Prehistoric Art in Bulgaria from the Fifth to the Second Millenium B.C. 9780904531596, 9781407328355

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Prehistoric Art in Bulgaria from the Fifth to the Second Millennium B.C. Anna Raduncheva translated from the Russian by Caroline M.A. Schuck

BAR Supplementary Series 1976

I

3

British Archaeological Reports 122, Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7BP, England

GENERAL EDITORS A. C. C. Brodribb, M.A. Mrs. Y. M. Hands

A. R. Hands, B.Sc., M.A., D.Phil. D. R. Walker, M.A.

B .A .R. Supplementary Series 13, 1976: "Prehistoric Art in Bulgaria from the Fifth to the Second Millennium B • C . '' (t) Anna Raduncheva, c/o Jusautor, Sofia, Bulgaria, 1976

The author’s moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780904531596 paperback ISBN 9781407328355 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780904531596 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

CONTENTS Page i n troduc t ion 3

P ot tery T he Neo l ith ic P er iod

3

The S ix th M il lenn ium B .C.: t he Kre m ikov ts i-Karanovo Cu lture

3

The midd le o f t he F if th M i l lenn iu m B .C.: t he Karanovo I Cu lture

5

T he s econd h a l f o f t he F if th M il lenn iu m B .C.: t he Karanovo H I Cu l ture

6

T he e nd o f t he F if th a nd t he b eg inn ing o f t he F our th M i l lenn ia B .C .: t he Ka loyanovets-Karanovo I V Cu l ture

7

The f irst h a l f o f t he F our th M il lenn ium B .C.: t he Karanovo V Cu lture

9

The s econd h a lf o f t he F our th M i l lenn iu m B .C.: t he Karanovo V IKodzhadermen Cu l ture

1 3

T he Bronze Age

1 5

Hu man Represen tat ions

1 8

The Kre m ikov ts i-Karanovo I , Karanovo 1 Cu lture

1 8

T he Karanovo I I Cu lture

2 1

The Ka loyanovets-Karanovo I V Cu lture

2 2

The Karanovo V-V I C u l ture

2 3

An i ma l S tatuet tes

3 3

Z oo m° r ph ic V essels

3 5

Ornamen ts

3 6

S u m mary a nd Conc lus ions

3 7

Abbrev ia t ions

4 2

B ib l iography

4 3

References

4 8

P la tes 1 -103

a f ter p . 5 4

I NTRODUCT ION

U p

t o n ow t he q uest ion o f t he d eve lop men t o f p reh is tor ic s oc iety i n Bu lgar ia

h as n ot b een i nves t igated v ery much a nd h as h ard ly r ece ived a ny a cade m ic t rea tmen t .

The a bsence o f af u l l e nqu iry a nd o f as er ies o f o b jec t ives h as d epr ived

r esearchers i n to t h is e poch o f t he o ppor tun ity o f b r ing ing t he Bu lgar ian r e ma ins i n to t he ir r igh t fu l p lace i n w or ld s cho larsh ip. T he l ast f ew y ears h ave s een a marked g row th i n a rchaeo log ica l r esearch i n t he s phere o f p reh istor ic a r t . Excava t ions h ave b een c arr ied o u t o n s e t t lemen t mounds n ear Karanovo i n S l iven p rov ince, t he Az mak s et t le men t mound n ear Nova-Zagora ;

t he D ips iska s et t le men t mound n ear Nova-Zagora ;

t he Az mak s et t le men t a nd a lso t he s et t le men t mounds n ear t he v i l lages o f Kap itan-D im itr ievo i n P azardzh ik p rov ince , a nd B ikovo a nd Mu ldavo i n P lovd iv p rov ince. T he Y asa-Tepe s e t t le men t mounds i n P lovd iv n ear Ba lbun .ar , Russe p rov ince , a nd Z ave t s et t le men t mound , B urgos p rov ince ; mound , S of ia p rov ince ; p rov ince ; n ear

V in itsa s et t le men t mound , S humen p rov ince ;

Kazan lak ;

Chavdar s e t t le men t

G o lya mo-De lchevo s e t t le men t mound , V arensk i t he s e t t le men t mound

a nd a lso t he e xcava t ions a t t he s e t t le men ts n ear t he

v i l lages o f Kr ivodo l a nd G rade s hchn itsa i n Vrachensk i p rov ince ;

t he l ake

s et t le men ts b y L ake Varna i n t he Margaret Caves , V id in p rov ince ; ImanovoDupk in s et t le men t mound , Smo lyansk p rov ince a nd n u merous o ther s i tes a l l t hrow l i ght o n t he l i fe o f t he f i rs t i nhab itan ts o f Bu lgar ia . Un for tuna te ly , t he r esu l ts o f t hese a rchaeo log ica l i nves t iga t ions h ave n ot a s y e t b een p ub l ished . T he a u thor o f t h is w ork a i ms t o g ive t he r eader a g enera l p icture o f t he d eve lopmen t o f p reh is tor ic a r t i n Bu lgar ia a nd a s f ar a s p oss ib le t o d iscuss t he a ch ieve men ts o f t he a nc ien t a r t is ts i n c era m ics , p a in t ing a nd s cu lp ture. I n t he f i rs t p ar t o f t h is monograph w e w il l c ons ider t he d eve lopmen t o f d i f feren t t ypes o f p ot tery wh ich r epresen t t he g rea tes t a r t ist ic a ch ieve men t o f t ha t e poch. I n t he s econd h a lf w e w i l l i nvest iga te t he p roduc t ion o f w orks o f a r t i n t he r ound wh ich i nc lude r epresen ta t ions o f men a nd a n i ma ls.

T he

d eve lop men t o f d ecora t ive amu lets i s a lso d iscussed . L ook ing a t v ery e ar ly w orks o f a r t , d a t ing f ro m 5 000-2000 B .C., w e c an s ee e i ther s im ilar it ies o r s urpr is ing ly l arge d i f ferences i n t he c u l tura l t rad it i ons w ith in t he p opu la t ion o f B u lgar ia a t d i f feren t t imes d ur ing t he p reh istor ic e ra. T he mater ia l i s s et d own i n c hrono log ica l o rder , b eg inn ing w ith a d escr ipt i on o f t he e ar l ies t Bu lgar ian p ot tery , t ha t o f t he N eo l ith ic p er iod , a nd t rac ing t he s tages o f d eve lop men t o f a nc ien t a r t d own t o t he e nd o f t he Bronze Age. I n o ther w ords w e a re l ook ing a t ap er iod w h ich s pans t he f if th , f our th , t h ird a nd b eg inn ing o f t he s econd m i l lenn ia B .C.

I ti s ap i ty t ha t ad escr ip t ion o f

t he e ar l ies t a r t is t ic p roduc ts o f t he i nhab itan ts o f Bu lgar ia i n p reh is tor ic t imes mus t b eg in w ith a c o mpara t ively l a te p er iod. F a mous w orks o f a r t o f t he Pa laeo l ith ic e ra f ound i n v ar ious p ar ts o f Europe , A fr ica a nd As ia h ave n o

p ara l le ls f ro m Bu lgar ia , a nd c onsequen t ly o ne c annot d iscuss a ny k ind o f l i nk o r c on t inu ity b etween t he a r t o f t he i nhab itan ts o f Bu lgar ia i n P a laeo l i th ic t imes a nd t ha t o f t he p eop le who l i ved t here i n t he f i f th m i l lenn iu m B .C. Ar t r ef lec ts t he s oc io-econo m ic s tandard o f l i v ing o f t he s oc ie ty , a nd t he a u thor w i l l c oncen tra te o n t he f ac ts wh ich t hrow l i gh t o n t h is c onnec t ion . I t s hou ld b e r e marked t ha t t he c era m ics a nd f igur ines d ep ict ing p eop le a nd a n i ma ls w ere made b y h igh ly s k i l led p ot ters a nd s cu lp tors. A t t he p resen t t ime t here a re n o g enera l w orks wh ich d ea l w ith t he q ues t ion o f t he c u lture , b oth s p ir itua l a nd ma ter ia l , o f p reh istor ic s oc iety i n Bu lgar ia . T h is makes i th arder t o c onnect t he a r t is t ic w orks o f t he p reh istor ic p eop le w ith t he ir c o mmun ity l i fe a nd t he ir s p ir itua l l i fe , t he ir r e l ig ious b e l iefs , c ust o ms a nd r i tes. T o c lar ify t he q ues t ion o f t he o r ig in a nd d eve lop men t o f r e l ig ion c a l ls f or e x tens ive a nd l eng thy r esearch , n ot o n ly i n o rder t o d eterm ine t he n ature o f t he r e l ig ious f a ith , b u t a lso i t s i n f luence o n a r t , a nd t he s tructure o f s oc iety a nd i t s s p ir itua l a nd e cono m ic l i fe a s a who le. T h is i s why i n t h is w ork t he a u thor h as t r ied t o e luc ida te t hose a spects i n t he l i fe o f p reh is tor ic s oc ie ty wh ich r ef lect t he r e l ig ious v iews o f t he a ge. T h is b ook i s t he f i rs t a t te mp t a t as hor t w ork o n t he many-s ided a r t ist ic d evelopmen ts o f t he p reh istor ic i nhab it an ts o f B u lgar ia. When c on te mporary r esearch a l lows , t he a u thor h as t r ied t o i l lu m ina te s evera l a spects o f t he c o m muna l a nd s p ir itua l l i fe o f p reh istor ic man . T he p reh is tor ic p er iod was t he most p ro longed i n t he d eve lopmen t o f h uman s oc iety . I n Bu lgar ia i tc overed a bou t 1 50-200 ,000 y ears a nd may b e d iv ided i n to t he Meso l ith ic , N eo l ith ic , Cha lco l ith ic a nd Bronze Ages , e ach o f t hese i n t urn s ubd iv id ing i n to e ar ly , m idd le a nd l a te. I n p reh istor ic t imes man 's i n tel l igence a nd a b i l ity d eve loped t he s k il l o f h is h ands , h is k now ledge o f t he s urround ing w or ld w as e nr iched , a nd h e b roadened h is s p ir itua l a nd r e l ig ious v iews a nd b e l iefs.

T here was a g radua l t rans it ion

f ro m f am i ly u n its t o l arger t r iba l g roups , t he d istan t a nces tors o f af uture n at i ona l s ta te , d ue t o t he d eve lop men t o f t he e cono m ic a nd s oc ia l l i fe o f t he c o mmun ity . Re l ig ious b e l iefs l eave t he ir mark n ot o n ly o n t he e veryday l i fe a nd b ehav iour o f p r im it ive p eop le ; t hey a lso s how a marked e f fect o n t he w ork o f p reh is tor ic a r t is ts.

I t mus t b e s tressed , h owever , t ha t t he mean ing a nd i n terpreta t ion o f

a work o f a r t v ar ies w ith t he p er iod i n w h ich i tw as made. I n c ons ider ing p reh is tor ic a r t i n Bu lgar ia t he a u thor w i l l d iscuss c lay a r te fac ts , p o t tery a nd i t s d ecora t ion , a nd c lay , marb le , b one a nd g o ld r epresen ta t ions o f h u mans a nd c lay r epresen tat ions o f a n i ma ls. Pr im it ive man s howed h is s tr iv ing f or b eau ty e ven i n h is o rna men ts o f b one , s tone , s hel ls o f r iver mo l luscs , s he l ls o f s pondy lus , e tc. I n t h is w ork w e a re d ea l ing w ith f unda men ta l t rends i n t he b ir th o f a r t f orms wh ich f l our ished i n Bu lgar ia many m i l lenn ia a go. Un fort unate ly , u p t o n ow n o t race h as b een f ound i n B u lgar ia o f t he p roduc t ion o f n atura l is t ic w orks o f a r t o f t he P a laeo l ith ic e ra s uch a s h ave b een f ound i n o ther p ar ts o f Europe, As ia a nd A fr ica. 1 T he c ave a r t o f Magura h as n oth ing wha tever i n c o m mon w ith t he r e ma ins wh ich s o c lear ly r ef lects t he a r t ist ic mastery o f t he i nhab itan ts o f Wes tern E urope i n

P a laeo l ith ic t imes. One t heory

i s t ha t t he a r t o f t he P a laeo l ith ic p er iod ( carv ings made f rom b one , p a in t ings a nd e ngrav ings o n r ocks o r o n b one ) b y-passed Bu lgar ia. F or t h is r eason t he a u thor s tar ts t h is s hor t s urvey o f t he a r t is t ic r e ma ins o f p reh istor ic Bu lgar ia w ith t he e ar ly N eo l ith ic p er iod. 2

POTTERY T he p r im it ive p ot ter e xpressed h is a es thet ic s ens ib i l ity i n t he c lay v esse ls wh ich h e made. T he s hape a nd d ecorat ion o f v esse ls i n e ach p er iod o f t he Neo l i th ic a ge w ere i n as ta te o f f l ux .

Changes s o met i mes c ame a bou t g radua l-

l y a nd a re s carce ly n o t iced , b u t s o met i mes t hey c a me a bou t s udden ly a nd w ithout a ny o bv ious r eason , a nd i ti s i mposs ib le t o e stab l ish a c onnec t ion w ith a n e ar l ier c u l tura l t rad it ion .

THE NEOL ITH IC PER IOD W ith r eference t o t he c hrono logy e stab l ished b y t he e xcava t ions o f t he s et t le men t mounds a t Karanovo , t he Neo l ith ic p er iod i n Bu lgar ia i s d iv ided i n to t hree p er iods ; 2 Ear ly , M idd le a nd L a te.

THE S IXTH M ILLENN IU M B .C.: THE KREMIKOVTS I-KARANOVO CULTURE P ot tery v esse ls made i n t h is p er iod a re d is t ingu ished b y t he ir b eau ty a nd e legance ( P l. 1 -3, 1 2, 1 4 ). T hey a re c harac ter is t ica l ly t a l l ( 2 1-25 cm ) f or e ar ly N eo l ith ic v esse ls a nd r ese mb le a t u l ip i n s hape , r eca l l ing i n t he s we l l ing o f t he b ody a nd t he g racefu l c urve o f t he l i p at u l ip wh ich h as j us t o pened o u t. The v esse ls a re p rov ided w ith a w e l l p ropor t ioned s te m.

T h is t ype o f v esse l

i s d ecorated i n v ar ious mo t ifs , p a in ted i n wh ite e ar th , a nd t he s ur face o f t he v esse ls i s b r igh t r ed . One o f t he mos t p opu lar d ecora t ive t he mes o f t ha t e ra was t he v o lute made u p o f many c urves i n c o mb ina t ion w ith b roken z ig-zag l ines. Espec ia l ly b eau t ifu l a re t he v esse ls p a in ted w ith w ide i n tersec t ing s tr ipes i n wh ite.

T he a r t is t h as s k ilfu l ly a nd t as tefu l ly e dged t he s tr ipes

w ith t i ny r ound o r d ropl ike d ots , g iv ing t he i mpress ion t ha t t hey a re t r i m med w ith p ear ls. T h is s ense o f b eau ty p ervades t h is e ar ly p o t tery a nd w as embod ied e ven i n t he t a l l c ups , v ery r em in iscen t o f t he t u l ip s haped v esse ls b u t sma l ler , f l a tb ot tomed a nd w ithout t he t a l l s te m ( P l. 4 ). o r l ess t he s a me.

T he f i n ish o f t hese c ups i s more

As r egards t he d ecora t ive e le men t t h is s o met i mes d ep icted

as ty l ized i mpr in t o f t he h uman h and.

T he p reh is tor ic a r t ist u sua l ly u sed a

wh ite e ar th p a in t f or p a in t ing i n n arrow s tr ipes , s o me t urned u pwards wh i le o thers w ere b ranched w ith o ne a lways s hor ter t han t he o thers. T he w ork ing h and h as c reated a l l t ha t i s u sefu l a nd b eau t ifu l i n t he w or ld , a nd t he a l lp ower fu l , a l l-conquer ing h u man h and o ccup ies t he p r inc ipa l p lace i n t he d ec ora t ive e le men ts u sed b y t he Neo l ith ic a r t ist . I n t ha t p er iod i ta ppeared a s o ne o f t he mos t w ide ly s pread d ecora t ive mo t ifs , s een e ven i n w es tern Ana to l ia where many wa l ls o f b u ild ings w ere d ecora ted i n r ed p a in t w ith d ep ict ions o f h u man h ands. 3 T he a r t ist ic v is ion a nd t he manner o f i t s e xpress ion h ad d i f feren t c haract er is t ics i n d if feren t p ar ts o f B u lgar ia. A t t he t ime w hen t he K aranovo I 3

c u l ture f l our ished i n e astern Bu lgar ia , a nd e ven s o mewhat e ar l ier i nt he western p ar ts o f t he c oun try , t he Kre m ikov ts i c u lture was d eve lop ing a r id s pread ing.

T he p o t ters f ro m t hat a rea h ad t he ir own s ty le , a s i s c lear n ot

o n ly f ro m t he way i n wh ich t i le v esse ls w ere made b u t a lso f ro m t he ir s hape a nd f i n ish. A t t he t ime when t he Neo l ith ic p o t ters i n t he s outh-wes t o f t he r eg ion i n troduced p a in t ing i n w h ite e ar then p igmen t o n v esse ls w ith b r igh t r ed s h iny s ur faces , t hose i n t he w es tern r eg ions w ere u s ing b rown , r ed o r b lack e ar then p ig men ts f or p a in t ing o n ar ed g round , a nd i n t ha t r eg ion t he d ecorat ions w ere s o v ar ied t ha t i ti s d i f f icu l t t o e nu mera te t he m ; r ando m ly d is tr ibu ted s po ts , s tra igh t i n tersec t ing s tr ipes , n et-l ike o rna men ta t ion , a nd b roken z ig-zag l i nes. I n t he n or th-wes tern p ar t o f t he c oun try i n e ar ly N eo l ith ic t imes w e s ee t he f irs t a ppearance o f t he c ross a s ad ecora t ive mo t if , a s t he c ross w ith b roken a rms o r " swas t ika". S herds w ith t h is mot if were f ound i n t he D evetashsk i c ave n ear t he t own o f L ovets ; i ti s t hough t t o s ymb o l ize l i fe-g iv ing s un l igh t a nd n a ture 's e terna l mot ion. S o f ar w e h ave d iscussed t he b es t k nown a nd mos t e legan t v esse ls wh ich t he i nhab itan ts o f N eo l ith ic Bu lgar ia u sed .

Another t ype o f v esse l w h ich w as

w idespread a t t ha t t ime w as made o f much r ougher c lay .

T he mot if o f a

s ty l ized h and i s a lso f ound o n t hese , h owever , t hough t he o rnamen ta t ion o f t h is t ype o f v essel i ncorpora tes mou lded r e l ief s tr ips. 5 T he r ougher v essels a re o f ten d ecora ted w ith a s lan t ing f i nger-na il d ecora t ion. I n c er ta in i ns tances t he p o t ter h as a dded o n t he wh ite p ar t o f t he v esse l sma l l , s l igh t ly p ro ject ing , h or izon ta l o r v er t ica l h and les o f at w isted , c ordl ike f orm wh ich g ive t he v esse l ab eau t ifu l s hape. When t he p reh is tor ic p ot tery i s c ons idered a s a who le , t ha t o f t he e ar l ies t N eo l ith ic p er iod i s s een t o b e t he f inest i n t erms o f t he a r t ist ic q ua l ity o f i t s s hapes a nd d ecora t ion . I n t he v esse ls o f t ha t p er iod w e c an d e tec t ar e marka b le h armony , au n ity o f f orm a nd p urpose. W ith a s ub t le f ee l ing f or p roport i on , af ee l ing f or r hy th m i n t he i n terchang ing d ecora t ive mo t ifs , t he p ot ter a ch ieves a n o rgan ic u n ity o f t he a r t is t ic f orms o f t he v esse ls w ith t he ir u t il it ar ian f unc t ions.

T he a r t is t c on forms t o t he f unct ions o f t he v esse ls , a dop t ing

t he n a tura l s hapes o f f l owers , b u lbs a nd s o o n .

1 5 ).

T he v esse ls t ha t d ep ict t he h u man f orm d eserve s pec ia l a t ten t ion ( P l. 5 -7 , T hey a re c haracter ist ic o f t he e ar ly N eo l ith ic p er iod. T hey s how r e-

markab le , i fr ather s che ma t ic , d ep ic t ions o f h uman f aces a nd f igures , s o met imes w ith t he l ower p ar t o f t he b ody emphas ized a nd d isproport iona te ly l arger t han t he r es t o f t he f igure. When d iscuss ing t he w ay i n wh ich c er ta in v esse ls w ere made a nd d ecora ted i n Neo l ith ic t imes w e must n ot f orget t ha t t hese f orms c on t inued d eve lop ing f or s ome t ime a f ter t he ir i n troduct ion. T here a re many s im ilar it ies b etween e ar ly N eo l ith ic p o t tery i n Bu lgar ia a nd t ha t o f w es tern Ana to l ia a nd many o ther a reas.

T h is s te ms f ro m t he f ac t t ha t d ur ing t he t ime o f t he e ar ly H e lar

c u lture i n Ana to l ia , t ypes o f v esse l c harac ter is t ic o f t he Kre m ikov ts i c u lture a ppeared f i rs t i n B u lgar ia a nd w as f o l lowed b y t he Karanovo Ic u l ture.

S o

f ar t hese t wo t ypes o f p ot tery h ave n o t b een f ound i n as tra t igraph ic s equence a nywhere , s o t h is q uest ion r e ma ins o pen , b u t t he g enera l ly h e ld v iew i s t ha t Neo l ith ic c u lture i n Bu lgar ia i s o n ly i n t he t rad it ion o f t he l a te Ha y i .l ar p er iod . N ever the less , t he o bserva t ion t ha t o n t he p er iphery o f modern Bu lgar ia , t o t he

4

s ou th a nd w es t o f t he Rhodope moun ta ins , w e f i nd p reh is tor ic s et t le men ts o f t he e ar l ier Ha2 i lar p er iod a llows t he p oss ib il ity t ha t t he f irs t N eo l ith ic s et t lers i n Bu lgar ia may h ave a ppeared h ere a t t h is t ime.

T he s tra t igraph ic p os it ion

o f t h is c u l ture , e s tab l ished i n Hag i lar , p erm its u s t o make t h is sma l l amendment t o t he a ccep ted c hrono log ica l p icture.

THE M IDDLE OF THE 5 TH M ILLENN IU M B .C.:

THE KARANOVO I CULTURE

T he p ot tery o f t he m idd le N eo l ith ic p er iod a ssu mes i t s own c haracter is t ics , g et t ing away f ro m i t s o r ig ins i n t he p rev ious p er iod a nd a ppear ing i n n ew s ty les.

Now t he p ot ter , w h i le p reserv ing t he b as ic l i ne a nd s hape o f t he v es-

s e ls , f inds n ew modes o f d ecora t ion. P a in ted d ecora t ion d isappears , w ith i t s v ar ied d ecora t ive e le men ts a nd s p lend id c o lour ing a ch ieved b y t he c o mb inat i on o f s harp ly c on tras t ing p igmen ts , wh ite a nd r ed.

T he f in ish o f t hese v es-

s e ls b eco mes more monotonous : o n t he o ne h and t here i s monochro me c o lorat ion , a nd o n t he o ther n arrow , s ha l low g rooves , a rranged h or izon ta l ly i n b ands , c over t he who le c ircu m ference o f t he v esse l.

One i s i mpressed b y

t he a r t is ts ' s k i l l i n a ch iev ing s uch e legance a nd a us ter ity o f f orm.

I n t h is

p er iod o ne o bserves a p ar t icu lar d ivers ity i n t he d ecora t ions o f t he t a l l , h o llow s te ms . I n t he e ar l ier v esse ls t he s te m w as p ierced i n t wo , t hree , o r f our p laces b y o b long , t r iangu lar o r r ound a per tures. O f ten f our c u ts w ere made i n t he b ase , g iv ing i tt he f orm o f af ourlea fed c lover . w ere d eve loped a nd w ere f ur ther i mproved. t he b ase.

L a ter o n t hese s te ms

S o met i mes t hey w idened t owards

T h is w iden ing c orresponded w ith t he b e l l-shape o f t he l i p o f t he

v esse l a nd e nhanced t he s hape w ith b eau ty a nd g ood p ropor t ions. Ar t is t ic i nven t ion a nd a n i nd iv idua l s ty le a re c lear ly s een i n t he b e l l-shaped v essels wh ich s o me t i mes h ad a n a n thropo morph ic f orm . 1 0 Probab ly t hey h ad ac ere mon ia l p urpose. I ti s i n terest ing t o n ote t hat t h is t ype o f v esse l i s f ound o n ly r are ly , a nd p robab ly t he p o t ter w as t rans m i t t ing t hrough t he m a n a nc ien t t rad it ion f ro m t he l and o f h is f orefa thers. I ti s a lso i n teres t ing t ha t t he b u lbous a nd a n thropo morph ic v esse ls o n h o l low s te ms a re n o t a s r ich ly d eco rated a s t he o rd inary h ouseho ld v essels. I t s ee ms t ha t mus t h ave i mpressed t he me mbers o f t he p reh is tor ic c o m mun ity w ith t he ir s imp l ic ity a nd s ign if icance o f f or m. Ear thenware l a mps u sed i n r i tua l c ere mon ies a re i n t he s hape o f r igh t-ang led t r iang les. I n d ecora t ing t he m t he a r t ist g ave f ree r e in t o h is imag ina t ion . T he ir b road s ides a nd s te ms a re d ecora ted w ith g eo metr ic s hapes , c ons is t ing o f c irc les , d o ts , t r iang les , s p ira ls , c urves a nd o ther d ecora t ive e le men ts wh ich w ere a l l e ngraved o n t he o b ject a nd i n la id w ith wh ite p a in t .

T here was c ons iderab le v ar ia t ion i n t he d ecora t ion o f t he r i tua l

l amps , b u t t he p reh istor ic p o t ter 's s ense o f h armony a lways c on tro l led h is i nven t iveness a nd a l l t hree s ides o f a ny o ne l a mp c arr ied a s im ilar s ty le o f d ecorat ion .

5

THE S ECOND HALF OF. THE 5 TH M ILLENN IU M B .C.: THE KARANOVO I I CULTURE 1 I n c ons ider ing p o t tery v essels o f t h is p er iod f ro m a n a es the t ic p o in t o f v iew , o ne n otes t he p o t ters ' c hang ing a r t ist ic v is ion a nd t he n ew me thods t hey u sed t o embody t h is v is ion .

T he s hape o f t he v esse ls c hanges b eyond

r ecogn it ion , a nd e le men ts wh ich a re a l ien t o t he p rev ious l oca l t rad it ion s udden ly a ppear i n s uch a n a dvanced f orm t ha t i ti s i mposs ib le t o s how t he ir c onnect ion w i th e ar l ier s ty les.

I n g enera l , v esse ls d a t ing f rom t he e nd o f

t he N eo l ith ic p er iod i nd ica te t ha t a t t h is t ime a ma ture a r t ist ic t rad it ion w as i n troduced i n to Bu lgar ia. S udden ly t a l l , c omp lete ly c y l indr ica l s te ms a ppear , a nd t he u pper p ar ts o f t he v esse ls b eco me v ery s ha l low a nd w ide.

A long t he

i nner s ides o f t he l i p t he p ot ter p laces a n arrow f l a t s tr ip t o t h icken t he s ides a nd o n t h is s tr ip h e c u ts v ar ious p a t terns i n t h in s ha l low l ines. T he c ups i n p ar t icu lar h ad a n e legan t f orm u sua l ly w ith t a l l , c y l indr ica l h and les , wh ich s tar ted a t t he v ery b ot to m a nd c ame u p a t av ery a cu te a ng le e nd ing i n aw idened p ro ject ion ( P l. 2 3 ). T he d ecora t ive r el iefs o n t he s urf ace o f t he c ups a re i n terest ing ly emphas ized .

One t heory i s t ha t t he p o t ter

was c opy ing a w ooden model wh ich w as h e ld t oge ther w ith w ooden p egs ; t he s ur faces o f t hese v esse ls a re i n teres t ing a nd c onvey move men t a nd

a lso ,

e nergy . O f ten t he p ot ter u ses c o mpara t ive ly s ha l low a nd n arrow i nden ta t ions t o d ecora te t he s ur faces o f t he v esse ls. U sua l ly t hey a re p laced p aral lel t o o ne a nother , t hus a ch iev ing t he w e l l-known u ndu la t ing s ur face.

I n c on trast

t o t he p rev ious p er iod , when t he g rooves w ere a rranged h or izon ta l ly , t hey w ere n ow p laced a l mos t v er t ica l ly . T he g racefu l , d e l ica te a nd b eau t ifu l p itchers o f t he l a te N eo l ith ic p er iod a re i mpress ive, w ith a w iden ing i n t he l ower p or t ion o f t he b ody a nd g radua l ly n arrow ing t owards t he t op t o g ive a g racefu l p rof i le t o t he n eck . S o met i mes t he j ugs h ad a s hor t ish s te m. T he h and les o f t he j ugs w ere a lways h igh u p a nd o f ten w ere o n al eve l w ith t he l ip o r e ven s l igh t ly a bove i t .

A t t he n eck t he h and les w ere a t tached t o t he

wa l l o f t he v esse l b y a sma l l h or izon ta l c rossp iece o f c ircu lar c ross-sec t ion wh ich w as p ar t o f t he d ecora t ive c o mpos it ion .

Character ist ic f ea tures o f

t he v esse ls o f t he l a te N eo l ith ic p er iod w ere t he z oo morph ic h and les w h ich p rotruded h igh a bove t he l i p .

On t he t op e nd o f t he h and le i nstead o f t he

u sua l c on ica l w iden ing o u t , t he a r t ist s ome t i mes t r ied t o mou ld s ty l ised r ep resen ta t ions o f a n i ma ls , b u t h ard ly e ver a l lowed h i mse lf t o mode l t hreed i mens iona l f i gures wh ich w ou ld f orm t he u pper e nd o f t he h and le ( P l. 2 2 ). A t t ha t t ime p o t tery w as monochro me , b u t i n c on tras t t o t he p rev ious N eol i th ic p er iod , w hen t hey w ere p a in ted c h ief ly i n v ar ious s hades o f r edd ishb rown , n ow a t t he e nd o f t he N eo l ith ic e ra t hey w ere g rey . T h is c a me a bou t t hrough a r ad ica l c hange i n t he t echn ique o f p repar ing t he c lay , a nd o f f i r ing t he v esse ls.

T h is n ew p rocess c o inc ides w ith t he c hange i n s hape o f t he

v esse ls , o nce a ga in emphas iz ing t he i so la t ion o f t h is s tage o f t he N eo l ith ic p er iod f ro m t he p reced ing o ne, a nd a s w e w i l l s ee b e low f ro m t he s ucceed ing o ne t oo.

L a te N eo l ith ic p o t tery h as a n o r ig ina l b eauty o f f orm , v is ib le i n

e ach c urve a nd d eta il o f t he v essel.

6

R i tua l p ot tery l a mps w ere made a t t h is t ime.

T hey w ere ma in ly d ecora ted

i n as ha l low c hequer-board p ä t tern c over ing t he who le s ur face o f t he v esse l. S h iny d ark g rey s quares a l terna te w ith s quares i n la id w ith wh i te p igmen t . The r i tua l l a mps o f t h is p er iod w ere marked ly b igger t han t hose o f t he p reced ing o ne. Obv ious s im i lar it ies a nd d i f ferences , t yp ica l o f t he f ine p o t tery o f t he l atest p er iod o f N eo l ith ic c u lture make u s e nqu ire i n to t he ir o r ig in . As w e h ave a lready n oted , v esse ls c harac ter is t ic o f t he c u ltura l t rad it ion o f t he Karanovo I I c u lture c anno t b e l inked w ith t he e ar thenware s o t yp ica l o f t he p reced ing p er iod . A c o mp lete ly n ew a r t ist ic t rea tmen t o f f igur ines , d iscussed b e low , g ives u s g rounds f or c ons ider ing t ha t t he a r t ist ic t rad it ion h ad i t s o r ig ins f ar f ro m Bu lgar ia a nd h ad b een b rough t i n b y al arge g roup o f i mm ig ran ts , who f or u nknown r easons h ad l ef t t he ir h o me land t o s et t le i n Bu lgar ia a nd f or s ome t ime h ad c arr ied o n d eve lop ing t he ir own a r t ist ic t rad it ions , wh ich h ad n oth ing i n c o m mon w ith t hose o f t he e x is t ing a nd p reced ing i nhab i tan ts o f Bu lgar ia. The s ubsequen t f a te o f p eop le who i n troduced t h is c u ltura l t rad it ion i s u nknown , b u t i ti s a nu nd ispu ted f ac t t ha t i n t he f ina l s tage o f t he d eve lopmen t o f Neo l ith ic c u lture a l l s igns o f i td isappear , a nd i n t he s ubsequen t t rans it iona l s tage f ro m N eo l ith ic t o Cha lcol ith ic t here i s n o t race o f t he e ar l ier t rad it ion. Much l a ter s o me e le men ts o f t ha t c u lture s pr ing u p a ga in , i n Cyc lad ic Bronze Age a r t , a nd p erhaps G eorg i i G eorgov ich i s r igh t i n t h ink ing t ha t t hey o r ig inat ed i n Bu lgar ia.

T he s tr iv ing f or b eauty man ifes ts i t sel f n ot o n ly i n t he mak ing

o f p o t tery a nd o ther a r tefac ts , b u t a lso i n t he d ecorat ion o f h ouses :

v ery o f ten

Neo l ith ic man w ou ld d ecora te t he wa l ls w ith g eo metr ica l p a in t ings o r h e w ou ld s i mp ly d iv ide t he s ur face i n to b road s tr ips w ith g rooves made b y h is t hu mb , i nd ica t ing h is a r t ist ic s ens ib i l ity . W ith h is c ur ious ity a nd imag ina t ion t he p o t ter d er ived h is i deas f or n ew s hapes a nd t ypes o f f i n ish f ro m t he s urroundi ng a n i ma l a nd p lan t l i fe.

U ndoub ted ly , s o me o f t he o r ig ina l s hapes d er ived

f ro m t he i mag ina t ion o f t he p ot ter h i mse lf , b u t o ne must n o t o ver look t he f ac t t ha t many o f t he m a re r e la ted t o e ar l ier t rad it ions o r c on te mporary r e l ig ion.

THE END OF THE F IFTH AND THE BEG INN ING OF THE FOURTH M ILLENN IA B .C.:

THE KALOYANOVETS-KARANOVO I V CULTURE 1 3

Th is p er iod i s l i tera l ly ' t rans it iona l '. We a re h ere c ons ider ing a c u ltura l g roup o f t he e dge o f ar eg ion o f t he T hrac ian l ow lands , n ear P lovd iv , S taraZagora , Mova-Zagora a nd s evera l o ther t owns o f s ou thern Bu lgar ia.

I n t he

e xcavat ion o f t he K aranovo s e t t le men t mound i t was e s tab l ished t ha t t he t h ickn ess o f t he o ccupa t ion d epos i ts was 3 0-40 cm. A t t he A z mashsky a nd D ips iska s et t le men t mounds t here w ere n o d epos its d a t ing f ro m t h is p er iod. T he p reh is tor ic s et t le men t n ear Ka loyanovets i n t he S tara Z agora r eg ion i s made u p e xc lus ive ly o f d epos its r epresen t ing t h is

c u lture , w ith a d ep th o f

2 5-35 cm. T h is i nd ica tes h ow b r ief w as t he d om inance o f t he p eop le w ho i n troduced t h is c u ltura l t rad it ion i n to Bu lgar ia a nd a lso s hows t he l im its o f t he ir i nf luence.

I ti s e v iden t f ro m t h is t ha t t h is s ty le w as a l ien t o t he i n-

d igenous p o t ters o f t he t ime.

The Neo l ith ic t rad it ion o f mak ing a nd d ecora-

t ing p ot tery h ad c o mp lete ly d isappeared . p repar ing t he c lay d isappeared f i rst .

T he t echn ique o f c arefu l ly

T he p o t ters w ere s k il led a nd w ished

t o c reate w el l-formed t h in-wa l led v esse ls , b u t t hese b eau t ifu l v esse ls o f t he

7

N eo l ith ic p er iod d isappeared w ithou t at race , a nd w ere r ep laced b y b ow ls o f a more o r l ess s tereotyped s hape. T he e ar l ier d ecora t ive mot ifs w ere f orgo tt en a nd w ere n ot r ev ived i n a ny o f t he s ucceed ing p er iods. T he d e l icacy o f t he N eo l ith ic v esse ls c on tras ts

w ith t he c rude d ecora t ion a nd s hapes w h ich w ere

p redo m inan t f or a s hor t t ime a t t he v ery e nd o f t he f i f th a nd b eg inn ing o f t he f our th m i l lenn iu m B .C., when t he p o t ter c h ief ly made sma l l b ow ls o f c oarse c lay i n t he s hape o f at runcated c one .1 4

T he s ides o f t hese b ow ls w ere

r e lat ive ly t h ick w ith n o t h icken ing o f t he r im , a nd t hey h ad v ery l ow s te ms wh ich w ere a c on t inuat ion o f t he s ides o f t he v esse l.

A l though t he p o t ter s uc-

c eeded i n r ef in ing a nd s i mp l ify ing t he l i nes o f t hese v esse ls t hey s t il l g ive a n impress ion o f b e ing c lu ms i ly a nd h eav i ly p ropor t ioned .

T he b eaut ifu l a nd

l i gh t f orms o f t he p reced ing p er iod h ad d isappeared. Ac er ta in monotony i s o bserved e ven i n t he d ecora t ion o f t hese v esse ls. T he d ecorat ive mot if a dopted i s aw ide l i ne, d eep ly c u t i n to t he s ur face o f t he v esse l. U sua l ly t he w ho le o f t he s ur face o f t he v esse l i s c overed w ith v er t ica l l i nes , a nd i s d iv ided i n to s evera l s ec tors , e ach o f wh ich i s f i l led w ith n arrow p ara l le l l i nes , t he ir w id th e qua l t o t he d is tance b etween t he m.

I n most c ases

t he e dge o f t he i nc ised l i ne i s r ough s ince t here i s al arge p or t ion o f s and i n t he f abr ic.

T yp ica l ly , when t he e n t ire s ur face o f t he b ody o f t he v esse l i s

d iv ided i nto v er t ica l s ectors t he mou th b ears a n arrow h or izon ta l b and , a s i f t he p o t ter h ad w an ted t o u n ite t he s epara te d ecora t ive p ar ts t o f orm a who le. One a lso f i nds t he r everse : i ft he l i nes o n t he s ides a re h or izon ta l o r o b l ique , t hen t hey w i l l b e v er t ica l o n t he r i m. S o met i mes t he f i n ish o f t he v esse l u ses ac o mb ina t ion o f v ar ious i nc ised l ines. I ti s a s i ft he p o t ter f ound i td i f f icu l t t o r econc i le h i mse l f t o t he i mposed mono tony o f t he f i n ish a nd t r ied t o i n trod uce a c er ta in v ar iety i n t he d ecora t ion , w h i le a s f ar a s p oss ib le p reserv ing t he f orm.

H e s ucceeded i n t h is t o s o me d egree.

T he i nd iv idual s ectors w h ich

a re c overed w ith a d ecorat ive d es ign w ere o f ten d iv ided b y w ide u ndecorated s tr ips. T hese s tr ips w ere o f ten b urn ished , a nd t hey w ere u sua l ly o f ab rown c o lour w h ich t o s o me d egree e n l ivened t he b as ica l ly mono tonous d ecora t ion . Usua l ly t he g roups o f l i nes make a rcs o r f an-shaped f orms.

A c harac ter is t ic

o f t h is p er iod s ee ms t o b e t ha t t he p ot ter i n d ecorat ing h is v esse ls d oes n o t g ive p reference t o e i ther t he i ns ide o r o uts ide s ur face :

t he f in ish i s u n iform

a nd o ne s ees t he s a me c are g iven t o t he i ns ide a s t o t he o uts ide.

U sua l ly

t he s te m o f t he b ow l i s d ecorated w ith h or izon ta l s tr ipes c ons is t ing o f ar ow o f p ara l le l i nscr ibed l i nes.

On t he o u ts ide e ven t he b ase i s p a t terned .

S o me-

t imes i ti s d iv ided i n to q uar ters , h a tched w ith p ara l le l l i nes , a rranged p erp end icu lar ly i n a d jo in ing s ec tors. S o met i mes o n t he i ns ide o f t he b ase i nc ised l i nes f orm meanders , c oncen tr ic c irc les o rv o lu tes.

T he w ay i n wh ich t he

e x ter ior d ecorat ion c o mb ines w ith t ha t o f t he i n ter ior i s i n teres t ing . t he d ecora t ion l eaves o n ly a f ew m i l l i metres u ncovered . o n t he i ns ide a nd o uts ide g o i n d i fferen t d irec t ions ;

F irst ly ,

Usua l ly t he l i nes

i ft he i ns ide h as v er t ica l

l ines o r l i nes i nc l ined i n o ne d irec t ion , t hen t hey w il l b e h or izon ta l o n t he o u ts ide o r p o in t ing i n t he o ppos ite d irec t ion . G enera l ly i n t he d ecora t ion o f v esse ls , h owever s tereotyped , w e f i nd a n a t te mp t t o i n troduce s o me v ar iety i n to t he mono tony b y means o f v ar ious c o mb inat ions a nd g roup ings o f i nscr ibed l i nes.

8

I ti s c ur ious t ha t i n t h is ' t rans it iona l ' p er iod t he p o t ter g ives p re ference t o t h is t ype o f f in ish .

As w e h ave a lready n o ted , t he s hape o f t hese v esse ls i s

c lumsy a nd h eavy . I t s ee ms t ha t t he a im o f t he method o f d ecora t ion d escr ibed a bove i s t o make t he s hape much l i gh ter a nd t o a dd h e igh t t o t he p ropor t ions. T he p ot ter t r ies t o d iv ide u p t he v esse ls , emphas iz ing t he d i f feren t f unct ion o f e ach p ar t . I ft here i s ab and o f h or izon ta l l i nes r ound t he r im t hen i nev it ab ly a s im i lar b and w i l l b e f ound o n t he s te m , a nd i ft he b and r ound t he r im i s made u p o f v er t ica l l i nes t hen t he s a me w il l b e o n t he b ase.

T he a rea

b etween t hese i den t ica l ly d ecorated b ands w as a lways f i l led i n w ith d ecora t ive i nscr ibed l i nes w h ich w ou ld p o in t i n ad i f feren t d irec t ion f rom t ha t o f t he b ands.

I ti s v ery r are f or t he d ecorat ion o n t he i ns ide o f t he v esse l t o c on-

t inue u nbroken o n to t he o uts ide. I ti s o bv ious t ha t t h is c u lture w ith i t s c harac ter is t ic d ecora t ive mot ifs a nd t he t echn iques o f t he ir e xecu t ion r epresen ts a p heno menon wh ich i s c o mp le te ly i so lated f ro m mos t o f t he e ar l ier N eo l ith ic t rad it ion . T he s trat igraph ic d is tr ibu t ion o f t hese v esse ls i n t he e xcava t ions o f t he s et t lemen t mounds i n S ou th Bu lgar ia , more p rec ise ly i n t he T hrac ian l ow land , s hows t ha t a t t he v ery e nd o f t he Neo l ith ic p er iod Bu lgar ia i n t he c ourse o f a v ery s hor t t ime w as o ccup ied b y many s et t lers who d id n ot l eave d is t inct ive r ema ins b eh ind t he m.

Ma ter ia l r e ma ins f ro m t h is ' t rans it iona l ' p er iod a re

s uch t hat i ti s i mposs ib le t o e stab l ish t he h ouse t ypes o r e ven t he a ssoc ia ted t ypes o f f i gur ine. I ti s n ot k nown wha t t erm ina ted t he e x is tence o f t h is r a ther p r im it ive c u lture , wh ich r epresen ted i n r e la t ion t o t he a r t o f t he p reced ing Neo l ith ic p er iod a r egress ion b o th i n t echn ica l a ch ieve men t a nd i n t he a r t is t ic mer its o f t he a r tefacts.

T he a rchaeo log ica l r e ma ins s how t ha t i tl e f t h ard ly

a ny th ing wh ich w ou ld b e d eveloped i n t he n ex t s tage o f t he d eve lop men t o f p reh istor ic s oc ie ty . F or t h is r eason i ti s i l log ica l t o s earch f or t he t rans it i ona l p er iod i n t he l ate N eo l ith ic c u lture o f Karanovo I I a nd i n t he n ex t s tage, Ka loyanovets-Karanovo I V.

B es ides , a s h as a lready b een s a id , t he f or ms

a nd a r t is t ic t echn iques o f t he p ot ter i n t he c u lture o f Karanovo I I d id n ot d ev e lop i n to t hose o f Ka loyanove ts-Karanovo I V.

THE F IRST HALF OF THE FOURTH M ILLENN IU M B .C.: THE KARANOVO V CULTURE I n c ons ider ing t he c u ltura l t rad it ions o f t he f irs t h a l f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic Per iod , o ne must n ot f orget t ha t g reat l oca l d i f ferences c an b e o bserved . Consequen t ly , w e w i ll t ry t o g ive b r ief ly t he c u ltura l c haracter is t ics o f e ach d if feren t r eg ion o f Bu lgar ia.

We w i l l b eg in w ith t he s o-ca l led "Mar itsa

Cu lture" , k nown f ro m t he e xcava t ions o f s et t le men t mounds i n s ou th-east Bu lgar ia , c h ief ly i n t he Mar i tsa R iver b as in f ro m w h ich i tt akes i tn a me. T he f i f th c u ltura l s tra tu m o f t he Karanovo mound d ates a pprox i ma te ly f rom t he b eg inn ing o f t he f our th m i l lenn ium B .C.

A lso d at ing f ro m t h is t ime

a re c orrespond ing s trata t o b e f ound i n t he s e t t le men t mounds a t A z mak , n ear S tara Z agora ,

1 5

D ips iska n ear Nova Z agora ,

1 6

Yasa-Tepe i n t he P lovd iv

r eg ion 1 7 a nd many o ther s i tes i n t ha t p ar t o f t he c oun try . T he f orms o f t he v esse ls o f t h is p er iod a re n o tab le f or t he ir g rea t v ar ie ty . The f avour ite t ype o f d ish s eems t o h ave b een t he w ide , l ow-s ided b ow l ( P l. 2 5 ).

9

T he l ower p ar t o f s uch a v esse l h as t he s hape o f av ery l ow u pturned , t runcat ed c one, a nd t he t op a l ow d ru m ' s hape ; t he j unc t ion o f t hese t wo p ar ts i s r ounded s o t ha t t here i s n o s harp t rans it ion.

I n t h is w ay t he p ot ter a ch ieves

ap leas ing ly r ounded l i ne a nd s of tness o f s hape.

T he d ecora t ion c ommon ly

c ons ists o f i nc ised b ands i n tersec ted b y l i t t le c on ica l p ro ject ions , i nb etween wh ich i s w h ite , y e l low o r r ed p a in t. S o met imes t hese b ands a re o n t he s ur face o f t he v esse l a nd o n t he l i d , b u t i n t he ma jor i ty o f c ases t he p ot ter a rranges t hem s o a s t o f or m p a t terned a reas wh ich a l terna te w ith t he p o l ished s ur face t o g ive a p leas ing e f fect . We s ee h ere a d ecorat ive s che me w h ich i si n a ccord w ith t he s hape o f t he v esse l.

Usua l ly t he d ecora ted a nd p o l ished z ones a l ter-

n a te o ne a bove t he o ther , s eparated b y r e l ief s tr ips.

T here a re c ases when

t h is f i n ish i s c o mb ined w ith p a in ted p o lychrome o rna mentat ion a nd i sp laced o n t he i n ter ior s ur face o f t he v esse l.

F or t he d ecora t ive s che me t he p o t ter

o f ten u ses r ed , y e l low , w h ite a nd s o met i mes b lack p igmen ts.

T he c o lours

a re a pp l ied i n a l ternate s tr ipes , a ch iev ing t he r equ ired e f fec t b y means o f a h armon ious c o mb ina t ion a nd s harp ly c on tras t ing c o lours , ad ecora t ive s che me r em in iscen t o f embro idery .

T he p ot ter o f t h is p er iod t r ies n o t o n ly t o c o m-

b ine t he i nd iv idua l e ngraved e le men ts o f t he d ecorat ive mot ifs - t he s tra igh t , v er t ica l o r i nc l ined l i nes - b ut a lso t o p lace b e tween t he m v ar ious g eometr ica l f igures.

T he s ur face o f t he v esse l i s p o l ished.

T he p reh is tor ic p o t ter s howed

s k i l l i n c hoos ing p ig men ts. When t he v esse l h as b rown r e l iefs , t h is i su sua l ly emp loyed w ith y e l low o chre i n c o mb ina t ion w i th r ed a nd ( very r are ly ) w ith d ark g rey , a l mos t b lack .

When d ark g rey i s u sed i n r e l ief o n t hese v esse ls

wh ite p a in t i s ma in ly u sed w ith t he a im o f a ch iev ing a c er ta in c lar i ty o f d ecorat i on a nd i n o rder t o a vo id c rowd ing d ark c o lours t ogether , a s w el l a s t o e nl i ven t he c o lour s che me. Around t he m idd le o f t he f i rst h a l f o f t he C ha lco l ith ic p er iod e ngraved p ot tery s tar ts t o b e c omb ined w ith more o r l ess r ich g raph ite d ecorat ion , w h ich g radua l ly r ep laced t he e ar l ier t ype. Ano ther c haracter is t ic t ype o f v esse l i s t he s o-ca l led " l ilac-shaped" b ow l ( P l. 2 6 ). I t s w a l ls t urn u pwards i n f our p ar ts a nd b etween t hese p ro jec t ions t here a re g rooves o f v ar ious d ep th . T h is n ovel s hape i s s tar t l ing , a nd i t s e ccen tr ic ity i s n ot i m itat ive b u t s hows t he i nven t iveness o f t he p reh is tor ic p ot ter . b ands.

T he " l i lac-shaped" v esse ls a re u sual ly d ecora ted w ith v er t ica l p o l ished T owards t he e nd o f t he f i rs t h a l f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic P er iod v esse ls

a ppear , t he b o t to m h a lves o f w h ich l ook l ike i nver ted , t runcated c ones a nd t he t op o f wh ich a re i n t he f orm o f at a l l d ru m , w h i le t he j unct ion o f t hese t wo p ar ts i s s harp a nd c lear ly d ef ined . A t t h is t ime i n s outh-eastern Bu lgar ia t here a ppeared l i ds w ith t a l l c y l indr ica l s ides a nd h em ispher ica l c en tres. T hey w ere d is tr ibu ted a t t ha t t ime p ar t icu lar ly i n t he e x tre me s outh o f t he c oun try a nd w ere o rna men ted w ith e ngraved v o lutes a nd meander p at terns, i n la id i n v ar ious c o lours. S quare r i tua l l a mps s how g reat v ar iat ion ( P l. 4 1, 4 2 ).

T hey o f ten c arry

z oo morph ic d ecorat ion .1 9 Apar t f rom t h is me thod o f d ecorat ion t he a r t ist u ses t hree-d i mens iona l a nd r e l ief d ecora t ive mo t ifs. S o met i mes t he smooth b o t to m p ar t o f t he v essel i s d ecorated b y ar a ised c one, a round wh ich a re sma l l i nden ta t ions o r a pp l ied s tr ips.

I ft he v esse l i s made o f c oarser c lay ,

h as a r ough s ur face , a nd i s l arge , t hen t he p o t ter u ses a much c ruder f i n ish. A t f i rst g lance o ne g ets t he i mpress ion t ha t much l ess w ork h as g one i n to t he f in ish o f t hese v esse ls a nd t ha t t he w ork i s s l ipshod , b u t t ha t i s n ot s o .

1 0

The

p ot ter s hows a r t ist ic t as te n ot o n ly i n h is c ho ice o f t he v ar ious d ecorat ive e lemen ts , b ut a lso i n a ppor t iön ing t he o rna men ta t ion a ccord ing t o t he a ppeara nce a nd f unc t ion o f t he v esse l , a nd t he r ougher v essels w ere c overed w ith c orrespond ing ly r ough o rna menta t ion.

One o f t he mose w ide ly u sed t ypes o f

f in ish w as d ecora t ion w ith d o ts , b y s pr ingk l ing t he v essel w ith a s uspens ion o f c lay . T he o ther method o f d ecora t ion w as a ch ieved b y t he p o t ter r unn ing h is f i nger d irect ly a long t he mo ist a nd .uns moo thed s ur face o f t he v esse l i n s p ira ls a nd o ther i mpressed d es igns , c on form ing w ith t he a pp l ied s tr ips. A l l t hese f orms a nd t ypes o f f i n ish d eve loped f ur ther i n t he s econd h a l f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic P er iod . A t t h is t ime i n t he n or th-eas t p ar t o f t he c oun try a c u lture f l our ished wh ich h ad i t s own p ar t icu lar c harac ter is t ics. T he e xcava t ions o f t he s e t t le ment mounds a t S u ltan ( Popovs ld . r eg ion ), " S a l mon ( Shu men r eg ion ), 2 1 K ubra t/ Ba lbunar

( Russe r eg ion ),

2 2

V in itsa ,

2 3

I vanovo ,

2 4

Imprenchevo ,

2 5

Dragoevo 2 6 a nd o thers i n t he S hu men r eg ion a nd a lso t he mounds n ear Russe , h ave a l l p rov ided ma ter ia l f or r esearch . I t s hou ld b e n oted t ha t t he p o t ters o f t h is r eg ion s how a l oca l s ty le wh ich i s n o t f ound i n t he r es t o f t he c oun try . L arge v essels a ppear t o b e t he mos t c haracter is t ic o f t h is r eg ion , t he l ower p ar t o f wh ich i s a n i nver ted t runcated c one a nd t he u pper p ar t at a l l c y l inder ( P l. 2 8-31). T hese v esse ls a re r ich ly d ecora ted w ith p a t terns i n g raph ite c ons ist ing o f p ara l le l h or izon ta l b ands o r wavy b ands , a nd t he i nner e dge o f t he r im i s d ecora ted w ith a w ide b and o f r ed o chre. Even t he sma l ler v esse ls h ave t h is s hape b u t t hey a re f i n ished i n g raph ite wh ich c overs t he who le o f t he c y l indr ica l p ar t .

T he a r t is t 's i nven t iveness a nd c apac i ty t o c om-

b ine d iverse d ecora t ive e le men ts i s amaz ing :

t r iang les , o b l ique n e t p at terns ,

c irc les , d ots , r igh t-ang led t r iang les , v o lu tes , s p ira ls , c oncen tr ic c irc les a nd o ther g eo metr ica l f igures a re p a in ted i n g raph ite. t echn ique o f p os it ive a nd n ega t ive o rna men ta t ion.

T he p ot ter u sed t he

I n an u mber o f c ases t he

g raph ite s erves a s ab ackground f or t he f igures w h ich a re b urn ished w ith in , a nd s omet i mes t he p o l ished s ur faces h ave t h in b rush l i nes wh ich r epresen t p a in t ing . An e ngraved d ecorat ion , mos t f requen t ly a n o b l ique c rossh atch ing , i s u sed. O f ten t he p ot ter u sed a n u mber o f d i f feren t d ecora t ive mo t ifs ;

t he e ngraved o rnamen ta t ion o f t he t op p ar t o f t he v esse l i s c o mp le-

men ted b y t wo c ones i n r e l ief b y t he r im o f t he v esse l.

Bu t t he f i nes t f i n ish

i s t ha t o n t he t a l l v essels w ith c y l indr ica l b od ies c on t inu ing p ract ica l ly t o t he s tem w h ich i s n ear ly c y l indr ica l t oo. T he p ot ter h as s hown e xcep t iona l i nv en t iveness i n d ecorat ing t he m . W ide e ngraved o rna men ta t ion c overs t he s ur face o f t he v esse ls f ro m t he r im t o a t l east h a lf way u p t he s tem. I ti s d if f icu l t t o d escr ibe t he v ar ious d i f feren t mo t ifs : av ar ie ty o f f igures i s u sed , s uch a s w ide b ands s o met i mes mak ing c oncen tr ic c irc les , a nd s o me t i mes i n tersect ing a t v ar ious a ng les. Each b and i s s eparated f ro m i t s n e ighbour b y af a ir ly w ide, v ery c onvex , p o l ished b oss.

T he e ngraved d es ign i s f i l led

i n ma in ly w ith wh ite e ar th c o lour ing , a nd y e l low o chre i s h ard ly e ver u sed. A b and o f r ed o chre r uns a long t he i nner e dge o f t he r im o f t hese v esse ls. I t i s n o t i mprobab le t ha t t hese r ich ly o rna men ted v essels w ere u sed i n r e l ig ious c eremon ies c onnec ted w ith s o me k ind o f c u lt , f or t hey g ive a n i mpress ion o f movemen t a nd a sp irat ion w h ich may b e s ymbo l ic. T he l i ds o f t he v esse ls o f t h is p er iod a re i n k eep ing b o th i n d es ign a nd d ecorat ion w ith t he v esse ls t he mse lves : t hey w ere p robab ly i n tended t o g o

1

t ogether ( P l. 3 2 ).

S uch s tr ik ing , i fr a ther c rude , b eau ty was n ot a ch ieved

b y t he p o t ters i n t he o ther a reas o f Bu lgar ia. T he p o t ter 's imag ina t ion c ont inua l ly f ound n ew s hapes a nd n ew methods o f f i n ish ing t he v essels ; i ndeed , i t was i nexhaus t ib le. We h ave a l ong s er ies o f w ide , f l a t , f lu ted v esse ls, w ith e dges o n f our s ides wh ich a re d rawn o u t a nd d ecora ted w i th l ong , c onvex p ro ject ions i n r e l ief .

T he n ew f or ms a nd t ypes o f d ecorat ion c o mpe l a dm ira-

t i on o f t he p r im it ive a r t is ts. I n t h is p er iod e ven s outh-wes t Bu lgar ia 2 8 p ossessed i t s own c u lture , b el ong ing t o t he s a me c u ltura l g roup a s Macedon ia a nd ma in land Greece . Pot tery v esse ls i n t h is p ar t o f t he c oun try p ossess t he ir own d is t inct ive e legance.

I n

c o mpar ing t he m w ith t he v esse ls f ro m s ou th-eas tern a nd n or th-eas tern Bu lgar ia , o ne n otes t he s tr ik ing d i f ferences i n b oth f orm a nd f in ish . H ere t he p o t ter g ives t he v esse ls a c o mp letely d i f feren t s hape a nd d ecora tes t he m d if feren t ly , a ccord ing t o h is own a r t ist ic t as te. A t t ha t t ime w hen i nt he f ormer r eg ions i nc ised a nd a pp l ied d ecora t ion o n p o ts p redo m inated , i n t he s ou th-wes t v esse ls w ere d ecorated i n r ed a nd y e l low o chre p a in t . T he v ess els w ere i n t he ma in g rey w ith v ery s h iny s ur faces. T he f orm wh ich w as mos t w idespread w as a w ide b ow l w ith smooth c urved s ides , t hough s o met imes o ne a lso f i nds v esse ls w ith a w ide b ody a nd n arrow mou th ( P l. 2 7 ). There i s ac lose r e la t ionsh ip b etween t he d ecora t ion a nd t he s hape o f t he v esse l : i n o rder t o c rea te t he impress ion o f a n e longa ted s hape a nd t o emphas ize t he l igh tness o f t he p ropor t ions , t he v esse ls w ith w ide b od ies a nd n arrow mouths a re d ecora ted w ith w ide , v er t ica l s tr ipes p a in ted i n r ed a nd y e l low p igmen t , a nd b etween t hese s tr ipes t here a re n arrow u ndu la t ing l i nes i n y e l low a nd r ed o chre. T he b ow ls a re ma in ly d ecora ted o n t he o uts ide , t he d ecora t ive mo t if c ons is t ing o f c rooked b ands d ep ict ing V f igures. A t t hat t ime i n t he n or th-wes tern p ar t o f Bu lgar ia t he Gradeshn i tsa c u lture 2 9 f l our ished. T he p o t ters i n t h is a rea f avoured l arge v essels a nd d iv ided u p s ur faces , d ep ict ing mo t ifs e ngraved i n ac haracter ist ic manner . T he v esse ls a re a l most p ear-shaped a nd t he s ur face i s d iv ided u p i n to s evera l a reas i n wh ich t here a re v ar ious d ecorat ive e le men ts. T he d ecorat ion o f e ach a rea i s c hosen t o g ive a c on tras t b etween t he s hape o f t he v essel a nd i t s d ecorat ion o n t he o ne h and a nd b etween e ach a rea a nd i t s n e ighbours o n t he o ther .

A l-

t hough t he t echn iques o f t he p ot ters w ere v ar ied , t hey s how a c o m mon a r t ist ic c oncep t . T he e ngraved meander a nd z ig-zag l i ne a re c o m mon , b u t o ne r are ly f i nds v esse ls f ro m t h is r eg ion d ecora ted i n w h ite , y e l low o r r ed. I n t he f irst h a l f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic P er iod s ign if ican t s ty l is t ic d i f ferences a ppeared, t hough t he s a me n a tura l c o lour ing , a nd t o s o me d egree t he s a me t echn iques o f p u t t ing v ar ious t ypes o f d ecora t ion o n t he i nner o r o u ter s ide o f t he v esse ls , w ere u sed. However , t he f i n ish a nd d es ign o f t he v esse ls d eserve a dm irat ion . T he s hape a nd d ecora t ion o f t he v ar ious v esse ls a re v ery d is t inc t ive. Each l oca l g roup d i f fers i n s ty le, f orm a nd f i n ish. I n a nswer t o t he q uest ion o f wha t b rought a bou t t hese c haracter is t ic d i f ferences , o ne c an o n ly s pecu late t ha t i n t he f irst h a lf o f t he Cha lco l ith ic P er iod t he Ba lkan p en insu la , i nc lud ing t he a rea o f s outh-eastern B u lgar ia , w as p opu lated b y r e la ted t r ibes a t n ear ly i den t ica l l eve ls o f d eve lopmen t , b u t d i f fer ing i n t he ir c u l tura l t rad it ions , who a ssoc ia ted w ith , a nd t o s o me e x ten t i n f luenced , e ach o ther .

1 2

THE S ECOND HALF OF THE FOURTH M ILLENN IU M B .C.: THE KARANOV 6V I - KODZHADER 1 V IEN CULTURE I n l a ter p er iods i ti s v ery d i f f icu l t t o d i f feren t ia te b etween t he a r t is t ic t rad i t ions o f t he d if feren t a reas o f t he c oun try . I n s ou thern Bu lgar ia i ti s p rac t ica l ly imposs ib le t o f i nd a d iv is ion b e tween t he f orms o f v essels o f t he e ar ly a nd o f t he l a te Cha lco l ith ic P er iod .

T here i s u nden iab ly a c onnec t ion

b etween t he s hape a nd d ecorat ion o f t he v essels , wh ich i nd icates t ha t n ew t rad i t ions w ere d eep ly r ooted i n e ar l ier p er iods , b u t t h is i s o n ly t he c ase i n s ou th-eastern Bu lgar ia.

I n a l l t he o ther r eg ions t he s ty l is t ic d if ference

b etween t he t wo p hases o f t he Cha lco l ith ic P er iod i s c learer .

T h is a l lows

u s t o p ropose t he h ypo thes is o f a move men t o f p eop le f ro m t he s ou th t o t he n or th , g radua l ly s pread ing o ver a g rea t a rea. T he most c harac ter is t ic v esse ls o f t h is p er iod w ere b ow ls , t he l ower p or t ions o f wh ich w ere t runca ted c ones a nd t he t op p ar ts o f wh ich w ere l ow c y l inders ( Pl. 3 4 ). 30 T he d ecora t ion , wh ich i s ma in ly o n t he u pper p ar t , o f ten i nc ludes t he i n ter ior s ur face o f t he v esse l. I td i f fers f ro m t ha t o f t he p recedi ng o r f o llow ing p er iods i n i t s e xcep t iona l d ivers ity .

The g raph ite d ecora t ion ,

u sed i n t he f in ish o f t he u pper p ar t o f t he w ide d ishes , i s u sed b o th n ega t ively a nd p os it ively ,3 1 a nd i n b oth c ases t he s ame d ecorat ive mo t ifs were u sed. S o met i mes n ot o n ly a re d i f feren t o rna men ta l e le men ts c o mb ined b u t v ar ious t echn iques a re a lso u sed . S i mp le b u t e legan t s lan t ing S -shaped f i gures , w ith t he ir e nds s o mewha t t h ickened , a re u sed . A t t imes t hese f igures a re s ide b y s ide w ith b roken z ig-zag l i nes wh ich t ake u p t he who le o f t he t op p ar t o f t he v esse l.

Unw ind ing c o i ls a l terna te w ith c rooked g raph ite l i nes , w h ich f orm

v ar ious g eo metr ica l s hapes.

O f ten t he d ecora t ive mot if c ons ists o f p ara l lel

s lan t ing g raph ite b ands o f u n iform w id th , s epara ted b y v ery n arrow b ands n ot d ecora ted w ith g raph ite a nd f i l led w ith t r iang les a nd r ho mbuses w h ich a re s epara ted b y g raph ite b ands , i n n o p ar t icu lar g eometr ica l c o mb ina t ion. A p ar t icu lar ly b eau t ifu l p at tern c ons is ts o f v ar ious c omb ina t ions o f f igures o r o f c irc les o f d if feren t s izes , e i ther f i l led i n w ith g raph ite o r e nclos ing p o l ished a reas.

V ery o f ten t he d i f feren t e le men ts o f t he p a t tern a re u n ited b y ac o m mon

l i ne u nder wh ich t he a r t is t h as p ut sma l l c ircu lar d o ts. T he c o mb ina t ions o f d ecorat ive e le men ts o n t he o u ts ide o f t he c y l indr ica l p ar t o f t he v esse ls a re v ery v ar ied a nd b eaut ifu l. T he p o t ter s hows s k i l l i n h is c ho ice o f d ecora t ion , r epea ted a round t he v esse l , a rranged e qu id istan t ly o r a s a n a l terna t ing c o mb ina t ion o f mot ifs.

O f ten sma l l v esse ls a re d ecora ted w ith t r iang les wh ich

meet a t t he ir p o in ts .

T he c o mb ina t ion o f r e l ief a nd g raph ite f in ish i s s tr ik ing ly

e f fec t ive. T h is t ype o f f i n ish u sua l ly c ons ists o f s ha l low , n arrow f l u t ing r unn ing h or izon ta l ly a round t he t op p ar t o f t he d ish . A long t he e dge o f t he f l u t ing t here i s at h in b and o f g raph ite a nd d epend ing o n t he a ng le o f i l lu m ina t ion b eau t ifu l r ef lect ions a re f ormed o n t he v esse l. T here a re e ven f igures o n t he f l u t ing , f or e xa mp le r ho mbuses i n c hequer-board d es igns made u p o f a l ternat i ng p ol ished a reas a nd o nes f i l led i n w ith g raph ite wh ich a ccord ing t o t he l igh t r ef lec t d i f feren t ly , t hus e n l iven ing t he s ur face o f t he v esse l.

O f ten g raph ite

i su sed t o a dvan tage i n c o mb inat ion w ith l ong itud ina l f l ut ing .

S o met i mes

w here t he t wo p ar ts o f t he w ide v esse l meet t here i s ad ecora t ion i n r e l ief .

T he f l ut ing o n i ti s c o mp lete ly c overed i n g raph ite a nd a s t he l i gh t

1 3

f a l ls o n i ta t d i fferen t a ng les t he s ur faces f orm a reas o f d ark g rey , b lu ish , s i lver o r b lack . Depend ing o n t he c o lour , t he c oncav it ies a cqu ire d i f feren t s hades , a nd t he v ary ing d egrees o f p ol ish o n t he d i f feren t p ar ts o f t he v esse l e xp lo it t he q ua l it ies o f n a tura l a nd a r t if ic ia l l i gh t ing .

U sua l ly t he i ns ide s ur-

f ace o f t he u pper p ar t o f t he v esse l i s p oor ly d ecora ted , t he f in ish b e ing e i ther ac on t inua t ion o f t hat o f t he e x ter ior o r o f t he l ower p ar t o f t he i n ter ior s ur face. The i nner s ur face o f t he b ow ls i s d ecora ted w ith a p a t tern made u p o f d i f fere n t mo t ifs.

S o met i mes t he e n t ire s ur face i s c overed i n ac hequered d es ign

o f s quares p a in ted w ith g raph ite a l terna t ing w ith s h iny u npa in ted s quares. T he a r t ist a lso p a in ts t he v esse ls w ith v ery c onvo lu ted d es igns , a lterna t ing w i th c on t inuous s lan t ing o r h or izon ta l g raph ite b ands , wh ich a re f i l led i n w ith e longa ted r ho mbuses j o ined a t o btuse a ng les. t ends t o t he i n ter ior .

G raph ite d ecora t ion e ven e x-

Usua l ly t he d es ign u ses a t i gh t s p ira l , o r ac on t inuous g raph ite c irc le d iv ided i n to f our s ect ions i n e ach o f wh ich t here a re d ecora t ive mot ifs w h ich a re u sua l ly r ound i n f orm :

c urves , s p ira ls , c irc les , e tc.

I t i s i n teres t ing

t o n ote t ha t i n d ecora t ing t hese v esse ls t he p reh is tor ic a r t ist g enera l ly d iv ided u p t he s ur face i n to t hree p ar ts. T he a rrange men t i n e ach o f t hese t hree p ar ts o f t he d ecora t ive c o mpos it ion r epresen ts a n i ndependen t e n t ity , a nd a t t he s a me t ime p reserves a u n ity o f s ty le w ith t he o ther t wo p ar ts. Apar t f ro m t h is t he most t yp ica l d ecora t ions i n t he s econd h a lf o f t he Cha lco l ith ic P er iod a re p ro tuberances o n t he w ides t p ar ts o f t he v esse ls , at h ickened r im , a nd w ide , s ha l low p ro jec t ing b osses. T he l arge v essels , f ro m 0 .80 m t o 1 .20 m i n h e igh t a nd a round 0 .80 m i n d ia meter , a re v ery b eaut ifu l. 3 2

T he u pper p ar t i s d ecora ted w ith c onvex ,

a rched s hapes , wh ich f orm a n a l most c losedin e l l ips is , i n t he c en tre o f N k i h ich t here i s aw ide , f l a t c one , wh ich i s i n terpre ted a s ah u man e ye.

A

s im i lar s ty l isa t ion was u sed b y t he p reh istor ic a r t ist i n d ecorat ing s o me a l tars. 3 3

I n a l l p robab i l ity , t h is mot if embod ies t he i dea o f t he v ig ilan t e ye ,

p rotect ing man f ro m a l l m isfor tune , a n i dea s urv iv ing f or t housands o f y ears a nd f i nd ing i t s embod i men t i n t he r el ig ious b e l iefs o f a n t iqu ity . 34 Apar t f ro m v esse ls , many d i f feren t u tens i ls w ere made o f c lay , s o me o f wh ich w ere d is t ingu ished b y t he ir h igh a r t ist ic q ua l ity . I n t he f irst i nstance w e must l ook a t t he c ere mon ia l l a mps , i n to t he p repara t ion a nd f i n ish o f w h ich t he p reh istor ic p o t ter p u t s o much t hough t a nd a r t is try ( P l. 4 1, 4 2 ). T he ir s ides a re o f ten d ecora ted i n ar ich , ma in ly i nc ised , d ecora t ion o f meanders , z igzags , c urves a nd s p ira ls.

No tab ly o ne s ome t i mes f i nds a v ery s ty l ized

t hree d i mens iona l f igure o f a n a n i ma l a long t he m idd le o f as ide o r o n o ne o f t he c orners o f al a mp. 35 A t t h is t ime v ery i n terest ing a n thropo morph ic v esse ls w ere b e ing made e verywhere i n Bu lgar ia . Fro m a nc ien t t imes man h as p a id g rea t a t ten t ion t o h is dwe l l ing p lace f or al arge p ar t o f h is l i fe i s s pen t t here. 36 Many f rag men ts o f p las ter f ro m wa l ls h ave b een f ound , c o mp lete ly c overed i n r ed o chre o r p a in ted w ith d i ff eren t g eo metr ic s hapes.

T here a re mode ls o f t hese dwe l l ings , i n many

c ases w ith t he o uts ide w a l ls d ecora ted .

T he d ecora t ion o f t he i nner w a l ls ,

u sua l ly c ons is t ing o f meanders , s p ira ls o r a rb i trary c o mb ina t ions o f s tra igh t a nd a rched l i nes ,

3 7

i s p laced o n t he o uts ide o f t he mode ls 3 8

1 4

THE BRONZE AGE

T he Ear ly Bronze Age ( Karanovo V II - E zero Cu lture ) 39 b eg ins s udden ly a nd t he e ar l ies t t races o f i ta re t o b e f ound i n n ear ly a l l t he e xcavat ions o f s et t le men t mounds c arr ied o u t i n s ou thern Bu lgar ia.

I tf o l lows o n d irect ly

a f ter t he Cha lco l i th ic P er iod d epos its , wh ich s how t ha t f or s o me t ime Bu lgar ia was u n inhab ited a nd t ha t t he b r ingers o f Ear ly Bronze Age c u lture a ppeared i n t he p reh istor ic s et t lemen t mounds o f Cha lco l ith ic d ate a f ter a c er ta in i nt erva l.

Fro m t h is i ti s c l ear t ha t t he c u ltura l t rad it ion o f t he i nhab itan ts o f

Bu lgar ia i n t he t h ird m i l lenn iu m h ad n oth ing i n c o mmon w ith t he c u lture o f t he ir p redecessors. T he c o mmonest a nd mos t c haracter is t ic t ype o f v esse l w as t he w ide d ish w ith i ncurv ing r im ( P l. 4 3 ). U sua l ly t hese v esse ls a re u ndecora ted , t he s ur faces b e ing c arefu l ly smoothed a nd s o met i mes p o l ished , a nd i n r are c ases d ecorated . O ther v esse ls a re o f c oarse c lay a nd a re r ough-sur faced a nd s how t races o f t he p ot ters ' t humbs.

T he f in ish i n t hese c ases , when t here i s a ny ,

u sua l ly c ons ists o f c are less ly e ngraved l ines p laced r ound t he r im o f t he v essel f orm ing e qu ila tera l o r i sosce les t r iang les p laced w ith t he ir a pexes p o in t ing d ownwards.

Th is d es ign i s c a l led t he ' hang ing t r iang le '. 4° S o met i mes t he

c on tours a re j ust o u t l ined b y e ngraved l i nes , a nd o n o ther v essels o ne o r t wo b ands o f s hor t i nc ised l i nes g o a l l r ound t he r im.

T he p o t ter o f ten p u ts

ab and o f sma l l a pp l ique b a l ls a round t he r im , r em in iscen t o f an eck lace. T h is t ype o f v esse l i s a lso d ecora ted w ith s o-ca l led " po l ished k nobs" ( hand les ) a nd s hor t s lop ing a rches. T h is g ives a n o ut l ine o f t he r ough f orm a nd f in ish t yp ica l o f t he Ear ly Bronze Age p ot ters. T here i s n o t race o f t he e xcep t iona l b eau ty a nd e legance o f t he l a te Cha lco l i th ic v esse ls.

T he e legan t g raph ite d ecorat ion v an ishes

f orever t ogether w ith t he g racefu l f orms.

A t f irs t g lance w e a re s truck b y

t he f act t ha t t he p ot ter , who s o i mpressed u s b y t he e legance a nd b eau ty o f h is w orks , f or n o a pparen t r eason s udden ly r enounces t he f ormer t rad it ions , a bandons h is h igh s tandards a nd s tar ts t o make r ough a nd e ven u g ly v esse ls w ith h eavy p ropor t ions. I n t he f irs t h a l f o f t he Bronze Age a d ecora t ive mot if , t he s o-ca l led " corded d ecora t ion", s pread i n Bu lgar ia. I tc ons isted o f g eo metr ica l f igures made o f t w isted c ord ,4 1

w h ich t he p o t ter p ressed i n to t he s of t s ur face o f t he

u n f ired v esse l t o c rea te many d i f feren t d ecora t ive mot ifs. U sua l ly t hese v esse ls h ave t he s hape o f u pturned t runcated c ones. T he c orded d ecora t ion o f ten f orms a n et made u p o f s tra igh t l i nes. T he p o t ter d iv ides t he i nner a nd o u ter s ur faces o f t he v esse l u p i n to v er t ica l d ecora ted b ands s epara ted b y much w ider u ndecorated s tr ips.

T he impr in ts o f t he c ords a re o f ten f i l led

w ith wh ite o r y e l low p igmen t , g iv ing t he v essel a n u nusua l a ppearance. Vesse ls a re c o m mon ly d ecorated b o th o n t he o u ts ide , t he i ns ide a nd t he b ase , a nd t he f in ish o n t he i nner a nd o uter s ides i s d if feren t . O f ten t hey a re d iv ided i n to f our e qua l s ec t ions a nd i n e ach o f t hese t he c orded p a t tern a ppears i n t he f orm o f ac irc le 42 T hese t ypes o f v esse l a re u sua l ly d ecora ted w ith a d eep p in-pr ick d ecorat ion w h ich i s f i l led i n w ith wh ite p a in t .

The p ot ter p a id

g rea t a t ten t ion t o t hese v esse ls , a s i s e v iden t f ro m t he ir v ery c arefu l ly smoothed a nd p o l ished s ur faces.

1 5

T he c are t aken i n mak ing s uch p ots makes u s t h ink t ha t p erhaps t hey h eld a s pec ia l f unct ion . I n s eek ink n ew mo t ifs a nd n ew methods o f d ecora t ion , t he p o tter t r ied t o a t ta in g rea t a r t is try , b u t t he g enera l ly l ow l eve l o f h is c u lt ura l t rad it ion d id n o t a l low h im t o a t ta in t he p er fect ion o f s hape a nd d ecorat i on o f t he p rev ious e ra. L arge , r ough v esse ls k nown a s u rns w ere u sua l ly d ecorated w ith a pp l ique s tr ips l oca ted b enea th t he e dge o f t he r im a nd g enera l ly d ecora ted b y a n i nc ised o r f i nger-na i l p a t tern.

V ery o f ten t hese s tr ips w ere a rranged i n p a irs ,

o ne a bove t he o ther , a nd i n s o me c ases t he t op o f t he u rn was d iv ided i n to t wo o r t hree e qua l p ar ts e ach o ne w ith v er t ica l a pp l ique , f orm ing a n a rch w h ich s tar ted a t t he v ery l i p o f t he u rn .

S o met i mes t he n e ighbour ing a rch wh ich i s

p ara l lel i s j o ined b y az ig-zag p a t tern.

I n a l l p robab i l ity t hese v esse ls , i n

s p ite o f t he ir d o mes t ic a ppearance, w ere c onnec ted w ith r e l ig ious r i tes , a ssoc ia ted w ith b ur ia l o f t he d ead.

Dur ing t he e xcavat ions o f t he v i l lage s e t t le-

men t mounds i n t he d epos its d a t ing f rom t he f i rs t h a l f o f t he Bronze Age , s uch u rns a re f ound i n t he b ur ia ls o f sma l l c h i ldren . I n t he manu fac ture a nd d ecora t ion o f t h is t ype o f v esse l t he p o t ter h ad i t s f unct ion i n m ind . V esse ls w ith n ear ly s pher ica l b od ies a nd v ery n arrow r i ms b e long t o t h is p er iod ( P l. 4 5 ). U sua l ly t hey h ave w ide , f l a t h and les w h ich s tar t a t t he e dge o f t he r im o r s o met i mes r a ther l ower d own . I n many c ases t he p ar t o f t he h and le wh ich j o ins o n t o t he t op o f t he v esse l i s d ecora ted o n b o th s ides b y sma l l c on ica l p ro jec t ions c haracter is t ic o f t he meta l l ic f orms o f a much l a ter p er iod. T owards t he e nd o f t he f irst h a lf o f t he Bronze Age t here i s ar ef inemen t i n s hape , wh ich i s q u ite a l ien t o t he e ar ly Bronze Age p er iod .

P ar t icu lar ly

c haracter is t ic o f t h is p er iod a re t he r e la t ive ly sma l l v esse ls w ith r ounded b ases. 4 3 T he b ody h as a p ract ica l ly s pher ica l s hape. T hese sma l l v esse ls h ave t h in , e legan t h and les , p u l led u pwards s lan tw ise u nder t he r im o f t he v ess e l a nd e nd ing i n a sma l l s ing le o r d oub le c on ica l p rotuberance.

S o met i mes

t he r im i s more s lan t ing a nd s o met i mes l ess , i nd ica t ing a d es ire f or v ar iety o f s hape. One f inds , o n t he who le , t hat t owards t he m idd le o f t he Bronze Age t here i s ar eturn t o d ivers ity i n t he f orms o f p o ts . T h is p rocess o f i mprove men t i n t he a r t istry a nd s k i l l o f t he p ot ter c on t inu ed e ven i n t he s econd h a lf o f t he Bronze Age. as earch f or n ew f orms a nd d ecorat ive mot ifs.

Ad es ire f or b eau ty p ro mp ted T he p ot ter s hows g rea t s k i l l

i n h is c rea t ion o f k an tharos c ups , wh ich w ere f ound i n e xcavat ions i n Yuna tsue , P azardzh ik r eg ion . 44

I t s t a l l u pper p ar t w h ich g racefu l ly c o mes i n t owards

t he midd le , g iv ing t he v essel i t s e legance , c omb ines w e l l w ith t he e longated , t aper ing b ase w h ich h as t he f orm o f at runca ted c one.

F ro m t he c lear ly d e-

f ined l i ne b etween t he u pper a nd l ower p ar ts o f t he c up a n a l mos t v er t ica l t h in h and le r ises u p , e nd ing a bove t he e dge o f t he r im i n aw ide , s harp p rot uberance. T hese c ups a re c o mp lete ly c overed i n a n e ngraved c r iss-cross p a t tern w ith p o l ished a reas. p igmen t .

T he i nc ised d ecora t ion i s i n la id w ith w h ite

The w ork o f t he p o t ters o f t he e nd o f t he s econd h a lf o f t he Bronze Age i s o f i n terest . T he ir e f for ts w ere r ef lec ted most c lear ly i n t he c eram ic t rad it i on wh ich i s f ound n ear Novo-Se lo , V id in p rov ince. 45 P ot tery o f t h is p er iod i s s tar t l ing i n i t s d yna m is m o f s hape a nd d ecora t ion . Charac ter ist ic o f t h is p er iod a re l i t t le c ups w ith g lobu lar b od ies w ith t hree p ro jec t ing b osses.

1 6

T he

r im i s o u tsp layed .

T he h and le s tar ts a t t he w ides t p ar t o f t he c up a nd e nds

h igh a bove t he r im i n aw ide f an-shaped p ro ject ion .

T he p ot ter w ish ing t o

c rea te b eau ty b oth i n f orm a nd i n f i n ish h as c arefu l ly c ons idered e very l i ne o f t he d ecorat ion a nd h as c ons idered h ow w e l l i th armon izes w ith t he r es t a nd w ith t he s hape o f t he v esse l.

One c o mmon ly f i nds a n arrow v er t ica l l ine

r unn ing f ro m t he w idest p ar t o f t he b ody t o t he b o t to m , e nd ing i n ac urved f l our ish ; t he u pper p art i s d ecora ted w ith c irc les f orm ing a s im i lar d e l ica te p a t tern .

T hese d ecora t ive e le men ts r un f ro m t he s tar t o f t he n eck t o t he

t op o f t he b osses.

T hus o nce a ga in t he p ecu l iar ity o f t h is s hape i s emphas ized

b oth b y t he t ype o f d ecora t ion a nd b y i t s d istr ibu t ion .

T he v er t ica l mo t ifs

a re l i nked t ogether b y i n termed iate h or izon ta l d ecora t ions.

T he n ecks a nd

f ee t o f t he c ups a re d ecora ted w ith a h or izon ta l d es ign a nd t he h and le i s a lso c omp lete ly c overed i n d ecora t ion . I ti s c lear t ha t t he p ot ter o n ly managed t o a ch ieve t h is a fter l ong e xper i men ta t ion w ith n ew t echn iques.

A longs ide

t hese sma l l v esse ls l arge , w ide b ow ls a re f ound , t he l ower p ar t n arrow ing s harp ly t owards t he t op a nd t he e dge o f t he r im i n s evera l p laces b e ing d rawn s harp ly u pwards.

T he r ims h ave t wo t o f our l ea f-shaped p rotuberances o n

t hem wh ich a dd e legance t o t hese v essels. s hape.

T he l ower p or t ion h as a s pher ica l

T he p ot ter s hows g rea t s k il l i n t he f i n ish o f t hese v esse ls a nd d ecora-

t ed t he m s im i lar ly t o t he sma l l c ups.

T he s k il fu l c omb ina t ions o f mo t ifs a dd

a n o r ig ina l b eauty t o t hese v esse ls. A t t he e nd o f t he f ourth a nd t he b eg inn ing o f t he t h ird m il lenn ia a d ra ma t ic e ven t t ook p lace i n Bu lgar ia wh ich r esu l ted i n t he c essat ion o f s o me a spec ts o f c u l tura l l i fe.

T h is d ead p er iod c o mes b efore t he a ppearance o f n ew t r ibes

wh ich b rought w ith t he m a marked ly l ess d eve loped c u ltura l t rad it ion , wh ich f undamen ta l ly d i f fers f ro m t ha t wh ich e x isted i n t he t rans it iona l p er iod .

T he

a r t is t ic a ch ieve men ts o f t he p reced ing p er iod d isappeared c o mp lete ly , t o b e s uperseded b y n ew o nes o f a more p r im it ive a r t ist ic t rad it ion , wh ich d eve loped i ndependen t ly. I ti s a lso e v iden t t ha t i n t he Bronze Age t he s k i l l a nd a r t is t ic a b i l i ty o f t he p ot ter w ere c on t inua l ly g row ing , d eve lop ing a nd improv ing . T o e luc idate s o me a spects o f t he g radua l d evelopmen t o f p o t tery t ypes w e mus t c ons ider t he a rr iva l i n Bu lgar ia o f t he p eop le w ho i n troduced t he c u l tura l t rad i t ion o f t he Bronze Age. We h ave a lready men t ioned t hat t hey a ppeared i n B u lgar ia a f ter a p er iod o f d epopu la t ion . An ew c era m ic t rad it ion a ppeared , n otab le n o t o n ly f or t he r oughness a nd u na t trac t iveness o f i t s f orms a nd f i n ish b ut a lso f or t he c o mp lete ly n ew t ypes o f v esse l w h ich w ere i n troduced a t t ha t t ime.

Probab ly t h is r egress ion w as

ar ef lec t ion o f t he w ay o f l i fe o f t he b r ingers o f t he n ew c u ltura l t rad it ion . When a p eop le a re c onstan t ly c hang ing t he ir way o f l i fe a s ar esu l t o f an o mad ic e x istence, o f ten t o p oorer c ond it ions , t he ir a r tefacts o f ten a re l ess a t trac t ive a nd t he ir v essels a nd u tens i ls a re p oorer i n q ua l ity b oth i n f orm a nd d ecora t ion. I n t he c ase o f more s e t t led p eop les t here i s ag rea ter o ppor tun ity t o p er fec t s k i l ls a nd s o g radua l ly t hey a sp ire t o g reater a es the t ic h e igh ts.

1 7

HU MAN REPRESENTAT IONS

As was s a id i n t he I n troduc t ion , i n t he p reh istor ic p er iod , a s w e l l a s a es thet ic d eve lop men t , o ther a spects o f t he s p ir itua l a ct iv it ies o f t he p eop le w ere g row ing wh ich w ere d irec t ly l i nked t o t he d eve lopmen t o f a r t i nt he f i f th t o t h ird m i l lenn ia B .C. S oc ia l a nd e cono m ic d eve lopmen t c aused t he d evelopmen t o f r e l ig ious b e l iefs. Preh is tor ic man i n troduces u s t o h is s urround ings b y means o f h is a r te fac ts , a nd w orks o f a r t a lways c lear ly e xpressed t he c harac ter o f t he s oc iety .

As w il l b e s een b e low , d ur ing t he w ho le p reh istor ic

p er iod c rea t ive a c t iv ity o beyed s tr ict r u les , a nd o n ly r are ly d oes o ne f i nd d ev ia t ions f ro m t he m. Bu t , d esp ite t hese r es tr ic t ions t he men o f t h is t ime l ef t av a luab le a r t is t ic l egacy . D if feren t ma ter ia ls w ere c hosen f or t he p roduc t ion o f a n thropomorph ic s tatue t tes a t d i f feren t t imes , wh ich i nd ica tes t he i mpor tan t r o le w h ich t hey p layed i n t he l i fe o f p reh is tor ic s oc iety .

I n t he N eo l ith ic p er iod s tatue t tes

r epresen t ing h u man f igures w ere ma in ly made o u t o f c lay .

I n t he C ha lco l ith ic

p er iod b one, marb le a nd i n s o me c ases e ven g o ld w ere u sed . S f ter t he g rea t r ise i n s cu lptura l c rea t iv ity i n t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod , t he a l mos t c o mp lete a bsence o f a n thropo morph ic s cu lp tures i n t he e ar ly B ronze Age i s s urpr is ing .4 7 We meet w ith t he m o n ly a t t he e nd o f t he l ast B ronze Age p er iod , i n t he f i nds a long t he Bu lgar ian ,4 8 R o man ian , 49 a nd 5 erb ian 5 0 b anks o f t he Danube.

T he s ty les o f d i f feren t e pochs s how e ssen t ia l d i f ferences ,

a nd s o t he d eve lop men t o f s cu lpture a nd o f c eram ics a re e xa m ined c hrono logi ca l ly .

F or c lar ity w e w i l l t ake a s ab as is f or t he c lass if icat ion o f f i gur ines

t he s yste m p u t f orward b y V . M ikovy 5 1

a nd A . Ch i l ing irov 5 2

who d iv ide t he m

i n to s i t t ing a nd s tand ing f igures , a nd b y s ex .

THE KRE M IKOVTS I-KARANOVO I , KARANOVO I CULTURE Unfor tuna te ly v ery f ew h u man f igur ines o f t h is p er iod h ave b een f ound. 5 3 T hey a re c h ief ly made o f c lay ; u p t o n ow o n ly o ne s ta tue t te h as b een f ound made o f marb le. A l l t he w e l l d ocu men ted f igures o f t he e ar ly Neo l ith ic p er iod r epresen t w o men.

T he mos t n otab le i s as tatue t te f ound d ur ing t he e xcavat ions

o f t he Karanovo s et t le men t mound 5 4 ( P l. 4 9 ) : ah ead a nd f ace i n t he s hape o f ar ec tang le p laced s tra igh t o n t op o f t he s hou lders. On t he " face" t here a re o n ly e yes a nd n ear ly i n t he c en tre t here i s a sma l l s we l l ing w h ich marks t he p lace o f t he n ose.

T he t orso i s v ery c are fu l ly s haped a nd h as a l mos t

h armon ious ly d eve loped p ropor t ions.

T he b reas ts a re r epresen ted b y t wo

p rotrud ing h em ispheres , s i tuated u nnatura l ly h igh a nd a lso t oo c lose t o e ach o ther .

C lear ly t he s cu lp tor d oes n o t i mbue t h is c lay f i gur ine o f aw omen

w i th t he i dea o f f am i ly c on t inu ity o r , a s i s c o mmon ly t he c ase , c ons ider t he i dea o f t he f er t il ity o f l and , a s i s s hown b y t he n orma l p ropor t ions o f t he s to mach.

T he s o le p lace i n wh ich t he p ropor t ions a re u nnatura l i s i n t he

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r epresen ta t ion o f t he b u t tocks , wh ich t he s cu lp tor r epresen ts a s u nna tura l ly d eve loped a nd p ro jec t ing .

T he l egs a nd t he l ower p ar t o f t he t orso a re d e-

p ic ted i n ar a ther g enera l ized w ay . t inc t ly d e l ineated .

On ly t he k nees a nd a nk les a re more d is-

Much c are h as b een g iven t o t he b ack p ar t o f t he s tatue t te.

The b ack i s r ounded a nd t he w a is t i s f a in t ly o u t l ined , u n it ing t he l ong t orso w i th s harp ly p ro ject ing b u t tocks. A d eep v er t ical i nc ised l i ne d iv ides t he l egs. S ta tuet tes o f t he t wo e ar ly p er iods o f t he N eo l ith ic d i f fer i n t he ir e xcep t iona l p las t ic ity a nd i n t he r ounded f orm o f t he l ower b ack p ar t o f t he t runk . One g ets t he i mpress ion t ha t t he s cu lp tor h as p u t a l l h is s k i l l i n to mode l l ing t h is p ar t icu lar p ar t o f t he b ody . I n r are c ases t he s exua l o rgans a re emphas ized . The p os it ion o f t he h ands i s i n teres t ing i n t hese s tatue t tes , a s i n t he c lay f igure o f aw o man f ound i n t he Karanovo s e t t le men t mound e xcava t ions. H er h ands a re u nna tura l ly l ong a nd t h in a nd a re p laced w i th t he l e f t o ne c over ing t he l ower p ar t o f t he s to mach a nd t he r igh t l y ing n ear ly o n t he w a is t , a nd t here a re v ery p ro trud ing b ut tocks. As a r u le , t he s cu lp tor o u t l ined o r o n ly h in ted a t s o me o f t he p ar ts o f t he b ody a nd a t t he s ame t ime e xaggera ted o r r ea l is t ica l ly d ep ic ted o ther p ar ts. T he s cu lp tor 's d ependence o n as e t o f r u les w as f irm ly e s tab l ished a nd o ne r are ly f i nds a ny d ev ia t ion f rom t he m . We l l k nown d ev ia t ions i n i n terpreta t ion n ot o n ly o f i nd iv idua l p ar ts o f t he b ody b u t i nt he e n t ire c oncep t o f i t s b u i ld c an b e o bserved i n t he t hree s ta tue t tes f ound i n S o f ia. 5 5 T he h eads h ave b een l os t , a nd t he a rms t ake t he f orm o f s hor t , c on ica l b ranches. T he b us t i su nusua l i n i t s h eavy s hape. T he w a is t i s w e l l s haped a nd smoo th ly u n ites t he t op p ar t o f t he b ody w ith t he v ery w ide a nd p ro trud ing b u t tocks . T he l egs a re s carce ly d iv ided o ne f ro m t he o ther . One i s s truck b y t he d e ta i led s hape o f t he l ower h a l f o f t he b ody a nd i n p ar t icu lar t he b ack p ar t o f i t . D if feren t p ar ts o f t he b ody a re emphas ized i n d i f feren t s tatue t tes : t he a rea o f t he g ro in ,t he n ave l , e tc. One o f t he f i gures f ound i n t he N eo l ith ic s e t t le men t mound a t S o f ia i s i n teres t ing f rom a n a r t is t ic p o in t o f v iew : i ti s o rna men ted i nb rown p a in t r ound t he w a is t a nd l ower p ar t o f t he b ody . T here i s an arrow s tr ip w h ich e nc irc les t he w a is t , r em in iscen t o f ab e l t .

F ive f an-shaped l i nes r ad ia te o u t f ro m i ta nd s tre tch a l mos t t o t ha t

p o in t a t w h ich t he k nees s hou ld b e. T hese l i nes g o a cross t he g ro in a nd g ive t he i mpress ion o f a n a pron c over ing t h is p ar t o f t he b ody . S im i lar l o inc lo ths a re f ound e ven n owadays i n s o me b ackward t r ibes. T he w ho le o f t he f ron t p ar t o ft he r igh t l eg o f t h is s tatuet te i s e ven ly c overed i n ar et icu la te p a t tern . On t he b ack p ar t o f t he s ta tue t te b e tween t he b ut tocks t here i s ac omp le te ly s tra igh t l i ne i n t he s a me b rown p a in t w h ich g oes a s f ar a s t he s po t w here t he l egs b eg in . D esp ite t he u n iform ity o f s ty le , t he s cu lp tors o f t he N eo l ith ic p er iod i n d i f feren t p ar ts o f t he c oun try t r ied t o v ary t he ir s ty les. Av ery i n teres t ing p henomenon w h ich i s f ound i n t he e ar ly s tages o f t he d eve lopmen t o f a r t i n B u lgar ia a nd i n s ou th-eas tern E urope g enera l ly , a re t he s che ma t ic r e l ief r epresen ta t ions o f h umans o n p o t tery v esse ls ( P l. 5 2 ).56 We n o te t ha t i n t he ir e xecu t ion t he a r t is t h ad p laced g rea t emphas is o n t he s exua l c harac ter is t ics. T here i s n o q ues t ion o f c haracter isa t ion o r o f t he a dd i t ion o f i nd iv idua l t ra its , f or t he f igures a re s che ma t ic : t hey a re g enera l ised b u t a t t he s ame t ime i n s ome c ases c er ta in p ar ts o f t he b ody a re emphas ised . I n a dd it ion t o t he f e ma le s ta tue t tes , t here a re ma le f igur ines. A t ten t ion mus t b e p a id t o t he p os it ion o f t he h ands : i ti s s tr ik ing t ha t w here t he ma le

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s ex i s c lear ly emphas ized t he h ands a re f ound i n ac er ta in p os it ion , most c o m mon ly w ith o ne h and t urned u pwards a nd t he o ther h ang ing d own .

I n t he

f e ma le s tatuet tes t he h ands a re u sua l ly l i f ted u pwards o r a re h e ld o u t t o t he s ide. T he f e ma le r epresen ta t ions a re n ear ly a lways c onnected w ith t he a c t o f g iv ing b ir th. T h is mo men t i s p or trayed b y t he Neo l ith ic s cu lp tor b y means o f aw idened s hape wh ich b eg ins s tra igh t f ro m t he p e lv is a nd b y means o f a s trong , s ty l ized b ody , w h ich i s t he l ikeness o f t ha t o f ap regnan t w oman. 57 T h is i s t he embod i men t o f t he p r inc ip le i dea o f t he c o mpos it ion : t he emerg ence o f an ew h u man b e ing , t he h ope a nd f uture o f t he h u man r ace.

S im i lar

r epresen ta t ions a re f ound i n Ro man ia , wh ich a t t ha t t ime was p opu la ted b y t r ibes wh ich w ere r e la ted t o t hose i n Bu lgar ia .

I ti s c lear t hat t he C ha lco-

l i th ic s cu lp tor h as c hanged h is t aste , f or t he a r t is t ic v a lue o f t he f i gures wh ich a re d ep ic ted o n t he wa l ls o f p ots c an i n n o w ay b e c o mpared w ith t he v ery b eau t ifu l c eram ic v esse ls. One c annot e xc lude t he p oss ib i l ity t hat t he v esse ls wh ich h ave h uman o u t l ines o n t he ir s ides migh t h ave b een c onnected w ith r el ig ious r i tes , p erhaps w ith t he i n it ia t ion o f an ew me mber o f af am i ly .

T he

w idespread c u lt o f c oncep t ion a nd h u man b ir th i n t he N eo l ith ic e ra r epresen ts av i ta l p heno menon i n t he l i fe o f p reh istor ic p eop le : t he b ir th o f s ucceed ing g enera t ions o f t he h u man r ace , t he p ledge o f man 's v ictory o ver n ature a nd t he e le men ts.

T he e xcep t iona l impor tance o f t ha t mo men t i n t he l i ves o f t he

p eop le i n N eo l ith ic s oc iety c a l led f or s er ious t rea tmen t o f i ta s s acred , a nd r estr ic ted t he a r t ist t o s tr ic t ly d ef ined methods o f r epresen t ing a w omen g iv ing b ir th. I n s peak ing o f a r t a nd t he c rea t ion o f h u man r epresen ta t ions embody ing a c er ta in c oncep t o f p reh istor ic man , o ne mus t p ay s pec ia l a t ten t ion t o t he m in iature s tone f igur ines o f wo men g iv ing b ir th , o f wh ich t hree h ave b een f ound i n Bu lgar ia. 5 8 T hey a re made o f d ark-green s tone a nd d ep ic t wo men l y ing d own a t t he mo men t o f b ir th.

The h ands o f t he w o men g iv ing

b ir th a re t urned u pwards a nd t he ir l egs a re f irm ly b en t a nd s p layed w ide ly a par t . a rea .

The c u lt o f t he w o man g iv ing b ir th e x is ted s i mu l taneous ly o ver a v as t T o s o me d egree i tb ears w itness t o t he c o m mon e th ica l b e l iefs o f t he

t r ibes wh ich h ad s e t t led g eograph ica l ly f ar f rom e ach o ther . T he c u l t o f t he c h i ldbearer c on t inu ing t he e x is tence o f t he h u man r ace , t he wo man-mo ther f igure i s w e l l-known f ro m e ven e ar l ier t han t he c u l ture o f Ana to l ia , w here t he mo t if o f t he c h i ldbear ing g odess o ccup ies t he c en tra l p os it ion i n t he w a l l p a in t ings i n c er ta in r oo ms o f a l l t he h ouses.

I ti s c lear t ha t v ery e ar ly

N eo l ith ic a r t i n Bu lgar ia f orms o n ly a v ery sma l l p ar t o f ab igger c u l tura l t rad it ion wh ich f l our ished o ver a n e x tens ive a rea .5 9 N eg l ig ib le l oca l d i f fere nces c an b e s een ;

t hey a re s uch a s m igh t b e e xpected , a nd a re o f o n ly

s econdary impor tance.

T here i s n o d oub t t ha t a l l t he s cu lp tors w ork ing

s i mu ltaneous ly w ith in t h is a rea a re l i nked b y ac o m mon t rad it ion , f o l low ing man 's d eve lopmen t a nd e xpress ing i n t he ir own t erms e veryday l i fe a nd r el i g ious c ere mon ies 3 ,000 y ears b efore t he ir d escendan ts s et t led i n B u lgar ia , t ha t i s l ong b efore t he f i f th m il lenn iu m B .C. A t t h is t ime marb le f i gur ines o f w o men w ere b e ing made, t hough t hese w ere v ery r are. T hese w ere c o mp letely s ty l ized r epresen tat ions , a im ing p r i mar i ly a t e x-p ress ing w o mens ' r o le i n l i fe.

T he o n ly marb le s tatue t te

d iscovered i n Bu lgar ia s ee ms t o b e aN eo l i th ic f i gure f ound i n t he Az mak s et t le men t mound n ear S tara Z agora ( P l. 5 1). f i gur ine i s

s ty l ized a nd d epersona l ized .

2 0

6 0

T he u pper p ar t o f t he

T here a re n o d eta i ls o n i t , t hough

t he b u t tocks a re u nna tura l ly emphas ized . B u t i n s p ite o f t h is t he s cu lp tor managed t o a ch ieve a p las t ic i ty a nd s o f tness o f l i ne wh ich c oncea l t he u g l iness a nd u nw ie ld iness o f t h is w o man 's b ody a nd g ives i tl i fe. The i mpress ion o f l i ghtness a nd s hape l iness i s c rea ted t o al arge d egree t hanks t o as uccess fu l c ho ice o f mater ia l. On t he w ho le t he p reh is tor ic s cu lp tor c on t inued t o d eve lop t hese a r t is t ic t rad it ions i nt he s econd p er iod o f t he Neo l ith ic a ge. THE KARANOVO I I CULTURE 6 1 A t t he v ery b eg inn ing o f t he l a te N eo l i th ic p er iod c o mp lete ly n ew s cu lp tura l c oncep ts a ppear , d if feren t f rom t hose o f b o th t he p reced ing a nd f o l low ing p er iods . I ti s o bv ious t ha ta tt h is t ime t he s cu lp tor r ef lec ted i n h is w ork t he r ad ica l ly c hang ing n a ture o f t he c u ltura l t rad it ion , wh ich w as c onnected w ith t he c hang ing r e l ig ious v iews o f s oc ie ty . S udden ly , t he i dea ls o f p hys ique a nd p ropor t ions o f t he h u man b ody c hange ( P l. 5 5 ). N o t race r ema ins o f t he marked b roaden ing i n t he r eg ion o f t he p e lv is a nd o f t he b u t tocks o f t he f ormer p er iod , a nd t he b ody i s g iven a s omewha t e longa ted c y l indr ica l s hape. T h is i s t rue b oth o f ma le a nd f e ma le r epresen ta t ions. T he h eads a nd s hou lders o f t he f igures merge i n at a l l c y l indr ica l p ro ject ion t erm ina t ing a t t he u pper e nd i n af l a t c u t f ace t . The e yes a re e ngraved a nd t he n ose i s i nd ica ted b y ap rot ruberance . T he r epresen ta t ion o f t he u pper p ar t o f t he b ody i s i n teres t ing . I n t he p rev ious p er iods i th ad b een r epresen ted a l mos t r ea l is t ica l ly a nd h ad an atura l ly e longa ted s hape , n ow a t t he e nd o f t he N eo l ith ic p er iod , w ithou t a ny t rans i t iona l s tep , t h is p ar t o f t he b ody i s s udden ly r epresen ted b y a c ircu lar o r e l l ip t ica l d isc . Sma l l c on ica l p ro tuberances a re c lear ly marked , v ery r em in iscen t o f t he b reas ts o n t he f e ma le s tatuet tes. I n mode l l ing t he s ta tuet tes w ith h igher wa is ts t he N eo l i th ic s cu lp tor makes n o d i f ferences b etween ma le a nd f e ma le , t hough i n t he l ower p ar ts o f t he b ody t here a re i nd ica t ions o f s exua l o rgans. R egard less o f whe ther t he s cu lp tor i s d ep ic t ing a man o r aw o man h e g ives t he u pper p ar t o f t he b ody a c y l indr ica l s hape. I n mode l l ing t he f e ma le f i gures t h is i s e as i ly a ch ieved f or a l l t ha t i s n eeded i s t o mou ld a c orrespond ing l u mp o f c lay . More c are i s n eeded i n t he ma le r epresen ta t ions , i n wh ich t he l ower p ar t i s u sua l ly made i n t he f orm o f a c y l inder , i nden ted l eng thw ise t o f orm t he l egs. T he ma le s ta tue t te f rom l eve l I I o f t he Karanovo s et t le men t mound i s t he o n ly f igure s o f ar k nown w h ich i s c overed i n p a in ted d ecora t ion .6 2 I ti s a n i n teres t ing a nd i mpor tan t f ac t t ha t t h is p o lychrome p a in t ing i s f ound o n ly o n t he ma le c lay s ta tue t tes. T he c rown o f t he h ead i s d ecora ted b y t wo f i ne c oncen tr ic c irc les , e x tend ing o n to t he f ace a nd b ack o f t he h ead i n sma l l h a lf c irc les , v ery r em in iscen t o f ah a ir c u t .

T hree l ong ' p la its ' h ang d own t he

b ack o f t he h ead . Ap inchedin c y l inder f orms t he n ose , o n e i ther s ide o f w h ich t he e yes a re c arefu l ly d rawn , r a ther e longa ted a nd w ith b roken l i nes a bove t he m t o i nd ica te t he e yebrows.

Aw ide b e l t i s d rawn r ound t he w a is t

o f t h is f igure a nd f rom i t , i n t he r eg ion o f t he s tomach a nd t he p e lv is , r ad ia te t i ny r ound d o ts. T he e nds o ft he b e l t f a l l i n f ron t a nd b eh ind t he r igh t l eg . T he m idd le p ar t o f t he b e l t i s s o l id , b u t i t s l ong e nds a re made u p o f l i t t le c irc les o f d ark b rown p a in t l i nked b y s hor t s tra igh t l i nes.

T he o u ts ide o f t he

r igh t t h igh i s c overed b y al i near d ecora t ion made u p o f l ong , s tra igh t l i nes w h ich a re i n tersec ted b y s hor t l i nes . T h is d ecora t irn i s a lso f ound i n t he

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p e lv ic r eg ion a nd o n t he b u t tocks a nd w a is t o n t he r igh t s ide o f t he s tatue t te. I t s eems t ha t t hese f i l lets r ound t he w a is t w ere o n ly w orn b y men a nd emphas ized t he ir s uper ior r o le i n t he c o mmun ity . One a lso f i nds p ar ts o f s im i lar marb le s tatues , a nd a ga in Imust emphas ize t ha t f rom t he h ead a lone o ne c anno t d e term ine t he s ex o f t he s ta tue. Why t he p reh is tor ic s cu lp tors ' s ty le a nd mode o f e xpress ing r ea l ity c hanged s o s udden ly when h i ther to i th ad k ep t s tr ic t ly t o t he r ea l is t ic t rad it ion i s n o t k nown .

T he

r epresen ta t ion o f i mag inary c reatures a t t he e nd o f t he N eo l ith ic p er iod i s e v idence o f t he i n troduc t ion o f an ew e le men t i n t he e thn ic s truc ture o f t he p eop le w ho s e t t led i n Bu lgar ia i n t he f i f th m i l lenn iu m B .C.

T he a l ien o r ig in

o f t h is a r t is t ic t rad i t ion h ad n o c onnec t ion w i th e i ther t he p reced ing o r t he s uceed ing p hases o f c rea t ive a r t is t ic d eve lopmen t. T he f acts s how t ha t a t t he e nd o f t he N eo l ith ic a ge t h is c u lture w as d eve lop ing o n ly i n o ne p ar t icu lar n o t v ery e x tens ive a rea .

F or t he p resen t i ti sp rac t ica l ly imposs ib le t o

p rove w here p eop le who i n troduced t h is a l ien c u ltura l a nd a r t is t ic t rad i t ion h ad c o me f ro m a nd h ow t hey c ame t o Bu lgar ia . I ti s i n teres t ing t ha t i n c ons iderab ly l a ter Bronze Age s cu lptures f ound i nt he Cyc lades w e f i nd f eatures wh ich r esemb le t hose o f t he f igur ines f rom t he l a te N eo l ith ic i n Bu lgar ia . I t i s n ow p laus ib le t o c ons ider G eorg i i G eorgov ich 's h ypo thes is w h ich s ta tes t ha t t he t ypes o f f igur ines d eve loped t here u nder t he i n f luence o f a much e ar l ier N eo l i th ic c u l ture wh ich h ad b een b rough t o ver f ro m Bu lgar ia . I ti s p oss ib le t ha t t he c ra f ts mansh ip o f t he s cu lp tors o f t he e nd o f t he f i f th m i l lenn ium B .C. w as p assed o n t o ad is tan t s ou thern a rea o f t he Ba lkan p en insu la . H owever , i ti s d i f f icu l t t o e xp la in h ow t h is c u ltura l t rad i t ion s urv ived t he t housand y ear p er iod wh ich s epara tes t he l a t e N eo l ith ic a ge i n B u lgar ia f ro m t he Bronze Age i n t he A egean I s lands. I ti s i mposs ib le t o a nswer t he q ues t ion o f w here t h is a l ien C ha lco l ith ic a r t is t ic t rad i t ion o r ig ina ted , wh ich a f ter a t housand y ears f l our ished o nce more a nd b ecame a c haracter is t ic s ty le o f t h is l a ter a ge. THE KALOYANOVETS -KARANOVO I V CULTURE I n e xam in ing t he q ues t ion o f t he d eve lopmen t a nd t he c hang ing t rad i t ion o f mak ing a nd d ecora t ing c lay v esse ls , w e n o t iced t ha t b e tween t he c eram ics o f t he e nd o f t he N eo l ith ic p er iod a nd t he s o-ca l led ' t rans i t iona l ' p er iod ( t he f our th s tra tum o f t he Karanovo s et t le men t mound ) t here e x is t l arge d i f ferences w h ich i nd ica te t he a bsence o f a ny c on t inu i ty . I fw e t ake t he v iew t ha t t he K a loyanovetsKaranovo I V c u l ture a ppears a s a n i mmed ia te c on t inua t ion o f t he c u lture o f Karanovo H I , t hen i ti s imposs ib le t o e xp la in t he s harp c hange i n t he manner o f r epresen t ing t he h uman f orm. I n d iscuss ing t h is o ne mus t r emember t ha t r e l ig ious b e l iefs a nd t rad it ions a re c onnec ted w ith f irm ly e s tab l ished v iews o f t he s oc ie ty , a nd c ons t itu te t he mos t c onserva t ive e le men t o f i t s s p ir itua l l i fe. T h is i s w hy i ti s i mposs ib le t o b e l ieve t ha t p reh is tor ic man i n t he c ourse o f ac en tury , a f ter p roduc ing h igh ly s ty l ised r epresen ta t ions o f h u man f igures , s udden ly a nd w ithou t a ny t rans it iona l p er iod s tar ted t o g ive c lay h u man f i guri nes n ew c harac ter is t ics wh ich h ad n o th ing i n c o m mon w ith w ha t h ad g one

b e fore . T he e longa ted c y l indr ica l b od ies a nd h eads o f t he f i gur ines d isappeared f orever . T he t yp ica l s tatuet te o f t he Karanovo I V c u l ture h as a h ead w h ich

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i s f a ir ly r egu lar ly s haped , w i th c arefu l ly d rawn f ac ia l f ea tures ( P l. 5 7 ). 6 3 The e yes a re s hown b y s ha l low ly c u t , a rched l i nes w h ich g ive t hem a n a l mond s hape. T he mou th i s d e f ined b y t he s a me t ypes o f l i nes a nd t he n ose i s r ep resen ted b y ap rotuberance f ormed b y t he i n tersec t ion o f t wo p lanes o f t he f ace . I n s o me c ases e ven t he h a ir i s s hown . T he b od ies o f t he f igur ines a re e xecu ted i n s uch a w ay a s g enu ine ly t o t ake t he s hape o f t he h uman b ody . Qu ite c lear ly , s uch a s udden c hange i n t he s cu lp tor 's s ty le c ou ld n ot h ave c o me a bou t a nd g a ined p ub l ic r ecogn i t ion i n s uch a s hor t s pace o f t ime i n t he c ase o f n orma l e vo lu t ionary d eve lopmen t . T he c hanges c orresponded t o c hanges i n t he s p ir itua l l i fe a nd t he c hang ing a r t is t ic t as te o f t he c o mmun i ty .

THE KARANOVO V - V I CULTURE B eg inn ing w i th a g enera l s urvey o f s cu lp tured h uman f i gur ines , w e w i l l d iv ide t he m u p a ccord ing t o t he s ubs tance o f w h ich t hey a re made ( c lay , b one , marb le o r g o ld ), a ccord ing t o p osture ( s tand ing o r s i t t ing ) a nd a ccord ing t o s ex .

A l though h uman f i gur ines o f t he C ha lco l ith ic p er iod w ere made t o a

s tandard t ype , t he p reh is tor ic s cu lp tor o f t he f our th m i l lenn ium e xce l led h i ms e lf i n h is p or traya l o f s cu lp tura l r epresen ta t ions w h ich w e w ou ld t erm p or tra i ts. T he c lay f igures o f s tand ing w omen

6 4

s how t he m a s p regnan t ( P l. 5 8 ).

T he ir h eads a re mode l led a s a n i rregu lar ly s haped t r iang le , t he f ace i s r ep roduced b y d eep ly p inch ing t he m idd le , a nd t he f ea tures o n t he f ace a re v ery s ty l ised a nd g enera l ized . T he n eck a nd s hou lders a re f ormed w i th l i t t le a tt en t ion t o d e ta i l. T he p os it ion o f t he h ands o f t hese s tatue t tes c on ta ins a d eep mean ing a nd h as s ymbo l ic s ign if icance. T hey a re s hown i n s evera l p os i t ions , t yp ica l o f t he p ar t icu lar p er iod . T he s cu lp tor makes t hem l ook l i ke s hor t s tu mps t he e nds o f w h ich a re t urned s l igh t ly u pwards o r d ownwards. I n t he g esture o f t he u p turned h ands o ne c an s ee t he s ubsequen t d eve lopmen t o f t he c u l t o f t he b ir th-g iv ing g oddess. I ti s r e markab le t ha t t h is g esture i s o n ly a ssoc ia ted w ith t hose s ta tuet tes w h ich a re d is t inc t ive ly f e ma le , d ep ic ted e i ther i nt he l a ter s tages o f p regnancy o r a t t he mo men t o f g iv ing b ir th . I t embod ies t he t ens ion a t t he mo men t o f t he a ppearance o f an ew l i fe. T he b reas ts a re u sua l ly r epresen ted b y t wo n ot v ery l arge c on ica l p ro tuberances , l eve l w ith t he m idd le o f t he u pper a rm. C o mmon ly t he l ower p ar t o f t he b ody i s d is t ingu ished b y i t s c lumsy p ropor t ions : t here i s aw iden ing o f t he p e lv is a nd t he b u t tocks , a nd t he s tomach s t icks o u t e xcess ive ly . T he l egs a re r ough ly s haped a nd a re mass ive. T he i dea o f t he l i nk b e tween t he w o man- mo ther f i gure a nd t he c h ild , h er c ares a nd t he i dea o f p os ter ity f i nds a r t is t ic e xpress ion i n t he p os i t ion o f t he h ands w h ich a re e i ther o n t he s che ma t ica l ly d ep ic ted b reas ts o r u nder t he m. T he c ares o f t he mo ther , w ho i s r espons ib le f or t he c on t inu i ty o f t he h uman r ace , a re n o t l im ited o n ly t o g iv ing b ir th t o c h i ldren a nd t o f eed ing t he m ; h er c oun t less d u t ies a s r egards t he c h i ld a re e xpressed i nv ar ious w ays. One o f t he mos t w ide ly d istr ibu ted r epresen ta t ions i n B u lgar ia a nd i n many a reas o f n e ighbour ing c oun tr ies i n w h ich i n C ha lco l ith ic t imes t h is c u ltura l t rad it ion w as w idespread , w as t ha t o f t he mother w i th a c h i ld o n h er b ack .6 5 However , o n ly o ne s uch v ery s ty l ized f e ma le s ta tue h as b een f ound i n Bu lgar ia ( P l. 6 3 ) ; i n p roduc ing i tt he a nc ien t s cu lp tor h as g iven s pec ia l a t ten t ion t o t he c h i ld 's b ody .6 6 T he c h i ld 's h ands a re r ound 2 3

t he mother 's n eck a nd i t s l egs d ang le d own t he b ack , r es t ing o n t he s ide. T hese r epresen ta t ions h ave a t rans ferred mean ing . T he p reh is tor ic s cu lp tor i nves ts h is c oncep t ion i n a n a r t is t ic f orm , s uccessfu l ly s ymbo l iz ing p regnancy a nd t he r ear ing o f s uccessors p laced o n t he s hou lders o f w o men . On ly t hus c an o ne e xp la in t he sma l l c on ica l p rotuberances o n t he s p ines o f many o f t he c lay f igures w h ich c lear ly h ave f e ma le c haracter is t ics. I n af ew c ases f i ne i nc ised l i nes r ad ia te f ro m t hese p ro tuberances , c over ing t he n eck o f t he s ta tuet te , p robab ly i nd ica t ing t he c h i ld 's h ands h ugg ing t he mo ther 's n eck o r t he ma ter ia l w ith wh ich t he c h i ld i s a t tached t o t he mo ther 's b ack . T hese p rotuberances a re v ery l i ke h umps , b u t t he c h i ld 's t orso i s e rec t a nd f rom t he p o in t o f v iew o f i t s a na to my i s n orma l ly p ropor t ioned . P hys ica l d efec ts a re s hown more o r l ess i n t h is w ay , b u t i n t hose c ases t he s i lhoue t te a cqu ires a c harac ter is t ic d is tor t ion . T he c ommun icat ion o f s uch s ub t le n uances i n t he f orm o f t he h u man b ody i s e v idence o f t he a r t is ts ' g rea t p owers o f o bserva t ion a nd s k i l l. I n t he c ase o f t he s ea ted c lay f igur ines o f w omen t he h ead , n eck a nd b reas ts a re r epresen ted a s d escr ibed a bove. T he ir h ands h ang b y t he ir s ides a nd t he ir a rms a re b en t a t t he e lbow ;

mos t o f ten t hey a re c rossed o n t he

w a is t o r a bove t he s to mach , a nd s omet i mes t hey a re p laced a bove o rb e low t he b reas ts . I n t he c ase o f t he s ea ted w omen t he w ide b u t tocks a re a lways emphas ized , s o met i mes u nna tura l ly s o.

T he l egs a re u sua l ly v ery c lose t o-

g ether . S o met i mes i n t he f i gur ines o f s ea ted w omen a f eed ing c h i ld i s d ep ic ted ( P l. 5 9 ). T he w o man- mo ther b reas tfeed ing h er c h i ld i s h e ld i n r espect a nd t h is c u l t i s f ound r ef lec ted i n t he a r t n ot o n ly o f Bu lgar ia b u t a lso i n t ha t o f n e ighbour ing l ands i n w h ich i n t he f our th m i l lenn ium B .C. t h is s ame c u ltura l t rad i t ion w as f ound .6 7 I n d iscuss ing f igur ines o f w o men , o ne n otes t ha t , i n s p ite o f t he c onven t ions o f t he a ge , p reh is tor ic man c ou ld n ot h e lp b u tb e moved b y t he s hape l iness a nd e legance o f y oung a nd u n formed f e ma le b od ies , w h ich h e r epresen ted w ith g rea t l ove a nd f ee l ing f or b eau ty .

I n t hese f igures i ns tead o f h av ing a d eformed a nd

v ery e xaggera ted s to mach w e s ee a s o f t p las t ic o u t l ine a nd a s hape ly s lender w a is t w h ich merges g racefu l ly i n to a n e legan t s hape a nd s l igh t ly w iden ing p e lv ic a rea . T he s cu lp tor w as n o t o n ly i n teres ted i n o vera l l d ecora t ion o f t he f i gure b u t i n i nd iv idua l p ar ts o f i t . I n d i f feren t p er iods o f t he Cha lco l ith ic a ge t h is p rob le m w as r eso lved i n d i f feren t w ays. I n e ach c ase t he r esu l t o f t he u se o f d i f feren t me thods o f d ecora t ion w as t o emphas ize o ne o r o ther p ar t o f t he b ody , o r t o a dd t o t he r epresen ta t ion a c er ta in emo t iona l a nd p sycho log ica l f ea ture. I n t he f i rs t h a l f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic a ge i n w es tern Bu lgar ia t he f e ma le s tatue t tes w ere mos t f requen t ly d ecora ted w ith w ide , i nc ised , f a ir ly c oarse ly e xecu ted s p ira ls o r c urves. On t he f ron t a nd b ack o f t he l egs t he a r t is t p laced a rched l i nes w h ich a re p rac t ica l ly p ara l le l t o e ach o ther . T h is method a l lows f or a more p rec ise p ic ture o f t he s trong ly c urved l i nes o f t he h ip. P ar t icu lar a t ten t ion w as g iven t o t he o rnamen ta t ion o f t he b u t tocks. O n t he mos t p ro trud ing p ar t o f t he b u t tock w e f i nd t he c en tres o f t i gh t ly c o i led v o lu tes w h ich e ven ly a nd g radua l ly u nco i l t owards t he w a ist o f t he f igure. B y t h is me thod o f s cu lp ture t he w o man l iness o f t he r epresen ta t ion i s emphas ized . Usua l ly t he d ecora t ion c over ing t he u pper p ar t o f t he b ody i s v ery d i f feren t i n

2 4

i t s n a ture f ro m t ha t o f t he l ower p ar t , t hus o nce a ga in emphas iz ing t he c harac ter is t ic f ea tures o f t he d i f feren t p ar ts o f t he w o man 's b ody . I n t he s econd h a l f o f t he C ha lco l ith ic a ge t he r e f ine men t o f f orm a nd r ea l is t ic t rea tmen t o f t he b ody a l lows t he s ing l ing o u t o f t hose p ar ts a nd o rgans w h ich a re t he s ub jects t o w h ich t he a nc ien t a r t is t h as b een p ar t icu lar ly a t tent i ve.

W ith t hese h e d oes n o t f a l l b ack o n a ny f orm o f o rnamen ta t ion o r

s uper f ic ia l e f fec ts . I n t hese r epresen ta t ions t he p reh is tor ic s cu lp tor t rans m its h is v is ion b y t he most e cono m ic means a nd i nsp ires l i fe i n to h is c rea t ions. I ti s c lear t ha t i n t he f our th m i l lenn ium B .C. t he p roduc t ion o f c lay f igur ines o f w o men w as i n a ccordance w i th c er ta in r u les w h ich w ere l a id d own b y t he n eeds o f t he c o mmun ity . T hese r u les g rew u p a s ar esu l t o f l ong t rad i t ion o f r ea l is m i n a r t . The c orrespondance b e tween t he s ex o f t he s tatue t te a nd t he p rec ise p os i t ion ing o f i t s h ands w as a t housand y ear o ld t rad i t ion . As f ar a s c an b e s een , t he Bronze Age c lay r epresen ta t ions o f w omen a re a l l c onnec ted p r i mar i ly w ith t he c u l t o f t he c on t inuance o f l i fe. As h as a lready b een men t ioned , as ign if ican t p ropor t ion o f t he c lay a n thropo morph ic s ta tuet tes d ep ic t men . I n t he p roduc t ion o f ma le c lay f igures t he Cha lco l i th ic s cu lp tor p ays a t ten t ion t o d e ta i l a nd p rec ise ly mode ls t he i nd iv idua l p ar ts o f t he b ody . I n t he s cu lp tura l r epresen ta t ions o f men , t he a r t is t ic t rea tmen t o f t he f ace g ives t he i mpress ion o f ap or tra i t . T he s hape o f t he h ead a nd t he manner i n w h ich t he f ace i s d ep ic ted i n t he ma jor ity o f ma le s tatuet tes e xpresses a n a t te mp t t o a ch ieve t he i nd iv idua l i ty o f ap ort ra it , a nd i n t he c om mun ica t ion o f ac er ta in mood a l l b ear w itness t o t he t a len t a nd h igh a r t ist ic a b i l i ty o f t he s cu lp tor . T he a r t is t manages t o p or tray n o t o n ly t he t yp ica l c harac ter is t ics o f t he v ar ious i nd iv idua ls b u t a lso t he ir a ge d i f ferences. T he d eta i led mode l l ing o f t he i nd iv idua l f eatures o f t he f ace c onvey t he p or tra i t f eatures o f t he l i v ing mode l , t hanks t o w h ich many h eads o f t he c lay ma le f i gur ines a re n o tab le f or t he ir i nd iv idua l ity . O ne c anno t b u t a dm ire t he h ead o f ay oung man , f ound i n t he e xcava t ions o f t he C ha lco l ith ic s et t le men t i n t he C ha ta lka r eservo ir n ear S tara-Zagora . I n t he smoo th y ou thf u l f orehead t he e yes a re o u t l ined b y t wo h or izon ta l p rotuberances , t he l ong , s tra igh t n ose h as a s l igh t b ump a t t he t op , t he c heek-bones a re f a in t ly i nd ica ted a nd t here i s ad eterm ined s e t t o t he mou th. T he o va l f ace a nd p o in ted c h in a lso s peak o f t he u ny ie ld ing h ardness a nd s treng th o f t h is y oung man . I n a l l p robab i l ity t he s cu lp tor who e xecu ted t h is w ork , w h ich i s r e markab le f or i t s p las t ic ity a nd emo t iona l q ua l i ty , w as d ep ic t ing a s pec if ic l i v ing p erson . T he l i ve ly a nd t o s o me d egree i rregu lar f eatures o f t he f ace o n ly emphas ize h is i nd iv idua l i ty a nd p or tra iture. Wha t i s mos t i mpress ive i s t he s cu lp tor 's a b i l i ty t o c onvey , w ith t he h e lp o f o n ly meagre means , t he c harac ter o f t he man d ep ic ted , h is emo t ions a nd h is q ua l i ty o f r eso lu teness. T he s k i l l o f t he p reh is tor ic s cu lp tor i s i mpress ive, f or h e r ef lec ts i n h is w ork sma l l v ar ia t ions i n a ge o r i n t he p sycho log ica l s ta te o f h is s ub jec t . T he h ead o f ac lay s tatue t te f ound i nt he e xcava t ions c arr ied o ut i n c onnec t ion w ith t he c ons truc t ion o f t he r eservo ir a t C ha ta lka c on tras ts s harp ly w ith t ha t w h ich h as j us t b een d escr ibed ( P l . 7 3 ). 6 8 I ti s t he p or tra i t o f a man o n w hose f ace i s t he h eavy mark o f i nconso lab le a ge.

T he d eep wr ink les a round t he mou th

i nd ica te t he o nse t o f t he l a te a u tumn o f t he h u man l i fe. T he o pen mou th w ith w eakened l i ps , t he w ide c u t o ft he e ye s ockets a nd t he a rched e yebrows a dd

2 5

a n e xpress ion o f h ope lessness a nd d oo m t o t he f ace. f ro m e ach o f h is l i nes.

F eeb le o ld a ge r ad ia tes

On t he o ther h and , c h i ld l ike c arefreeness a nd c on-

t en t men t a re wr it ten o n t he f aces o f t he s ta tuet tes f rom V etren ( S tara Z agora r eg ion ) ( Pl. 7 7 ). 69 T he p er fect ly s cu lp ted c lay s tatuet tes f rom G aberovo c rea te a c o mp lete ly d if feren t i mpress ion f ro m t hose o f t he S tara Z agora a rea ( P l. 7 1 ). 7 0

T he

w el l-propor t ioned n ose a nd w e l l-formed mou th emphas ize t he s tr ik ing i nd iv id ua l f eatures o f t he p roto type. I n t he Cha lco l ith ic a ge , a nd e spec ia l ly i n i t s l a tes t p hase , t he t a len ted ma le p or tra its w ere c harac ter ist ic n ot o n ly o f t he p eop les l i v ing i n Bu lgar ia : s im i lar h igh ly a r t is t ic works a re f ound a lso i n Hungary ,

7 1

J ugos lav ia ,

7 2

a nd Ro man ia. 7 3

T he c harac ter is t ic f eature o f t he ma le c lay s ta tue t tes i s t he p os it ion ing o f t he ir h ands. A t at ime when t he w o men 's h ands w ere u sua l ly f ound i n o ne o f t hree t yp ica l p os it ions , i n t he ma le f igures o f t ha t e ra o ne f inds much g reater f reedo m a nd d yna m is m o f g esture . 7 4 S o met i mes o ne h and l i es o n t he p e lv is a nd t he o ther o n t he wa is t. V ery o f ten b oth h ands a re f ound o n t he s exua l o rgans o r o n t he w a is t a nd t h ighs. Bu t i n t he ma jor ity o f c ases b o th i n t he s tand ing a nd s eated s tatues o ne h and i s p laced o n t he b reas t a nd t he o ther l i es h or izon ta l ly a cross t he w a is t. Th is l as t g esture i s t yp ica l o f t he ma le c lay r epresen tat ion o f t he Cha lco l ith ic a ge.

A t rue i nd ica t ion t ha t t h is

p os i t ion ing o f t he h ands i s c h ief ly p ecu l iar t o t he ma le s ta tuet tes i s s hown i n t he c ase o f t he s ea ted s ta tuet tes. The ir b od ies n o t o n ly d o n ot g e t w ider i n t he r eg ion o f t he p e lv is b ut g e t e ven n arrower . I n t h is w ay t he s cu lp tor emp has izes t he s hape l iness o f t he w e l l-bu i l t f i gure. I n t he ma le s tatuet tes t he s exua l o rgans a re v ery o f ten s hown . As i n Bu lgar ia s o a lso o n t he t err itory o f n e ighbour ing c oun tr ies a s ign if ican t n u mber o f c lay ma le f igures h ave b een f ound w ith w e l l mode lled p ha l l i .5

One a lso f i nds f igures s ea ted o n p ha l lus-

s haped p edes ta ls . 7 6 Among t hese ma le s ta tuet tes t here i s o ne e xcept ion t o t he g enera l r u le a s r egards t he p os it ion ing o f t he h ands a nd t he s hape o f t he h ead , i n t he c ase o f af i gure f ro m S eyach i, T ipgov ish tsk i r eg ion .

T he h ead a nd h ands o f t h is

f igure a re r epresen ted b y c on ica l a ppendages.

T h is i s e xp la ined b y i t s b e ing

o ne o f ap a ir w ith a f igure o f aw o man f ound a t t he s ame p lace. T he p reh istor ic a r t ist d ep ic ts men i n ad om inan t r o le b oth i n r el ig ious l i fe a nd i n t ha t o f t he c o m mun ity i t se lf a nd h e manages , b y t he most e cono m ic means , t o c o m mun icate t h is i n a r t ist ic i mages . t he men 's f aces.

O f ten a mask i s p laced o n

I n t h is r espec t t he h ead wh ich w as f ound a t t he e xcava t ion

o f t he s et t le men t mound n ear V in itsa ( Shu men ) i s o f g rea t i n teres t .

7 7

T he

c usto m o f p u t t ing masks o n t he f aces o f t he ma le f igures i s v ery e xpress ive ly d e mons tra ted i n t he f i n ish o f t he f igure f ro m S zegv6x-T i fzköves i n Hungary .7 8 Character is t ica l ly t he ma le f igures a re o f ten d ep icted s ea ted a nd t he s ta tuet tes f ro m S zegvär-T i f zköves s hows a man s eated i nf es t ive c loth ing , a dorned b y a n o rnamen ted b e l t a nd w ith a ' s ick le ' o n h is s hou lders. W ith t he h e lp o f a l l t h is s ee m ing ly u nsubt le d eta i l , t he Cha lco l ith ic p o t ter s k i lfu l ly c o mmun ica tes t he s upre macy o f t he ma le i n p reh is tor ic s oc ie ty . I n Bu lgar ia a l l t he c lay f igures d ep ic ted w ear ing b e l ts u sua l ly p ossess c lear i nd ica t ions t ha t t hey a re o f t he ma le s ex .

2 6

I n t he a r t o f t h is p er iod t he i mpor tance o f t he ma le i s emphas ized , f or h e p robab ly c ontro l led s oc ie ty . ' Th is mo t if f i nds a r t is t ic r ea l iza t ion i n t he h em is pher ica l ' l ids ' o f t he G ume Int 5a c u lture i n Ro man ia .7 9 On t he t op o f t he h em isphere a s ea ted ma le f i gure i s d ep ic ted , o n ly p ar t o f w h ich r e ma ins. A p a ir o f o x h orns a re s hown b eh ind t he f igure 's b ack a nd b eneath h is f ee t a re t wo j o ined p a irs. C lear ly t h is r epresen ta t ion embod ies t he h igh p os i t ion w h ich man h e ld i n p reh is tor ic s oc ie ty . T he b e l t , e i ther i nc ised o r p a in ted , a round t he w a is t c an a lso b e v iewed a s as ign o f man 's s uper ior ity . O f ten t he h eads o ft he ma le c lay f i gures a re d ecora ted w ith b ands w h ich a re p a in ted i n e i ther o chre o r g raph ite. T hey e nc irc le t he f orehead a nd t he b ack o f t he h ead l ike ad iade m . I ti s s ign if ican t t ha t t he ma le f igures a re n ever d ep icted i n t he p oses d iscussed a bove w h ich r e la te t o t he c are o f c h i ldren . T he s cu lp tor n ever e ncoun tered men i n t hese s i tua t ions i n r ea l l i fe a nd t h is i s r ef lec ted i n h is w orks , wh ich a re o f ar ea l is t ic n ature. I n d iscuss ing marb le s cu lp ture o f t he C ha leo l ith ic p er iod ,8 0 o ne mus t o bserve f ro m t he o u tse t t ha t d ep ic t ions o f p eop le g enera l ly d i f fer i n c harac ter f rom t he c on te mporary c lay s cu lp tures. T he s cu lptor , w ho u nders tands w e l l w ha t c an b e d one w ith marb le , makes g rea t e f for ts t o u se t h is mater ia l t o i t s b es t a dvan tage i n t he a r t is t ic c rea t ion o f h uman f igur ines : t he d i f ferences a re d ue t o t he d i f feren t c haracter o f t he ma ter ia l . T hese marb le h uman f igur ines ma in ly d ep ic t s tand ing w o men ( P l. 8 2 , 8 3 ). I n most c ases t he h eads a re n o tt rea ted i n t he r ound , a nd t he f ac ia l f ea tures a re c onveyed b y g rooves o n t he s ur face o f t he s tone. T he h ands a re r epresen ted b y l a tera l b ranches o r a re w e l l e xecu ted a nd c rossed o n t he u pper p ar t o f t he s to mach . H ands a nd f i ngers a re r are ly d ep ic ted o n marb le s ta tue t tes. T he b reas ts , a s i n t he c lay f i gures , a re p laced s omewha t t oo h igh a nd a re r epresen ted b y c on ica l o r h em ispher ica l p rotuberances. I n s o me c ases t he n arrow ing a t t he w a ist makes a s harp , a l mos t r igh t-ang led b reak , b u t u sua l ly t he w a is t i s c omp lete ly a bsen t a nd t he t op p ar t o f t he b ody merges i n to t he b u t tocks . S o met i mes t he s tomach i s r epresen ted b y as harp p ro tuberance d irect ly u nder t he w a ist a nd t he c rossed a rms.

T he n ave l a nd t he g ro in a re i nd icated b y r ound c av it ies.

I n t h is t ype o f t hree d i mens iona l w ork t he w e l l k nown d ispropor t ion i s c haract er is t ic . U sua l ly t he u pper p ar t o f t he b ody i s v ery s hor t a nd t he l ower p ar t l ong , s o t ha t t he w ide h ips g radua l ly merge i n to f l a t l egs p ressed a ga ins t o ne a no ther . T hey d iv ide i n as tra igh t v er t ica l l i ne w h ich s tar ts a l i t t le a bove t he l ower e x tre m i t ies o f t he g ro in a nd d isappear n ear t he a nk les , w here s o met imes t here a re s ha l low , h or izon ta l i nc is ions wh ich g o r ound t he w ho le c ircu mf erence o f t h e e l eg .

More r are ly t he l ower p ar t o f t he w o man 's b ody h as a

much more c lumsy s hape a nd t he l egs a re s l igh t ly a par t . T he marb le mode ls o f w omen f ound i n B u lgar ia a re n o tab le f or t he ir t echn ica l s k i l l i n t he t rea tmen t o f t he s tone. I n a l l , t hanks t o as ense o f p ropor t ion i n f ash ion ing t he i nd iv idua l p ar ts o f t he b ody a nd a cu te o bserva t ion , t he Cha lco l ith ic a r t is t manages t o c rea te s k i lfu l ly e xecu ted f i gur ines o f w omen . I n s tone , j us t a s i n c lay , w e f i nd a n e xpress ion o f t he i dea o f n ur tur ing , o f g iv ing b ir th , a nd o f b r ing ing u p o f fspr ing a s w el l a s t he i dea o f d urab le f am i ly h app iness i n t he s ecure p resence o f w oman , t he p ro tector o f t he h ear th . U p t o n ow o n ly o ne t orso o f a ma le f igure i n marb le h as b een f ound i n Bu lgar ia ( P l. 8 1). T h is f igur ine w as f ormer ly m is taken ly i nc luded among t he N eo l i th ic marb le f e ma le s ta tuet tes. H owever , t he t orso p ossess a l l t he 2 7

d is t inc t ive f ea tures o f t he Cha lco l ith ic ma le c lay f igur ines a nd i s c omp lete ly l ack ing i n t he c haracter is t ic f eatui -es o f t he marb le f e ma le s tatue t tes . One i s i mmed ia te ly s truck b y t he f ac t t ha t t he h ands a re s hown i n av ery d yna m ic p ose , c harac ter ist ic o f t he c lay r epresen ta t ions o f men i n Cha lco l i th ic t imes , w ith t he l e f t h and o n t he c hest , w h ich i s f l a t , a nd t he r igh t o n t he b e l t . The f ingers o n t he h and l y ing o n t he c hes t a re c lear ly marked . T h is i s c haracteri s t ic o f t he a r t is ts o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod w ho mou lded c lay f igures , a nd i s v ery d i f feren t f ro m t he a r t o f t he N eo l ith ic a ge. A l l k nown marb le s tatue t tes o f t he N eo l i th ic p er iod d i f fer c o mp lete ly i n t he t echn ique a nd s ty le o ft he a r t is t ic f orm. T he mass ive f e ma le f orms o f t he N eo l ith ic s ta tue t tes o f w o men h ave n o th ing i n c o mmon w ith t he w e l lformed , e longa ted t orso o f t he marb le ma le s ta tuet te f ound a t K azan l ik . An a na lys is o f t he s ty le o f t h is r e markab le f igure r evea ls n ot o n ly t ha t i t b e longs t o t he b eg inn ing o f t he C ha lco l ith ic p er iod , b u t a lso t ha t t he s cu lp tor w an ted t o p or tray t he f igure o f ay oung man .

T he v ery e longa ted u pper p ar t

o f t he t runk g radua l ly n arrows i n to a t h in w a is t w h ich w ou ld d ef in ite ly n o t a l low mass ive h ips a nd t h ighs. I n mak ing t he f i gur ines o f w o men t he s cu lp tor t r ied t o emphas ize t hese p ar ts o f t he b ody , s ign i f ican t ly s hor ten ing t he u pper p ar t ; i ti s t hus c lear t ha t i n t h is c ase aman i sb e ing p or trayed a nd n o t a w o man . I n a dd it ion t here i s a no ther p ecu l iar i ty w h ich i s c haracter is t ic o n ly o f r epresen ta t ions o f y oung men : o n t he s p ines o f t he f igures t here a re s ha l low , v er t ica l g rooves i nd ica t ing t he s p ina l c o lu mn . T hese g rooves a re s ha l lowes t a t t he s hou lder a nd g radua l ly d eepen t owards t he b u t tocks. I fw e a ssume t ha t t h is f igur ine i s t he w ork o f aN eo l ith ic c ra f tsman , a nd t ha t i ti s af ragmen t o f af e ma le f igure , t h is w ou ld mean t ha t i tc omp lete ly c on trad ic ts t he s ty le o f t he p er iod . T herefore w e h ave n o r eason t o c ons ider t ha t t h is r e markab le f ragmen t , f ound i n t he e xcava t ion o f t he s e t t lemen t mound o f Kazan l ik , w as t he w ork o f aN eo l i th ic s cu lp tor . I ti s q u ite c lear t ha t t he f igure w as made a t t he e nd o f t he f our th m i l lenn iu m a nd d ep ic ted a v ery w e l l-bu i l t y oung man . A l though o n ly a p or t ion o f t he s ta tuet te h as c ome d own t ou s t he s ymme try , b eau ty a nd p las t ic ity o f f orm , t he e legance o f t he l i ne , a re impress ive a nd a re c harac ter is t ic o f t he w ork o f t he N eo l ith ic s cu lp tor . T he a r t ist ic s k i l l o f t he a nc ien t s cu lp tor a nd h is k now ledge o f t he p roper t ies o f t he ma ter ia ls c hosen f or mak ing s tatue t tes h e lped h im t o impar t i mpress iveness a nd emot iona l r es tra in t i n to t he marb le f igur ines. T hey c rea te a s trong e f fec t u pon t he v iewer , a ppear ing i n t i ma te y et r e mo te. O bv ious ly t he marb le s tatuet tes o f t he Bronze Age w ere made f or c eremon ia l p urposes , a nd p erhaps h ad t o a dhere s tr ict ly t o ar es tra ined s hape a nd c o ldness o f e xpress ion . However t h is c an o n ly b e c on jec ture , s ince f ew o f t hese s cu lp tures h ave b een f ound , p erhaps b ecause t hey w ere b rough t t o B u lgar ia b y t rade. A s h as a lr eady b een s a id , i n a r t is t ic t echn ique a nd s ty le t hey a re v ery s im i lar t o t he h u man r epresen ta t ions made f rom more t ractab le ma ter ia ls. T he marb le a n thropomorph ic f igur ines i n Bu lgar ia r ema ined i n s o me r espec ts u nsurpassed i n t he d eve lopmen t o f p reh is tor ic a r t f or a n umber o f m i l lenn ia . T hroughou t B u lgar ia i n t he s econd h a lf o f t he C ha lco l i th ic p er iod t here a ppeared h uman s ta tue t tes made o fb one. T hese c an b e d iv ided i n to t hree g roups : f l a t ,c urved a nd t hose c arved f rom t he f oo t-bones o f a n i ma ls.

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F or t he f la t f igur ines ,8 1 w ide , f l a t b ones were c hosen o r t he w ides t p ar ts o f t he t h igh b ones o f a n i ma ls w ere e ngraved a nd p o l ished. T he s i lhouet te w as p roduced w ith t he h e lp o f l a tera l i nc is ions a nd a f l a t f igur ine was p roduced ( P l . 8 6, 8 7 ). T he h ead w as u sua l ly s quare w ith r ough e dges , b u t s o me t i mes t he s cu lp tor g ave i t an a tura l is t ic o ut l ine. T he f ac ia l f ea tures were i nd ica ted b y f i ne a nd s k ilfu l e ngrav ing , made p oss ib le b y t he n a ture o f t he mater ia l. One o r more g rooves , s i tua ted e xact ly u nderneath e ach o ther , marked t he e ars a nd t he o rna ments w h ich p robab ly a dorned t he m. The mou th was o u tl ined b y sma l l , s ha l low i nc ised l ines.

T he h ead was s eparated f ro m t he b ody

b y ad eep g roove o n e ither s ide o f t he f igur ine. i n t h is way , a nd t here was h ard ly a ny n eck .

T he s hou lders w ere o u t l ined

I n t he ma jor ity o f c ases t he b ody

t ook t he f or m o f av ery e longa ted r igh t-ang led t r iang le o r av ery f la t tened p en tagon , i n t wo o ppos ite c orners o f wh ich sma l l h o les w ere d r i l led . w a is t was f ormed i n t he s ame way a s t he n eck , b y d eep c u ts.

T he

I n t he ma jor ity

o f t he b one f i gur ines t he h ips w ere a l mos t t he s ame w id th a s t he s hou lders. N ear ly a lways t he w idest p ar t t he p e lv is was o u t l ined b y s ha l low g rooves , a nd d irect ly b e low t h is a v er t ica l l ine s epara ted t he l egs.

Ano ther way i n wh ich

t he l ower p ar t o f t he b ody o f t hese b one f igures was f ormed was b y aw iden ing a nd c urv ing o f t he p e lv is , p robab ly r epresen t ing t he h ips. One o f ten f inds d eta i l o n t hese f l a t b one f igures. Hands a re n o t d ep icted i n t h is t ype o f a n throp omorph ic s ta tuet te , b u t i ti s a ssu med t ha t t hey a re r epresen ted b y t he p rot uberances a long t he s ides o f t he b ody wh ich e nd i n sma l l a per tures.

I n t he

a rea o f t he p e lv is , g ro in , k nees a nd a nk les t here i s o ne o r more r ows o f sma l l , d eep ly-cu t c irc les. S o met i mes t here a re b etween t he m s ha l low , c u t h or iz on ta l o r d iagona l l ines. I ti s i n terest ing t ha t i n t hese f l a t b one f igures t he a r t is t managed n o t o n ly t o emphas ize s evera l a na tom ica l f eatures o f t he b ody , b u t marked t he p laces i n w h ich t hey wore o rna men ts a nd s o met i mes e ven s howed t he a r t ic les t hat s erved a s o rna men ts. V ery o f ten r ings made o f t h in b ronze w ire were p laced i n t he h o les a long t he s ides i n i m i ta t ion o f e ar-r ings. Ear-r ings f ound i n e xcavat ions c orrespond i n s hape w ith t he r ings f ound a dorn ing t he f igur ines. T he p reh istor ic a r t is t 's e ndeavour t o c onvey a s pec if ic t ype o f o rnamen ta t ion c haracter is t ic o f t he p er iod d eserves a t ten t ion . T o a ch ieve t h is g oa l h e c hose t he most s u itab le a nd f eas ib le t echn ique c onsonan t w ith t he p roper t ies o f h is ma ter ia l , w h ich i n t he c ase o f b one was a d i f f icu l t o ne t o w ork w ith. I n af ew c ases t he a r t is t d ep ic ted amu lets o r n eck laces wh ich w ere w orn r ound t he n eck b y means o f sma l l r ound d epress ions. I ti s o bv ious t hat a s ar esu lt t here was s ty l isat ion , u navo idab le i n t he mak ing o f f l at b one f igures , a nd n o a t te mp t a t a ny p or tra iture. I ti s v ery d i f f icu lt t o d eterm ine t he s ex o f t hese f igur ines. T he c urved f igures82 a lso a ppear i n t he s econd h al f o f t he Bronze Age ( P l. 8 9 ).

T hey a re c arved f ro m t he s ha f t o f al arge b one, a s ar esu l t o f wh ich

t he f i gure h as a c urved s hape p roduced b y c u t t ing t he s ha f t o f t he b one i n h a l f l eng thw ise.

I ti s i n teres t ing t ha t t he manner o f mak ing f igures o f t h is s hape

d if fers r ad ica l ly f ro m t ha t u sed f or t he f l a t b one f igur ines. T he h ead i s g enera l ly r ounded , a nd o n b oth s ides o f t he n eck t here a re p o in ted p ro jec t ions. I n o ther i nstances s im ilar p ro ject ions o n t he t op o f t he f l a t f ace a re s harp ly i n tersected b y h or izon ta l c u ts. On ly i n v ery r are i nstances i s t he s hape o f

2 9

t he h ead r ea l is t ica l ly p or trayed. g rooves.

Benea th t he h ead t he n eck i s i nd ica ted b y

I ti s s trange t ha t t he f igure w idens t owards t he l ower e nd .

Norma l-

l y t h is t ype o f f igur ine i s n o t d ecora ted , n o p ar t o f t he b ody b e ing emphas ized a nd t he a na to m ica l d eta ils n ot b e ing i nd icated. T hese f igures a re smooth , u ndecora ted a nd more o r l ess c onvex . On ly r are ly a re t he a rms e xpressed b y t wo s hor t s ide p ieces , s i tuated r igh t u nder t he n eck a nd a ppear ing a s c ont inua t ions o f t he s hou lders.

T he f l a t b one s tatuet tes h ave f eatures i n c o m mon

w ith t he c on te mporary c lay a nd marb le f igur ines , w ith c er ta in o f t he g o ld o nes , a nd q u ite c lear ly w ith t he c urved b one o nes , b u t t hey h ave n oth ing i n c o m mon w ith t he k nown p roducts e i ther o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod , o r o f t he p reced ing o r s ucceed ing p er iods. I ti s e x tremely d if f icu l t t o d e term ine t he ir s ex , a s t here a re n o d ist ingu ish ing f ea tures. s ty l is t ica l ly w ith a ny o ther s tatuet tes.

T hey c annot b e c onnec ted

I n t he mak ing o f c urved h u man f igures 8 3 t he s cu lp tor d id n o t t ry t o g ive t he m a n atura l ist ic s hape.

One e nd o f t he b one was g iven t he f orm o f at r i-

a ngu lar p r is m b y c arefu l p ol ish ing . T h is v ery s ty l ised h u man f orm w as a lso w ithou t a ny d ecorat ion o r i nd icat ion o f a ny a nato m ica l f ea tures. On ly d own t he s ides o f t he h ead i n t he p lace where t he e ars s hou ld b e, l i t t le a pert ures w ere o f ten b ored t hrough wh ich w ere t hreaded mode ls o f e ar-r ings. Fro m what h as b een s a id a bout t h is t ype o f a n thropo morph ic b one f i gure , i ti s c lear t ha t t hey a re v ery s ty l ised i ndeed , a nd r ef lec t av ery l ow s tandard o f a r t is t ic a ch ieve men t. T he g o ld s tatuet tes a re v ery i n teres t ing , a n thropo morph ic f igures.

8 4

a nd a re s im ilar t o t he f l at b one

G o ld s ta tuet tes w ere f irs t made a t t he e nd o f t he

Bronze Age a nd a re v ery r are , b e ing f ound ma in ly i n n or th-eastern B u lgar ia. T hey w ere made o f t h in l eaves o f g o ld , a nd d ep icted t he h u man b ody i n a s ty l ized a nd s che ma t ized way a l mos t l i ke t ha t o f t he f l a t b one f igures .

T he

d eta il o n t hese f igures i s u sua l ly r estr icted t o l i t t le h o les , wh ich a re p laced i n t he r eg ion o f t he e ar , p e lv is a nd k nee. Apar t f ro m t h is , t here i s n o d ecorat i on o n t hese g o ld a n thropo morph ic f igures. T o a l l a ppearances t he a r t is t s i mp ly d epended o n t he e f fec t p roduced b y t he b eauty o f t h is r are a nd g l it ter ing ma ter ia l. We h ave s een t ha t t he c haracter is t ic f eatures o f t he f igur ines c hanges d ur ing t he d i f feren t p reh istor ic p er iods a ccord ing t o t he c hang ing c ircums tances a nd n eeds o f s oc iety . S ty l iza t ion a nd g enera l iza t ion s te m f ro m e s tab l ished r u les , s o met i mes c onnec ted w ith t he r e l ig ious v iews o f ap eop le a nd s o met imes w ith t he h ierarch ica l n ature o f t he ir s oc ie ty .

On t he o ther h and w e h ave

s een t hat p reh is tor ic man , i rrespect ive o f t he c hang ing n eeds o f t he a ge a nd t he a r t ist ic t rad it ion , managed t o l eave b eh ind h im u n ique c on tr ibu t ions t o t he h is tory o f w or ld a r t. We w il l c ons ider a l l t he o b jec ts w h ich w ere mean t t o p rotec t t he ir owners f ro m m isfor tune o r i l lness i n t he c a tegory o f amu lets. 8 5

F or t he man o f t he

Cha lco l ith ic p er iod t hey p ossessed mag ica l p o tency a nd w ere mean t t o d efend h im a ga ins t e v il f orces wh ich w ou ld o therw ise d o h im h arm. I n mak ing t hese o b jec ts t he p reh is tor ic a r t is t c hose r are a nd a t t ha t t ime p rec ious ma ter ia ls : g o ld , s pondy lus s hel ls , s pec ia l t ypes o f s tone , e tc . Amu lets c an b e d iv ided i n to s evera l t ypes a ccord ing t o s hape.

3 0

One t ype i s

d is t inct ive i n i t s h igh ly s che ma t ized a n thropo morph ic s hape , o thers a re r em in iscen t o f a n i ma ls , at h ird s imp ly c ons is ts o f c are fu l ly-worked s tone s labs , af our th b as ica l ly c ons is ts o f ac o mp lete s pondy lus s he l l p rov ided w ith o pen ings a t t he n arrow e nd . T hese o rnamen ts w ere p robab ly w orn a bou t t he n eck . T he g o ld amu le ts a re g enera l ly a n thropo morph ic , o r more p rec ise ly t hey d ep ic t ah uman h ead r em in iscen t o f t he h eads o f t he f l a t b one f i gures. T hey a re s em ic ircu lar w ith a p rotuberance i n t he f orm o f ar igh ta ng led t r iang le o r af an i n t he u pper p ar t . A t t he b ase o f t h is p ro jec t ion o r o n i tt here a re t wo o r s o me t i mes t hree sma l l , r ound a per tures w h ich mark t he n ose a nd w ere p robab ly u sed f or s uspens ion . Proo f t ha t t he C ha lco l ith ic a rt is t o n ly d ep ic ted t he h eads o f b one s tatue t tes a nd n ot t he w ho le f igure i s g iven b y t he h ead o f t he s tone f i gure f rom Russe t he t op p ar t o f w h ich e nds i nj us t s uch a f an-shaped f ea ture. Amu lets o f t h is s or t h av ing a r ound s hape c ou ld h ard ly h ave d ep ic ted t he w ho le h uman f igure. C lear ly , p reh is tor ic man a t tr ibu ted t he a b i l ity t o o ppose t he f orces o f e v i l s pec if ica l ly t o t he h ead . H owever , o ne a lso f i nds g o ld amu lets w h ich a re r ounded i n s hape a nd d o n ot h ave a p rotuberance o n t he u pper p ar t . S o met imes o n t he r ounded g o ld amu le ts s lan t ing s tra igh t l i nes a re i nscr ibed b e low o r a bove t he h o les , w h ich i n af ew i ns tances a re v ery r em in iscen t o f e yebrows. I n t he c en tre o f t he s em ic ircu lar amu lets t here a re , w i th f ew e xcep t ions , sma l l o r l arge a per tures. S ome t i mes t he e nt ire g o ld amu let i s e dged w i th l i t t le e qu id istan t ly s paced •h o les. A t f i rs t g lance , o ne m igh t i mag ine t ha t t he a r t is t w as o n ly c oncerned w i th t he d ecora t ive e f fec t . H owever , t he p oss ib i l ity c anno t b e e xc luded t ha t t hese amu le ts may h ave b een w orn a s a pp l ique w ork s ewn o n c lo thes a nd t he o pen ings may h ave s erved t o a t tach t he amu let t o t he f abr ic . I t s hou ld b e p o in ted o u t t ha t , a l though a n u mber o f t he m w ere f a ir ly c are fu l ly made , t he ir a r t is t ic s tandard i s marked ly l ower t han t ha t o f t he b one h uman f i gur ines. I n t h is p er iod a n thropo morph ic amu le ts w ere made o f h ard v o lcan ic r ock . A r ounded s hape w i th a p rotuberance i n t he u pper p ar t w as c harac ter is t ic o f t hese t ypes. I n s hape t hey a re r e markab ly c lose t o t he g o ld amu lets , b u t w i th o ne d i f ference : t he g o ld a l lows a c er ta in amoun t o f r e l ief t o b e a dded t o t he f i n ish , w hereas t he h ard s tone o n ly a l lows a f l a t t rea t men t o f t he r epresen tat i on . T h is w as o ne o f t he r easons w hy t he a r t is t ic p oss ib i l it ies o f t he s tone amu lets w ere l im i ted . T he s hape l acked l i fe a nd s upp leness ; t hey w ere v ery s imp l if ied a nd r educed t o a bso lu te s che ma t iza t ion , a nd t here w as n o q ues t ion o f t he i nc lus ion o f a ny d eta i l . G enera l ly t h is t ype o f f i gur ine w as p rov ided w i th t wo o r t hree h o les , ma in ly o n t he u pper p ar t . T h is w as p robab ly d one , a s h as a lready b een s a id , t o p rov ide a b e t ter f as ten ing f or t he amu le t o n c lo thes o r r ound t he n eck . Much t he s a me i s t rue o f t he amu lets made o f s pondy lus s he l ls ,8 7 w h ich w ere a g rea t r ar i ty . T hese a re h igh ly s ty l ized r epresen ta t ions o f h uman h eads .

O n t he u pper p ar t t hey a re p rov ided w ith a p ro tuberance, f am i l iar

f rom t he d escr ip t ions o f t he o ther t wo t ypes o f amu let . B ecause o f t he n ature o f t he ma ter ia l o u t o f w h ich t hey a re made t he ir s hape i s a lways c urved ,and t here a re n o d eta i ls marked o n t he m . T he s he l l o f t he s pondy lus w as a f am il i ar ma ter ia l t o t he Cha lco l ith ic c ra f ts man , a nd w as u sed i n t he p repara t ion o f many t ypes o f o rnamen t .

Know ing t he f rag i l ity o f t h is ma ter ia l , t he a r t is t

a vo ided u s ing e ngrav ing o r p ierc ing h o les , wh ich e ven f ur ther r es tr ic ted h is s cope. E v iden t ly , i n s p i te o f t h is , ag rea t d ea l o f mag ica l p o tency w as

3 1

a t tached t o t he s pondy lus amu lets , s ince t hey s how s igns o f u se. T hese l as t t wo t ypes o f amu let d if fer g rea t ly I n s uch a r t ist ic v a lue a s t hey p ossess , i f o ne c an t a lk a t a l l o f s uch v a lue.

C lear ly , i n mak ing t he amu lets o u t o f g o ld ,

s tone a nd s hel l t he a r t is t r e l ies a bove a l l o n t he e f fec t p roduced b y t he mat er ia l u sed. A f ter t he g reat a ch ieve men ts a nd r ichness o f t he c u l tura l t rad i t ion o f t he Neo l ith ic a nd Cha lco l ith ic a ges , t he p over ty o f t he w orks o f a r t o f t he b eg inn ing o f t he t h ird m i l lenn iu m B .C. c annot b u t s ee m s trange. c hanges o ccurred a round t ha t t ime i n Bu lgar ia .

Probab ly l arge

T he o ld s et t le men ts , t he

i nhab itan ts o f wh ich h ad h ad a v ery h igh c u lture b ased o n al ong-es tab l ished s oc ia l o rder a nd r e l ig ious b el iefs , w ere a bandoned f or a l ong t ime. From t he b eg inn ing o f t he t h ird m i l lenn iu m u p t o t he e nd o f t he p reh is tor ic e ra i n Bu lgar ia n ew t r ibes a ppear , ma in ly i n t he s ou thern p ar ts , a nd s e t t le e i ther o n t he r u ins o f t he o ld s et t le men ts o r o n n ew s i tes. T hey b rough t w ith t he m ac u lture a l ien t o t ha t o f t he f ormer i nhab itan ts , a nd o ne w h ich was s ign if ic an t ly p oorer a nd more p r im it ive. Even w ith a s uper f ic ia l a cqua in tance w ith t he a rchaeo log ica l d iscover ies o f t he Ear ly Bronze Age o ne i s s truck b y t he a bsence o f h u man a nd a n i ma l f igures. I ti s r easonab le t o e xpec t ac on t inua t ion o f t he t rad it ion o f mak ing h u man f igur ines o f t he t ypes ment ioned a bove. H owever , t hey a re c omp letely a l ien t o t he Ear ly Bronze Age c u lture o f Bu lgar ia , a nd t he r ich t rad it ion o f a n thropo morph ic a r ts d isappears.

T he p eop le who s et t led i n t he Ear ly B ronze

Age d id n o t h ave t he s k i l l t o p roduce l i v ing works i n marb le, t o c reate i mag inat i ve a nd a t t he s a me t ime e legan t s tatuet tes o f b one , o r t o make u se o f t he u n l im ited p oss ib i l it ies o f c lay .

T he o n ly k nown a n thropo morph ic s tatuet tes

o f t h is p er iod a re t he t wo b one f igures f ound i n t he e xcava t ion o f t he D ips iska s et t le men t mound n ear N ova Z agora ( P l. 9 1, 9 2 ). 8 8 As w orks o f a r t t hey a re v ery i n fer ior t o t he s ta tuet tes made i n t he p reced ing p er iod . T he f igures a re v ery s ty l ized , w ithou t a ny i nd ica t ion o f d e ta i ls.

T he h ead a nd b ody a re

d ep ic ted i n ag enera l ized manner , w ith t he a rms t urned u pwards.

T hey

d if fer f ro m t he b one s tatuet tes , s o w idespread a t t he e nd o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod , b o th i n s hape a nd i n t he manner i n wh ich t hey a re made. Even t he f as ten ings a re d if feren t :

p rev ious ly , sma l l h o les s erved a s O rnamen ta l

f asten ings , b u t n ow a much l ess c onven ien t me thod was a dop ted , c ons ist ing o f l i t t le c irc les made o f t he s a me b one a s t he f igure. T he u pturned h ands o f t he s ta tuet tes a re p erhaps t he l as t e choes o f t he w o man- mo ther c u l t .

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Hu man s tatuet tes a ppear o nce a ga in r igh t a t t he e nd o f t he Bronze Age , a nd t hen o n ly i n o ne p ar t o f Bu lgar ia , o n t he b anks o f t he Danube. A t t ha t p er iod a n thropo morph ic f igur ines a ppeared wh ich w ere s trange b o th i n a n a r t is t ic s ense a nd i n t he ir f unct ion , w h ich a l lows u s t o r egard t he m a s c o mp lete ly u nrelated t o t he s cu lptures o f a ny o f t he p rev ious p er iods .

T he

s cu lp tor o f t h is t ime c reates t hree d i mens iona l h u man r epresen ta t ions , w ith h eads i n t he f or m o f r a ther sma l l , c y l indr ica l s tu mps.

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T he u pper p ar t o f

t he b ody a nd h ands a re i nd ica ted a s f l a t , r ounded s labs.

T he b ody w idens

c ons iderab ly b e low t he w a is t' i n t he r eg ion o f t he h ips a nd n arrows t owards t he b o t to m t o f orm a c one. T he l ower p ar t o f t he f igure r evea ls t he s ex . U nders tandab ly s uch a n i n terpre ta t ion e xc ludes a ny s or t o f a na tom ica l s ub t le t ies. I n c on tras t t o t he s cu lp tors o f t he p rev ious p er iod , t he b r ingers o f t he L a te Bronze Age c u l ture , a s e v idenced a t Novo-Se lo , d ecora ted t he ir f igures w ith a r i ch f i n ish o n a l l t he s ur faces o f t he s ta tuet tes ( P l. 9 0 ). I nu s ing t h is d ecora t ion , made u p o f c are fu l ly c hosen g eo metr ica l mot i fs , t he s cu lp tor c oncerns h i msel f w ith w ha tever p ar t o f t he b ody t h is o rnamen t i s o n . On t he p ar t w h ich r epresen ts t he h ead , c onven t iona l ly s ty l ised i nc ised l i nes i nd ica te t he f ac ia l f ea tures. On t he u pper p ar t o f t he f i gure t he d ecora t ive mo t ifs a re l a id o u t i n a n a pprox i ma tely c ircu lar f orm . T he a r t ist d oes n o t s et h i mse l f t he g oa l o f emphas iz ing o ne o r o ther d eta i l , t he b reas ts , h ands , w a is t , e tc. H owever , t he d ecora t ion o n t he c hes t d i f fers f rom t ha t o n t he s p ine. V ery o f ten t wo n arrow s tra igh t l i nes a re d rawn o n t he s p ine , e nd ing i n t he l ower p ar t i n sma l l c ur ls. P erhaps p la i ts w h ich d ang led d own t he s p ine a re r epresen ted . T he l ower p ar t o f t he f igure w as d ecora ted w ith i nc ised h or izon ta l a nd v er t ica l b ands o f o rnamen ta t ion made u p o fg eometr ica l p a t terns. T he b ands w ere f ro m t ime t o t ime a l terna ted w i th w ide smooth a reas a nd s omet i mes a l l w as f i l led i n w ith g eo me tr ica l d ecora t ion . T he f ron t a nd b ack p or t ions o f t he l ower h a l f o f t he b ody w ere a lso d ecora ted w ith d i f feren t p a t terns. S o met i mes i ts ee ms t ha t o n t he f ron t a nd b ack o f t he s tatuet te v ar ious f igures a re d ep ic ted . T he i mpress ion o f e xcess ive w ea l th o f o rnamen t i s d eepened b y t he f i ne ly i nc ised d ecora t ion w h ich i s e ncrusted i n w h ite p igmen t , g iv ing a f i n ish r em in iscen t o f s k i lfu l ly e xecu ted embro idery . Un for tuna te ly , i ti s d i f f icu l t t o s ay w hether t he a r t is t a i med t o r eproduce embro idery o r as pec ia l s or t o f c lo th i n h is d ecora t ion o f t he f i gures , o r w hether h e w as s imp ly f o l low ing a t rad i t ion a nd t he d ecorat i ve mo t ifs h ad n o c onnec t ion w ith t he c lo thes o f t he p er iod . I ti s ap i ty t ha t o ne c anno t e stab l ish a ny f ea tures wh ich w ou ld i nd ica te t he s ex o f t he f igur ines. Probab ly t he a r t is t s erved t he r e l ig ious b e l iefs o f t he t ime. I ti s n o t i mp robab le t ha t t he r ich ly d ecora ted f igures o f t he e nd o f t he Bronze Age w ere c onnec ted w ith a spec ts o f f unera l r i tes , f or wh ich i tw as n ecessary t ha t e very a r t ic le d es t ined t o a ccompany i t s mas ter i n to l i fe b eyond t he g rave s hou ld b e e legan t a nd s k i lfu l ly made. I ti su nfor tuna te ly i mposs ib le t o e s tab l ish w here t he p eop le w ho i n troduced t h is c u l ture i n to Bu lgar ia c ame f ro m a nd w here t hey d isappeared t o a f terwards. AN I MAL S TATUETTES A longs ide o ther f i nds w h ich c ame f ro m p reh is tor ic s e t t le men t mounds , a rchaeo log is ts f ound n u merous s ta tue t tes o f a n i ma ls made o f c lay . T he t rad i t ion o f d ep ic t ing a n i ma ls i s w e l l k nown t o u s f ro m E ar ly N eo l ith ic t imes . I tf i rs t a ppeared a t t he t ime o f t he f i rs t N eo l ith ic s e t t le men ts i n Bu lgar ia . As a r u le t he c lay z oo morph ic f igur ines a re n o tab le f or t he ir s ty l iza t ion . However , af ew w ere made w ith g rea t c are a nd s k i l l a nd s how d e ta i l .

As i n

t he N eo l i th ic p er iod , s o t oo i nt he Cha lco l ith ic , t here a re c lay s tatue t tes o f a n i ma ls b o th s tand ing o n f our l egs a nd l y ing d own . T he z oo morph ic v esse ls h ave s pec ia l f orms. w a l ls i n Bu lgar ia.

T here w ere n o a n i ma ls p a in ted o n v esse ls o r h ouse 3 3

T he s ta tue t tes o f t he f irst t ype , wh ich s how a n i ma ls s tand ing o n f our l egs , a re t he mos t w idespread i n t he I \ T6 p l ith ic a nd C ha lco l ith ic p er iods.

T he ir

b od ies a re made o f f l at tened c lay , a nd t he ir s nou ts a re v ery s ty l ized , t ak ing t he s hape o f a n e longated p rotuberance. e ars a re s hown b y s hor t s ide s tumps.

T he h orns a nd s o met i mes a lso t he T he b od ies o f t he v ar ious a n i ma ls a re

t reated a l mos t i den t ica l ly b y d i f feren t s cu lptors.

T hey a re e longa ted t o a

g rea ter o r l esser e x ten t , a nd t he ir l egs a re a lways d ispropor t iona te ly s hor t. One i s s truck b y t he f ac t t ha t t he p reh istor ic s cu lp tor r eproduced w i th g rea t a ccuracy , p ar t icu lar ly i n t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod , l arge h orned c a t t le. 8 9 S ta tuet tes o f t h is t ype o f a n i ma l h ave b een f ound i n e xcavat ions o f a l l p reh is tor ic mounds o f t h is p er iod b oth i n t he s ou th a nd i n t he n or th o f B u lgar ia . A c arefu l e xa m ina t ion o f t he c lay s ta tuet tes o f h orned c a t t le, f ound i n t he s et t le men t mounds a t Kodzhadermen ( Shumen ) a nd i n many o ther p laces i n t ha t r eg ion , r evea l o ne d eta i l wh ich i s n ot f ound i n t he r epresen ta t ions o f o ther t ypes o f a n i ma ls ; t here i s a sma l l c irc le p a in ted i n r ed o chre o n t he f oreheads o f t he s ta tuet tes. S o met i mes t h is c irc le i s s imp ly a l i t t le h o le b etween t he a n i ma l 's h orns ( P l. 9 7 ). C lear ly t h is i s ad ist ingu ish ing mark a nd a n h onour .

I n d iscuss ing t hese f igur ines w e mus t n o t f orget t ha t i n a

n u mber o f c ases , when r epresen t ing p eop le ( probab ly men ) s eated i n a rmc ha irs , t he s cu lp tor h as a dded e lbow-res ts i n t he s hape o f b u l ls ' h eads. P erhaps a t t he e nd o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod t he b u l l a ppeared a s t he s ymbo l o f t he u n ify ing p ower a nd s trength o f t he l eader .

Th is c on jecture i s c on-

f irmed b y t he f act t ha t man 's p ower i s s ymbo l ized b y r epresen tat ions o f a n i ma ls wh ich a re k nown f or t he ir s treng th , n o t o n ly i n Bu lgar ia b u t a lso i n n e ighbour ing a reas. T he p reh is tor ic s cu lp tor d irec ts h is a t ten t ion t o b oth d o mes t ica ted a nd w i ld a n i ma ls. He models s ta tue t tes o f b ears , f oxes , e tc. T he s ta tuet te o f ab ear f ound d ur ing t he e xcava t ions o f t he p reh is tor ic mound a t V in i tsa ( Shu men r eg ion ) i s r e markab ly b eaut ifu l , d ist ingu ished b y i t s c lean l i nes a nd r ea l is t ic d eta ils.

I tc rea tes a s trong impress ion n o t o n ly i n i t s r e markab ly

p rec ise r eproduct ion o f t he c harac ter ist ic f ea tures o f t he a n i ma l b u t a lso i n i t s g rea t d yna m is m : c lay .

t he a r t is t h as managed t o b rea the l i fe i n to a l u mp o f

T h is s tatuet te s ee ms a u n ique w ork o f a r t o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod

wh ich b ears w itness t o t he p reh is tor ic s cu lp tor 's h igh d egree o f s k i l l a nd o bserva t ion . I n t he mak ing o f c lay r epresen ta t ions o f a n i ma ls t he a nc ien t s cu lp tor managed t o c o m mun ica te t he most c harac ter is t ic h ab its o f e ach o f t hem. One g roup o f a n i ma ls i s p ressed t o t he g round w ith t he ir n oses o utstretched a s i f sme l l ing o ut t he ir p rey .

O thers a re r e markab le f or t he ir c lums iness a nd

awkwardness. G enera l ly t hey d ep ic t a n i ma ls n o tab le p r i mar i ly f or t he ir p hys ica l s treng th . One o f ten f i nds r epresen ta t ions o f p igs o f v ar ious t ypes wh ich e xude i mper turbabil ity a nd w e l l-be ing. T hese i n terest ing s tatuet tes c on f irm t he p reh istor ic s cu lp tor 's p owers o f o bserva t ion , a nd h is a b i l ity t o r ea l ize i n c lay t he most c haracter ist ic f eatures o f v ar ious a n i ma ls. L ess c o m mon a re t he s tatuet tes o f a n i ma ls l y ing d own . G enera l ly t hey a re d ep icted l y ing o n t he ir s ide , w ith t he ir b ack l egs o ne o n t op o f t he o ther . T he ir t a i l i s u sua l ly l a id b y t he ir h ind l egs.

T he ir b od ies a re c overed i n

v ar ious g eo metr ica l d es igns wh ich i n most c ases a re u nconnec ted w ith t he n atura l c o lour ing o f t he a n i ma l . 3 4

ZOO MORPH IC VESSELS A s h as b een men t ioned a bove , z oo morph ic v esse ls i n p reh istor ic t imes w ere v ery w idespread i n o ccurrence , a nd w ere k nown f ro m t he E ar ly Neo l ith ic p er iod . Un ique i n i t s b eau ty i s t he c lay v esse l o n wh ich i s d ep icted a h igh ly s ty l ized d eer ( P l. 9 9 ). 9 1 I th as s hor t l egs , a nd a n e longa ted h o l low b ody. An u nna tura l ly sma l l h ead , c rowned w ith o utward-po in t ing s hor t h orns , r es ts o n al ong g racefu l n eck .

T hese f eatures make t h is a u n ique r el ic o f N eo l ith ic

a r t n o t o n ly f or Bu lgar ia b u t a lso f or a l l t he a rea i n wh ich t h is Neo l ith ic c u l ture f l our ished . S ee ing t h is s cu lp ture o ne mus t a dm ire t he s k i l l o f t he a nc ien t s cu lptor whose w ork h as s urv ived m i l lenn ia a nd s t i l l a rouses a f ee l ing o f d e l igh t i n u s. T he f in ish i s i n c o mp lete h armony w ith t he e legan t s hape o f t he a n i ma l , t hough i th as n o th ing i n c o m mon w ith t he n atura l c o lour ing o f t he d eer . Undu la t ing b ands b eaut ifu l ly i n terweave a long t he u nders ide o f t he b ody , t he i n tersect ing b ands b e ing f i l led i n w ith a r e t icu la te p a t tern o r w ith o ther d ecora t ive mot ifs. T here i s as tr ik ing h armony b etween t he s hape o f t he v esse l a nd i t s d ecora t ion . We a lso f ind t he t rad it ion o f mak ing z oo morph ic v essels i n a much l a ter Cha lco l ith ic p er iod ,9 2 b u t i ts hou ld b e p o in ted o u t t ha t r eproduct ion o f t he c harac ter ist ic a n i ma l f ea tures , w h ich w ere p ecu l iar t o Neo l ith ic a r t , w ere a l ien t o t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod .

T he z oo morph ic v esse ls a re made w ith g rea t

s k i l l a nd r ef ine men t , b ut o ne c an s e ldo m d eterm ine wha t t ype o f a n i ma l i s d ep icted . Usua l ly t he f ron tp ar t o f t he b ody i s s hown r a ther i mprec ise ly o n t he l i d o f t he v esse l , l ack ing t he c haracter ist ic f eatures wh ich d if feren t ia te o ne a n i ma l f ro m a nother . q uadrupeds o r a s b irds : o ne p ar t icu lar f orm. a r t o f t hat t ime.

T he c reatures d ep icted c an b e t aken e i ther a s e v iden t ly t he s cu lp tor w as n ot a im ing t o r epresen t

Probab ly t h is was c onnected w ith t he d e mands o f t he

T hese n eeds a t t ha t t ime c orresponded t o a nd b eca me e s-

t ab l ished a s t he t rad it ions a nd n eeds o f t he s oc iety . G enera l ly f or t he b ody i n z oo morph ic f igur ines o ne g ets a c haracter ist ica l ly g enera l ized r epresent a t ion , a nd i n t he ma jor ity o f c ases o ne c annot d eterm ine t he s pec ies.

As

r egards t he d ecora t ion o f t hese r epresen ta t ions , h ere t he p reh istor ic a r t ist 's f an tasy i s g iven f ree r e in .

S o met i mes i n tersect ing v er t fca l s tr ipes s erve

a s t he d ecora t ive mot if , b ounded b y s ha l low i nscr ibed l ines o r e lse b y d i f fere n t c o lours. s i te d irect ion .

These s tr ipes a re p a in ted o n t he l id where t hey r un i n t he o ppoS o met i mes t he d ecora t ion o f t he f ron t p ar t o f t he h ead i s

s upp le men ted w ith s tr ipes i n r e l ief o r r epresen ta t ions o f e yes i n t he f or m o f p rotuberances. I nc ised d ecora t ion h ad a n i mpor tan t p lace. I n an umber o f c ases t he a n i ma l 's b ody i s r em in iscen t o f a mode l o f a dwe l l ing , t he s p ine o f t he a n i ma l p robab ly r epresen t ing t he r idge o f t he r oof .

Th is p ar t i s d ecora ted

w ith h or izon ta l i nc ised l ines , a nd t he l ower p ar t o f t he b ody a nd e x tre m i t ies a re c overed i n v er t ica l l ines . T he h eads o f t he z oo morph ic f igures o f t h is t ype a lso h ave n o c onnec t ion w ith t he h eads o f a n i ma ls i n t he ir n a tura l s ta te , b ut i n an u mber o f c ases a re r em in iscen t o f t he r e l ief d ecora t ions wh ich w ere i n r are i ns tances f ound a bove t he e n trances t o dwe l l ings. T hus w ith t he h e lp o f a r t is t ic i n terpreta t ion a nd s ty l iza t ion t he p reh is tor ic s cu lp tor s hows u s a n impor tan t s ide o f t he e veryday l i fe o f h is s oc iety .

O f ten t he d ecorat ion o f

t hese s tatue t tes i s made u p o f s p ira ls , c urves a nd s tra igh t a nd b roken i nc ised l ines w h ich a re i n la id w ith d i f feren t c o loured p igmen ts. S o met i mes t he

3 5

s cu lptor g ives t he s ta tuet tes a r ea l is t ic s hape , a nd s o met i mes h eo n ly s hows t he ir p os it ions : s tand ing o n f our l egs , l y ing o r s i t t ing o n t he ir h ind l egs. I n t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod t he h eads o f t he c o mp letely z oo morph ic s tatuet tes w ere r are ly mode l led i n a ny g rea t d eta i l. As a r u le d eta iled r epresen tat ions a re a ga in e xcep t iona l , a s i n t he c ase o f b u l ls ' h eads a nd a n i ma ls h eld i n h onour a s s y mbo l iz ing man 's s treng th a nd m igh t . The z oo morph ic f i gures o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod s how u s t he a r t is t ic a ch ieve men ts o f p reh istor ic man , wh ich r ef lect a h igh l eve l o f s p ir itua l c u lture.

Preh is tor ic a r t a t t h is t ime

r eached i t s a pogee a nd a f terwards d ec l ined . I n t he Bronze Age t he s ame t h ing h appened t o z oo morph ic v esse ls a nd s tatuet tes a s h appened t o a n thropo morph ic w orks.

A t t he b eg inn ing o f t he

Bronze Age w e f ind a n a l most t o ta l a bsence o f a n i ma l r epresen ta t ions. One r are ly f inds t hree d i mens iona l z oo morph ic r epresen ta t ions f ro m t ha t p er iod , a nd when o ne d oes t hey a re u sua l ly o f h orned a n i ma ls.

I ti s e ven r arer f or

t hese s tatuet tes t o b e d ecora ted . T he c rea tor o f t he c lay s tatuet tes f ound i n t he e xcava t ions o f t he D ips iska s et t le men t mound n ear N ova Z agora d ecorated t he f oreheads a nd muzzles w ith sma l l i nc ised c irc les , p robab ly w ith t he h e lp o f ap iece o f s traw .

I t s hou ld b e n oted t ha t t h is method o f d ecora t ion w as

b orrowed f ro m t he f i n ish o f v ar ious v essels. Character ist ica l ly , i n a much l a ter p er iod o f t he Bronze Age e ven t h is f a ir ly p oor e v idence o f a r t is t ic s k i l l d isappears f orever f ro m t he c u ltura l t rad it ion o f t he p reh istor ic i nhab itan ts o f Bu lgar ia. ORNA MENTS T he p reh istor ic c ra f ts man s howed g rea t s k i l l i n mak ing a r t ic les o f p ers ona l a dorn men t s uch a s h a ir-p ins , b eads , r ings , b rooches a nd s o o n . They w ere ma in ly made o f b one a nd i n r are c ases o f h orn o r s tone. With t he d evelop men t o f t he a es the t ic t aste o f s oc iety c a me t he d eve lopmen t o f t he t rad it ion o f a dorn ing t he d ress. E legan t v esse ls a nd a r t is t ic s tatue t tes o f p eop le a nd a n i ma ls p ro mp ted p reh is tor ic man t o a dorn h i mse lf . P robab ly i n t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod o ne o f t he a es thet ic r equ ire men ts was t ha t o f t at tooi ng , a nd t h is was c arr ied o u t w ith t he h e lp o f as pec ia l s ta mp c a l led a " p in tader i".

T hese w ere made o u t o f c lay a nd w ere s o meth ing i n t he n ature

o f as ea l w ith a n i nc ised d es ign o n i to f c urves , s p ira ls , c irc les , meanders , e tc. Th is method o f t a t too ing s i mp l if ied t he p rocess a nd a l lowed t he s a me mot if t o b e a pp l ied i n d if feren t c o lours.

Both men a nd w o men a dorned t he ir

b od ies w ith t a t too marks. Ha ir p ins s erved a s a r t ic les o f a dornmen t a nd were most ly made o f b one a nd s o met i mes o u t o f b ronze. T he h ead o f t he p in was o f ten s haped l i ke a n a n i ma l 's h ead .

A s tr ik ing e xa mp le o f t h is d es ign a ppears i n t he r emarkab ly

b eau t ifu l p in made o f b one wh ich w as f ound i n t he e xcava t ions i n t he Morov itsa c aves , w ith i t s h ead i n t he f or m o f ah orse 's h ead ( Pl. 1 03 ).

Th is h ead i s s o

m inu te a nd i s e xecu ted i n s uch d eta i l t ha t i t may b e r egarded a s a mas terp iece o f p reh istor ic b one-carv ing .

Rea l is m , p rec is ion a nd e legance d is t ingu ish

e very d eta il , a nd t he c ra f ts man h as u sed a n i n terest ing a nd o r ig ina l t echn ique : t he e yes a nd t he l i ne o f t he mou th b etween t he u pper a nd l ower l i p a re c aref u l ly p o l ished . We o n ly meet w i th t h is t echn ique i n t h is o b jec t. T he p er fec t ion o f t he w ork i s e v idence o f t he e x istence o f ah igh a r t ist ic t rad i t ion .

3 6

Ad i f feren t k ind o f o rnamen t wh ich i s o f ten f ound i s b race le ts made o f s pondy lus s he l ls , t he s ur face o f wh ich a re e n l ivened b y r ed v e ins. amu lets w ere a lso o f ten made o u t o f s pondy lus s he l l .

R ings a nd

B one n eck laces o f as pec ia l k ind a re v ery i n teres t ing . B one d iscs , o ne s ide o f w h ich a re f l a t a nd t he o ther c onvex , a re t hreaded i n p a irs s o t ha t a f l a t s ide a d jo ins a f l a t s ide a nd a c onvex o ne a d jo ins a no ther c onvex o ne. One a lso f i nds , t hough v ery s e ldo m , g o ld e ar-r ings. Ow ing t o t he r ar i ty o f t h is ma ter ia l , t hese o rnamen ts w ere c lear ly o n ly w ith in t he r each o f av ery f ew me mbers o f p reh is tor ic s oc ie ty . I n t he Bronze Age o rnamen ts w ere a lso i n w idespread u se. N eck laces w ere made b y p ierc ing a nd t hread ing t he t usks o f w i ld b oars. P ierced 'r ec ta ngu lar p ieces o f s tone a lso s erved a s o rna men ts , a s d id c y l indr ica l b eads o f 3 -4 cm i n l eng th made o u t o f s pondy lus s he l ls , e tc. N eck laces w ere most f requen t ly made f ro m w i ld b oars ' t usks . P erhaps p reh istor ic man a t tr ibu ted s o me mag ica l s treng th t o t he m a nd t hus t hey may h ave s erved n o t o n ly a s o rnamen ts b u t a lso a s t a l is men p ro tec t ing h im f rom m isfor tune. I ti s d i f f icu lt t o s ay whether amu lets o r o rnamen ts a ppeared f i rs t .

S U MMARY AND CONCLUS IONS F ro m a c ons idera t ion o ft he f undamen ta l f ea tures o f t he d eve lop men t o f p reh istor ic a r t i n Bu lgar ia w e c an d raw t he f o l low ing c onc lus ions : S tud ies o f t he P a laeo l i th ic p er iod h ave e s tab l ished t ha t t here a re n o t races o f a r t o f t ha t e ra i n Bu lgar ia a nd c onsequen t ly t he e ar l ies t w orks o f a r t , w h ich d ate f ro m t he e nd o f t he s ix th m i l lenn iu m B .C. t o t he e nd o f t he f i f th m i l lenn ium B .C. ,h ave n o P a laeo l ith ic a n teceden ts. T he c u lture l oca ted i n w es tern Bu lgar ia , k nown a s t he K re m ikov ts i c u l ture , i s t he o ldes t c u l ture o f t he N eo l ith ic p er iod . A f ter t h is , i n c hronol og ica l o rder , c ame Ear ly N eo l ith ic c u ltures , r e ma ins o f w h ich a re f ound i n s ou thern Bu lgar ia , Karanovo Ia nd Karanovo I c u l tures. T yp ica l o f t h is p er iod a re t he e legan t t u l ip-shaped v esse ls o n t a l l s te ms , f l a t-bo t tomed c ups a nd a lso p o ts a nd b ow ls w i th a much r ougher f i n ish . I n t he v ery e ar ly p er iod o f t he Kre m ikov ts i c u l ture , K aranovo I , t he f in ish o f t he v esse ls w as f ar more s oph ist ica ted a nd c ons is ted o f w h i te p a in ted d ecora t ion o n ar ed b ackground . T he p a in ted d ecora t ive mo t ifs o f t ha t e ra w ere v ery v ar ied , t he mos t t yp ica l b e ing t he ' na i l ' p a t tern a nd t he d ep ic t ion i n r e l ief o f h u man f aces a nd f igures o n t he s ides o f t he v esse ls . I n t he n ex t p er iod , t he M idd le N eo l ith ic , t he c u l ture o f K aranovo I f l our ished . P a in t ing o n v esse ls d isappeared a nd w as r ep laced b y af l u ted f i n ish u sed i n v ar ious w ays . T he c harac ter is t ica l ly r ough p ot tery r e ma ined b u t t he h u man r epresen ta t ions i n r e l ief d isappeared f rom t he s ides o f t he v esse ls. T hree-d i mens iona l a n thropo morph ic f igur ines t yp ica l o f t he f i rs t , s econd a nd t h ird p ar ts o f t he N eo l i th ic p er iod a re v ery c lose i n t ype t o t he c eram ics.

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Most o f ten o ne f i nds s tatuet tes o f w o men , w i th s che ma t ic h eads , f aces a nd o ther p ar ts o f t he b ody .

T he ir h i i ps a nd b u t tocks a re d ispropor t iona te ly l arge.

A c er ta in amoun t o f f reedo m i s a l lowed i n t he p lac ing o f t he h ands. T here i s n o d oub t t ha t t he c u ltures o f Kre m ikov ts i a nd Karanovo Ia nd I d eve loped d irect ly o ne a f ter t he o ther . T here i s ag rea t a nd u nd isputed r es e mb lance b e tween t he s hape a nd f in ish o f t he p o t tery v essels a nd t he s tatue t tes. Wh i le t here i s c on t inu ity b etween t hese p er iods , t here i s a t p resen t n o e v idence o f d irec t c on t inu ity b etween t he c u l tura l t rad i t ions o f t he M idd le Neo l ith ic p er iod ( Karanovo I ) a nd t he L a te Neo l ith ic ( Karanovo I I ). I n t he L a te N eo l ith ic P er iod ( Karanovo I I ) n ew t ypes o f v esse ls a nd h u man s ta tue t tes a ppear . S udden ly , t he t rad it ion w h ich i s l inked w ith t he t u l ips haped v esse ls a nd t he v essels w ith n arrow mou ths a nd w ide b od ies, d isappears a nd i n t he ir p lace t here a ppear n ew s hapes a nd d i f feren t methods o f d ecorat ion : w ide s ha l low v esse ls o n mass ive c y l indr ica l s te ms , c y l indr ica l mugs , j ugs w ith t a l l , a l mos t v er t ica l h and les a nd many o ther f orms wh ich a re a l ien t o t he e ar l ier t rad it ions.

D es igns c ons is t ing o f t r iang les , r ec tang les , e tc., a re

f ound v ery r are ly a nd c h ief ly o n t r iangu lar c lay l a mps. v er t ica l l i nes a re u sed f or d ecora t ing t he v esse ls. r ad ica l c hange i n t he a n thropo morph ic s ta tuet tes.

I n r are i nstances

One i s s truck b y t he T he f ormer r ea l is t ic a p-

p roach d isappears , t he u pper h al f o f t he b ody t akes t he s hape o f ad isc a nd t he h ead t ha t o f a n e longated c y l inder .

On t he f ac ia l p ar t o f t he h ead t he n ose

i s g enera l ly o u t l ined a nd i n r are c ases t he e yes.

T here c an b e n o q ues t ion

o f ad irec t i n f luence o f t he c u ltura l t rad it ions o f t he L a te Neo l ith ic p er iod o n t he s o-ca l led t rans it iona l p er iod , i .e. t he Ka loyanovets - Karanovo I V c u lture. I n t he l as t p er iod t he f u l lness o f s hape d isappears f ro m t he v esse ls wh ich w ere s o c om mon a t t he e nd o f t he N eo l ith ic p er iod . Sma l l , r ough b ow ls w ere p redo m inen t w ith s lop ing s ides made o u t o f v ery b ad ly p repared c lay m ixed w ith a l arge amoun t o f s and .

T he f in ish o f t hese v esse ls c ons is ts

ma in ly o f i nc ised l i nes d ep ic t ing v ar ious d ecora t ive mo t ifs. h u man s ta tuet tes c hanges a brup t ly :

T he s ty le o f t he

t he b ody a nd h ead a re n a tura l ist ica l ly

p ropor t ioned b u t t he f aces a re s ty l ized .

I t s hou ld b e r eme mbered t ha t t he

p eop le who i n troduced t h is c u ltura l t rad it ion o ccup ied o n ly a r es tr ic ted a rea i n t he s ou th o f Bu lgar ia. N o l ess r ad ica l was t he c hange w h ich o ccurred w ith t he a ppearance o f t he Ear ly Cha lco l ith ic c u lture wh ich h ad c harac ter ist ic f ea tures i n d if feren t p ar ts o f t he c oun try . I n s ou th-eastern Bu lgar ia t he p ot tery v esse ls a nd h u man f igur ines a re r ad ica l ly d if feren t f ro m t hose o f t he p rev ious p er iod ( Ka loyanovetsKaranovo I V ).

New a nd h i ther to u nknown s hapes o f v essels w ere a ccompan ied

b y t he a ppearance o f n ew d ecora t ive s ty les c ons is t ing o f n arrow i nc ised l i nes a nd s tr ips , a l terna t ing w ith c on ica l p ro jec t ions a nd e ncrusted w ith d i f feren t c o loured p ig men ts.

Graph ite was u sed a t t h is t ime t o d ecorate v esse ls.

A t t he s a me p er iod i n t he n or th-eastern p ar t o f t he c oun try v esse ls w ith l i ds w ere b e ing made wh ich d i f fered r ad ica l ly b o th i n f orm a nd f in ish f ro m t hose i n t he s ou th-eastern a reas.

At yp ica l v esse l was l arge , a l mos t c y l in-

d r ica l i n s hape a nd s tood o n at a l l h o l low s te m :

i t was d ecora ted w ith w ide,

r ough ly i nc ised s tr ipes wh ich a re p a in ted i n w h ite p igmen t. g rea t v ar iety o f d ecora t ive mot ifs.

3 8

There was a

C eram ics i n s ou th-wes tern Bu lgar ia a lso h ave t he ir own p ar t icu lar c haracter is t ics. I n t he s econd h a lf o f t he C ha lco l ith ic p er iod ( Karanovo V I-Kodzhadermen c u lture ) t hroughou t t he w ho le o f Bu lgar ia o ne f i nds t he w e l l-known u n if ica t ion o f c u l tura l t rad i t ions. T yp ica l o f a l l t he r eg ions i s t he w ide b ow l , t he l ower p ar t o f w h ich i s at runca ted c one a nd t he u pper p ar t al ow c y l inder w i th a t h ickened r im. I n t he v esse ls d a t ing f ro m t he e nd o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod t he e dge o f t he r im i s s ome t i mes n o t iceab ly t urned i n . V ar ious v esse ls w ith c omp lex s hapes a re c ommon ly f ound . G raph ite i s u sed f or t he f i n ish o f v esse ls o f t h is p er iod , o therw ise o ne f i nds i nc ised mot ifs o r e lse c onvex f ea tures.

T he d ecora t ion o n a l l t ypes o f v esse l a ccorded w i th t he ir f unc t ions.

C orrespondence i sf ound e ven i n t he w ay i n w h ich t he h uman f i gur ines a re made o f c lay , marb le , b one o r g o ld . I n t h is p er iod w e o bserve a d i f ference b etween t he ma le a nd f e ma le s tat ue t tes w h ich e nab les a d is t inc t ion t o b e made. I n t h is r espec t t he p os i t ion o f t he h ands o f t he c lay a nd marb le s ta tue t tes i s t yp ica l. I n t hose o f w o men t he h ands a re d ep ic ted a s s hor t s ide p ro ject ions , f o lded o n t he wa ist o r t he s tomach , b e low o r a bove t he b reasts. I n t he s ta tue t tes o f men t he p os it ion o f t he h ands i s much more d yna m ic : o ne h and o n t he c hes t t he o ther o n t he wa is t , b o th o n t he k nees o r t he p e lv is , o ne h and b y t he f ace a nd t he o ther o n t he w a is t o r c hes t , e tc . T he s tatue t tes w i th d ecora t ion o n t he ir h eads , whether t he o rnamen ta t ion i sp a in ted o r i nc ised , a re o f t he ma le s ex . O f ten t he ma le s tatuet tes a re l i nked w ith s ty l ized r epresen ta t ions o f b u l ls. T he a n thropomorph ic s tatuet tes o f w o men i n mos t c ases s how t he m a s p regnan t , g iv ing b ir th o r r ear ing a c h i ld . T he c lear-cu t d i f ferences i n t he s ty le o f t he w ork , i n t he method o f f in ish a nd i n t he t rea tmen t o ft he h uman b ody t es t ify n o t o n ly t o ac hange i n t he t as te a nd a es the t ic n eeds o f t he s oc iety b u t a lso i mp ly a p ar t ia l o r t o ta l c hange i n t he e thn ic c o mpos it ion o f t he p opu la t ion . On t he o ne h and t here i sa n o bv ious s im i lar ity i n t he a r t ist ic t rad i t ions o f t he v ar ious i nhab itan ts o fB u lgar ia i n t he f our th m i l lenn ium B . 0 C . ( t he Karanovo V -V I K odzhadermen c u l ture ), a nd o n t he o ther t here i s ag rea t d i f ference b etween t he a r t is t ic t rad it ions o f d i f feren t r eg ions w ith in t h is a rea i n t he f i rst h a l f o f t he C ha lco l ith ic p er iod . T he p eop le w ho i n troduced t hese t rad it ions w ere v ery c l ose t o e ach o ther g eograph ica l ly b u t n onethe less w ere d iss im i lar i nt erms o f ma ter ia l c u l ture a nd a r t is t ic t rad it ions. T he s im i lar i ty o f a r t is t ic s ty les r e la tes t o t he M idd le N eo l ith ic p er iod . I n s ou thern a nd s ou th-eas tern Bu lgar ia i ti s h ard t o d is t ingu ish b etween t hese p er iods , w h i le f ur ther n or th a nd w es t t he d i f ference b e tween t he m b ecomes i ncreas ing ly marked . A s men t ioned i n t he p rev ious c hap ters , t he c u lture o f Bu lgar ia i n t he v ery e ar l ies tp er iod o f t he Bronze Age c orresponds w i th t he c u l ture r epresen ted i n t he l owes t s tra ta o f t he T ro jan s e t t le men ts i n As ia M inor . T ypo log ica l ly t he ir s im i lar c haracter i s e v idence o f au n i ty o f c u ltura l t rad i t ions b etween t hese r eg ions wh ich a re s o d is tan t f ro m o ne a no ther . W ide b ow ls w ith i n turned r ims , t a l l u rns , c ups w ith e longa ted h and les a t t he s ides a nd s lan t ing mou ths , j ugs , e tc., a re t he p redo m inan t f orms. T yp ica l o f t h is p er iod i s n ot o n ly a c rud ity o f f orm a nd t he l ow q ua l ity o f t he c lay f rom wh ich t he v esse ls w ere made , b u t a lso t he s l ipshod d ecora t ion : 3 9

i nc ised l i nes mak ing

ar et icu late p a t tern , t he impress ions o f t igh t ly t w isted c ords , t he d ecora t ion o f t he r im b y s he l ls o r p inch ing . mo t ifs o f t he Bronze Age.

,T h is

i s t he t o ta l r eper to ire o f d ecora t ive

A t t he e nd o f t h is p er iod i n ar es tr ic ted a rea o n

t he b anks o f t he Danube a ppears t he s o-ca l led N ovo-Se lo-K irna c u l ture. T he v esse ls wh ich b e long t o t h is c u ltura l g roup a re d is t ingu ished b y t he e legance o f t he ir s hape a nd d ecora t ion.

T he t rad it ion o f t he l a te Cha lco l ith ic p er iod

w ith i t s h u man f igur ines h as v an ished : t he s udden d isappearance o f a n thropomorph ic s cu lp tures a t t he b eg inn ing o f t he Bronze Age a f ter t he ir g rea t d ev elop men t i n t he s econd h a lf o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod i s v ery s urpr is ing . Three-d i mens iona l h u man s ta tuet tes a ppear a ga in a t t he e nd o f t he Bronze Age w ith t he a rr iva l o f t he Novo-Se lo-K irna c u lture.

H owever , t hese s ta-

t uet tes f orm a n i so la ted g roup wh ich h as n oth ing i n c o mmon w i th t he a n thropomorph ic f igur ines wh ich w ere w ide ly d istr ibu ted t hroughout Bu lgar ia i n t he Bronze Age. R ig id c onven t iona l ity o f s ty le a nd r ich d ecora t ion w ere c haracter is t ic o f t hese f igur ines. On s i tes i n s outhern Bu lgar ia , a bove t he d epos its d a t ing f ro m n ear t he e nd o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod , t here i s al ayer w h ich r e la tes t o t he Ear ly Bronze Age , a nd b etween t hese t wo s trata t here i s al ayer d evo id o f a rchaeol og ica l f inds.

I n n or thern a nd n or th-western r eg ions o ne s o me t i mes f i nds a

s tra tu m wh ich r e la tes t o t he much l a ter Bronze Age a bove t he L a te Cha lcol i th ic d epos its , a nd l ayers d a t ing f ro m t he Ear ly a nd M idd le Bronze Age a re a bsen t . T hus , t he f ur ther n or th w e g o t he l a ter a re t he Bronze Age d epos i ts wh ich w e f ind .

T h is d iscon t inu ity c onf l ic ts w ith t he c oncep t t ha t t he p reh is-

t or ic p er iods f o l lowed o n d irec t ly , o ne a f ter t he o ther .

Were t here d irec t

c on t inu ity b etween t he c u lture o f t he e nd o f t he C ha lco l ith ic p er iod a nd t ha t o f t he b eg inn ing o f t he Bronze Age , t hen t here s hou ld b e d epos its d a t ing f ro m t he Ear ly Bronze Age, b u t u p t o n ow t h is c on t inu ity h as n ot b een f ound a nywhere. I ti s p oss ib le t ha t t he m igra t ion o f ap ar t o ft he p opu la t ion i n f luences t he ma ter ia l a nd s p ir itua l c u lture o f t he s oc iety , b r ing ing a bout c hanges. V ar ious move men ts o f s uch g roups o ccurred . F or e xamp le , t he Ear ly Neo l ith ic c u lture i n Bu lgar ia i s i nd ispu tab ly l inked w ith a c orrespond ing c u lture i n As ia M inor , l oca ted i n Wes tern Ana to l ia , whereas t he Cha lco l ith ic c u ltura l t rad it ion t yp ica l o f t he who le o f Bu lgar ia a nd p ar ts o f t he n e ighbour ing c oun tr ies i s c o mp lete ly a l ien t o As ia M inor a nd i s f ound o n t he c oas t o f ma in land G reece. On ly a t t he b eg inn ing o f t he Bronze Age d oes o ne a ga in f i nd g rea t s im i lar it ies b etween o b jec ts f ro m Anato l ia a nd f ro m Bu lgar ia . C lear ly , t he manu facture o f p o t tery i n Bu lgar ia c o inc ided w ith t he p er iod i n wh ich s oc iety was h igh ly o rgan ized , a nd e ach s et t le men t k ep t u p c on tact w ith t he i nhab itan ts o f o ther p reh istor ic s et t lemen ts o ver g rea t d istances. As h as a lready b een n oted , i tc an b e c onc luded f ro m t he a n thropo morph ic f igur ines o f t he N eo l ith ic p er iod t ha t men h ad a s uper ior s ta tus i n s oc ie ty. Ev idence o f t h is c o mes f ro m t he f i nds wh ich d a te f ro m t he e ar l ies t p er iod i n t he d evelop men t o f c era m ics i n Bu lgar ia.

Ar t is t ic c onven t ions w ere r ig id ly

a dhered t o i n t he r epresen ta t ions o f i nd iv idua ls o f e ither s ex , a nd more p ar t icu lar ly t he ma le f igures were c o mb ined w ith r epresen ta t ions o f a n i ma ls o r w ere d ecora ted w ith c rowns , b e l ts o r o ther a t tr ibu tes o f ma le s treng th a nd p ower .

4 0

I ti s g enera l ly a ccep ted t ha t r e l ig ion a ppears a t ap ar t icu lar s tage i n t he d eve lopmen t o f as oc ie ty .

C onsequen t ly , t he p resence o f ar e l ig ious f a ith a nd

r i tes i n t he Ear ly N eo l ith ic p er iod , t o w h ich t he f i nds b ear w itness , s peak o f h igh d egree o f o rgan iza t ion o f t he t r ibes w h ich s e t t led i n Bu lgar ia a t t ha t t ime. I ti s c lear t ha t e ven i n t he N eo l ith ic p er iod t he t r ibes wh ich s e t t led i n Bu lgar ia w ere c onversan t w ith t he f i rs t p hases o f s oc ia l s tra t if ica t ion . T he h igh ly d eve loped a r t is t ic s k i l ls a nd e x tens ive p roduc t ion o f v ar ious w orks o f a r t i nd ica ted t he h igh a es the t ic s tandards o f t he t r ibes w h ich s e t t led i n B u lgar ia f ro m t he f i f th t o t he s econd m i l lenn ium B .C.

F rom a c ons idera-

t i on o f t he a rchaeo log ica l ma ter ia l i tc an b e s een t ha t man 's s p ir itua l a nd a r t is t ic d eve lopmen t p roceed t oge ther f rom t he e ar l ies t b eg inn ings o f s oc ie ty .

4 1

ABBRE W A T IONS

I A I-

1 /3 B e C T M A

LUD -

M3 B e C TL IA

I BAD I VN II N MSh GN M GN MP1 -

ni C TV I T yT3

Apxeoxori ngecKoro B oxrapcKoro

1 43 B e C T M A

I 4 3BeCTMS I n3 B e C TI A2

H a p 0 41 10 r0

Exerosu ip iK ExeroAHmK ExeroAHmK

my3eeH

GNB MP-

ExeroÄHI nK

Hapo4Hoe

PacKonKm

P

My3 e A

B

M y M e He

myaeA a pxeozor r e igecKoro

f l AoaÄ r e lacKoro 6 1 46xxoTe m e l

my3eA

c cxeÄosaHms i

B oxraperoe

w cTopmgecKoe

o 6u lecTHo

B M-

F oxrapcKas i

m cTopmgecKaA

6 1 46xmoTeKa

MSb -

C 6opHi nK

MmHp icTepcKP IX

S bBAN -

C 6opl im i c

B oxrapcKo

E cTecTHeHHas i

AKa4emmm

1 4 cTopmg M

4 2

my3eR

B

HxeseHe

o Kpyra

B ID -

EG -

o 6u lecTsa

myaeeB

HapoÄHoro Hapo4Horo

ol i zecTsa

a pxeoxor i ngecKoro

6 oxrapcKmx

Gmpo _

RP -

Apxeoxormy i

H ayK

r eorpa cp AR

B

1 . 7 1o1 34mBe

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M ioara Zg ibea ,

7 7.

A . Raduncheva , Razkop l c i n a s e l ishchna ta mog i la

p r i s .

V in itsa S hu mensko , Archeo log iya , 1 , 1 966 , v o l. 4 , p . 6 7, P l . I . 7 8.

N . K . S andars , Preh istor ic Ar t i n Europe, L ondon , 1 968, f ig . 10.

7 9.

V l. Du m itrescu , L' ar t n eo l ith i c t ue i n Rou man ie , f ig . 1 12.

8 0.

R . P opov , Pred is tor iches l k i mra morn i i do l i , n a meren i v Bu lgar iya I A I , 1 925 , p . 9 1f f V . M ikov , I do lna ta p las t ika p rez n ovo ja menn .a ta e pocha v Bu lgar iya , I A I , V II I , 1 934 , p . 2 06f f .

V . Mikov , Pr inos k ern p red is-

t or icheska ta e pocha u n as I A I , MI , 1 938 , p . 3 86 , P l. 1 64 ;

G . I l . G eorg iev ,

Mra morna s ta tue tka o t B lagoevo Razgradsko , I A I, X IX , 1 955 , p p. 1 -13 ; A . Raduncheva , Mra morna s tatue tka n a z hena o t Yozhna Bu lgar iya , Archeo log iya , 1 967 , v o l. 3 , p p. 6 4-67 ;

R . Ka t incharov , Neo l i tna mramorna

f igurka g r . Kazan l ik , Archeo log iya , X E , 1 969 , v o l. 2 , p . 5 2, P l . 1 -2.

8 1.

V . M ikov , I do lna ta p last ika p rez n ovoka mennata e pocha v Bu lgar iya , I A I , V I I I, 1 934 , p . 2 02f f .

8 2.

G . I l . G eorg iev a nd N . Ange lov , Razkopk i n a s e l ishchna ta mog i la d o Ruse p rez 1 950-1953, I A I , >a l , 1 957, p . 1 03, P l. 1 , v .

8 3.

An . Ch i l ig irov , S tapa ln i k os ten i i do l i , I A I, I , p . 1 09 ;

V . Mikov ,

I do lna ta p last ika p rez n ovoka menna ta e pocha v Bu lgar iya , I AI , V I I I, 1 934 , p p. 2 1f f . 8 4.

N . Ange lov , Z la tnoto s krov ishche o t Chotn itsa , Archeo log iya , 1 , 1 959, v o l. 1 -2 ;

G . I l . G eorg iev a nd N . Ange lov , Razkopk i n a s e l ishchna ta

mog i la d o Ruse p rez 1 950-1953, I A I, XX I , 1 957 , p . 9 8, P l. 5 8. 8 5.

T . S . P asek , Kostyan iye amu let i i z F loresh t , N ovoye v s ovetskoy a rcheo log i i , p p. 7 7f f .

8 6.

Unpub l ished ma ter ia l i n Pres lav museu m .

8 7.

Unpub l ished ma ter ia l f ro m a g rave o n t he s i te o f t he V in itsa r eservo ir.

5 2

8 8.

N . Y . Merper t , T he works o f S ov iet-Bu lgar ian e xped it ions , Co l lected Archaeo log ica l D iscover ies , 1 969 , Moscow , 1 970:

8 9. 9 0.

Unpub l ished ma ter ia l i n S hu men museum. Unpub l ished mater ia l f ro m t he p reh is tor ic s e t t le men t mound a t V in itsa , S hu men r eg ion .

9 1.

P . D etev , Pra is tor ichesko to s e l ishche p r i s . Mu ldava , GNA MP, p . 3 2 , P l. 2 5.

9 2.

M. D im itrov , Okruzhen n aroden muze i , S tara Zagora , V odach , P l. 1 4 ; R . Popov , Kodzhadermenska ta mog i la p r i g r. S hu men , I AD , V I, 1 9161 918 , t ab le I V , P l . 1 -2 ;

t he a t tached t ab le o f t he c u l ture o f Karanovo

V I.

5 3

PLATES

1 .

C lay t u l ip-shaped v esse l , Ear ly Neo l ith ic.

Az mak

s et t le men t mound

n ear S tara Z agora . Red w ith wh ite p a in t , s ur face w e l l p o l ished . Measure men ts :

h e igh t 2 5.5 cm , d ia me ter o f t he b ase 9 .5 cm , d iameter

o f t he mou th 1 5.5 cm. L itera ture : M. D im itrov , Okrzhen n aroden muze i -S tara Z agora , V odach , S o f ia , 1 965 , p l. 5 . 2 .

A z mak s et t le men t mound

C lay t u l ip-shaped v esse l , Ear ly Neo l ith ic. n ear S tara Z agora . Red w ith wh ite p a in t , s ur face we l l p o l ished . Measure men ts : L iterature :

h e igh t 3 1 cm , d ia meter 1 7 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev , G lavn i r ezu l ta te o t r azkopk ite n a

Az mashka ta s e l ishchna mog ila p rez 1 961 g . I A I, XXV I , 1 963, p . 1 68, p l. 1 4. 3 .

C lay v esse l , Ear ly N eo l ith ic.

A z mak

s e t t le men t mound n ear S tara

Z agora . Red w ith wh ite p a in t , s ur face we l l p o l ished . Measure men ts : h e igh t 2 2 cm , d ia meter o f t he b ase 1 4.5 cm , d iameter o f t he mou th 2 7.5 cm. L iterature :

M. D im itrov , Okruzhen n aroden muze i -S tara Zagora ,

Vodach , S of ia 1 965 , p l. 3 . 4 .

C lay c up , Ear ly Neo l ith ic.

Az mak s e t t le men t mound n ear S tara Zagora .

Red w ith wh ite p a in t , s ur face we l l p o l ished . Measure men ts : L iterature :

h e igh t 1 3.4 cm , d ia me ter 1 0.4 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev .

Be itrage z ur Er forschung d es Neo l ith iku ms

u nd d er Bronzeze it i n S i ldbu lgar ien , Archaeo log ia Austr iaca , Hef t 4 2 , W ien , 1 967, c . 1 07 , f ig . 9 .

5 .

An thropo morph ic c lay v esse l , Ear ly Neo l i th ic.

S et t le men t mound n ear

Rak itovo. Red w ith wh ite p a in t , s ur face w e l l p o l ished . Measure men t :

h e igh t 1 2 cm.

Unpub l ished . 6 .

An thropomorph ic c lay v esse l , M idd le N eo l ith ic. S et t le men t mound n ear Kazan l ik . G rey , smoo th s ur face. Measure men t : L itera ture :

h e igh t 1 6 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev , S tra t igra f iya ip er iod iza ts iya n a n eo l ita i

h a lko l ita v d nes im ite b u lgarsk i z em i , Arheo log iya , XV I, 1 974 , b k 4 , l g . 7 .

7 ,p h

5.

C lay v esse l , Ear ly Neo l ith ic. A z mak

s e t t le men t mound n ear S tara

Z agora. L igh t b rown , s ur face r ough. Measure men ts : 5 cm. L itera ture :

A man 's f ace i s d ep icted o n t he u pper p ar t .

h e igh t 7 .1 cm , d iameter 6 cm , d iameter o f t he mouth

G . I l . G eorg iev , G lavn i r ezu l ta t i o t r azkopk ite n a

Az mashka ta s e l ishchna mog ilaprez 1 961 g od . p l. 1 6. 8 .

C lay v esse l , M idd le Neo l ith ic.

Karanovo

I A I , ) (XV I, 1 963 , p . 1 67 ,

s et t le men t mound .

Brown ish c o lour , s ur face w e l l p o l ished . Measure men t :

h e igh t 4 0 cm.

L itera ture : G . I l . G eorg iev , Ku l turgruppen d er J ungste in u nd d er Kupferze it i n d er Ebene v on T hraz ien ( S t idbu lgar ien ) : L 'Europe ä l a f i n d e l ' age d e l a p ierre , Praha , 1 961.

9 .

C lay v esse l , L a te Neo l ith ic. P azardzh ik

V i l lage o f Kap itan-D im itr ievo ,

r eg ion .

L igh t b rown ; t he s ur face o f t he u pper p ar t i s we l l p o l ished , t he l ower p ar t i s r ough ly smoo thed d own w ith t he t humb. I n s evera l p laces t he p a lm o f ah and i s d ep icted i n r e l ief . Measure men ts : L itera ture :

h e igh t 5 6 cm , max i mu m d ia meter o f b ody 3 4 cm.

P . De tev , S e l ishchna ta mog i la Banya ta p r i Kap itan

D im itr ievo , GNA M , P 1 I , 1 950 , p . 5 , p l . 15 . 1 0.

C lay v esse l , Ear ly N eo l ith ic.

S et t le men t mound n ear Rak itovo.

Red w ith p a le b rown p a in t ing , s ur face w e l l p o l ished . Measure men t :

h e igh t 9 .9 cm.

Unpub l ished . 1.

C lay v esse l , Ear ly Neo l ith ic. Red w ith wh ite d ecora t ion. Measure men t : L iterature :

S et t le men t mound n ear Chavdar , S o f ia r eg ion

S ur face w el l p o l ished.

h e igh t 2 5 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev , P rouchvane n a s tara ta n eo l itna k u l tura v

P irdopsko - z la t ishkoto p o le , p . 3 04, p l. 6 . Bu lgarsko to i s tor ichesko d ruzhestvo , S o f ia.

P erv i k ong 'res n a

1 2. C lay v esse l , Ear ly Neo l ith ic. S et t le men t mound n ear Chavdar , S of ia r eg ion. S ur face w e l l p o l ished , p a in ted i n w h ite. Measure men t :

h e igh t 2 0 cm.

L itera ture : G . I l . G eorg iev , Prouchvane n a s tara ta n eo l itna k u l tura v P irdopsko-z lar ishko to p o le , P erv i k ongres n a Bu lgarskoto i s tor ichesko d ruzhes tvo , S o f ia. 1 3. C lay v esse l , Ear ly Neo l ith ic.

Kre m ikovts i ,S of ia r eg ion .

Red w ith wh ite p a in t , smoo th s ur face. Measure men ts :

h e igh t 8 .2 cm , d iameter 1 8.1 cm.

L itera ture : N . P e tkov , R isuvan iya t o rnamen t p rez n eo l i ta v S of isko to p o le ib l izk ite mu o ko lnost i , Archeo log iya I V , 1 962, b k . 3 , p . 4 8, p l . 6 . 1 4. C lay v esse l , Ear ly Neo l ith ic. S et t lemen t mound n ear Chavdar , S o f ia r eg ion . Red w ith wh ite p a in t , s ur face w e l l p o l ished . Measure men t :

h e igh t 2 2 cm.

L iterature : G . I l . G eorg iev , Prouchvane n a s tarata n eo l itna k u l tura v P irdopsko-z la t ishko to p o le , p . 3 02, p l. 3 , Perv l k ongres n a Bu lgarsko to i s tor ichesko d ruzhestvo , S of ia.

1 5. An thropomorph ic c lay v esse l , Ear ly Neo l ith ic.

N eo l ith ic s e t t lemen t n ear

G radeshn itsa , Brachansk i d is tr ic t. S ur face w e l l p o l ished . Measure men t : L iterature :

Co loured i n b e ige , r ed a nd b lack .

h e igh t 2 5 cm.

Bogdan N iko lov , Gradeshn itsa , S of ia , 1 975.

1 6. An thropo morph ic c lay v esse l , Ear ly N eo l ith ic.

S et t le men t mound

n ear

Rak itovo. Red , s ur face w e ll p o l ished . Measure men t :

h e igh t 7 cm.

Unpub l ished . 1 7. C lay v esse l , Ear ly Neo l ith ic.

S e t t le men t mound n ear Rak itovo .

Grey , smoo th s ur face. Measure men t :

h e igh t 1 2 cm.

Unpub l ished . 1 8. C lay v esse l , M idd le Neo l ith ic. Banya , S tara Z agora r eg ion.

S et t le men t mound o f G erde me n ear Pave l-

Dark g rey , s ur face w e l l p o l ished . Measure men ts : h e igh t 1 5 cm , d iameter o f t he mou th 8 .5 cm , d ia meter o f t he b ase 6 .5 cm. L itera ture : L . G etov a nd G . T abakova , Naroden Muze i-Kazan l ik , 1 967, V odach , p l. 1 .

1 9. C lay v essel , Ear ly N eo l ith ic.

V il lage o f Mursa levo , S tanked im i trovsk i

r eg ion . L igh t b rown , s ur face we l l smoothed . Measure men ts : h e igh t 1 9.5 cm , d ia me ter 1 6.5 cm. L iterature :

V . M ikov , Ma ter ia l i o t p ra istor icheskata e pocha v

Bu lgar iya , I BA I, V I I , 1 932-33, p . 3 62, p l. 1 13. 2 0. Annu lar c lay a n thropo morph ic v esse l , L a te Neo l ith ic. o f Yasa-Tepe ,P lovd iv r eg ion .

S et t le men t mound

L igh t b rown , p o l ished s ur face. Measure men ts :

h e igh t 2 7 cm , d ia meter o f t he b ase 1 0 cm , d iame ter o f

t he mouth 4 .5 cm. L itera ture : P l. I I,

P . De tev , Ma te na h

z a p ra is tor iya ta n a P lovd iv , GNA M ,

1 959 , p . 1 2 , p l. 1 5 &1 6.

2 1. C lay v esse l , L a te Neo l ith ic.

Karanovo

s et t le men t mound.

Grey , s ur face we l l p o l ished . Decora ted w ith t runca ted c on ica l b osses. L ong c y l indr ica l l egs , t a l l h and le w ith c ircu lar c ross s ect ion . Measure men ts :

h e igh t 1 8.5 cm , d ia me ter 1 7 cm.

L iterature : G . I l . G eorg iev , Ku l turgruppen d er J ungste in u nd d er Kup ferze it i n d er Ebene v on Thraz ien ( S t idbu lgar ien ) : L 'Europe ä l a f i n d e P age d e l a p ierre , Praha , 1 961.

2 2. C lay v esse l , La te N eo l i th ic.

Az mak

s e t t le ment mound n ear S tara

Zagora. L igh t g rey , s ur face w e l l p o l ished , t a l l z oo morph ic h and le. Measure men ts : L itera ture :

h e igh t 1 5 cm , d ia meter o f t he mou th 1 5.5 cm.

M. D im itrov , Okruzhen n aroden muze i , S tara Z agora ,

V odach , S of ia , 1 965 , p l . 6 . 2 3. C lay mug , L ate Neo l ith ic. S et t le men t mound n ear Karanovo. Grey , s ur face we l l p o l ished . Measure men ts : L itera ture :

h e igh t 1 8.5 cm , d ia me ter 1 0 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev , Ku l turgruppen d er J ungste in u nd d er

Kup ferze it i n d er E bene v on T hraz ien ( S t idbu lgar ien ) : L 'Europe ä l a f in d e Page d e l a p ierre , Praha , 1 961, t ab l. X , t ab l. X I , f i g . 5 . 2 4. C lay b ow l.

' Trans it iona l ' p er iod b e tween Neo l ith ic a nd Cha lco l ith ic.

S et t le men t mound n ear Kor ten , Nova Zagora r eg ion . G rey , r ough s ur face , d ecora ted w ith d eep ly i nc ised l ines. Measure men ts : L iterature :

h e igh t 4 cm , d ia meter 1 0 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev , Ku lturgruppen d er J ungste in u nd d er

Kupferze it i n d er E bene v on Thraz ien ( S t idbu lgar ien ) :

L 'Europe

l a f in d e l ' age d e l a p ierre , Praha , 1 961, t ab l. XV , f ig. 1 3 a , b , c .

2 5

•C lay b ow l , f irs t h a l f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic P er iod .

Karanovo s et t le men t mound.

Mu l t ico loured , we l l smoothed s ur face. D ecorated o n t he o uts ide w i th e ncrus ted y e l low o chre a nd o n t he i ns ide i n r ed. Measure men ts : h e igh t 7 .1 cm , d iame ter o f t he b ase 5 .6 cm , d iame ter o f t he mou th 5 .6 cm. L iterature : G . I l . G eorg iev , K u l turgruppen d er J ungs te in u nd d er Kup ferze it i n d er E bene v on T hraz ien ( S i ldbu lgar ien ) : L 'Europe ä l a f i n d e l ' age d e l a p ierre , Praha , 1 961, t abl. XXX E , f i g . 1a u .b. 2 6. C lay " l i lac-shaped" v essel , f i rs t h a l f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod . A z mak

s et t le men t mound n ear S tara Z agora.

Grey , s ur face w e l l p o l ished . Orna men ted b y i nc ised l i nes f i l led w ith wh ite p a in t a nd b ands o f g raph ite. Measure men ts : L itera ture : Az mashka ta p l. 1 .

h e igh t 7 .5 cm , d iame ter 1 4 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev , G lavn i Rezu l ta t i o t r azkopk ite n a s e l ishchna mog i la p rez 1 961 g . T A I , XXV I, 1 963 , p . 1 71,

2 7. C lay v esse l , f irst h a l f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod .

A z mak

s et t le men t mound n ear S tara Z agora. Grey , s urface w e l l smoo thed . Measure men ts :

h e igh t 1 5 cm , d ia me ter 2 2 cm.

L itera ture : G . I l . G eorg iev , G lavn i r ezu l ta t i o t r azkopk ite n a Az mashka ta s e l ishchna mog i la p rez 1 961 g , I A I, XXV I, 1 963 , p . 1 71, p l. 1 9.

e

. 1 • 1, . 11% t

I1

Ii t .

4 -i d .1 . 1 . ;r e tI L

2 8. C lay v essel , f irs t h a l f o f t he Cha lco l i th ic p er iod. S et t le men t mound n ear V in itsa ,Shu men r eg ion. L igh t b rown , s ur face w e l l p o l ished , g raph ite a reas. Measure men ts :

h e igh t 1 1 cm , d ia meter 1 4.6 cm.

Unpub l ished . 2 9. C lay v essel , f irst h a l f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod. S et t le men t mound n ear V in itsa ,Shu men r eg ion. L igh t b rown , s ur face we l l p o l ished , a reas o f g raph ite. Measure men ts :

h e igh t 1 2.2 cm , d ia me ter 1 5 cm.

Unpub l ished . 3 0. C lay v esse l , f irst h a lf o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod.

S et t le men t mound n ear

V in itsa ,Shu men r eg ion . Grey , smoo th s ur face. Measure men ts :

h e igh t 1.6 cm , d ia me ter 7 .2 cm.

Unpub l ished . 3 1. C lay v esse l , f irst h a l f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod.

S et t le men t mound

a t S a l man , S hu men r eg ion. L igh t b rown , r ough s ur face. i n wh ite. Measure men ts : L iterature :

D ecora ted w ith w ide b ands o f l i nes e ncrus ted

h e igh t 4 2 cm , d ia meter 2 7 cm.

R . Popov , Pred is tor icheska ta D eneva mog ila p r i S a la manovo ,

I AD , I V , 1 914 , p . 1 63, p l. 1 24.

3 2.

C lay l id , f irs t h a l f o f t he C ha lco l ith ic p er iod .

S e t t le men t mound n ear

V in itsa , S hu men r eg ion . L igh t b rown , d ecora ted i n ar ough i nc ised p a t tern a nd w h ite p a in t . Measure men ts :

h e igh t 1 3 cm , d ia meter 3 3 cm .

Unpub l ished . 3 3.

C lay v esse l w ith l i d , s econd h a lf o f t he C ha lco l ith ic p er iod.

Kara-

n ovo s et t le men t mound , S l iven r eg ion . L igh t b rown , s ur face w e l l p o l ished , d ecora ted w ith i nc ised a nd p o l ished b ands. Measure men ts :

h e igh t 7 cm , d iameter 1 5 cm .

L iterature : G . I l . G eorg iev , Ku lturgruppen d er J ungs te in u nd d er Kup ferze it i n d er Ebene v on T hraz ien ( S t idbu lgar ien ) : L 'Europe ä l a f in d c Page d e l a p ierre , Praha , 1 961, t ab l. XX I I , f ig . 7 . 3 4.

C lay v esse l , s econd h a lf o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod . mound n ear S tara Z agora.

Az mak s e t t le men t

S ur face w e l l p o l ished , d ecora ted w ith g raph ite. Measure men t :

h e igh t 1 8 cm.

L itera ture : G . I l . G eorg iev , G lavn i r ezu l ta t i o t r azkopk ite n a A z mashska ta mog ila p rez 1 961 g , I A I , ) (XV I , 1 963.

3 5.

C lay v essel , Cha lco l ith ic p er iod .

Karanovo s et t le men t mound .

Po l ished s ur face , d ecora ted w ith g raph i te. Measure men t : L itera ture :

h e igh t 1 4 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev , Ku l turgruppen d er J ungs te in u nd d er

Kup ferze it i n d er Ebene v on T hraz ien ( S t idbu lgar ien ) : l a f in d e l ' age d e l a p ierre , Praha , 1 961. 3 6.

C lay v essel , s econd h a l f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod .

L 'Europe

Karanovo

s et t le men t mound. Red , s ur face w e l l p o l ished , d ecora ted w i th g raph ite. Measure men ts : L itera ture :

h e igh t 1 6 cm , d ia meter 1 8 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev , Ku l turgruppen d er J ungs te in u nd d er

Kup ferze it i n d er Ebene v on T hraz ien ( S t idbu lgar ien ) : L 'Europe ä l a f in d e l ' age d e l a p ierre , Praha , 1 961, t ab l. XX IV , f ig . 4 . 3 7.

C lay v esse l , s econd h a lf o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod.

S et t le men t mound

n ear Karanovo , S l iven r eg ion. L igh t b rown , r ough s ur face. Measure men ts : L itera ture :

h e igh t 1 2 cm , d ia meter 2 2 cm .

G . I l . G eorg iev , Ku lturgruppen d er J ungs te in u nd d er

Kup ferze it i n d er Ebene v on T hraz ien ( S t idbu lgar ien ) :

L 'Europe ä

l a f in d e l ' age d e l a p ierre , Praha , 1 961, t ab l . XX IV , f ig . 3 .

3 8. C lay l id.

S econd h a lf o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod.

Brown , wel l p o l ished s ur face. Measure men ts : L iterature :

h e igh t 1 3.6 cm , d ia meter 1 7.5 cm.

V . Mikov , Mog ila ta p r i s . S ul tak , Popovsko , GN M , 1 922-

2 5, p . 4 3, p l. 7 6. 3 9. C lay v esse l.

F irst h al f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod.

Denev s et t le ment

mound a t S a l man , S hu men r eg ion. L igh t b rown , we ll p o l ished s ur face. Measure men ts : L itera ture :

h e igh t 2 1 cm , d ia meter 2 3.5 cm.

R . Popov , Pred is tor icheskata Deneva mog ila p r i s .

a l manovo S hu men , I A I, I V , 1 914 , p . 1 69 , p l. 1 37. 4 0. C lay v essel w ith s pout , s econd h a lf o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod. S ett le men t mound i n Nova Zagora. L igh t b rown , i nc ised o rna mentat ion made b y s hel ls. Measure men ts : L iterature :

h e igh t 8 .5 cm , d ia meter 1 2 cm.

N . Ko ichev , Neobnarodvan i ma ter ia l i o t Novo Zagorsko ,

Archeo log iya , I , 1 959 , v o l. 1 -2, p . 9 5 , p l. 8 5.

et t le men t mound o f Banya ta 4 1. S quare c lay l a mp , Cha lco l ith ic p er iod. S n ear Kap itan-D im itr ievo. L igh t b rown , smoo th s ur face , d ecora ted w ith a s cu lp ted a n i ma l 's h ead. Measure men ts : L itera ture :

h e igh t 9 .7 cm , l eng th 1 0 cm , w id th 8 cm , d epth 3 .5 cm.

P . Detev , S el ishchna mog i la Banya ta p r i Kap itan-D im itr ievo ,

GNA M , P l. I ,

1 950 , p . 1 6 , p l. 3 0.

4 2. C lay r i tua l l a mp , f irs t h a l f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod. Vrachensk i

Gradeshn itsa,

r eg ion .

L igh t b rown , s urface w e l l p o l ished , d ecora ted w ith s ty l ised s cu lp ted h u man h ead a nd t orso.

On t he wa l ls t here i s a n i nc ised g eo metr ica l

p a t tern . Measure men ts : L iterature :

h e igh t 1 3.5 cm , l eng th o f t he s ides 1 6 cm.

B . N iko lov , Pra istor ichesko to s el ische Kateto p r i s .

Gradeshn itsa , Vrachansko , I A I , 2 000 1. 4 3. C lay b ow l , f i rst h a l f o f t he Bronze Age.

D ips iska s et t le men t mound n ear

Nova Z agora. G rey , s ur face we l l p o l ished . Measure men ts : L itera ture :

1 0.2 cm h e igh t , d iameter 3 0 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev , Be iträge z ur Er forschung d es Neo l ith iku ms

u nd d er Bronzeze it i n S t idbu lgar ien , Archaeo log ia Aus tr iaca , Hef t 4 2 , W ien , p . 1 38 , f ig . 3 6.

4 4. C lay c up , f i rst h a l f o f t he Bronze Age , f rom M icha i l ich , K r idzna l i r eg ion . G rey , s ur face w e l l p o l ished . Measure men ts :

h e igh t 2 0 cm , d ia meter o f t he r i m 7 cm .

L itera ture : V . M ikov , Pred is tor ichesko s e l ishche d o s . M icha i l ich , S v i lengradsko , RP I , 1 948, p . 2 2, p l. 1 2. 4 5. C lay mug , f i rs t h a l f o f t he Bronze Age.

Kazan l ik .

Grey , p o l ished s ur face. Measure men ts :

h e igh t 1 1.5 cm , d ia meter 1 0 cm.

L itera ture : I . G etov a nd G . T abakov. Vodach , p l. 1 6.

N aroden muze i - Kazan l ik , 1 967 ,

4 6. An thropo morph ic c lay v esse l , M idd le Bronze Age. Grey , p o l ished s ur face. Measure men t : L itera ture :

h e igh t 8 cm.

R . Ka t incharov , P er iod iza ts iya ic harak ter is t ika n a k u lturata

p rez b ronzovara e pocha v y ouzhna Bu lgar iya , Archeo log iya , XV I , 1 974 , v o l. 1 , p . 1 4 , p l. 1 7. 4 7. C lay mug , L a te Bronze Age.

Novo-Se lo , V id in

r eg ion.

G rey , s ur face w e l l p o l ished , i nc ised o rnamen ta t ion i n la id w ith w h i te p ig men t. Measure men ts :

h e igh t 1.4 cm , d ia meter 1 0 cm.

L iterature : V . M ikov , Pr inos km p rouchvaneto n a k u l tura ta Kerna , s p. Archeo log iya , v o l. 2 , 1 970.

4 8.

Z oo morph ic c lay v esse l , L ate Bronze Age.

Necropo l is n ear Ursoe,

L o msk i r eg ion . L itera ture :

G . F i l ipov , Kera m ik i ii do lna p last ika o t k snobronzov iya

n ekropo l p r i s Ursoe , M icha i lovgradsk i o krug , p . 2 0 , p l. 1 0, s p , Archeo log iya , XV , 1 974 , v o l. 2 . 4 9.

C lay f igure o f a wo man , Ear ly Neo l ith ic.

Karanovo s et t le men t mound.

Brown , s ur face w e l l p o l ished. Measure men t : L iterature :

h e igh t 1 1.5 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev , Ku l turgruppen d er J ungs te in u nd d er

Kup ferze it i n d er Ebene v on T hraz ien ( S t ldbu lgar ien ) :

L 'Europe

l a f in d e Page d e l a p ierre , Praha , 1 961, p . 6 4 , f ig . 1 . 5 0.

C lay f igure o f a wo man , Ear ly Neo l ith ic. Rak itovo . Unpub l ished .

S et t le men t mound n ear

5 4. Par t o f a n a n thropo morph ic v esse l , Ear ly Neo l ith ic.

S et t le men t mound n ear

Chavdar , S of ia r eg ion . L itera ture :

G . I l . G eorg iev , Prouchvan iye n a s tara ta n eo l itna k u ltura v

P irdopsko-Zla t ishkoto p o le , p . 3 06, p l. 8 .

P erv i k ongres n a Bu lgarsko to

i stor ichesko d ruzhes tvo , S o f ia. 5 5. C lay a n thropo morph ic s tatuet te , e nd o f t he Neo l ith ic p er iod.

Karanovo

s et t le men t mound. L igh t b rown , s ur face w e l l smoothed , p a inted i n d ark b rown. Measure men ts : L iterature :

h e igh t 1 3.5 cm , w id th 4 .1 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev , K u l turgruppen d er J ungste in u nd d er

Kup ferze it i n d er Ebene v on Thraz ien ( S t idbu lgar ien ) : L 'Europe l a f in d e P age d e l a p ierre , Praha , 1 961, t abl. ) 00 (1, f ig . 3 .

5 6. C lay a n thropo morph ic f igure , L a te Neo l ith ic. Rak itovo. Grey , r ough s ur face. Unpub l ished .

S et t le men t mound n ear

5 7. Head o f ah u man f igure i n c lay . ' Trans it iona l ' p er iod b etween t he Neo l ith ic a nd Cha lco l ith ic p er iods. Ka loyanovets , S tara Z agora r eg ion . Grey , smoo th s ur face. Measure men t : L itera ture :

h e igh t 7 cm .

G . H . G eorg iev , B e itrage z ur Er forschung d es N eo l ith iku ms

u nd d er Bronzeze it i n S t idbu lgar ien , Archaeo log ia Austr iaca , H ef t 4 2 , 1 967 , p . 16 , f ig . 2 2. 5 8. C lay f igure o f aw o man , Cha lco l ith ic. L itera ture :

G . I l . G eorg iev , Razkopk i n a s e l ishchna ta mog i la d o g r .

Ruse , 1 948-49 5 9.

S e t t le men t mo n ad n ear R usse.

g , I A I, XV II I, 1 952.

C lay f igur ine o f as ea ted wo man w ith a c h i ld a t h er b reas t , Cha lco l ith ic. Ohoden , Vrachensk i r eg ion . G rey , s ur face we l l p o l ished . Measure men t : L itera ture :

h e igh t 1 7 cm

B . N iko lov , Archeo log ichesk i muze i - Vra tsa , 1 968

V odach , p l. 2 9. 6 0. C lay f igure o f a wo man , s econd h a lf o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod .

Kr ivodo l ,

Vrache , .nsk i r eg ion . L igh t g rey , r ough s ur face , d ecorated w ith a g eo me tr ica l p at tern i n r ed . Measure men t : L itera ture : Vrachansko ,

h e igh t 1 3.8 cm.

V . M ikov , Pra is tor ichesko to RP I, 1 943, p . 5 3 , p l. 3 9.

s e l ishche d o Kr ivodo l ,

6 1. C lay f igure o f a woman , s econd h a lf o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod . S e t t le men t mound n ear Z agor ts i , S tara Z agora r eg ion . L igh t b rown . Measure men t : L iterature :

h e igh t 5 .5 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev , Ku lturgruppen d er J ungs te in u nd d er

Kup ferze it i n d er Ebene v on T hraz ien ( S i ldbu lgar ien ) :

L 'Europe ä

l a f i n d e P age d e l a p ierre , Praha , 1 961, t ab l. XXV I, f ig . 6 . 6 2. C lay f igure o f a man , Cha lco l ith ic.

G abarevo ,

S tara Z agora r eg ion

L igh t b rown , smoo th s ur face. Measure men ts : h e igh t 1 5 cm , w id th 1 0 cm . L itera ture :

L . G e tov a nd G . T abakov , Naroden muze i - Kazan l ik , 1 967 ,

V odach , p l. 5 6 3. C lay f igure o f aw o man , s econd h a lf o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod . S et t le men t mound i n t he Chatak la r eservo ir , S tara Z agora r eg ion. G rey , smoo th s ur face. Measure men t : L iterature :

6 4. C lay h ead.

h e igh t 8 cm.

M. D im itrov , G l inena c hoveshka f igurka o t Cha ta lka ,IA I,

Chaskovo H istor ica l Museum.

Brown , smoo th s ur face. Unpub l ished.

D ep icts a s ea ted w o man w ith a c h i ld o n h er b ack .

6 5. C lay h ead o f a man , Cha lco l ith ic. Pazardzh i k

S et t lemen t mound a t Kap itan-D im itr iev ,

r eg ion .

Grey , smooth s ur face. L iterature : A . Raduncheva S of ia , t o b e p ub l ished .

Pr a istor icheskach p or tretna v Bu lgar iya ,

6 6. F igure o f a man , Cha lco l ith ic. S et t le men t mound n ear G o lya mo D e lchevo. Brown , p o l ished s ur face. L itera ture : Ch . T odorova ik o lek t iv , S e l ishchna ta mog ila p r i S . G o lya mo D e lchevo , p . 1 87, p l . 1 0 , S of ia 1 975. 6 7. Head o f ac lay f igur ine , Cha lco l ith ic.

S e t t le men t mound n ear Russe.

G rey , s ur face w e l l p o l ished . Measure men t :

h e igh t 7 .2 cm.

L iterature : V . M ikov , I do lna ta p last ika p rez n ovoka menna ta e pocha v Bu lgar iya , I A I , V I I I, 1 934 , p . 1 97, p l. 1 31-2. 6 8. C lay h u man h ead , C ha lco l ith ic. Az mak s e t t le men t mound n ear S tara Zagora. G rey , smoo th s ur face. Measure men t :

h e igh t 4 .5 cm.

L itera ture : G . I l . G eorg iev , T he A z mak Mound i n S outhern Bu lgar ia , An t., ) (XX IX , 1 965 , p l . V I I.

6 9. C lay f igure o f a man , Cha lco l ith ic.

Yambo l H istor ica l Museu m .

Unpub l ished . 7 0. C lay h ead o f a man , Cha lco l ith ic. L itera ture :

Preh istor ic s e t t le men t n ear P ern ik .

A . Raduncheva , Pra is tor icheska p or tretna p las t ika v

Bu lgar iya , t o b e p ub l ished . 7 1. C lay h ead o f a man , Cha lco l ith ic.

G abarevo, S tara Z agora r eg ion.

A l mos t b lack , smoo th s ur face , o n ly t he f ace p o l ished. i s r ed d ecora t ion c ons is t ing o f f ive b ands :

On t he h ead t here

t wo o n t he f orehead , t wo o n

t he b ack o f t he h ead , a nd t he f i f th u n it ing t he t wo s ide p ro truberances o n t he h ead.

T he b ands o n t he f orehead a nd o n t he b ack o f t he h ead g ive t he

impress ion o f l oose r ibbons , t he f i f th t ha t o f as tre tched o ne . Measure men t : L iterature :

h e igh t 7 cm.

V . M ikov , I dolna ta p las t ika p rez n ovoka menna ta e pocha v

Bu lgar iya , I A I , V II I , 1 934 , p . 1 98, p l . 1 32. 7 2. Head o f ac lay h u man f igure , C ha lco l ith ic.

Gradeshn itsa,

Vrachansk i r eg ion . L igh t b rown , s ur face w e l l smoothed . Measure men t : L itera ture :

h e igh t 3 .5 cm.

V . N iko lov , Archeo log ichesk i muze i - Vra tsa , 1 968 ,

V odach , p l. 3 0.

7 3. H ead o f ah u man f igure , Cha lco l ith ic. S e t t le men t mound i n t he Cha ta lka r eservo ir , S tara Z agora r eg ion. Grey , smoo th s ur face. Measure men t :

h e igh t 4 .8 cm.

L itera ture : M. D im itrov , Okruzhen n aroden muze i -S tara Zagora , 1 965 , Vodach , p l. 2 0. 7 4. H ead o f ac lay f i gure o f a man , Cha lco l ith ic.

S et t le men t mound o f Banya ta

n ear Kap itan D im itr ievo. Dark g rey , s ur face wel l p o l ished. Measure men t :

h e igh t 7 .5 cm.

L itera ture : P . D etev , S e l ishchna ta mog i la Banya ta p r i s . Kap itan D im itr ievo , GNA M , P l . I , 1 950 , P . 1 2 , p l. 2 2a. 7 5. Head o f ac lay f igure o f a man , Cha lco l ith ic. Ka lekovets , P lovd iv Measure men t :

S et t le men t mound n ear

r eg ion .

h e igh t 6 .5 cm.

L itera ture : P . De tev , Novoo tkr it i s e l ishcha v y uzhna Bu lgar iya , GNA M , P l . I , 1 948, p . 1 76 , p l. 2 8. 7 6. H ead o f ac lay h u man f i gure , Cha lco l ith ic.

D inya , S tara Z agora r eg ion

G rey , smooth s ur face. Measure men ts :

h e igh t 9 cm , w id th 8 .4 cm.

L itera ture : M. D im itrov , Okruzhen n aroden muze i -S tara Zagora , 1 965 , Vodach , p l. 1 9.

7 7. Head o f ac lay h u man f igure , Cha lco l ith ic.

Vetren , S tara Zagora r eg ion

L igh t b rown , smoo th s ur face. Measure men ts : L itera ture :

h e igh t 8 .5 cm , w id th 2 .7 cm.

L . G etov a nd G . Tabakov , Naroden muzei Kazan l ik , 1 967,

Vodach , p l. 4 . 7 8. Head o f ac lay h u man f igure , Cha lco l ith ic.

Ba lbunar ,

Russe

r eg ion .

L igh t b rown , s ur face wel l smoothed. Measure men t : L itera ture :

h e igh t 6 .5 cm.

V . Mikov , I do lna ta p last ika p rez n ovoka mennata e pocha v

Bu lgar iaya , I A I, V II I, 1 934 , p . 1 94, p l. 1 28. 7 9.

C lay h ead o f ac h ild , Chalco l ith ic.

S et t le men t mound n ear Go lya mo

De lchevo , Varensk i r eg ion. L iterature :

Ch . T odorova iKo lek t iv , S e l ishchna ta mog ila p r i s .

G o lya mo Delchevo , p . 2 14 , p l. 1 , S of ia , 1 975. 8 0. C lay h ead o f a ma le f igure, Cha lcol ith ic. D im itr ievo , Pazardzh ik L iterature :

S ett le men t mound n ear Kap itan

r eg ion .

A . Raduncheva , Pra istor icheska p or tretna p las t ika v

Bu lgar iya , t o b e p ub l ished.

8 1. Frag men t o f a ma le s ta tuet te , s econd h a l f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod . Kazan l ik s et t le men t mound. Wh ite marb le. Measure men t : L iterature :

h e igh t 3 .7 cm.

R . Ka t incharov , N eo l itna Mra morna f igurka o t g r . Kazan l ik ,

Archeo log iya , 1 969 , v o l. 2 , p p . 5 1-54 , p l . 1 -3. 8 2. F igure o f aw o man , s econd h a l f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod.

B lagoevo ,

Razgradsk i r eg ion . Wh ite marb le. Measure men t : L itera ture :

h e igh t 3 2.3 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev , Mra morna s ta tuetka o t s . B lagoevo ,

I lazgradsko , I A I, ; C [X , 1 955 , p p . 1 -13. 8 3. F igure o f a wo man , s econd h a lf o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod . P lovd iv

Bogdan itsa ,

r eg ion .

Wh ite marb le. Measure men ts : L itera ture :

h e igh t 1 6.7 cm , w id th 1 0.1 cm.

A . Raduncheva , Mra morna s tatuetka n a z hena o t y uzhna

Bu lgar iya , Archeo log iya , 1 967 , v o l. 3 , p . 6 5 , p l. 1 -2. 8 4. F igure o f aw o man , s econd h a l f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod. P lovd iv

Bogdan itsa ,

r eg ion.

Wh ite marb le. Measure men ts : L iterature :

h e igh t 1 1.5 cm , w id th 5 .4 cm.

V . M ikov , Pr inos km Pra istor icheska ta e pocha u n as , I A I ,

X I I , 1 938 , p . 3 86, p l. 1 64.

8 5.

F igure o f aw o man , s econd h a lf o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod . Wh ite marb le. Measure men t : L itera ture :

h e igh t 1 0.5 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev , Ku l turgruppen d er J ungs te in u nd d er

Kup ferze it i n d er Ebene v on T hraz ien ( S t idbu lgar ien ), L 'Europe ä l a f i n d e Page d e l a p ierre , Praha , 1 961, t ab l. XXV I I, f ig . 3 . 8 6.

F la t b one a n thropo morph ic f igure , s econd h a l f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod .

Karanovo s et t le men t mound.

Y el low ish , s ur face we l l smoo thed , d ecorated w ith b ronze r ings a nd a b el t . Measure men ts : L itera ture :

h e igh t 8 cm , w id th 2 .7 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev , Ku lturgruppen d er J ungs te in u nd d er

Kup ferze it i n d er Ebene v on T hraz ien ( S t idbu lgar ien ) :

L 'Europe

l a f in d e Page d e l a p ierre , Praha , 1 961, t ab l. XXV I, f ig . 4 . 8 7.

F la t b one h u man f i gure , s econd h a lf o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod . L ovets , S tara Z agora r eg ion . Bronze d iscs a re w ound a round t he s h in b ones. Measure men ts : L itera ture :

h e igh t 1 5 cm , w id th 5 .4 cm.

M. D im itrov , Kostena c heveshka f igurka o t s . L ovets ,

S tarozagorsko, Archeo log iya , 1 962, v o l. 1 , p p. 6 5-68, p l. 1 . 8 8.

One o f t wo s im i lar b one h u man f igures , s econd h a l f o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod .

V in itsa s et t le men t mound , S hu men r eg ion.

Measure men ts : Unpub l ished .

l eng ths

a ) 8 cm , b ) 7 .6 cm.

8 9. Bone h u man f igure , s econd h a lf o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod. S et t le men t mound n ear Zagor ts i, Nova Zagora

r eg ion.

F luted. Measure men t : L iterature :

h e igh t 1 5.5 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev , Ku lturgruppen d er J ungste in u nd d er

Kupferze it i n d er Ebene v on Thraz ien ( S t idbu lgar ien ) :

L 'Europe

l a f in d e Page d e l a p ierre , Praha , 1 961, t ab l. XXV I I I, f ig . 7 . 9 0.

C lay h u man f igure , e nd o f t he Bronze Age. Measure men t : L itera ture :

Novo-Selo , V id in

r eg ion.

h e igh t 1 3.2 cm.

V . Mikov , Pr inos km p rouchvaneto n a k u ltura ta Kerna ,

Archeo log iya , v o l. 3 , 1 970. 9 1. I *) ne a n thropo morph ic f igure , M idd le Bronze Age.

D ips iska s et t le men t

mound n ear Nova Zagora. L iterature :

R . Ka t incharov , An tropo mor fn iye f igurk i i z s e l ishchn ich

c ho l mov u s . Ezero S l ivenskogo o kruga , I A I, ) 00 M I, 1 972. 9 2. C lay a n thropo morph ic f igure , M idd le Bronze Age.

D ips iska s et t le men t

mound n ear Nova Zagora. L itera ture :

R . Ka t incharov , An tropo mor fn iye f igurk i i z

c ho l mov u s . Ezero S l ivenskogo o kruga , XXX I I I , 1 972.

s e l ishchn ich

9 3.

C lay f igure o f a n a n i ma l , ' t rans it iona l ' p er iod b etween t he Neo l ith ic a nd Cha lco l ith ic p er iods. Measure men ts :

Karanovo I V.

l eng th 6 .1 cm , h e igh t 3 cm.

L itera ture : M. D im itrov , Ku l tura K aranovo I V V S tarozagorsko , SMS , v o l . 1 , 1 969. 9 4.

Z oo morph ic c lay f igure , Cha lco l i th ic. De lchevo. L itera ture :

S et t le men t mound n ear G o lya mo

Ch. T odorova ik o lek t iv , S e l ishchna ta mog ila p r i s .

G o lya mo De lchevo , S of ia , 1 975. 9 5.

Z oo morph ic c lay v esse l , Cha lco l i th ic.

Kodzhadermen s e t t le men t

mound , S hu men r eg ion . L igh t b rown , smoo th s ur face. Measure men ts :

h e igh t 2 6.5 cm , l eng th 1 8.4 cm.

L iterature : R . P opov , Kodzhadermenska ta mog ila p r i g . S hu men , I A I , V I, 1 916-18, p . 1 07 , t ab le I V , p l. 1 -2.

9 6. C lay h ead f ro m a z oo morph ic v esse l , Cha lco l ith ic.

S a l man ,

S hu men

r eg ion . L igh t b rown , s ur face we l l p o l ished. Measure men t :

h e igh t 7 .5 cm.

L itera ture : R . Popov , Pred is tor icheska ta D eneva p r i S a l manovo , I A I, I V , 1 914 , p . 1 86 , p l. 1 61. 9 7. C lay z oo morph ic f igure , Cha lco l ith ic. L itera ture :

S hu men H istor ica l Museu m .

A . Raduncheva , Z a p rednaznachen ie to n yakoy g l inen i

e n io l itn i z h ivot insk i f igurk i , p . 5 8 , p l. 1 , Archeo log iya , X I I I, 1 971, v o l. 2 . 9 8. Head o f ac lay z oo morph ic f igure , Cha lco l i th ic. i n t he f or tress o f Krakra n ear P ern ik . Unpub l ished .

Preh istor ic s e t t lemen t

9 9. C lay z oo morph ic v esse l , d ep ict ing a s tand ing d eer , Ear ly Neo l i th ic. S et t le men t mound n ear Mu ldava , P lovd iv r eg ion . Pa in ted i n wh ite p igmen t . Measure men ts : L iterature :

h e igh t 5 7 cm , l eng th 6 8 cm.

P . Detev , Pra is tor ichesko to s e l ishche p r i s . Mu ldava ,

GNA M , P 1 ,1968 , p . 3 21, p l. 2 5. 1 00. C lay z oo morph ic v esse l , Ear ly Neo l ith ic. S et t le men t mound n ear Rak itovo . Red , p o l ished s ur face. Measure men ts : Unpub l ished.

h e igh t 6 5 cm , l eng th 8 0 cm , w id th 6 0 cm.

1 00

1 01.

C lay z oo morph ic v esse l , s econd h a lf o f t he Cha lco l ith ic p er iod . Karanovo s et t le men t mound. Red ;

t he f in ish c ons ists o f a lterna t ing r ough a nd p o l ished a reas

s eparated b y l i nes o f wh ite p igmen t . Measure men ts : L iterature :

h e igh t 1 4.5 cm , w id th 1 0 cm.

G . I l . G eorg iev , Ku l turgruppen d er J ungste in u nd d er

Kup ferze it i n d er Ebene v on T hraz ien ( S t idbu lgar ien ) :

L 'Europe a

l a f in d e l ' age d e l a p ierre , Praha , 1 961, t ab l. 2 00a l, f ig . 5 . 1 02.

C lay z oo morph ic v essel , Chalco l ith ic .

S et t le men t mound a t

K ir i l me tod ievo , S tara Z agora r eg ion . Carefu l ly smoothed s ur face. Measure men ts :

P a in ted i n wh ite p igmen t .

l eng th 2 1 cm , h e ight 1 2 cm.

L iterature : M. D im itrov , Okruzhen n aroden muze i S tara Z agora , 1 965 , Vodach , p l. 1 4. 1 03.

Bone h a ir-p in , Cha lco l ith ic.

C ave i n Morov itsa.

Ye l low ish ; h ead s haped i n t he l ikeness o f ah orse 's o r d onkey 's h ead ; p o l ished s ur face. Measure men t : L itera ture :

l eng th 1 2.2 cm.

R . P opov , Razkopk i vp eshcherata Morov itsa , I A I , 1 913,

I I , s v , I , p . 2 84 , p l. 2 00