Re: Cremation

George wrote:
<<To my knowledge however, Trypilia never extended into the
south of Russia.>>

The author was citing work from before 1980 and probably meant Ukraine.

<<I don't know what the author meant by
its "most recent" phase. But if Steve's dates are
correct this would be the Late Trypilia (end of the
4th millennium BC). Cremation was the preponderant
burial rite during the Middle or Classic Trypilian
phase(ca. 4500-3500 BC) and probably (though little
has survived) during the Early Trypilian phase (beg.
ca. 5200 BC) as well.>>

The author cites BINFORD L.R. (1972), " Mortuary practices : their study and
their potential " in An Archaeological Perspective, Seminar Press, New York,
p. 208-243; and
BITTEL K. (1958), Die Hethitischen Grabfunde vom Osmankayasi, WVDOG 71 (and
bibliography) for the proposition that cremation was never the common method
of burial in Cucuteni-Tripolye.

If you have better information from anywhere, please bring us up to date.

BTW there's also something recent about late Tripolye inhumation practices
showing up in the graves of the "Lower Mikhailovka" group, by a Irina
F.Kovaleva, on the web.

Steve