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 Trying to explain some aspects regarding the burial rites discovered in Northwest Romania, we identified a few problems which need more attention: 1. the problem regarding the funerals within settlements, but especially in dwellings, 2. grave goods, 3. the apparition of the cremation rite in the Neolithic Age in Northwest Romania. For the moment, we analyse only the problem regarding the funerals within settlements and in dwellings. Burials within settlements and in dwellings The aspects, referring to burials within the settlements and in dwellings are known in the first culture identified in Northwest Romania, in Starcevo-Cri§. Although, the number of the discovered settlements was large, due to a research efectuated in a relatively small scale, just a few of dem can illustrate the elements of burial rites. The variety of the elements of the rites has been many times illustrated: burials in settlements, pits and dwellings. Starting from two discoveries from the Körös Culture, P. Raczky tried to discover the origins and the meaning of these kinds of rites (RACZKY 1981/82, 5-8). The first step was made in the direction of "epigravettiene" communities from Lepenski Vir, where there were discovered skeletons laid near the fireplace, in extended position on their back, the majority of them belonging to children (RACZKY 1981/82, 6). Similar discoveries were made at Vlasac (LETICA 1973, 192-196) and Padina (JOVANOVIC 1973,290-293), the area of the same culture. Many hypotheses were emitted as far these archaeological objects are concerned. One of them is that they are burials in dwellings, which were actually abandoned after the funerals. According to another hypothesis, these dwellings had been built especially for these rituals. The burial custom in these cases showed a special respect for dead, or the dead was even considered to be someone still belonging to the community. This burial rite in the earlier Neolithic Age was discovered in Thessaly as well: at Nea Nicomedea and Kefalovrysso (HOUMOUZIADIS 1973, 210). In some of the discovered cases, people continued to live in the dwellings, even after the funeral. In these cases the dwelling probably got a kind of protection from the dead. Regarding the same custom, Mellaart considered that the deceased was laid on the floor only after the exhumation (after the body was stripped of soft tissues) of the dead (MELLAART 1967, 67-68). This was proved by the discovery from Prodromos (HOURMOUZIADIS 1973,210), aPresesklo Culture site, where 11 skulls and bones were laid on the floor of a dwelling. In Romania we have found different anatomical parts, especially skulls laid on the floor, like in the case of grave 8 from Gura Baciului (LAZAROVICI-MAXIM 1995, 187) and Cäscioarele, where two skulls face to face were inhumed into the oven of a dwelling (DUMITRESCU-VULPE 1988,49). In the area of the Cucuteni Culture skeletons or skulls were found on the same level, indicating some clues to a ritual of exposing the deceased on the ground and sometimes the ritual of the inhumation of the same anatomic fragments (GHERASIM 1997, 729). This funeral custom - in dwellings - was very well documented at Zau de Cämpie, where several children skeletons have been discovered near the fireplace. The skeletons belonged to children between the age of 1 and 3.5 (BODEA 1997, 735). At Herpály, at level VII of the settlement, 38 graves have been discovered, most of them belonging to children (KALICZ-RACZKY 1984, 134-135). As we can notice, the majority of the graves in the dwellings belonged to children. The persistence for a long time to bury children under the floor of the dwellings is very well motivated ethnologically: "Compensation for premature lost of life, and related to this, the non-accomplishing the necessary age for an adequate representation of the human group in the community of the deads" (GuiNOiu 1999, 86).