Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 31/1. (2011)
Articles
TWO STATUETTES WITH MOBILE HEADS FROM PETRESTI-GROAPA GALBENÄ У CRISTIAN I о AN POPA “1 Decembrie 1918” University, Alba Iulia, RO Even though the Petresti culture bears the name of the archaeological site of Petresti-Groapa Galbenä / Räpa Galbenä the site itself is a poorly studied one. In order to establish the evolution of the Neolithic and Aeneolithic habitations at Petresti all the references that can be made are to materials excavated a while ago (the last excavation was ending about 50 years ago) and even these materials were insufficiently published. One of the areas lacking proper information is concerning the clay figurines and in this context we found the opportunity to bring into discussion two mobile head statuettes of ‘Thessalic type found by chance by loan Raica during the 1940s. Both pieces belong to the same type, the only difference being in size. One of the pieces displays a pear of stylized breasts, making it a feminine representation, and it has the arms ending with zoomorphic representations. From a cultural point of view the finds can be attributed to Vinca culture, Vinca Cl phase, documented in this settlement by specific materials, published or within the museum collections. We would also like to state the scarcity of this type of finds in Transylvania, the only known examples being from Turdas, Alba Iulia-Lumea Nouä and now, Petresti. Keywords: anthropomorphic figurines, Thessalic type statuettes, Vinca culture, Neolithic The namesake site of Petresti culture, spread over a rather large area nearby Groapa Galbenä, still remains a ‘Cinderella of prehistoric archaeology in Romania. Even though, throughout time, there were several field walks and even systematic excavations,1 the scientists still owe a great debt towards recovering and placing value on the important heritage that was found here. In this study we aim to bring into discussion two anthropomorphic statuettes that, even though a rather minor find, reveal us a great deal of information on the Neolithic habitation here. Both of them can be attributed to the ‘mobile head’ category, also known as ‘Thessalic type’ figurines. The items are part of a lot that was donated to the Alba Iulia Museum in 1948 by I. Raica (Berciu-Berciu 1949, 36, note 17; Berciu 1968, 20; Därämus 2009, 391), a former director of the Sebes Museum and a researcher in the team of D. and I. Berciu during the field walks and excavations conducted in the perimeter of the Petresti settlement. As the recent publication of the 1 For the history of research concerning Neolithic and Early Aeneolithic at Petresti-Groapa Galbenä, see: Schuster 1865; 1867; Schroller 1933,76, Taf. 21/10-12; 22/8; Berciu-Berciu 1946, 27-28,53-63, 73, fig. 44-48; 50/8- 11; 51/8; 52/4; Moga 1949, 80-81, fig. 1; Berciu 1961, 87; Lazarovici-Kalmar 1982, pl. IV; Paul 1992, 8, 19, 30, 108-109, 142-143, pi. XXIIa/1; XXVIa/3; XLII/5-7; LI/13; Simina 2001, 126, 129; Gligor 2008, 293-294. For the most recent Neolithic and Aeneolithic artefacts published from this site, see: BÄSCÄ 2009, 333-335 (drawings) and Gligor 2009b, 52-53, pl. 1/1-2; II/1-2, the latter of Ariu$d type, with a debatable provenance from this site. MARIS1A XXXI, p. 19-25
