Cucuteni-Trypillia Culture | Ancient European Civilization

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  • čas přidán 1. 06. 2024
  • The Cucuteni-Trypillia culture (or Tripolye culture) spanned the Neolithic the Copper Age and the early Bronze Age.
    They are one the of most impressive civilisations of Neolithic Europe.
    The culture extended from the Danube river basin to the Black Sea and the Dnieper. It encompassed the central Carpathian Mountains as well as the plains, steppe and forest steppe on either side of the range. Its historical core lay around the middle to upper Dniester, in modern Ukraine.
    More than 3,000 cultural sites have been identified, ranging from small villages to the largest settlements in the world.
    The people of the late / post-Cucuteni-Trypillia culture appear in my Bronze Age fantasy novel Godborn ➜ amzn.to/3nm2au1
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    Artwork
    Vsevolod Ivanov
    Vikentiy Khvoyka
    Music
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    Video Sources
    The Horse, the Wheel, and Language - David Anthony ➜ amzn.to/3aD3Rhu
    The Living Goddesses - Marija Gimbutas ➜ amzn.to/3eSXhVF
    In Search of the Indo-Europeans - JP Mallory ➜ amzn.to/3gX7dQp
    The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World - JP Mallory ➜ amzn.to/3t8zqX2
    The Lost World of Old Europe: The Danube Valley, 5000-3500 BC - Edited by David Anthony ➜ amzn.to/336SPgy
    The First Farmers of Europe An Evolutionary Perspective - Stephen Shennan ➜ amzn.to/2Ssqcbw
    Gene-flow from steppe individuals into Cucuteni-Trypillia associated populations:
    www.nature.com/articles/s4159...
    Houses in the Archaeology of the Tripillia-Cucuteni Groups:
    core.ac.uk/download/pdf/32237...
    The above links include affiliate links which means we will earn a small commission from your purchases at no additional cost to you which is a way to support the channel.
    People of the Bronze Age series
    People of the Bronze Age Playlist: • The Yamnaya Culture | ...
    Yamnaya ➜ • The Yamnaya Culture | ...
    Corded Ware ➜ • The Corded Ware Cultur...
    Funnelbeaker ➜ • The Funnelbeaker Cultu...
    Pitted Ware ➜ • Europe's Last Hunter-G...
    Cucuteni-Trypilla ➜ • Cucuteni-Trypillia Cul...
    Maykop ➜ • Bronze Age Mountain Ki...
    Video Chapters
    00:00 The Cucuteni-Trypillia culture
    02:30 Foundation and Growth of the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture
    06:33 Cucuteni-Trypillia pottery
    09:27 Neolithic Female Figurines
    12:03 Expansion throughout Ukraine to the Black Sea
    13:48 Decline and Fall of the Cucuteni-Trypillia Culture
    17:00 Europe's First Cities - Super Towns and Proto-Cities

Komentáře • 1,9K

  • @DanDavisHistory
    @DanDavisHistory  Před 2 lety +199

    I hope you enjoy this video in the People of the Bronze Age series. Watch the next episode in this series here on the Maykop Culture of the North Caucasus: czcams.com/video/eyc9jxTPZ_U/video.html
    The full playlist can be watched here: czcams.com/video/GalZLoTeU74/video.html

    • @yungpep
      @yungpep Před 2 lety +7

      Might end up watching all your stuff today, brilliant content 👌

    • @prasadgolatkar7961
      @prasadgolatkar7961 Před 2 lety +3

      Nicely presented.

    • @PrivateSi
      @PrivateSi Před 2 lety

      Ancient Europe - Same problem as modern Europe except the Great Replacement is actively organised by European Leaders themselves, now-a-days... Certainly plenty of Steppe People invading Little England.

    • @waynemcleod6767
      @waynemcleod6767 Před rokem +2

      Good video. Pretty sure 1 ha = 10,000 square meters and is equivalent to approximately 2.471 acres (not 100m sq).

    • @JIJICA100
      @JIJICA100 Před rokem

      Dan, what do you think about David Graeber's, Dawn of Everything? I thought it brought many interesting facts and interpretations about prehistory and he talks exensibly also about the Cucuteni culture

  • @Deeplycloseted435
    @Deeplycloseted435 Před 3 lety +1195

    This is the stuff I like to see. So many “Bronze Age” videos only discuss the wars, the kings, and the assassinations. We never learn what the lives of the people were like.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +85

      Thank you.

    • @climateguy2488
      @climateguy2488 Před rokem +15

      Well said

    • @ellidominusser1138
      @ellidominusser1138 Před rokem +15

      Nah in school all I learned was how they lived and their culture, nit once have I heard about even one war in the bronze age so I'd be interested

    • @maxi979
      @maxi979 Před rokem +2

      maybe this is why I don't like Taiwan's history classes?

    • @nazareno.d.ulvedal
      @nazareno.d.ulvedal Před rokem

      Don't forget that a lot of them are baiting with history to spread alien theories.

  • @wallabumba
    @wallabumba Před 2 lety +109

    "Their hearts truly lay in peace and quiet and good, tilled earth." Excellent Tolkien quote. I approve.

    • @ogsus5773
      @ogsus5773 Před rokem +3

      i just got to that part and had to check the comments lol. just discovered this channel (very impressed!) and this sort of detail just gives it more personality. and i'm all for it. love it.

  • @JustMe-ob7lu
    @JustMe-ob7lu Před rokem +153

    I was born in Suceava, North East Romania.. I still can find little things associated with these people.
    My town was built in a kind of circle, quite different to the other parts of Romania. Dancing in a circle, different to west Romania.
    The pattern of the pottery is still present on the folkloric dresses. And so on.
    This is so fascinating how we all evolved. Thanks for all your videos

    • @9pm_507
      @9pm_507 Před 5 měsíci +14

      I'm from Rep. of Modl. and I can say the same. The way the houses in the villages are/were built, with two floors, with a kind of small balcony, the ornaments can also be found, especially in the way the gates and fences are decorated, looks incredibly similar to what was done in this territory 5 thousand years ago. stability!)

    • @Echinacea_purpurea
      @Echinacea_purpurea Před 3 měsíci +1

      100%! Also in Ukraine. Cities were transformed into a more stable and progressive economy - rural.

    • @neamtz
      @neamtz Před 2 měsíci

      and then the Dacians came from somewhere in modern day Iran and ruined everything 😂

    • @JustMe-ob7lu
      @JustMe-ob7lu Před 2 měsíci

      @@neamtz wie meinst du das, Neamț?

    • @vladgetu
      @vladgetu Před 16 dny

      @@neamtzso they say 😅 mazakukers

  • @tudorbordeianu4524
    @tudorbordeianu4524 Před 3 lety +581

    Imagine the quality of the pots they made, after 7000-5000 years, some were found intact and the colours are still very much visible.

    • @eeaotly
      @eeaotly Před rokem +33

      Indeed. Two years ago I have received a mug as a gift. It was a brand new film "memorabilia", original artwork and - supposedly - high quality. It has become my favourite and my most used mug. I drink teas or coffee from it at least once a day. Guess what? The colour of the interior has already changed in certain areas due to frequent use and constant cleaning. I guess that it will not last for 1000 years...

    • @TheBreechie
      @TheBreechie Před rokem +43

      if if makes you feel a little better, most of the slips and paints used were toxic. They often contained Lead, Mercury, arsenic, and other awful things.
      Also, when firing pottery, it wasn’t unusual for ancient people to coat the entire item in animal dung to ensure it fired at a red hot heat…..
      another thing to consider it that vessels weren’t washed as frequently as they are now and they certainly didn’t use the products we use to wash things and we know that chemicals will fade colours… There are plenty of ancient pots show stains inside from the products within them.
      If you’re drinking coffee or tea then you need to realise both contain tannic acids, at an average of 4-12%…. Lastly, is your cup made of pottery or is it ceramic? I think it’s likely to be ceramic given its film memorabilia, in which case what you report is entirely expected of the product, whatever the supposed quality. I also don’t believe it would be of very high quality to be honest with you, it’s memorabilia and that shit is churned out cheaply with very high price tags and fancy promises that don’t hold water

    • @CarlosCruz-ci9xo
      @CarlosCruz-ci9xo Před rokem +12

      @@TheBreechie Okay but you popped off tbfh

    • @abruemmer77
      @abruemmer77 Před rokem +4

      I'd guess a lot of pots were broken when found and later reconstructed or repaired for exposition.

    • @michaelbread5906
      @michaelbread5906 Před rokem +1

      ​@abruemmer77 it was Link, duh.

  • @huskytail
    @huskytail Před 3 lety +1083

    We still dance in circles on the Balkans, it's so primal and natural. You get into a sort of a trance-like state. You feel the bodies of the others, their movements. On a side note, I think many archeologists don't know much about the symbolism of the old pagan-like rituals to look into them for the meaning of the figurines. I don't say that I know what they were, but it's a little bit simplistic to always think about a mother earth goddess, while reality could be a much more complex affair.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +166

      Amazing that people can carry on traditions that date back so many thousands of years. This circling is thought to have been quite slow and steady and as you say it brings about an altered state. It must be incredibly powerful. And I agree that reconstructing the ancient belief systems is the most difficult and the most intriguing aspect. That's my primary focus.

    • @huskytail
      @huskytail Před 3 lety +133

      @@DanDavisHistory yes, our dances can be very slow and the bodies extremely close and interwoven, but also very fast, often the two are alternated. They are used for everything, literally. I find it fascinating too how humans can preserve such traditions but on the other hand, they are so powerful and primal, it's difficult to let them go. Btw, it's the same with the figurines. I know of so many ways of using figurines in healing, weather spells or personal spells/rituals in Bulgaria, that it just irks me to hear how little is considered in modern science.
      Btw, huge thank you for your videos and research and the beautiful way you present everything.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +47

      Thank you so much, that really means a lot.

    • @AmandaSamuels
      @AmandaSamuels Před 3 lety +25

      Apologies for making a pedantic point but the Cucuteni Tripolye culture area is not in the Balkans. The culture may have had links to various Neolithic cultures situated in the Balkans but it wasn’t in the Balkans itself.

    • @huskytail
      @huskytail Před 3 lety +102

      @@AmandaSamuels I am Bulgarian, as I stated in my other comment, I know where the Balkans start and end, both definitions. This has nothing to do with my point though. I am not pretending that this specific culture is some kind of direct ancestor to the current Balkan ones, it would be ludicrous. But humans have fortunately retained in our corner of the world quite a lot of ancient rituals that are close to the those we have some pottery remains from, and that happen to be from this culture specifically.

  • @seaxofbeleg8082
    @seaxofbeleg8082 Před 3 lety +714

    They loved `peace and quiet and good tilled earth'. In other words, they were hobbits. :P

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +88

      That's the vibe I get for sure.

    • @jandavidson7093
      @jandavidson7093 Před 3 lety +80

      The EEF (Early European Farmers, of which the Cucuteni folk descend) were smaller and overall more gracile than the tall, robust steppe folk, so yeah, Hobbitses.

    • @doncarlodivargas5497
      @doncarlodivargas5497 Před 3 lety +19

      Why then the walls around the town's?

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +55

      The walls came in the later part of their civilisation when they came into contact with the steppe herders of the east across the Dnieper who began raiding the vulnerable towns. This is when ditches start being built and then the enormous settlements begin with the outer houses joined side by side. People clustered together for defence against the raiders. But ultimately it wasn't enough.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +27

      They weren't that small! 😂

  • @damnhitsuzen
    @damnhitsuzen Před rokem +77

    History geek from Ukraine here, thanks for an interesting video!
    I had a pleasure once to work at archeological site, digging up a Trypillia hut and uncovering its upper layer. It was a summer high school gig, so I just did a lot of digging and even more of careful dust brushing for the real experts. But damn it was a thrill to find some pottery shards and know you might be the first person to see them in thousands years.

  • @derrickbonsell
    @derrickbonsell Před 3 lety +400

    This is the sort of culture that would be a great influence for anyone interested in writing a Bronze Age style society for their epic fiction.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +40

      Indeed!

    • @tedarcher9120
      @tedarcher9120 Před 3 lety +25

      That's... Why I'm here

    • @dontchewglass
      @dontchewglass Před 3 lety +7

      @@tedarcher9120 BRO SAME lets gooooo

    • @immortaljanus
      @immortaljanus Před 3 lety +5

      You got me. :D

    • @zaraiwzara
      @zaraiwzara Před 3 lety +23

      @@DanDavisHistory i think those recently discovered proto-civilizations show how little we know about the human history, there could be majestic civilizations bigger and more developed than the well known egyptian, chinese, sumerian, olmec and minoan-mycenean cultures/societies in the amazon, or siberia, or even empires as great as the romans or the inca tens of thousands of years before the known agricultural revolution

  • @svenzebs1808
    @svenzebs1808 Před 3 lety +97

    I was shocked when I saw 6000+ years old artefacts in Piatra Neamt museum.. they looked amazing

  • @olmaned3795
    @olmaned3795 Před 2 lety +310

    There's a Cucuteni festival in Iasi - Romania, where craftsmen come and bring traditional Romanian potery, clothing etc, and it's really striking how similar the decorative styles are to those of the people from the Bronze age.

    • @valevisa8429
      @valevisa8429 Před 2 lety +3

      Nothing striking there,today's potters just copy the old ones.

    • @eeaotly
      @eeaotly Před rokem +33

      @@valevisa8429 Actually, it's both. It's called continuity. Just like the use of wheel...

    • @valevisa8429
      @valevisa8429 Před rokem +4

      @@eeaotly Mira-mas sa fie continuitate.Uita-te ce se intampla in ziua de astazi,unele obiceiuri si datini pier intr-o singura generatie.Sunt martor ocular in satul in care m-am nascut.

    • @yaqubebased1961
      @yaqubebased1961 Před rokem +2

      Romanians are not indigenous to Europe tho

    • @vargvikernes8357
      @vargvikernes8357 Před rokem +20

      @@yaqubebased1961 what?

  • @helendietrich7566
    @helendietrich7566 Před 3 lety +185

    Wow! What a great lecture! Very thorough and with lots of great examples. In Ukraine, we learn about Trypillian culture in school. Plus, there is usually at least one school trip to a local museum that usually has some ceramics or at least mentions the culture (if you are from the area, of course). But I was surprised to discover that almost no one knows about it in the west! Later I understood that it was because of the separation of Soviet and Western archeology that you've mentioned. An interesting fact is that Vikentiy Khvoika, an archaeologist who discovered and studied Trypillina culture, actually was a teacher who lived in Kyiv. When he accidentally discovered the remains of an old home at some construction site near his house, he was so impressed that he decided to dedicate his life to studying these remains and eventually became an archeologist.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +21

      Thank you for watching and for your comment. It's great that they teach you the history of your land at school.

    • @katerynarusakova6176
      @katerynarusakova6176 Před 2 lety +20

      @@DanDavisHistory thank you very much. I graduated school in Kyiv in 1995 and we didn’t learn anything about this culture. I am glad that the new generation has an opportunity to learn the true history of their land.

    • @amyhayutin1738
      @amyhayutin1738 Před rokem +8

      @@DanDavisHistory I teach in the USA and have never heard of this! I will read the book you mentioned and thank you so much for the information. We do teach about the ancient people of our own land. As the descendants of these people, Native Americans, still struggle to be treated equally in our current culture, I feel we don’t teach enough.
      I am curious why you chose to show a photo of Clint Eastwood looking smug when you mentioned Goddess culture? You talked about this culture being peaceful and eventually being overrun. Yes, sadly, just like Eastwood, the masculine, gun-toting males are still making our planet a tough place to thrive. I say, let’s get back to Goddess culture!

    • @ihtac
      @ihtac Před rokem +3

      @@amyhayutin1738 so much destructive ideology in your words, I'd better keep my kids away from such teachers.

    • @mikkirurk1
      @mikkirurk1 Před rokem +5

      Your story is similar to mine - I've learned about this culture in school and university, also was brought to a museum by our philosophy teacher, to see the remains of that mighty lost civilization. It's funny how little we hear about it nowadays. Слава Україні!

  • @hugodesrosiers-plaisance3156

    When you mentionned their possible textiles works, I let out an audible cry of sadness. Imagine all the absolutely stunning things this ONE culture could have made - then imagine all the other cultures we'll never know about. We haven't the faintest idea how much beauty our species might have produced since the dawn of our minds - and so much of it is lost. It's a strange kind of sadness.

    • @damionkeeling3103
      @damionkeeling3103 Před rokem +3

      My grandmother's generation did a lot of knitting. Often they pulled apart woollen clothing they'd made years later to reuse the wool. Some things last a long time, many others don't.

    • @stephenodubhlaoich
      @stephenodubhlaoich Před rokem +1

      And something I find very suspicious is how during wars there is always some ancient artifacts being destroyed or stolen too

  • @bc7138
    @bc7138 Před 3 lety +436

    I had no clue that such an urbanised group existed in that part of the world that long ago. I had always thought, based on Greco-Roman histories, that the steppes of the Ukraine and the Danube frontier were home to nothing but isolated and primitive nomadic tribes of horse warriors like the Scythians. To think that such an advanced urban culture existed in the same territory thousands of years earlier is amazing. Thank you for such an interesting, eye-opening, and informative video.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +112

      It is amazing isn't it. There was another urban (ish) society that developed over a thousand years later further east on the steppe. The Sintashta culture (descended from the Corded Ware people who were in part descended from European Farmer type people) constructed the bronze working town of Arkaim. Nowhere near as big as these vast Cucuteni settlements (and unlike the Cucuteni they were *heavily* fortified), there were maybe 20 or 30 of these towns right on the other side of the steppe by the Ural River. They were ruled over by the chariot-driving heavily armed warrior elites of that culture, hence the need for powerful fortifications where they did their bronze working to make their weapons. I'll make videos about that in the future.

    • @bc7138
      @bc7138 Před 3 lety +12

      @@DanDavisHistory Looking forward to seeing it!

    • @Kenshiroit
      @Kenshiroit Před 2 lety +27

      to be fair those advanced cultures you mention, they were extinct at the time of the Romans.

    • @kesorangutan6170
      @kesorangutan6170 Před 2 lety +60

      I agree this is amazing but calling nomads of eurasian steppe "primitive" is super wrong. Nomads weren't primitive and they had complex societies. For instance these so called "primitive" scythians used composite bows, they were awesome craftsmen and they farmed the land not just grazed animals.
      Also there were cities and towns in those regions. Not just greek colonies but Dacian, Sarmatian, Bastarnae and Scythian towns aswell.

    • @zuzudernegger9721
      @zuzudernegger9721 Před 2 lety +20

      Where do you think the Hellenes and the Romans came from :) In any case the Greco-Roman civilization was closer to our time/us than it was closer to these ancient civilizations.

  • @ProPatriaRO
    @ProPatriaRO Před rokem +11

    This civilization was so prolific that even now in eastern Romania when farmers plow thier field they uncover dozens of pottery fragments. But they don't report the finds because it would harm their yield, having teams of archaeologists on your field harms your bottom line. This is the sad truth of archaeology in eastern europe.

  • @arecestravi
    @arecestravi Před 2 lety +155

    I grew up in the Wild Fields near the north of the Black Sea, and in Bessarabia where Ukraine, Moldova and Romania meet. So I am always happy to see that more and more people learn about Trypilla-Cucuteni. Let us not be called their direct descendants, but they are special for us. Even at school, in history lessons (when you think more about lunch than education), you understand that this is a very cool civilization.
    Unfortunately, I am not familiar with the heritage of Trypilla-Cucuteni culture in Romania and Moldova, but I am going to catch up on this while traveling there.
    * As a Ukrainian, I can advise you one more ancient place associated with many civilizations of our territory - Kamyana Mohyla.
    Unfortunately, few translations about this place reach the English speaking world, but it's super cool.
    A magical, special, controversial place. A place of worship, rest and meeting for hundreds of generations of all who passed the Great Steppe.
    * By the way, the entrance to the territory of the museum and the reserve with a guided tour is very cheap even for Ukraine. Soooooo we invite everyone.
    It was so difficult for me not to buy all the souvenirs and books of their museum at the same time. They have wonderful mini-figurines of kurgan stelae\ stone babas.

    • @user-ou9qd9no5n
      @user-ou9qd9no5n Před rokem +1

      Кам'яну Могилу окуповано зараз?

    • @user-ou9qd9no5n
      @user-ou9qd9no5n Před rokem +2

      @@ihtac як звичайно. Половину знищать, половину вивезуть.

    • @arecestravi
      @arecestravi Před rokem +16

      @@user-ou9qd9no5n на жаль, так, вона під Мелітополем. Є чутки, що вона навіть замінована. Згадуючи рідний мені Херсон, його музеї та бібліотеки боюся навіть думати, скільки всього вкрадено з музею і території.
      Втім, сподіваюся, що її розміщення "на відшибі" не надто вабить окупантів. Головне, щоб сама пам'ятка і люди там не постраждали.
      З сучасними технологіями відкривається стільки можливостей дослідити її на нових рівнях.
      Бережу сам в евакуації книжки і маленьку кам'яну "бабу", щоб приїхати після звільнення і привітати музей знову.

    • @user-ou9qd9no5n
      @user-ou9qd9no5n Před rokem

      @@arecestravi треба, що увесь світ знав, як русня краде в українців культурні пам'ятки.

    • @og4910
      @og4910 Před rokem

      ​@@arecestravi Курви, хай їм Кам'яна Могила поперек горла стане і вони там своє прокляття і смерть знайдуть, кляті ординці.

  • @Kaiba88
    @Kaiba88 Před 2 lety +30

    I am from the Republic of Moldova and I affirm all this, indeed not far from my home or found many old artifacts from the time cucuteni-tripoli, thank you

  • @Judah132
    @Judah132 Před 3 lety +60

    I'd imagine that Europe is full of these cultures, yet still buried under the earth

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +18

      Yeah could well be although genetic evidence is connecting a lot of dots.

    • @karelkieslich6772
      @karelkieslich6772 Před měsícem

      Possibly but this one seems quite unique if only in the size of the cities: the largest settlements in the world, the first of this size that we know of. Certainly it’s not a coincidence that it’s where the most fertile soil in the world (the black earth, chornozem) can be found. If you visit Ukraine, you will find out how tasty and bountiful the food grown in it is. Which is sadly also one of the reasons why so many empires were trying to conquer it. But there also appear to be moments of relative peace and this culture is also interesting in how it appears untouched by warfare, or only towards its very end.

  • @andersschmich8600
    @andersschmich8600 Před 3 lety +177

    I also first heard of them in David Anthony's book, its really amazing that at around 4000 BCE their settlements were bigger than those in Mesopotamia and the Levant.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +31

      Yeah it's amazing isn't it. Anthony believes they grew like this due to the proximity to and threat of the steppe herders. Maybe so. The Mesopotamians also had to contend with wild raiders coming out of the Zagros and Caucusus.

    • @andersschmich8600
      @andersschmich8600 Před 3 lety +22

      @@DanDavisHistory That seems plausible. It definitely is an interesting what if. Could these early Balkan farmers have developed a writing system and real urban centers? Would we today be talking about their king lists and early myths? Obviously it did'nt work out that way, but its interesting to speculate.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +28

      Yeah there is a kind of proto script in this region actually, although as is always the case with this sort of thing it's a controversial subject. It's called the Vinca Script or Old European script. Or Vinca "symbols" by the skeptics. I have no opinion on the subject but it is interesting.
      I do wonder if they had the potential to become something like a Sumeria or Egypt and just needed more time or if they did have something lacking. Not enough hierarchy maybe. A fascinating "what if" for sure.

    • @andersschmich8600
      @andersschmich8600 Před 3 lety +21

      I've heard of the Vinca script, can't say I know much about it either though. I find the cultures of "Old Europe" to be super interesting. I'm hopefully attending a history MA program in Ireland next fall, and want to focus on how ancient and medieval writers viewed the relics of much older peoples, such as Stonehenge and New Grange.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +17

      That's an amazing subject and something I'm very interested in. We see it time and again in the British Isles where the monuments of earlier people are appropriated by the later people. This is one reason archeologists often assumed demographic continuity but we now know there was a large population turnover and yet the new people use the older monuments but in new ways. Bronze Age burials around Neolithic megalithic sites. And into historical times we see Saxons using ancient monuments as special, even sacred meeting places. And folk tales tell of the fairies and other creatures that live on the mounds or elsewhere in the ritual landscape. Anyway, it's completely fascinating and I wish you all the best with your Masters.

  • @tudorbordeianu4524
    @tudorbordeianu4524 Před 3 lety +426

    It's worth mentioning that the "Ying Yang" symbol was found on pots made by the Cucuteni-Tryplilla people, over 6000 years ago. Check out the similarity between the Yangshao and Cucuteni- Trypillia pots, it's mindblowing. They might have traded commercially and culturally.

    • @gigilafonte1621
      @gigilafonte1621 Před 3 lety +41

      Ying Yang and swastika originated in Vinca.

    • @Dafterthought
      @Dafterthought Před 3 lety +27

      All populations migrated east at a certain point in history like moved by an invisible force. Of course there was interbreeding happening and with that equilibrium. I think they were much more in tune with the universe and the Earth than our generation today.

    • @easytiger6570
      @easytiger6570 Před 3 lety +62

      It's not Ying Yang, it's a similar pattern, people always enjoyed geometric patterns of all kinds, no wonder there were similarities

    • @easytiger6570
      @easytiger6570 Před 3 lety +41

      Especially considering earliest Chinese Ying Yang we know is 3400 years ago, so if it somehow corresponded with symbol found on tripilian ceramic, it would mean that it came from west to east and not the other way around

    • @easytiger6570
      @easytiger6570 Před 3 lety +39

      @@gigilafonte1621 First known swastika was discovered in northern ukraine, and is dated to around 18000 BC

  • @davidpfost7497
    @davidpfost7497 Před 2 lety +38

    Something I’ve always personally found fascinating is the idea that ancient artifiacts and relics we dig up and find from these ancient societies, were sitting there, still uncovered, and already an ancient artifact to anyone living during the time of the Roman Empire or Byzantine empire. And as they marched armies, trade caravans and traveled around above these already ancient relics, it was predestined that a man from today would be the one to dig it up and examine it. History for us, but just as much foreign and ancient to them in 50 BC as it is to us now.

  • @rigor7815
    @rigor7815 Před rokem +14

    It is worth noting that the symbols painted on their houses are used in old houses in Bessarabia, Romania, and Ukraine today, many people not knowing what they actually mean, yet they still have them on their houses, mainly being nazars, plants, animals and even folkloric heroes.

  • @lakrids-pibe
    @lakrids-pibe Před 3 lety +62

    I wouldn't mind having pottery like that in my home. It's quite beautiful and very "modern".
    (Modern 20th century art was very inspired by prehistorical and "primitive" art)

    • @BlueSwampyCraft
      @BlueSwampyCraft Před rokem +1

      I have a very pretty Cucuteni vase replica which I bought some years ago from an old potter in Sighisoara, which is also the birthplace of Vlad "Dracula" the Impaler :) it looks uncanny!

  • @eh1702
    @eh1702 Před rokem +42

    If the big Cucuteni-Trypillia houses in a village had the loomweights and female figurines, isn’t it more likely that these were “work” houses where people got together for crafts? In village pottery production it’s normal for the collecting and processing of clay, and firing to be done communally. It’s just more economical. The same for ore collection (for ceramic glazes and metals). Herding is done more economically by keeping a collective herd owned by several households: it leads to the wool processing, weaving and cloth fulling being done collectively too. The work itself is communal at several points, like cleaning wool, setting up warp, fulling cloth etc. But by doing it together, the essential social bonds are kept up. Why be isolated when you can work, chat and sing together? It makes childcare much easier, and it is insurance against disability and old age - someone can still tend the fire, rock the babies or make loom weights even if they aren’t up to the physical rigors of frame weaving.

    • @Dinofaustivoro
      @Dinofaustivoro Před rokem +7

      This but also, if you see non hierarchical societies, there is always a common house for assembling and organizing, bc strong local democracy is needed.

    • @evelynzlon9492
      @evelynzlon9492 Před rokem +2

      The figurine shown at 0:05 is interesting because the lines etched on it do not appear to be random. They point directly to vertically aligned points which correspond to what the people of India believe to be the chakras--major energy centers in the body. In some cases these points are also circled.

    • @whalien5286
      @whalien5286 Před rokem +5

      That's exactly what people in Moldova did till 50 years ago. My grandparents said they used to gather at someone's house and work together (to process wool and textiles,to knit, make clothes/carpets/rugs, to cook) and socialize. They always formed a big circle, they were singing songs while doing their work. Even nowadays we do that but it usually involves only relatives, previously they gathered neighbours and other villagers. Hora (our traditional dance) is literally a big circle, and we dance it every time we celebrate smth - weddings, birthdays, each cultural event.

    • @pasho12now
      @pasho12now Před rokem +4

      Community houses are the hearth of bonding, health, creativity, inspiration, shared joy, information and the glue of love which is absolutely vital to a functional society. The female practical and nurturing perspective is unequivocally made obvious by the sheer abundance of feminine amulets - they literally speak of the essence the lives of these communities revolved around. All of this was viscerally known by these people but for most of us today a radical shift of perception is required in order to be able to evoke the feeling of elated freedom and celebration naturally pertaining to, for us today, a mostly alien way of life.

    • @masterofreality926
      @masterofreality926 Před rokem +1

      They had to work somewhere, I doubt that they burned ceramics where they slept. So that big house probably was a cooperation site.

  • @Brassblitz
    @Brassblitz Před 2 lety +31

    The clay covered log floors is really interesting. 6" logs have an something like an R-8 insulation value, whereas adobe only has R-2. I'm assuming that's the reason they wouldn't just dump clay on the ground. That's pretty sophisticated.

  • @Decebalusrex
    @Decebalusrex Před 2 lety +9

    In the '80s my grand-parents still had an oven exactly like min 5:27 in OLT department, near Danube river in DACIA(actually Romania).

  • @eveningstar7048
    @eveningstar7048 Před 3 lety +132

    I can't believe I'm only just hearing about these chaps.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +21

      Ha, yeah that was my reaction. I knew about the Vinca culture because of the famous chiefs burial. And I knew about the steppe migrations and the sedentary farmers. But I had no idea about these giant settlements and their ceramics. Or the longevity, stability and peacefulness of the culture.

    • @Cellottia
      @Cellottia Před 3 lety +5

      @@DanDavisHistory All hail "The Algorithm" for giving me the chance to come across this information! (Tongue in cheek!) I've been vaguely interested in pre-history since I was a child (not quite 5000 years ago) and I'm even more interested now I'm a hand-spinning, handweaving adult. (I was delighted when, during archaeological excavations prior to a new road being built alongside my village, a big heavy *chalk* spindle whorl was found, and dated to 2,500 - 3,500 years old. It was about 4" across, 1 - 1¼" thick, and was a simple but truly beautiful tool. I'm so happy to have seen and held it!) However, I've never heard of this culture, these people, before, and yes, it does sound like a wonderful, balanced life they led. I shall certainly look out for them and read up on European Neolithic cultures, as, being English, I have, of course, received a fiercely Anglocentric education. I am really enjoying the expansion of my knowledge and interests made possible by this Interweb gizmo 😉.

    • @TheBayzent
      @TheBayzent Před 3 lety +2

      I wonder what the hell happened for them to dissapear instead of uplifting the proto-Germanic and proto-Celts into something other than a genocide buffet for Mediterranean Empires like Rome.

    • @sorin990
      @sorin990 Před 3 lety

      nigga you need more edjucation ! :]

    • @ShamanKish
      @ShamanKish Před 3 lety +1

      @@TheBayzent Bronze enabled weapons of war, so these neolithic paradises were likely destroyed by warrior tribes (who probably were descendants of the same ancestors).

  • @MagnusItland
    @MagnusItland Před 3 lety +87

    Fascinating! The Neolithic and Chalcolithic had so much variation in culture, both across time and space. And yet it is almost entirely forgotten today, only a few thousand years later.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +16

      Sometimes they seem so familiar that it's easy to empathise and imagine how they lived. But at other times they seem impossibly distant and incredibly different. These settlements are so strange - something between a village and a metropolis. Both and neither. I'm still not sure if I would like living there or not.

    • @joannecalafiura9864
      @joannecalafiura9864 Před 3 lety

      S
      Dan Davis who is he?

    • @john9982
      @john9982 Před 2 lety

      Public education

    • @Patrick3183
      @Patrick3183 Před 2 lety

      They didn’t have writing

    • @PicoAndSepulveda
      @PicoAndSepulveda Před 2 lety

      They kind of forget to teach it...

  • @TheOlgaSasha
    @TheOlgaSasha Před 2 lety +17

    The proto-cities in Nebelivka, Trypillia, Talyanky and Maidanske in Ukraine are just wonderful....

    • @TheOlgaSasha
      @TheOlgaSasha Před 2 lety +7

      There is also Trypillian culture museum under the sky in Legedzyne village in Cherkasy region of Ukraine, with houses of Trypillian people. But Legedzyne is also famous by its archaeologacal places of later Yamna culture. As well as in Legedzyne the Gothic (Ostrogothic) cemetry of late 4th century AD (Cherniakhov culture) was found. It is a very interesting fact that some graves in the cemetery belong to Sarmatians (Alans), who were satelites of Goths (north-oriented head with Sarmtian inhumation tradition). One child was buried accorging to Sarmatian tradition but with a lot of typically Germanic values, ceramics and other sites (mixed marriages). Some latest graves show typically Christian (Arian) bural tradition (influence of East Roman Empire).

  • @gaufrid1956
    @gaufrid1956 Před 2 lety +25

    Such an ancient urban-agrarian culture is amazing, and their mastery of ceramics was first class. It is a pity we will never know how beautiful their textiles were.

  • @ewanherbert3402
    @ewanherbert3402 Před 2 lety +69

    The pottery reminds me of the Jomon pottery of stone age Japan. Also a very "simple" and "primitive" culture that created these works of amazing ceramic art that could have been made today in terms of creativity and style.
    I think any society that gives people the time, stability and peace of mind to make stuff like that on the regular is pretty advanced...

    • @brandoncampanaro7571
      @brandoncampanaro7571 Před rokem +1

      Peace is a desert filled with bones, the bones of your enemies

    • @Reziac
      @Reziac Před rokem +1

      Indeed. That's civilized enough to be able to support an artisan class.

    • @xenotypos
      @xenotypos Před rokem +2

      That being said, Jomon people didn't implement agriculture yet. Anyway, I'm a bit skeptical about the "peaceful" part of those past societies (no matter which). Any group of humans that prospered became very soon too numerous and in search for more land. Ressources were limited and past a certain number, conflicts (or demographic stagnation) were kind of inevitable.
      Also, the societies that happen to be sometimes called peaceful, are always very (very) ancient societies, for which we have very few traces. Seems very uncertain and speculative.

    • @helenamcginty4920
      @helenamcginty4920 Před rokem

      Not really. They just had nothing nore interesting to do like watch history videos on you tube. Not everyone will have been able to make and /or decorate pots. Whoever Was best would have made most I suspect. Others will have done what they did best, perhaps weaving or mending a roof. We each have different skills.

    • @imamulmalikchowdhury7659
      @imamulmalikchowdhury7659 Před 4 měsíci

      stone age japan means it was the ainu people

  • @M_alienWorld
    @M_alienWorld Před 2 lety +18

    Thanks a lot for these wonderful lessons in ancient history! I am from Romania and have heard of the "Cucuteni culture" but had no idea how complex and advanced it was. Maybe there was more research in past decades, maybe it was not of interest for the country leaders who have a say on school curricula.... But ochre colorful homes are still seen in the Moldova part of our country, makes me wonder if any connection.... and girls still used to wear crowns made of interlocked flowers at the time of summer solstice, just like in your lovely illustrations,.... Thanks again for this heart warming story !

  • @heeroyuy298
    @heeroyuy298 Před 3 lety +73

    It's neat to find a popular channel before it's popular. Great video, loved it, really opened my eyes to an under-appreciated portion of history. As a person of european descent, it always struck me as odd that my ancestors were just doing nothing for so long, but it appears that wasn't the case.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +19

      Thank you very much, I hope we do get popular, that would be great. And I agree with you, the more I learn about the European Neolithic the more I admire them and want to know more.

    • @ShamanKish
      @ShamanKish Před 3 lety +4

      @@DanDavisHistory Give us more of this. Do you know about Vinca (Vincha) proto-alphabet?
      Compare it to Phoenician alphabet. It is said that Pelasti, who lived in the Balkans before and with Greeks, founded a colony Philistine (Palestine) and brought this alphabet with them. Almost all European alphabets are based on Vinchan proto-alphabet. Latin and Greek are already remodeled, but Etruscan alphabet (elementa) consists of original Vinchan signs. You can check that on Omniglot site and compare.

    • @ShamanKish
      @ShamanKish Před 3 lety +4

      Runes are the most recent variant of Vinchan proto-alphabet, and the earliest runes are found somewhere in Slovakia (so they went north of Vincha).

    • @davidbenyahuda5190
      @davidbenyahuda5190 Před měsícem

      Perhaps some of us are unaware that socalled nonblack people are not of European descent due to the fact that they are not naturally occurring ie autochthonous beings. They are sapiens neanderthal ie hybrids. We must always we remember that we are literally on a planet where a specific kind of melanin is a requirement for sustaining life due to UV radiation and the metaphysical properties that this type of melanin endows its possessors. Socalled nonblack people have only been on the planet for six to ten thousand years and have no known origins IE they have yet to tell the original people of the planet where they came from and how they came into being. They have written no record of their beginnings which call into question whether they are a product of science and or breeding. I write as an Israelite and an historian who has had the privilege to study history from primary sources available to serious academics and not as one who believes socalled mainstream academics. Shalom

  • @thicclegendfeep4050
    @thicclegendfeep4050 Před 2 lety +42

    And to think this beautiful culture was almost forgotten forever. I'm upset that I was never taught about them in school, we learn about Sumeria, Egypt, Indus, and the Chinese river civilizations but this is left out, always, eventhough they are just as interesting. Also, I was surprised to hear that there was some coexistence between the Yamnaya and these people, but that obviously didn't last forever, actually it ended relatively quickly

    • @IceniBrave
      @IceniBrave Před rokem +6

      If you learned about all those cultures, your education was already far better than most.

  • @gopoGPC
    @gopoGPC Před rokem +4

    As Romania develops its highways, in the last 10 years were unburied a lot of burial sites, including one of the largest neolitic in the world.

  • @astrogallus
    @astrogallus Před 3 lety +25

    Love the Bilbo Baggins quote about good tilled earth!

  • @FlyingPenguin85
    @FlyingPenguin85 Před rokem +4

    I live in small suburban village of Belgrade, name Vinca...there is archeologic site from Neolit era and so called Vinca culture with its own alphabet including many tools mostly made from stone, clay and obsidian...dating 7000-5000 BC Most famous found figurine is called Lady of VInca...its made from terracotta it dates about 5000 BC its really beautiful since it has colors on it.

  • @jfv65
    @jfv65 Před 2 lety +9

    It is no surprise to me that this CT culture developed in Moldova and Ukraine. If you have ever travelled trough the countryside of this area you will inevitably have noticed how fertile and black the arable land is. Ideal for farming!

  • @iblendallday
    @iblendallday Před 2 lety +16

    I'm fortunate to have learned a bit of English otherwise I would've never heard of this even though I live 20 miles south west of cucuteni,and even though history was one of my favorite subjects in school or high-school no one ever told us about it.

  • @noras.9774
    @noras.9774 Před rokem +4

    I’m from Romania and I’m glad that you make this movie, because the ceramic of Cucuteni is beautiful!

  • @susanwozniak6354
    @susanwozniak6354 Před 3 lety +29

    Archaeology is a kind of hobby for me. However, I, like many posters here, had never heard of these people or of the narrator, Dan Davis. Davis cites all of the leading writers on archaeological matter and the people are well cited for a group with their traits. Thank you, Dan Davis for posting this.

  • @Replicaate
    @Replicaate Před 3 lety +78

    Neolithic/Chalcolithic societies are so fascinating - no longer hunting nomads, but a ways off from even the early true cities. And so many different ones, almost as if humans as a whole were trying all possible styles of truly settled life to see what worked the best for a given region. It's an underrated period of study for sure!

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +12

      I agree, the more I learn about Neolithic cultures the more fascinated I become.

    • @Replicaate
      @Replicaate Před 3 lety +4

      @@DanDavisHistory Have you ever done much reading into the Gobleki Tepe temple mound in Turkey? I know it's not exactly "European" but it's such a fascinating site, and seems to mark a high water point for the last sophisticated hunting cultures at the moment the farmers start to assimilate them...

    • @ShamanKish
      @ShamanKish Před 3 lety

      @@DanDavisHistory They didn't have the "idea of state". It seems that technology of construction was crucial: Population, agriculture to feed them, walls (preferably stone) to store the food and strategic materials = monopoly = state) + bronze=weapons. It seems that pyramids were the global advertisement for state. They appear wherever there were states, like some giant political factories. Europe is practically the only civilized continent where there are no pyramids. Of course - family, as matriarchy, is very important in creation of "civilization" and social divisions and hierarchy.

    • @lunaridge4510
      @lunaridge4510 Před 3 lety +7

      Funny how our ancestors were "trying all possible styles of settled life" and we ended up with the worst "style" of them all.

    • @ShamanKish
      @ShamanKish Před 3 lety +1

      Also, in regards to "mother goddess" and such, this is definitely advertisement for family and procreation in connection to the idea of state, which needs lots of cheap labor, which needs to be fed (agriculture and husbandry), and so on...

  • @MrApple-yw9vp
    @MrApple-yw9vp Před rokem +9

    Thank you so much about this video. I am from central Moldova and guess what, I never new about this culture and nothing is told about them in the history books. But I look at their art and it seems so familiar, especially the circle dance called ,,hora" where we gather in a circle and dance close to each other. Also their rope like patterns are still prevalent in our national clothing as well as Ukraine and Romania. Fascinating how much of this culture is still embedded by osmosis into our current culture. I never thought about it being so old and now it makes so much sense since it really is something special I've only seen in the region. I wonder how much of their old language has been saved in our current times, it would be amazing to study this unfortunately it probably lost in time.

  • @39Thorns
    @39Thorns Před 3 lety +46

    We should never assume that political or social hierarchies cannot exit without physical structures. The central spaces in the middle of the settlements were empty for a reason....there may have been temporary ceremonial structures erected there, most certainly some kind of organized pagentry. Who knows what kind of social and political issues were expressed there. Or it could have been a huge corral to keep cattle safe each night...

    • @Eshanas
      @Eshanas Před 2 lety +4

      But cattle leave dung and even temporary structures could leave debris that gets buried by someone doing something as sweeping their foot over it and stomping down. Sure they could decay and statistically have little chance of making it to now but that should also be considered.

    • @Novusod
      @Novusod Před 2 lety +2

      It was believed by soviet historians that the Cucuteni-Trypillia were prehistoric communists living in an idyllic classless society. All the houses were essentially the same consisting of one central room, another room with a clay hearth, and a side room full of pottery that was used for storage. There were no specialized buildings. No temples, no palaces, no military buildings for storing or making weapons. If there was a ruling class they lived exactly like everyone else.

    • @BailelaVida
      @BailelaVida Před 2 lety +3

      Excellent points you all raise, Thorns and Novusod. Thanks!
      - Structures and buildings are not a must for managing a commune of people, just because we all happen to need them. Shows how easy it is to be biased...
      - Historians are now realising how much we have continuously experimented with different political systems throughout our scores of thousands of years of history on this Earth. Fex, Commune-like classless societies pop up all over the planet in the most diverse environments. Up to this point, though, they always end up being overtaken by violent, hierarchical and greed-based cultures. Let's see what happens...

    • @pkop4
      @pkop4 Před 2 lety

      @@Novusod and for all these reasons they got run over by more patriarchal, militarized, hierarchical cultures

  • @jackdeily8615
    @jackdeily8615 Před 2 lety +12

    I truly wish history courses in college would teach about this stuff. As someone currently pursuing a master's in archaeology, the amount of important history I have to look up myself because it goes completely ignored in the classroom is disheartening.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 2 lety +4

      I don't know what they teach in your college or in any colleges these days. I guess with history there's just so much of it. Some commenters here from Ukraine especially and Romania also say they were raised knowing about this and going to museums. Which is great.

  • @robertburbulea2863
    @robertburbulea2863 Před rokem +4

    Dude, my grandparents have a vineyard and below the hill some archaeologists found some Cucuteni pots.

  • @KevinGoesAcoustic
    @KevinGoesAcoustic Před 3 lety +37

    The perfect thing to listen to while firing up a new Dawn of Man playthrough!

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +2

      Awesome. Good luck with your playthrough.

    • @seaxofbeleg8082
      @seaxofbeleg8082 Před 3 lety +7

      I was thinking of Dawn of Man as well when I was watching this video. :)

    • @AbelDimitriev
      @AbelDimitriev Před 3 lety +1

      waw am I'm not the only one

  • @annepoitrineau5650
    @annepoitrineau5650 Před 4 měsíci +2

    Thank you. I love their ceramics. These long winding patterns, similar to zen gardens, seem to hint that they had plenty of time to reflect. The patterns also remind me a bit of the patterns found in Ireland.

  • @peterjobovic3406
    @peterjobovic3406 Před 2 lety +19

    Thank you for an excellent lecture. Cucuteni pottery is at least comparable to pottery before dynastic Egypt. It seems even nicer to me. Interestingly, ceramics from the Levant region did not reach such a quality during the late Bronze Age at 1200 BC. Really exciting.

  • @rorimckenzie237
    @rorimckenzie237 Před rokem +3

    These vases are sooo gorgeous

  • @user-mishapagan
    @user-mishapagan Před rokem +9

    This was a FANTASTIC presentation. I had some personal interest in Cucteni-Trypillian culture for a while, but now I have motivation to read some of the Western authors on the topic! Thanks!

  • @poisontoad8007
    @poisontoad8007 Před rokem +2

    I studied archaeology in the 90's and I too didn't know about this culture! So wtf was that about? Thank you so much for the upload! 👍😊

  • @Despredemocratieinamerica

    Wow . That’s my County ,
    Moldova ! Thank you for your video . Love it 💙💛❤️

  • @liviu1266
    @liviu1266 Před 3 lety +16

    Great video, I was fascinated with this culture since I was a kid. Greetings from Romania!

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +2

      Wonderful, I'm so glad you liked it.

    • @liviu1266
      @liviu1266 Před 3 lety

      @@user-ms4cm4qf5j There is more than one etymological theory. Some say it's from the ancient Romans, some say it's a coincidence. Pick for yourself what's plausible.

    • @liviu1266
      @liviu1266 Před 3 lety

      @@user-ms4cm4qf5j In 106 AD The Roman Empire established a colony that covered some of our modern territory. Those colonists would be the ones who would merge with the locals and create the Romanian language. All of our neighbours are Slavic, while the Romanian language is latin. Personally I think that the 19th century Romanian intellectuals, who've created this theory, wanted to prove to their Western allies that they are closer to them than to the Turkish Empire that was reigning over us at the time. Recent studies show that the latin languages were related to each other way before the Roman Empire existed and that is way more plausible than roman origin theory. Sorry for this convoluted message but it's hard to explain :)

    • @liviu1266
      @liviu1266 Před 3 lety +1

      @@user-ms4cm4qf5j As far as I know the Cucuteni and Trypillia culture are one and the same. That's why this culture is known internationally as Cucuteni-Trypillia culture, even though it extends over two modern states. It's from a period in time when borders didn't exist...

    • @empyrionin
      @empyrionin Před 3 lety +3

      @@liviu1266 not only so but I'm convinced from the extant pottery today and clothing that at least some of the culture and people were retained even after the "steppe" people merged with them and later gave birth to the proto-Thracians. The whole of Eastern Europe basically looks like the people portrayed in the illustrations here, dress and all.
      Yes we've merged with plenty of populations, but last I've checked there is a significant old genetic component in us.
      Great video.

  • @cristiii7605
    @cristiii7605 Před rokem +5

    As a Romanian I am proud of our ancestors:)

  • @grandmastersreaction1267
    @grandmastersreaction1267 Před 3 lety +40

    Those female figurines are obviously Barbies.

    • @accaeffe8032
      @accaeffe8032 Před 3 lety +2

      They are not size 0.

    • @sorin990
      @sorin990 Před 3 lety

      Well we have modern day female standards in Romania :) .... more like around the ballkans and eastern europe !

    • @nejdalej
      @nejdalej Před 3 lety +3

      That's an interesting theory actually. I thought they may have been tokens of affection. Guy makes statue of the woman he wants to marry to impress her x

    • @toxicstatesofamerica1277
      @toxicstatesofamerica1277 Před 3 lety +2

      "Fatass Barbie."

    • @sorin990
      @sorin990 Před 3 lety

      @@toxicstatesofamerica1277 More like dont get your PP stabbed in one of those ass bones :)

  • @accaeffe8032
    @accaeffe8032 Před 3 lety +21

    The pottery is amazing.

  • @ecologicaladam7262
    @ecologicaladam7262 Před rokem +6

    Fascinating - and well-presented. Not a culture I've heard of before.....

  • @Esstan1
    @Esstan1 Před 2 lety +11

    Thank you for shedding light on the lesser talked about cultures, that are just as amazing as the ones we hear about all the time. :) Please make a video of the Karanovo culture!

  • @thejmoneyshow
    @thejmoneyshow Před 3 lety +18

    Perfect! Since we were tossing book suggestions around last time. I went ahead a purchased the first printing of 'Death Rituals, Social Order and the Archaeology of Immortality in the Ancient World: 'Death Shall Have No Dominion' by Colin Renfew, Boyd and Morley.
    Keep them coming!

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +7

      Nice! I haven't read that but as someone who makes his living by writing about immortals, I really should read that. Cheers.

    • @elsheba7506
      @elsheba7506 Před rokem +1

      That book is used in university when I studied archaeology when I learned about archaeological methods. I still have it (in English tho but it does not bother me ) and still love it.

    • @thejmoneyshow
      @thejmoneyshow Před rokem

      @@elsheba7506 it's a fantastic book

  • @yuriythebest
    @yuriythebest Před 3 lety +11

    Thanks for the video! I've been to both Trypillia and Rzyshiv ( a contender city to the Trypillia culture that also has lots of artifacts/etc), I'm happy to say both towns are very proud of this heritage and have large statues of the Trypillia culture in their towns square, including large a "binocular-shaped" statue in Rzyshiv that I'm not sure what the meaning of it was

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +3

      Awesome, thanks for watching! I'm so glad they celebrate the history there.

  • @philpaine3068
    @philpaine3068 Před 3 lety +20

    I wrote something, informally, on this subject in a blog post in March of 2010. I too, was fascinated by the information on Cuceteni-Tripolye in Anthony's book. I had read the occasional archaeological paper on the culture for several years before, but Anthony brought these disjointed patches of partial information into focus for me. In the blog post, I quoted exactly the same paragraph on the culture's social organization that you have in this video.
    After that, I wrote the following:
    My instinct, confronted with this archaeological evidence, is not to conclude that something twice the size of Uruk, obviously engaged in large scale trade and manufacturing, is not a city, but that the conventional definition of a city must be wrong. By this absurd convention, neither Amsterdam nor New York are cities (Neither has ever been dominated by a palace or a temple). Instead, I would conclude that monarchy and temple priesthoods are not essential to the appearance and flourishing of cities, at any “stage” or era. Such institutions characterized Mesopotamian cities. Fine. But city life clearly emerged elsewhere without them.
    Notice the assumptions built into Anthony’s last sentence. Elsewhere in the book, he conveys the impression that the Tripolye “super towns” were ephemeral. They only lasted several centuries (i.e., longer than the United States has). But Uruk and the other Mesopotamian “first cities” only lasted a few centuries before being reduced to dust. They were not replaced, at least not in the same location. Subsequent Near Eastern urban centers appeared elsewhere, further up the Tigris and Euphrates. The acknowledged “first cities” were no more durable than these unacknowledged ones. The idea that a consular system, if that was indeed how they were governed, was disastrously “unwieldly” is mere cartoon imagery, based on the assumption that monarchy or dictatorship are inherently more efficient than democracy. This is a belief that should be very doubtful to anyone who has payed attention to the events of the last century.
    These urban communities, in what is now Moldova, Moldavia and Western Ukraine, have every bit as good a claim to being the “first cities” as Uruk and Eridu have. True, they do not fulfill the unexamined conventional image of cities as the passive side-effect of aristocracy. Boo hoo. They do fulfill a rational definition of a city, as a settlement in which large numbers of people, far more than characterize a farming village, engage in technical innovation, internal as well as external trade, and the process of replacing imports with domestic production. As for their eventual demise and disappearance, a far more plausible explanation than the supposed shortcomings of consular government presents itself. Settlements of such size would inevitably have exposed themselves to those infectious diseases which thrive in high population density, and for which this pioneering population would have had no previous experience or immunity. It is especially significant that it took place in a region that was coming into close interaction with a new domestic animal, the horse. Domestic animals are the usual vectors of new plagues. The horse-herding and riding cultures of the adjacent steppes would have long acquired resistance to these diseases, giving them a strategic advantage over little cities precariously exposed in this location. This, and the climate change which subsequently parched the region, can easily account for the fact that these early cities declined and were not subsequently replaced. Blaming proto-democratic organization for it is lazy thinking.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +5

      Nice work, Phil, thanks for that.

    • @philpaine3068
      @philpaine3068 Před 3 lety +3

      @@DanDavisHistory I'll check out your novels. I was a big fan of alternate-history novels (starting with L. Sprague de Camp's "Lest Darkness Fall") until the flood tide of them became too much for me to deal with. Yours sound delish.

    • @philpaine3068
      @philpaine3068 Před 3 lety +5

      An interesting parallel would be the confederacy of the Mandan people whose "super villages" flourished on the Upper Missouri river between c.1500-1782, after which the introduction of European diseases caused a precipitous decline. Migrants from the east (possibly Ohio), they introduced maize-agriculture to the Great Plains. They allied themselves to a local nomadic tribe, the Hidatsa, who adopted their lifestyle but maintained their independence. The Mandan-Hidatsa began to trade their crops with the many tribes of the plains. Their large villages consisted of concentric circles of family huts around a central plaza. This acted as an "agora" and its religious importance did not necessitate any structure. Government was conciliar in the manner of many confederacies and tribes in the U.S. and Canada (many of which ultimately developed highly formal democratic institutions). Farm production was in the hands of women, who owned produce as individual property. Young men ventured out to explore and establish trading routes to distant tribes. Any youth was entitled to do so, but they were bankrolled by various clan elders and private societies. Trading networks extended across much of North America, involving a host of food staples (such as pemmican, produced by buffalo-hunting tribes), copper, volcanic glass, skins, seafood, textiles, art objects and luxury goods. For example, Mandan women mass-produced fancy combs from dentallium seashells purchased from the Pacific coast, and sold them to eastern tribes as far as the Atlantic (they did not use such combs themselves). At their apogee, their trading network covered an area as large as Europe, with numerous trading posts, cyclical rendezvous, trade fairs, and complicated negotiated treaties and alliances. Practising platform "sky burial", they did not leave cemeteries or burial mounds for future archaeologists. All governance was through councils, often with strict democratic procedures. Clan houses acquired varied degrees of wealth and prestige, displayed in "medicine bundles" and other abstract signs. Sacred areas and religious ceremonies did not need special buildings. War was not unknown to these people, and the villages were surrounded by defensive palisades, but the maintenance of peace to maximize trade was always the priority. There were never Lords or Kings. During the latter half of their "golden age", the introduction of the horse began to radically transform the nomadic plains tribes into stronger and stronger military forces. The Mandan-Hidatsa confederacy was at first the beneficiary of horse trading and horse breeding, and grew even more prosperous, but when weakened by disease, they ultimately succumbed to conquest. The great villages were, one after another, diminished, depopulated, and destroyed. The Mandan and Hidatsa remain, in a few scattered corners, but are greatly overshadowed by the plains tribes such as the Lakota, who are the iconic image of plains culture today.
      Being closely familiar with this history, you can see why it was easy for me to imagine similar elements and processes among the Cucuteni-Tripolye peoples. Whether these are valid parallels or not, of course, is presently unknowable.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +3

      Thank you, that's fascinating. I recently discovered the "Ancient Americas" channel here on CZcams and have been enjoying the videos very much.

    • @cathjj840
      @cathjj840 Před 2 lety

      Both your posts are indeed fascinating and so eye-opening. Thanks for sharing all of this. Compare these thriving C-T agglomerations to the derelection of modern Moldava....

  • @mirellajaber7704
    @mirellajaber7704 Před 3 lety +12

    Thank you, your work on the subject is really commendable, and you manage to cover in these 23 minutes almost everything known so far. I was born 50 km away from Cucuteni, have spent my childhood in such places like Scanteia, Draguseni (the places of my maternal, respectively paternal grandparents), was actually playing with bronze “jewelry” found by relatives while doing their agricultural tasks (my father and I took over 1.5 -2 kg of bronze artifacts, necklaces, etc to the local museum in Iasi, but never ever saw them exposed, nor were we offered any information about them), however, we were never taught about this in school, although we were studying extensively about the Sumerians and the ancient Egyptians. Even university students with a major in history only found out about Cucuteni during their 2nd year at the time of my studies (early 80s, UAIC University in Iasi, probably the 1st or 2nd important cultural hub for Romanians - I mean, the city). Today we, the locals, as well as everyone interested in our deep past, deplore the efforts made by our Romanian authorities to keep everything silent and to discourage any archaeological work that might help us advance in our theories.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +4

      Thank you for watching, I'm so glad you liked it. It's wonderful that you had some personal relationship to the artefacts still in your homeland. I'm amazed and saddened that it isn't more celebrated locally. I hope that will change eventually.

    • @mirellajaber7704
      @mirellajaber7704 Před 3 lety +5

      @@DanDavisHistory We pray the “Neolithic gods” to help break the current deadlock :)

  • @daniell1483
    @daniell1483 Před 2 lety +9

    For the past month or so I've been obsessed with early human civilization. Everything from Paleolithic to Bronze Age has been endlessly fascinating, so I'll probably be watching every video on the channel. Really an awesome subject matter!

  • @AndriiGryganskyi
    @AndriiGryganskyi Před 2 lety +15

    Despite the language difference, the embroidery unites the people of Ukraine and Romania, same for the millennia.

    • @nikeimizhongtomasch1880
      @nikeimizhongtomasch1880 Před 2 lety +1

      Well, I am not an expert but maybe ancient Dacian was similar to proto-slavic? Before Rome changed Dacian culture.

    • @AndriiGryganskyi
      @AndriiGryganskyi Před 2 lety +2

      @@nikeimizhongtomasch1880 I feel sure about it. Cucuteni-Trypillia was one thing on the territory of both countries way before Slavs originated.

    • @AndriiGryganskyi
      @AndriiGryganskyi Před 2 lety +2

      @@nikeimizhongtomasch1880 Maybe opposite. Cucuteni-Trypillia was one thing on the territory of both countries way before Slavs originated. More parallels - church in Moldova and Romania was using Cyrillic alphabet and old Bulgarian (so called Church-Slavic) language as an official language, despite people's language was Romanian.

  • @gammon1183
    @gammon1183 Před 2 lety +3

    So nice to have this given to us by the voice of the man in the street and not tainted by the self important silver spoons that abound.
    Subscribed 😎

  • @karlmurphy6441
    @karlmurphy6441 Před 3 lety +24

    The art style kind of reminds me of some of Picasso’s works, I know he was heavily influenced by a lot of Palaeolithic and Neolithic art. I think it’s really beautiful

    • @jandavidson7093
      @jandavidson7093 Před 3 lety +1

      To me it has a look of the post-civilisational collapse (Thera volcanic eruption and subsequent tidal wave that inundated coastal sites) swirling artistic styles of the Minoans. Though of course both groups are completely unrelated. Interesting similarities though, at least to my untrained eye that is.

    • @somerandomvertebrate9262
      @somerandomvertebrate9262 Před 3 lety

      Yeah, kind of psychodelic.

    • @ApeLimpezi85
      @ApeLimpezi85 Před 3 lety

      Try Constantin Brancusi art then.

    • @Cellottia
      @Cellottia Před 3 lety +1

      It appears to me to have similarities in patterning to the ancient pottery found in Arizona. I watch a channel where a chap digs his own clay and, using ancient methods (as far as we can re-create them) shapes, decorates and fires pots based on pottery remnants made by previous inhabitants of the area... I'll add a link to his channel in an edit and you can take a look at his pots: they're not totally dissimilar.
      Andy Ward is his name: czcams.com/users/AncientPottery is his channel 😃

    • @lakrids-pibe
      @lakrids-pibe Před 3 lety

      I agree. I love the pottery.

  • @RaniVeluNachar-kx4lu
    @RaniVeluNachar-kx4lu Před 6 měsíci +2

    Wow! Nice two floor clay floor and walled houses with strong structure in the rafters and roofs. I would stay in one of those places. I bet Moldovan winter got pretty cold.

  • @lesleeg9481
    @lesleeg9481 Před 3 lety +11

    This is the first time I've heard of a video about this culture. Thank you! The Horse, the Wheel and Language is a fascinating book and I'm glad to hear your research into this little known time period.

  • @mach1251
    @mach1251 Před 2 lety +13

    Love this way of promoting your book, just got it on my kindle, your research is great and I hope it translates into the story. European pre-history is very neglected, happy you are making the effort. Biggest cities in the world at that time should be a huge discovery, yet our archeology is so dogmatic, uninformed, and at this point superstitious that when future humanity looks at will look at us with concern. Science is just becoming a word, politics and narratives the mainstay. What we have left is brave souls to disregard the dogmas and pave the new path, hopefully avoiding being burnt at the steak of the modern cancel culture. Looking forward to your books Dan

  • @MERALLAK
    @MERALLAK Před 2 lety +4

    Nice sound, images, narrative skills. Subscribed.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 2 lety

      Thank you, welcome to the channel. I hope you like the other videos.

  • @comeonthegreens
    @comeonthegreens Před 2 lety +2

    Fabulously informative Dan, thank you for sharing!

  • @uknowkarel
    @uknowkarel Před 5 měsíci +1

    Dan, these are amazing as always, thank you. I'm looking forward to your next book bringing more and more of these details to life in even more detail than the first two!

  • @SundariAtari
    @SundariAtari Před rokem +3

    One of the most amazing videos on history I've ever seen

  • @mihaiilie8808
    @mihaiilie8808 Před 3 lety +5

    In Romania you can still find houses made like that,from mud and wood sticks.They are called ,, casa de Paianta,,.

    • @mihaiilie8808
      @mihaiilie8808 Před 3 lety

      @@mariannehuston3814 You are right about the Hora too.

    • @mariannehuston3814
      @mariannehuston3814 Před 3 lety +1

      @@mihaiilie8808 Deia si printul Charles ar vrea sa se stabileasva la Cucutenii din Vale😁

  • @mikemccarty8344
    @mikemccarty8344 Před rokem +2

    really love your books, and the research you put into these People of the Bronze Age videos. I've always been interested in pre-history and the lives of people who lived so far back. Thank you!

  • @johnm.9901
    @johnm.9901 Před 2 lety +1

    Comprehensive interesting compilation! Very well done and insightful.

  • @chocolatedonut6312
    @chocolatedonut6312 Před rokem +9

    Being from a country where tripillya resided 🙂 super proud to have such ancient roots

  • @AndriiGryganskyi
    @AndriiGryganskyi Před 2 lety +59

    Cucuteni-trypillia towns didn't have a central building. Instead they had a central plaza (maidan in modern language). Maidan in Ukrainian history (including contemporary one) is a heart of democracy, a place, where all news are spread and all political or economical decisions are made. So, maidan instead of central authorities building.

    • @swevixeh
      @swevixeh Před 2 lety +10

      Like the Germanic ting/þing. Despotism is more of a middle eastern concept.

    • @qboxer
      @qboxer Před 2 lety +4

      @@swevixeh Rather silly thing to say. Early Indo European culture was based along the lines of a sacred Kingship. Despotism is universal.

    • @swevixeh
      @swevixeh Před 2 lety +1

      @@qboxer ok Ebol- ... Evolian.

    • @qboxer
      @qboxer Před 2 lety

      @@swevixeh I didn't say that I approve of it, but it is common across all cultures. I think Parliamentary constitutional monarchy is the best form of government, personally.

    • @nikobellic570
      @nikobellic570 Před 2 lety +1

      Fascinating! Thanks

  • @philbyd
    @philbyd Před měsícem

    Fascinating, thanks for sharing this with all of us

  • @Digephil
    @Digephil Před 2 lety +1

    I quite liked this video. I really liked the added touch when you mentioned that you are a member of that particular haplogroup. It's really grounding to not just think about these ancient peoples in an abstract sense, but as your actual ancestors.

  • @negikhanoom
    @negikhanoom Před 2 lety +3

    very interesting ! I hope there will be more research in future in this culture !

  • @tedarcher9120
    @tedarcher9120 Před 3 lety +8

    Damn, youtube actually reads my mind. I was thinking about this kind of channel, turns out it already exists

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +2

      You were thinking of starting one you mean? Go for it, bro, the more the merrier.

    • @tedarcher9120
      @tedarcher9120 Před 3 lety +1

      @@DanDavisHistory nah, I don't have the kind of voice for it. Better stick to reading and writing

  • @user-sf2ed4ek3c
    @user-sf2ed4ek3c Před rokem +1

    I really like your features. They are all great subjects\ material. Very concise with factual info. Not as broad and drawn out as History Time. Look forward to seeing what you have next!

  • @alinapostelnicu2242
    @alinapostelnicu2242 Před rokem +1

    Thank you for your sharing with us

  • @occocia
    @occocia Před 2 lety +23

    Never though we, romanians-moldavians could have so much in common with ukranians, its quite impressive! Greetings to our neighbors and possible ancestors 🇺🇦 🇲🇩 🇷🇴

    • @puzzled012
      @puzzled012 Před rokem

      Ukrainians are a nation devised in 20th century, saying they are ancestors to anyone is mund boggling! besides all of us in Europe are mixture of those ancient groyos of peoples, and living on land once occupied by xyz doesn't make you one!

  • @Shlevel
    @Shlevel Před 3 lety +8

    Compare with the longhouse cultures - convergent evolution (as it were). Also, the Iroquois culture governed through ‘head of household/clan’ females at the ‘householder’ level - ancient societies generally designed themselves after ‘natural lines’ (like beehives, where bees will abandon whole hives (with brood and honey) when the conditions (including encroachment) doesn’t suit them. Women in ancient cultures, since they are the nucleus of any family (and civilization), would appoint various ‘people, including men’ for various purposes - this has ‘independently evolved on earth in many places at many different times’ - the overall development is both striking and intriguing. Also, Cahokia settlement structures have a similar proto-development. Areas by Georgia and Trebizond also have ceramic trade settlements that contributed to the cultural transfer past the Caspian and Asov. Nice vid tho! Cheers! 🥂

  • @MackerelCat
    @MackerelCat Před 10 měsíci +1

    Absolutely fascinating. Thanks.

  • @ukrainevolynhistory6692
    @ukrainevolynhistory6692 Před 2 lety +1

    Nice informative video. Keep going!

  • @stefke5862
    @stefke5862 Před 2 lety +4

    I love to see that they had this circle of figurines of clay (?) holding arms which is also known in terra cota in Mexico as the circle of friends

  • @psicologamarcelacollado5863

    Sooooo cool! I appreciate your contribution very much. My son is interested both in history and writing, so I forwarded him your channel. Great content, thank you.

  • @FlorinArjocu
    @FlorinArjocu Před 4 měsíci +1

    I would heartly recommend one to visit Cucuteni-T. museums. One is in downtown Piatra Neamt, in Romania, in a former bank and it is extremely interesting. You will find over there some of the more complex art shown in this video. You will also hear about some of the houses and what was discovered below the ashes/ruins of the house etc. It is very, very interesting!

  • @jcummins2177
    @jcummins2177 Před 3 lety +2

    Your videos and books (gods of bronze series) are amazing. I look forward to your future works. Thank you for your works

  • @peskylisa
    @peskylisa Před 3 lety +7

    This is the same culture Mary Mackey wrote about in The Day the Horses Came, The Horses at the Gate, Fires of Spring and Sabala's Journey.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +2

      I never heard of her or those books but I will check them out, that's amazing, thank you.

  • @sanjoyroystravelblog5413
    @sanjoyroystravelblog5413 Před 2 lety +4

    In this vedio you have given us an inclusive idea about the daily life of bronze age peoples of Europe with archeological evidence. It is very interesting to know the rituals food habits dance patern of those days.
    In India mud houses are very common in Malda district of West Bengal. Danceing paterns of Sautali community are more or less same as that of Europe. Wow so interesting.

  • @snezanamarkovic3708
    @snezanamarkovic3708 Před 2 lety +2

    Thank you so much for this hight level document , so precise : never seen before

  • @richwatts8824
    @richwatts8824 Před 8 měsíci

    Love your videos Dan, thank you. Who knows what other histories are lost to time, yet to be uncovered.

  • @ihorhryzhak2465
    @ihorhryzhak2465 Před 2 lety +4

    It's the firstest civilization in the world! Very interesting. Tripil's people had own writing. Archeologisn call it as Danube script.

  • @memyselfi0120
    @memyselfi0120 Před 3 lety +6

    Straight forward and honest presentation of available evidence. For once i don't feel as though im being manipulated or brainwashed.
    I'd like to see a future video done on the Maikop "Kurgan" Culture of the Caucasus.

    • @DanDavisHistory
      @DanDavisHistory  Před 3 lety +1

      Thank you. Videos on the Maikop cultures are planned.

  • @fer_fdi
    @fer_fdi Před rokem +1

    Excellent! Thank you very much.