A Nyíregyházi Jósa András Múzeum évkönyve 46. (Nyíregyháza, 2004)

Régészet - Sanda Băcueţ-Crişan: Burial rites in the Neolithic in Northwest Romania

Burial rites in the Neolithic in Northwest Romania Sanda Bäcuet-Cri^an "It is known that there are no societies without religion, nor societies - no matter how primitive they are - without a collective system reflecting the human soul, its origin and its destiny." (DURKHEIM 1995,221) Without the existence of a worship, which postulates the immortality of the soul and its continuity in after-life, we cannot imagine the purpose of the burial rites, and of the placing of certain grave goods etc. The concern for the people you loved or for the one who caused fear is reflected very often by the manner in which they are prepared to pass into another life. Each culture as well as each age has its own rituals. The specificity of the burial rite is often sustained by the tradition, but there are cases when it is maintained either by a religious or a political authority. Sometimes the changes in the rite are radical, determined by an ethnical intrusion or law, other times some conserving elements can give us clues about the origin of this burial custom. There are a few cases, when the burial rites and rituals have close connection with the particular or peculiar wishes of the person who passed away. In these cases to grant the deceased last wishes the successors try to combine the elements of the traditional burial rite with the person's wishes. In the Neolithic-Aeneolithic Period the primary burial rite in Romania had been the inhumation, but the few discovered cremation graves left many questions unanswered. Relying on the few discoveries of the Neolithic Age, in this study I tried to present the characteristics of the burial rites of the cultural groups, which had their evolution in Northwest Romania. The archaeological research of the last decades has developed significantly, many NeolithicAeneolithic sites being researched, but the number of the identified graves is still limited. The only settlement, belonging to this age, where appeared more than one graves - a whole assemblage -, is the one from Suplacu de Barcäu/Berettyoszeplak-Coräu, where during the excavations performed before 2002, 3 cremation graves had been discovered (IGNAT 1998, 57-58). As a result of new excavation campaigns (2002-2003) from Por{/Porc-Coräu (the same site as Suplacu de Barcäu) the number of unearthed assemblages have increased considerably. This is probably not the final result, because the settlement from Suplacu de Barcäu (Pori) is going to be still researched. Catalogue of sites In the catalogue, the sites are presented in alphabetical and not in chronological order, because not all the graves could have been properly identified due to the absence of material or to the exploration conditions. NyJAME XLVI. 2004. 71-83.