I wrote:
>SL: Rather, B/D became Trypilia/Tripolye -- a major
> contributor to it. No eating involved.
george knysh <gknysh@...> replied:
> *****GK: Here I must agree with those who say that the
> distinct cultural forms of Trypilia were imported from
> the south and did not evolve "autochtonically". B/D
> was indeed absorbed (assimilated).*****
First, you say "eaten up", now absorbed (assimilated). There seems
to be no room between "autochtonic" and "eaten up." What Zvelebil
wrote was that B-D became a constituent part of Tripolye. Meaning
that many things in B-D were retained in Tripolye.
I wrote:
And both Dniester-Donetz and
> > Sredni Stog would
> > both enter a phase where a good deal of their
> > mesolithic character
> > were replaced with either direct or modified
> > adaptions of neolithic
> > culture. Mesolithic D-D and SS disappeared.
george knysh <gknysh@...> replied:
> *****GK: But many of their "mesolithic" cultural roots
> were retained. Especially in the area of "ideology"
> judging by the major differences which prevailed in
> the burial rites of Trypilia and S/S D/D.*****
The major differences were actually between D/D before and after
neolithization. See Malcolm Lillie, The Mesolithic-Neolithic
transition in Ukraine: new radiocarbon determinations for the
cemeteries of the Dnieper Rapids Region, ANTIQUITY, March 1998 (also
Speth 1990; Lillie's "Mesolithic societies of Ukraine: the burial
evidence translated" at the TAG symposium 1998). Whatever "ideology"
is supposed to mean, Tripolye and the Steppes varied little compared
to the wide variation in burial practices across Europe before BA.
I wrote:
> > Which says at best that hemp, hide or gut cords may
> > have been used to
> > lift or carry those pots. A noteworthy innovation,
> > but hardly a
> > cultural revolution.
>
> *****GK: The point is that "corded ware" ORNAMENT
> developed from these very early D/D instances, taken
> over by S/S and later "busting out all over" as we
> know.
Whether an "ornament" or a practical feature (like the slot to insert
a handle on a modern cooking pot), corded ware may be seen to have
spread like chewing gum or rubber tires - quite irrespective of
language or culture or migration. If one were to interpret it
without the baggage associated with it, one might view corded
ware as signaling the first regular use of fibrous cords to hold
pots. It happens that there is a cultural transition it is
associated with ("Corded Ware") - and that is a more intensive
pastoral economy and possibly the first use of livestock primarily
for meat (with the coming of large herds) and fiber (with the coming
of shearable sheep.) The basis of such an economy was already being
developed in Tripolye. Of course, pots that could be hung on cords
would have been quite handy if you are shepherd/wagoneer or a
cowboy on a cattle drive. In any case, part of the spread of Corded
Ware was simply due to the fact that it was a continuation of the
spread of the neolithic towards the north.
george knysh <gknysh@...> replied:
Another major difference with respect to the
> unique "painted pottery" of Trypilia.
Painted ware is hardly the only pottery found at Tripolye-Cuceteni
sites. It appears to have been the "prestige" item, but there are
many other forms, including B-D forms.
george knysh <gknysh@...> replied:
So whatever
> influence the Trypilian farmers exercised on their
> neighbours, the latter not only maintained their grip
> on their territory, but also, if I could so put it,on
> their culture. Not only were they not assimilated.
> They later became assimilators. "Neolithicization"
> notwithstanding.
Sounds like 19th Century archaeology. The truth is that most of what
their neighbors were or would be was the result of neolithization.
And the truth is that, in time, their "neighbors" were herding cattle
and sheep, sowing grain, living in houses above the ground, using
neolithic tools, painting their pottery and later even marking their
graves with headstones. Looks to me like Tripolye won this little
war you are theorizing. Regards, Steve Long
etc., etc.