BEAUTY AND THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Personal adornments across the millennia

Edited by
Monica Mărgărit and Adina Boroneanț
 Cover: Dan Iulian Mărgărit
Photo cover: Bone piece with a ringlike morphology from the necropolis of Sultana-Valea Orbului
(Romania) and Spondylus beads from the necropolis of Urziceni-Vamă (Romania) (photos: Monica
Mărgărit)

Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naţionale a României

Beauty and the eye of the beholder : personal adornments
across the millennia / edited by Monica Mărgărit and
Adina Boroneanţ. - Târgovişte : Cetatea de scaun, 2020
Conţine bibliografie
ISBN 978-606-537-461-4
I. Mărgărit, Monica (ed.)
II. Boroneanţ, Adina (ed.)
903

This book was edited with the financial suport of the grant offered by the Romanian National
Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation, CNCS - UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P1-1.1-
TE-2016-0182, within PNCDI III.

Editura Cetatea de Scaun, Targoviște, 2020

ISBN 978-606-537-461-4
[email protected], www.cetateadescaun.ro
Printed in Romania
 CONTENTS
FOREWORD / 7

THE WIDER PICTURE – ADORNMENTS IN REGIONAL STUDIES / 9

Daniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer - Shell beads of the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic: A review of the
earliest records / 11
Emanuela Cristiani, Andrea Zupancich, Barbara Cvitkušić - Combining microscopic analysis
and GIS to analyse experimental perforations on Columbella rustica shells / 27
Fotis Ifantidis - Self-adorned in Neolithic Greece: A biographical synopsis / 41
Emma L. Baysal - Envisaging the Neolithic and Chalcolithic as a connected world: tracing
ornament movement in Anatolia / 55
Sanda Băcueț Crișan, Ancuța Bobînă - Beauty or social power? / 71
Selena Vitezović, Dragana Antonović - Jewellery from osseous and lithic raw materials in the
Vinča culture / 87
Andreea Vornicu-Țerna, Stanislav Țerna - Signs of a new era: the anthropomorphic
pendants and figurines made of osseous materials and the Chalcolitization of the North-Western
Pontic region / 101
Roberto Micheli - Items to display or to offer? Personal ornaments in Copper Age Northern
Italy / 121
Ekaterina Kashina, Aija Macāne - Wild boar tusk adornments and tools from the Neolithic
hunter-gatherer sites in the Volga-Oka interfluve (Central Russia) / 151
Petar Zidarov - White fangs of the south: canid tooth pendants in Thrace, Macedonia and Western
Anatolia during the Early Bronze Age / 163

ADORNMENTS IN SETTLEMENT ARCHAEOLOGY / 183

Esteban Álvarez Fernández - Personal ornaments in Cantabrian Spain around 17.5 cal BP:
Cualventi Rock-shelter (Alfoz de Lloredo, Cantabria) / 185
Sera Yelözer, Rozalia Christidou - The foot of the hare, the tooth of the deer and the shell of the
mollusc: Neolithic osseous ornaments from Aşıklı Höyük (Central Anatolia, Turkey) / 197
Catherine Perlès, Patrick Pion - The Cerastoderma bead production at Franchthi (Greece): a case
of apprenticeship? / 223
Adina Boroneanț, Pavel Mirea - Clay labrets of the Early Neolithic. A study case from Măgura
Buduiasca (Romania) / 247
Ioan Alexandru Bărbat, Monica Mărgărit, Marius Gheorghe Barbu - First farmers
adornments from the Early Neolithic settlement at Tărtăria-Pietroșița (Alba County, Romania) / 269
Christoforos Arampatzis - “Oh dear, how do I look?” Deer antler pendants from the Neolithic
lakeside settlement Anarghiri IXb, Western Macedonia, Greece / 289
 Beauty and the eye of the beholder: personal adornments across the millennia

Monica Mărgărit, Mihai Gligor, Valentin Radu, Alina Bințințan - About fragmentation,
recycling and imitation in prehistory: adornments made of marine valves in the settlement of Alba Iulia-
Lumea Nouă (Romania) / 299
Gheorghe Lazarovici, Cornelia-Magda Lazarovici - A workshop specialized in gold jewellery
from the Copper Age / 323
Vasile Diaconu - A necklace for a lady. A Cucuteni anthropomorphic representation recently
discovered in Neamț County (Romania) / 343

ADORNMENTS OF THE AFTERLIFE / 351

Lars Larsson - Beads and pendants in a long-term perspective. Tooth beads and amber in the
burials at Zvejnieki, Northern Latvia, through the millennia / 353
Nataliia Mykhailova - Personal ornaments of the children in the Mariupol type cemeteries
(Ukraine) / 371
Zsuzsanna Tóth - Mixing and matching social value: personal adornments made from hard animal
materials in the Late Neolithic burials of Kisköre-Gát (Hungary) / 383
Monica Mărgărit, Cristian Virag, Alexandra Georgiana Diaconu - Were personal adornments
just for women? The case of the Eneolithic necropolis from Urziceni-Vamă (Satu Mare County,
Romania) / 399
Vlad-Ștefan Cărăbiși, Anca-Diana Popescu, Marta Petruneac, Marin Focşăneanu, Daniela
Cristea-Stan, Florin Constantin - Early Iron Age fibulae from Balta Verde, Romania: typology,
combination and manufacture / 413
Dragoş Măndescu - Beauty of the beast. Animal skeletal parts as personal adornments in the Early
Iron Age necropolis at Valea Stânii (Argeş County, Romania) / 431
Lavinia Grumeza - The more colourful, the better! Polychrome glass beads of the 2nd-4th century
cemeteries in Banat (Romania) / 437

4
 LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
Esteban Álvarez Fernández, Gir PREHUSAL, Salamanca, Spain, [email protected]
Dragana Antonović, Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade, Serbia, [email protected]
Christoforos Arampatzis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece,
[email protected]
Daniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer, The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History and Institute of
Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Israel/Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard
University, USA, [email protected]
Marius Gheorghe Barbu, Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilisation, Deva, Romania,
[email protected]
Emma L. Baysal, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey, [email protected]
Sanda Băcueț Crișan, County Museum of History and Art, Zalău, Romania,
[email protected]
Ioan Alexandru Bărbat, Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilisation, Deva, Romania,
[email protected]
Alina Binţinţan, Independent Researcher, Romania, [email protected]
Ancuța Bobînă, Independent Researcher, Romania, [email protected]
Adina Boroneanț, “Vasile Pârvan” Institute of Archaeology, Romanian Academy, Bucharest,
Romania, [email protected]
Vlad-Ștefan Cărăbiși, “Vasile Pârvan” Institute of Archaeology, Romanian Academy, Bucharest,
Romania, [email protected]
Rozalia Christidou, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 5133, Lyon, France,
[email protected]
Florin Constantin, “Horia Hulubei” National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear
Engineering (IFIN-HH), Bucharest, Romania, [email protected]
Daniela Cristea-Stan, “Horia Hulubei” National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear
Engineering (IFIN-HH), Bucharest, Romania, [email protected]
Emanuela Cristiani, University of Rome, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Science, Rome,
Italy, [email protected]
Barbara Cvitkušić, Institute for Anthropological Research, Centre for Applied Bioanthropology,
Zagreb, Croatia, [email protected]
Alexandra Georgiana Diaconu, Valahia University of Târgoviște, Târgoviște, Romania,
[email protected]
Vasile Diaconu, Neamț County Museum Complex/Târgu-Neamț Museum of History and
Ethnography, Târgu-Neamț, Romania, [email protected]
Marin Focşăneanu, “Horia Hulubei” National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear
Engineering (IFIN-HH), Bucharest, Romania, [email protected]
Mihai Gligor, “1 Decembrie 1918” University of Alba Iulia, Alba Iulia, Romania,
[email protected]
 Beauty and the eye of the beholder: personal adornments across the millennia

Lavinia Grumeza, Institute of Archaeology, Romanian Academy – Iași Branch, Iași, Romania,
[email protected]
Fotis Ifantidis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece, [email protected]
Ekaterina Kashina, State Historical Museum, Moscow, Russia, [email protected]
Lars Larsson, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, [email protected]
Cornelia-Magda Lazarovici, Institute of Archaeology, Romanian Academy – Iași Branch, Iași,
Romania, [email protected]
Gheorghe Lazarovici, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania,
[email protected]
Aija Macāne, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden, [email protected]
Dragoş Măndescu, Argeş County Museum, Piteşti, Romania, [email protected]
Monica Mărgărit, Valahia University of Târgoviște, Târgoviște/“Vasile Pârvan” Institute of
Archaeology, Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania, [email protected]
Roberto Micheli, MiBACT ‒ Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio del Friuli Venezia
Giulia, Trieste, Italy, [email protected]
Pavel Mirea, Teleorman County Museum, Alexandria, Romania, [email protected]
Nataliia Mykhailova, Institute of Archaeology of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev,
Ukraine, [email protected]
Catherine Perlès, Maison de l’archéologie et de l’ethnologie, Université de Paris Nanterre, Paris,
France, [email protected]
Marta Petruneac, “Horia Hulubei” National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering
(IFIN-HH), Bucharest, Romania, [email protected]
Patrick Pion, Maison de l’archéologie et de l’ethnologie, Université de Paris Nanterre, Paris, France,
[email protected]
Anca-Diana Popescu, “Vasile Pârvan” Institute of Archaeology, Romanian Academy, Bucharest,
Romania, [email protected]
Valentin Radu, National Museum of Romanian History, Bucharest, Romania,
[email protected]
Zsuzsanna Tóth, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary, [email protected]
Stanislav Țerna, “High Anthropological School” University, Chișinău, Republic of Moldova,
[email protected]
Cristian Virag, Satu Mare County Museum, Satu Mare, Romania, [email protected]
Selena Vitezović, Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade, Serbia, [email protected]/
[email protected]
Andreea Vornicu-Țerna, Botoșani County Museum, Botoșani, Romania,
[email protected]
Sera Yelözer, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey, [email protected]
Petar Zidarov, New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria/Tübingen University, Tübingen,
Germany, [email protected]
Andrea Zupancich, University of Rome, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Science, Rome,
Italy, [email protected]

6
 FOREWORD
The message of personal adornments is not an easy one to decipher. Nevertheless, they provide
an insight to the many aspects (social, spiritual, economic, etc.) of human behaviour, personal
expression, relationships and communication. Understanding the complicated social and technical
aspects of adornments generally require a broad spectrum of technical and methodological
approaches as well as a good knowledge of the state of research and numerous local case-studies.
Beyond the aesthetic impact, at times secondary in traditional societies, personal adornments
represents a language in itself, a complex communication system, conveying clear messages on ethnic,
gender and age class affiliation. They are associated to certain rituals (e.g. passage or marital),
they can be amulets or talismans and they can act as currency or as symbols of the ritualistic trade
(e.g. Sciama 1998; Trubitt 2003; Vanhaeren 2005, etc.).
Moreover, their manufacture can be related to complex territorial and economic organization
helping to identify in certain cases crafts and specialized workshops, circulation paths of raw
materials and the existing systems for inter-community exchange (e.g. Newell et al. 1990; Vanhaeren
and d'Erico 2006; Rigaud et al. 2015). Further information can be extracted from their presence in
funerary contexts, revealing whether they were exclusively created for the afterlife or had been part of
the every-day life of the respective individual/community.
There is already an impressive literature dedicated to personal adornments, which analyses the
most diverse aspects: from their possible social-cultural functions to the means of obtaining the raw
materials, the techniques used for their transformation, the ways they were used/repaired and their
discard (e.g. Bar-Yosef Meyer et al. (eds.) 2017; Bar-Yosef Mayer and Bosch (eds.) 2019; Baysal 2019;
Ifantidis 2019; Mărgărit 2019; to exemplify only with the latest publications). Nevertheless, as this
volume also shows, the subject is a vast one and there is continuous need for further exploration.
***
The International Colloquium: “Beauty and the eye of the beholder: personal adornments across
the millennia” took place at Valahia University, Târgoviște, Romania, between 12 and 14 September
2019. Bearing in mind the complexity of the subject, the participants were invited to discuss a variety
of topics, expressing the views of various “beholders” both in the past and at the present moment:
their meaning/symbolism within the prehistoric/historical societies (e.g. cultural tradition, social
and spiritual organization and exchange systems), raw materials (identification of sources and
acquisition), various methodologies of study (technological and usewear analyses, microscopy,
SEM+EDS analysis, FTIR and RAMAN spectroscopy, etc.) and experimental approaches (creating
experimental reference collections), etc.
At the end of the colloquium, following the discussions with our colleagues, it was decided to
gather all presentations in a volume while also inviting other contributions dedicated to this topic,
in an attempt to capture a broader spatial and temporal image.
The result is the present volume comprising 26 studies organized in three major sections related
to regional studies on adornments, and their use and presence in everyday life and afterlife. Within
one section, papers were organized in chronological order. The papers in the volume cover
geographically the whole of Europe and Anatolia: from Spain to Russia and from Latvia to Turkey; it
spans chronologically many millennia, from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Iron Age (2nd – 4th
centuries AD).
The volume opens with ten regional studies offering not only comprehensive syntheses of various
chronological horizons (Palaeolithic - Daniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer, Neolithic/Chalcolithic - Emma L.
Baysal; Fotis Ifantidis; Selena Vitezović and Dragana Antonović; Sanda Băcueț Crișan and Ancuța
Bobînă; Andreea Vornicu-Țerna and Stansislav Țerna; Roberto Micheli) but also new data on the
acquisition and working of various raw materials or specific types of adornments (Columbella rustica
 Beauty and the eye of the beholder: personal adornments across the millennia

shells - Emanuela Cristiani, Andrea Zupancich and Barbara Cvitkusić; wild boar tusk - Ekaterina
Kashina and Aija Macāne; canid tooth pendants - Petar Zidarov). The unbreakable link between
adornments of the everyday life and those of the afterlife it is also highlighted in some of the
contributions.
The following section - Adornments in settlement archaeology - includes nine studies, covering
the archaeological evidence from specific settlement sites. Many studies focused on the
adornments' iconographic designs, meaning, and exchange but also on raw materials, technologies
of production and systems of attachment. Chronology-wise, this section brings together the most
varied range of ornaments, raw materials and processing techniques from sites in Spain (Esteban
Álvarez-Fernández), Turkey (Sera Yelözer and Rozalia Christidou), Greece (Catherine Perlès and
Patrick Pion; Christoforos Arampatzis) and Romania (Adina Boroneanț and Pavel Mirea; Ioan
Alexandru Bărbat, Monica Mărgărit and Marius Gheorghe Barbu; Monica Mărgărit, Mihai Gligor,
Valentin Radu and Alina Bințințan; Gheorghe Lazarovici and Cornelia-Magda Lazarovici; Vasile
Diaconu).
The last section - Adornments of the afterlife - focuses on ornaments identified in various funerary
contexts allowing for a more detailed biography of ornaments through mostly use- and micro-wear
studies, in order to reconstruct their production sequence and use life. Raw material availability and
their properties, as well as contexts of deposition are also taken into account. In the seven studies of
the section, different funerary contexts from Latvia (Lars Larsson), Ukraine (Nataliia Mykhailova),
Hungary (Zsuzsanna Tóth) and Romania (Monica Mărgărit, Cristian Virag and Alexandra Georgiana
Diaconu; Vlad-Ștefan Cărăbiși, Anca-Diana Popescu, Marta Petruneac, Marin Focşăneanu, Daniela
Cristea-Stan and Florin Constantin; Dragoş Măndescu; Lavinia Grumeza) are discussed.
We would like to thank to all contributors who responded to our call and helped us complete this
volume in less than a year. Each paper was submitted to external reviews. Therefore, we would like
to also thank our colleagues who accepted to anonymously review the contributions, thus improved
the overall content of the volume.

The Editors
References
Bar-Yosef Mayer, D.E., Bonsall, C., Choyke, A.M. (eds.) 2017. Not Just for Show: The Archaeology of Beads, Beadwork
and Personal Ornaments. Oxbow, Oxford-Philadelphia.
Bar-Yosef Mayer, D.E., Bosch, M.D. (eds.) 2019. Early Personal Ornaments - Humans' Earliest Personal Ornaments.
PaleoAnthropology 2019.
Baysal, E. 2019. Personal ornaments in prehistory. Oxbow, Books Oxford.
Ifantidis, F. 2019. Πρακτικές Προσωπικής Κόσμησης στη Νεολιθική Ελλάδα / Practices of Personal Adornment in
Neolithic Greece. Archaeopress, Oxford.
Newell, R.R., Kielman, D., Constandse-Westermann, T.S., van der Sanden, W.A.B., van Gijn, A. 1990. An Inquiry
into the Ethnic Resolution of Mesolithic Regional Groupe. The Study of Their Decorative Ornaments in Time and Space.
Brill, Leiden.
Mărgărit, M. 2019. Personal adornments in the prehistory of the Northern Danube area: from aesthetic to socio-cultural
symbol. Cetatea de Scaun Publishing, Târgovişte.
Rigaud, S., d'Errico, F., Vanhaeren, M. 2015. Ornaments Reveal Resistance of North European Cultures to the
Spread of Farming. PLoS ONE 10(4), e0121166. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0121166.
Sciama, L. D. 1998. Gender in the Making, Trading and Uses of Beads. An Introductory Essay. In: Sciama, L.D.,
Eicher, J.B. (eds.), Beads and Bead Makers: Gender, Material Culture and Meaning. Berg, Oxford: 1-46.
Trubitt, M.B. 2003. The Production and Exchange of Marine Shell Prestige Goods. Journal of Archaeological
Research 11(3), 243-277.
Vanhaeren, M. 2005. Speaking with beads: the evolutionary significance of personal ornaments. In: d'Errico, Fr.,
Backwell, L. (eds.), From Tool to Symbols: From Early Hominids to Modern Humans. Witwatersrand University Press,
Johannesburg: 525-553.
Vanhaeren, M.; d'Erico, Fr. 2006. Aurignacian ethno-linguistic geography of Europe revealed by personal
ornaments. Journal of Archaeological Science 33(8), 1105-1128.

8
 A NECKLACE FOR A LADY
A CUCUTENI ANTHROPOMORPHIC REPRESENTATION
RECENTLY DISCOVERED IN NEAMȚ COUNTY (ROMANIA)
Vasile Diaconu
Neamț County Museum Complex/Târgu-Neamț Museum of History and Ethnography, Târgu-Neamț,
Romania, [email protected]

Abstract: The author presents an anthropomorphic figurine, discovered at the Cucutenian site from
Răucești - Dealul Munteni (Neamț county), which stands out by the presence of an interesting decorative
element - a necklace with a circular medallion. The piece has few analogies within the Cucuteni culture.
The purpose of the article is to highlight the tendency to imitate ornaments made of metal. Thus, the
circular medallion on the anthropomorphic figurine from Răucești imitates the gold and copper discs
found in the Cucuteni hoards and settlements. As objects with profound social implications, the respective
metal medallions had an increasing importance within the Chalcolithic communities, which is why they
were transposed into anthropomorphic plastic art as well.
Keywords: Cucuteni culture, anthropomorphic representation, necklace, imitation, metal disc,
symbolism.

could have related to the different symbolisms

Introduction
they incorporated.
It is well known that within the Cucuteni In this paper we aim to discuss a feminine
culture, anthropomorphic representations figurine recently discovered at the Cucuteni
are a representative element through their site from Răucești (Neamț County) standing
typological diversity, variety of decorations out by the presence of a rarely represented
and their symbolism. Precisely for this reason, decorative object. The existence of jewellery
the representations of the human body on anthropomorphic representations is a
have always been in the attention of the subject that deserves attention, since the
specialists, who created various typologies Eneolithic craftsmen who modelled the
and decided on their functionality and human clay figurines could have transposed
meanings (for a synthesis on this topic see in on them realistic details, common to those
Monah 1997, 2012). Being placed most of the times.
time, in relation to the religion of the So far, the garment and clothing items
Cucuteni communities and respecting certain indicated on the Eneolithic human figurines
morphological canons, these anthropomorphic have not been analysed very intensely, which
representations exhibit certain uniformity, is why the publication of this unique piece
depending on the evolutionary stages of the bearing such a representation could help,
Cucuteni civilization. However, there are we believe, to complete the existing
also many cases when anthropomorphic documentation.
representations are remarkable by certain
Context of discovery
elements of uniqueness or rarely encountered.
Certainly, these objects could have been the The object discussed in this paper was
results of their creator’s imagination, or they discovered in 2018, at the Cucuteni settlement
 Beauty and the eye of the beholder: personal adornments across the millennia

from Răucești - Dealul Munteni (Neamț on the southwest area of the site. The
County). The site is located in the sub- excavation did not confirmed the
Carpathian area, at the contact with the interpretation of the geophysical scan, within
Moldova Valley, and lies on a promontory perimeter being identified two adjacent pits
with good defensce possibilities (Fig. 1/1). First (Fig. 1/2), which were filled with pieces of
researches were carried out in 1978, 1979 and burnt clay, ceramic, lithic objects.
1986 (Dumitroaia 1985: 737, 1987; Monah and In the infill of pit no. 1/2018 was identified
Cucoș 1985: 137), and pit excavations have a feminine figurine, remarkable by the
been resumed between 2015 and 2018 depiction on her bust of a very realistically
(Diaconu 2016: 501-502; Nicola et al. 2018, modelled necklace. The pit, as indicated the
2019). archaeological materials, was doug and used
The 2018 field season had as main objective during the Cucuteni A phase, but to its upper
to verify a geo-magnetic anomaly which part Cucuteni B also appeared (Nicola et al.
indicated the existence of a possible dwelling 2019).

2
Figure 1. Placement of the site (1) and pit no. 1/2018 (2).

344
 Beauty and the eye of the beholder: personal adornments across the millennia

dots, at the end of which hangs a circular

Description of the object
medallion. The necklace is adorned with 10
The feminine figurine falls into the dots on the edges and four more inside. Some
category of vertical ones, medium sized, with of these dots were filled with red pigment
only the upper half preserved. It was modelled (ochre?) likely to emphasize the decorative
from fine paste, and the entire surface is importance of the necklace. In the thigh area,
covered with bands of incised lines. The arms the figurine had a few small perforations
and head are stylized, and the abdomen is (Fig. 2).
slightly prominent. On the chest of the Height – 5.4 cm; width – 2.8 cm; inv. no. -
figurine is modelled in relief a narrow strip of 5415.
clay representing a necklace decorated with

Figure 2. Răucești - Dealul Munteni: anthropomorphic figurine (photo and drawing - V. Diaconu).

345
 Beauty and the eye of the beholder: personal adornments across the millennia

Discussions the object from Răucești are concerned, we

take the liberty to mention only those objects
Neck adornaments represented on the
which have as many common elements as
anthropomorphic figurines of the Cucuteni
possible. In this regard, we mention that
culture, have known a certain typological
within the Cucuteni area, anthropomorphic
variety, seen also on the manner of their
figurines with relief necklaces, ending in a
representation. Made by incisions, applied or
circular medallion, were found at the sites
painted, the necklaces encountered on the
of Dobârceni (Diaconescu 2007: pl. 4/1) (Fig.
female figurines most likely illustrated objects
3/2), Bodești - Cetățuia/Frumușica (Țurcanu
worn by the members of the Cucuteni
2011: fig. 10/3; Monah 2012: fig. 62/2) (Fig. 3/3),
communities. In an article published by
Drăgușeni (Țurcanu 2011: fig. 10/2; Monah
S. Țurcanu, the topic is widely discussed,
2012: fig. 50/7) (Fig. 3/4) and Fedeleșeni
which is why we will not review the whole
(Țurcanu 2011: fig. 10/4; Monah 2012: fig. 61/2)
issue (Țurcanu 2011); in what the analogies for
(Fig. 3/1).

Figure 3. Anthropomorphic figurines with relief necklaces: 1. Fedeleșeni; 2. Dobârceni; 3. Bodești;

4. Drăgușeni (1, 3, 4. after Monah 2012; 2. after Diaconescu 2007).

346
 Beauty and the eye of the beholder: personal adornments across the millennia

Figure 4. Metal discs and clay replicas: 1-4. Brad; 5. Poduri; 6. Todirești; 7. Răucești (1-4. after
Ursachi 2012; 5. after Dumitroaia et al. 2009; 6, 7. previously unpublished).

A detail that needs paying attention is the Mareș 2002: pl. 62/3, 4; 2012: pl. 45/2531, 2532).
fact that the circular medallion in the Moreover, the problem of imitating some
composition of the necklace represents, most pieces of Cucuteni jewellery was the subject of
likely, an imitation of a metal disc of gold or a recently published study (Țurcanu 2017).
copper, such as those in the Brad hoard Clay imitations of metal discs were
(Ursachi 1991: 339-341, pl. II, III, XIV, XV; discovered at different archaeological sites:
2012: 5-9, fig. 8, fig. 13; Mareș 2002: pl. 62/1, 7; Cucuteni (Petrescu-Dîmbovița and Văleanu
2012: pl. 45/2288) (Fig. 4/1-4), Hăbășești 2004: fig. 224/17-19), Târpești (Marinescu-
(Dumitrescu et al. 1954: fig 41/1; pl. CXXIV/1; Bîlcu 1981: fig. 198/17, 18), Todirești
Mareș 2002: pl. 62/2; 2012: pl. 45/2358), Răuțel (unpublished) (Fig. 4/6), Poduri (Dumitroaia
(Dergacev 2002: Taf. 9/L) and Târpești et al. 2005: 160, no. 185; 2009: 118, no. 299, 300)
(Marinescu-Bîlcu 1981: fig. 198/2, fig. 199/3, 13; (Fig. 4/5), Costești (Boghian et al. 2014: pl.

347
 Beauty and the eye of the beholder: personal adornments across the millennia

LVIII/2), Piatra Șoimului (Dumitroaia et al. Dergacev, V.A. 2002. Die äneolithischen
2005: 159, no. 184) and Drăgușeni (Dumitroaia und bronzezeitlichen Metallfunde aus
et al. 2005: 160, no. 187). It is relevant that the Moldavien, Prähistorische Bronzefunde XX(9).
clay imitations of the metal ornamental discs Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart.
were documented mainly in the Cucuteni A Diaconescu, M. 2001. Plastica
phase. antropomorfă cucuteniană din colecțiile
In the same order of ideas, we mention that muzeelor din județul Botoșani. Hierasus XI,
at the Cucuteni settlement from Răucești, a 7-36.
disc-shaped clay button was identified (Fig. Diaconu, V. 2016. Cronica cercetărilor
4/7), which imitates very well a similar object arheologice din județul Neamț (2015-2016).
made of copper, found in the Eneolithic hoard Memoria Antiquitatis XXXI-XXXII (2015-
from Brad (Ursachi 1991: pl. XIV/2; 2012: fig. 2016), 493-509.
13/2). Dumitroaia, Gh. 1985. Săpăturile
An interesting detail, which can be related arheologice din județul Neamț. Memoria
to the forms of religious display, specific to the Antiquitatis IX-XI (1977-1979), 733-740.
Eneolithic environment, is that only in the Dumitroaia, Gh. 1987. Plastica
first phase of the Cucuteni culture various antropomorfă din așezarea cucuteniană de la
objects of ornament appear on the Răucești - “Munteni”, jud. Neamț. Memoria
anthropomorphic figurines. Antiquitatis XV-XVII (1983-1985), 21-42.
To conclude, we can say that within Dumitroaia, Gh., Preoteasa, C., Munteanu,
the impressive repertoire of Cucuteni R., Nicola, D. 2005. Primul muzeu Cucuteni din
anthropomorphic representations, a group of România. Foton Publishing House, Piatra
figurines stands out, whose common element Neamț.
is the presence of certain ornamental objects. Dumitroaia, Gh., Preoteasa, C., Munteanu,
Some of these are very realistically modelled R., Garvăn, D. 2009. Poduri - Dealul Ghindaru.
and offer information about the aesthetic Cercetările arheologice din Caseta C (2005-
concerns of those times. The fact that those 2009), Bibliotheca Memoriae Antiquitatis
ornamental objects schematically represented XXII. “Constantin Matasă” Publishing House,
on the Cucuteni figurines, also appear in the Piatra Neamț.
artefacts assamblages from settlements or in Dumitrescu, Vl., Dumitrescu, H., Petrescu-
special hoards is good proof to their aesthetic Dîmbovița, M., Gostar, N. 1954. Hăbășești.
and social value. Monografie arheologică. București.
Although our paper is focuses on only one Mareș, I. 2002. Metalurgia aramei în neo-
figurine, its symbolism is very important. eneoliticul României. Bucovina Istorică
In this way we consider that we made Publishing House, Suceava.
some additions to what the typology of Mareș, I. 2012. Metalurgia aramei în
anthropomorphic representations from the civilizațiile Precucuteni și Cucuteni. Editura
Cucuteni culture area represents, especially Universității “Ștefan cel Mare” din Suceava/
regarding the group of figurines with “Karl A. Romstorfer” Publishing House,
ornaments. Suceava.
Marinescu-Bîlcu, S. 1981. Tîrpești. From
References
Prehisory to History in Eastern Romania. BAR
Boghian, D., Enea, S.-C., Ignătescu, S., Internation Series, Oxford.
Bejenaru, L., Stanc, S.M. 2014. Comunitățile Monah, D. 1997. Plastica antropomorfă a
cucuteniene din zona Târgului Frumos. culturii Cucuteni-Tripolie, Bibliotheca
Cercetări interdisciplinare în siturile de la Memoriae Antiquitatis III. “Constantin
Costești și Giurgești. “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” Matasă” Publishing House, Piatra Neamț.
University Publishing House, Iași. Monah, D. 2012. Plastica antropomorfă a
culturii Cucuteni-Tripolie, Bibliotheca

348
 Beauty and the eye of the beholder: personal adornments across the millennia

Memoriae Antiquitatis XXVII. “Constantin Bacău. In: Chirica, V., Monah, D. (eds.), Le
Matasă” Publishing House, Piatra Neamț. paléolithique et le néolithique de la Roumanie en
Monah, D., Cucoș, Șt. 1985. Așezările context européen. Bibliotheca Archaeologica
culturii Cucuteni din România. Editura Iassiensis IV, Iași: 335-386.
Junimea, Iași. Ursachi, V. 2012. Tezaurul eneolitic de la
Nicola, C.D., Diaconu, V., Preoteasa, C., Brad. Papirus Media Publishing House,
Gafincu, Al., Danu, M. 2018. Răucești, com. București.
Răucești, jud. Neamț. Punct: Dealul Munteni. Țurcanu, S. 2011. Podoabe pentru gât
Cronica Cercetărilor Arheologice din România. reprezentate pe statuetele antropomorfe ale
Campania 2017. București: 110-111. culturii Cucuteni-Tripolie. Cercetări Istorice
Nicola, C.D., Diaconu, V., Gafincu, Al., XXVII-XXIX (2008-2010), 9-36.
Preoteasa, C., Danu, M. 2019. Răucești, com. Țurcanu, S. 2017. Same Shape, Different
Răucești, jud. Neamț. Punct: Dealul Munteni. Meanings? Original and Imitation among
Cronica Cercetărilor Arheologice din România. Body Ornamenting Items of the Ariuşd-
Campania 2018. București/Sibiu: 162-163. Cucuteni-Tripolye Cultural Complex. In:
Petrescu-Dîmbovița, M., Văleanu, M.C. Ursu, C.-E., Poruciuc, A., Lazarovici, C.-M.
2004. Cucuteni-Cetățuie. Monografie (eds.), Symbols and Signs as a Communication
arheologică, Bibliotheca Memoriae System. In Memory of Gheorghe Dumitroaia.
Antiquitatis XIV. “Constantin Matasă” “K. A. Romstorfer” Publishing House, Suceava:
Publishing House, Piatra Neamț. 187-200.
Ursachi, V. 1990. Le dépot d’objets de parure
énéolithiques de Brad, com. Negri, dép. de

349