Old Europe and its Legacy:
Major Trajectories of Continuity in Subsequent Cultures

Harald Haarmann

Abstract

The culture that emerged during the Neolithic Age in southeastern Europe developed many features that we modern observers associate with the qualities of an early civilization. This civilization was called Old Europe by Marija Gimbutas who was the first to document and survey its cultural institutions. It has also become known as the Danube civilization in recent years. The people of Old Europe began smelting of copper around 5400 BCE, and gold around 4500 BCE. At that time, they were the earliest smiths in the world to master smelting as a specialized technique of metal-working. Those who shaped the fabric of the Old European/Danube civilization possessed the know-how of sustainable agriculture, wine and olive cultivation, sophisticated pottery production, and a profusion of artistic development. They also developed sophisticated sign systems, one for writing numbers and another for conveying messages. Writing developed in Old Europe some two thousand years earlier than in Egypt or Mesopotamia. In his article, Harald Haarmann discusses elements of Old European cultural legacy including concepts of Neolithic divinity, patterns of governance and gender equality in egalitarian societies (the roots of democracy). He then muses on the soundings of the Neolithic spirit in the abstract features of modern art.