For three millennia, during which Noah managed to build an ark, and the inhabitants of the banks of the Nile - erected pyramids for their god-like pharaohs, people lived on the vast plain between the Danube and the Dnieper, who managed to achieve an unusually high level of development of crafts and agriculture. This segment of world history was called Tripoli culture. Briefly dwell on the basic information available about him.
Discoveries made at the end of the 19th century
The scientific world spoke about Kukuten-Tripoli culture at the beginning of the 20th century. The impetus for this was a number of archaeological finds. The first of them were made in 1884 by the researcher Theodore Burado. Excavating in the area of the village of Cucuteni (Romania), he discovered terracotta figurines and pottery elements that made it possible to conclude that they belong to the autochthonous, that is, original and characteristic of a particular area, culture.
However, in 1897, the Russian scientist Vincent Khvoiko, excavating in the vicinity of the village of Tripoli of the Kiev district, extracted artifacts from the earth that were very similar to those that his Romanian colleague had discovered thirteen years earlier. In 1899, Khvoiko presented his findings at the XI archaeological congress, held in Kiev.
Culture common to the environs of Tripoli and Cucuteni
In his report on the recent discovery, the scientist said that the artifacts he discovered made it possible to talk about the existence of a special, so-called “Tripoli” culture during the Neolithic. This term was introduced by him in accordance with the place of excavations.
However, a number of researchers call it Kukutenskaya, in memory of the discovery of the Romanian archaeologist T. Burado near the village bearing this name. Already then it became clear that the samples of a single culture fell into the hands of scientists. Later findings confirmed this assumption and allowed for a more detailed outline of the region within which the peoples who created it settled.
The territory of Tripoli culture in the VI-III millennium covered the entire Danube-Dnieper interfluve, and reached its peak in the period between 5500 and 2740. BC e. Having captured the Right-Bank Ukraine, part of Moldova, Eastern Romania and Hungary, it developed over almost 3 thousand years.
Research by R. R. Stern
Shortly before the outbreak of World War I, the study of the Tripoli archaeological culture was continued by the famous Russian scientist E. R. Stern. He conducted his excavations in Hungary, near the city of Balti. Among the artifacts discovered by him there were many samples of painted ceramics, which prompted him to pay special attention to this section of ancient art and prepare for publication a collection of materials dedicated to him.
He found that the ancestors of Tripoli culture were the tribes that inhabited the Dniester and Bug rivers during the Neolithic (late Stone Age). Having traveled for several millennia a long and difficult path of development, by the middle of the VI century BC. e. they already possessed quite perfect tools.
Ancient farmers
The history of Tripoli culture chronologically coincides with the period when the climate in this part of the European continent was humid and warm, which greatly contributed to the cultivation of many crops. The data obtained by the researchers indicate that even at an early stage in the development of culture, agriculture was a well-established and persistent element in it.
So, unlike many of his contemporaries, Trypillians had a reliable seed stock, traces of which were discovered during excavations. The main crops they produce were wheat, oats, barley peas and millet. However, ancient farmers also grew apricots, cherry plum and grapes. A characteristic feature of agriculture among the representatives of the Tripoli culture was the slash-and-fire system, in which the territory of the wild forest was burned out and then plowed up for agricultural land.
Success in livestock
A very significant role in the life of Trypillians was played by animal husbandry, in which they also got ahead of many of their contemporaries. They have achieved significant success in breeding previously domesticated animals, primarily such as cows, horses, goats and sheep. Moreover, the latter have become especially important in the economic activity of the inhabitants of the southern region at the final stage of the existence of culture.
It is characteristic that, in terms of domesticating the horse, the Trypillians in many respects surpassed their neighbors - Scythians, Sarmatians and Aryans, whose culture was formed under the influence of the peoples inhabiting the Northern Black Sea region. They were almost one and a half to two millennia ahead of these steppe residents in the device of animal stall, which avoided losses in the winter months, accompanied by frost and nourishment. Due to the development of dairy production, foals were fed cow milk, if necessary, which significantly reduced the mortality of young animals.
The ancient crafts of ancient people
At the same time, the tribes that were representatives of the Tripoli culture did not neglect the primordial occupations of ancient people - hunting, fishing and gathering. Fragments of bows, arrows and harpoons found during excavations eloquently testify to this. It is characteristic that already in this early period of history the Trypillians used dogs to hunt.
The natural features of this region created the most favorable conditions for their industries, which was also possible to establish on the basis of excavations. It became known, for example, that in river channels abounded with fish, catfish often reached two meters in length, and the surrounding forests were filled with wild pear, dogwood and cherries.
Thousands of Trypillian settlements
The successes achieved in agriculture and which allowed to significantly increase food production, largely stimulated population growth in the territories where the villages of Tripol and Kukuten subsequently appeared. It is interesting to note that during the heyday of this peculiar culture, the number of inhabitants of individual villages reached 3-5 thousand people, which at that time was a unique phenomenon.
The ancient Trypillians preferred to settle on the gentle and convenient for farming slopes located near rivers. The area they occupied was very extensive, and sometimes included dozens of hectares. It was built up with dwellings, which were both terrestrial adobe structures and ordinary dugouts.
In both cases, their distinguishing feature was heating, which was carried out by furnaces with pipes led through the roof. For comparison, it can be noted that most residents of other regions, in which low temperatures were observed in winter and, therefore, needed heating, used primitive foci located in the center of the living quarters and drowned “in black”, that is, without pipes.
Features lifestyle Trypillians
As studies have shown, a significant area in their very spacious dwellings was reserved for pantries. Based on the measurements, archaeologists came to the conclusion that not individual families, but entire clan communities settled in them. Obviously, this is due to the fact that it was collectively easier to solve economic problems, and, if necessary, to protect your home.
Since the main livelihood of the Trypillians was agriculture, they periodically needed to move their settlements to new places, since the land surrounding them was depleted over time and ceased to bring crops. For this reason, every 50-70 years they left their homes and moved to neighboring areas, where the soil was more fertile. As a result, the produced products, and especially bread, were sufficient not only to satisfy their own needs, but also to trade with representatives of other civilizations of that era, such as residents of the Caucasus, Asia Minor and even Egypt.
Ceramics of Tripoli culture
In addition to foodstuffs, the item exported by Trypillians was pottery, performed at an extremely high artistic level for that time. Their distinguishing feature was the painting applied to the ceramic surface. As shown by laboratory analysis of the dishes found during excavations, it was made from pottery clay and quartz sand with the addition of shells of freshwater mollusks.
Since the masters of that period did not yet know the potter's wheel, they performed their products on a solid, motionless basis, which was reflected in their features. So, it is noted that for most dishes with a very massive bottom the walls have an uneven thickness and not always the correct shape. However, this drawback, caused by the imperfection of the technology of their manufacture, more than paid off for the beauty of the painting that covered the outer surface of the products. In it, the art of Tripoli culture has reached an unusually high level.
Flint Tools
In addition to the production of pottery, Trypillians reached a high level in many other crafts. The foundations of future success were laid by them back in the middle of the 4th century BC. e., when the stone tools used before were replaced by products from flint, a raw material widely used by craftsmen of that period. Sickles, arrowheads and axes were made from it, distinguished by extraordinary strength and durability.
Within the framework of this article, it is difficult to cover all aspects of this culture, but two of them should certainly be addressed. First of all, this is the use of bronze. Despite the fact that, according to researchers, in the world its widespread development began around the 3rd millennium BC. e., many bronze products created by Tripoli artisans are almost 2 thousand years older. At the same time, they lack such disadvantages characteristic of the initial period as gas porosity and shrinkage defects.
In addition, a number of ceramic products dated to the fifth millennium BC caused a sensation in the scientific world. The fact is that they depicted carts equipped with wheels, while the south of Mesopotamia, where it appeared no earlier than 3300 BC, was considered to be the birthplace of this most important attribute of civilization. e. Thus, the ancient Trypillians have every reason to be considered the inventors of the wheel.
Conclusion
Thanks to the research of scientists all over the world today, the amount of knowledge in this area is unusually large. It is enough to say that over the past hundred years, about one and a half thousand scientific works devoted to the Tripoli culture have appeared. Almost all the largest museums in the world collect artifacts obtained as a result of excavations. Two photographs taken in their rooms are presented in this article. However, despite the efforts made, many more questions remain unanswered and open up wide scope for researchers to do their work.