as symbolic of the "centre of the world". The analyzed archeological sites evolved from simple groupings of lodges to complex urban facilities, directed towards maintaining collective lifestyle quality, ensuring the protection of life and goods, and meeting specific social, economic, defense and cultic needs.
Thus, there are central sites, with long-term developments, epicenters of a larger territory (Derşida, Otomani, etc.), and secondary sites evolving at the level of hamlets or seasonal dwellings (Suatu,Cluj-Napoca, etc.). The Otomani civilization in particular features a marked settlement hierarchy manifested in the ordered positioning of the dwellings, suggesting a pre-urban tendency. For instance, atOtomani – Cetățuie a circular settlement has been investigated, located on a hilltop and enclosed by a ditch and rampart. The dwellings were distributed in two concentric circles around an empty space at the center. The same organizing system is evident at Sălacea, where amegaron-type sanctuary has been explored.
Prior to this[clarification needed] century, theIntra-Carpathian space has been predominantly a land of farmers, as well as of craftsmen and animal breeders. In settlements belonging to the classical period of the Bronze Age were found charred seeds, numerous farming implements, grinding mills of diverse types, all attesting the intensive cultivation of grains. The widespread use of a primitive type of plough drawn by oxen is indicated by a great number of plough shares made of deer horn. Wheat,millet, barley, and rye were found in several Bronze Age sites. A Wietenberg ritual complex researched recently atCluj-Napoca uncovered charred buckwheat, chick-peas and sesame seeds, and the ritual complexes atOarța de Jos (Maramureș County) revealed the use of notch weed and sorrel.
The animal economy of theBronze Age, with the familiar local variations, was based on pig, sheep and goat breeding, with a decline in large horned cattle. Thus, the inhabitants of the Vatina and Otomani cultures seem to have focused on breeding swine, sheep, goats, and on intensive hunting; while among the Wietenberg and Noua communities cattle were most common, used both for food and for traction, followed by sheep, goats, swine and horses. Horses were constantly present and revolutionized transportation and communication. The wagon with big wheels, later with spikes, emerged and spread, either as a warring and hunting vehicle, or to symbolizesocial status.
The food provided by agriculture and animal breeding was supplemented by hunting and fishing. Their proportion within the economy varied among the communities of theBronze Age. For instance, atSărata Monteoru (theMonteoru culture) they represented 8.11% and atPecica, of theMureș culture, 17.95%, in contrast to the area of the Noua culture where the percentage of hunting was, as a rule, much below 3%. Deer remained the most prized game in theBronze Age, followed by wild boar and roebuck. A larger and more constant flow of the rivers, determined by an increasingly wet climate, is evident from the large fish bones found in manyBronze Age settlements.
There is no clear indication whether agriculture or animal breeding predominated within Bronze Age communities, with research revealing that both were being practiced together within the same area. But as populations stabilized, they tended towards apastoral East and a farm-dominated West.
Men became more economically productive, due to improved metallurgy and better animal husbandry, and the use of draught animals in agriculture. Men acquired a dominant position within the family and in society.
For the Bronze Age people, the mountains provided hunting,timber and fruit, and held the copper and precious metal ores.Copper, silver and gold have always constituted major assets of theIntra-Carpathian region. TheApuseni Mountains are especially rich, as are the ores in theMaramureș Mountains, or the copper in theGiurgeului Mountains andBaia de Aramă. Metal outcrops are claimed to have been searched for by specialists, who perhaps then kept them secret. By washing gravel, or by digging pits for nuggets, the ore seekers satisfied the demand of local, prehistoric Europe, and even for the Mycenaean elites.
The unique direct proof of prehistoric exploitation of non-ferrous metals in Transylvania is the stone axe found in a gallery inCăraci (Hunedoara County). An impressive anthropomorphous statue was discovered atBaia de CrișHunedoara orCiceu-Mihăiești,Bistrița-Năsăud County. It portrayed implements (pickaxe and basket), whose absolutely sensational analogs were found in the photos of miners, taken byB. Roman at the middle of the last[clarification needed] century, strongly suggesting that the mining ofnon-ferrous metals was also performed underground.
Furthermore, theNatural History Museum in Vienna preserves two hair rings with the caption 'Dealul Vulcoi (Roșia Montană), districtCâmpeni, region Cluj'. The museum inLupșa exhibits a miner's axe and a club, both having come from theLupșa valley. These exhibits demonstrate the presence of prehistoric miners in the ore-richApuseni Mountains.
Increasingly, traces of people involved in bronze-related activities are found. There are finished or semi-finished items,moulds, deposits or isolated items. The tracks ofquarries and work-sheds are rather frail, firstly, because of subsequent exploitation, secondly, because of far too few exhaustive archeological investigations. The little workshop for moulding bronze pieces in the Wietenberg settlement atDerșida is well known.
The most complete and spectacular data related to metal processing workshops gathered so far, although partial, come fromPalatca,Cluj County, from theLate Bronze Age, where the workshop was in close proximity to the dwelling area. The research has brought to light numerous moulds for casting metal items, unfortunately extremely fragmented, the fragment of a bronze cake, rectangular in shape, with curved sides, a bronze anvil, slag, several fragments of hand-mills, burnt out fireplaces and diverse rocks. Space in the workshop was organized in a complex way, depending on the current activities (selecting and grinding rocks, cutting and melting cakes, casting and retouching items). The presence atPalatca of theplano-convex type bronze cakes and, for the first time ever on Romanian territory, of theAegean type, as well as the probable absence of metal reductionkilns demonstrate that this operation was performed in themining areas.
The conversion of minerals to metal by means of fire was a process accompanied by rituals, magic formulas, and chanting to bring about the "birth of the metal". At the foundation of a kiln atPalatca formed by a burnt out clay fireplace and several slabs of whetstone laid one on top of the other, probably round in shape, a clay vessel had been deposited. Close to the workshop, a large ritual area has been explored. Receptacles with offerings were placed in multiplehypostases next to ore-refining items (hand-mills, bronze items, ash, coal, etc.), underneath or on top of the whetstone slabs, head down or head up.[clarification needed]
The mass of theethnographic data which associates the ground with the belly, the mine with the womb, and the ore with theembryo, speaks of the sexuality of the mineral realm, and of theblacksmith's belongings and implements. The production of items is the equivalent of a birth and takes on an obstetrical dimension. Theblacksmith's implements have a sexual connotation. The anvils, for instance, are identified with the female principle. In this context, the closeness between the shape of the orifice for setting in place the anvil atPalatca, and the female generating organ was not coincidental. Another unique discovery was the meteorite. Meteorites coming from the skies fell on Earth with a celestial sacred charge and were often associated with the blacksmiths' activity.
The scarcity of settlements with metallurgic activity also hints at the possible existence of itinerantartisans and/or the centralization of the activity. This new development in bronze processing denotes a specialization in production with the appearance of prospectors, blacksmiths andmerchants, who exported the surplus produce. Through exchange, the Transylvanian and east-Hungarian typeaxes with spiked discs spread as far east asBug, and to the north, to theOder andElbe region,Pomerania included, a phenomenon connected withThe Great Amber Road and the exploitation of brass andtin in the Elbe region. The metal artisans are not in power, but rather work under the control of an elite, which had seen the contingencies between metal and wealth, technology, war, and even the social and cultic structure.
The first level with gift depositaries[clarification needed] consisted in two main themes: the sword and theaxe, outlining the role of the two weapons in theIntra-Carpathian warrior. The lance must have been yet another important weapon, but is a lesser find. The characteristics of the period are the bronze deposits atApa,Satu Mare County (two swords, three war axes and a defense bracer[clarification needed]),Ighiu,Alba County (two axes with spiked discs and four defense bracers) and atSăpânța,Maramureș County (a spiked disc axe of type A2, exquisitely decorated, older than all the other pieces, spiral bracers, arm bands, andcordiform pendants). In the following stage, undecorated bronze items (single-edged axe and spiked disc axe), were produced and stored in ever increasing quantities. Many continued in the earlier style, but were also new types. Among the best creations of Bronze Age metallurgy were theMycenaean type swords, whose dating is still debated.
The thesaurus found in 1840 atȚufalău,Covasna County, in the area of the Wietenberg culture, speaks clearly of the wealth and refined tastes of a socialelite. Kept in a clay pot, thethesaurus contained several solid goldaxes, ornamentalphalerae with spiral motifs, hair rings, one bracelet and one large gold piece. A great number ofgold and silver items (bracelets, looprings, etc.) were found atOarța de Sus, with accurate stratigraphy, in a ritual space belonging to theWietenberg culture. Such thesauruses containing hundreds of pieces weighing several kilograms, such as those atSarasău,Maramureș County) orHinova,Mehedinți County, are few and likely to represent the community treasure. They are outnumbered by those displaying fewer items which seem to have been the private property of some leaders.
Metal, bone, stone or clay processing were most certainly operations performed by specialists, who worked in small workshops, or sometimes larger ones such as those atDerșida orPalatca.
There certainly existed many wooden tools or receptacles, but they have not been preserved. Animal skin processing for fashioning clothing items,shields, harnesses, etc. must have been widespread.
The Bronze Agenecropoles reveal funeral practices peculiar to each community. The graves, with variations specific to the different cultural entities, by their design and their contents attest to an advanced spiritual culture.Incineration (Wietenberg culture) orinhumation (Noua culture), the placing of offering-items alongside the deceased, all imply abstract thinking and belief in theafterlife.
Archeological investigations alone are too few and disparate for a detailed reconstruction of thereligions of the Bronze Age people. Thesolar symbols, dynamic or static in form, (continuing spirals, simple crosses or crosses with spirals, spiked wheels, rays, etc.) are so numerous that they could be illustrated in a separate volume, and speak clearly about the prevailing role of this cult.
Cultic practices were performed by the people of the Bronze Age in diverse locations: in mountains, trees, springs, rivers, clearings or even, as noted, in specially assigned places inside the settlements. AtSălacea,Bihor County, in the southern area of the settlement of theOtomani culture there was a cultic edifice, amegaron typesanctuary measuring 5.20x8.80m, with a porch with two in antis pillars, apronaos with an elevated altar and anaos with two fixedaltars. The solid crust on the altar surface testifies to the rituals involving fire, while the walls nearby were provided with circular orifices (a ventilating system and alternative lighting of the altars depending on sunrise and sunset). On one of them were found nineclay weights, three curved stone knives, and onecylindrical clay stand. The other had nine clay weights in miniature, three curved stone knives and one cylindrical stand.
The symbolic value of the items and their number speak for themselves. The walls were decorated withplaster work with geometrical motifs (spirals, continuing spirals) randomly painted in white. Close by the entrance an infant grave has been researched, possibly partially deposited as anoffering. Another founding ritual is encountered in Early Bronze Age atCopăceni, where under the lodge's floorboard were found five human skeletons (one female adult and four fetuses). Judging by their position – the female in anobstetric position with thefetuses around her basin and one between her inferior members – it could well be a mother and her infants.
All of these practices, judging by the archeological data mentioned above, as well as being based on other analogies, were accompanied by offerings,libations, chanting and cultic dancing. Apart from some dailyfestivals (sewing, harvesting, reaping, sheep loss or recovery, etc.), there must have been annual or multi-annual festivals of the whole community, or of part of it. This has been made clear from the above-mentioned research atOarța de Sus –Ghiile Botii. The divinities guarding this space were in harmony with the weapons, ornaments or gifts personal or social in nature (grains, plants, food), with the animal, even human,sacrifices, with ceramics and bone, as well as with gold, silver or bronze. This wide variety of offerings, deposited in the course of grand religious ceremonies, indicate either an all-encompassingdeity, or else several deities all worshiped within the same space.
In theWietenberg culture area atCluj-Napoca the underground deposition of offerings in a ritual hole and their contents (numerousreceptacles filled withcharred seeds) speaks of an agricultural ritual, one which waschthonic, dedicated to a harvest-giving deity rulingfertility. In this case sacred agrarian rituals, whose tradition is evident in the historical epochs too, was intended to inaugurate and imprint a rhythm to the agrarian calendar, and to achieve union between sun and soil through the agrarian ceremonial. The repeated occurrence of the solar motifs covering the walls of the receptacles deposited, typically masculine, might be speaking of the joining of the twospheres: earth-sun, female-male, immobile-mobile, thus demonstrating thedualism of creeds in theBronze Age.
The link between theCarpathian region and theMediterranean civilizations has often been the subject of debates, offering quite divergent opinions concerning their dating, direction, and significance. One of the main arguments concerns the bronze swords discovered on the territory of Romania. These long thrusting swords (symbols of dignity and power as well as formidable weapons) are obviously local products. The decorating motifs based on spirals and fine windings on bronze or gold weapons, on bone or horn items, are near to perfection, especially in the areas of theWietenberg andOtomani cultures. If created independently of theAegean models, they cannot be too far apart in time.
The glass in theNoua graves atCluj-Napoca, and theDentalium beads discovered atDerșida in a Wietenbergmilieu, are also ofMediterranean origins. AtOarța de Sus on the shoulder of one of the cult receptacles are symbols in a line that are most certainlyepigraphic. Similar images, also indicating a connection with southern civilizations, are found in theOtomani culture atBarca, Slovakia. Similarly, one of the bronze ingots atPalatca copies the well-known Aegean model. The striking similarities between the Wietenbergceramics and theApennine culture in northernItaly are difficult to explain. The assumption made long ago of a common generating center still stands, until final clarification.
In the same era, the metals produced on the slopes of the eastern arch of theWestern Carpathians arrived in different ways in distant places all over Europe; so did the salt Transylvania is so rich in. Just as the obsidian, most probably exploited in theBükk Mountains (Hungary), is encountered in the Wietenberg cultic complex discovered at Cluj-Napoca. The amber items in the deposit discovered at theCioclovina cave came from theBaltic Sea, while theCaucasian influences are indicated by the axe discovered atLarga,Maramureș County.
The marked expansion of pan-European trade in middle and late Bronze Age created growing dependence between the different cultural groups, and an acceleration of uniformity in cultural values and produce. All of which sped up the general development of society and the passage to a new phase in historical evolution.
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TheLate Bronze Age shows a marked increase in metallurgic production based on the discovery of new non-ferrous mineral sources and the adoption of upgraded technology. The eastern experience brought by the bearers of theNoua culture and the southern experience (through Central European connections) brought by some late derivatives of theOtomani culture, both grafted onto the undoubted local experience, made Transylvania the most prolific metallurgic center in prehistoric Europe.
The differences identified between the deposits of the period speak not of unitary series,[clarification needed] but of types of deposits with a more limited geographic spread. One deposit, characterized by the almost exclusive presence of several types ofaxes, socked[clarification needed] axes,bracelets and foot rings, delineates the area of diffusion of theSuciu de Sus culture. The deposits in the area of the post-Otomani groups (Igrița andCehăluț) contain almost exclusively ornament items, mainly pendants and pins. Finally, in central and eastern Transylvania, in the area of the Noua culture, we encounter the third type of deposit with the prevailing Transylvanian type of socked axes and thesickle.
Only a small number ofbronze items were found in settlements and cemeteries. Most of them have a fortuitous appearance in what we call deposits.Romanian archaeology has interpreted their storage as a proof of troubled times, yet today a new interpretation is gaining ground: they are cultic deposits functioning as offerings, or at times, as the result of prestigious inter-community auctions of the "potlatch" type. The arguments in favour are strong: long periods of peaceful development, the location of the deposits (confluence of rivers, lakes, springs, clearings, mild slopes looking east, etc.), the number of items, the arrangements, their manipulations (fired, bent, fragmentation through bending, etc.), etc. Moreover, there is no logic in the locals burying their arms in the face of a military threat.
The multiplication of the offensive, in contrast to the defensive, fighting equipment (swords type Boiu –Sauerbrunn,battle axes with spiked disc,daggers, spearheads,arm bracers, all made of bronze), the development of settlements with man-made defenses, the existence of distinct warrior graves, gives the impression that the Bronze Age was a warring world. But there are numerous arguments that it was really a matter of parading rather than using force.
The extraordinarynon-ferrous mineral wealth of theIntra-Carpathian region has often been remarked upon in the literature. The overwhelming number of finds of copper, bronze, silver, andgold products is hard to equal inprehistoric Europe. For instance, no other limited prehistoric space is known to have contained two large deposits dating from the same short range of time (Hallstatt A1).Uioara de Sus, accidentally found in 1909, contained 5,827 items weighing approximately 1,100 kg, whileŞpalnaca II 1,000 paces away, in the year 1887, totaling a weight of 1,000 – 1,200 kg, was composed similarly of thousands of items. In addition to Șpalnaca I, Șpalnaca II, a deposit dated Hallstatt B1, was discovered a short distance away in the year 1881 and consisted of 120 bronze items.
The localcopper ores often occur together with gold and silver. The gold must have been obtained, both by the washing gravel method in the valleys rich with such ores, as well as through mining the gold ore on the surface, or in shallow veins in ravines or landslides. There is no doubt that the tools and procedures of washing gold-bearing gravel did not differ greatly from those used throughout the ages up to the beginning of the 20th century. A wooden shovel, avat (a similar clay item was found in one of thetumuli atLăpuș), a screen, a piece of woolen linen or even a sheep's fleece sufficed. The output was a few grams per day per worker.
The FirstIron Age period, also called theHallstatt (after the finds in the locality ofHallstatt, Austria) covers the 10th to 5th centuries BC (1000-400 BC) and is divided into three periods: early (1000-700 BC), middle (700-600 BC) and late (600-400 BC). The Second Iron Age, also calledLa Tène,generally covers the period between 450 BC and the peak ofRoman Empire.
The defining phenomenon of the epoch is the use of iron with a paramount impact onhumanity's subsequent evolution.
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In contrast to theheterogeneity of the preceding ages, the first Iron Age is remarkable for its homogeneity, which is the result of the emergence and generalization of a new culture displaying black ceramics ornamented with grooves. This cultural homogenization in theFirst Iron Age represents essentially the material proof of the constitution within theCarpathian Danubian space of the earlyGeto-Dacians, who are culturally distinguishable from the southernThracians and the other neighboring peoples. We are told this by the father of history himself—Herodotus. Recounting thePersian kingDarius' expedition to the mouth of theDanube in 514 BC he mentions theGetae, praising them for theirvalour.[dubious –discuss]
Over 600 sites are known so far across the territory of Transylvania from the First Iron Age. Most sites were occupied during all stages of this epoch. Twenty-sixfortifications, some inhabited permanently, others used for refuge and defense in times of peril, are among the more remarkable.
The fortified settlements and the refuge fortifications were usually located on inaccessible elevations and close to water courses and fertile areas. Their sizes vary with the location and its possibilities. For instance, thefortified settlement atSântana (Arad County) with an area of approximately 100 hectares or those atCiceu-Corabia (Bistrița-Năsăud County) andTeleac (Alba County), each measuring 30 hectares, count among the largest in Europe. The first Iron Age fortifications are also known in the county of Cluj, in Dej, Huedin and Someşul Rece.
The defense systems surrounding these regularstrongholds consisted of aditch,rampart andpalisade, the last of which was designed as a wooden wall erected on the ridge of the rampart representing the most important part of the system. So designed, the fortifications generally measured 7–8 m in height, but could reach 10-12 making them difficult to conquer.
As tribal centers, the fortified settlements had multiple functions, the foremost of which was to ensure the defense of the community. The discovery ofmetallurgical workshops for manufacturingtools indicates that the settlements housed skilledcraft activities, which included permanent exchange relations.
Agriculture was still the main pursuit in theFirst Iron Age and supplied food for the communities. Finding charred seeds indicates the cultivation of wheat, barley, rye, millet, as well hemp for linen, while the large size pots and the storage pits indicate how the harvests were preserved. The emergence of the first ironfarming implements,scythes and grubbinghoes, indicate notable progress in the agricultural practice.
The large quantity of bones discovered in the settlements, most originating from domestic animals, cattle, sheep,swine—as well as game—indicate the importance of domestic animals to supplementhunting, as well as the importance of meat in the daily diet.
Finally, besides some such crafts as metallurgy which imply special skill, members of every family engaged in a series of activities such asweaving, spinning, andleather dressing, shown by the discovery in the dwellings ofspindle, spools, sewing needles, and scrapers for cleaninghide.
The occurrence ofdecorations on a large number ofvessels, the most perishable of categories, as well as on numerous body ornaments (hair pins,fibulae and others) shows that in the First Iron Age theartistic phenomenon was manifested especially in decorative art asgeometric patterns.
Religion was demonstrably a daily presence in prehistoric communities. Thus, besides the magic practice and thefertility cult of ancient tradition, the depositing of offerings in appropriate ground holes, as well as the representations linked to theSun cult, foreshadow the two components:chtonian and Urano-solar to become the characteristics of theGeto-Dacian religion in the classical period.
During the First Iron Age, the local culture was influenced by neighboring areas. Midway through the epoch, on the middle course of theMureș there arrived fromBanat elements of a culture calledBasarabi. Displaying ceramics with specific decorations (incised and impressed), the culture was assimilated by theautochthonous background.
Subsequently, at the beginning of the late period of this epoch (6th century BC), a group ofScythian-Iranian extraction came into Transylvania from the direction of theNorth-Pontic. This group is marked by a series ofinhumation graves with a typical inventory: arrow heads, lances calledakinakai, and animal art representations. Research shows that in about the mid-5th century BC this group disappears through assimilation into the local culture. Actually, the end of the century also delimits the First Iron Age. During the following centuries theGeto-Dacians would attain a level of development that would lead them toform a state.