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The Balkans are divided into four major groups:
The east Balkans were dominated by the Gumeliţa culture whose influence spread south into Thrace, and
eventually across the Rodopes. This was characterised by graphite painted pottery.
The Cucuteni-
Tripolye-Ariuşd cultural group covered Moldavia, southern Ukraine, and east Transylvania. The pottery was decorated
in bold multi-coloured geometric designs.
The Lengel culture of Hungary and central Europe was derived from
the linear pottery groups and had predominantly mono-chrome painted pottery.
The Sălcuţa-Krivodol-Bubanj group with impressed pottery decoration in the central Balkans.
Tourist places to visit:
Cucuteni museum
The museum is just north of the village of Cucuteni (note: pronounced koo-koo-ten)
near Iaşi in Moldavia and houses collection of finds from the eneolithic to
iron age around a bronze age bee-hive tomb. More Cucuteni pottery can be
found in the Bucaresti, Piatra Neamt museums.
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- Butmir culture
- Area - around Sarajevo, Bosnia
- Pottery - dark poor quality, & Kakanj, Balkano-Anatolian and some Danilo group
- Houses - phase I pit houses, phase II & III rectangular
- Links - Danilo group, Vinča-Turdaş II
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- Sopot-Lengyel varient
- Origins - regional varient of the Lengel group, part of the Balkano-Anatolian complex
- Area - southern Pannonia
- Settlements - Lengyel flat not "tell"
- Pottery - dark monochrome, poorer that Vinča
- Links - Vinča
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- Salcuta-krivodol-Bubanj group
- Origins - Gumelelniţa with Vinča, probably in Oltenia, migrating
south due to pressures from the Pontic-Steppe
- Area - Sălcuţa - Oltenia, Krivoodol - NW Bulgaria, Bubanj-Hum -
Morava down to Pelagonia, Maliq II in Albania
- Settlements - on natural defendable positions
- Houses - small rectangular
- Pottery - bowls with inverted rim, amphorae, ribbled and impression decoration
- Technology - poorer than east Balkans, metal is scarce
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- Lisičići-Hvar group
- Area - Adriatic coast, Hvar represents the coastal and island
form, Lisičići in Hercegovina represents the inland form
- Houses - caves, pit-dwellings
- Pottery - fine globular vessel, amphorae
- Links - after Danilo group, related to Butmir group, links with west Mediterranean groups
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- Gumeliţa culture
- Origin - Gumeliţa and Marica cultures
- Area - southern Romania, N Bulgaria, Thrace, known as Kodža Dermen group in NE Bulgaria
- Characterised by flat, stylized idols of bone or gold
- Links - trading with Carpathian and Pannonian zones, use of ochre in burials and large flint knives could be from contacts with Pontic-Steppe
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- Petresti culture
- Origins - unknown, started before Gumelelniţa and Cucuteni
- Area - S central Transylvania
- Pottery - fine bichrome & trichrome, similar to Cucuteni
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- Tiszapolgar
- Origins - Lengyel group with influences from the Pontic-Steppe
- Area - E hungary, SE Slovakia, NW Crişana
- Technology - eneolithic period, gold and copper
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- Ariusd-Cucuteni-Tripolye
- Origins - developed from Cucuteni with some other influences
- Area - Moldavia, S Ukraine, SE Transylvania
- Pottery - spiral-meander patterns
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- Lengyel culture
- Origins - development of the Linear Bank Ceramic, after the climate cooled
- Area - Czech, Slovakia, Hungary, Panonnia
- Settlements - Lengyel flat not tel
- Houses - stronger built than LBK
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- Maliq II culture
- Origins - continuity with Maliq I-Kamnik
- Area - south Albania
- Pottery - fine grey or grey-black, decoration includes painted, incised, encrusted, recessed
- Economy - agriculture
- Technology - metal tools
- Links - earlier culture in Albania, with objects from Balkan eneolithic groups and others from the Aegean
