The Legacy of the Danube Script to the East of the Carpathians During the Early Bronze Age (3400-2300 BC)

Mikhail Videiko (Ukraine)

Abstract

During the Copper Age (5000-3500/3400 BC) some elements of the Danube script were used and developed by the Trypillia Culture. At the beginning of the Early Bronze Age (3400-3200 BC) we can observe a differentiation of the sign system in Trypillia culture local types with some linear inscriptions. After 3200 BC the Trypillian world fell into decay and the process of writing invention was interrupted. Old signs were used only in a few territories connected with the production of traditional painted pottery. At the same time the use of pictograms on spindle-whorls flourished, similar to what existed in Anatolia.

After 3200/3000 BC, Late Trypillia types coexisted with the “Kurgan culture” Yamna (pit-graves) and Catacombna (catacomb graves). Some categories of old signs on pottery and other artifacts in these cultures are closely connected with funeral practices. Old Europe and Eastern script traditions coexisted on materials originating from the steppe region. Sanctuaries in this region seemed to play an important part in the transmission of the tradition and knowledge of sign use. Sanctuaries, such as Verteba cave, Kamyana Mohyla, or Marl Ride, existed from the Copper Age to the Middle Ages.