archaeological pluridisciplinary researches at

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Schweingruber, F.H. (1990), Anatomie europäischer Holzer. ...... Mustela putorius (polecat) is certified by an epiphysed left coxal bone ..... Os sesamoidaeus. 1. 1.
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ROMANIAN HISTORY IALOMIŢA COUNTY MUSEUM NATIONAL MUSEUM LIBRARY PLURIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCHES SERIES

VI Dragomir POPOVICI, Constantin HAITĂ, Adrian BĂLĂŞESCU, Valentin RADU, Florin VLAD, Iulia TOMESCU

ARCHAEOLOGICAL PLURIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCHES AT BORDUŞANI-POPINĂ

- 2003 -

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ROMANIAN HISTORY IALOMIŢA COUNTY MUSEUM NATIONAL MUSEUM LIBRARY PLURIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCHES SERIES

VI Dragomir POPOVICI, Constantin HAITĂ, Adrian BĂLĂŞESCU, Valentin RADU, Florin VLAD, Iulia TOMESCU

ARCHAEOLOGICAL PLURIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCHES AT BORDUŞANI-POPINĂ Edited by Dragomir POPOVICI Whith contributions of: Daniela BĂNOIU, Valentin DUMITRAŞCU, Erika GÁL, Corina GHEORGHIU, Eugen KESSLER, Dragoş MOISE, Iulius Alexandru NĂLBITORU, Ionuţ TORCICĂ, Gabriel VASILE

- 2003 -

Edited by Dragomir POPOVICI Translated by Adrian STĂNICĂ Design: Daniela IACOVACHE Cover: Andrei MĂRGĂRIT Drawings: Georgiana DUCMAN Photos: Dragomir POPOVICI, Constantin HAITĂ, Valentin DUMITRAŞCU, George NICA

Volum apărut în cadrul Programului CERES Volume Published Within the Ceres Programm

Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naţionale a României Archaeological pluridisciplinary researches at Borduşani-Popină/ ed.: Dragomir Popovici. – Târgovişte : Cetatea de Scaun, 2003 Bibliogr. ISBN 973-7925-05-X I. Popovici, Dragomir (ed.) 902(498 Borduşani-Popina)

© Editura Cetatea de Scaun, 2003 Contact: S.C. Editura Logos SRL str. Mr. Spirescu, bl. C4, sc. C, ap. 2, jud. Dâmboviţa, Târgovişte, Romania Tel./Fax. 0245 214692; Tel. 0721 209519 e-mail: [email protected] Printed in Romania

SUMMARY Introduction (Dragomir POPOVICI) ............................................................... 7 I. Gumelniţa pottery from Borduşani - Popină. Case study (Dragomir POPOVICI, Florin VLAD, Ionuţ TORCICĂ, Daniela BĂNOIU) . 9 II. Remarks on Gumelniţa lithic tools discovered at Borduşani Popină, Ialomiţa county (Iulius Alexandru NĂLBITORU) .......................... 35 III. Micromorphology. Inhabited space disposition and uses. Analysis of an occupation zone placed outside the dwellings (Constantin HAITĂ) ............ 51 IV. Permineralized wood and charcoal from the Gumelniţa A2 levels at Borduşani - Popină (Ialomiţa county, Romania): paleoethnographic and paleoecologic implications (Iulia TOMESCU) .............................................. 75 V. Anthropologic study of the osteologic remnants discovered on the Borduşani - Popină archaeological digging site (Ialomiţa county) during the field campaigns between 1997-2002 (Gabriel VASILE) ............................... 95 VI. Zooarchaeology VI.1. Mammals fauna from Borduşani - Popină (Adrian BĂLĂŞESCU, Dragoş MOISE, Valentin DUMITRAŞCU)........ 103 VI.2.1. Eneolithic bird remains from the tell site of Borduşani - Popină (Erika GÁL, Eugen KESSLER) ................................................................ 141 VI.2.2. La Tène bird remains from the tell site of Borduşani - Popină (Erika GÁL, Eugen KESSLER)................................................................. 155 VI.3 Several data about fish and fishing importance in the palaeoeconomy of the Gumelniţa A2 community from Borduşani Popină (Valentin RADU)......................................................................... 159 VII. The use of palaeoecology in the process of ecological reconstruction: archaeological site Borduşani - Popină from Balta Ialomiţei wetland (Valentin DUMITRAŞCU, Corina GHEORGHIU)......................................... 173 VIII. Conclusions (Authors) .......................................................................... 185

INTRODUCTION

During the long and fruitful chats had with many colleagues, both on the field and in the office, we have oftenly been blamed for the apparently slow progress of our studies. We started this long and extremely complex process in 1993 and it would not have taken place without the valuable help from our friends, both from France as well as from Romania. At their turn, its steps could not be neither eluded nor diminished in time and importance. The complexity of the conception, methods and techniques, the difficulties of studied sites, our lack of experience as well as such tradition is completely absent in the Romanian archaeology are just a few of the elements that must be taken into account at the evaluation of this programme. Last but not least, another extremely important dimension of this project must be mentioned: the decision to improve the human potential, in a field with no - or extremely few - specialists in Romania. During time, it became necessary to continue to improve the professional level of the researchers, as well as of newer generations of willing to learn students. This volume gathers the efforts of most of those who have worked on the Borduşani-Popină archaeological site during the past years. After the Hârşova tell (Constanţa County), this has been the second archaeological site where, starting in 1993, we used the same digging conception, methods and techniques (Randoin et al., 2000; Popovici et al., 2001; Popovici et al., 2002). A first published report (Marinescu-Bîlcu et al., 1997) presented the site and the first results. Our collaboration with the French colleagues has been beneficial to and we tried to extend the work in this spirit on a different site. Even though this – at that time – new site seemed to have many common elements with the Hârşova tell, we were offered thus the opportunity to simultaneously continue to check whether these two sites have specific peculiarities and if so, to reveal them. This experience was more than necessary and it proved its usefulness during time. We consider that our project was necessary also from the scientific point of view, as it was more difficult than the situation at Hârşova, mostly because of 7

the tough working conditions. The site’s specificity had to be proved, but this came only after our identifying the necessary conditions for a comparison. If the material proof of the existing data cannot be denied, their interpretation essentially depends on its conceptual model. This, at its turn, implies the existence of a theoretical thinking that determines the precise parameters used in modeling and. It is obvious that the digging is just a sequence of this so very complex process. During the early times of our researches we had to try and define as exact as possible why and, especially, how we could start to study and interpret the big and rich quantity of information accumulated during the field researches on a site with such complex stratification. The acquired experience concerning the understanding of the stratigraphic complexity, specific behaviors, the completion of sectorial cumulative stratigraphic diagrams mark a first step. The achievement of a database including the resulted information has supported us to try now this first step towards their analysis and synthesis. As the high amount of data obviously imply a huge effort for their control, management and interpretation, we have been forced to focus our work towards the discovery of the data processing most efficient ways. The main purpose of this volume appears thus to be the synthesis of the present result mostly in an emphasized methodological perspective.

D. Popovici

8

I. Gumelniţean pottery from Borduşani-Popină Case study* Popovici DRAGOMIR Florin VLAD Ionuţ TORCICĂ Daniela BĂNOIU

Preliminary observation The pottery in general, and especially its typology, has been privileged for a long time by the archeological research, being mostly used as an explanation of various processes (evolution, diffusion, etc). It has been many times considered a key to ethnic apartnences, (Curta, 2002). These facts brought the pottery typology a prominent place and role, the obtained results being, in their details, the expression of each author’s meaning. The latter was generated by the analysis methods and techniques imposed in a paradigmatic frame. At its turn, this frame induced in most cases the elimination of thinking particularities in the favor of a quasi-general uniformity. It can thus be explained why its attributes have many times been considered as a chronological index, which is a decisive factor in an evolution also presented in a mostly chronological frame. This point of view diminishes other possible and not less important dimensions of the pottery study; respectively a series of activities or behaviors that could have been otherwise analyzed. We simply mention (as it is not the main aim of this current analysis) that the problems raised by such pottery studies are extremely complex, naturally offering a multitude of analysis and interpretation modalities. It is also obvious that this field of research implies parameters whose value and functionality sometimes vary very much. Numerous examples from all the references prove this affirmation (see also the discussions about this subject at Deetz, 1968; Rouse, 1968; Hole, Heizer, 1973; Glodariu, 1981; Marinescu-Bîlcu, 1981; Barker, 1982; Orton, Tyers, Vince, 1993; Sârbu, 1996; idem, 2003; Trohani, 1999; Chapman, 2000, etc.).

9

One of the most important problems in what regards the consequences of such a study and that appears from the very beginning, is the definition of typological characteristics that afterwards allow the series` structuring (Orton, Tyers, Vince, 1993). Their use must be correlated with their specificity and proposed purposes. We consider as necessary several presentations. Unfortunately, till the present time there are no general and complete typological (and therefore credible) lists about the Gumelniţa Culture pottery, neither for the entire culture’s pottery nor for a site or even any occupational level, even though archaeological researches of the Gumelniţa started over 8 decades ago. We mention that other specialists also pointed out this situation (Bailey, 2000). Generally, the specialized reviews present only brief mentions or general presentations of discovered pottery from various more or less researched sites. As a consequence, their publishing has been erratic, in accordance with each author’s professional experience and subjective arguments (see also in the same idea the opinions of Marinescu-Bîlcu, 1981). The criteria subjectivity determined a certain lack of precision in the pottery analysis and, as a consequence, of all the aspects resulting from this situation. We believe that their absence visibly affect the pottery analysis possibilities as well as its value in a wider cultural frame. An entire series of problems cannot be analyzed, diagnosed and consequently understood. Even more, the quality of the data determined in an important measure the fluidity of interpretations and their diminished spectrum. In what regards our work and the possibility to complete everything we had proposed, we are conscious that there have been several non-negligible difficulties due mainly to the lack of important precedents. In a hardly to be arranged order we mention the very high quantity of information, the definition of the set of criteria that should be followed and the insurance of logistics that must allow the analysis of often tens of thousands of pottery fragments. Whatever the conception about the prehistorically pottery analysis and/or interpretation, it must nevertheless be based on the quality of treated information, that includes at least two decisive parameters The first refers to the strictness of necessary data, which is derived from the quality of fieldwork. This thus becomes a determinant, sine qua non condition of any subsequent analysis. The second parameter consists of the analysis of at least the final data, from the perspective of the anthropic activities types that generated one or another 10

situation. This must be followed by the subsequent integration in the general social frame of the activities possibly to be detected at the levels of contemporary structures. This detection must be continued to occupational sequences and phases in pluristratified sites and also to inter-site analysis Purpose of the analysis Our main proposed purpose is to try to create the instruments that can help us to better understand the Gumelniţean community (or communities) evolution features from the Borduşani tell. In order to achieve this purpose, it becomes obvious that we must proceed to an as detailed as possible analysis. This analysis should allow us a more complete recovery of the essential data dug from the site. Even though in the future this type of study should cope with all categories of information, the present paper only deals with pottery. We therefore try to contour a specific methodology as closely related as possible to the site’s characteristics. The global analysis of the pottery discovered in the Borduşani site implies the comparative study of all discovered complexes. This comparison should cope both with the complexes as a whole as well as with the contouring of common and specific elements. As a consequence, one of the main purposes aimed at the underlining of each complex characteristics. We did so as we believe that each archaeological complex „identity” can be defined by a series of attributes and can be considered as the reflection of certain human activities. Their generality and chronological value shall be only subsequently studied. This is why the aspects that define the evolution of various pottery species and categories are treated only as secondary objectives of this paper. The reason is simply the incipient stage of the analysis. Thus, the representative parameters are hard to be defined as this presumes the definition of an evolution. This evolution must be deduced from a longer, at least stratigraphic succession (the only way to underline the attributes of any evolution). We nevertheless want to try to underline the possibly existent relation types between various archaeological complexes and the pottery contained by them. We perform this action as we must determine the types of human activities that generated them, in a preliminary phase of this study. This point of view is different from the one that privileges the typological study of pottery forms and decorations. We do not consider the typological study in 11

itself as the most important, nor that it can be separated from the archaeological cultures` other attributes and their possible significations. *

* *

As a consequence of the concepts about digging methods and techniques (Randoin et al., 2000; Popovici et al., 2002), used on the Hârşova-tell (Constanţa County) and Borduşani-Popină (Ialomiţa County) sites, (Marinescu-Bîlcu et al., 1997) and of the efforts made by the research group, we succeeded the completion of the Sector Cumulative Stratigraphic Diagrams (SCSD) for the γ and β levels. This result helps us make a better analysis of all the furniture categories, mainly using the stratigraphic data. This information allows contouring a new methodology, derived from this analysis model (Randoin, 2000; Popovici, 2001). This methodology corresponds to the problems proposed to be solved by the research team. This was made possible by the creation of a specific database. This database, that includes all the stratigraphic data, was the result of the French – Romanian International Cooperation Programme developed at Hârşova by our colleague Bernard Randoin. The same methodologies were also applied for researches developed at Borduşani. This study is just the beginning of an analysis that should coherently include all furniture categories according to the same concept and methodology. The final result of the analysis should allow systematic and as complete as possible evaluations. The current preliminary study contains the partial results of an analysis of pottery samples share. The pottery material was collected in the 2000-2003 field campaigns on the Borduşani archaeological site. This pottery samples share was structured in three parts, each of them corresponding to an archaeological complex. Each of these archaeological complexes was identified and researched on the field, and marked in the following way: S.L. 29, C. 201 and S.L. 33. Using their formal characteristics, we concluded that the three complexes belong to successive Gumelniţa A2 inhabiting sequences. The aim was the detailed analysis of pottery complexes. As observed from the field diagnoses and from the detailed SCSD analysis results, these should have belonged to complexes completely researched from the archaeological point of view. We remark that these are not contemporary from the stratigraphic point of view, but the value of separating time intervals cannot be precised (even though it cannot be very big). 12

Archaeological complexes All the three studied complexes belong to inhabiting structures. Two (SL. 29 and SL. 33) represent remnants of abandoned unburnt dwellings, while the third (C. 201) is a foundation trench. This foundation trench had been dug for the building of an inhabiting structure. The archaeological researches prove that the only remnant of this structure is the trench. We want to mention that, before the beginning of the French – Romanian research co-operation programme from Hârşova-tell, these types of archaeological complexes had not (or only little) been known and studied during the archaeological researches developed in the neo-eneolitic tells North of the Danube. From the analyzed pottery samples we remark the existence of two kinds of moments characteristic for an inhabiting complex evolution. These are: the building (more specifically the digging) of the foundation trench and its abandonment, thus marking the beginning and ending moments of the dwellings` evolution, that implies the building, disposition, use and end of use. Certain specific features characterize each of these moments. The digging of the foundation trench implied, from our point of view, the disturbance of stratigraphic units that had been formed by previous human activities (Pl. 1/1-3). The major consequence regards the destruction of the initial context and the mixture of artifacts fragments. Thus, the discoveries may prove a context that is totally different from the initial ones, both stratigraphically and chronologically. If the before mentioned aspects do not represent an important news, we consider the diagnosis and definition of characteristics to be essential. Our affirmation is also proved by the archaeological value, as well as by the value of consequences implied by their diagnosis and interpretation, at least in what regards the artifacts` analysis. Even though affirmed, its consequences had generally been ignored. The other two complexes correspond to a subsequent sequence: their abandonment. Nowadays, the Romanian archaeology has no decent analysis about the way this process occurred, as well as about its specific consequences. This is why we consider this type of study as extremely necessary. On the base of preliminary successive analyses, this may allow a more nuanced evolution of these complexes. In what regards the pottery fragments discovered inside the abandoned dwellings, we simply mention for the time being that we cannot be sure whether these fragments date back to the last moment of the dwellings` use. We may admit as a principle that these pottery fragments may be the result of an intended or not change of the structure’s use.

13

The data obtained during the diggings, as well as those resulted from the stratigraphic diagram analysis, prove the following succession: S.L. 29 – C. 201 – S.L. 33. Brief presentation of the complexes The following pages contain a brief presentation of the existing data considered relevant for our analysis. The presentation shall be made in the order resulted from the stratigraphic analysis. SL. 29 Remnants belonging to this unburnt dwelling were observed and studied on the β Level (Pl. 2). The walls` debris, made of unburnt daub, covered an area of about 15 sq.m. The remnants were in a poor conservation state. It is nevertheless obvious that the initial area had been much bigger. A probably important part of it could not be studied because of subsequent destructions due either to humans or animals. The combustion structure had also been affected by the same destructions. C. 201 Discovered in the γ and β levels (Pl. 3). This complex represents the foundation trench of a subsequent dwelling (SL 33), also entirely affected by it. It has a rectangular shape, with a length of about 14 m and a variable width with values between 1.30 m and 1 m. The vertical profile has a trapezoidal shape with irregular sides and an average depth of 0.90 m. The depth was computed from the upper side, marked by the walls relicts of SL 33. Its relatively important dimensions suggest that the dwelling had had a resistance structure, as its area might have exceeded 100 sq.m. We also consider significant that this complex has crossed a series of other complexes, among the destruction of SL. 33 and the passage areas must be mentioned. The passage areas were domestic wastes zones distributed along all the four sides of the dwelling. As a consequence, its filling represents the material traces of various human activities. Their temporal value and diversity is unfortunately difficult to evaluate. SL. 33 The remains belonging to this unburnt dwelling were observed and studied on the γ β levels (Pl. 4). The walls` debris, made of unburnt adobes, covered an area of about 50 sq.m. Nevertheless, on the basis of these fragments` spatial dispersion, we can presume that the built surface initial value may have 14

been towards the value of 100 sq.m. Thus, a part of it that may be evaluated between about 30% and 50% could not be studied due to subsequent destructions. During the diggings, we can observe a situation never before mentioned: the walls`, floor’s and burning structure debris were totally disturbed. Thus, fragments with packs of floor repairings were discovered at the upper part of wall debris, while other floor packs were scattered among all wall debris. The same situation also applies to the burning structure, also entirely disturbed. We mention that the burning structure’s fragments were scattered on a 2 sq.m. area. Of a particular importance could be the discovery of a wood threshold, in situ preserved at the northern limit of the dwelling’s southern third. This may be considered as marking the passage between two rooms with different dimensions (thus, probably, with various uses). Out of these presumed rooms, the southern one had undoubtedly been the most affected by subsequent disturbances. Identity of the complexes in what regards the pottery As the main purpose of our study regards this category of artifacts, we considered necessary from the very beginning to define the parameters that may be considered as eloquent in what regards the pottery fragments. This is why we consider necessary also to mention the following due working stages: 1. Definition on the basis of Sector Cumulative Stratigraphic Diagrams (SCSD) of complexes that may prove relevant, and thus subsequently analyzed using the before mentioned criteria. 2. Grouping of all the pottery from these complexes according to the stratigraphic units list, as obtained from the Data Base (DB). 3. Check of the marking of each relevant pottery fragment. 4. Check of the reunification potential for profiles or pots. 5. Establishing of the Minimal Number of Individuals (MNI) for paste categories and on the base of characteristic profile elements. 6. Listing of each pottery individual on the base of mentioned criteria. 7. Introduction of each listed file in the site Data Base. 8. Definition of quantitative parameters for each analyzed complex, respectively total number of pottery fragments, number of fragments for each paste category, structure of pottery fragments correlated to the pot’s shape (fragmentation and pottery shapes frequency indexes). Completion of relevant statistic situations and their analysis. 9. Comparative study of data obtained between various studied complexes. 15

Spatial relations For the time being we believe that this aspect cannot be deeply analyzed, as existing data are yet insufficient. Even though affected by subsequent stratigraphic disturbances (mainly by C.201), only S. L. 33 was integrally studied. It offers some very interesting data that should be followed more attentively in future researches on built structures from the Borduşani-Popină Gumelniţean site. We can thus mention that a pottery fragments group can be observed in SL 33, especially in the southwestern 32 sector (Pl. 2). This group consists of coarse-grained paste pottery fragments and was thus discovered left of the very probable entrance in the second, bigger room of the dwelling. This observation may be connected to the one underlying that fine grained paste pottery fragments were grouped in the area very probably containing the burning structure (NE of the dwelling), St. 37, respectively (Pl. 2). We can thus conclude that the dwelling’s inner place had been divided in what regards the pottery position (and, implicitly, its specific use). We nevertheless mention once again that this inhabiting structure has a peculiar preservation state, as its remains suggest a subsequent intentionate destruction. The correlation of existing data suggests that this event took place immediately after the abandonment of the dwelling’s original purpose and before the digging of C.201. Conclusions The data obtained from this brief analysis suggest the existence of a minimum number of 70 – 80 pots per dwelling. If we correlate this situation with those studied in the case of burnt dwellings (that offer us a greater certainty regarding the last use moment), we can admit that 70-80 pots was the minimum number of pots in a dwelling. This result must also become a start for other analysis directions. Big supply pots were predominant, followed by semi fine paste medium sized pots. The use of these medium sized pots is currently uncertain. Fine paste pots are both the smallest and less numerous in comparison with all categories. It is possible that the observation made for S.L. 33 corresponds to a specific more general situation. If this situation repeats also in other inhabiting structures we must correlate the existing information. Thus, most probably, most of certain supply categories was deposited in pots inside the house. This thing necessarily presumes 31

a certain spatial organization and thus imposes the definition of activity types developed inside the dwellings. We also must take into account the pots distribution ways, such as shelves, racks, stands, etc. From our point of view it is obvious that the integral study of complexes must be made according to a very elaborate methodology that should allow the recovery of as many data as possible. Our analysis is based on an arborescent typology that has several inconvenients: difficulty to typologically frame the fragments as the number and value of chosen criteria always maintain a certain degree of subjectivity. Under these circumstances, we believe that the most convenient future solution resides in the establishing of a database that must include all entire and reconstituted pots discovered in researched sites. The establishing of their specific attributes shall allow a less subjective classification of pottery fragments in various classes, categories, types and variants. The suggested steps include the determination of frequencies, complexes specification and only afterwards the performance of finer analyses. These latter steps of the analysis are the specification of pottery workshops, exchange circuits of pots, their intra-site and intra-cultural inter-site distribution. In other words, only this analysis model allows a clearer and more objective definition of the originating human activities. We must mention that the structuring of a research team with good specific professional skills represents an imperative condition. Another equally important condition is the insurance of a corresponding logistic base.

*

List of participants Pottery Laboratory

The prezented pottery material was studied at the Pottery Laboratory of the Humanistic Sciences Faculty, "Valahia" University of Târgovişte, with the participation of the following students: Pîrvulescu Cosmin-Dan, Ignat Theodor-Aurelian, Radu Viorel-George, Florea Ana-Maria, Matei-Moruzi Ana-Maria, Ionescu Magdalena, Mihai Gabriela, Băditoiu Nicoleta, Bănoiu Daniela, Sandu Ciprian, Mocanu Andrei, Banu Emanuela, Orbeci Ramona, Nica Tiberiu, Scumpu Virgil, Petrache Ancuta, Şerbanescu Mihai, Ciocănel Camelia Mirela, Gaiţa Cornelia, Ilie Dan, Sora Romeo, Chiran Simona, Stănila Ionela, Cernău Mihai, Cernău Ioan, Stan Cătălin, Sandu Maiana, Eremia Iuliana, Cernea Cătalina.

32

References Deetz, James, 1968, Cultural Patterning of Behavior as rewflected by Archaeological Materials, in K.C. Chang, (ed.), Settlement Archaeology, Palo Alto, California Barker, Ph., 1982, Techniques of Archaeological Excavation, London. Bailey, D.W., Balkan Prehistory. Exclusion, Incorporation and Identity, 2000. Chapman, J., 2000, Fragmentation in Archaeology. People, places and broken objects in the prehistory of southeastern Europe, London and New York. Curta, Florin, 2002, Consideraţii privind conceptul de caracter etnic (etnicitate) în arheologia contemporană, în Arheologia Medievală, IV, (in Romanian) Glodariu, I., 1981, Contribuţii la cronologia ceramicii dacice în epoca Latene târzie, in Studii dacice, Cluj, Romania (in Romanian). Hole, F., Heizer, R.F., 1973, An Introduction to Prehistoric Archaeology. Marinescu-Bîlcu, S., 1981, Tîrpeşti. From Prehistory to History in Eastern Romania, BAR, IS, 107. Norton, C., Tyers, P., Vince, A., 1993, Pottery in archaeology, Cambridge manuals in archaeology, C.U.P. Popovici, D., Randoin, B., Rialland, Y., 2001, Le tell néolithique et chalqolithique d'Hârşova (Roumanie), in J. Guilaine, (ed), Communautés villageoises du Proche-Orient à l'Atlantique, (8000-2000 avant notre ere). Séminaire du College de France, Ed. Errance.(in French). Popovici, D., Bălăşescu, A., Haită, C., Radu, V., Tomescu, A.M.F., Tomescu, I., 2002, Cercetarea arheologică pluridisciplinară. Concepte, metode şi tehnici, Bucharest (in Romanian). Randoin, B., Popovici, D., Rialland, Y., 2000, Metoda de săpătură şi înregistrarea datelor stratigrafice într-un sit pluristratificat : tell-ul neoeneolitic de la Hârşova, in Archaeological Researches, XI, t.I. Bucharest (in Romanian). Rouse, Irving, 1968, Prehistory, Typology, and the Study of Society, in K. C., Chang, (ed.), Settlement archaeology. Sîrbu, V., 1996, Dava getică de la Grădiştea, Judeţul Brăila, (I), Brăila, Romania (in Romanian). Sîrbu, V., 2003, Arheologia funerară şi sacrificiile: o terminologie unitară, Brăila, Romania (in Romanian). Trohani, Gh., 1999, Ceramica geto-dacă din secolele II a.Chr. – I p. Chr. din Campia Română, Ph. D. Thesis (in Romanian). 33

II. Remarks on Gumelniţa lithic tools discovered at Borduşani - Popină, Ialomiţa county Iulius Alexandru NĂLBITORU

This paper presents a series of preliminary remarks on Gumelnetian lithic tools discovered at Popina Borduşani, Ialomiţa district. We emphasize that not all lithic tools that have been discovered on this Eneolithic tell are the subject of this study but only the one provenient from β and γ levels, discovered during the field campaigns 2000-2003. Part of the lithic material provenient from S. α was previously presented (Haită and Tomescu, 1997), the conclusions reached concerning the source of raw materials being also characteristic for the material from β and γ levels, in which same rock types are present. The building of a database significantly eased the study of the lithic material. High-resolution scanning allowed the highlighting of various aspects such as: retouching type, usage marks, rock quality, etc. In order to determine the source of raw materials, the site research team decided to organize a collection of rocks, based on field studies. The flint used to manufacture tools and weapons generally is of good quality, yellow-brown colored, with a homogenous structure (the so-called silex from the pre-Balkanic platform). Based on repeated field studies from the previous years, it can be assessed that the source of the flint is from the nearby Ghindăreşti, where it occurs as boulders, from which detached splinters might have had different uses. Our main goal is to study the lithic material type and statistics, as well as the elements of interpretation of this type of artifacts from archaeological complexes discovered during the researches. Considering that typological associations and frequency of different pieces reflect various types of anthopogenic activity, we try to depict their characteristics, as this helps the global interpretation of discoveries from Borduşani Popina. Both typology and functionality of the lithic material have been studied and the following typological cathegories have been identified: retouched blades and lamellae, blades “á deux bord abattu”, blades “appointee”, bitruncated cone blades, retouched truncated cone blades, non-retouched blades, endscrapers, burins, 35

retouched splinters, arrow points, perçoire, pieces with noches and denticulates, cores, hammers, hewed and polished axes, chisels, grinders, scrubbers, altogether 212 pieces. Retouched blades are predominant (68), followed by endscrapers-37 and splinters with usage marks -33. Only few production wastes are present - approx. 40, supporting the remark that most of the pieces were either brought in the settlement as half-finished pieces or they were processed elsewhere. The scarcity of row blades is noticeable, four of them with usage marks pointing out a high degree of lithic material use and re-use. Weights of different pieces categories are shown in Fig.1. Typolological categories

Number of pieces

%

1

Retouched blades

68

32 %

2

Blades “à bord abattu”

3

1.4%

3

Blades “à deux bord abattu”

2

0.94%

4

Blades “appointee”

3

1.4%

5

Bi-truncated cone blades

1

0.47%

6

Blades with straight truncation

2

0.94%

7

Un-retouched blades

4

1.88%

8

Gratters

37

17.45%

9

Burins

2

0.94%

10

Retouched splinters

33

15.56%

11

Arrow points

2

0.94%

12

Perçoire

2

0.94%

13

Pieces with denticulates

1

0.47%

14

Cores

2

0.94%

15

Hammers

3

1.4%

16

Axes

6

2.8%

17

Chisels

1

0.47%

18

Production wastes

40

18.86%

19

Total

212

100%

notches

and

Fig. 1. Frequency of lithic types.

36

Retouched blades Retouched blades “are those blades which have on one or both sides continuous, ordinary, direct or reverse retouches” (Cârciumaru, 2001). Six of them are whole retouched blades. Fragments (62) are predominant. 14 out of them originate from the middle part of the blade, 17 from the proximal part and the remaining till 62 from the distal part. Many of these fragments appear due to their accidentally breaking apart, as result of their use. There are some fragments on which interventions were made after their breaking, and 11 fragments with usage marks belonging to several tools like sickles or wood processing tools. An example is the one mentioned N. N. Skakun for the eneolithic settlements in Bulgaria. (Skakun, 1993a). Most of the fragments with such usage marks come from the middle part of the blades (5), in comparison with 3 distal fragments and 3 proximal ones. For some of them it may be presumed that they have been used for skin processing, especially the large size fragments. Blades of type „á bord abattu” The blade „á bord abattu” has only a single abruptly retouched margin (Cârciumaru, 2001). Three similar fragments were found in Borduşani, the biggest being of 7.2 cm in length, 2 cm width and 0.6 cm thick. This type, known since the Eastern Gravetian, was used as part of a wooden or bone-made probably hunting instrument. Alexandru Păunescu remarks a poor persistence of this blade in the lithic inventory of some Eneolithic cultures (Păunescu, 1970). Blades of type „a deux bord abattu” This type, defined by its two opposed abruptly retouched edges (Cârciumaru, 2001) is represented by two fragments of relative small sizes: length between 2.8 cm and 3.9 cm and width comprised between 2.1 cm and 1.3 cm. It is difficult to assign this type to a specific activity. Blades of type „appointée” This is the blade having an usual or flat retouching that straightens in two edges, making them convergent. Thus the piece becomes pointed (Cârciumaru, 2001). Three such blades were discovered at Borduşani. Their lengths vary between 5.4 and 4.3 cm and the width between 1.9 and 2.6 cm. Such pieces could be used to scrape, cut and pierce different soft or hard materials.

37

Bitruncated cone blades It is the blade with two straight or oblique opposed truncations (Cârciumaru, 2001). There is a single piece of this type with length of 6.1 cm and width of about 2 cm. It shows an abrupt retouching, straight on the ends, but also a direct retouching on both sides. In could be used for various activities. Blades with straight truncation It is a sort of blade with the truncation placed at the end, perpendicular on the length (Cârciumaru, 2001). The pieces of this type have a direct and abrupt retouch. One of the blades also presents a side retouch. The length of these pieces is between 3.3 and 6.1 cm, and the width between 1.6 and 2.6 cm. It could be used in rasping and cutting hard or soft materials. Pieces with notches and denticulates These have probably been used for horn processing. Experimentally, we noticed that such piece is needed, as burin type pieces being used more for tracing or incision rather than for cutting off. The horn is a hard material at its surface, becoming softer and porous towards the inner part. Horn processing causes extensive damage to the active part of the tool. Alexandru Păunescu considers that large polished denticulates pieces could be fitted in a handle and used as sickle, but such pieces were not found at Borduşani. For smaller pieces, their presumed use is bone and horn processing (Păunescu, 1970). Few such pieces, usually associated with blades were discovered at Borduşani. Endscrapers They are defined as blades or splinters having an ordinary convexshaped retouching at one end or on a smaller part of the edge, called gratting front, characterized by retouching width, thickness, shape and type (Demars, Laurent, 1992). Gratters discovered at Borduşani are flat, most of them being blade-gratters. We must remark that most of them show intense usage marks, the gratting front being in most cases destroyed. Side parts also show usage marks, as fractures or as obvious polish. This could point out the use of same tool in wood, skin, bone and other material processing. Some of the discovered gratters show a retouching typical to hafting. Blade sizes of some gratters are remarkable, three of them being over 10 cm in length. The active part of one of them was strongly destroyed, being used most probable for wood processing.

38

Burins This tool is obtained by a special retouch, called ”enlévement de coup de burin” (Demars and Laurent, 1992). At Borduşani the burins represent about 0.94 % of the total number of tools and weapons. Two types are present: breaking angle burin and burin on retouched blade fragment. Burins are generally associated with bone and horn engraving (Cârciumaru, 2001). Perçoires Both splinter and blade types are present (Demars and Laurent, 1992). The first one with a length of 4.5 cm and proximal width of 2 cm is made form a yellow brown flint, with abrupt, direct and continuous retouchings on both sides. It could be used to pierce hard materials maybe as arrow points, although the slightly curved shape does not indicate such use. The second perçoir was made from a splinter and has a smaller size, length - 3 cm, proximal width - 2 cm. It shows an ordinary direct retouching. It seems it has been used for piercing soft materials. Retouched splinters or with usage marks The simple splinter, with or without retouch, could be used in a variety of purposes: skin or wood processing, meat cutting, etc. Numerous operations could be assigned: cutting, rasping, carving, piercing, making holes, engraving. It is thus normal that 33 out of 73 splinters show usage marks, being the most frequent after retouched blades and gratters. The few cores found in Borduşani are used for splinter production. The used flint generally has a poor quality, being similar to the one discovered along the Danube between Hârşova and Ghindăreşti. It is worthwhile to remark also the presence of some splinters made from a yellowwhite limestone with usage marks. Axes They are represented by both by carved flint axes and polished stone axes and small axes. Two flint axes were found in an inhabited level belonging to S.L. 29. This inhabited structure could have structured inner spaces, at least part of it being a storage space. A similar situation was found in Hârşova, for one of the rooms of S.L. 48. Axes from Borduşani are provenient from the same level, grinder fragments and a big quantity of pottery were found beside them. Raw materials and manufacturing techniques differ in each case. Some of the axes were made from used boulders, maintaining previous negative imprints. The others were made by 39

detaching large splinters from a flint block. The homogenous yellow flint of the first axe is of a very good quality. The second specimen was made of a brown, less homogenous flint. Both of them have obvious polish on the active side. Pieces from polished stone are four, two of them being produced using the same technique, presenting a flat shape. The third one is more curved. All three present usage marks as fractures on the active side, but the lower part is also jagged. The fourth piece is of peculiar interest, being an unfinished axe, reused afterwards to sharpen some bone or horn tools. The raw material used in manufacturing the two flat small axes is a very fine textured brown yellow limestone, last two small axes being made from a greenish grey schistous rock. Chisels Only one small sized specimen was found, length - 3 cm, width - 0,6 cm and thickness 0.7 cm. It was produced from a shaded flint, translucent in places. Because of its small size, it is difficult to infer its functionality. It is possible that it was part of a composite tool. It was probably used to process hard materials *bone, horn) having the proximal part slightly degraded. Arrow points Among the discovered flint pieces, only two belong to this category. Both of them have a triangular shape, with a depression in the base to easily attach them to a wooden stick. They have similar sizes, length of about 5.5 cm and 5.3 cm and width of about 2.8 cm and 2.6 cm but are differently made. The first one appears to be a reuse of a tool, probably a blade fragment, a steep inverse marginal retouching being used, as for the other one a bi-facial covering retouching. Similar arrow points were found at Luncaviţa, Medgidia, Brăiliţa, Cuneşti, Sultana, Chiselet, Gumelniţa, Radovanu, Căscioarele, Pietrele, Vidra, Surduleşti, Leşile, Teiu, Geangoeşti (Comşa, 1987), Hârşova (Haită, 2000), at Ziduri (Măndescu, 2001) and others. Cores There are only some small cores used for splinter detaching. The flint is generally of poor quality, provenient from Dobrogea, most probable from Ghindăreşti. There are no cores from which blades could be detached, if we except the one used for manufacturing one of the two axes discovered here.

40

Hammers Only a few are present in the lithic inventory of S.L.33. The spherical hammer Core is made from a good quality yellow brown flint with numerous fractures. Other two pieces of the same type are made from a gray limestone, as the one found along the Danube, and from dull white quartz with some pink impregnations. Lithic tools discovered in S.L. 33 In what regards the typology, the lithic tool inventory from S.L.33 comprises: bi-truncated cone blade - 1, blade appointée - 1, blade gratter - 1, retouched splinter -1, arrow point -1, hammer -1, production waste -1. Good quality yellow brown flint from Dobrogea is the predominant raw material. Due to subsequent disturbances, we consider that the analysis of typological characteristics does not currently allow categorical statements, although the association is extremely interesting and suggesting the human activity diversity. Lithic tools discovered in C.201 C.201, a foundation ditch, post- S.L.33 provided the following lithic inventory: retouched blades -5, unretouched blades -1, gratters -2, retouched splinters -1, production wastes -2., (Fig. 2). Piece type

%

Number of pieces 5

45.4 %

1

Retouched blades

2

Gratters

2

18.2 %

3

Retouched splinters

1

9.09 %

4

Production wastes

2

18.2 %

5

Unretouched blades

1

9.09 %

6

Total

11

100%

Fig. 2. Frequency of lithic types from C.201.

It is remarkable that the weights of different tool types are similar with the ones of the whole lithic inventory.

41

Raw material The flint from which the majority of pieces were made is yellow brown in color, with a homogenous structure (pre-Balkanic flint). Such flint can be found in the central and southern Dobrogea (Haită and Tomescu 1997). The flint provenient from Dobrogea was used in other eneolithic settlements South of the Danube (Skakun, 1993b). Next comes the gray brown glassy flint, of a poorer quality and a heterogenous dark colored flint. The brown flint, also of good quality, is poorly represented, as only 5.1 % of the pieces are made from this type of material. Many of the splinters with usage marks were manufactured from gray brown flint, similar with the one provenient from Ghindăreşti (Constanţa county). The great majority of all other rocks appear to come also from Dobrogea. Other used rocks were boulders from the Danube River bed. The use of limestone must be noticed, as several splinters were made from this material. The technique was similar to the one used for flint carving; retouched limestone splinters with usage marks were observed. A very fine limestone of good quality was used in manufacturing polished small axes and chisels. Another tool was manufactured from greenschist provenient from central Dobrogea. The nearest source for this type of rock could be at Topalu, 20 km away from Borduşani (Haită and Tomescu 1997). The situation on material types is the following: Type of raw material

Number of pieces

%

1

Yellow brown flint

61

28.77 %

2

Grey yellow flint

14

6.6 %

3

Gray brown flint

38

17.92 %

4

Gray flint

33

15.56 %

5

Grayish white flint

17

8.01 %

6

Brown flint

11

5.1 %

7

Other rocks

38

17.92 %

8

Total

212

100 %

Fig. 3. Frequency of types of raw materials at Borduşani-Popină.

Distribution of lithic tools on stratigraphic units A deeper study of the material distribution may offer a suggestive image of the various pieces frequency in various stratigraphic units. The names of stratigraphic units are generic, as the digging style and various concepts and

42

denominations explanations had already been presented in other published materials (Popovici et al., 2002; Randoin et. al., 2000). Piece type

Inhabited structures

Complexes

External occupational

Abandon

Total pieces

Retouched blades

9

23

26

10

68

Blades abattu

bord

-

-

2

1

3

Blades à deux bord abattu

-

1

1

-

2

Blades appointee

1

-

1

1

3

Bi-truncate blades

cone

1

-

-

-

1

Blades with straight truncation

1

-

1

-

2

Unretouched blades

-

1

2

1

4

Gratters

6

9

19

3

37

Burins

-

2

-

-

2

Retouched splinters

3

11

17

2

33

Arrow points

1

-

-

1

2

Perçoire

-

2

-

-

2

Pieces with notches and denticulates

1

-

-

-

1

Cores

-

1

1

-

2

Hammers

1

1

1

-

3

Axes

2

2

2

-

6

Chisels

-

-

1

-

1

Production wastes

3

9

24

4

40

Total

29

62

98

23

212

à

Fig. 4. Frequency of lithic types from complexes and S.U. types

Transforming these numbers in percents, we obtain the weight of each typological category within each type of stratigraphic unit or the frequency of certain typological category within a stratigraphic unit, (Fig. 4). 43

Piece type

Inhabited structures

Complexes

External occupational

Abandon

Total

Retouched blades

13.2 %

33.8%

38.2

14.7%

100%

Blades à bord abattu

-

-

66.66%

33.33

100%

Blades à deux bord abattu

-

50%

50%

-

100%

Blades appointee

33.33%

-

33.33%

33.33%

100%

Bi-truncate cone blades

100%

-

-

-

100%

Blades with straight truncation

50%

-

50%

-

100%

Unretouched blades

-

25%

50%

25%

100%

Gratters

16.2%

24.32%

51.35%

8.1%

100%

Burins

-

100%

-

-

100%

Retouched splinters

9.09%

33.33%

51.51%

6.06%

100%

Arrow points

50%

-

-

50%

100%

Perçoire

-

100%

-

-

100%

Pieces with notches and denticulates

100%

-

-

-

100%

Cores

-

50%

50%

-

100%

Hammers

33.33%

33.33%

33.33%

-

100%

Axes

33.33%

33.33%

33.33%

-

100%

Chisels

-

-

100%

-

100%

Production wastes

7.5%

22.5%

60%

10%

100%

Total pieces

13.67%

29.24%

46.22%

10.84%

100%

Fig. 5. Partition of lithic types from complexes and S.U. types

The same computation done on columns offers an image on various associations that might occur within the same type of stratigraphic unit (Fig. 5).

44

Piece type

Inhabited structures

Complexes

External occupational

Abandon

Retouched blades

31.03%

37.09%

26.53%

43.47%

Blades à bord abattu

-

-

2.04%

4.34%

Blades à deux bord abattu

-

1.61%

1.02%

-

Blades appointée

3.44%

-

1.02%

4.34%

Bi-truncated cone blades

3.44%

-

-

-

Blades with truncation

3.44%

-

1.02%

-

Unretouched blades

-

1.61%

2.04%

4.34%

Gratters

20.68%

14.51%

19.38%

13.04%

Burins

-

3.22%

-

-

Retouched splinters

10.34%

17.74%

17.34%

8.69%

Arrow points

3.44%

-

-

4.34%

Perçoire

-

3.22%

-

-

Pieces with encoche and denticulates

3.44%

-

-

-

Cores

-

1.61%

1.02%

-

Hammers

3.44%

1.61%

1.02%

-

Axes

6.89%

3.22%

2.04%

-

Chisels

-

-

1.02%

-

Production wastes

10.34%

14.51%

24.48%

17.39%

Total pieces

100%

100%

100%

100%

straight

Fig. 6. Percents of lithic types from complexes and S.U. types.

From the analysis of presented data, (Fig. 5), it results that the biggest number of pieces (46.22%) comes from stratigraphic units assigned to different occupational S.U. within the settlement. A significant percentage (29.24%) is provenient from different complexes. Inhabited structures provided only 13.67 % from the total number of pieces. Within the stratigraphic units, the weight of various pieces categories substantially differs, (Fig.6). In the S.U. assigned to an inhabited structure, production wastes represent only 10.34%, in comparison with external occupational – 24.48%, being thus more than double. Retouched blades have instead a greater weight in the first case than in the second, as gratters are represented almost in the same proportion. Retouched splinters have a greater weight in external occupational than in inhabited structures. We must notice the 45

significant weight– 43.47 % of retouched blades within the S.U. assigned to a partial abandon of the settlement. Associations in relation with the raw material The raw material analysis helped establish the existence of some relations between various pieces categories inside the same stratigraphic unit. The areal distribution of pieces inside each S.U. was also considered. Lithic inventory in S.L.26 Lithic inventory from S.L.26contains 6 pieces; the following types are present: retouched blades, endscrapers, retouched truncation blade, production wastes. As raw material, we observe that the yellow gray flint is preferred (two of the pieces are made of it). Other pieces are made of brown, gray, white gray and brown gray flint. Lithic inventory in S.L. 33 In what regards the raw material most of the pieces were made of a yellow brown flint with a very good, homogeneous structure. 5 out of the 7 discovered pieces were made of this type of flint. The other pieces are made of gray and white gray flint. S.U. 3452 offered an interesting situation, where a hammer and a production waste were discovered in the same square (A5). The same type of raw material was also used for an arrow point and for a bi-truncate cone blade, both from the same C1 square but in different stratigraphic units (3447 and 3448). Lithic inventory in S.L. 45 A series of interesting associations were made also in this inhabiting structure, as all three discovered pieces belong to the same stratigraphic unit and are from the same E3 square. The pieces are made of brown flint, being represented by a core for flaking, a production waste and a retouched splint. The analysis of the previously presented data proves the predilection for a raw material in each inhabiting structure. This type of raw material is not the same for none of the situations analyzed by us. We could not establish obvious associations between various types of pieces from other inhabiting structures based on the raw material analysis. The biggest number of pieces was found in stratigraphic units attributed to occupational areas from outside the inhabiting structures. Typological associations can be made in these stratigraphic units also function of the raw material used for the 46

various discovered pieces. In some stratigraphic units the pieces were concentrated on a certain area having the dimensions of a square. Such situation was offered by S.U. 2644, as 5 pieces were discovered here, all of them in the same square -A6. We can observe in the following table (Fig. 7) that it is possible to establish a connection between the discovered endscrapers and splints from the same material (that seem to be provenient from the endscrapers). These endscrapers seem to be “intensely used”, having important destructions of the active part. Piece type

Yellow brown flint 1 1 -

Endscrapers Unretouched flakes Blades “à deux bords abattu”

Yellow gray flint -

White gray flint 1 1 -

Brown flint 1

Fig. 7. Frequency of lithic types from S.U. 2644

A similar situation is given by S.U. 2690, where most of the pieces were discovered on the area of a single square - B3 (Fig. 8). Piece type/ raw material Retouched blades Endscrapers retouched flakes Cores Production wastes

Yellow brown flint -

Brown gray flint 2

White gray flint -

Gray flint -

Brown flint -

1 1

-

1

-

-

-

1 1

1

1

1

Fig. 8. Frequency of lithic types from S.U. 2690.

The possible associations based on the raw material analysis are presented in the table from above: Core - production waste; retouched flake – production waste: endscraper – retouched flake. Retouched blades were not provenient from the core discovered in the same stratigraphical unit, as small flakes were detached from it. A connection can be established between this core and a flake without use marks (probably a production waste). S.U. 2707 contained two pieces that seem to be worked from the same raw material – brown flint: a endscraper and a retouched splint with use marks, both from the surface of the same square. 47

A big number of pieces were provenient from S.U. 2622: 5 retouched blades, a pointed blade and 7 flakes with no use marks (Fig. 9). Piece type/ raw material Retouched blades Pointed blades Endscrapers

Yellow brown flint 1

Brown gray flint 5 1 1

White gray flint 1

Gray flint 2

Brown flint 2

Fig. 9. Frequency of lithic types from S.U. 2622.

We can observe from the table that most pieces were made of the same type of raw material: brown gray flint. These pieces were also discovered on the surfaces of two squares – D1 and D2 of sector 32. Conclusions The lithic material discovered at Borduşani is extremely diverse, suggesting a great variety of human activities. We remark the important weight of retouched blade fragments, about 32 %, followed by gratters –17.45% and retouched splinters or with usage marks –15.56 %. Most of the retouched blade fragments seem to have been used in wood processing or as sickle parts. Some of these could also have been used in skin rasping. Gratters, of medium and large sizes, seem to be mostly used in wood processing. The existence of arrow points could be related to hunting, the settlement being emplaced in a favorable setting for such occupation. The reduced quantity of production wastes and the absence of cores used for blade detachment may suggest the tool manufacturing in another places, closer to the raw material source and their bringing to this settlement only in a halffinished state, either directly or possibly by trading with other communities. Due to intense disturbances, a conclusive relationship between different typological categories of pieces discovered within an inhabited structure cannot be established. The lithic inventory provenient from S.L.33 is of a great interest, due to the variety of human activities that they suggest. Some of the discovered material is provenient from a foundation trench complex, as C.201. Here also, retouched blades are predominant, followed by gratters and production wastes. We consider that retouched blades and their fragments were especially used in wood processing, although some of them appear to have been parts of composite tools, such as sickles. 48

The raw material was generally speaking of a good quality, provenient from Dobrogea. Nearby flint sources from the Dobrogean Danube bank were also used. Occasionally, other rocks were processed. We single out the limestone, processed using the same techniques as the ones used for flint.

References Cârciumaru, M., 2001, Evoluţia omului în Cuaternar. Tehnologie şi tipologie preistorică. Editura Macarie, Târgovişte Comşa, E., 1987, Despre vârfurile de suliţă şi de săgeată de silex din arealul culturii Gumelniţa, în Cultură şi civilizaţie la Dunărea de Jos, III-IV, p.21. Demars, Yves-P.,nLaurent, P., 1992, Types d’outils lithiques du Paleolithiques Superior en Europe, Presse du CNRS. Haită, C., Tomescu, M., 1997, Lihtic resources . Archaeological researches at Borduşani Popină (Ialomiţa county). Preliminary report 1993-1994, Cercetări arheologice, X, p.132-135. Haită, G., 2000, Le matériel lithique du site Hârşova – tell. Étude typologique et tehnologique. Rapport préliminaire. Cercetări arheologice, XI, partea I, p. 35-47. Măndescu, D., 2001, Tellul gumelniţean de la Ziduri (com.Mozăceni, jud. Argeş), Argessis, Studii şi Comunicări, seria Istorie”, tom X, p.7-19. Păunescu, Al., 1970, Evoluţia uneltelor şi armelor de piatră cioplită descoperite pe teritoriul României, Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, Bucureşti. Popovici, D., Bălăşescu, A., Haită, C., Radu, V., Tomescu, A.M.F., Tomescu, I., 2002, Cercetarea arheologică pluridisciplinară. Concepte, metode şi tehnici, Cetatea de Scaun, Târgovişte. Randoin, B., Popovici, D., Rialland, Y., 2000, Metoda de săpătură şi înregistrarea datelor stratigrafice într-un sit pluristratificat : tell-ul neoeneolitic de la Hârşova, Cercetări arheologice, XI, 1, p. 199-234. Skakun, N. N., 1993a, Agricultural implements in Neolithic cultures of Bulgaria în „Traces et fonction : les gestes retrouvés. Actes du colloques international de Liège 8-9-10 décembre 1990” Liège, vol.2, p. 361-368. Skakun, N. N., 1993b, New implements and specialization of traditional industries in the Eneolithic of Bulgaria în „Traces et fonction : les gestes retrouvés.Actes du colloques international de Liège 8-9-10 décembre 1990”Liège, vol.2, p. 303-307.

49

III. Micromorphology. Inhabited space disposition and uses. Analysis of an occupation zone placed outside the dwellings Constantin HAITĂ

III. 1. General background Tells represent pluristratified sites with a fine and complex stratigraphy, where the anthropic sedimentation is of an uppermost importance in the archaeological deposits` formation. This type of site is characterized by an excellent conservation degree of its anthropic structures (dwellings, hearths, ovens, pits, trenches) and organic constituents. The cause is the very high sedimentation rate, as it can be deducted from the daub dwellings` frequency and from the various sediments, organic and mineral accumulations residual from human activities developed on a well-delimited area. The top of these important anthropogenic deposits is represented at Borduşani - Popină by organic layers corresponding to the soil developed on the uppermost Gumelniţa A2 levels and on the latter La Tène occupation. The stratigraphy of the main (Southern) profile shows that down to about 2 m of depth, the original features are pedogenetically transformed, mainly by leaching and reprecipitation of carbonates, faunal bioturbation and moistening - drying fissuration (Marinescu-Bîlcu et al., 1997). The archaeological deposits that form the Borduşani - Popină tell mainly consist of a succession of fine, yellowish, brown or gray silts (fine sediments with a dusty texture) that often preserve fine vegetal prints and fragments, very compact micro-stratified levels with low contents of compounds resulted from human activities, wastes levels with ashes, organic compounds and complex accumulations, destruction levels of burnt daub with charcoal fragments and ashes and brown organic levels (Haită, 1997). Micromorphological analyses that have been performed till now in Romania, in the Gumelniţean sites from Hârşova - tell and Borduşani - Popină, have been focused on the construction - fitting out - occupation sequences from the dwellings` insides (Haită, 2001), as well as on the anthropic sedimentation from the domestic wastes areas (Haită and Radu, in press).

51

This study aims to analyze an inhabiting area placed outside the dwellings, with sedimentation features characteristic to a passage area and finely stratified deposits that can be interpreted as domestic wastes. From the sedimentological point of view, passage areas are characterized by: reduced accumulation of constituents provenient from human activities. These areas contain mainly burnt and unburnt daub fragments resulted from the degradation or destruction of the anthropic structures; important compaction in an open environment, together with a continuous transformation due to the physical - chemical agents. This transformation is mainly reflected by moistening - drying fissures and by iron hydroxides, phosphates and carbonates impregnations. Sedimentary units formed in such areas are generally represented by granular accumulations that include frequent burnt and unburnt daub fragments, stone and pottery fragments and organic constituents integrated in a sedimentary matrix. The matrix was generally formed both by the constituents` compaction desegregation as well as by aeolian or meteoric waters natural accumulation. If the passage areas are close to places where various human activities were developed, the frequency of organic or mineral constituents resulted from these activities is much higher. The accumulations formed under these circumstances have the structure of fine stratified lenses. Each such lens consists mainly of ash, coal, vegetal fragments, shells, fish and mammals` bones, sediments and daub fragments and can be attributed to a specific activity. Domestic wastes areas are “wastes accumulations formed outside the inhabited space and are defined as a characteristic compound in the site’s chronostratigraphic evolution. These represent groups of stratigraphic units characterized by important and varied organic contents” (Popovici et al., 2000: 19). Domestic wastes areas have the following sedimentological features: important rate of accumulation of organic and mineral constituents resulted from human activities. Very diverse constituents are accumulated in such areas: charcoal and ashes, mammals and fish bones, mollusks` shells and coprolites, burnt and unburnt daub fragments, sediments and rocks used for the production of the lithic inventory; fine stratification of the sediments corresponding to various types of wastes, each of these corresponding to a specific human activity; important lateral variability of these depositions` constituents, the lenses generally having an overlapped aspect; 52

various compaction degrees under the conditions of an open space and a continuous and important transformation due to the physical and chemical agents. This transformation is mainly reflected by the organic matter discomposing, important sets of moistening - drying fissures and the presence of organic, hydroxides and carbonates impregnations. Activity areas are characterized by the in situ accumulation of organic or mineral constituents resulted from human activities, as well as by their dispersion in neighboring areas. Accumulations from these areas have the same sedimentary features with an occupation unit compacted by repeated passage. Other sedimentary features include transformations associated either to a space from inside the dwelling (well maintained in the case of Gumelniţa dwellings) where coarse constituents are periodically removed, or to an external space, under the direct action of physical chemical agents.

III.2. Field observations and micromorphological sampling During the 2001 archaeological researches field campaign, we studied an inhabiting area external to an unburnt dwelling (SL 33), belonging to Gumelniţa culture - phase A2. Due to the fact that the dwelling is cut by the C 201 trench (Pl. 2, 3 in the chapter I of this volume), it is not possible to realize a very sure stratigraphical correlation between the two inhabiting structures: inside the SL 33 dwelling and accumulations from the studied external area. After destruction, the dwelling is strongly disturbed (see the chapter I of this volume), so we must also mention the impossibility to observe its microstratigraphy, which might have shown distinct steps in its evolution. The succession studied on the Eastern profile of the C 201 trench (Sγ, St. 31, □A2) is represented by an alternance of finely stratified levels including frequent anthropic constituents (charcoal grains, ashes, vegetal fragments, fish bones and scales, mammals bones, shells, pottery fragments, coprolites) and brown, brown-yellowish and greenish-gray, more homogeneous and very compact silt levels that sometimes contain frequent burnt and unburnt daub fragments and rare organic constituents (Tab. 1). The same trench’s Western profile contains an occupation unit consisting of dark gray silt, with a granular structure, with rare fine charcoal fragments quite uniformly disseminated in the sedimentary matrix and also rare pottery fragments. 53

This level corresponds to the base of SL 33 dwelling superposed by the first floor unit. As resulted from the preliminary field analysis and from the discussions had with the entire research team, we adopted the following work hypothesis: we considered this area, neighboring the SL 33 dwelling, as a passage way between two dwellings. This fact is shown by the following general characteristics, also observed in other stratigraphic situations from Borduşani - Popină and Hârşova - tell: lack of a very fine stratification, the entire succession presenting a generally unitary feature along the entire stratigraphic column (approximately 60 cm); absence or reduced frequency in some levels of organic and mineral constituents resulted from human activities; high compaction degree, as well as sedimentary features associated to an evolution under high humidity degree conditions: iron and organic impregnations, important prismatic fissuration, laminar clay deposits.

The presence of finely stratified accumulations of anthropogenic constituents at certain levels shows the fact that the passage-way is nearby or in connection with activity areas, as constituents resulted from these activities are dispersed over this area. Milimetric and centimetric thick levels containing ash, coal, fish bones and scales, mammal bones and shells represent these accumulations. The Southern part of the studied zone, near the main profile, has a much finer stratigraphic succession, with more frequent milimetric ash and charcoal laminae in alternance with centimetric layers that include burnt daub and ash fragments.

As the studied succession could be observed on the Eastern profile of the previously dug C 201 trench, this profile was sampled. Under these circumstances, we adopted a systematic and continuous sampling that consisted of the collection of six micromorphologic samples as partially overlapped blocks, that reflect the entire evolution of this area’s succession (Fig. 1).

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SAMPLE

SU

DESCRIPTION

S1

2807

Brown - greenish granular silty unit with frequent pottery and vegetal fragments, ashes, coal, fish bones. The lower part is microstratified and contains fine charcoal fragments and fish bones. A centimetric yellow green homogeneous silt level represents the base.

S2

3010

Succession of silt levels with frequent anthropic constituents (pottery fragments, fish bones and scales, mammal bones, ashes, coal). The lower part is a centimetric layer with light gray ashes laminae and ashes with fine coals and fish bones.

S3

3011

Succession of granular silt levels, with pottery, sediment and daub fragments, fish bones, charcoal and ash grains. The lower part consists of milimetric gray - yellowish and dark gray homogeneous laminae.

S4

3012

Yellowish silt level with sediment and unburnt daub fragments and very rare organic constituents (fish bones and charcoal). Lower part is granular dark brown silt level, with ash matrix and frequent milimetric fragments of burnt daub and charcoal. The base is a milimetric homogeneous light gray ash lamina, with very fine charcoal grains.

S5

3013

Brown yellowish homogeneous silt level, with a microlaminar structure at its upper side, very fine fish bones and charcoal fragments and milimetric ash and charcoal laminae. Lower part: centimetric brown-yellow and dark brown silt levels, some of them homogeneous, without anthropic compounds, other granular with frequent fine fish and coal fragments and pottery fragments.

S6

3014

Brown - yellowish and medium brown granular silt level with frequent fish bones and charcoal, ash lenses and grains.

S7

3016

Dark gray, homogeneous granular silt level with pottery fragments and burnt daub and charcoal uniformly distributed fragments. Western profile of C 201.

Tab. 1. Main sedimentary features of the levels from the studied succession. SU - stratigraphic unit. 55

Fig. 1. Position of micromorphologic samples in the studied sedimentary succession from the Eastern profile of trench C 201.

In order to study the lateral facies variations of the level from above the studied succession, the dark-gray, granular, with uniform distributed charcoal fragments, silt level from the bottom of the SL 33 dwelling and from the same trench’s Western profile was micromorphologically sampled.

III.3. Study methodology and objectives III.3.1. Accumulation of anthropic and natural constituents A first difference must be made between sediments accumulated by human activities, accumulations of organic remains and ashes provenient from anthropic activities and accumulations predominantly produced by the natural factors` activity. Sediment accumulations are constituted of raw sediment (fine silt without vegetal materials), daub (construction material obtained by blending sediments with vegetals like straw and chaff) or fragments of burnt or unburnt prepared materials, provenient from destruction or desegregation of anthropic structures.

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Some of these units may be the result of space and structures preparation and works like a leveling or fitting out. The accumulation of anthropogenic organic constituents proves two important elements. First of all, the nature of its constituents reflects the human activities that contributed to their formation. Then, the compounds` way of accumulation can specify the spatial relation between the activity area (where these are produced) and the accumulation area. In what regards the way of accumulation, the micromorphologic study can underline three distinct situations: primary or in situ accumulation of the constituents that is expressed by the homogeneity of the compounds` nature and their degree of thermal and physical-chemical transformations; secondary accumulation, in a constituents` dispersion area placed in the neighborhood of the activity area. Compositional heterogeneity and variability of thermal and physical - chemical transformation conditions characterize these accumulations. Also, these accumulations are characterized by a finely stratified structure, given by the alternance of laminae with fine anthropic constituents and silt laminae made of sediment removed from the upper part of the compacted soil. This feature reflects the alternance of daily activities` episodes (their result being the accumulation of various mineral and organic constituents) with spatial conversion episodes (sediment accumulation, leveling) or occupation soil transformation (compaction, desegregation); tertiary accumulation, that is the result of an intended removal of constituents produced in an activity area to a wastes area. Important heterogeneity and variability of the combustion degree of the constituents, important physical chemical transformations, as well as a high porosity characterize these accumulations.

III.3.2. Transformation of natural and anthropic constituents In the aims of this study there are very important those features that express physical - chemical and biological transformations showing the conditions from the moment of accumulation till the moment of sedimentary burial. The following characteristics were taken here into account: presence of moistening - drying fissures; presence of sedimentary units or anthropic structures` desegregation, due to important humidity and temperature variations; presence of fauna produced bioturbation; 57

discomposal of organic matter, expressed by dissolving and reprecipitation of organic and mineral compounds; compaction due to repeated passage. These sedimentary features are the diagnosis of main physical - chemical and biological transformation processes. They must be integrated in a comparative analysis of sedimentary facies, as some of these may over impose their actions in the frame of a sedimentary unit, while others may have a relatively uniform distribution in an entire stratigraphic succession. By summing these characteristics and by the comparative analysis of the entire studied succession, we can try to interpret as objectively as possible the physical - chemical conditions. The principle used for this interpretation is based on the fact that processes with higher intensity and/or duration have more important effects. The study of transformation facies allows the estimation of environmental conditions and these conditions` variation in the stratigraphic succession may be due to seasonality.

III.3.3. Nature of constituents The micromorphological analysis also aimed to study the distribution of mineral and organic constituents that may be directly related to certain anthropic activities. The anthropic constituents taken into account are: fish bones and scales and mammal bones; wood charcoal, carbonized and calcinated vegetal fragments; altered and discomposed vegetal fragments; bivalves shells; coprolites; pottery fragments; sediments and burnt and unburnt daub fragments; rock fragments.

III.3.4. Objectives The first questions to be answered by the micromorphological study to be made on collected samples is in what measure can this area be interpreted as a passage zone and which are the anthropic activities that brought to the accumulation of the previously mentioned levels. 58

Estimation of the period when this area was actively used is another problem to be dealt with by the stratigraphical correlation of the studied accumulations with the sequence corresponding to SL 33 dwelling. This presents a special importance for the better understanding of the anthropic sedimentation that predominantly contributes to the formation of such depositions in tell-type settlements. This analysis cannot be completed here, as the entire dwelling’s microstratigraphy could not be preserved because of interventions made after its destruction and also due to the fact that the direct stratigraphic correlations between the dwelling and the studied external area are cut by the C 201 trench. An important aspect regards the discovery of the human activities performed outside the dwelling and, eventually, their time frame (period of the year). For this study, the collected samples was mechanically processed after vacuum impregnation and drying in order to obtain the micromorphologic thin section. The microscopic study was performed using an Olympus BX 60 polarizing microscope at magnifications of x50 to x100. The laboratory equipment was provided to our museum within the Japan Official Development Assistance program. The microscopic study was performed using the guidelines from the manual Soils and micromorphology in archaeology (Courty et al., 1989).

III.4. Main characteristics of the sedimentary units identified by the microscopic study The studied sedimentary succession can be described, from bottom to top, in the following way:

1. Level of light brown (medium brown at its upper part) fine silt, with a thickness of 7 cm, granular structure and with mm aggregates, very heterogeneous, very compact, well developed porosity (5-20%), with prismatic fissuration. It contains frequent mm fish bones, very fragmented and discomposed, frequent very fine charcoal fragments (from mm to, rarely, cm), rare shells, burnt daub and pottery fragments. Frequent iron hydroxides are remobilized along fissures as very fine concretions and sediment/ash mixture areas are present. 2. 7 cm thick, fine gray - brown, silt level with a fine granular, compact and relatively homogeneous structure, 5-10% porosity, frequent mm pores with mainly circular and rarely elongated shapes, rare vertical fissures. It contains frequent mm burnt daub grains, uniformly distributed rare charcoal and fish bones fragments, several coprolites and shell fragments. It also contains also iron impregnations and 59

iron hydroxides concentration areas. Lateral variation of the previously described level. 3. 2.5 cm thick fine brown - yellowish, silt level, with a granular structure and mm aggregates; compacted, desegregated, very heterogeneous, with spongy porosity areas (10-30%) and irregular chambers, circular holes and prismatic fissure system. It contains very frequent fragmented and discomposed fish bones, frequent altered fine vegetal fragments (opaque), rare charcoal fragments, very rare coprolites and shells. It includes silty clay laminae and phosphate and carbonate accumulations. 4. 1.1 cm thick fine gray – yellow, silt level, homogeneous, very well sorted, compact and variable porosity (5-30%), with fine holes and sub-vertical fissures. Distinct lower limit marked by the horizontal accumulation of degraded in situ vegetal fragments. It contains non-homogeneously distributed rare fine fish bones and very rare charcoal fragments and very fine decayed vegetals. Contains also iron hydroxides concentration areas, mostly in relation with the vegetal fragments. 5. 1 cm thick fine greenish-greenish, silt level, with a homogeneous, fine granular structure, very well sorted, compact, vesicular porosity (5%) and subvertical fissures, net lower limit marked by horizontally disposed degraded vegetal fragments. It contains very rare fine fish bones and charcoal fragments, nonuniformly distributed with reduced fragmentation. It also contains frequent iron hydroxides concentration areas. 6. 2.4 cm thick fine medium-brown, silt level, with a granular structure and mm aggregates, very heterogeneous, compact, prismatic fissuration and spongy porosity areas (15-25%), distinct lower limit expressed by the general composition. It contains abundant mm to cm fish bones; frequent charcoal fragments and degraded vegetal fragments. Has a clay matrix and includes silty clay laminar accumulations. 7. 1.7 cm thick brown-yellow, clayish silt level, heterogeneous, intensely compacted, granular structure, porosity with prismatic fissuration (5-15%), with frequent sub-vertical fissures, holes and vesicles with circular shapes. It contains frequent fish bones, charcoal fragments, calcinated vegetal fragments and clay grains. Has an organic character, clay particles and iron hydroxides accumulations along the fissures. 8. 5-7 mm thick, fine dark gray silt lamina, fine grained, relatively homogenous, very compacted structure, porosity with fissures, vesicles and circular-shaped holes and areas with spongy porosity (30-40%), distinct, slightly irregular lower limit, with mixture areas due to compaction. It contains abundant

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charcoal and fish bones fine fragments, most of them burnt, sediment and burnt daub grains in an ash matrix. 9. 2.2 cm thick fine medium-brown, silt level, with a fine granular relatively homogeneous structure, containing an intensely compacted mixture of sediment and ash, with desegregation areas, with prismatic fissuration, frequent sub-horizontal fissures and holes, areas with very high porosity (30%), distinct lower limit. It contains rare fine fish bones, frequent fine charcoal and rare vegetal fragments. The sedimentary matrix has an organic character and a fine mixture with ash grains. 10. 1.5-1.8 cm thick, medium brown, silt level, heterogeneous, compact, granular structure with slightly contoured micro-lamination, sub-horizontal fissures and holes, graded and irregular lower limit (3-4 mm). It contains frequent fine fish bones, some of them grouped in fine laminae probably provenient from discomposed, charcoal and ash grains and very rare shells. The matrix has an organic character and includes fine ash laminae. 11. 1 cm thick, fine, silt level, micro-stratified with diffuse limits, relatively homogeneous, compact, with prismatic fine fissuration and holes, distinct lower limit. It contains rare very fine organic constituents, fish bones, charcoal and vegetal fragments and rolled daub fragments. Fine ash laminae, accumulated in a dispersion area, probably reworked by rainwaters. 12. 5 mm thick, fine, brown-gray, ash lamina, heterogeneous, compact, with micro lamination and fissural porosity with vesicles and areas with spongy porosity, distinct lower limit. It contains very frequent fish bones, most of them burnt, fine charcoal and several shell fragments.

13. 3 mm thick dark gray, silt lamina, with a very heterogeneous compact fine-granular structure, with frequent sub-horizontal fissures, isolated holes and areas with spongy porosity (30-35%). It contains abundant burnt and unburnt fish bones, frequent fine charcoal fragments and rare burnt daub fragments and shells. Very heterogeneous organic level of domestic wastes. 14. 5-6 mm thick, fine dark gray, ash lamina, granular, compact, with prismatic fissuration, distinct slightly irregular lower limit. Contains frequent mm charcoal, uniformly distributed very frequent fine coal grains and rare intensely discomposed fish bones. 15. 2.2-3 cm thick, dark brown, silt level with granular structure and slightly expressed micro lamination, very heterogeneous, intensely compacted, with desegregation areas, fissural porosity (15-20%) and spongy porosity areas (3040%); distinct, slightly sinuous lower limit. It contains frequent charcoal and fine

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fish bones rare shells and fine, rounded burnt daub and sediment fragments. Has an organic character, with frequent impregnations. 16. 3.5-4 cm thick, fine yellow-yellow, silt level, with a slightly developed micro-laminar structure, homogeneous, compact, fine vesicular porosity and prismatic porosity, slightly sinuous distinct lower limit. It contains rare vegetal and charcoal fragments, very rare shells and fish bones, grouped in the lower part of the level. It also contains diffuse clay laminae and discomposed vegetal fragments, frequent impregnations and iron concretions.

17. 1 cm thick, yellow-green fine silt with a granular structure, slightly developed micro-lamination, homogeneous, compact, low porosity (5%), fine, circular and horizontally elongated pores, irregularly shaped sub-cm pores and fissures. It contains rare fish fragments, very rare charcoal and degraded fine vegetal fragments. Present frequent iron hydroxides concentration areas and clay laminae with diffuse limits. 18. 3-4 mm thick, brown-yellowish fine silt and clay sediment lamina, with micro-laminar, homogeneous, compact, with very low porosity and distinct lower limit. It contains very fine fish bones and degraded vegetal fragments with a nonuniform distribution. It includes very fine clayish silt and ash laminae. 19. 6 mm thick, brown gray - slightly greenish, ash lamina with a very fine texture, micro-laminar, homogeneous, compact structure with a low porosity represented by very fine pores with circular shape distinct, slightly irregular lower limit. It contains rare and fine charcoal fragments and degraded vegetal fragments with a homogenous distribution, very rare burnt fish bones and rare burnt daub fragments and sandy quartz grains. It presents phosphorous and iron hydroxides impregnations along fissures. 20. 0.6 - 1.5 cm variable thick, light gray fine silt level, with a grain structure, homogenous, compact, inter-grains porosity (5-10%) and rare fissures, slightly irregular distinct lower limit. It contains rare fine fish bones, some intensely discomposed, sandy quartz grains organized in a discontinuous lamina, rare ash and fine charcoal grains and rare sediment fragments. It has ferruginous impregnations accumulated along fissures. 21. 2 cm thick, yellow-green fine ash level, with a granular structure resulted from the mixture of frequent mm-cm sized burnt daub fragments, very heterogeneous, compact, low porosity with rare fissures, distinct irregular limit. Contain frequent charcoal fragments and mm fish bones, most of them burnt. It presents a mixture area with its lower level and rare phosphorous impregnations. 22. 1 cm thick, yellow-green silt level, granular structure with lenticular micro-lamination, homogeneous, very compact, low porosity (5-10%), with fine fissures and holes. It contains frequent fine fish fragments, grouped in an area, rare 62

burnt daub and charcoal fragments and very rare vegetal fragments. It also has iron hydroxides impregnations and concretions. 23. 2-3 mm thick, dark gray ash lamina, with micro-laminar homogeneous, compact structure, with low porosity represented circular pores. It contains uniformly distributed frequent fine fish bones and charcoal fragments. The two previously presented levels are separated by a mm fine, homogeneous, compact silt lamina without anthropic constituents. 24. 2 mm thick, yellow-red fine silt lamina, with a granular structure, texturally heterogeneous, compact, variable porosity, with prismatic fissuration and spongy porosity areas, distinct lower limit. It contains uniformly distributed frequent fish bones and rare charcoal fragments. It presents rare ferruginous impregnations. 25. 0.5-1 cm thick, light gray fine silt lamina, homogeneous, compact, microstratified with ash laminae, with prismatic fissuration, fine pores with circular shape, fine vesicles with irregular shape, distinct lower limit. It contains fish bones and ash grains. It presents iron hydroxides impregnations and concretions and probably includes a fragment of silty wall plastering. 26. 2.2 cm thick, brown-gray silt level with granular structure with mm aggregates, very heterogeneous, compact, high porosity (10-30%), with prismatic fissuration and spongy porosity, distinct lower limit. It contains frequent fish bones (mm to 1 cm), some of them burnt, frequent charcoal fragments and ash grains from calcinated vegetal fragments, very rare intensely fragmented mammal bones, rare rolled sediment grained, and several shells and pottery fragments. It presents the heterogeneous mixture of sediment grains and very diverse anthropic constituents. 27. 2.5 cm thick, brown-yellow silt level with granular structure and mm aggregates, heterogeneous, compact; high porosity with fissures, irregularly shaped vesicles and spongy porosity areas, graded lower limit. It contains frequent fish bones grouped in fine laminae, fine charcoal, fragmented and discomposed, rare burnt daub fragments, ash grains and very rare shells. 28. 0.9-1 cm thick, light brown silt level, with micro-granular structure, with mm ash laminae, homogeneous, compact, with low porosity, with fine circular pores and rare fissures. It contains frequent very fragmented charcoal with a uniform distribution and ash grains. 29. 4-5 mm thick, light gray fine silt lamina, with fine granular structure, homogeneous, compact; porosity with rare irregularly shaped vesicles and channels, distinct lower limit. It contains frequent fine charcoal fragments and rare fish bones and daub grains.

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30. 3.3 cm thick, light brown silt level, heterogeneous, compact, granular structure; porosity with channels provenient from discomposed vegetal fragments and fissures. It contains rare burnt and unburnt fish bones, fine charcoal, vegetal fragments and several coprolites. It also presents ferruginous impregnations, fine ash laminae and very heterogeneous areas. 31. 1.5 cm thick brown-gray fine silt level, with granular structure and slightly expressed micro-lamination, relatively homogeneous, compact, low porosity with fine holes and sub-horizontal fissures, distinct lower limit. It contains frequent fine charcoal grains and relatively uniform distributed ash, rare fish bones and sediment grains. Heterogeneous matrix represented by a mixture of sediment and ash. 32. 2 cm thick, medium brown badly sorted silt and fine sand level, grained and micro stratified with several ash laminae, heterogeneous, compact, porosity with irregularly shaped vesicles and fine prismatic fissuration. Ashes laminae with irregular graded limits; they contain frequent fish bones and fine coal grains. The level also includes rare mm charcoal grains and quartz grains with sandy texture. It presents bioturbation structures produced by faunal activity. 33. 3.5 cm thick, brown-yellow, well-sorted silt level with granular structure, homogeneous, compact, with prismatic fissuration and spongy porosity areas (30%), lower limit graded on 0.5 cm. It contains rare burnt and unburnt fish bones and very fine mm charcoal fragments, very rare mammal bones, shells and pottery fragments. It has ferruginous impregnations, fine ash laminae and mixture areas of sediment and charcoal in the upper part and also dry compaction characteristics. 34. 1 cm thick, dark brown silt level, with granular structure, heterogeneous, compact; porosity with sub-horizontal fissures, distinct lower limit, marked by a fine ash lamina. It contains frequent intensely fragmented fish bones and fine coal grains, very rare mm charcoal and shells fragments. The sedimentary matrix presents an organic character. 35. 1.2 cm light brown fine silt level, granular structure and slightly expressed micro-lamination, very heterogeneous, compacted, variable porosity (520%), with holes and fissures. It contains frequent fine fish bones, rare charcoal fragments, burnt vegetal fragments and ash grains, silt and unburnt daub fragments, several pottery fragments, a coprolite with fish bones and a shell fragment. The sedimentary matrix is made of a mixture of silty sediment with ash grains. 36. 3-6 mm thick light brown fine ash lamina, micro-laminar structure, homogeneous, very compacted, with desegregation and mixture with sediment areas, low porosity (5-10%), with fine pores, sub-horizontal fissures and spongy porosity areas, graded (a few mm) irregular lower limit. It contains rare fish bones and charcoal grains, very rare burnt daub and sediment fragments with rounded 64

shapes, 1 coprolite with frequent very fine fish bones. It has a fine mixture of sediment and ash and areas with ferruginous impregnations. 37. 3-5 mm thick light brown silty lamina with micro-lamination and subhorizontal fissuration, homogeneous, compact, with distinct lower limit given by the areal distribution of charcoal grains. It contains frequent fine coal fragments, grouped in very fine laminae, and very rare fish bones. 38. 1.5-1.8 cm thick brown-gray silt level with laminar structure, homogeneous, compact, sub-horizontal parallel fissuration and porosity with channels due to discomposed vegetal fragments, distinct lower limit. It contains frequent vegetal fragments and rare discomposed fish bones, the latter being grouped in several areas and resulted from coprolites’ desegregation. Represents an organic level with silty clay laminae and frequent ferruginous impregnations. 39. 1.1 cm thick, medium brown, finely textured ash level with granular structure, homogeneous, with heterogeneous areas due to the sediment/ash and fine charcoal mixture, compact, with sub-horizontal fissuration and distinct lower limit. It contains frequent degraded fine vegetal fragments, rare fish bones and sediment grains. It presents frequent red ferruginous impregnations and concentration areas and very rare bioturbation structures. 40. 2 mm thick, medium brown fine silt with grained, heterogeneous, compact structure, with sub-horizontal fissures and spongy porosity areas (up to 30%), graded lower limit. It contains frequent fish bones and rare fine charcoal and ash fragments. It was compacted while moist, it has silty clay laminae. 41. 6 mm thick, light brown fine ash lamina, with fine-grained, homogeneous, compact structure, fine prismatic fissuration and distinct lower limit. It contains rare fine charcoal and burnt daub fragments. It also has green ferruginous impregnations, very fine ash laminae and areas where the ash is mixed with sediment. It probably represents a combustion product. 42. 1.4 cm thick brown-yellow silt level, granular structure with several mm ash laminae, heterogeneous, compact, low porosity (5-10%), with circular shaped holes and fissures. It contains rare very fine fish bones, frequent discomposed vegetal fragments and fine charcoal, ash grains, frequent brown silt and burnt daub fragments, very rare coprolites. It has a general aspect of sediment/ash mixture and phosphorous impregnations.

43. 3 cm thick, light brown silt level with a micro-laminar structure; fine ash laminae at the upper part, heterogeneous, compact, spongy porosity and irregularly shaped holes, graded lower limit. It contains frequent mm discomposed fish bones, some of them burnt, frequent charcoal fragments, a calcinated shell, several coprolites with fish bones, rare clay sediment 65

fragments. It has rare green ferruginous impregnations; mixture of sediment with clay and ash microlaminae.

III.5. Interpretation of results. Conclusions The sedimentary layer from the base of the studied succession (no. 1 in the description) is granular, very heterogeneous, its matrix has important contents of organic matter and it contains frequent constituents resulted from human activities. The sedimentary features induced by post-depositional processes are the result of intense transformation under high humidity conditions. Thus, they are: important fissuration, organic compounds degradation and iron hydroxides accumulation. This level is formed outside an anthropic structure (in this case, dwelling). It contains an important accumulation of organic products from human activities. Its corresponding activity zone is not arranged by leveling or sediment deposition (for presumed sanitation activities or protection against desegregation of the passage level). The high frequency of anthropic constituents and their compositional heterogeneity indicate a non-systematically cleaned area. The frequency of fish bones some of them burnt, as well as the presence of shells in the vicinity of frequent charcoal fragments pinpoint at daily cooking activities. The organic matrix, organic constituents’ decomposition degree, high heterogeneity and porosity of this level show that its evolution took place during a longer time interval. Thus, the various sedimentological features printed during this period are presently overlapped. The stratigraphic unit lateral variation was studied in a level (2) that represents a fine-grained, more homogeneous and very compact accumulation, with very rare organic constituents. Most of the anthropic constituents are often rounded, burnt daub, fine fragments. This sedimentary unit corresponds to a bettermaintained area that was intensely compacted by repeated passage. Thus, it can be attributed to a stricto senso passage area. This level, positioned at the base of SL 33 dwelling, does not have any leveling or disposition characteristics generally made for the building of a dwelling. The following level from the studied succession (3) has an organic, granular, heterogeneous facies with frequent anthropic constituents and intense post-depositional transformations. These post-depositional transformations are mostly expressed by the decomposition of organic compounds, phosphates and iron hydroxides remobilization and the accumulation of clay particles under high humidity conditions. This level also corresponds to a longer time period, as the anthropic constituents (resulted from various anthropic activities) are mixed and integrated in the same layer. Together with frequent fish bones, there are also 66

frequent vegetal fragments and rare charcoal fragments, several shells and coprolites. The succession studied on the C 201 Eastern profile continues with two cm homogeneous fine silt accumulations (4 and 5), without preparation with any vegetal matter. Due to their homogeneity and characteristics that prove their in situ accumulation (Pl. 1/2, 3), these depositions were interpreted as preparation of the dwelling’s external neighborhood. These accumulations correspond to successive fitting out of this zone. Their separation by a mm lamina with in situ discomposed vegetal fragments (Pl. 1/1) proves this successive activities. This lamina also covers the top of the second disposition. This may prove its provenience from the same type of activity. This level is stratigraphically correlated with the one that marks the building of the dwelling. As there is no other sign of other anthropic activities between the two sediment accumulations, we can presume their provenience from various moments for the dwelling’s building and disposition. Above these finely stratified levels is a layer with organic character (6), with frequent anthropic constituents, intensely compacted, degraded and homogenized by repeated passage. It also corresponds to a longer period of time (just like the level previous to the dwelling’s building). The clayish silt corresponds to the fine sediment’s reworking due to rainwaters. The studied succession continues with another organic level (7) containing fish bones and frequent calcinated fine vegetal fragments. These fragments may suggest the use of reeds and other plants as fuel, together with wood. The ash lamina with fine charcoal (8) from above the previous layer probably represents the deposition of burn wastes in an area in the dwelling’s neighborhood. This neighboring area probably functions also as a domestic wastes zone. The fine coal fragments also suggest the use of reeds as fuel. The frequency of fish bones proves a daily use of fish as food resource. The studied succession is continued by another granular unit with organic character (9), rare anthropic constituents, matrix consisting of a mixture of sediment and ashes that include frequent coal fine fragments. The two silt levels, micro stratified with ash laminae (Pl. 1/6), that continue the sedimentary succession (10 and 11), show a secondary accumulation of combustion products in a dispersal zone from the activity area neighborhood. In some areas the sediment is mixed with fine ash grains (Pl. 1/5). The base level contains frequent fish bones and shells, while the upper one has only very fine constituents that may be reworked by rainwaters (Pl. 1/4). Both levels contain discomposed vegetal fragments, while the upper layer contains rounded daub fine fragments. 67

An ash lamina (12) follows the succession. It contains frequent charcoal and fish bones fragments, most of them burnt, (Pl. 2/1). These are provenient from the intended accumulation of burn products and fish remnants in a wastes area. Its heterogeneity and the mixture with coprolites and unburnt shells prove the character of a tertiary accumulation. Another organic, very heterogeneous lamina (13), with very frequent organic constituents corresponds to the accumulation of domestic wastes outside the dwelling. An ash lamina (14) with frequent fine charcoal fragments is also provenient from the accumulation of burn products outside the dwelling. The absence of thermal transformations in the base and the character of the lower limit prove an intended tertiary accumulation. The following term of the succession is a granular, heterogeneous silty level (15), with frequent fragments of burnt daub and coal (Pl. 2/2), resulted from the burning of an anthropic structure (fireplace or dwelling). The daub fragments are fine and rounded and can be secondarily accumulated in an area above the destruction level, as the level is also intensely compacted. Taking into account the presence of other anthropic constituents (frequent fish bones and charcoal, rare shells), as well as of ash laminae, this accumulation cannot be attributed to an intentional accumulation for the zone disposition; such situations were discovered at the base of a dwelling’s or fireplace’s building level. The organic character, heterogeneity and desegregation degree by intense compaction show a longer time span between the accumulation of this layer and of the one from above. This level is overlapped by a 4 cm thick, homogeneous, fine silt primary accumulation (16) with rare anthropic constituents, probably accidentally grouped at its base. This may correspond to an area disposition. The vegetal fragment (Pl. 2/3) are relatively homogeneously distributed inside the level; this proves the existence of an intended mixture. The top of this disposition is a fine clayish silt lamina, accumulated during rains (Pl. 2/2) that include fine ash grains reworked from an activity area. Above this level is another disposition (17), this time without vegetal fragments mixture. This layer contains, just like the previous one, sedimentary characteristics that prove the accumulation in a water-saturated environment (clay accumulations, diffuse micro-laminar structure). The clayish silt lamina (18) from above this disposition is formed by the low-energy hydric remaniation. This may be related either to a dwelling building moment (water used to prepare building materials that also include fine particles from the dwelling’s neighborhood, such as very fine fish bones and opacitized vegetal fragments) or to an episode of heavy rains. The opacitized vegetal 68

fragments may be provenient from herbivores` coprolites, under certain circumstances used to arrange the dwellings` walls (Haită, 1997). The following ash lamina (19) has the characteristics of a hydric reworking. It includes rare charcoal fine fragments (Pl. 2/4) and very rare quartzitic sand. The latter can be connected to the use of grainy grindstones (green schists with sandy texture). A fine silt level with variable thickness (20) continues the succession and also includes sandy quartz grains grouped in a lamina. It most probably represents (as suggested also by the limits` characters) a mixture of materials used for the anthropic structures disposition. This mixture consists of arenitic quartz grains (probably resulted from the use of grinds) and organic constituents such as fish bones in an advanced discomposed state. The following ash level (21) contains frequent burnt daub grains of mm dimensions, probably resulted from the desegregation of a burning structure. The level also contains frequent coal grains and burnt and unburnt fish bones, thus corresponding to the intentional accumulation of burning wastes near the dwelling. The studied succession continues with a homogeneous, granular silt level (22; Pl. 2/5), with rare organic constituents probably provenient from the destruction of anthropic structures (dwelling’s walls and floor). The next layers are fine accumulations with a laminar structure of ash (23) with fine charcoal (Pl. 2/5,6) and clayish silt, with an organic lamina (24; Pl. 3/1), at the upper part. This lamina has frequent phosphate impregnations resulted from the fish bones` discomposal. If we also take into account these accumulations` lens shape, we can presume that they were formed under the activity of rainwaters in relation either with an activity area near the studied zone or due to the destruction of a fireplace. The lens of homogeneous silty sediment (25) with a micro-laminar structure and fine ash laminae presents the sedimentary characteristics of a secondary accumulation. The silty fragments are reworked, being probably formed by the destruction of anthropic structures. The studied succession is continued by a very heterogeneous and porous silt level (26), that includes frequent fish bones and charcoal (Pl. 3/2), rare vegetal fragments, pottery fragments and mammal bones. It is intensely compacted under high humidity conditions, and can be thus attributed to an inhabiting level with a very important accumulation of anthropic constituents resulted from various activities. The same features, belonging to a space near an activity zone with important production of anthropic constituents, are also present in the following level (27). This level contains an important accumulation of anthropic constituents,

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most of them organic (fish bones, charcoal, coprolites (Pl. 3/3), sandy quartz grains and ash. This level includes homogeneous fine ash laminae. The following level (28) is more homogeneous, with a micro-laminar structure (Pl. 3/4). It also includes fine ash laminae with fine charcoal fragments that may be provenient from the burning of wood and also reeds. It is overlapped by a granular silt lamina (29) with frequent fine charcoal. This lamina is attributed to the same activity area as the previous levels (no microstratigraphic discontinuity in their succession) All these levels are formed in a longer period of time, as reflected by an important desegregation, grains mixture, compaction, fissuration and heterogeneity. Two relatively heterogeneous silt levels (30 and 31) continue the succession, have an organic character and are differentiated by the general constitution. Thus, the upper level has a matrix made of a sediment and ash mixture. These levels include relatively rare anthropic constituents, nevertheless very diverse as origin, fragmentation and discomposal degree. They can be attributed to a passage area, as also expressed by the presence of sediment aggregates, in spatial relation with activity areas. The following level (32) is heterogeneous, worse sorted, with frequent and diverse anthropic constituents, accumulated as distinct laminae due to the predominant composition. These levels are interpreted as accumulated in a wastes area. The succession continues with a silt level (33) with rare anthropic constituents, mixed sediments and important compaction by repeated passage under damp conditions (Pl. 3/5). The sediment accumulation, that also includes very rare mammal bones and cm pottery fragments can be the result of a leveling. Taking into account the thickness of this level, there is a possibility of an accidental integration of these constituents. Another granular organic level (34), with important accumulation of anthropic constituents overlaps the previous level. The constituents are frequent fish bones and fine charcoal, as well as several shells (proving an everyday cooking activity). The following sequence from the studied succession consists of a series of fine occupational units, mostly differentiated by their composition and separated by a silty disposition. This sequence starts with a fine, granular silty layer (35) with frequent fish bones, charcoal, ash and very rare shells and coprolites (Pl. 4/1). This level overlapped by a homogeneous ash lamina (36) with a microlaminar structure. That includes rare fish bones and charcoal. The ash is finely stratified with silt sediment, showing a secondary accumulation in the neighborhood of a combustion structure. 70

This lamina is overlapped by a silt lamina (37) with very fine charcoal fragments grouped in discontinuous laminae (Pl. 4/2). This also proves a secondary accumulation. The studied succession is continued by a fine silt accumulation (38), that includes frequent discomposed vegetal fragments (Pl. 4/3). This layer’s organic character and the presence of ferruginous impregnations and clay laminas prove the evolution during a longer period of time in a better-maintained area. The disposition level is overlapped by an ash accumulation (39) with rare very fine anthropic constituents, proving a well-maintained area. Here are accumulated reworked constituents, dispersed from a nearby activity area. The presence of bioturbation structures (Pl. 4/4) may prove brief episodes with diminished anthropic activity. The succession is continued by a lamina (40) with frequent fish bones and clay accumulations that may constitute domestic wastes resulted from a well contoured and strictly time delimited activity. This is overlapped by another ash lamina (41) with rare fine charcoal and burnt daub fragments that may represent the accumulation of combustion products. The top of the studied succession is represented by two heterogeneous silt levels (42 and 43) with diverse anthropic constituents, mixture of ash and silt sediment containing fish bones, charcoal, vegetal fragments, coprolites (Pl. 4/5), pottery fragments and silt and daub fragments. These levels correspond to a passage area with an important accumulation of anthropic constituents, intense compaction and discomposal of organic compounds under physical-chemical factors (Pl. 4/6). The frequency of sediment and burnt daub fragments correspond to the desegregation and destruction of anthropic structures, also probably of the SL 33 dwelling. *** The studied succession consists of levels with important anthropic accumulation separated by accumulations of pure silty sediments and silty levels with reduced accumulation of fine constituents. It presents a significant change under the action of natural factors under high humidity conditions. This sequence corresponds to the accumulation of constituents resulted from human activities in an area near the SL 33 dwelling. The micromorphological study proved a series of anthropic activities in their normal succession. It has not been possible to determine all the activities that brought to the formation of the studied succession, as under certain circumstances 71

the accumulated anthropic constituents and transformations suffered by the sediment at a certain time could not be attributed to a distinct sedimentary unit, while their characteristics had added to the previous units. During the entire evolution of this area, there are moments when sedimentary units resulted from well-defined anthropic activities were accumulated in situ. There are also distinct moments that are very well delimited in the studied stratigraphic succession when arrangements - fine sediments fitting out units - were made. These arrangements were certainly designated to distinct activities, taking into account also the fact that they have a certain rhythm. As they are generally overlapped either by naturally accumulated fine silty clay units or by organic levels formed and functioning for longer periods, without any emphasized short moments and certain anthropic activities, there are no sedimentary features that can be attributed to a specific activity. The only exception may be the accumulations of fine vegetal fragments that may be attributed to an arrangement of the area. The presence of arrangements that include vegetal fragments show either the intentional daub making or the use of extra already prepared material in order to arrange the dwelling’s floor and walls. The micromorphologic analysis of the sedimentary succession from the main profile that is stratigraphically equivalent to the presented deposits can bring relevant information on lateral variations of this passage area and its spatial distribution and help a more detailed interpretation.

References Courty, M.-A., Goldberg, P., Macphail, R., 1989, Soils and micromorphology in archaeology, Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 344 p. Haită, C., 1997, Micromorphological study, in Marinescu-Bîlcu, S. et al., Archaeological researches at Borduşani - Popină (Ialomiţa county). Preliminary report 1993-1994, Cercetări Arheologice, X, Bucureşti, p. 8592. Haită, C., 2001, Studiu micromorfologic asupra spaţiilor amenajate din interiorul locuinţelor din siturile eneolitice Hârşova-tell (jud. Constanţa) şi Borduşani Popină (jud. Ialomiţa), Cultură şi Civilizaţie la Dunărea de Jos, XVI-XVII, Prehistory of the Lower Danube, Călăraşi, p. 48-52. 72

Haită, C., Radu, V., (in press), Les zones de rejets ménagères de la culture Gumelniţa: Témoins dans l’évolution chronostratigraphique des tells. Etude micromorphologique et archaeo-ichthyologique sur le tell d’Hârşova (dep. Constanţa), Cercetări Arheologice, XII, Bucureşti. Marinescu-Bîlcu, S., Popovici, D., Bem, C., Vlad, V., Voinea, V., 1997, Eneolithic occupation, in Marinescu-Bâlcu et al., Archaeological researches at Borduşani - Popină (Ialomiţa county). Preliminary report 1993-1994, Cercetări Arheologice, X, Bucureşti, p. 64-143. Popovici, D., Randoin, B., Rialland, Y., Voinea, V., Vlad, V., Bem, C., Bem, Carmen, Haită, G., 2000, Les recherches archéologiques du tell de Hârşova (dép. de Constantza) 1997-1998, Cercetări Arheologice, XI, 1998-2000, partea I, Bucureşti, p. 13-34.

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1. Vegetal fragments accumulated between two fitting out units (4-3); PPL, f. 2mm.

2. Fitting out unit of fine silty sediment (4); PPL, f. 2mm.

3. Fine silty unit (5), with frequent iron oxides concretions; PPL, f. 2 mm.

4. Silty clay lamina (10) accumulated by rainwaters runoff; XPL, f. 2 mm.

5. Silty sediments mixed with fine ash (10); XPL, f. 2 mm.

6. Silty sediment micro-laminated with ash laminae (11); XPL, l.i. 2mm.

Pl. 1. Images at the optical polarizing microscope. PPL - plan polarized light, XPL - cross polarized light, f. - frame width.

1. Ash unit with frequents fish bones and spongy microstructure (12); PPL, f. 2mm.

2. Limit between silt with fine charcoal (15) and clay lamina (16); PPL, f. 2 mm.

3. Silt with vegetal fragments (16) and ferruginous impregnations; XPL, f. 2 mm.

4. Ash lamina (19) with abundant fragments of charcoal and fish bones; PPL, f. 2mm.

5. Limit between a silty unit (22) and ash with charcoal lamina (23); XPL, f. 2mm.

6. Ash lamina (23) with fine charcoal and fish bones; PPL, f. 2 mm.

Pl. 2. Images at the optical polarizing microscope. PPL - plan polarized light, XPL - cross polarized light, f. - frame width.

1. Silty granular lamina (24) with frequent organic components; PPL, f. 2 mm.

2. Fish bone discomposed in a silty granular organic unit (26); PPL, f. 2 mm.

3. Coprolite fragment including fish bones in a granular heterogeneous unit; PPL, f. 2 mm.

4. Silty micro-laminated unit with clay laminae and fine charcoal; XPL, f. 2mm.

5. Silty unit with fissures resulted by intense compaction (33); XPL, f. 2 mm.

6. Pottery fragment with fragments of sediments; XPL, l. i. 2 mm.

Pl. 3. Images at the optical polarizing microscope. PPL - plan polarized light, XPL - cross polarized light, f. - frame width.

1. Coprolite fragment with fish bones in a silty granular unit (35); XPL, f. 2 mm.

2. Silty unit (37) with fine charcoal organized on very fine laminae; PPL, f. 2 mm.

3. Vegetal fragments decomposed in a silty micro-laminar unit (38); PPL, f. 2 mm.

4. Soil aggregates in a silty granular unit (39); XPL, f. 2 mm.

5. Vegetal altered fragments in a possible coprolite of herbivore; PPL, f. 1 mm.

6. Silty clay lamina in the top of an organic granular unit (43); PPL, f. 2 mm.

Pl. 4. Images at the optical polarizing microscope. PPL - plan polarized light, XPL - cross polarized light, f. - frame width.

IV. Permineralized wood and charcoal from the Gumelniţa A2 levels at Borduşani – Popină (Ialomiţa County, Romania): paleoethnographic and paleoecologic implications Iulia TOMESCU

IV. 1. Introduction The archeological site of Borduşani - Popină in Balta Ialomiţei (Ialomiţa county, Romania) represents one of the few Romanian archeological sites where multidisciplinary studies were undertaken involving several disciplines: charcoal/wood analysis, palynology, mammalogy, ichthyology, malacology, herpetology, sedimentology and micromorphology. In Western Europe, charcoal (fire wood) analysis is a discipline well integrated within the paleobotany sphere, with the aim to document and understand ancient vegetal environments and their dynamics, as well as the interactions between humans and these environments. By contrast, to date very few studies have been carried out in Romania on archeological or natural charcoal and wood material (Tomescu, 1996; 1997; 1998). An important benefit of wood and charcoal analysis in anthropogenic accumulations, compared to those of natural contexts, is that it offers information not only about natural prehistoric ecosystems contemporaneous with the human communities, but also about human-environment relationships and the ways in which the anthropogenic factor drives changes in the environment. The goals of archaeological charcoal/wood studies are tightly linked with the types of material preserved in anthropogenic accumulations. Two categories of woody material remains are defined based on the types of human activities that generate them: (i) remains of a specialized use, such as constructions (e.g., poles or stakes, fences, floors, wood frames, roofs, handicraft objects), found either as fossil wood, or as charcoal; and (ii) remains of domestic fires, representing wood used by humans with a domestic purpose in activities such as heating, cooking, lighting. Archaeological criteria allow for distinction in the field between the two categories, determining the objectives of subsequent studies (paleoethnographic versus paleofloristic versus paleoecologic). A correct interpretation of the genesis and type of a charcoal/wood-bearing stratigraphic unit is crucial in choosing the

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appropriate sampling method, and especially in interpreting the results of the analysis, since the two categories of remains bear different significations. Wood remains associated with construction assemblages carry paleoethnographic and paleofloristic information, and are devoid of any inherent paleoecological significance because: (i) they reflect basically a one-time event of wood gathering; (ii) the wood species used in constructions can be the result of conscious selection reflecting the preferential use of a type of wood for a particular structure; and (iii) the taxonomic identification only demonstrates the presence of the taxon and does not reflect any proportions between species within the prehistoric forests. However, if certain wood species are consistently selected preferentially over time, an anthropogenically-induced change in the participation of that species in the forests can occur. From this stage on, paleoecological interpretations of the vegetal environment will have to take into account the anthropogenic factor. The remains of domestic fires preserved as dispersed charcoal bear a paleoecologic interest based on the assuption that wood used as domestic fuel was randomly gathered from the proximity of the settlement, and thus the identified taxa illustrate the naturally occurring relative proportions of woody species. Through combustion, wood transforms with increasing heat into charred wood (darkened wood), charcoal, and finally into ash that represents the result of complete combustion. A remarkable fact about the Borduşani-Popina archeological site is the abundance of fossil wood fragments, in addition to the charcoal remains, within anthropogenic sediments. The presence of unburned wood (fossil wood) generously preserved in this settlement opened new perspectives in the examination of paleoethnographic aspects of the Gumelniţa culture, as well as of the anthropogenic impact on vegetal communities trough preferential selection of certain species. Most analyses of prehistoric wood/charcoal have focused on charcoal, because unburned wood is very rarely preserved in dry environments in Neolithic settlements, and it is almost absent in more ancient archaeological sites. In contrast, charcoal is chemically inert and thus becomes an ideal material for preservation after burial (Jones et al., 1991), which leads to the high probability of finding it in abundance in almost every anthropogenic accumulation. Owing to the rarity of preservation, the fossil wood component does not bear the same paleoecological potential that makes the main focus of the majority of charcoal studies. Only under exceptional edaphic conditions unburned wood does not undergo biochemical degradation and is preserved (Tomescu, 1996). On the other hand, submersed anaerobic environments (e.g. lakes, lagoons, peats) have proved to be the most favorable depositional settings for the preservation of prehistoric fossil wood. 76

The present study reports preliminary results of charcoal and wood analyses performed on the archeological tell-type site of Borduşani-Popina. The lack of running water necessary for field processing of the very common charcoal bearing deposits of paleoecologic interest shifted the focus of the study toward the analysis of fossil wood of paleoethnographic interest. Taxonomic identification of both fossil wood and charcoal was realized using reflected light microscopy, on manually fractured individual fragments.

IV. 2. Study area The archeological site of Borduşani - Popină, known by locals as “Popina” or “Popina Mare” (Marinescu-Bîlcu, 1997), is located on an ancient alluvial bar in Balta Ialomiţei, about 2.5 km NE of the village of Borduşani (Ialomiţa county). Balta Ialomiţei, a large island encompassed by the Borcea channel of the Danube on the eastern side and by the Danube River itself on the western side, is part of the river floodplain. The Danube River divides into the two channels – Borcea and Danube – next to the town of Călăraşi (south of Balta Ialomiţei), and the two channels converge farther north, close to Piua Pietrei. According to Banu (1967) the term “Popina” stands for a hill whose elevation is close to that of the highest non-floodable terrace of the river system. The site has the shape of two coalescent tells of different sizes: the larger one is oval (180x70 m), with a height of 15.4 m, whereas the smaller tell is almost circular (30x20 m) and 8 m in height (Marinescu-Bîlcu, 1997). Tell-type archeological sites are known mainly in the Near East and Middle East. Etymologically, the term “tell” comes from Arabic (tall) where it signifies hillock. In Europe, tells are known in the Balkan region and even farther, in Hungary. A tell represents an artificial mound consisting of the accumulated remains of one or more prehistoric settlements. However, formation and preservation of a tell occur only if erosion processes are surpassed by the accumulation of anthropogenic remains. Two historical periods of human occupation are represented at Borduşani-Popină: the La Tène culture, a getic period represented in layers at the top part of the tell, and the Gumelniţa culture (4600 – 3900 B.C., Bem, 2001) illustrating an Eneolithic occupation of the area. The Gumelniţa levels, phase A2 (4550 – 3950 B.C., Bem, 2001) form the most part of the tell and the charcoal/wood analysis was aimed exclusively at material found in these Eneolithic levels.

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IV. 3. Methodology IV.3.1. Types of wood preservation Four types of wood preservation were identified in the Gumelniţa A2 levels at Borduşani-Popina: charcoal (fire wood), charred wood (darkened wood), wood (fossil xylem tissue), and impressions (negatives). Charcoal remains have been found scattered, as we were expecting, in almost every archaeological stratigraphic level. The incomplete combustion process by which wood is transformed into charcoal is called charcoalification (Jones et al., 1993). According to Jones et al. (1993: 38), as a result of charcoalification “macroscopically the xylem is black and under microscopic examination the cell walls are seen to be homogenized”. In anthropogenic accumulations such as archaeological sites, charcoal comes principally from fires deliberately set by humans with a domestic purpose (fire-wood based activities such as heating, cooking, or lighting). It can also represent remains of constructions made of wood that have been destroyed by fire. The ubiquity of charcoal in almost every type of stratigraphic unit is due to accidental dispersion (by humans, animals, wind) that occurred subsequently to its formation. Charred wood occurring as darkened brown to black fragments has been found rarely, only in the sediment fillings of some of the pole/stake pits. The formation of charred wood represents the first phase of wood transformation through heating (combustion), and is an intermediate step of chemical and physical tissue alteration between fresh wood and charcoal (Jones et al., 1993). “The xylem is seen to be brown to black macroscopically, but under microscopic examination the cell walls are not homogenized” (Jones et al., 1993: 38). Wood fragments representing mainly remnants of prehistoric wooden constructions are very abundant underscoring the high paleoethnographic potential of the Borduşani - Popină site. During the Neolithic, wood was used to enforce daub walls, as elements of structural frames of dwellings (e.g. poles, stakes), wooden floors, roofs, fences, various pieces of furniture and handicraft objects. Wood preservation occurs in this archeological site either as compressions, in which case sampling was delicate, or as permineralized three-dimensional fragments of variable sizes, representing remains of wooden poles, stakes or flooring material. Wood is preserved at Borduşani - Popină owing to permineralization by carbonates. Bateman (1991) distinguishes two main types of preservation of a buried plant fragment: a) a two-dimensional preservation through compression of both the sediment and the vegetal material due to overburden pressure, and b) a three-dimensional preservation with either the conservation (permineralization) or the degradation (authigenic cementation) of the anatomical structure. Therefore, 78

permineralization as a preservation model for plant tissues is a three-dimensional fossilization process with the conservation of the original anatomical structure of the vegetal material subject to burial. From a chemical viewpoint, permineralization represents a diagenetic mineralization through infilling of intracellular and intercellular spaces with minerals precipitated directly from pore fluids (Schopf, 1975). Two types of three-dimensional permineralized wood were found at Borduşani-Popina: a solid and resistant type contrasting with a soft and friable type. The latter does not show visible mineral impregnation, but gives energetic effervescence in contact with hydrochloric acid, indicating carbonate permineralization. Impressions or negatives are represented mostly by bark and small branch traces. Impressions of reed, club rush, and herbaceous material have also been frequently found in daub lumps from prehistoric dwelling walls. IV.3.2. Sampling method and data recording Excavation method The sampling method for wood/charcoal fragments is chosen taking into account multiple factors: the types of wood preservation, the types of the wood/charcoal-bearing deposits (dispersed versus concentrated), the time necessary for the formation of the wood/charcoal-bearing deposits, the prehistoric culture and the type of environment in which those prehistoric communities lived. However, a few fundamental sampling principles have to be followed in strict accordance with the type of deposits subjected to sampling (dispersed versus concentrated charcoal deposits) and which might bear different types of information (paleoethnographic versus paleoecologic versus paleofloristic). The reliability and accuracy of interpretations resulting from the charcoal study are directly dependent upon the sampling method. Nevertheless, the quality of wood/charcoal sampling depends ultimately on the excavation method applied by archaeologists. Digging by the successive removal, in inverse stratigraphic order, of each stratigraphic unit (SU) that composes an anthropogenic accumulation, proved to be one of the excavation styles that provides the most information for both archaeologists and interdisciplinary studies. This method takes advantage of the sedimentation of stratigraphic units in chronological order. Used in Romania starting in the 80s, it has been applied on the archaeological site of Borduşani - Popină allowing a direct visualization and coherent interpretation of the prehistoric evolution of the settlement. Each stratigraphic unit makes the object of field observation, description, interpretation and systematic recording. A holistic comprehension of the archaeological site is greatly enhanced through an accurate interpretation of all 79

its stratigraphic units and their temporal succession. However, because this is a time-consuming method that additionally requires a high number of qualified archaeologists, its application is not possible in all circumstances. In such cases horizontal digging that does not take into account the geometry of stratigraphic units is used (still largely applied on Romanian archaeological sites). Wood and charcoal remains of paleoethnographic interest Of the 41 stratigraphic units sampled for this study, 40 present paleoethnographic interest. Fossil wood of paleoethnographic interest found at Borduşani-Popina comes from prehistoric constructions. No pieces of furniture, handicraft objects or other different types of wood objects were discovered so far at this site. For practical reasons, the fossil wood that comes from constructions has been divided into two categories: vertical architectural components (individual posts and stakes, wooden fences), and horizontal elements (wood whose fibers were found in situ parallel with the occupation level) regardless of their affiliation to an architectural structure originally configured as a horizontal structure or not. Unfortunately, horizontal fragments could not be sampled for analysis in reflected light microscopy, because they were either very soft and friable (the threedimensional pieces), or compressed (two-dimensional pieces). All 40 stratigraphic units represent vertical architectural elements, such as pits of poles and stakes. Many Gumelniţa constructions include a wooden framework composed of such vertical elements driven into the ground or based in specially dug pits. These elements are referred to in the present study as vertical architecture. The pits, now filled with sediment, and the bottom ends of posts/stakes, represent the most commonly preserved evidence. The sediment filling, sometimes bearing wood, is recorded as one stratigraphic unit. In most of the cases wood is preserved as dispersed fragments within the sediment filling. We were nonetheless able to notice sometimes in the pits the original vertical position of the wooden post/stake (vertical fibers), preserved as a wood cylinder lining the pit walls. Various descriptive characteristics have been recorded while sampling such stratigraphic units: dimensions of the pits (diameter, depth), their spatial disposition, the style and type of sediment filling, and the type of wood preservation. The separation between posts and stakes has been made based on pit diameters. The limit between the two categories was arbitrarily placed at 6 cm, because it was noticed that pits with a diameter larger than 6 cm were considerably deeper (tens of centimeters) compared to pits smaller than 6 cm in diameter. However, the major reason for making this difference between posts and stakes is to emphasize their different function in constructions, where stakes provided a weaker structural support than posts. For example, SU 1518 represents a post pit 80

with a large diameter (26 cm) and a depth of 98 cm that demonstrate its important role within the structural framework of a construction. Most pits were more or less circular or oval in cross section. Based on their spatial disposition, we distinguished two categories: isolated and associated pits, the latter representing mainly alignments of at least 3 pits that suggested an original architectural connection. Nevertheless, we have considered as associated pit assemblages only the most obvious situations supported by archaeological interpretations. Sampling of the wood fragments coming from vertical architecture was realized in two ways: a) in situ sampling for the pits with sediment fillings rich in fossil wood or b) sieve sampling applied after sieving of the sediment filling through 4 and 1 mm mesh, for the cases in which the pits were poor in wood fragments. Theoretically, one fragment is enough to identify taxonomically the wood of the original post/stake. However, the sampling effort was directed to collect more than just one fragment. This approach was even more desirable for those cases in which the sediment filling of a pit provided fossil wood fragments with different observable characteristics such as color, consistency, and even type – wood, charred wood and charcoal. A few pits presented sedimentological burning traces, the burning characteristics (e.g. darker color hues) being exhibited by the innermost sediment layer of the pit walls. In all these cases, charcoal and sometimes charred wood fragments were found in the sediment filling of the pit, suggesting that the original pole/stake had been affected by carbonization. Charcoal remains of paleoecologic interest A reliable paleoecological interpretation relies on the number of charcoal fragments identified taxonomically, the type of the charcoal bearing deposit chosen for sampling (namely dispersed charcoal deposits) and on a rigorous sampling method. It was demonstrated that statistically viable spectra are obtained through analysis of a high number of charcoal fragments, between 200 and 400 fragments (Chabal, 1988; 1991) for each stratigraphic level at each site. Consequently, the charcoal bearing deposits best suited for this goal have to meet three requirements: quantitative, qualitative and temporal. Thus, they have to be relatively rich in charcoal, to contain dispersed charcoal residues of domestic fire provenance, and to represent stratigraphic units formed during relatively long periods of time (year(s) to tens of years) (Tomescu et al., 2003). Midden deposits fulfill all three requirements. Composed of lenses of sediment of varying size and thickness that represent domestic refuse, middens usually occupy well-defined hollow areas. Their field identification is facile owing to their heterogeneous content: ash, charcoal and seeds, building material (daub), bones, shells, potsherds, lithic fragments. Such waste depositing zones were utilized by the inhabitants of the 81

neighboring dwellings for discarding domestic refuse. Charcoal in middens represents principally material that results from domestic activities involving firewood (e.g. lighting, heating and cooking). This material was produced in combustion structures (e.g., hearths, ovens) of dwellings in the immediate vicinity of the middens, and was discarded voluntarily by humans in these waste-disposal zones during systematic activities of cleaning of the combustion structures. However, such material may have been subsequently dispersed by other factors (wind, rain water, or animals). It is also very probable that some charcoal fragments came from burnt wood constructions, thus illustrating only one event of wood usage, in contrast to domestic charcoal that reflects multiple events of wood utilization. Although charcoal remains of paleoecologic interest are abundant at Borduşani - Popină, sampling was severely constrained by the lack of running water necessary for wet screening of the charcoal-bearing sediment on the excavation. Attempts at dry screening of the sediment failed to yield the expected results and therefore a reduced amount of sediment of paleoecologic interest was processed. The present study includes the analysis of charcoal fragments provided by only one exhaustively sampled midden accumulation (SU 1070). Wet screening of the sediment and exhaustive charcoal sampling were performed in the laboratory. IV.3.3. Wood identification The classic method of taxonomic identification of prehistoric charcoal utilizes reflected light microscopy, and was introduced by Western in 1963. Each fragment is fractured manually and wood anatomy is observed in three different planes: transverse (perpendicular to the growth direction), radial (parallel with the growth direction and wood rays), and tangential (parallel with the growth direction, tangential to annual growth rings and perpendicular to wood rays). Effective wood identification, often at the genus and species level, is achieved by means of comparative anatomy involving the use of wood anatomy atlases and reference collections of modern carbonized wood taxa. Taxonomic identification using this method is possible on charcoal fragments as small as 0.5 mm (Vernet, 1982). The method has two main advantages: it is rapid so a high number of charcoal fragments can be identified in relatively short time, and it gives the possibility to analyze all anatomical characteristics on the same charcoal fragment. In addition, the manual fracture method does not imply any chemical treatment of charcoal, allowing for radiocarbon dating of fragments (Vernet, 1987). In contrast with charcoal, unburned wood raises difficulties for taxonomic identification using this method because it is either too friable, or too 82

hard owing to permineralization. Various methods, such as thin sectioning and maceration (Ghelmeziu and Suciu, 1959), have been used for unburned wood identification, but all lack the efficiency of reflected light microscopy. The wood fragments preserved at Borduşani-Popina have been identified using the classical reflected light microscopy method applied on charcoal. Taxonomic identification was sometimes difficult because the planes of fracture were not as even as those obtained on charcoal, rendering the recognition of anatomical characters more difficult. Identification was performed using an IOR MC-6 compound microscope, at magnifications between 100x and 800x, and wood anatomy atlases by Jaquiot et al. (1973) and Schweingruber (1978, 1990).

IV. 4. Results IV.4.1. Paleoethnography Most wood remains of paleoethnographic interest found at BorduşaniPopina are preserved as unburned permineralized wood (Table 1). Stake pits represent 32.5% (13) and pole pits 67.5% (27) of the vertical architecture samples (40). Taxonomically, 16 poles were identified as deciduous oak, Quercus. Eleven of these were identified based on fossil wood and 5 based on charcoal. The sediment filling of SU 2029 included both charcoalified and charred wood. Charcoal identification has yielded two different taxa, Quercus and Populus-Salix, and charred wood only one taxon, Quercus. Integrating field observations (burning traces of the sediment) with the taxonomy of fragments, we were able to identify the wood species of the original pole as Quercus. Nine of the poles have been identified as Populus-Salix (poplar-willow), one of them on charcoal and the rest on wood. Other 9 poles have been identified on wood at class level only (Dicotyledonatae). The analysis of SU 2042 identified three taxa, Quercus, Populus-Salix and Ulmus (elm), the wood species of the original pole remaining unknown. Five stratigraphic units delivered fossil wood with a high grade of permineralization that strongly affected the anatomy rendering taxonomic identification impossible. In summary, the taxonomic identification of wood/charcoal remains interpreted, as material of prehistoric poles or stakes was possible at the genus level in 25 out of 40 cases. These yielded two species: deciduous Quercus in proportion of 64% and Populus-Salix in proportion of 36%.

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IV.4.2. Paleoecology The stratigraphic unit SU 1070, a midden accumulation, represents the only charcoal sample of paleoecologic interest exhaustively collected and analyzed. Taxonomic identification of the largest charcoal fragments first revealed three deciduous genera: Populus-Salix, Ulmus, and Cornus (dogwood). Going beyond the largest fragments, the analysis of smaller charcoal fragments yielded two more taxa: Vitis silvestris (vine) and deciduous Quercus. The total of five taxa were identified by the analysis of 75 charcoal fragments (Tab. 2). Considering that the same genus can have multiple species, as is the case with oak and elm, this result gives only a minimum number of potential wood species for the floristic list. The relative frequencies of the identified taxa illustrate the dominance of Populus-Salix (54.2%), followed by Populus (19.4%), Ulmus (16.7%), Vitis silvestris (4.2%), and Cornus and deciduous Quercus both with 2.8%.

IV. 5. Discussion IV.5.1. The modern vegetation of Balta Ialomiţei Nowadays, the vegetal environment of Balta Ialomiţei is intensely altered due to anthropogenic influence through agricultural activities and tree plantations. However, some of the natural characteristics have been preserved since prehistoric times: the proximity of the river valley, the abundance of small lakes and marshes of the floodplain, and the high non-floodable river banks. Only a few scattered patches of vegetation are remnants of the prehistoric original woody and herbaceous environment. Soils are of the alluvial type (mudy, silty and sandy) presenting different degrees of humidity. The hills and high river banks consist of loessic sediments toward the top. The modern vegetation of Balta Ialomitei reflects a typical floodplain and river valley environment with riparian forests, coppices, meadows and marshes (Popescu-Zeletin, 1967). The river valley forests are dominated by Populus and Salix species (Populus alba L., Populus canescens Sm., Salix alba L. and Salix fragilis L.), mixed or forming pure stands. The most elevated river banks are inhabited by groves of arboreal taxa such as Quercus pedunculiflora C. Koch. and Quercus robur L., accompanied by Ulmus laevis Pall. and Ulmus foliacea Gilib. A continuous understory vegetation up to 2 m in height, is composed of Viburnum opulus L., Cornus sanguinea L., Crataegus monogyna Jacq. and Rosa canina L. Vitis silvestris L. and Periploca greaca L. are among the most abundant vines. In the proximity of the main river channel, on the lowest alluvial terraces, Tamarix sp. can be found (Popescu-Zeletin, 1967).

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IV.5.2. Edaphic considerations for wood preservation Permineralization conditions for the prehistoric wood were created at Borduşani-Popina by the type of the sediment that is loess, and which is very abundant all over the region. Loess, a sediment considered to represent windblown dust of Pleistocene age (Bates and Jackson, 1984), is characterized by a high carbonate content and good permeability. Loess carbonates that are very prone to dissolution constituted the dominant source for solutions that permineralized the wood. The activation of carbonate dissolution by meteoric waters and the energetic circulation of pore fluids enriched in dissolved carbonate minerals occurred owing to the high porosity of this loess-type sediment (up to 65%, Conea, 1970). Bateman (1991: 40) states that “plant fragments often act as nuclei for diagenetic cementation of the surrounding sediment. In such cases, the early stages of cementation result in nodules whose shape is influenced by the enclosed plat fossil”. The permineralization of wood at Borduşani - Popină represents a very early diagenetic process that occurred prior to wood deformation by burial. As stated by Bateman (1991: 36) “three-dimensionality can only be maintained if the resistance to compression of the fossil (and usually also of the surrounding matrix) is increased by mineralization”. The detailed anatomy of wood has been preserved due to infilling of the intracellular spaces with carbonate minerals leading to the retention of the cellular anatomy even after complete degradation of the cell walls. IV.5.3. Paleoethnography Wood has been used by humans since the Paleolithic. Following millennia of use for domestic fire, handicraft objects and constructions, by the Eneolithic humans had undoubtedly acquired the potential to remark, value and benefit various qualitative characteristics of the different wood species. The discovery of numerous Neolithic wood vestiges that illustrate such human knowledge and proficiency in using wood based on its qualities, yielded the Neolithic epoch the denomination of “âge du bois” (Age of Wood) (Bocquet and Noel, 1984; 1987). The Neolithic is seen as the epoch that witnessed the surpassing of a technical threshold in wood working. During the Gumelniţa A2 culture, the culture that generated the accumulation of most of the stratigraphic units of the Borduşani-Popina tell, dwellings were built with wooden pole frames covered with clay, and with double-sloping roofs. Considering the species identified among the wood remains of paleoethnographic interest, we can go one step further and question the reasons for which they were chosen, or whether we can talk about a selective usage of certain 85

species for particular structures. Two major types of considerations can factor into the selection of a certain wood species for particular purposes: (i) technical considerations that lead to the targeting of a species based on certain properties advantageous for particular usages, and (ii) economical considerations aiming to minimize the effort required for finding, transporting and working the wood. We should also mention esthetic considerations based on wood aspect (e.g. color, look, shape). Nonetheless, economical considerations prevail, underpinning further consequences. For instance, a strong economic reason while building a dwelling in a relatively stable environment is that the dwelling should last for as long as possible. This durability requirement may introduce technical considerations resulting in the selection of a species with resistant wood for the structural frame of the building. However, above all these considerations and reasons in wood utilization, human choices were primarily dictated by availability in the prehistoric vegetal environment, so that human needs and actions represented an adaptation to the environment. Results of the analysis of the wood remains of paleoetnographic interest at Borduşani - Popină reveal the predominance of poles made of oak (64%). Oak wood is very resistant, dense, and has exceptional technological proprieties. Considering these characteristics of oak wood together with its frequent usage in Eneolithic constructions, we can infer a conscious selection of oak based on technical considerations dictated by economical reasons of building long-lasting constructions. The question that comes next is: could oak have been a component of forests in the proximity of the Eneolithic settlement? Considering the ecology of oak and assuming that the environments surrounding the Eneolithic community were similar to present-day environments in the vicinity of the tell, oak could have grown on the most elevated dry, non-floodable river banks, being undoubtedly more abundant during those times than today. The limiting factor to the prehistoric natural distribution of oak within the river floodplain environments would have been represented by soil humidity. Oak was used during the Eneolithic at Borduşani - Popină along with hygrophilic species of poplar or willow (36%), used mainly for stakes. Poplar/willow wood is light and soft, and probably would not have been preferred as the main wood species for constructions meant to last. However, their ecology and the prevalence of water-rich environments driven by the presence of the Danube River, indicate that poplar and willow were among the dominant tree species of the forests in the proximity of the settlement. Therefore, their use in constructions would have resulted from economical considerations such as a fast supply and facility of processing (e.g., transporting, cutting, and fashioning). Compared to willow, poplar generally exhibits straighter trunks. Based on this one 86

can speculate a preponderant use of poplar wood in contrast to willow, and therefore a differentiation dictated by technical reasons. IV.5.4. Paleoecology Prior to the Mesolithic, the structure and evolution of vegetation was under the exclusive control of natural factors such as climate and soils, but the accelerated evolution of the human society during the Holocene led to an ever increasing influence of humans on vegetation. Starting in the Neolithic, forests were under permanent pressure exerted by humans in their drive toward extending areas available for cultivation or pasture by clear-cutting. These continuous and intensifying activities engendered escalating changes in the structure and extent of woodlands. Beyond a certain threshold, such changes can be perceived by charcoal analyses aimed at reconstructing past vegetation and changes in vegetation effected by natural as well as anthropogenic factors. However, the absolute value of this threshold varies for each particular situation. The analysis of charcoal fragments from the midden structure SU 1070 evidenced the dominance of hygrophilic species, such as poplar and willow. As the study included only a limited number of charcoal fragments (75), the relative frequencies of identified taxa are not representative for the structure of forests contemporaneous with the prehistoric settlement. However, integrating modern with prehistoric data we can notice a similarity in the environments surrounding the settlement: the proximity of the river valley, the abundance of small lakes and marshes of the floodplain, and high non-floodable river banks. Based on this general environmental similarity defined by the presence of the Danube River, I suggest that there is also a similarity between the modern and ancient vegetal communities. Therefore, the Eneolithic vegetal environment adjacent to the settlement would have been dominated by vegetal communities requiring the proximity of a river, i.e., hygrophilic communities, that included poplar and willow. Hardwood forests or stands including oak, elm or dogwood, also identified in charcoal fragments, could have occupied the most elevated river banks, as they do today. An important difference between the modern and ancient vegetal environments would have been represented by a more widespread forest environment during prehistoric times due to considerably weaker anthropogenic influences. The study of wild mammal bones found in the Eneolithic levels at Borduşani - Popină revealed a predominance of species adapted to forested areas and wet meadows, indicating the presence of a mosaic of forested and lacustrine environments with extensive forest stands (Moise, 1997). The same study nevertheless shows that domestic animals represented and important component of 87

alimentation in the Gumelniţa population, demonstrating that animal husbandry was one of the main activities in the economy of the settlement. Animal husbandry and agriculture, two activities that promote clear-cutting, could have led to a thinning of forest stands in the proximity of the tell. If we add to these the selective and continuous usage of certain woody species for a long period of time, we can imagine the type and extent of influences exerted by the Eneolithic community at Borduşani - Popină.

IV. 6. Conclusions The excavation of the Gumelniţa A2 levels at Borduşani - Popină revealed two dominant types of preservation of the woody material: (i) charcoal, found in almost every stratigraphic level, representing mainly remains of domestic fires and bearing a paleoecologic interest; and (ii) fossil wood representing remnants of prehistoric wooden constructions, such as poles and stakes, and bearing paleoethnographic and paleofloristic information. The taxonomic identification of both charcoal and wood was realized by the classical method based on reflected light microscopy and showed the considerable potential of permineralized fossil wood for taxonomic identification. Wood is preserved at Borduşani - Popină owing to permineralization by carbonates, illustrating an early diagenetic process that occurred prior to wood deformation by burial. The fact that the permineralization occurred prior to deformation favorized preservation of the anatomical features of wood, allowing taxonomic identification. Permineralization conditions were created by the high carbonate content and good permeability of the loess that buried the wood. The analysis of fossil wood of paleoethnographic interest was carried out on 40 stratigraphic units representing pits of poles and stakes, elements of vertical architecture. Taxonomic identification shows the dominance of oak poles, secondarily accompanied by poplar/willow stakes. The preferential use of oak wood in architectural elements meant for strong structural support (poles), suggests conscious selection based on technical considerations dictated by economical reasons of building long-lasting constructions. On the other hand, the use of poplar/willow in architectural elements providing weaker structural support (stakes) could be explained by economical considerations aimed at a fast supply and a facile processing (transporting, cutting, and fashioning). Results of the analysis of charcoal of paleoecologic interest from one midden complex, illustrate the dominance of hygrophilic species such as poplar and willow, followed by some hardwood species (elm, dogwood, oak) and vine. The paleoecologic analysis was performed on a small number of charcoal 88

fragments (75) which limits the accuracy of the results. Nevertheless, integrating modern with prehistoric environmental data principally defined by the permanent presence of the Danube River, we can assume that the Eneolithic vegetal environment adjacent to the settlement would have been dominated by hygrophilic vegetal communities that included poplar and willow. The identification of poplar and willow as the dominant species in the paleoecologic study and as the second ranked species in the paleoethnographic analysis, supports the hypothesis according to which these taxa were among the most widespread woody taxa in the Eneolithic hydgrophilic communities and they were used in constructions based on economical considerations. The identification of oak in both types of analyses (the dominant species in the paleoethnographic analysis and a minor component in the paleoecologic analysis), supports the hypotheses that oak was a component of the forest in Eneolithic times, but inhabited only certain areas (non-floodable sites) and was used in constructions based on technical considerations dictated by economical reasons.

Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr. Silivia Marinescu-Bîlcu and Dragomir Popovici who were conducting the excavations at Borduşani - Popină, for help during fieldwork and fruitful discussions. Dr. Ovidiu Dragastan encouraged my efforts during this study and Dr. Nicolae Ticleanu provided work space and lab equipment. Dr. Valentin Radu offered assistance in the field and Dr. Lucie Chabal made useful suggestions improving the text.

References Banu, A.C., 1967, Date geografice şi geologice asupra bazinului şi cursului inferior al Dunării, in Banu A.C. (coord.), Limnologia sectorului românesc al Dunării. Studiu monografic, Editura Academiei R.S.R., p. 17–68. Bateman, R.M., 1991, Palaeoecology (Ch.2), in Cleal C.J. (ed.) Plant fossils in geological investigation. The Palaeozoic, Ellis Horwood, p. 34–113. Bates, R.L., Jackson, J.L. (Eds.), 1984, Dictionary of geological terms, 3rd edition, prepared by the American Geological Institute, New York: Anchor Books – Doubleday.

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Bem, C., 2001, Noi propuneri pentru o schiţă cronologică a Eneoliticului românesc, Pontica, 33-34, Muzeul de Istorie naţională şi Arheologie Constanţa, p. 25-121. Bocquet, A., Noel, M., 1984, Le Néolithique, âge du bois, La Recherche, 15 (156), p. 830–837. Bocquet, A., Noel, M., 1987, Les hommes et le bois. Histoire et technologie du bois de la préhistoire à nos jours, Hachette. Chabal, L., 1988, Pourquoi et comment prélever les charbons de bois pour la période antique: les méthodes utilisées sur le site de Lattes (Hérault). Lattara, 1, A.R.A.L.O.Ed.. Chabal, L., 1991, L’homme et l’évolution de la végétation méditerranéenne, des ages des métaux à la période romaine: recherches anthracologiques théoroques, appliquées principalement à des sites du Bas–Languedoc, Thèse doctorat, Univ. Montpellier II. Conea, A. (1970), Formaţiuni cuaternare în Dobrogea (loessuri şi paleosoluri), Editura Academiei R.S.R., Bucureşti. Ghelmeziu, N.G., Suciu, P.N. (1959), Identificarea lemnului, Editura Tehnică, Bucureşti. Jacquiot, C., Trenard, Y., Dirol, D. (1973), Atlas d’anatomie des bois des Angiospermes, Centre Technique du Bois, Paris, 2 vol. Jones, T.P., Scott, A.C., Cope, M., 1991, Reflectance measurements and the temperature of formation of modern charcoals and implications for studies of fusain, Bulletin de la Societe Geologique de France, 162 (2), p. 193-200. Jones, T.P., Scott, A.C., Mattey, D.P., 1993, Investigations of “fusain transition fossils” from the Lower Carboniferous: coparisons with modern partially charred wood, International Journal of Coal Geology, 22, p. 37-59. Marinescu-Bîlcu, S., 1997, Archaeological research at Borduşani-Popina (Ialomita County) preliminary report 1993-1994, Cercetări Arheologice, Muzeul Naţional de Istorie a României, 10, p. 35-38. Popescu–Zeletin, I. (1967), Vegetaţia forestieră din lunca şi Delta Dunării, in Banu A.C.(coord.), Limnologia sectorului românesc al Dunării. Studiu monografic, Editura Academiei R.S.R., p. 547–577. Schopf, J.M., 1975, Modes of fossil preservation, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 20 (1-2), Henry N. Andrews, Jr., special issue, p. 27-53. Schweingruber, F.H. (1978), Mikroskopische Holzanatomie. Anatomie microscopique du bois, Institut fédéral de recherches forestières, Zürcher AG, Zug.

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Schweingruber, F.H. (1990), Anatomie europäischer Holzer. Anatomy of european woods, Paul Haupt Publishers. Tomescu, I. 1996, Etude des charbons de bois et du bois non carbonize du tell néilithique d’Hrasova (Roumanie,. Rapport de stage octobre 1995-mars 1996. Tomescu, I., 1997, Reconstituirea vegetatiei Holocene pe baza studiului antracologic din situl neo-eneolitic de la Harsova (jud. Constanta), B.Sc. Thesis, Geology and Geophysics, University of Bucharest, Romania, 97 p. Tomescu, I., 1998, Preliminary results on the arboreal flora based on the analysis of wood remains from the Eneolithic archeological site at Bucsani (Giurgiu Co.), Bulletin of the Teohari Georgescu History Museum, Giurgiu (Romania) 2-4, p. 107-111 (in Romanian). Tomescu, A.M.F., Radu, V., Moise, D., 2003, High resolution stratigraphic distribution of coprolites within Eneolithic middens, a case study: Harsova-Tell (Constanta County, Southeast Romania), Environmental Archaeology 8, p. 97-109. Vernet, J.-L. (1987), Introduction, in Vernet J.-L., Badal-Garcia E., Chabal L., Thiébault S., Anthracologie, Jornadas sobre metodologia arqueologica, Murcia, 29 sept.- 4 oct.1986, p. 1-2. Vernet, J.–L. (1982), L’analyse anthracologique, une méthode d’études des flores préhistoriques, Le courrier du CNRS, 47, p. 22–31. Western, A.C., 1963, Wood and charcoal in archaeologogy, Brothwell anf Higgs (eds.), Science in Archaeology. London, Thames and Hudson, p. 150-160.

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1359 1508 1510 1512 1516 1532 1553 1836 2027 2029

SU

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2033 2040 2046 2057 2060 2093 1518 1520 1560 1561 1564

No

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Quercus

Pole/Stake identification

oak pole

oak pole

oak pole

Conclusions

Tab. 1. Bordusani-Popinã 1995. SU 1070 (Midden) - Gumelnita A2. Results of paleoethnographic interest

Quercus

Quercus

oak pole

Notes

isolated Quercus

Quercus

oak pole

Taxa

pole isolated Quercus

Quercus

oak pole

Type

stake isolated Quercus

Quercus

oak pole

Utilization

pole isolated Quercus

Quercus

Wood

pole isolated Quercus

Charcoal

pole isolated

pole Quercus

oak pole

isolated Quercus

Quercus

isolated

oak pole

burnt oak pole

Quercus

pole isolated

Quercus

oak pole

burnt oak pole

pole isolated

Quercus Populus– Salix Quercus

Quercus

burnt oak pole

Quercus

pole

isolated

Quercus

poplar-willow pole

Quercus

pole

isolated

Quercus

field traces of burning

pole isolated

Quercus

Populus–Salix

poplar-willow pole

poplar-willow stake

burnt oak pole; allochtonous charcoal of poplar-willow

pole isolated

Quercus

Populus–Salix

poplar-willow pole

Quercus

pole isolated

Populus–Salix

poplar-willow pole

oak pole

pole isolated

Populus–Salix

Populus–Salix

burnt oak pole

pole isolated

Populus–Salix

Populus–Salix

Quercus

pole isolated

Populus–Salix

Quercus

pole

associated

Populus–Salix

charcoal and charred wood of Quercus; field traces of burning field traces of burning

stake

associated

Quercus Populus–Salix

Quercus

stake

associated

field traces of burning

field traces of burning

stake

Quercus

stake

associated

associated

Type

stake associated

Utilization

stake

SU

stake

No

1565 1566 1567

Charcoal

22 23 24 Populus– Salix

Populus–Salix

Populus–Salix

Pole/Stake identification

poplar-willow pole

poplar-willow pole

poplar-willow pole

Conclusions

Notes

Populus–Salix

Populus–Salix

Taxa

Populus–Salix

burnt poplar-willow pole

Wood

Populus–Salix

Populus–Salix

field traces of burning

isolated

stake of a deciduous species

stake of a deciduous species

isolated

isolated

Dicotyledonatae cu zonã poroasã Dicotyledonatae cu zonã poroasã Dicotyledonatae cu pori difuzi Dicotyledonatae cu pori difuzi Dicotyledonatae

stake of a deciduous species

pole

pole

isolated

Dicotyledonatae

stake of a deciduous species

2048

pole

associated

Dicotyledonatae with porous wood Dicotyledonatae with porous wood Dicotyledonatae with diffuse wood Dicotyledonatae with diffuse wood Dicotyledonatae

Dicotyledonatae

stake of a deciduous species

25

pole

isolated

Dicotyledonatae

Dicotyledonatae

unkown

stakeº

isolated

Dicotyledonatae

Dicotyledonatae

isolated

stake isolated

Dicotyledonatae

pole

pole isolated

Undetermined

Dicotyledonatae

2042 2031

stake isolated

Undetermined

26 27 2035

pole isolated

Quercus Ulmus Populus– Salix

28 1557

pole

isolated

Undetermined

Undetermined

pole of a deciduous species with resistant wood pole of a deciduous species with resistant wood pole of a deciduous species

29

pole

isolated

stake of a deciduous species

1563

pole

isolated

30

par

isolated

Undetermined

stake

1522 1524 1832 1834 2012 1555 1825 2015 1537 1525 stake

31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

V. Anthropologic study of the osteologic remnants discovered on the Borduşani - Popină archaeological digging site (Ialomiţa county) during the field campaigns between 1997-2002 Gabriel VASILE

V. 1. Introduction The present study copes with the analysis of Homo sapiens bone fragments from the β level of the Borduşani - Popină1 digging site. The bone fragments date back to the Eneolithic period, more precisely the Gumelniţa A2 phase. The discovered bone fragments belong to only five individuals. It was not possible to culturally position very precisely one individual out of the five discovered. The discovered bones belong both to the axial (cephalic and trunk), and to the apendicular (belts and limbs) skeletons. The current paper contains a brief analysis of the discovered bone material with a focus on the several observed peculiarities. The final part is dedicated to the interpretation of the presented results.

V. 2. Sector 35 A total of 19 human bone fragments belonging to a child were collected from sector 35, □L1-M1 (the fill of a Getic hole- La Tène levels-, placed at the level of the Southern boundary of the main profile) and analysed. Out of these fragments, 18 belong to an incomplete neurocranium, while one most probably belongs to a cervical vertebra (part of its vertebral arch). The frontal bone is represented by four fragments. One belongs to the left orbit (eyebrow’s arch), including also the left zygomatic arch. The other three fragments belong to the frontal scale – frontal lateral- left tuberosity, and another 1

The previous anthropologic study performed on the Borduşani - Popină archaeological digging site analysed the α level and was made by A. C. Bălteanu (1997). 95

two fragments from above the nasal incision, at the yet not defined frontal median tuberosity (glabella) level. The parietal bones are also present. The left parietal is represented only by two fragments, one of them being knitted to the frontal, while the right parietal (five fragments), almost complete, has nevertheless several breaches. The correct lateral (left or right) position of another three fragments belonging to this bone could not be determined. Temporal (left and right) bones are also present. The left temporal is almost complete (half of its scale is missing); the right temporal is represented only by the mastoidian process and the inner ear aperture. The occipital is represented by two small fragments from its central part. The nuchal lines are slightly proeminent and can be observed on these bones` external sides, while on their inner side the lateral and the longitudinal grooves can be observed. Due to the absence of skeletal elements that may be used for the child’s age estimation (no data about the state of the teeth, as well as the lack of elements from the postcranian skeleton - humerus, radius, femur, tibia, ulna, fibula, ilium, clavicle etc.), the skull was visually compared with skull No. I 220 of Rozica Oprea (from the anthropology collection of “Francisc Rainer” Anthropological Research Centre), who had died (in 1949) at the age of two and a half years old. It was thus possible to estimate the child’s age as being somewhere around two years. This estimation was possible on the basis of the similar proportions existing between the two, present and Getic (or Eneolithic) skulls. We must note here that, due to the scarcity of available archaeological information, it was not possible to mention whether the skull belongs to the Getic or Eneolithic period. It seems that we deal with a bioturbation process2, which does not allow us to come with a conclusion regarding this problem. This is the reason why we cannot analyse this skull together with the other discovered bone fragments, but this does not impede us from mentioning and also presenting the peculiar aspects of this case. The skull consistency is rugged, with asperities on both outer and inner sides of the bones. The neurocranium has brownish stains with yellowish shades; there are also blacker parts probably due to the iron oxides’ impregnation. In what regards the pathology, this neurocranium is severely affected by hyperostoza porotica3. This disease reaches the maximum development during 2

Disturbance of the initial structure of soil levels due to the fauna and flora activity (Haită, 2003: 102). 3 Generally accepted term in the present paleopathological literature, suggesting a systemic distribution, without a precise position of this disease. 96

childhood, being seldomly found at adults. The simptomatology consists both of altering of the bone’s external morphology caused by the bone resorbtion and reshuffling, and of changing in the bones` internal structure due to accumulations of sinuses and additional bone medullary spaces, that increase the spongy tissues in favour of the compact ones. This skull presents cribra cranii4 and cribra orbitalia that we observe at the left temporal (Pl. 1/1) as well as right temporal (Pl. 1/2) and at the left eye orbit (Pl. 1/4). We consider as main causes of this disease the lack of iron5 in the body (acquired anemia), as well as a congenital hemolytic anemia, represented by diseases like sicklemia and thalassemia (Miriţoiu, 1992). Among the congenital hemolytic anemias, in the case of the thalassemia, the anomaly and the subsequent disease there is found mainly in the zone of Mediterranean Basin. In its homozygote form – thalassemia major (Cooley anemia), this anomaly causes death during childhood, due to the incapacity of the tissues’ oxygenation. In its heterozygote form (thalassemia minor), the anomaly is compatible with life (Popescu et al., 1980: 471). We cannot be sure whether this was the real death cause. The young age of the individual does not allow us to define the sex of the child.

V. 3. Complex C 159 In the complex C 159 (hole filling), □D5, SU 2581, at depth of 1,72 m, belonging to Gumelniţa A2 phase, four bone fragments were identified in a grave (M19). According to the existing archaeological information this was probably a secondary grave. The analysed bone fragments belong to a skull (neuro- and viscerocranium). The neurocranium is represented by two right side fragments of the temporal bone and a left side fragment of the parietal bone. Thus, the right side of the temporal bone is almost complete (parts of the scale are missing and the zygomatic apophysis is broken). The viscerocranium is represented by the almost complete right maxilla (the frontal descending apophysis is a bit broken). The canine, premolar II and 4

Terms that define the same disease but show some particular aspects connected to the position and appearance of the skeletal alterings –eye orbit and skull alterings in the current case. 5 The iron – deficiency diet may be caused by an excessive breast-feeding (the milk is practically ironless), various intestinal parasite worms (hookworms) or permanent reinoculations with various types of Plasmodium (chronic malaria). 97

molar I (all in growth process), as well as their sockets, was also found. No other teeth can be observed; nevertheless their sockets are present. The presence of these teeth on a hemiarch helped estimate the age of the individual, being approximately of two years ± eight months (Ubelaker, 1980: 47, fig. 62). Grave 19 was strongly disturbed by animals, which dug galleries (crotovine type) through the ground (Haită, 2003: 65). This is the reason why the bone fragments belonging to the fore skull were scattered (it appears as very possible that some of these fragments were transported by the Eneolithic communities, too) also to the squares neighbouring grave 19 (□D4, Sector 38 and E6, Sector 39, SU 2534). Thus the following seven bone fragments were identified as parts of the same skull: - from D4 of sector 38 we discovered four bone fragments, two belonging to the left side parietal. This articulates with the parietal fragment from C 159, D5, SU 2581. The result of the reconstitution was a sphenoidal angle and parts of the coronarian and lambdoidal sutures. Two fragments belong to the occipital and these preserve the occipital’s entire left lambdoidal suture. The lower part of the occipital is broken above the occipital hole (foramen magnum). A part of the right lambdoidal suture is also present, while the right lateral side is almost completely absent; - three fragments were identified in □E6, sector 39, SU 2534, one belonging to a complete left temporal bone (excepting the zygomatic process, a bit broken), while two fragments are parts of the right parietal (only its posterior part is preserved), that show the mastoidal and occipital angles, as well as parts of the sagital, lambdoidal and temporal sutures. In conclusion, this skull’s articulations are: right side parietal bone that articulates with the temporal from the same side from C 159, □D5, SU 2581 and with the occipital, while the left side temporal bone articulates with the left parietal from C 159, D5, SU 2581 and with the occipital. In what regards the pathology, we are coping again with cribra cranii, present at the occipital level in both inner (at the longitudinal groove level- Pl. 1/3), and outer sides of the skull. For more precise age estimation, we also used the same methodology described for the previous skull. We visually compared it with skull No. I 220 from the collection belonging to the “Francisc Rainer” Anthropological Research Centre. The result shows that the neurocranium has about the same proportions with skull No. I 220, while the Eneolithic maxilla corresponds to the present one. The final

98

estimation places the studied child at the age of about two years. The skull is very well preserved and has no burning marks. V. 4. Dwelling SL 26 After the analysis of the human bones from □E5, SU 2534 (destruction level), sector 39, depth of 1,41 m, dwelling SL 26, belonging to the Eneolithic, phase Gumelniţa A2, five bone fragments were identified. These fragments belong to the following anatomic elements: - a right side rib; - a left side hemimandible containing no tooth, while its sockets are not very well contoured; - both scapulae (left and right), that are broken approximately in the same place, somewhere at its half; the preserved halves are those containing the acromion; - an almost complete left femur (small fragments from the distal epiphysis are missing), with a computed length of maximum 76,5 mm. On the basis of this latter anatomic element it was possible to estimate the age of the discovered individual. According to Ubelaker (1980: 49, Tab. 5), its age may belong to the interval, as the maximum length values for this age category vary between 62.5- 106.0 mm. According to Alekseyev (1966: 30, Tab. 1), this femoral length shows the age of a newborn. All the identified anatomic elements most probably belong to the same individual. Therefore, from the destruction level belonging to US 2534 bone fragments were discovered and identified as provenient from two individuals, a newborn and a two years old child.

V. 5. Complex 212 Only one bone fragment was analysed from sector 31, □A2, SU 3006, belonging to complex 212 (filling of two holes, placed at different levels), phase Gumelniţa A2. This bone fragment is a part of a humerus – more precisely its distal epiphysis (with a part of the diaphysis as well, the bone is broken at about one third of its total length). The diaphysis break is old and irregular. The distal epiphysis has a small break at the median epitrochlean level. The bone surface shows a deposition of a carbonatic crust. 99

The individual was an adult, its age being estimated at over 18. The age estimation was based on the epiphysis fused to the diaphysis. The individual was probably a female, as showed by the gracil aspect of the humerus.

V. 6. Complex C 220 From □L2-M2-L3-M3, SU 3922, sector 35, complex C 220 (filling of a trench), Gumelniţa A2 phase, we discovered and analysed only one fragment, belonging to a humerus. It has a very porous consistency and is almost complete (small fragments of the proximal epiphysis are missing). Fortunately, the material gave us the possibility to estimate its age. According to biometry studies, its maximal length between 66-68 mm may allow the age estimation as follows: - according to Stloukal & Hanáková (1978: 53-69), the age must be of about six months (bone dimensions in the 78-97 cm interval); - according to Ubelaker (1980: 48, Tab. 5), its age is in the interval, with the values comprised between 63,5-89,0 mm. According to literature data from both quoted authors, we can conclude that the individual’s age should be younger than six months, therefore a newborn.

V. 7. Conclusions A total of 37 human skeleton remnants discovered in the Borduşani Popină digging site were analysed. This bones dates back to the Eneolithic period, Gumelniţa A2 phase. The analysed skeletal elements belong to four individuals6. These individuals were from several age categories, as follows: two are newborn, one was about two years of age (infans I), while one individual was over 18. The age was estimated thanks to the presence of a maxilla, as well as of the bones belonging to the postcranian skeleton (a distal epiphysis from a humerus and an almost entire femur). For the other cases, when these elements were absent,

6

As previously mentioned, the neurocranium discovered in the filling of the Getic hole was not taken into account. 100

we compared the discovered bones with those from the reference collections, with a well-known relative age. The establishing of the discovered individuals` sex proved a very difficult task, due to the existence of much too few anatomic connections, especially at the skulls` level and to the lack of the limbs` long bones, pelvises, astragalii and calcanei (essential bones for this study). Thanks to the gracil aspect of a distal humeral epiphysis it was possible to determine the sex of one of the individuals as corresponding to a female. The pathology analysis showed the signs of hyperostoza porotica at the two years old individual. We cannot precisely know the cause of this disease (lack of iron or congenital hemolytic anemia). The presence of this disease raises several questions regarding the diet of the Eneolithic Gumelniţa communities from Borduşani - Popină. It is nevertheless hard to believe that these populations, with a diet consistent in meat7, suffered from numerous nutritional deficiencies, regarding mainly the iron deficiencies. Possibilities that may explain the discovered diseases may be either a genetical heritage of these populations (possibility of a congenital hemolytic anemia) or the population’s increased possibility to contact diseases like malaria8. We must take into account the fact that Borduşani - Popină is placed in the Ialomiţa Wetlands, environment favourable to the development of various Plasmodium types, as well as infections with various intestinal parasite worms. The relatively low number of individuals cannot offer a general image of this population’s various anthropologic aspects. All the analysed bone fragments are provenient from the filling levels of holes or trenches (the exception concerns the bones collected from SU 2534, originating from a dwelling destruction level).

References Alekseyev, V. P., 1966, Osteometrija. Metodika Antropologičeskih Issledovanil, Moscova. Bălteanu, A. C., 1997, Anthropology, in Archaeological researches at Borduşani Popină (Ialomiţa county) preliminary report 1993-1994, Cercetări arheologice, p. 93-95.

7

See Bălăşescu and Radu in the current volume. In 1967 a malaria expert committee recommended Romania to be included in the official registrar of countries where this disease has been eradicated (Nicolaiciuc, 2002). 8

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Haită, C., 2003, Sedimentologie şi Micromorfologie. Aplicaţii în Arheologie, Editura Cetatea de Scaun, Târgovişte. Miriţoiu, N., 1992, Porotic hyperostosis in the free dacians’ necropolis at Poeneşti (Vaslui county): congenital hemolytic anemia or iron deficiency anemia?, Annuaire Roumain d’Anthropologie, 29, p. 3-12. Molleson, T., Andrews, P., Boz, B., Dervenski, J. S., Pearson, J., 1998, Human remains up to 1998, Čatalhöyük, Archieve Report. Nicolaiciuc, D., 2002, Romania, in Epidemiological surveillance of malaria in countries of central and eastern Europe and selected newly independent states, p. 17, 24-26 June, Sofia, Bulgary. Popescu, A., Cristea, E., Zamfirescu- Gheorghiu, M., 1980, Biochimie medicală, Editura Medicală, Bucureşti. Stloukal, M., Hanáková, H., 1978, Die Länge der Längsknochen alt slavischer Bevölkerung unter besonderer Berϋcksichtigung von Wadstumsfragen, Homo, 26. Ubelaker, D. H., 1980, Human skeletal remains, Manuals on archaeology, second edition, Washington.

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1. Cribra cranii at the left temporal level; microscope image, x30.

3. Cribra cranii from the endocranian side of the occipital bone, at the longitudinal occipital ditch; microscope image, x30.

2. Cribra cranii at the right temporal bone level; microscope image, x30.

4. Cribra orbitalia at the left eye orbit; microscope image, x30.

Pl. 1. HYPEROSTOZA POROTICA Bone resorbtion phenomena – areas pointed by arrows (Images at the polarising microscope, reflected light, photo C. Haită).

VI. Zooarchaeology VI. 1. Mammal fauna from Borduşani - Popină Adrian BĂLĂŞESCU Dragoş MOISE Valentin DUMITRAŞCU An important amount of faunal remains has been provided during the past few years by the Eneolithic level from Borduşani-Popină settlement (Gumelniţa Culture, A2 Phase). Thus, more than 10 000 bone fragments were collected during the field campaigns between 2000 and 2003. We mention that all these fragments come from the β and γ areas. The mammal fauna from Borduşani-Popină had previously been the subject of an zooarchaeological study based on the fragments collected from the α area (Marinescu- Bîlcu et al, 1997; Moise, 1997). Altimetrically, between the α and β, γ areas there is a difference of 1 metre, which implies a chronological difference. Thus, while the faunal remains from β and γ areas come mostly from the final Gumelniţa levels, those from the α area come from earlier Gumelniţa levels. The zooarchaeological study revealed the presence of both invertebrate species, from Bivalvia (shellfish) and Gasteropoda (snails) classes, and vertebrate ones, from the following classes: Pisces (fish), Reptilia (reptiles), Aves (birds), and Mammalia (mammals). The most numerous are the mammal remains, who represent 49.1 % of the material (5284 fragments), being followed by shells with over 39.7 % (Tab. 1). It must be specified that the material studied in this paper was only directly collected, with all the advantages and disadvantages occuring from this (Popovici et al, 2002). The zooarchaeological material comes both from various stratigraphic units (SU) of the cultural levels, and from a series of archaeological complexes (pits, dwellings, etc.). Due to the large number of such complexes (about 39) and to the number of fragments varying from 1 (C 204 and C 264) to 310 (C 201), we give here the zooarchaeological description only for the most important complexes, which were subject to a detailed archaeological investigation. We also considered that the computation of the Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) for each 103

archaeological complex is prematurely at this stage of the research, as the stratigraphic diagram is not completed yet and a series of complexes are not integrally dug. It must also be mentioned that in the case of archaeological sites of tell-type, with a large number of such complexes, the computation of the MNI per complexes may induce an over/under estimation of this value at the entire scale (Poplin, 1976; 1977). Taking into account all these arguments, we considered more useful the MNI computation per total archaeological level. The osteological material consists of domestic waste, having a series of typical characteristics: fragmentation, incisions resulted from disarticulation and flesh removal, burning marks, gnawing traces and dental impressions. Out of the 5284 mammal remains only 2875 (54.4%) were identified at the specific level. Problems appeared mainly at the separation between Sus domesticus and Sus scrofa. There are two main reasons: first, most of the fragments belonging to the genus (Sus) are provenient from very young animals (infants and juveniles). Second, it is possible that some fragments may belong to interspecific hybrids. The study of the mammal remains brought to the identification of 20 species, five of these domestic: Bos taurus (cattle), Ovis aries (sheep), Capra hircus (goat), Sus domesticus (pig), and Canis familiaris (dog), and 15 wild: Canis lupus (wolf), Vulpes vulpes (fox), Lynx lynx (lynx), Felis sivestris (wild cat), Meles meles (badger), Martes sp. (marten), Lutra lutra (otter), Mustela putorius (polecat), Equus cf. caballus (wild horse), Sus scrofa (wild boar), Cervus elaphus (red deer), Capreolus capreolus (roe deer), Bos primigenius (auroch), Castor fiber (beaver), and Lepus europaeus (hare). Table 2 (distribution of mammal remains) also includes the fragments that we were not able to identify at a specific level: Bos taurus/B. primigenius, Bos taurus/Cervus elaphus, Sus domesticus/S. scrofa, Ovis/Capra/ Capreolus, Canis familiaris/Vulpes vulpes. It is remarked that in comparison with the previous study (Moise, 1997), the current spectrum of the Borduşani fauna enriched with several wild mammals: lynx, badger, marten, polecat and wild horse. The Number of Remains (NR) belonging to domestic species is high: 81.1 % of the total, value close to the one obtained from the previous study on the Borduşani fauna (85.1 %). For the Minimal Number of Individuals (MNI) the situation is a bit different in the current study, as the domestic mammals represent 66.7% of the whole, compared to 78.2% in the previous study. The cattle remains are the most abundant (736, that represent about 25,6 % of the entire sample) (Pl. 1/1-6, Pl. 2/1,2). These belonged to a minimal number 104

of 17 individuals (12.3 %). Unfortunately, no complete long bone was discovered, so we are not able to compute the animals` shoulder height. From the comparative analysis of the biometric data with those for cattle from other Gumelniţa sites: Însurăţei (Moise, 1999), Luncaviţa (Bălăşescu, 2003) Măriuţa (Moise, 2001a), Taşaul (Moise, 2001b), we can affirm that the Borduşani cattle were gracile and of average to small sizes. The discovered brachyceros type horns belonged to a male and three females. The slaughter ages of cattle were estimated mainly on the basis of dental eruption and wear degree (Schmid, 1972; Lepetz, 1996) (see Tab. 3). The 17 estimated individuals age from 6-7 months to over 10 years. The sexually imature/mature (non reproductive/ potentially reproductive) ratio is of 9 : 8 (1.2 : 1). We remark that 5 individuals were sacrificed at young ages, between 6 and 12 months. The study of slaughter ages proves that the cattle were raised both for meat as well as for their secondary products, mainly and milk. The study of the phalanxes (Bartosiewicz et al., 1997) certifies the fact that the Borduşani cattle were not used for traction purposes (Bălăşescu et al, in press). Sheep/goat are represented by 512 fragments (17.8 %) that belong to 25 individuals (18.1 %). Only a very small part of this number was determined at specific level (Prummel and Frisch, 1986). Thus, Ovis aries (sheep) is certified by 48 fragments and Capra hircus (goat) only by 15. The slaughter age of sheep/goat, estimated on the basis of dental eruption and wear degree (Schmid, 1972; Payne, 1973) varies between 6 months and about 10 years (see Tab. 3). Thus, the sexually imature / mature ratio (non reproductive: potential reproductive) is of 8 : 17 (1 : 2.1) that certifies the fact that these animals were raised mostly for their secondary products (milk and possibly wool, hair), while the interest in meat was subordinated. Most of the individuals age less than 2 years, 15 (60 %), and it is possible that nine out of these (36 %) were slaughtered during the cold season. Ovis aries fragments are more numerous than those of Capra hircus. The anatomic elements distribution shows the predominance of the limbs skeleton. Identified sheep individuals have the following ages, as determined from the dental analysis (Halstead et al, 2003): a 6-9 months individual, two of 9-12 months, one of 21-24 months and two of 6-8 years. The analysis of the horn cores helped identify three males. The analysis of a neurocranium helped the identification of a unhorned female. Size estimations were possible due to the discovery of two complete astragalii and two complete calcaneia (Teichert index). The estimated shoulder height average value is of 58.6 cm (n=4, limits 54.9-63.1 cm). The values are close 105

to those discovered in other Gumelniţa sites: Însurăţei (Moise, 1999), and Luncaviţa (Bălăşescu, 2003). It was possible to estimate the Capra hircus shoulder height using a humerus: 52.0 cm (Schramm index) (Pl. 2/3, Pl. 3/1,2). The three adult individuals were identified on the basis of three neurocranium fragments that show different types of horn cores. This also helped the sex identification: two males (aegagrustype horns) and one female (prisca-type horns). Sus domesticus (pig) is well represented, with 717 bone fragments (24.9 %) (Pl. 3/3, Pl.4/1-3 and Pl. 5/1-6). The anatomic elements distribution (Tab. 4) shows an extremely high percentage of skull fragments (33.3 %). The big number of mandibular and maxilar fragments helped the age estimation (Schmid, 1972; Horard-Herbin, 1996). A predominance of juvenile individuals is observed (13 individuals, all of them sexually imature). These individuals are grouped in the following age cathegories: two between 6-8 months, eight between 8-10 months (one male among them), three between 10-12 months (one female among them). Individuals sacrificed at ages between 8 and 10 months are predominant. Taking into account that pigs generally farrow around February – April, we presume that these were slaughtered in the late autumn – winter season (October – December), when low temperatures (helped) were more suitable for the meat preservation. At the age of 8 – 10 months pigs did not reach yet the optimum weigh, therefore their slaughtering efficiency was not extremely high. Probably because of either an exceeding animals stock or lack of food (for humans or for animals), pigs were the constant food source of this community in the cold season. The sexually mature pig individuals have the following slaughtering age: one between 12-14 months, two between 14-16 months (one male and one female), one male between 16-18 months (all the mentioned individuals belong to the juvenile cathegory), two of 18-20 months, one of 18-24 months (female), one of 20-22 months (female), one of 24-26 months, one of 30-36 months (female). The sexually imature / mature ratio is of 1.2 : 1 (13 : 11), while the sex ratio is of 3 males : 5 females (differentiation made on the basis of canines' morphology). It is certain that pigs were kept in the tell`s neighbourhood in a state of half-liberty, common practice even nowadays. This is the reason of the possible presence of interspecific hybrids, resulted from the cross breeding of pigs and wild boars. This fact made more difficult the ` specific determination of some fragments (Fig. 1). The discovery of a quite great number of complete bones, a radius, a 3rd metacarpus, a 4th metacarpus, nine astragalii, five calcanea, a 3rd metatarsus and a 4th metatarsus), allowed the estimation of the Sus domesticus shoulder height. Its average value is of 74.2 cm (n=19; limits 67.3-79.6 cm). Values of some 106

interspecific hybrids (Sus domesticus/Sus scrofa) were added at the swine biometrics data presentation. The dog (Canis familiaris) is represented by 367 bone fragments (12.8%). These fragments are provenient from 26 individuals (18.8 %) determined on the basis of the mandibular remains (Pl. 6/1-5 and Pl. 7/1-2). The ages of these individuals are: one of 4 months, one of 5 months, two of 5-6 months and 22 adults. Skinning incisions were observed on a large number of dog bone fragments. These marks are situated on the labial side of the mandibles, nasal bones, jaws and metapodials, where the skin is in contact with the bone. Disarticulation and flesh removal marks were also identified on the long bones (humerus, radius, ulna, femur). This proves that dog meat was consumed, probably during distress periods. The presence of complete bones (a scapula, a humerus, five radiuses, a femur) allowed the size estimation that, according to Koudelka, has an average value of 40.8 cm (n=8, limits 36.1-45.2 cm), while according to Harcourt the average value is of 41.0 cm (n=7, limits 37.6-44.7 cm). Generally, this species dimensions fit in the known limits for the Gumelniţa culture. The biometric study of the mandibles allowed us to estimate the skull`s basal length, which according to Brinkmann has a value of 129.8 mm (n= 21, limits 110.1-155), while according to Dahr is of 123.9 (n= 18, limits 98.9-140.7). At the mandibles` level, a series of oligodonthoses were observed: of P1 (three pieces) and M3 (four pieces), as well as a double oligodonthosis (P4 and M3). Wild mammals are well represented as number of species (15), less as number of remains (543, only 18.9 %). Carnivore species are relatively well represented. We identified: wolf, fox, lynx, wild cat, marten, badger, polecat and otter. Canis lupus (wolf) bone fragments were not numerous (11 - 0.4 %). These are provenient from at least two individuals, one subadult (proximally non epiphysed left humerus) and a mature adult (epiphysed calcaneum, cranio-caudally epiphysed cervical vertebra with osteophytae). It is remarkable the presence of an extremely massive skullcap and several left fore leg extremity bones, unusually big: three metacarpians 2nd, 4th and 5th and two first phalanxes. All these together might come from the trophy fur of an impressive sized wolf. Vulpes vulpes (fox) bones are the most numerous among all the carnivores remains. 68 fragments have been found, from at least five individuals: one subadult (distally non epiphysed left tibia) and four adults (four proximally 107

epiphysed femurs). On one of the three mandibles found, fine skinning traces were observed on the lateral side. This proves that the prehistoric population used the fur of this species. Lynx lynx (lynx) presence is proved by two bone fragments: a distally epiphysed right humerus and a proximally epiphysed right tibia, both probably belonging to the same adult individual. Felis silvestris (wild cat) is certified by 19 fragments, from at least three individuals: one subadult (distally non epiphysed tibia) and two adults (two right maxilars). Meles meles (badger) is represented by seven fragments belonging to a minimal number of two individuals, one juvenile younger than 6 months (mandible) and an adult. Martes sp. (marten) was identified by two fragments: one ulna and one tibia from the same adult individual. Unfortunately the discovered bones cannot help identify the precise species: Martes martes or Martes foina. Mustela putorius (polecat) is certified by an epiphysed left coxal bone fragment from an adult individual. Lutra lutra (otter) presents 11 fragments (0,4 %) from at least two individuals (two distally epiphysed left humerus). Equus cf. caballus (wild horse) is represented by eight bone fragments from two individuals: a subadult (proximally non epiphysed femur) and an adult (upon teeth wear) (Pl. 7/3-6 and Pl. 8/1,2). Sus scrofa (wild boar) provides the most numerous bone fragments among all the wild mammals - 195 (6.8 %). Their analysis brought to the estimation of at least 11 individuals (Pl. 4/1,2, Pl. 5/1- 4 and Pl. 8/3,4). The ages and sex of hunted animals, according to the dental eruption and wear degree as well as canine morphology, are: two individuals of about 10 months (a male and a female), two of 12 months old, two of 12- 14 months old (a female), one of 20 months (female), one of 24-30 months, one of 30-36 months (male), one of 36-48 months (male) and one old adult (male). The discovery of complete Sus scrofa bones (one 3rd metacarpus, two astragalii and eight calcanea) allowed the estimation of the species` shoulder height (Teichert index). The average value is of 97.8 cm (n=11, limits 91.8-107.7 cm ) Cervus elaphus (red deer) bones are quite numerous: 128 (4.5 %), coming from at least five individuals (two of less than 2 years and three of more than 2 years). These individuals were determined on the basis of epiphysed and unepiphysed left tibias.

108

Capreolus capreolus (roe deer) is represented by 46 fragments from at least two individuals: one of less than 1,5 years and an elder one (Pl. 8/5-6 and Pl. 9/1). These estimations were made on the basis of two distal left metatarsians, one unepiphysed and the other epiphysed. Bos primigenius (auroch) is certified by seven bone fragments that belonged to a juvenile individual (distally non epiphysed metacarpus) and to a mature 8 - 10 years old (upper teeth). Castor fiber (beaver) is represented by 23 bone fragments (0.8 %), provenient from at least four individuals (2.2 %): two subadults (two distally unepiphysed right femurs) and two adults (two proximally epiphysed left humeruses) (Pl. 9/4). Lepus europaeus (hare) is certified by 15 bone fragments (0.5 %) provenient from three individuals (2.2 %), one subadult and two adults (determined on the basis of three left coxals) (Pl. 9/2,3). Zooarchaeological description of several archaeological complexes. SL 29 – this unburnt, abandoned dwelling contained a small faunal lot, both as number of remains (only 31) and number of species (seven, see Tab. 5). Five species are domestic (Bos taurus, Ovis aries, Capra hircus, Sus domesticus and Canis familiaris), and two wild (Sus scrofa and Lepus europaeus). Stratigraphic units (SU) from this level containing fauna are: 3018, 3019, 3022, 3049 and 3055. SU 3019 and SU 3022 are the richest in bone fragments (11 and 10, respectively). C 201 – foundation ditch – is characterised by a quite big number of bone fragments in comparison with the other archaeological complexes - about 310 fragments (Tab. 5). The specific richness of the material is directly corelated to the number of fragments: were identified the five domestic and nine wild species (Bos primigenius, Cervus elaphus, Sus scrofa, Canis lupus, Vulpes vulpes, Felis silvestris, Meles meles, Castor fiber and Lepus europaeus). All these fragments are provenient from several stratigraphic units: 2701, 2702, 2703, 2716, 2760, 2761, 2808 and 3304. The richest are SU 2701 with 89 fragments and SU 2808 with 93 fragments. SL 33 – is another unburnt and abandoned dwelling that is characterised by a far richer fauna in comparison with that from SL 29. 107 fragments were determined from the same five domestic species, and three wild (Cervus elaphus, Sus scrofa, Vulpes vulpes). The fauna from this archaeological complex is provenient from the following stratigraphic units: 2645, 2651, 2700, 3137, 3376, 3452, 3456, 3645, 3695 and 3700. The richest are SU 2700 with 25 fragments and SU 3452 with 43 fragments, both provenient from the destruction level/layer. 109

The situation of these three complexes presented above is extremely different. In what regards the archaeological situation, we have two inhabiting structures and a foundation ditch. The two inhabiting structures` fauna is resulted from periods after the abandon of the dwellings, a shorter period of time that the one covered by the foundation ditch. Among the two inhabiting structures, SL 33 is richer in fauna than SL 29. The situation of C 201 (foundation ditch) is different – the fauna is resulted from a series of stratigraphic disturbances of SUs formed before the digging of the trough. In what regards the chronology, the ditch does not belong to a precise temporal moment (e.g. distruction of a a dwelling). On the contrary, the trough may represent a wider time interval, as it might have affected other previous archaeological structures (dwellings, domestic wastes areas, etc). We certainly know that the fauna culturally fits to the Gumelniţa A2 Phase and that it is richer than the fauna resulted from unburnt dwelling. This thing is normal if we take into account the dimensions of this complex. Considering that the samples have extremely various sizes, we cannot significantly contribute to their zooarchaeological characterization. We can mostly remark the higher contents in dog bone fragments from C201.

Conclusions The quite rich and extremely variate iscovered fauna is a proof of the fact that the neolithic community from Popină - Borduşani fully exploited the neighbouring natural resources. The harvest of molluscs (especially shellfish), proved by the big number of remains, seem to have played an important role for the Bordusani prehistoric community, due to the neighbouring biotope (lakes, ponds, etc.), strongly influenced by the Danube. The shells might have represented an easily obtainable alternative food source (Bălăşescu and Radu, 2002). Mammals are dominant in the Borduşani faunal association. Among these, domestic mammals are the most numerous, with about 81.1 % as NR and 66.7 % as MNI. As NR, cattle and pigs are in quite close percentages, of 25.6 % and 24.9 %, respectively, that make us believe that these species played an important role in the animal economy. Sheep/goat come in the second place (17.8 %), being followed by dog (12.8 %). As MNI, the situation is far more interesting, as dogs, sheep/goat and pigs, with quite close percentages come on the first place and are followed by cattle. In what regards the meat quantity, we can affirm that cattle are the most 110

important. It is enough to think that an adult cow weighs as much as three mature pigs (Audoin-Rouzeau, 1983). The domestic animals also offered a series of secondary products, mostly milk (cow, sheep, goat) and possibly wool (sheep). Popină - Borduşani is remarkable among the other Gumelniţa settlements because of the high percentage of dog remains. This situation has been discovered only at Căscioarele (5.37 % NR and 12.2 % MNI) and at Hârşova (Moise, 2000a). Till the present time, our results prove that dogs were eaten in four Gumelniţa sites (Borduşani, Hîrşova, Măriuţa and Vităneşti). This conclusion is based on the disarticulation and flesh removal incisions observed on the bones. It is difficult to say if in the case of Popină-Bordusani the dog’s consumption was a alimentary habit or if in certain circumstances of distress (lack of other food resources mostly during winter, due also to the site`s isolation), the species was alimentary valued by the prehistoric community. We must also mention that dogs may had been used as “cheap” and steady fur sources. Game also contributes to supplement the meat resources. The wild boar and deer were the most hunted species, as demonstrated by the great number of remains and the individuals estimated. Nevertheless, considering also the specific local fauna richness, we can conclude that the Borduşani population hunted big and medium sized species that provided the community with meat as well as with a series of other products: skins, bones, horns, antlers etc. There is quite a long list of hunted mammal species (15), predominantly being those that prefer the forrest environment (Cervus elaphus, Sus scrofa, Lynx lynx, Felis silvestris, Martes sp.). There are no significant differences from the previous study (Moise, 1997). Data obtained from this new analysis show that, from the zooarchaeological point of view, the Borduşani site maintains its unique feature for the Gumelniţa landscape - the high percentage of dog bones.

References Audoin-Rouzeau, F., 1983, Archéologie de la Charite- sur- Loire médiévaleThèse 3e cycle Archéologie, Université Paris I, 310 p. Bartosiewicz, L., Van Neer, Wim, Lentacker, An, 1997, Draught cattle: their osteological identification and history, Annales Sciences Zoologiques, vol. 281, Museé Royal de l’Afrique Centrale Tervuren, Belgique, 148 p.

111

Bălăşescu, A., Radu, V., 2002, Culesul, pescuitul şi vânătoarea în cultura Boian pe teritoriul României, Studii de Preistorie, Asociaţia Română de Arheologie, 1/2001, p. 73-94. Bălăşescu, A., 2003, L’étude de la faune des mammifères découverts à Luncaviţa, Peuce, s.n. 1 (14), Tulcea, p. 453-468 Bălăşescu, A., Moise, D., Radu, V., in press, Utilisation des bovins à la traction dans le Chalcolithique de Roumanie: première approche, Acts of the colloqium « De l’araire au chariot. Premières tractions animales de l’Europe de l‘Ouest », Frasnois, 12-15 June, 2002. Driesch, Angela von den, 1976, A guide to the measurement of animal bones from archaeological sites, Peabody Museum Bulletin, 1, Harvard University, 138 p. Forest, V., 1997, Donnees biologiques et donnees zootechniques anciennes. Essai de mise en equivalence, Revue de Medecine Veterinaire, 148, 12, p. 951958. Halstead, P., Collins, P., Isaakidou, V., 2003, Sorting the Sheep from the Goats: Morphological Distinctions between the Mandibles and Mandibular Teeth of Adult Ovis and Capra, Journal of Archaeological Science, vol. 29, no.5, p. 545-554. Horard-Herbin, M.-P., 1996, L’élevage et les productions animales dans l’économie de la fin du second Âge du Fer à Leraux (Indre), These de doctorat, Université Paris I- Pantheon, Sorbonne. Lepetz, S., 1996, L'animal dans la société gallo-romaine de la France du Nord, Revue archéologique de Picardie, numéro spécial 12, Amiens, 174 p. Marinescu- Bîlcu, S. et alii, 1997, Archaeological Researches at BorduşaniPopină (Ialomiţa county). Preliminary report 1993-1994, Cercetări Arheologice X, Muzeul Naţional de Istorie a României, p. 35-143. Moise, D., 1997, Mammals, in Archaeological Researches at Borduşani- Popină (Ialomiţa county). Preliminary report 1993-1994, Cercetări Arheologice X, Muzeul Naţional de Istorie a României, p.110-127. Moise, D., 1999, Studiul materialului faunistic aparţinând mamiferelor, descoperit în locuinţele gumelniţene de la Însurãţei- Popina I (Jud. Brăila), Istros, 9, Muzeul Brăilei, Brăila, p. 171-190. Moise, D., 2000, Cercetări de anatomie comparată asupra animalelor domestice din siturile eneolitice din sud-estul României, report 2, Universitatea “Al. I. Cuza” Iaşi, Facultatea de Biologie, Catedra de Biologie Animală, 160 p. Moise, D., 2001a, Studiul materialului faunistic provenit din aşezarea eneolitică de la Măriuţa, Cultură şi Civilizaţie la Dunărea de Jos, 16-17, p. 207-222. 112

Moise, D., 2001b, Studiul materialului osteologic de mamifere, Pontica, 33-34, p. 155- 164. Payne, S., 1973, Kill-off paterns in sheep and goats: the mandibles from Asvan Kale, Anatolian Studies, vol. 23, p. 281-303. Poplin, F., 1976, A propos du nombre de restes et du nombre d’individus dans les echantillons d’ossements, Cahiers du Centre du recherches préhistoriques, Paris, I, 5, p.61-74. Poplin, F., 1977, Problemes d’osteologie quantitative relatifs à l’étude de l’ecologie des hommes fossiles, Supplement du Bulletin de L’Association Francaise pour l’etude du Quaternaire, 47, p. 63-68. Popovici, D., Bălăşescu, A., Haită, C., Radu, V., Tomescu, A.M.F., Tomescu, I., 2002, Cercetarea Arheologică Pluridisciplinară. Concepte, metode şi tehnici, Biblioteca Muzeului Naţional, Seria Cercetări Pluridisciplinare, Bucureşti, 78 p. and 12 plates. Prummel, W., Frisch, H.-J., 1986, A guide for distinction of species, sex and body side in bones of sheep and goat, Journal of Archaeological Science, 13, p. 567-577. Schmid, E., 1972, Atlas of animal bones (for Prehistorians, Archaeologists and Quaternary Geologists), Elseiver Publishing Company, AmsterdamLondon- New York, 160 p.

TAXON

NR

%

Bivalvia

4272

39.7

75

0.7

1087

10.1

Reptilia

12

0.1

Aves

25

0.2

Mammalia

5284

49.1

TOTAL

10755

100.0

Gasteropoda Pisces

Tab. 1. Borduşani Popină. The distribution of the faunal remains (NR) by taxons.

113

SPECIES

NR

%

MNI

%

Bos taurus

736

25.60

17

12.32

Ovis aries

48

1.67

(6)

-

Capra hircus

15

0.52

(3)

-

Ovis/Capra

449

15.62

25

18.12

Sus domesticus

717

24.94

24

17.39

Canis familiaris

367

12.77

26

18.84

Total domestics

2332

81.11

92

66.67

Canis lupus

11

0.38

2

1.45

Vulpes vulpes

68

2.37

5

3.62

Lynx lynx

2

0.07

1

0.72

Felis silvestris

19

0.66

3

2.17

Martes sp.

2

0.07

1

0.72

Meles meles

7

0.24

2

1.45

Mustela putorius

1

0.03

1

0.72

Lutra lutra

11

0.38

2

1.45

Equus cf. caballus

8

0.28

2

1.45

Sus scrofa

195

6.78

11

7.97

Cervus elaphus

128

4.45

5

3.62

Capreolus capreolus

46

1.60

2

1.45

Bos primigenius

7

0.24

2

1.45

Castor fiber

23

0.80

4

2.90

Lepus europaeus

15

0.52

3

2.17

Total wild

543

18.89

46

33.33

Total

2875

100

138

100

Bos/Cervus

142

-

-

-

Bos taurus/Bos primigenius

14

-

-

-

Ovis/Capra/Capreolus

50

-

-

-

Sus domesticus/Sus scrofa

445

-

-

-

Canis familiaris/ Vulpes

35

-

-

-

Undeterminables

4132

-

-

-

Total mammals

5284

-

-

-

Tab. 2. Borduşani Popină. Species frequencies by number of remains (NR) and minimum of individuals (MNI). 114

Bos taurus MNI

SA

Ovis/Capra BD MNI

SA

Sus domesticus BD MNI

SA

< 0 months

foetal

foetal

foetal

0-6 months

neonat, infans

neonat, infans

neonat, infans

6-12 months

5

juvenile

7

juvenile

1 - 1,5 years

2

juvenile

1

juvenile

1,5 - 2 years

2

juvenile

7

subadult

2 - 2,5 years 2,5 - 3 years

3

3 - 3,5 years

subadult

SM

subadult

PR

SM

4

juvenile

PR

PR

4

subadult

subadult

1

subadult

subadult

2

subadult

adult

adult

adult

adult

adult

adult

mature

mature

mature

mature

mature

mature

4 - 5 years

1

adult

5 - 6 years

2

adult

6 - 8 years

adult

8 - 10 years

mature 17

SM

subadult

adult

Total

juvenile

subadult

1

1

13

subadult

3,5 - 4 years

> 10 years

2

mature

2 5 1 25

24

Tab. 3. Borduşani Popină. The correlation between the skeletal age and the biological data for cattle (Bos taurus), sheep/goat (Ovis aries/Capra hircus), and pig (Sus domesticus): SAskeletal age, BD- biological data (SM- sexual mature, PR- potentially reproductive).

115

BD

29 39 15 15 38 53 36

6

6

4

1

4 7 7 35 28 23 8 7 34 32 22

3 5 7

1 1 2

16 6 16 22 47 19

36 50 52 3 68 30

50 18 19 2 55 8 3

3 6 8 28 12 3

11 8 15 30 28 4

8 8 7 10 6 1

32 29 41

44 48 30

20 25 36

1

1 2 2

2 2

3

1

1 1

1

1

1 1 3 3 3

2 7 6

1 1

1

1

1

1

1 1 1

3

14 16 8 5 10 8 1 1 3 2 3 8 2

5 12 3

2

2

2 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 3 4 3 5 2

2 3 2

Canis fam. / Vulpes

Sus domesticus / Sus scrofa

ovicaprine / Capreolus

Bos taurus / Bos primigenius

Bos taurus / Cervus elaphus

Lepus europaeus

Castor fiber

5

1

1

Bos primigenius

Capreolus capreolus

Cervus elaphus

Equus cf. caballus

Sus scrofa

Lutra lutra

Mustela putorius

Martes sp.

Meles meles

Felis silvestris

Lynx lynx

Vulpes vulpes

Canis lupus

Canis familiaris

Sus domesticus

Ovis/Capra

Capra hircus

Ovis aries

Bos taurus

SPECIES ANATOMICAL ELEMENT Cornus* Cranium Neurocranium** Viscerocranium Maxilar Dentes sup. Mandibula Dentes inf. Dentes Hyoid Atlas Epistropheus et Vert. cv. Vert. thor. Vert. lumb. Sacrum Vert. caud. Sternum Scapula Humerus Radius

1

8 4 2 5 11 2

1 1 1 1

2

1

2 1 4 2 5

4

1 1

1

1 1 2

1 1

1

1 41 10 23 3 51 9

3 5 2 23

1 3

3 5 12 20 24

1 1 1 4 4

41 28 12

3 3 3

2

3 4 3

1 1

2 3 1

2 1

1 10 9 2

2 2

7 4 6

Ulna Radio-Ulna Carpalia Metacarpus Pelvis Femur Patella Tibia Fibula Talus Calcaneus et Tarsalia Metatarsus Phalanx 1 Phalanx 2 Phalanx 3 Phalanx lat. Metapodalia Os sesamoidaeus TOTAL MNI

14 1 14 35 33 39 3 38 10 13 8 30 40 30 8 16 1 736 17

1 1

1 1

3

7

30

23

1

7

1

5 33 39 21

15 15 12

3

1

12

1

14

29 9 11 13 3 30 16 3 6 1 11

2 1 8 1 12

449 25

717 24

367 27

6

2

20 19 17 1 38

3 3

2

4 2

2

2

48 (6)

29 10

15 (3)

1

1

1 2 1

2

3 1

1

9

4

1 1 2

2 14 15 5

5 3 5 5 1 11

1

1 1 1 9 1

1 1

1

1

1

2

2

68 5

1

1 4

1 11 2

9 6 5 9 2 8 3 2

1

2 1

19 3

7 1

2 1

Tab. 4. Borduşani Popină. The distribution of the bone pieces by species. * = Cervidae ** = Including Cavicornes horncornes (Bos taurus, Ovis aries, Capra hircus).

1 1

11 2

195 11

8 2

1 3 4 7 6 6 3

3

1

1

5

1 1 5

1 3 2

1

3

1

4

31

1

2 8 9

1 2 6

2 2 2

13

5

12 16 27 4 28 9 5 14

1 2 2 2

1

3

1 2 2 5

2 2 2 1

2 1

1

1

8 3 1 1

1

1

4

1

14 (2)

50 (2)

445 (8)

35 (3)

1 1

2

1

128 5

46 2

1 7 2

23 4

15 3

5 1 142 (4)

3

SPECIES Bos taurus Ovis aries Capra hircus Ovis/Capra Sus domesticus Canis familiaris Canis lupus Vulpes vulpes Felis silvestris Meles meles Sus scrofa Cervus elaphus Bos primigenius Castor fiber Lepus europaeus TOTAL Bos/Cervus Ovis/Capra/Capreolus Sus domesticus/Sus scrofa Canis familiaris/Vulpes vulpes TOTAL MAMMALS

SL 29 12 1 4 6 1 1 1 26 2 1 2 31

C 201 71 3 34 58 44 1 11 3 1 13 8 4 1 3 255 10 2 40 3 310

SL 33 TOTAL 23 106 2 5 1 13 51 16 80 5 50 1 7 18 3 1 10 24 2 10 4 1 4 78 359 9 21 2 5 18 60 3 107 448

Tab. 5. Borduşani Popină. Numerical distribution of mammals remains from different archaeological complexes.

118

56 51 46 41 36 31 26

Scapula 44

Ss Sd/Ss

Ss

39

LG

GLP

Scapula

Sd/Ss

34 29

Sd

Sd

24

16 20 24 28 32 36 40

26

SLC

36

Humerus

46

56

Tibia 39

44 41 38 35 32 29 26

Ss

35

Ss

BT

Dd

31 27

Sd 36

Sd

23

46

56

25

66

35 Bd

Bd

Calcaneus

45

Astragalus 49

35

Ss

Ss GLm

30

GB

GLP

25

44

Sd/Ss

39

Sd

20

Sd

34 70

90

110

130

36

GL

41

46 GLl

51

56

Fig. 1. Swine separation diagrams on the basis of different anatomical elements (Sd - Sus domesticus; Ss - Sus scrofa).

119

Osteometrical data - all measurements in mm, taken after von den Driesch (1976). Bos taurus cranium 1. 2. 3. 4.

44 174 154 157

45 59 55 51.4 50.6

46 49 40.5 40.2 42

47 214

150

sex male female female female

9 57.5

10L 35 35.5 33.6 36.8 39.5

10B 11.8 11.2 12.2 11.8 16.4

mandible 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

7 143

8 88.5

axis 10. 11. 12.

BFcr 85.6 87 99.2

SBV 49.8 50.5

scapula 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

SLC 52.3 40

GLP 72.9 58.7 71.2 81.5

LG 60 44 59.7 69.8

BG 51.5 41 51.8 59 55.2

radius 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23.

Bp 79.5 79.5 76 80.6

BFp 70.2 73.6 69.8 73.8

Dp 37.3 37.9 34.4

SD 37.6

metacarpus 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33.

Bp 55.2 58.5 54 58.8 58.2 53.4

pelvis 34.

LA 69

Dp 34.5 34.6 34 33.2 34.7

LAR 52

Bd

Dd

60 67 61.4 55.2

32.2 36 33 30

SH

SB

120

Bd

BFd

Dd

73.4 66.9

68.2

42.5 40.2

35. 36. femur 37. 38. 39.

DC 49.5 50.8

tibia 40. 41. 42. 43.

Bd 60.8 64 57.5 56.5

Dd 47.6 46.5 47.5

astragalus 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52.

GLl 77 74.3 63.3 63.2 68 64 64 59.9 68.4

GLm 69.5 67.8 60.2 59.2 63 60 59.7 53.9 61

calcaneus 53. 54. 55.

GL 132.5

GB 45.5 40.5 42

centrotarsus 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61.

GB 49.9 48.9 64.7 53.5 49 53.8

metatarsus 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70.

Bp 46 46.3 40.4 42.8 41.8

phalanx 1

GLpe

39.3 49.2

23 25.8

Dl 41.8 41.3 34.2 35.5 37 36.9 34.5 33.2

Dm 42.5 40.1 37.7 36 38.2 37.5 35.2 33.8

Bd

Dd

52.5 53.2 53.7 63.5

32 31

SD

Bd

Bd

83

Dp 45 46.1 40 43.6 43.2

Bp

121

Bd 47.5 49.6 41 39.8 42.5 43.9 40.2 40.1 41

71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. phalanx 2 99. 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118.

64 66.9 53.4 62.8 54.8 57.5 51.8 56 54 56.5 60.8 54.9 61.2 64.5 50 54.5 54.2 58 56 60 59.5 56.8 64 58 55.2 55

39.5 37.6 30 27.2 29.7 27.2 30 27.5 30.5 27.9 36 29.9 32.6 31.2 28.2 29 28.5 27.3 27 28.2 27.5 26 34.2 25 30 30 25

GL 37.7 43.1 43 38.9 34.1 29.5 31.5 34.9 37.1 37.1 39 36.8 38.5 33.5 36.2 36.9 34.4 39 41.2 39.5

Bp 31.3 35.3 33.5 28.1 28 27.8 27 28 28.3 28.8 31.2 29 32.5 26.5 28 29.3 25.6 29 27 28.8

33.5 29.2 26.8 25.9 24 23.7 24.9 24.6 24.3 22.3 30 24.5 25.5 27 22.5 24.2 25.2 24 22.8 24 24 21 25.8 20.8 25.5 20 26.2

20.1 29.9 28.1 28.2 26.6 25.7 29.8 27.1 26.8 24.3 33.7 27.7 31 27.8 26.2 29 27.8 27.3 26.2 26.5 28 26 31 23.2 24.3 28.5

SD 24.5 31.3 25.3 21.5 22.2 23.6 21.5 23.7 22.9 29.9 24.2 22.9 26.1 21.7 21.2 21.2 24.8 23.2 20.6 24

Bd 26.5 29.7 26.5 21.9 24.1 24.6 22.9 24.6 23.8 24.1 24.9 24.9 27.5 24 22.1 23.9 21.3 24.8 22 24.2

122

119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125. 126.

34.5 41.2 35 38.5 37 37 41.2 48.4

26.5 29.3 25.2 29 25 26.2 29 35.5

21.5 22.8 20 22 20 20 23.8 28.2

23 24.5 22.2 23.2 22 22.8 24.2 32.3

phalanx 3 127. 128. 129. 130. 131. 132. 133. 134.

DLS 62.1 61.2 58.5 74.7 76.8 66.8 69.2 63.1

Ld 45.5 50.3 48.5 56 55.9 55 50.2 48.5

MBS 21.2 19.2 19 28.7 25.2 21 23.2 21.1

mandible 135. 136.

7 68.5 63.3

8 48.8 43.2

9 19.8 20

10 L 23.9

scapula 137. 138.

SLC 17 14.2

GLP 28.3 25.2

LG 22.8 21.2

BG 19 14.2

humerus 139. 140.

Bd 27.2 27.2

BT 25.1 26

Dd 23 25.2

radius 141.

Bp 28.3

BFp 29.5

Dp 15.2

ulna 142.

DPA 23.5

SDO 20.1

BPC 15

metacarpus 143. 144. 145.

Bd 23.2 21.5 23.5

Dd 16.2 13.9 14.7

femur 146.

DC 20.5

tibia 147.

Bd 24.2

Ovis aries

Dd 18.2

123

10 B 8.2

148. 149. 150.

28.2 27.5 23

23.2 21

astragalus 151. 152.

GLl 26.5 27.8

GLm 25.2 26.8

calcaneus 153. 154.

GL 49.5 48.2

GB 16.9 17.8

metatarsus 155.

Bd 22

Dd 14.6

humerus 156.

GL 134.7

GLC 121.5

Bp 33

SD 13.9

Bd 27.1

BT 24.9

Dd 22.6

radius 157. 158.

Bp 28.2

BFp 26

Dp 15

SD

Bd

BFd

Dd

14.8

26.2

22.8

17.5

tibia 159.

Bd 22.2

Dd 18

calcaneus 160. 161.

GL 47.9 49.5

GB 14.5 18

cranium 162. 163. 164. 165.

27 108.5

27a 99.8

29 49.2

29a 39

30 29.2

31 18.8

mandible 166. 167. 168.

4 158.2

mandible. 166. 168. 169.

11 39.3 39.8 49.2

Dl 14.2 15.5

Dm 15.2 16.2

Bd 16.8 17.7

Shoulder height (Teichert) 601 630.5

Shoulder height (Teichert) 564.3 549.5

Capra hircus Shoulder height (Schramm) 519.9

Sus domesticus

6 125.8

12 53.2

28 60.5

7 120.8

16b 36 37.5

7a 101.5

16c 40 39

76

8 64.6 67.5

17 43.2 55.2

124

9 56.5

9a 56.2

37.2

37

21 13.5 13.5 16.8

38

39

40

45.5 47

42.5 45.5

21 22

10L 29 32.1

10B 15.5 15.3

170. 171.

34.8 17

atlas 172. 173. 174. 175. 176. 177.

GB 76.2 79

axis 178.

LCDe 45

scapula 179. 180. 181. 182. 183. 184. 185. 186. 187. 188. 189. 190. 191. 192. 193.

GL 47 42

BFcr 55 53 60 58.4 50 51.5

BFcd 44.7

LAPa 38

BFcr 51.5

BPacd 35

SLC 18.5 20.2 19 19.6 19.4 19.7 25.8 27.8 25.9 20.4 24.5 20.4 23 19.8 21.2

GLP 28.2 32.8 30.3 32 32.2 32.4 39.8 41.8 39.4

LG 25.8 29.5 25.2 27.5 28.3 28.6 31.3 33.9 34.4

BG 20.9 22.2 20 29.1 22.4 21.4 26.9 27.8 26 22 26.4 22

humerus 194. 195. 196. 197. 198. 199. 200. 201.

Bp 49.9

SD

Bd

BT

Dd

14.9 14.3

38.3 37.2 42.5 37.8 40.5 43.8 37.9

28.5 28 31.1 27.2 29.5

39 39 43.6 36.9 41.2 44 37.5

radius 202. 203. 204. 205. 206. 207. 208. 209.

GL 148.6

Bp 28.9 34.9 26.2 31 24.5 24.9 28.3 28

Dp 18.8 24 19.5 22.5 19.2 17.8 20.4 19.5

SD 16.4

Bd 32.2

50.5 53.9 42.4

125

GLF 40.2 38.9 37.5

SBV 34.5

H 46.2 42 43.5 40.2 49.5 BFcd 33.8

BFd 28.4

Dd Shoulder height (Teichert) 23.4 768.6

210. 211. 212. 213. ulna 214.

28.1 33.3 36.6

18

35.2

31.2

25.5

LO 60.5

DPA 42.8

SDO 33.5

BPC 25.2

metacarpus III 215. 216.

GL 68.7

Bp 16.7 16.1

B 13.6 12.3

Bd 15.5 13.3

Shoulder height (Teichert) 707.8

metacarpus IV 217.

GL 66.7

Bp 16.1

B 11.1

Bd 15.2

Shoulder height (Teichert) 673

pelvis 218. 219. 220. 221. 222. 223. 224. 225. 226. 227. 228. 229. 230. 231. 232. 233. 234. 235.

LA 34 35 33.2 33 34 34 34 33.8 32.4 28.5 31 35 30

LAR 30 31.5 30.2 28.2 30 29 28.8 30.4 29.3

SH 23.2 21.2 19.8 21 25.2 19.8 20.8

SB 11.8 13.2 11.2 12 14 12.2 11.2

18.5 20.8 23.8 24.2 25

11 12.8 12 16.2 12.5

tibia 236. 237. 238. 239.

Bd 30 30.4 32.2 27.8

Dd 26.8 28.5 28.5 24.2

astragalus 240. 241. 242. 243. 244. 245. 246. 247.

GLl 40.3 41.7 42.2 38 43.2 38 40.5 41.8

GLm 36.8 37.9 37.6 35.5 38.7 35.2 36.6 37.3

Dl 20.4 21 20.6 19.5 22.3 19.3

Dm 24 25.8 25 21.1 24.8 21.8

LFo 41.2 34 36

Bd 21.6 22.6 20.1 22.5 24.3 23

126

Shoulder height (Teichert) 744.4 769.4 778.4 703.2 796.3 703.2 748 771.2

248. 249. 250. 251. 252. 253.

42.2 47 46.2 45 47 48.7

42.2 41.2 41.6 42 43

22

calcaneus 254. 255. 256. 257. 258.

GL 78.2 79 72 74.5 78

GB 21.5 24 21.8 21 22.2

metatarsus III 259.

GL 78.6

LeP 73.4

B 11.2

Bd 19.5

metatarsus IV 260. 261.

GL 82.3

LeP 78.3 84

Bp 15.3 13.2

B 11.8 11.8

phalanx 1 262. 263. 264. 265. 266. 267. 268. 269. 270.

GLpe 37.2 40.2 31.3 32.5 33.3 31.2 43.8 41.3 44.2

Bp 17.8 16.8 17.9 14.9 14.3 15.8 21.5 20.5 20.4

SD 13.5 13.2 14.5 11.6 10 12.4 16.5 16.1 16.2

Bd 15.8 16.2 16 13.3 11.5 14.4 18 19.2 28.3

phalanx 2 271. 272.

GL 28.8 29.4

Bp 18.8 16.8

SD 15.2 14

Bd 15.8 15.2

phalanx 3 273. 274. 275. 276. 277. 278.

DLS 26.8 30.2 32 33 33.2 35

Ld 25.8 27.2 30 30.5 30.8 32.2

MBS 9.3 11 11.2 12.2 12.5 12.8

24.7

27.8

25 25.5 25.5 25 26.2

778.4 864.3 850 828.5 864.3 894.7

Sd/Ss ? Sd/Ss ? Sd/Ss ? Sd/Ss ? Sd/Ss ?

Shoulder height (Teichert) 756.4 763.9 698.5 721.8 754.5

127

Shoulder height (Teichert) 739.7 Bd 15.4 15.8

Shoulder height (Teichert) 723.7

Canis familiaris cranium 179. 180. 181. 182. 183. 184. 185. 186. 187. 188. 189. 190. 191. 192.

4 39

15

16

17

18

18a

19

54.5 56 51.5

16 14.5 15 15.5

41.5 45 39.8

16 17 16.2

7.2 8.8 7.4

41

15.8 15.1 15.6 15 16.3

7.8 6.8 7.5 8.4 7.9

15.8 17 16.2 17.2 14.8

22 21.2 21 21.5

mandible 193. 194. 195. 196. 197. 198. 199. 200. 201. 202. 203. 204. 205. 206. 207. 208. 209. 210. 211. 212. 213. 214. 215. 216.

1 114 111.5 115.8 97 90 100 117.6 113 108 108 107.2 110.3 113.5 116.9 127.4 109 104.1

23 57

2 113 108.6 115.5 96.8 89.5 100.5 119.8 113.2 109 109 108.2 110 112.2 118.6 128.9 108.3 101.2

24 56.2

3 118 106.5 111.8 94.8 87 95.2 113 108.2 104 103.8 103.4 105.5 106.6 111.9 122.9 106 98.9

25 34

26 47.2

27 17

28 11.6

32 32.8

42.2 41.2

17.2 15.5

14 12.8

4 99.5 97 103 83.3 80 87.2 101.5 98.2 95 94.8 92.2 95.5 99.5 102.8 111.8 92.5 90 93.8 88.2 83.4 83

5 94 91.8 98.2 81.8 77 82.5 97.2 93.5 90.8 90.5 89.2 90.4 94.6 98.1 106.8 89.3 84.5 89.1 84.2 77 79.1

128

6 99 93.8 102.5 83.8 80 88.2 103.8 98.5 95.5 96.2 94 94 100 105.1 111.6 93.4 88 95.6 89.4 82.3

7 67 63.7 68.2 58.2 54.8 61 68.2 65.5 62 63.2 58.9 64.6 63.7 68.1 71.2

61 53 56.9 63 59

20B

21L

21B

10.2 10.8

12.5 12.3 12.8 11 10.6 10.8 10.9 10 12.5 12.8 10.2 11.9

6

7.2

6.3

7.8

4.8 5.2

7.1 7.5

6.3

7.2

9.3 9.2 10.1 9 12.1 10.2 11.3 12.8 10.5

17.2

cranium (cont) 179 189 190 191 192

20L

29 50.3

30 91.3

38 46

40 41

41.2

8 62 58.5 62.5 54 52 57 63.5 62 58.5 55.2 60.5 59.5 63.7

55.9 49.3 54.1 58.2 55.5

9 56.5 53.5 58.2 51 48 53.8 59.5 57 55.2 54.2 50.8 55.7 54.3 58.4

52 44.8 50.4 53.5 51 62.2

10 30 28.5 31.5 27.2 26.2 29.5 30 29.2 23.2 29 24.8 29.9 27.2 29.1 30.5

27.7 18 27.9 26 25.2 32

11 34 30.8 33.5 28.5 27 30 35 34 31.5 31.9 31.7 31.4 31.8 34.3 30.9 32.2 30 25.9 27.5 32 30

217. 218. 219. mandible (cont) 193. 194. 195. 196. 197. 198. 199. 200. 201. 202. 203. 204. 205. 206. 207. 208. 209. 210. 211. 212. 213. 214. 215. 216. 217. 218. 219. 220. 221. 222. 223. 224.

27.2 25 26 12 28.8 26.5 29.5 25.2 23 26 30.2 28.2 28.2 26.5 28.8 25.9 27.2 26.9 36.6 29.5

13L 19.8 18 19

13B 7.2 6.8

17.8 18.8

7 7.5

18.2 18.1 18.8

7 7.1 7.3

18.3 18.1

7.3

14 18.2 16.5 18.2 16.8 17.2 18.3 18.2 18.5 19.2 17.8 17.4 18.3 17.6

15L 7.8 7 7.2 7

15B 5.2 5 5.5 5.5

16L 3.8

16B 3.2

17 9 9.2 9.8 9.2 8.5 9 9.7 10 9 9.8 9.5

18 44.2 40.2

37.5 41.5 45.2 42.8 44 43.5 40.9 47.1

7.5

5.7

50.8 38.1

17.6 27.5 25.9 24.4 22.8 22 25 30.7

mandible (cont) 193. 194. 195. 196. 197. 198. 199. 200. 201. 202. 203.

15.2

6

17.7 15.5

17 16.3 19.8 18.5 16

7 6.5

15.8 16.9

6.2

17 15.3 17

18.2 20.3

7.2 7.6

17.8 19.2

7 7.8

40.8 40.8 34.4

22 136.7 131.4 139.8 117.1 108.3 121.6 145 137 131.9 131.9 130.9

18.2

23 136.3 132.9 141.1 114.1 109.6 119.5 139.1 134.5 130.2 129.9 126.3

9.2

7.2 8.2

45.5 41.5 33.8 35.2

35

8.2

6

9.2

7.5

5.5

10.2

24 137.2 134 143.4 119.4 112.4 120.5 141.9 136.5 132.6 132.1 130.2

129

25 136.8 132.8 141.4 116.9 110.1 120.5 142 136 131.5 131.3 129.2

19 19.5 19.8 20 18.2 16 17.5 19.2 18.2 19.8 19.8 17 17 19.6 20.9 20.2 18.1 18.3 17.9 13 17.8 17.2 19 16.8 19.6 19.5 16 16.2

21

20 16.5 15.8 16.5 15 13.5 15 16.3 16 15.8 15.2 15.3 15.4 17.7 16 15 15.4 25.2 13.4 16.8 14.4 17.8

16.8

26 135.8 125.7 137.3 112.6 106.8 121.3 140.2 135.8 Oligodonthosis P1 125.7 116.1

204. 205. 206. 207. 208. 209. 210. 211. 212. 213. 214. 215.

133.1 135.8 143.5 156 131 122.5

atlas 225. 226. 227. 228. 229. 230. 231. 232. 233.

GB 50.5 57.2 57.6 60.6

axis 234. 235. 236. 237.

LCDe 40 48.7 38.7

scapula 238. 239. 240. 241. 242. 243. 244. 245. 246. 247.

HS 111.4

humerus 248. 249. 250. 251. 252. 253. 254.

GL 123.9

GL 24.8 29.5 30.7 31.5 30.5 32.5 30.2

130.8 136.3 140.8 153.2 126.7 123.3 128.5 120.8 114.3 113.7

132 138.1 143.2 155.9 130.4 123.4 130.1 122.9 112.4 115.5

132 136.7 142.5 155 129.4 123 129.3 121.9 113.3 114.6

BFcr 30.2 33.2

BFcd 22.2 26.2

GLF 22 25.8

34.8 35.2 30.3 32 31.7

26.2 25 22.7 24.3 24.2

25.2 27

LAPa 40.5 43.7 36.7 38.2

BFcr 23.5 19.5

BPacd 22.2 19.7

BPtr 27

SLC 19.7 20.8 20 15.8 17.5 19.6 17.2 18.6 18 20.8

GLP 23.4 24.2 24 20 22.5 23.2 22.8

LG 21.4 22.2 21.8 18 19.8 21.5 21

BG

Dp 32.2

SD

Bd

Dd

8.8 10.2 10

20.8 24.7 25.7 27.2 25.5 22.2

16.5 19.3 21.2 21.9 21.2 18.2

LAd 10.7 15.2 16.5 12 12 13.5

131.5 128.6 140.7 Oligodonthosis Oligodonthosis Oligodonthosis Oligodonthosis 118.1 98.97 112.9 124.8 117 H 20.2 27.3

24 25.2 21.3 21.7

11.1 SBV 18 19.8

BFcd 14.5 14.5

H 29 32 32.3 32.7

Shoulder height (Koudelka) 452.3

13.2 13.5 11.8 12.6 13.5 13

130

Shoulder height (Koudelka) (Harcourt) 417.5 398.4

P1 M3 M3 M3

255.

22

radius 256. 257. 258. 259. 260. 261. 262. 263. 264. 265. 266.

GL 134.5 125.5 121.8 119.2 112

Bp 14 14.6 13.1 13.3

Dp 9.4 10.3 9 9.1

SD 9 10.1 8.5 9

14.5 13.8 13.5 12.4

9.2 8.8 9.1 8 8.5

10

ulna 267. 268. 269. 270. 271. 272. 273.

LO 14.8

DPA 18.9 20 19 19.2 17.8 21.8

SDO 16.2 16.3 16 16.3

BPC 13.1 13.3 13 12.2 14 14.8 12.8

pelvis 274. 275. 276. 277. 278. 279. 280. 281. 282.

LA 17.8 17.8 18.8 20.2 14.2 18.5 18.2 16.8 19.5

LAR 15 15 16 17.5

SH 11.8 12.2 12.3 13.7

SB 5.2 5 6.2 7.2

LFo 17.8 15.2

femur 283. 284. 285.

GLC 140.2

Bp 28.2 32.8

DC 15.2 16.9 16.2

SD 10.2

Bd 26

tibia 286. 287. 288.

SD 10.2 10.2

Bd

Dd

18 17.2

13 12.5

calcaneus 289.

GL 33.5

GB 13

phalanx I 290.

GL 18.1

Bp 6.4

SD 4.1

9 9

Bd 18.9 13.7 17

17

11.8

Bd 5.4

131

Dd Shoulder height (Koudelka) 10.3 433.1 404.1 392.2 9.7 383.8 360.6

(Harcourt) 447.2 418.6 406.8 398.6 375.7

10

Shoulder height (Koudelka) (Harcourt) 422 427.3

Canis lupus metacarpus II 291. 292. metacarpus IV 293.

GL 84.3

Bd 12.5

GL 96.5

Bd 12.2

metacarpus V 294.

GL 83

Bd 13.5

astragalus 295.

GL 31.2

phalanx 1 296. 297.

GL 31.8 31.5

Bp 12.2 12.6

SD 8.3 8

Bd 10 10

15 55.5

15a 58

16 14 13.8

17 43

Vulpes vulpes cranium 298. 299.

18 13 13.8

18a 6 6

19 12.8 12.8

20L 9.2 9.5

20B 10.5 10.8

mandible 300.

4 94.8

5 90.5

6 93.5

7 64.8

8 61

9 57

10 26.3

11 35

mandible (cont) 300. 301. 302.

14 14.8 14.8

15L 7.5

15B 5.8

17 6.2

18 35.7

19 14.8

20 11.5

21 34.5

7.6

atlas 303.

GL 23

BFcr 27.2

BFcd 21

GLF 20

scapula 304. 305.

SLC 16

GLP 18 18

LG 16 15.2

BG 10.5 10

humerus 306. 307. 308. 309. 310.

SD

Bd 19.5 19.2 19.1 18.1 21.2

Dd 15 15

radius 311.

GL 121.7

7.5

Bp 12.1

15.8 Lad 6.8

H 20

Bd 14.5

Dd 8.5

13.8

Dp 7.4

SD 8

132

21L 6 5.2 12 31.2

21B 7.2 7.2 13L 15

13B 6.2

312. 313. 314. 315.

10.2 11.2 11 11.8

6.6 7.2 7.2 7.7

SDO 15.2

BPC 11.2 9.3

7.2 7.7

ulna 316. 317. 318.

DPA 17.5 15.3

femur 319.

GL 124.4

Bp 26.2

DC 13.5

SD 9.2

tibia 320. 321. 322. 323.

Bp 25.5 24.4 23.4

Dp 26.5 25.4

Bd

Dd

14.5

10.1

14 Bd 21.7

Lynx lynx humerus 324.

Bd 24.3

DAPd 13.2

tibia 325.

Bp 26.3

Dp 17.2

SD 11

cranium 326. 327.

12 23 23

13 21.5 22

14 11.2 11.5

radius 328.

SD 7.5

femur 329.

Bd 21.5

Dd 23

ulna 330.

DPA 18

SDO 15

BPC 14

femur 331. 332.

SD 10 9.5

Bd

DAPd

25

19

Felis silvestris 14B 5.8

15 10.8 10.8

Meles meles

133

Martes sp. ulna 333.

GL 73.8

DPA 18

SDO 9.7

humerus 334. 335.

Bd 29.5 23.9

BT 16.5

Dd 13.1 10.8

pelvis 336.

LA 15

LAR 12.5

SH 11.2

SB 9.2

femur 337.

GLC 77.7

Bp 21.8

DC 10.4

CD 7.9

SD 35.4

Bd 45.5

BFd 45.3

Lutra lutra

Equus cf. caballus humerus 338.

Dd 85

femur 339.

DC 58

phalanx I 340.

GL 82.5

Sus scrofa cranium 341. 342. 343. 344.

21 45.8

cranium (cont) 345.

34 64

mandible 346. 347. atlas 348. 349.

22 26

24

28

30

31

78.5

39 42.2

22.2 24.4

37 25

38 79.8

39 75.5

38.5

35 87 10L 44.5

36 22.2 10B 20

12

40 38.3

45 123

16a 49.5

89 GB 108.2

GL 58

BFcr 70 67.5

BFcd 64.5 71.5

134

GLF 55

H 67 63.8

axis 350. 351.

LCDe 52.8

BFcr 59.8 63.6

BPacd 44

SBV 37.2

scapula 352. 353. 354. 355.

SLC 37 36.4 36.6 31.2

GLP 54 46.1 50.5

LG 45.8 40.6

BG 35.3 33.7

humerus 356. 357. 358. 359.

Bd 49.2 51.5 54.4 59.2

BT 34.5 42.3 38.3

radius 360. 361. 362.

Bp 36.5 38.7

Dp 25.5 27.3 36.6

ulna 363. 364. 365. 366.

LO 82.5

DPA 53.2 49.8 56.8 53.2

SDO 42.2 40.5 42.8 43.6

BPC 30.5 29 28.2

metacarpus III 367. 368. 369. 370.

GL 98.2

Bp 24.5 23 20.2 21

B 19.5 18.8 15.3 17

Bd 23.8

pelvis 371. 372. 373.

LA 44.5 45.5

LAR 38 39.8

SH

SB

32.2

20.2

tibia 374. 375. 376. 377. 378.

Bd 39.2 39.2 41.4 36.8 40.6

Dd 36.5 34.3 35.4

GLl 53 51.7 53.2

GLm 47 47 47

Bd 29.1 29.2 33.6

Dl 28.6 25.8

astragalus 379. 380. 381.

BFcd 37.8 36.4

32 Dd 49.5 51.2 55.2 39.4

135

Shoulder height (Teichert) 1024

Dm 26.4

Shoulder height (Teichert) 971.7 948.4 975.3

382.

50.6

45.8

928.7

calcaneus 383. 384. 385. 386. 387. 388. 389. 390. 391.

GL 106 97 106 112.5 96.8 101.1 96.5 95.5

GB 29 28 31 31.5 26.7 27.5 25.7 30.7 27.6

phalanx 1 392. 393.

GLpe 50 52.5

Bp 22.5 22.2

SD 18 17

Bd 20.8 20.2

phalanx 2 394. 395.

GL 31.8 33

Bp 21.2 20.8

SD 17.2 17.3

Bd 17.8 16.2

BFcd 66.2

H 55.5

Shoulder height (Teichert) 1016 932 1016 1077 930.1 970.3 927.3 918

Cervus elaphus cranium 396.

21 75

atlas 397.

GL 115

BFcr 73

axis 398. 399.

BFcr 74.3 69.8

SBV 47.2 39.5

scapula 400.

GLP 65.2

SLC 36.4

metacarpus 401.

Dd 28.5

pelvis 402. 403.

LA 58.2 49.6

LAR 47 42

Lfo 72

tibia 404. 405. 406. 407.

Bd 64.5 41

Dd 49.5 34.8

Bp

Dp

70 63.9

75.2 58.5

136

astragalus 408.

GLl 59

GLm 55.8

Dl 31.3

Dm 34.2

centrotarsus 409.

GB 50.4

metatarsus 410. 411. 412. 413.

Bp 45 41.8

Dp 45.2 36.8

Bd

Dd

51.5 50.2

29.8 36.3

phalanx 1 414. 415. 416. 417. 418. 419.

GLpe 60.2 58.6 64.5 66.2

SD 18.2 19.1 18.8 19

Bd 20.9 22 23.2 22.2

18

20.5

phalanx 2 420. 421. 422. 423. 424.

GL 21.2 24 43

Bp 41.8 49.5 21.4 20.3 20.3

SD 15.8 18.3 15.8

Bd 19 21 18.2

phalanx 3 425. 426. 427.

DLS 53.2 50.8 65.5

Ld 47 48.2

MBS 14.8 15 20.2

cranium 428.

39 113.5

41 61.8

atlas 429.

BFcr 41.5

BFcd 38

GLF 42

H 37.2

humerus 430. 431. 432.

SD 13.2

Bd 29.2 29.2 28

BT 25.2 24 23.9

Dd 28.2 27.8 26.4

radius 433.

Bp 28

BFp 27.5

Dp 16.5

ulna

LO

DPA

SDO

Bp 22 23.2 24.2 24.2 20.7

Capreolus capreolus

137

Bd 34.2

434.

33.2

21.3

17.2

metacarpus 435. 436.

GL 180.2

Bp 22

Dp 17.1

SD 13.2

Bd 23 23.8

Dd 14.7 14.6

pelvis 437.

SH 18

SB 8.8

metatarsus 438.

GL 206.2

Bp 21.2

Dp 23.4

SD 12.6

Bd 23.8

Dd 17.4

phalanx 1 439. 440.

GLpe 38.2 37.8

Bp 12.2 12.3

SD 8.5 9.2

Bd 9.8 11

phalanx 2 441.

GL 26

Bp 10.8

SD 6.8

Bd 7.8

Dd 92.6

Bos primigenius cranium 442.

29 36.7

humerus 443.

Bd 101.5

BT 86.5

radius 444.

Bp 101.2

BFp 80.5

cranium 445.

25 35.2

27 20

scapula 446. 447.

SLC 13.3 15.3

BG 12.6 13.2

pelvis 448.

SB 17.7

calcaneus 449.

GL 55

GB 19.5

metatarsus III 450.

GL 52.8

Bd 13

Castor fiber

GLP 20.5

138

phalanx 1 451.

GL 27.5

Bp 10

SD 5.8

Bd 7.2

Lepus europaeus pelvis 452.

LA 12.8

femur 453.

DC 10.9

tibia 454.

Bp 21.6

139

1. Bos taurus - left juvenile mandible (age~9 months), lateral view.

2. Bos taurus - left mandible with rodent teeth impressions (detail), lateral view.

3. Bos taurus - right horncore, caudal view.

4. Comparison between Bos taurus (top) and Bos primigenius (bottom) phalanx 1, dorsal view.

5. Bos taurus - distal metacarpus, dorsal view.

6. Bos taurus - distal metatarsus, dorsal view.

Pl. 1.

1. Bos taurus - two hyoids with cutting traces.

a

b

2. Bos taurus - metacarpus with deliberate breaking to extract the marrow, dorsal view.

c

d

3. a-d: Capra hircus - humerus (a - cranial view; b - caudal view; c - medial view; d lateral view). Pl. 2.

1. Capra hircus - humerus with flesh removal traces, medial view.

2. Capra hircus – humerus with flesh removal traces, cranial view.

a

b

c

d

3. Suinae mandibles of different ages, dorsal view: a - Sus domesticus/Sus scrofa aged 2-4 months, Sus domesticus/Sus scrofa aged 4-5 months, Sus domesticus/Sus scrofa aged 5-6 months (from top to bottom); b - Sus domesticus aged 8-10 months, Sus domesticus aged 8-10 months, Sus domesticus aged 14-16 months (from top to bottom); c - Sus domesticus aged 16-18 months, Sus domesticus aged 18-20 months, Sus domesticus aged 20-22 months (from top to bottom); d - Sus domesticus female aged 30- 36 months; PL. 3.

1. Comparison between Sus domesticus (top) and Sus scrofa (bottom) scapula, lateral view.

a

2. Comparison between Sus domesticus (left and middle) and Sus scrofa (right) humerus, cranial view.

b

c

3. Sus domesticus - left radius (a - dorsal view; b - volar view; c - lateral view). Pl. 4.

1. Comparison between Sus domesticus (right) and Sus scrofa (left) radius, dorsal view.

2. Comparison between Sus domesticus (right) and Sus scrofa (left) tibia, dorsal view.

3. Comparison between Sus domesticus (top) and Sus scrofa (bottom) calcaneus, medial view.

4. Comparison between Sus domesticus (right and middle) and Sus scrofa (left) astragalus, plantar view.

5. Sus domesticus metapodial with carnivore (probably dog) teeth impressions, dorsal view.

6. Sus domesticus metacarpus III with cutting traces, dorsal view.

Pl. 5.

1. Canis familiaris - right mandibles, lateral view.

2. Canis familiaris - left scapula, dorsal view.

3. Canis familiaris - juvenile neurocranium with skinning traces, dorsal view.

4. Canis familiaris - juvenile neurocranium with skinning traces, lateral view.

5. Canis familiaris - atlas, ventral view. Pl. 6.

1. Canis familiaris - radius, dorsal view.

2. Canis familiaris - metapodial with skinning traces, dorsal view.

3. Equus caballus - neurocranium, lateral view.

4. Equus caballus - neurocranium, dorsal view.

5. Equus caballus - left superior molar, lingual view.

6. Equus caballus - left superior molar, lateral view.

Pl. 7.

1. Equus caballus - phalanx 1, dorsal view.

2. Equus caballus - phalanx 1, plantar view.

3. Sus scrofa - lombar vertebra with cutting traces, dorsal view.

4. Sus scrofa - left ulna, medial view.

5. Capreolus capreolus – antler.

6. Capreolus capreolus - antler, detail with rodent teeth impressions.

Pl. 8.

Cher Matthieu Je connais encore un archéologue bulgare, c’est une femme qui s’appelle Evghenia (je ne sais plus comment) qui 1. Capreolus capreolus - metacarpus (left) and metatarsus (right), dorsal view.

2. Lepus europaeus - proximal left femur, dorsal view.

3. Lepus europaeus - left pelvis, lateral view.

4. Castor fiber - right calcaneus, medial view.

Pl. 9.

VI. 3. Several data about fish and fishing importance in the palaeoeconomy of the Gumelniţa A2 community from Borduşani - Popină Valentin RADU

The numerous fish bones dug out during the many years of archaeological researches at Borduşani show that the tell`s Gumelniţa inhabitants were successful fishermen. Archaeoichtyological studies started since 1993 (Radu, 1997) made us believe that the ancient inhabitants had good knowledge both of the geographical environment (positions of various lakes and ponds, banks configuration and water depth) as well as of the biological features related to fishing (preferred biotope, reproduction period, aetiology, etc.). These advantages allowed them to capture important fish quantities in various seasons: in the spring (during the reproduction period most fish species are gregarious), after the flooding of the Danube floodplain (at the water retirement, when big fish individuals try to escape back into the Danube) or during long drought periods (the ponds either dried out or the water level was very shallow and concentrated the remaining fish). Thus, using primitive methods and tools that are still used nowadays under similar circumstances (harpoon, basket), the fish captures could be significant. Previous studies limited described only the fish species that were more frequently consumed by the tell inhabitants (Radu, 1997). The present paper tries to deal also with the quantitative aspect of the study, meaning mainly the individuals` sizes reconstitution from a representative archaeological structure. We focused our attention on a domestic waste area, as these prove the most important such structures in what regards the faunal remains. We believe that the domestic waste1 areas are the richest in materials that prove useful for a large variety of studies. This is the reason why these archaeological structures were subjected of tests (Desse-Berset and Radu, 1996) that tried to establish both adequate digging (Popovici et al., 2002) and efficient collection methodologies. In the case of the Borduşani tell, due to the difficult study conditions (no running water or electricity), the use of both the classic direct 1

Domestic wastes areas are, more precisely, according to Popovici et al (2000 : 18) “…anthropic deposits with domestic caracter that can be found as well delimited both in space and functions archaeological complexes.” 159

prelevation method and the collection of well-established sediment samples proved efficient. Material and method The domestic wastes area subject to the current archaeoichtyologic study was registered as US 1488. The materials constituting this structure gathered around the fireplace placed near a dwelling. This fireplace was made in the perimeter of the domestic waste area during the warm season. It was used for food preparing a short period of time. After this period, it was abandoned and, in time, covered by wastes. The wastes area was totally dug and a total cutting volume of 265 litres resulted. The archaeoichtyologic material was collected either directly from the digging site or after the sieving of a total volume of 45 litres of sediment (sieve mesh dimensions: 4 mm). Results 5573 fish bones were identified, out of which 4782 in the sieved sample (Fig. 1). The frequency of number of bone fragments for the main identified taxa show that cyprinid species are predominant. The best represented among these is the carp (Cyprinus carpio) with 32.81% (Fig. 2). In order to observe the differences that may appear between the two sampling methods we analyse Tab. and Fig. 1. The advantages of the sieving method use are quite obvious: - higher number of bone fragments: 4782 compared to 791; - a much larger species list: 11 taxa compared to 5; - more realistic representation of the proportions for each in situ taxa: in the case of wels, due to its big bones, their number in the directly collected sample represent 28.92% of the total, while in the sieved sample their number decreases to only 10.54%, while in the case of fish species with smaller bones (cyprinids) percentages increase from 11% to 46.27%. The determined species are common both in the river as well as in the neighbouring ponds and lakes. The analysis of identified taxa show that most of the species prefer lakes and ponds, excluding the sturgeons and asp (exclusively river environment species). These species are also denser in these environments than in the river. This increases thus the probability of catching these fish in lakes (and ponds) than in rivers. We mention that the common carp is very well represented, as it represents 32.66% of the total number of bone fragments. This figure is well above 160

the values discovered in other Gumelniţa sites (1.65-6.07% at Hârşova - Radu, 2003).

Taxon

Digging NR

Sturgeons Esox lucius Aspius aspius Abramis brama Blicca bjoerkna Cyprinus carpio Rutilus rutilus Scardinius erythrophthalmus Cyprinidae not determined Silurus glanis Perca fluviatilis Stizostedion lucioperca Total bones identified Total bones unidentifiable Total

Sieving

%NR 25 38

5.09 7.74

202

41.14

54 142

11.00 28.92

30 491 300 791

NR

Total

%NR

NR

%NR

6.11

55 140 3 9 9 922 7 1 1358 311 28 107

1.86 80 2.32 4.75 178 5.17 0.10 3 0.09 0.31 9 0.26 0.31 9 0.26 31.25 1124 32.66 0.24 7 0.20 0.03 1 0.03 46.03 1412 41.03 10.54 453 13.16 0.95 28 0.81 3.63 137 3.98

62.07 37.93

2950 1832

61.69 3441 61.74 38.31 2132 38.26

100

4782

100

5573

100

Tab. 1. Borduşani - Popină, US 1488. Number of identified bone fragments.

Taking into account the characteristics of the studied structure, conclusion from these data cannot be generalised to the entire site level. They simply represent a sequence from the summer period. To be more precise, it can be considered that this sample structure represent a very short period of time from the dwelling’s life, that corresponded to a dominant fishing phase. The carps` richness may be due to several factors, such as: – fishing place – may be a pond undergoing a drought process according to the small dimensions of the caught carp (average of about 390 g and the fact that out of 98 individuals, 88 weigh below 500 g); – used method – the use of a fence or a small meshed fishing net; here we can use as argument the small dimensions of carp and other cyprinids (between 100 and 200 g). The results presented above show that the knowledge of the studied archaeological structure function, together with the adequate sampling method 161

selection, are vital for the study. Even though these structures belong to the same category (domestic wastes areas), there are nevertheless individual features: position, dimensions, specific composition, position in the used area (Popovici et al., 2000) and forming period that may vary form several days to one year (Radu, 2000). This is why the comparison between similar structures is indicated only after the good knowledge of these features. Under the current circumstances, the obtained data cannot be generalised for the entire fishing activity performed in the Borduşani site. A more complete image about fishing result from the similar analysis of more domestic waste areas. The estimation of size Even though the archaeoichtyological studies made at Borduşani Popină still have a lot to undergo till the precise quantification of fish consumption as part of the Eneolithic community current food habits, the reconstitution of captured fish dimensions may give us an image about the fishing level of interest. After the establishing of the MNI (Minimal Number of Individuals), the estimation of sizes for each taxon was the following step. No differences were made between the two samples (direct and sieving). We mention that the dimensions were computed using both data from the scientific literature (Brinkhuizen, 1989; Radu, 1998) and from the Laboratory Reference Collection2. Cyprinus carpio – common carp (Tab. 2). Even though the MNI computed for the carp was higher (112), it was possible to estimate the sizes only from 98 ceratobranchials (pharyngeal bone). Estimated sizes are between 36 and 683 mm. Even though a large interval, most individuals are small and medium sized, with an average weight of only de 389 g. The estimated minimum total weight is of about 38.160 kg. Esox lucius - pike (Tab. 2). The only useful measure out of the 10 right cleithrums was M3 (Brinkhuizen, 1989). The estimated minimum total weight is of 19.146 kg. Individuals are generally medium – large sized (between 297 and 923 mm), while the average weight is of 1914 g. Silurus glanis – wels (Tab. 2). The first radius of the pectoral fin was used for the size reconstitution. The computed minimum total weight is of 156.527 kg. The size variability is between 312 and 2314 mm or 207 and 83100 g, with an average of 6522 g. 2

Laboratory of archaeozoology of the National Center of Pluridisciplinary Researches from the Romanian National History Museum, Calea Victoriei, nr 12, Bucureşti, 70412. 162

Stizostedion lucioperca – pikeperch (Tab. 2). The pike perch estimated size was made by the analysis of 9 cleithrums (Radu, 1998). The estimated minimum total weight is of 13.924 kg. Most of the individuals have medium sizes (389 - 830 mm), that suggest the average weight of 1547 g. Perca fluviatilis - perch (Tabl. 2). The MNI of perch was 3, as computed from the hyomandibular bone. The reconstituted sizes show the presence of medium category individuals (223 - 299 mm). Minimum total weight is of 0.795 kg with an individual average of 265 g. In what regards the cyprinids, together with the already presented carp reconstitutions were also made for the sizes of: bream (Abramis brama), asp (Aspius aspius), silver bream (Blicca bjoerkna), roach (Rutilus rutilus) and rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus). Reconstituted sizes for the respective species (Tab. 2) show the presence of medium sized individuals for normally smaller sized species and small sizes for asp (mean weight = 237 g). The total minimal weight for these species is of about 230 kg at a MNI of 157 for the entire domestic waste area. We can also observe that most of the species have medium sizes. For the species also containing big size individuals (wels, carp, and pike), there is a wide size variation, showing that the fishing was undiscriminatory and not selective. This meant the fishing of all individuals, not depending on their size. Conclusions This new approach of the material collected from the Gumelniţa level takes us a step closer to the true place of fishing in the diet of the Borduşani Popină inhabitants. Based on the new data, we consider that fishing, together with hunting (Moise, 1997) and shellfish gathering were the essential food supply activities of the tell communities. Even though the studied material resulted from a quite short period of time from only one year, that does not allow a general conclusion, it nevertheless offers enough punctual information that are important at the species` level. The accumulation of the predominant carp remnants is due to the collected archaeological structure characteristics: the brief formation time of the domestic waste area. It is thus premature to draw a general conclusion for the entire Gumelniţa inhabiting level. Excepting the carp, the other captured species sizes do not differ from those discovered in other Gumelniţa sites. Taking into account this 163

site’s main characteristic - the geographical isolation – it is possible that the values discovered here may differ from other contemporary neighbouring sites. Future studies shall try to deal also with this aspect. In what regards the archaeoichtyology, the results from this study, together with other already obtained, place the fishing and fish use among the most important activities for the Eneolithic inhabitants. Even though not very sure about the used fishing methods and tools, we believe that these methods were simple (harpoons, baskets, nets, fences of various types), adequate to the abundant fish resources from the area and adapted to the fishing places and captured fish biology.

References Brinkhuizen, D. C., 1989, Ichthio-Archeologisch onderzoek: methoden en toepassing aan de hand van romeins vismaterial uit Velsen (Nederland). Ph. D. Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Desse-Berset, N., Radu, V., 1996. Stratégies d’échantillonnage et d’exploitation des restes osseux de poissons pour une approche paléoenvironnementale et paléoéconomique: l’exemple d’Hârşova Roumanie, (Néolithique finalChalcolithique), in: Actes du colloque de Périgueux 1995, Supplément à la Revue d’Archéométrie, (1996), p. 181-186. Moise, D., 1997. Archaeological researches at Borduşani-Popină (Ialomiţa county). Preliminary report 1993-1994. Archaeozoology. Mammals. Cercetări arheologice, 10, p. 48-63. Popovici, D., Randoin, B., Ryalland, Y., Voinea, V., Vlad, V., Bem, C., Bem, Carmen, Haită, G., 2000, Les recherches archéologiques du tell de Hârşova (dép. de Constanţa) 1997-1998, Cercetări Arheologice, 11, vol. 1, p. 13-35. Popovici. D., Bălăşescu, A., Haită, C., Radu, V., Tomescu, A. M. F., Tomescu, I., 2002, Cercetarea arheologică pluridisciplinară. Concepte, metode şi tehnici, Cetatea de Scaun. Târgovişte. Radu, V., 1997, Archaeological researches at Borduşani-Popina (Ialomiţa county). Preliminary report 1993-1994. Eneolithic occupation. Archaeozoology. Pisce,. Cercetări arheologice, 10, p. 96-105. Radu, V., 1998,. Les poissons du bas Danube. Approche archéo-ichthyologique, Diplome d’Etudes Aprofondies 1997-1998, Université Aix-Marseille I, Aix en Provence.

164

Radu, V., 2000, Sur la durée d’utilisation d’un dépotoir appartenant à la culture Gumelnita A2 du tell d’Hârsova. Etude archéologique préliminaire, Cercetări arheologice 11, p. 75–83. Radu, V. 2003, Exploitation des ressources aquatiques dans les cultures néolithiques et chalcolithiques de la Roumanie Méridionale. Thèse doctorat, Université Aix-Marseille I, Aix en Provence, 436 p.

165

Tab. 2. Estimation of fish size. Stratigraphic units

bone

References

M1 M2 M3

Total Weight length (mm) (g)

Esox lucius 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488

cleithrum cleithrum cleithrum cleithrum cleithrum cleithrum cleithrum cleithrum cleithrum cleithrum

Brinkhuizen 1989 Brinkhuizen 1989 Brinkhuizen 1989 Brinkhuizen 1989 Brinkhuizen 1989 Brinkhuizen 1989 Brinkhuizen 1989 Brinkhuizen 1989 Brinkhuizen 1989 Brinkhuizen 1989

1488 1488 1488

ossa pharyngea Radu, 1998 ossa pharyngea Radu, 1998 ossa pharyngea Radu, 1998

1488 1488 1488

ossa pharyngea reference collection ossa pharyngea reference collection ossa pharyngea reference collection

2,1 1,5 1,3 4,2 3,9 3,1 2,7 2,2 1,4 0,7

548 440 404 923 870 727 655 566 422 297

1097 544 414 5809 4798 2700 1938 1214 477 155

4 4,1 2,7

291 299 200

283 306 83

1,8 2,2 2,6

255 293 331

146 228 337

10,7 5,8 8,4

206 119 165

107 32 66

142 182 257 193 128 152 98 63 169 121 159 159 80 145 217

45 96 265 113 34 56 15 4 76 29 64 64 8 49 159

Abramis brama

Aspius aspius

Blicca bjoerkna 1488 1488 1488

ossa pharyngea reference collection ossa pharyngea reference collection ossa pharyngea reference collection

1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488

ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea

Cyprinus carpio Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998

5,8 7 9,2 7,3 5,4 6,1 4,5 3,5 6,6 5,2 6,3 6,3 4 5,9 8

166

Stratigraphic units 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488

bone ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea

References

M1 M2 M3

Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998

8,3 4,1 7,4 6,4 3,3 3,7 7,7 3,7 5,8 2,7 4,3 5,2 8,6 8,5 9,2 8,6 9,3 9,7 10,1 9,3 10,7 9,1 9,4 10,3 9,1 9,7 11,5 12,1 11,2 16,5 16,7 19,6 21,7 21 17,4 10,6 9,5 6,3 8,3 16,1 12,8 11

167

Total Weight length (mm) (g) 227 182 84 10 196 119 162 68 57 3 70 6 206 138 70 6 142 45 36 1 91 12 121 29 237 208 234 199 257 265 237 208 261 276 274 321 288 370 261 276 308 453 254 255 264 287 295 397 254 255 274 321 336 582 356 693 325 531 506 1956 513 2035 611 3425 683 4750 659 4276 536 2328 305 439 268 298 159 64 227 182 492 1805 380 839 319 499

Stratigraphic units 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488

bone ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea ossa pharyngea

References

M1 M2 M3

Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998

10,7 8,7 8,3 9,7 8,3 10,2 7,9 9,3 8,3 9,4 8,9 7,9 6,7 9,2 9,4 8,1 9,8 7,8 6,8 7,2 6,7 10,9 7,5 5,6 8,3 7,5 6,5 8,7 6,7 7,3 7,1 8,3 6,6 9,7 7,3 7,5 9,3 5,1 8,9 6 5,6

168

Total Weight length (mm) (g) 308 453 240 217 227 182 274 321 227 182 291 383 213 152 261 276 227 182 264 287 247 236 213 152 172 81 257 265 264 287 220 167 278 333 210 145 176 86 189 107 172 81 315 483 200 125 135 39 227 182 200 125 166 72 240 217 172 81 193 113 186 101 227 182 169 76 272 321 193 113 200 125 261 276 118 26 247 236 149 52 135 39

Stratigraphic units

bone

References

M1 M2 M3

Total Weight length (mm) (g)

Rutilus rutilus 1488 1488 1488

ossa pharyngea Brinkhuizen, 1989 ossa pharyngea Brinkhuizen, 1989 ossa pharyngea Brinkhuizen, 1989

10,6 9,8 9,3

174 164 158

122 52 45

12,5

213

133

2314 1362 1250 986 861 757 576 472 417 465 430 1084 993 931 479 555 458 486 354 347 368 360 312 360

83100 17009 13182 6482 4320 2936 1298 714 493 683 542 8589 6619 5449 746 1162 653 779 302 284 338 320 207 320

223 268 299

156 270 369

389 426

495 657

Scardinius erythrophtalmus 1488

ossa pharyngea Brinkhuizen, 1989

1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488

pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis pinna pectoralis

Silurus glanis Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998

32,8 19,1 17,5 13,7 11,9 10,4 7,8 6,3 6 6,2 5,7 15,1 13,8 12,9 6,4 7,5 6,1 6,5 4,6 4,5 4,8 4,7 4 4,7

Perca fluviatilis 1488 1488 1488

hyomandibulare reference collection hyomandibulare reference collection hyomandibulare reference collection

1488 1488

cleithrum cleithrum

6,5 8 9

Stizotedion lucioperca Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998

1,6 1,8

169

Stratigraphic units 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488 1488

bone

References

M1 M2 M3

cleithrum cleithrum cleithrum cleithrum cleithrum cleithrum cleithrum

Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998 Radu, 1998

2,5 2 2,6 2,2 4 2,3 2,2

170

Total Weight length (mm) (g) 555 1507 463 852 573 1670 500 1084 830 5361 518 1214 500 1084

VII. The use of palaeoecology in the process of ecological reconstruction: archaeological site Borduşani - Popină from Balta Ialomiţei wetland Valentin DUMITRAŞCU Corina GHEORGHIU

Abstract The main aim of this paper is to offer a comparative image of the Borduşani floodplain before and after the major anthropic impact that drained the area (the damming from the XXth Century) and to propose a brief environmental reconstruction and sustainable development project for this area, as part of the Lower Danube Wetland System. Introduction Palaeoecology is very useful for the integrated management of ecosystems, being the only scientific domain that allows us to search the past and offers a reference background previous the major human impact from the past 2 – 3 thousand years. Useful palaeoecological information regarding the history and eventually the ecological reconstruction of an area that contains an archaeological site can be obtained by integrating data provided from archaeozoological, carpological, palinological, anthracological, sedimentological and micromorfological researches. The tells have the property to preserve and pass the information along the millennia as the site’s stratigraphy also maintain data regarding the existing environment. These structures can be considered true archaeological and palaeoecological data banks. Pluridisciplinary researches made at this site offer the possibility to reconstitute the structure and dynamics of the ecosystems neighbouring the tell during the Neo-Eneolithic and La Tène (getic) periods. Pluridisciplinary researches in the Borduşani - Popină archaeological site were initiated in 1993 by the following team: Constantin Haită (microsedimentology), Dragoş Moise (archaeozoology), Adrian Bălăşescu (archaeozoology), Valentin Radu (archaeoichtyology), Mihai Tomescu (palinology) and Iulia Tomescu (antracology) (Marinescu-Bîlcu, 1997). The faunal and vegetal remnants discovered during the archaeological digging campaigns prove themselves as an important source of palaeoecological 173

information. The analysis of sediments and biological remnants show the ecosystems changes at local and even regional scale. For the detection of environmental changes in an archaeological site it is necessary to gather all the archaeological and palaeoecological data that follow the site’s stratigraphy. The results of this integrated analysis may sometimes estimate if the environmental changes occurred during time or as a consequence of human activities or if they occurred naturally. VII. 1. State of the environment during the Prehistorical times VII. 1. 1. Study of the wooden material The palaeoecological study of the wooden material from Borduşani Popină was made by Iulia Tomescu and showed the predominance of hydrophilic species. These species (poplar, willow, etc.) were dominating the plant communities during the times of the Gumelniţa Culture (4600–3900 B.C.; Bem, 2001). The hard essence tree associations (oaks, elm trees, ash trees, etc.) were also parts of the ecosystems neighbouring the tell, but placed only on mounds and other higher altitude, not flooded (or only exceptionally flooded at highest Danube waters) areas (I. Tomescu, present volume). The Eneolithic trees vegetation around the site consisted of wide forest species related to the presence of water and rhythmicity of floods. In the present, the forests had been replaced with plantations (selected species of poplar and willow, Pl. 1/1), and the floods have a totally different dynamics, as a result of the damming process. VII. 1. 2. Study of the faunal remains The faunal remains discovered at Borduşani, belonging to the Gastropoda, Bivalvia, Crustacea, Pisces, Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves and Mammalia classes, prove the existence of wetlands and wide neighbouring forests during the Eneolithic and La Tène periods. If we are comparing the data from Aeneolithic with those from La Tène we can conclude that there are no significant differences in biodiversity and wetland specificity of the area (Bălăşescu, Radu, Venczel, Kesler, Gál, Moise, 1997). The analysis of Gastropoda remnants identified 23 aquatic and terrestrial species that may provide important palaeoenvironmental information. aquatic gastropods: Theodoxus danubialis, T. fluviatilis, Viviparus acerosus, V. contectus, Valvata pulchella, V. piscinalis, Lithoglyphus naticoides, Bithynia tentaculata, B. leachi, Esperiana esperi, E. acicularis, Radix peregra, Planorbis planorbis, Planorbarius corneus, 174

terrestrial gastropods: Condrula tridens, Oxychilus inopinatus, Helicella obvia, Euomphalia strigella, Lindholmiola corcryensis, Campilea faustina, Campilea balcanica, Helix pomatia, Caepea vindobonensis. The aquatic gastropods (328 individuals) are predominant in comparison with the terrestrial ones (60 individuals) (Sárkány–Kiss and Boloş, inédit a and b). The following Bivalvia species were identified: Unio tumidus, U. crassus, U. pictorum, Pseudanodonta complanata, Anodonta cygnaea, A. anatina, Sphaerium solidum, Dreissena polymorpha and Cerastoderma edule. The unionids (river shellfish) were predominant, and among the crustaceans only the common river crawfish (Astacus fluviatilis) was identified (Sárkány–Kiss and Boloş inédit a and b). There were identified 22 fish species, belonging both to the main Danube environment as well as to the connected lakes, ponds and floodplains: Silurus glanis (wels catfish), Stizostedion luciopera (zander/pikeperch), Esox lucius (pike), Cyprinus carpio (carp), Abramis brama danubii (Danube bream), Perca fluviatilis (perch), Alburnus alburnus (bleak), Aspius aspius (asp), Barbus barbus (barbel), Carassius carassius (crucian), Leuciscus idus (ide), Leuciscus cephalus (chub), Tinca tinca (tench), Scardinius erythrophthalmus, Rutilus rutilus carpathorossicus (roach), Pelecus cultratus (ziege), Acerina cernua (pope), Alosa pontica (Pontic shad) and also sturgeons: Huso huso (beluga sturgeon), Acipenser guldenstadi (Black Sea sturgeon), Acipenser ruthenus (sterlet) and Acipenser stellatus (sevruga) (Radu, 1997). The amphibian fragments were provided only from Rana esculenta (edible frog); for the Reptilia class was identified Emys orbicularis (European pond turtle). Both species prefer slow running waters, marshy zones or lakes (Venczel, 1997). The bird species belong to 9 orders: Podicipediformes (divers), Pelecaniformes (cormorants), Ciconiiformes (egrets, storks, heron), Anseriformes (swans, wild geese, ducks), Accipitriformes (eagles), Galliformes (grouses, partridges), Gruiformes (moor hens), Coraciiformes (hoopoes), Passeriformes (crows, swallows, sand-martins, jays, etc) (Gál and Kessler, 1997, 2002 and the present volume) Grouping the identified bird species according to their environmental preferences, we reached the conclusion that the dominant species within the Borduşani area were those living in wetland areas (70%). The other species were environmental indicators for steppes (15%) and forests (15%). The archaeozoological research of mammal skeleton fragments showed the existence of the following wild species: Equus cf. caballus (wild horse), Bos primigenius (auroch), Cervus elaphus (common deer), Capreolus capreolus 175

(roebuck), Sus scrofa (boar), Canis lupus (wolf), Vulpes vulpes (fox), Felis silvestris (wild cat), Lynx lynx (lynx), Meles meles (badger), Lutra lutra (otter), Martes sp (marten), Mustela putorius (polecat), Lepus europaeus (rabbit), Castor fiber (beaver) (Moise, 1997, Bălăşescu, 1997, Bălăşescu et al., present volume). Out of these species, several are strictly related to the existence of forest ecosystems: Cervus elaphus (at present disappeared from the area), Sus scrofa (quite seldom), Martes martes, Lynx lynx and Felis silvestris (in present, limited to mountain forests, mainly because of the human load). The wolf was systematically eliminated from the Danube floodplain, being replaced in the recent period by the jackal (Canis aureus), migrated from the South. Other species preferred the forest skirts: Bos primigenius (extinct, disappeared from the Romanian fauna at the end of the XVIth Century and the beginning of the XVIIth Century), Lepus europaeus and Capreolus capreolus that are quite rare in this area nowadays. Among the species related to the aquatic environment there were identified Lutra lutra and Castor fiber, the latter becoming extinct in Romania by the end of the XIXth Century. The beaver is tightly connected both to the aquatic environment and to the existence of soft wood trees (poplars, willows). This is a key species that modifies the biotope within certain limits and generates a large diversity of habitats. Its disappearance from an area is generally followed by a decrease in biodiversity. The beavers are true “engineers” of the ecosystems, as their activities modify the hydrology, the airing and the carbon inputs into the soil, which facilitates the production of greenhouse gases, such as methane and carbon dioxide (Cogălniceanu, 1999). Efforts for the reintroduction of the beavers are presently made in many European countries and in Romania. VII. 2. Current state and economic potential of the area Balta Ialomiţei (also called Borcea Island, with an area of 801 km2 that include Borduşani zone), the Small and Big Islands of Brăila (876 km2) and the lateral flooding areas (736 km2) are the main components of the Danube’s Internal Delta (2413 km2), included in the Lower Danube Wetland System (LDWS). Grigore Antipa made the first studies about the natural stock value at the beginning of the XXth Century. In the paper called “Regiunea inundabilă a Dunării. Starea ei actuală şi mijloacele de a o pune în valoare” (1910), he analysed the Danube regularization and wetlands` transformation in arable lands (by draining and damming works). Even since that period the author focused his attention on the wetland ecosystems very high productive potential, their role in the 176

biogeochemical circuits, wastes treatment or climate regulation. Grigore Antipa had suggested to maintain the floodplains and to regulate the ponds in order to increase fishing proficiency; also he suggested embanking only the sand banks as agriculture land source. The most extensive and severe structural changes in the LDWS occurred during the 1960’s and 1980’s by implementing management plans which were targeted mostly on substitution of the natural and seminatural wetland ecosystems with intensive crop, livestock or fish farms and tree plantations. By the end of 1989, the work was completed in different degrees in the main subunits of the LDWS. In the inner Danube delta, 80% of the former ecosystems had been replaced by intensive agricultural farms, 3% into tree plantations and 2% intensive fish farms. The most affected functions of the LDWS are those dealing with the production of the renewable biological sources and nutrient retention (Integrated Management Plan for the Small Island of Brăila - a LIFE NATURA project, LIFE99 NAT/RO/006400). A study made by the authors in the Borduşani area (Gheorghiu, 2003), proves the productivity decrease comparing to the high potential of this wetland system, as a result of the deterioration of the natural capital and of the poor administration of the natural and seminatural ecosystems (Tab. 1). Types of Goods and Services Animal products* Food (vegetable and cereals) Timber Honey bees + Medicinal plants Tourism Subtotal Nutrient retention Flood control** Biodiversity maintenance*** TOTAL

Direct (tradable goods) 50 150

Valuation method Indirect WP(mitigation willingness to cost) pay

Total USD

50 20 150 420 1270 200 110

420 1270 200 110 2000

Tab. 1. Total potential economic value for the Borduşani wetland (USD/ha/an). * Value obtained from the selling price minus the production costs; ** The costs for the protection of the polders and the settlements during the spring floods; *** 6 USD/person/year from 6 % of Romanian population. 177

A comparative analysis of the natural capital at the beginning of the XXth Century with the one in the present days shows a very quick degradation of the Danube wetland ecosystems. This degradation is due to the Danube regularization works and also to the wetland ecosystems transformation into intensive agricultural areas. With only very low input of auxiliary commercial energy, the former wetland floodplain ecosystems were able to provide an average amount of 6.000 t of fish per year, 70.000 t of cereals per year and have provided annually food for more than 100.000 of animals (mostly cattle, pigs and sheep), as well as important quantities of reed and wood (Antipa, 1910). The agrosystem established after the draining of the wetlands supplies less than 7 tons of maize and 5 tons of wheat/ha/year. Considering the important auxiliary energy input we conclude that this agrosystem has a very low efficiency. Translating into monetary units, for a total cost required by the agricultural works of about 850–1050 USD/ha/year, the expected financial income is of 800-1000 USD/ha/year. The expected incomes of natural and seminatural systems are twice as big than the man-dominated systems, while the inputs are negligible or at most 25% of the incomes (in seminatural and traditional agriculture systems) (Integrated Management Plan for the Small Island of Brăila – a LIFE NATURA project, LIFE99 NAT/RO/006400). The former natural forest had been cleared, now the area is the subject of a intensive forest exploitation. The present forest consists of poplar (especially Populus canadensis) and willow plantations, cut every 25 – 30 years, while the land, divided in parcels, is cyclically cleared and replanted (Pl.1/2). The forest ecosystem (even-aged forest, Pl. 2/1) does not reach maturity and this fact maintains a minimal diversity, having as a result the decrease of its adaptability and resistance to various disturbing factors (e.g. the Amorpha fruticosa invasion). The human impact/load on the structure and functioning of the Borduşani area, as part of the Lower Danube System, has had the following results: the diminishing of the wetlands area and the decrease of biodiversity (specific, genetic and ecosystemic diversity); the diminishing of the production quantity and ratio, as well as the quality of the renewable resources; the diminishing of the wetlands areas actively involved in the nutrient retention; the loss of several natural services, such as: waste recycling, soil formation, nitrogen and CO2 fixation, biologic pests control etc; 178

significant decrease of the water retention capacity and of the floods abatement/control; eutrophication and water pollution; extreme simplification of the trophic network structure. Nevertheless, several characteristics still maintain as in the times when the tell was inhabited: the existence of the flood (Pl. 2/2) caused by the Danube (even if the dynamics is changed), a part of the lakes complex and marshy zones, a small part of the initial tree and herbaceous vegetation (Tomescu, present volume). VII. 3. Reconstruction/ rehabilitation The ecological reconstruction process means the deliberate change of a degraded ecosystem in order to partially re-establish its structure and, mostly, its functions, either at the level previous to the degradation or at least better than the degraded ecosystem. Reconstructing the degraded ecosystems also helps extend the protected areas system and/or contributes to their connectivity. In particular, the reconstruction of a degraded wetland implies to restore hydric soil conditions, hydrologic conditions, hydrophilic plant communities, specific fauna and characteristic functions of the ecosystem. In order to perform a project of this type is needed to select a reference system/moment. Practically, it is considered that the natural environmental systems with an insignificant anthropic impact are the ideal term of comparison that helps to quantify the studied parameters. It is not necessary that the environmental objective (reconstituted environment) totally matches the reference system, therefore the purpose is not necessary the return to the initial environmental state. The reference system can be established either by the comparison with resembling natural ecosystems or by studying the historical data from the period previous to the environment degradation, as well as by the involvement of existing theoretical models (Cogălniceanu, 1999). The reference system/moment of the Borduşani area ecosystems complex can be considered either after the analysis of the historical data from the Popina Borduşani archaeological site or directly by adopting the natural ecosystems from Balta Mică a Brăilei (Small Island of Brăila). A severe altered ecosystem shall never be reconstituted to the same initial structure and functions. In this case, the introduction of disappeared species and the clearing out of allogenous species will be very expensive. We nevertheless consider several interventions as very useful, mainly in what regards the Amorpha fruticosa populations’ control (invading plant species).

179

Amorpha fruticosa (Pl. 2/3) hydrophilic species originates from North America and in Romania is an invading plant that develops well in disturbed ecosystems (opportunistic species). It is an important species in secondary environmental sequences, in areas where the human activities are diminishing and the poplar/willow plantation is left to grow for approximately 25-30 years. Under these circumstances, this plant takes advantage of the soil humidity and becomes the most important colonising species, as can be well observed in the study area. The plants and/or animals invasions frequently followed by true explosions in numbers of these species individuals, occur easier and more frequent in simple biocenosis (Elton, 1958), e.g. insular biocenosis or biocenosis that were simplified as a result of the human intervention (agrosystems, forest plantations, etc.). In the Balta Ialomiţei wetland, the Amorpha fruticosa invasion was helped by the simplified ecosystems (replacement of natural forest with plantations). This invasion may have also other consequences. The activity of the biocenosis modifies the biotope (Botnariuc and Vădineanu, 1982). Thus, the leguminous plants from terrestrial ecosystems (Amorpha fruticosa is a leguminous plant), living in symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, helps enrich the soil in nitrogen. This improves the access of more pretentious plants to nitrogen. This fact may have unexpected future impacts on the structure of Balta Ialomiţei wetland biocenosis. The environmental reconstruction offers a chance for the increment of biologic diversity in degraded ecosystems with a low value (economic, scientific, aesthetic, testamentary) for the human communities. Balta Ialomiţei is an important wetland that lost most of its functions due to the altering induced by the embankment and change into arable land. The causes of this degradation (of this area, as well as of other wetlands along the Danube floodplains and Delta) lies mainly in the ignorance (deliberate or unconscious) of their environmental functions (habitat for floodplains species, sources of biodiversity, sediments and nutrients retention, etc.). Conclusions Archaeological sites offer useful palaeoecological information, as they maintain in their structure proofs from the lives of past human communities as well as from the interrelating animal and vegetal associations. The study of the biological remnants discovered in the Borduşani Popină archaeological site offers valuable data about the palaeoenvironmental evolution and comparisons with the current situation are also possible. For example: 180

The presence of mammals and birds typical for forests and steppes, coexisting with those characteristic of the Danube wetlands, prove the existence of massive forests during the Eneolithic and La Tène period, combined also with silvosteppe and steppe environments; The dynamics of various species from this area (including the moment and causes of the disappearance) can be observed; Current biodiversity level (especially the specific richness and ecosystemic diversity) from Balta Ialomiţei is very depleted in comparison with the situation from the prehistorical times, due mainly to the strong anthropisation from the XXth Century. The integration of data regarding Eneolithic and La Tène sediments, vegetation, fauna and human populations permits a holistic interpretation about the environmental structure and dynamics along a specified time interval (of course, with due cautions). A reference moment for an eventual ecological reconstruction of Balta Ialomiţei ecosystems can be established on the basis of this interpretation. Taking into account the importance and potential of this ecosystems complex, we consider necessary the initiation of an ecological reconstruction project. We also think that the management of the area should be subject to the sustainability principles and should involve both directly interested local authorities and central institutions (such as the Romanian History National Museum that performs archaeological researches in the area). The economic and scientific potential can be rationally exploited by declaring the area as a protected area with managed resources, i.e. a protected area whose management aims at the sustainable use of resources from the natural/seminatural environments. The following managements purposes are proposed as prioritary: Scientific research – the tell archaeological research and biological/ecological research of the area; Wildlife protection – wetland migrating bird populations must be considered as most important (most of these species are listed on the Annex of Birds Directive from the Natura 2000 European Programme); Conservation of specific wetlands species and ecosystems; Improvement and maintenance of environmental services: control of the climate, water and air quality, hydrologic regime, nutrients recycling and stocking; Ecotourism and leisure – potentially important income sources for the local population;

181

Education – at the present time the tell is a practice archaeological digging site for students from Bucharest, Constanţa and Târgovişte universities. Future educational possibilities may include field activities for ecology, biology, forest management students etc.; Sustainable use of the natural/seminatural ecosystems resources: fish, game, timber, medicinal plants, fungi etc; Maintenance of traditional cultural characteristics – in the neighbouring village (Borduşani) still lives a compact community of 500 lippovans who maintained the traditional language, religion, folkloric suites, way of life (including traditional fishing). The three lakes from the ecosystems complex are inadequately exploited. A sustainable management system becomes thus necessary, as it would provide higher profits. Thus, strict measures must be applied in order to discourage poaching and allowing only of subsistence traditional fishing for the local community. The protection of migratory birds habitats is very important and must be made by the lakes, islands and lake banks special protection. It is also recommended to limit the timber exploitation and the maintenance of several forest areas, activity aiming to help bring ecosystems to maturity (especially around lakes) and the implicit creation of habitats for the existing fauna. The sustainable management of the area will increase its total value, the usable value (direct, indirect and optional) and unusable (testamentary and existential): Direct value – exploitation of renewable resources, directly quantifiable from: - Subsistence: hunting, fishing, harvest; - Recreation: sport hunting and fishing; - National and international tourism: visits and photo sessions to the tell, lakes, camping, etc. – these activities bring incomes that are afterwards reinvested in the management of the area; Indirect value – ecosystems functions: - Control of the atmosphere’s chemical composition; - Control of the hydrological circuit: diminishing the flood impacts, limiting of erosion, water biological filtering; - Pedogenesis and soils protection; - Pests control: predators, parasites, vectors; - Pollination of plants with direct value; 182

- Nutrient stocking and recycling – wastes degradation and decomposition; - Creation of reproduction and food habitats/areas for a series of rare bird species; - Sustainable exploitation of regenerating resources: -recreation for tourism (ecotourism), sport hunting and fishing; Optional value – maintenance of the genetic diversity; Testamentary value – the sustainable exploitation of the regenerating resources assures their time continuity, and makes them available to the future generations; Existential value (ethic, aesthetic, religious) – man’s ethic responsibility to conserve biodiversity (Cogălniceanu, 1999).

References Antipa, G., 1910, Regiunea inundabilă a Dunării. Starea ei actuală şi mijloacele de a o pune în valoare. Bucharest, 318 p. Bălăşescu, A., 1997, Archaeozoology, in: Archaeological Researches at Borduşani – Popină (Ialomiţa county) Preliminary Report 1993-1994, Cercetări arheologice X, p. 48-63. Bem, C., 2001, Noi propuneri pentru o schiţă cronologică a Eneoliticului românesc. Pontica, 33-34, p. 25-121. Botnariuc, N., Vădineanu, A., 1982, Ecologie, Editura didactică şi pedagogică, Bucharest. Cogălniceanu, D., 1999, Managementul capitalului natural, Editura Ars Docendi, Bucharest. Elton, Ch. S., 1958, The ecology of Invasions by animals and plants. London. (Ed. Rusă, Moscow, 1960). Gál, E., Kessler, E., 1997, Aves, in: Archaeological Researches at Borduşani – Popină (Ialomiţa county) Preliminary Report 1993-1994, Cercetări arheologice X, p. 108-109. Gál, E., Kessler, E., 2002, Bird remains from the Eneolithic and Iron Age site Bordusani-Popină and Eneolithic site Hârşova (Southeast Romania). Acta zoologica cracoviensia, 45 (special issue), Kracow, p. 253-262.

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Gheorghiu, C., 2003, Natural stock evaluation in the Borduşani area, Unpublished Bachelor of Science Thesis, Biology Faculty, University of Bucharest. Marinescu-Bîlcu, S., 1997, Historical background. in: Archaeological Researches at Borduşani - Popină (Ialomiţa county), Preliminary Report 1993-1994, Cercetări arheologice X, p. 35-38. Moise, D., 1997, Mammals. in: Archaeological Researches at Borduşani – Popină (Ialomiţa county) Preliminary Report 1993-1994), Cercetări arheologice X, p. 110-127. Radu, V., 1997, Archaeozoology. Pisces. in: Archaeological Researches at Borduşani – Popină (Ialomiţa county) Preliminary Report 1993-1994) în: Cercetări arheologice X, p. 96-105. Sárkány-Kiss, A., Boloş, F., (inedit a). Investigation of the Malacological Material of the Neo–Eneolithic Settlement at Borduşani. Communication made at the International Colloquium “Life on the Danube banks 6500 years ago”, Romanian History National Museum, Bucharest, November 13–15, 1996. Sárkány-Kiss, A., Boloş, F., (inédit b). Malacological Aspects of the Archaeological Excavations in the Neo–Eneolithic Settlement at Hârşova. Communication made at the International Colloquium “Life on the Danube banks 6500 years ago”, Romanian History National Museum, Bucharest, November 13–15, 1996. Venczel, M., 1997, Amphibians and reptiles, in: Archaeological Researches at Borduşani – Popină (Ialomiţa county), Preliminary Report 1993-1994, Cercetări arheologice X, p. 126-127. Integrated Management Plan for the Small Island of Brăila– a LIFE NATURA project, LIFE99 NAT/RO/006400 (http://www.bio.unibuc.ro/ecology/life).

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1.

“Bentul Mare” lake surrounded by poplar and willow forest parcels of different ages.

2. Cleared parcel in order to be replanted. It’s also obvious the even-aged structure of the remaining forest parcels.

Pl. 1. Some aspects regarding the structure and management of the forest plantation.

1. Monospecific and even-aged forest parcel of Populus canadensis.

2. Adventive roots on a willow branch, showing the level of the last flood.

3. Amorpha fruticosa L.-invading plant in LDWS, originating from North America.

Pl. 2. Some aspects regarding the structure and dynamics of the Borduşani wetland systems.

VIII. CONCLUSIONS

One of this volume’s main aims is the completion of a methodology that should mark another stage of the analysis begun here and at Hârşova (Randoin et al., 2000; Popovici et al., 2001). We therefore aimed both at the development of an adequate analysis methodology for various data categories as well as the making of a diagnose concerning the knowledge of the human communities evolution at Borduşani - Popină. The first results (Marinescu-Bîlcu et al., 1997) synthetically mark this beginning. Now the main purpose has been the attempt to define several archaeological complexes discovered and studied during the previous year from several points of view. The essential purpose aimed at the completion of a methodology that should mainly allow, on the basis of discovered materials, the reconstitution and understanding of the various activities developed here by the Gumelniţean community. First of all, we must make several general specifications about the site stratigraphy that may help understand the general evolution of anthropic settlements. Diggings made on the α level pointed out that the archaeological sediment that corresponds to the last Gumelniţa inhabiting level (below the level corresponding to the La Tène epoch) has a generalized brown-red homogeneous color, without clear interfaces. This fact was interpreted as marking a period when, after the Eneolithic inhabitance, Popina was abandoned. The sediment was weathered and thus this homogeneity of various stratigraphic units appeared. As a consequence, its research was even more difficult (another difficulty was added by the lack of current water). These difficulties regard the „deciphering” of interfaces between various stratigraphic units. Under these conditions, the team’s attention was focused on the research of all existing categories of archaeological complexes in order to understand as well as possible the Gumelniţa settlement characteristics. In what regards the state of conservation, it was observed that most of the complexes were affected by stratigraphic disturbances induced by subsequent inhabiting complexes. The most important such subsequent complexes are from the La Tène epoch and their effects go as deep as 3 m. These disturbances took place at least on the entire studied, northern part of the tell. 185

The human-made stratigraphic disturbances are accompanied by bioturbations generally made by various animals (e.g. foxes, if we also consider the frequency of fox skeletons). These animals fled to the tell`s neighborhood, where they dug their burrows, especially during the Danube flood periods (generally during spring and autumn). At its turn, this induced incredibly vast disturbances of various complexes and transported various artifacts in some cases for meters either horizontally or vertically. We remark that mainly the tell`s external areas were affected by such disturbances and this constitutes a peculiarity of the site. All these aspects must have been taken into account during the digging campaigns and this obviously induced the expelling of this category of materials during this phase of research. In what regards the areal organization, distribution and land use, we must mention that the Gumelniţean dwellings have rectangular shapes and were generally N-S oriented, with some small deviations. The cases studied till the current time, even though incomplete, suggest that these were grouped in E-W oriented rows, separated by passages. The widths of these passages vary between 1 and 1.2 m. Same as at Hârşova, the settlements` area seems to have been thoroughly organized. An argument is the building of dwellings on the same location, with only small lateral variations. The digging of the foundation trenches induces in most cases the destruction of the walls belonging to the previous building; this thing limits the possibility of an integral research. There is another very important aspect that should be mentioned. At Hârşova (Popovici et al., 2001) we had observed that in some cases the area of abandoned former dwellings was used as dump heaps for domestic wastes (very probably by the inhabitants of neighboring dwellings) and, this brought to the formation of a type of complexes defined as domestic wastes areas. Their research allowed us to obtain very important data about the resources management and also helped us study the local Gumelniţa community behaviors. In the case of the Borduşani settlement, the observations made during the field researches showed the existence of a partially different type of complexes. Its main feature consists of the secondary use of the passage areas also for the depositing of such domestic wastes. This situation has a particular importance for the better understanding of the spatial organization, arrangement and use. Thus, the two categories of arranged space from the Borduşani Popina are in much more complex relations, and the data obtained so far suggest that for their understanding we must consider their strictly interconnected evolution. The dwellings analysis helps us observe the existence of building solutions common to both settlements and not only. These are structures with 186

foundation trenches for the walls and simple clay floor with successive restorations. Sometimes these are organized in two rooms, with generally not equal areas. Observations made at SL. 33, with a better-preserved area, suggest such a possibility. The placement of the burning structure and the spatial distribution of various pottery categories suggest a functional structure of the inner space that should be studied also in the future. Sedimentology and micromorphology The micromorphological study presented in the current volume is the first one to be dedicated to this type of (passage) space at Borduşani and aimed at emphasizing its characteristics, as they were discovered. As a consequence, we can affirm that this area is individualized by its microscopic attributes that were interpreted as formed in a passage area that had secondarily been used for other types of activities in relation with the neighboring built structures. The studied sedimentary succession certainly is the result mainly of human activities, as it corresponds to an area outside the dwelling, with an important accumulation of repeated human activities products. In what regards the area organization we can remark an emphasized integration, as the studied area was deliberately dedicated as a part of the settlement’s space with a precise functionality. It was possible to observe a type of periodical arrangement that suggests a specific maintenance, as proved by accumulations of sediments with less organic compounds, or of clay more or less mixed with organic compounds. These accumulations were deliberately laid, probably to cover or level the entire area covered by domestic wastes. We must also mention that this activity is specific and rhythmic, being interrupted by occupational, respectively use, sequences. We nevertheless mention that till the present time no relics were discovered that might have allowed us to affirm the existence of stable structures, used for a longer time in this time of area. These observations allowed us believe that the main function of this type of area was the passage. It was practically possible to observe that this was a passage way also used for the periodic and punctual performing of other activities, such as cooking (in the dwellings` close vicinity) and storage of wastes provenient from activities performed in other areas (possibly inside the neighboring houses).

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Pottery The pottery analysis suggests the probable existence of a minimum number of about 70-80 pots in a dwelling; this digit is not exaggerate if we take into account the number of pots discovered in other better preserved burnt dwellings. This obviously is just a preliminary analysis and the presented results must be checked. This is not only a simple statement as only by subsequent checks and detailed further studies we can obtain profound analyses. We can remark that the dwellings` inventory consists mainly of pots with large dimensions probably used for the supplies storage. Next category of pots in what regards the frequency is represented by pots made of semi-fine paste, generally with medium dimensions and whose utilities are still difficult to be mentioned for the time being. Pots made of fine paste are the rarest and smallest among all discovered pottery. It is possible that the observation made for SL 33 may correspond to a more general situation. Under such circumstances, we must obviously take into account the pots` vertical distribution solutions. The situation observed at SL 33 must be checked also in other inhabiting structures in order to find out whether it is general or particular. The consequence of this conclusion is that the spatial structuring on the base of this model may correspond to specific use. Thus, we might define the types of activities that were performed in the inner and outer spaces. An observation must be made about the pottery typological comparative analysis. The study of the pottery share, of about 4017 pottery fragments, allowed us to establish 68 pottery variants in three archaeological complexes belonging to the same culture, phase and stage (Gumelniţa A2) from the same settlement. If we must principially admit a typological evolution from simple to complex, we must also underline the existence of a situation that cannot be ignored. Thus, the quasicontemporaneity of these variants must be remarked, as 18 variants are present in all three complexes that do not seem placed far from one another, neither stratigraphically nor most probably also chronologically. Future studies should establish if, and if yes, in what percentages, the differences regarding the typological variants frequencies are significant and from what point of view. Under such circumstances, the typological and analytical criteria of the pottery samples should first of all be adapted to the purpose of the research. Lithic inventory 212 pieces were discovered during the 2000-2003 digging campaigns and these constituted the analyzed samples share. 188

The most used raw material was flint – about 80% of the total, while the other rocks were the limestone and the Topalu green schist. Most of the possible sources are identifiable in Dobrogea (among these we mention the Ghindăreşti flint and the Topalu schist), even though the Danube River bed cannot be totally excluded as recovery source for a part of the raw materials. The number of production wastes (40), the also small number of cores (2) as well as the small number of rough blades attire the provisory conclusion that the raw material was not abundant. In what regards the raw materials sources, this also suggests the possible existence of two situations. The raw material was either primary processed in situ, at the outcrop, or indirectly obtained as half prepared blocks, probably as result of trades. For the moment it is difficult to decide which one of the two (if not both situations) existed at Borduşani. In what regards the typology, we observed the preponderance of retouched blades – 68, endscrapers–37 and flakes with use marks –33. Their distribution in relation with the archaeological circumstances and type of researched SU (about 14% in dwellings, about 29% in other types of complexes among whom stratigraphic disturbances such as holes or foundation trenches are predominant and about 46% in outer occupational levels), prove a situation that may eventually suggest a certain distribution of some activities within the settlement’s area. In the same idea, we also remark the production wastes situation – only 10.34% of them were discovered inside the inhabiting structures, while 24.48% in outer occupational SU. Same for the retouched flakes, more frequent in outer than in inner structures. Endscrapers were discovered in almost equal percentages between the 2 kinds of situations, while the retouched blades were mainly concentrated inside the inhabiting structures. Physical anthropology During these digging campaigns we discovered human skeletal fragments belonging to four individuals. The discoveries were made in the destruction level of SL 26 but also in holes and trenches. Out of these, two have ages belonging to the newborn category; one is of about 2 years old (infans I), while an individual is over 18. We could determine the sex for only one individual, which proved to be a female. The individual aged 2 years proved signs of a disease provoked by hyperostoza porotica. 189

Resources management Vegetal resources The performed anthracological analysis proved the domination of hygrophilous wooden species among the numerous carbonized or not wood fragments. Thus, most numerous are (in decreasing order): poplar, willow, elm, vine, cornel and oak. This situation proves the existence of an ecological system dominated by the presence of water but with local variations (also drier areas). The Gumelniţa community selectively used them and the use was applied to well determined purposes. This use aimed at obtaining very solid structures as well as a more efficient use of the existing structures (aiming at diminished efforts). Thus, the oak was generally used for resistance structures in various buildings and for the necessary beams, while poplar and willow were used for stakes with secondary roles in such structures. The remnants provenient from wood probably used for domestic purposes helped identify 5 taxa: Populus-Salix (54.2%), Populus, (19.4%), Ulmus, (16.7%), Vitis silvestris (4.2%), Cornus (2.8%) and Quercus (2.8%). This proves a very probable use of the neighboring resources. The presence of two taxa, Vitis silvestris and Cornus, is also interesting, as this proves not only the spatial relation but also their potential secondary use, as fuel wood. The probably very important fruit gathering is indirectly certified. Animal resources Mammals The studied share consists of numerous faunal remnants. There are over 10 000 fragments, out of whom 5284 (49%) were attributed to mammals. Out of these, only 2875 (54.4 %) were identified at a specific level. 5 domestic and 15 wild species were determined. The domestic individuals were predominant, with a computed 66.7% out of the total MNI. Domestic cattle bone fragments were 25.6 % of the share; individuals were medium to small sized. The sexually mature: mature ratio is of about 1:1.2. In conclusion, cattle were used both for meat as well as for their secondary products. It is important to mention that they were not used for traction. Statistics for Sus domesticus (pig) show his presence as 24.9% from the Number of Remnants. The analysis of sacrifice ages demonstrates that individuals aged between 8 to 10 months are predominant in the studied share. These were very possibly sacrificed during late autumn – winter periods, also due to the lack of fodder during the cold season. The sexually mature: mature ratio is of about 1:1.2 and the male: female ratio is 3:5. 190

It is possible to underline a specific type of relations between humans and pigs at Borduşani, defined by the pigs` raising in semi liberty. This situation may also explain the presence of bone fragments with a difficult specific establishing. Skeletal remnants of sheep/goat reach the level of 17.8 %, with predominant bone fragments from the appendicles skeleton. The sexually mature: mature ratio is of about 2.1:1 and this may prove that sheep/goat were used mainly for their secondary products (milk). Canis familiaris fragments are 12.8% out of the Number of Remnants. Significant aspects are: high frequency of the skull fragments and signs proving the skinning and emaciation. These data suggest that the dogs were considered as another, probably alternative meat resource. In what regards the wild mammals, we can conclude that the game consisted of big and medium sized species, such as the boar, deer, wild horse and auroch. The predominant predator is Vulpes vulpes (both as NR and MNI). This appears as normal due to its anthropophilic behavior; its fur was also secondarily used. The hunted game’s age and sex structure suggests the hypothesis of a non-selective hunting. Fish Fish is extremely important among the resources managed by the Borduşani Gumelniţa community. The stratigraphic sequence analyzed after the sieving of the sediment is punctual and with a brief temporal value. It is nevertheless significant in what regards the seasonal changes. Most of the consumed fish was very probably provenient from ponds and flooding areas. The statistic situation illustrates the studied sequence. Thus, carp is clearly superior in comparison with any other species from the analyzed share. The size variability of individuals belonging to other species suggests a nondiscriminatory, therefore opportunistic fishing made with specific tools. The tools were relatively simple: harpoons, baskets, and fences. Nets seem to have been less used, if we take into account the low frequency of weights discovered during the diggings. For the moment we nevertheless do not exclude the use of other types of weights.

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As it is possible that the accumulation period of the studied complex might have been the late spring, fishing probably was very popular among the Gumelniţa community members of the Popină. Mollusks, out of which shellfish represent 39% of the studied share, also prove as an alternative food resource for the summer periods. Bird fauna Till the present time, the bird study from Borduşani is the most complete from the entire Romanian archaeology. An important characteristic is the frequency of water birds: cormorant, white egret, gray heron, purple heron and stork. These are more frequent at Borduşani than at Hârşova, where terrestrial birds (small tree birds and predators) are abundant. Another characteristic of the analyzed samples is the fact that 52% of the identified species are migratory – reflecting thus an activity very probably developed during summer – beginning of autumn. Only 7% of the identified species are permanent. The specific structure proves the existence of diverse ecotypes in the tell`s area. This situation seems to confirm the present one, as the SE region of Romania is important from the ornithological point of view. This importance is due to the fact that this area is placed in a key point along the birds` migration trajectories. Another argument to this conclusion regards the fact that the identified species from the archaeological site are still present in the Romanian bird fauna (even though the specific area of several of the mentioned species is currently restrained to the mountain area). Bird hunting was probably made during the warm season (beginning of spring – autumn), that coincides with nesting and chicks` raising in the flooding areas near the site, while the passage hunt (made during autumn and winter) can be more presumed. Even though the bird hunting was certainly performed, the small number of discovered bird bones nevertheless affirm the low interest given to this seasonal activity. We remark that the sizes of most of the studied bird species were medium to big, being thus those that offered bigger meat quantities. It is nevertheless interesting that some bones belong to species presently considered as non-edible but probably eaten by the human communities of the times, such as the cormorant and the heron. This conclusion was drawn based on the frequency of discovered bones and parts of the body. The most hunted species from Borduşani was the wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos), followed by stork, swan, goose and raven. All body parts were consumed; skulls are significantly missing. 192

The value of wing and feathers was probably not very big or at least not significant. This may explain the low percentage of predator birds’ remnants, which very probably had an insignificant role for the local communities. We must also remark that the bird bones crafted by man are underrepresented in comparison with other classes of animals. The studied samples offer interesting information about the bones` treatment. Thus, they have frequent burn marks. The humerus fragments show boiling marks, proving thus the existence of a certain food processing of for some bird body parts. Based on the existing data we can come with the hypothesis that various alimentary treatments were used for heron and duck humerus, as the proximal part is missing, broken diaphyses and distal epiphysis are present. On the contrary, the distal part of swan and duck humerus suggest a similar breaking and gnawing method attributed to the possible bird body position on the fire during the cooking. Only one goose bone showed cutting marks. A second bird bones share is attributed to the La Tène epoch. 11 taxa were identified. Out of these, only 8 individual were identified at the specific level (only 0.7% of the total discovered bones). This situation may be interpreted as the expression either of brief inhabitance of the site or of a low interest in birds. The latter appears as the most probable possibility. We can also observe that this share differs from the eneolithic one, as pond, lake and marsh bird species are predominant. An interesting but normal appearance is the hen. This situation can be explained as an opportunistic exploitation of this meat resource category, where the hen had not played an important economic role. Bones from this share also have treatment, especially burning, marks. Studied complexes: SL. 29, C. 201 and SL. 33. The study of the archaeological inventory proves the existence of certain differences, even though several dimensions of these differences cannot receive equivalent terms. First, the quantitative aspects that characterize C. 201 (number of pottery fragments or presumed number of pots, lithic pieces, numbers of skeletons belonging to various animals) must be considered as containing a peculiar importance in what regards their consequences on the analysis of all archaeological inventory categories. It is obvious that any global study of this inventory cannot offer sure (or at least clearer) conclusions if the orginary human activity had not been previously determined. From a different point of view it is obvious that all analysis methods and techniques must be adapted to each categories` characteristics. Thus, in the case of 193

pottery, together with the precise definition of its purpose we must obtain as sure as possible data that should help us reconstitute and understand the various human activities and behaviors. This purpose can be made possible by an adequate digging as well as by the completion of a reference collection that should group as many as possible already discovered complete and reconstituted pots. In what regards the flint tools from the two dwellings (SL 29 and 33), we remark that no piece was discovered in the first, while the inventory from the latter is rich and various (7 pieces). Thus, it includes 2 blades, 1 endscraper, one arrow point, 1 hammer, a retouched flake and one production waste. The foundation trench contained 11 pieces. Their typological list includes 6 blades, out of who 5 retouched, 2 endscrapers, one retouched flake and 2 production wastes. For the time being we can only remark the higher frequency of flint pieces in the foundation trench fill. From the archaeozoological point of view, the two thoroughly studied complexes (SL 29 and SL 33) have different conservation states and surfaces. Several interesting situations must be mentioned. The number of remnants significantly varies between the two locations, being 31 in SL 29 and 107 in SL 33. Nevertheless, the number of identified species does not differ very much, especially in the case of domestic animals. Each site contained remnants from 5 domestic species. Small differences regard the number of wild species, two and three respectively, with Sus scrofa as a common species. The situation of C201 is radically different. Here the number of remnants (NR) was of 310 bones, therefore 10 times more than for SL. 29, three times more than for SL 33 and about twice as much as both SL 29 and 33 put together. Here five domestic and nine wild species were determined. We also remarked here that the dog bones are more numerous; this may be explained by the mixture with the domestic wastes disturbed during the digging of the trench. We can thus observe that their different origin, the different human activities respectively are obviously materialized by the presented various analyses performed by us. The differences observed between the three complexes must be considered during future researches. They must also be taken into account in the case of the applied research strategies for these types of sites. Their consequences have the same importance; they should be evaluated when effective sampling and sample collection techniques must be decided. Authors

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LIST OF AUTHORS (alphabetical order) Adrian BĂLĂŞESCU - National Center of Pluridisciplinary Researches, Romanian History National Museum, Calea Victoriei, 12, sector 3, 70412, Bucharest, Romania, [email protected] Daniela BĂNOIU - “Valahia” University at Târgovişte, Bd. Carol I, 2, 0200, Târgovişte, jud. Dâmboviţa., Romania Valentin DUMITRAŞCU - Institute of Archaeology “Vasile Pârvan” - Romanian Academy, Str. Henri Coandă, 11, Sector 1, 711192, Bucharest, Romania, [email protected] Erika GÁL - Institute of Archaeology - Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Úri u. 14, 1014, Budapest, Hungary, [email protected] Corina GHEORGHIU - Institute de Speleology “Emil Racoviţă” - Romanian Academy, Str. Frumoasă, 11, Sector 1, 78114, Bucharest, Romania, [email protected] Constantin HAITĂ - National Center of Pluridisciplinary Researches, Romanian History National Museum, Calea Victoriei, 12, Sector 3, 70412, Bucharest, Romania, [email protected]; [email protected] Eugen

KESSLER - Ősz u. [email protected]

14,

2310,

Szigetszentmiklós,

Hungary,

Dragoş MOISE - Benham Bldg., Department of Environmental Biology, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Adelaide, North Tce, Adelaide, 5005, South Australia, [email protected] Iulius Alexandru NĂLBITORU - “Valahia” University at Târgovişte, Bd. Carol I, 2, 0200, Târgovişte, jud. Dâmboviţa., Romania

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Dragomir POPOVICI - National Center of Pluridisciplinary Researches, Romanian History National Museum, Calea Victoriei, 12, sector 3, 70412, Bucharest, Romania, [email protected] Valentin RADU - National Center of Pluridisciplinary Researches, Romanian History National Museum, Calea Victoriei, 12, sector 3, 70412, Bucharest, Romania, [email protected]; [email protected] Iulia TOMESCU - Department of Geological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, 45701-2979, USA, [email protected] Ionuţ TORCICĂ - “Valahia” University at Târgovişte, Bd. Carol I, 2, 0200, Târgovişte, jud. Dâmboviţa., Romania Gabriel VASILE - National Centre of Pluridisciplinary Researches, Romanian History National Museum, Calea Victoriei, 12, Sector 3, 70412, Bucharest, Romania, [email protected]; [email protected] Florin VLAD - Museum of Ialomiţa County, Bd. Matei Basarab, 30, Tel / Fax 0243-230 054, Slobozia, jud. Ialomiţa, Romania.

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