Stefan Arteni

The East-Central
European
Cultural Model
VII

SolInvictus Press 2009

 Orpheus Charming the Animals,
Roman mosaic and detail, Villa Orpheus, Leptis Magna, Libya

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 Stefan Arteni

The East-Central European

Cultural Model
(a revised and illustrated version
of the essay published in
www.asymetria.org , 2009)
VII

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 Artifacts from Parţa excavation
(Shan M. M. Winn,The Old European Script. Further Evidence,
http://www.prehistory.it/ftp/winn5.htm )

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Stefan Arteni
The East-Central European Cultural Model. 6. Once Upon a Time.
[April 6, 2009]

Motto.
With gods about I've roamed, solely
menwards back to come.
(Ion Pillat)

Lucian Blaga once said: culture „is not a luxury that humans may concede to
themselves as an embellishment, a luxury which may or may not exist, culture is
the result of a complementary outpouring from the specificity of human existence
as such, an existence within mystery and toward revelation.”

Both writing and painting have been connected to divination and the deciphering
of marks, the form of signs, the participation in or association with mystery.
Setsuzan Tanaka Sensei describes the art of calligraphy thus: “The Gods speak
through the brush strokes drawn by the artist.” The sanskrit alphabet is called
devanagari which literally means 'cities of the gods.' Giorgio Morandi affirms:
“Galileo remarked: the true book of philosophy, the book of nature, is written with
characters different from our alphabet. These characters are: triangles, squares,
circles, spheres, pyramids, cones and other geometric figures. I feel that
Galileo’s thinking is alive…” The ritual is an actual standing and living within art,
a participation in it, and at the same time an active partaking in maintaining the
process. Alexei Jawlenski once said that the artistic praxis becomes ritual and
the painting itself becomes prayer.

Andrei Vartic has coined the term ‘Homo Geometricus’ to describe the
anonymous creators of ancient ritual graphic notation systems used as sacred
palaeoinformatics in pre-Indo-European Old Europe: ”The large Cucuteni pots,
superbly painted with geometrically ‘written’ philosophical or artistic poems, or
the many faceless figurines incised with geometric signs, all found in Cucuteni-
era huts, represent the highest level reached by a civilization before the
appearance of official Sumerian writing about 3200 BC. The Cucuteni miracle
was based on a millenary knowledge of geometric signs…signs which continue
to protect man’s life even now, within the web of the information revolution…A
careful investigation of thousands of paleolithic and neolithic incised markings
shows that in South-Eastern Europe, ‘Homo Geometricus’ used a perfect
alphabet for communicating and storing information vital for his beingness…the
inhabitants of Old Europe had knowledge of symmetry, were talking about
Heaven and Earth, about Soul an Spirit, about the necessary balance of action
and reaction…” (Andrei Vartic, O Istorie Geometrica a Lui Homo Sapiens,
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8266233/O-Istorie-Geometric-A-a-Lui-Homo-Sapiens-
Andrei-Vartic )

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Parallel yet independent research pursued by Western cognitive archaeologists,
linguists and neurophysiologists recently confirmed Vartic’s findings.

Recursive compositional constructs, patterned incisions and scratchings

[grammata] that branched both into painting and writing, constitute a compelling
indication of the need for a combinatorial (syntactic) structure: “As a perceptual
phenomenon art is, then, an attempt to render permanent and tangible that which
was formally intangible and fleeting, the seeking of order in the midst of disorder,
the expression of the sense of pattern, harmony and symmetry synthesised from
the immediate, ambient confusion…Symbolic representation, as a means of
preserving, spreading and manipulating information, provided a powerful way of
increasing the capacity of the brain, disengaged from the usual evolutionary
constraints… the extrapolation must be that culture is not so much a
sophisticated embodiment of evolutionary imperatives, but a realisation of the
diversity due to the increased ability to process information in abstract ways.”
(Derek Hodgson, Art, Perception and Information Processing: An Evolutionary
Perspective,
http://mc2.vicnet.net.au/home/cognit/web/index.html )

In a culture immanent interactional context graphic notation conventions are

culturally evolved higher order cognitions: “…symbolism based on iconicity is
cognitively much more rudimentary than a symbolism requiring the link between
referent and referrer to be negotiated culturally.” (R.Bednarik, Neurophysiology
and Paleoart, http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/epc/srb/cyber/rbednarik6.pdf );
“There seem to be no examples of representational art without an accompanying
geometric tradition in indigenous groups, yet we often find geometric tradition
without representational art…” (Derek Hodgson, Understanding the Origins of
Paleoart: the Neurovisual Resonance Theory and Brain Functioning,
http://www.paleoanthro.org/journal/content/PA20060054.pdf )

The high-context nature of ancient society allows individuals to use inferences

and indirect references. A viewer may require little more than reminders to recall,
as much has been absorbed through osmosis in the culture: “In entirely non-
figurative arts as well as those that use highly ‘stylized’ versions of iconicity it is
impossible to know the referrer, unless one has direct access to the cultural
conventions in question. Moreover, in the last-named art form, concepts or ideas
involving no figuratively definable referents can readily be ‘depicted’. It is
therefore clearly the most sophisticated art genre, and can communicate
unlimited numbers of ideas, in rather the same way as written
characters.”(R.Bednarik, Towards a Theory of Cognitive Origins,
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/epc/srb/cyber/rbednarik7.pdf )

Sign systems are used for mnemo-techical purposes: “The intentions of those
who created writing systems did not primarily lie in the exact rendering of speech
sounds but in the fixation of ideas and information of which messages were
composed. This intentional fixation of information for reuse bears all the

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characteristics of what we understand as writing, regardless of the missing
connection with language…In this pattern, an idea is visually associated with a
sign of writing via its representational form (that may be identified with a certain
object) or – in the case of an abstract sign – via its conventional use…” (Harald
Haarmann, The Danube Script and other Ancient Writing Systems: A Typology of
Distinctive Features, The Journal of Archaeomythology, Volume 4, Number 1,
Winter 2008)

Graphic notations were not meant to stand alone, they were intended as a
support for memory and ritual demonstration. “From the very beginning, the signs
used in Old European writing seem to have been associated with…cosmology,
philosophy, magic, ritual, divination, shamanism and healing…All life was lived in
a magical cosmology…The script would be a shamanic tool with magical
overtones…it was a tool for communicating with the gods.”
(Roger Calverley, The Primal Runes. Archetypes of Invocation and
Empowerment,
http://books.google.com/books?id=z8p4O6ynhzMC&pg=PR3&lpg=PP1&ots=dcU
l_QfIgi&dq=roger+calverley+the+primal+runes&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html )

Ritualization increases impact through the use of repetition, high intensity, strong
contrasts, alerting signals, and stereotypy in basic units. James W.Carey writes:
“Ritualization sees the original or highest manifestation of communication…in the
construction and maintenance of an ordered, meaningful cultural world that can
serve as a control and container for human action.” Ritual is communication in a
mythic tongue, the expression of a universe of experience, compressed into an
economy of symbols overloaded into archetype. Ritual is the performance that
binds (religare) the individual and the specific to the universal and archetypal.
“This model has its origins in the research into…oral-formulaic high-context
cultures of presence vested in repetition and ritual. From a contemporary
perspective, this is a technique of cyclical rejuvenation, which, as Friedrich
Nietzsche put it, literally burns memory into humans,” remarks Hartmut Winkler.
Marcel Griaule speaks of 'graphic facts' constituting a shared repository of
materialized memory. The function of the concrete mark is conceived by Simon
Battestini in an experiential ritual context, ritual being viewed as a crucial process
in the texture of memory storing and communicative cultural behavior. Roger
Schank introduces the notions of dynamic memory framework and Memory
Organization Packet theory, that is continuously refined experience-based
memory schemata. Elaborate but thrifty graphic formulaic symbolic clusters of
notation and their metrical rhythmic systems are trans-linguistic. Graphical
processing re-makes, re-creates, re-members the system each time it is
actualized. The shaman-artist is a thoughtful guardian of lore.

Old Europe was a cultural multiplex which emphasized continuity. Later traditions
carry the memory of that ancient legacy. Some markings and the knowledge they
embodied remained in use and were remembered down the centuries (Andrei
Vartic, Complexul monastic rupestru de la Ţipova, uriaş templu solar şi

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observator astronomic al antichităţii, Presented at: Simpozionul ştiinţific
„Cucuteni – 5000”, Universitatea Tehnică din Republica Moldova, Chişinău, 3-4
octombrie, 2007). Deep-rooted cultural and mythic patterns persisted. Craft
specialization and elaborate rituals survived as substratum features. How do we
use the language of tradition to address the present?

Note:
The term Danube script is synonymous with the earlier term Old European script
and refers to markings found on artifacts excavated in south-east European
archaeological sites. The best known culture groups are Vinča (between the 6th
millennium and the 3rd millennium BC) and Cucuteni (or Cucuteni-Trypillia;
between ca. 5500 BC and 2750 BC).

Marco Merlini’s map showing the area where the Danube script was used
( http://www.prehistory.it/ftp/tartaria_tablets/merlinitartaria.htm )

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Tărtăria Tablets, Vinča Culture (Harald Haarmann, The Danube Script and other
Ancient Writing Systems: A Typology of Distinctive Features, The Journal of
Archaeomythology, Volume 4, Number 1, Winter 2008)

One of the Tărtăria Tablets, enlarged

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Turdaş Inscribed Loom Weight (Harald Haarmann, The Danube Script and other
Ancient Writing Systems: A Typology of Distinctive Features, The Journal of
Archaeomythology, Volume 4, Number 1, Winter 2008)

The Votive Tablet from the Village of Gradeshnitsa,

Vratsa District, Bulgaria

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The Sacred Tablet (Zodiac ?) from the Village of Karanovo,
Nova Zagora District, Bulgaria

Seal-medallion, Hotnitsa, Veliko Tarnovo District, Bulgaria

( http://www.europeanvirtualmuseum.net )

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 Turdaş Seal Vessel
( http://www.europeanvirtualmuseum.net )

Bottom of an Amphora, Veliko Tarnovo District, Bulgaria

( http://www.europeanvirtualmuseum.net )

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 Amulet, Gumelniţa-Karanovo Culture
( http://www.europeanvirtualmuseum.net )

Miniature inscribed altar with engraved object from Ocna Sibiului, Transylvania
( www.archaeomythology.org/ )

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 Anthropomorphic Vessel Lid, Banat
( http://www.europeanvirtualmuseum.net )

Seal with Incised Figure, Banat

( http://www.europeanvirtualmuseum.net )

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Artifact from Lepenski Vir, Serbia

Artifact from Lepenski Vir, Serbia

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 Spherical stone with incised signs from Lepenski Vir, Serbia
(Harald Haarmann, The Danube Script and other Ancient Writing Systems: A
Typology of Distinctive Features, The Journal of Archaeomythology, Volume 4,
Number 1, Winter 2008)

Artifact with incised sign from Danceni, Bessarabia

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The cross sign and its variants (Harald Haarmann, The Danube Script and other
Ancient Writing Systems: A Typology of Distinctive Features, The Journal of
Archaeomythology, Volume 4, Number 1, Winter 2008)

Symbols dating from the oldest period of Vinča culture (6th-5th millennia BC)

Common symbols used throughout the Vinča period

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 Vinča Altar

Vinča Artifact

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Vinča Idol

Vinča Idol

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Vinča Idol (side and front views)

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Vinča Avian-faced Idol

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Vinča Anthropomorphic Statuette

Vinča Bowl Fragment

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Vinča Vessel

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Vessel from Parţa excavation

Artifact from Parţa excavation

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Ceramic lid from Parţa excavation

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Cucuteni Anthropomorphic Statuette ( http://www.imagoromae.com )

Cucuteni Cow-on-wheels

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Cucuteni Ceramic Vessels

Cucuteni Vessel

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 Cucuteni Statuette

Cucuteni Temple Model ( http://www.imagoromae.com )

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Cucuteni Ceramic Vessel

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Cucuteni Ceramic Vessel

Cucuteni Ceramic Vessel

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Cucuteni Anthropomorphic Statuette

Cucuteni Ceramic Pot

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 Cucuteni Ceramic Dish

Cucuteni Anthropomorphic Statuette

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Cucuteni Anthropomorphic Statuette

Cucuteni Anthropomorphic Statuette

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 Cucuteni Anthropomorphic Statuette

Cucuteni Ceramic Lid Cucuteni Vessel

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Cucuteni Seal (Pintadera)

Cucuteni Seal (Pintadera)

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 Cucuteni Ceramic Vessel

Cucuteni Anthropomorphic Statuette

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 Cucuteni Vessel

Cucuteni Anthropomorphic Statuette

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Cucuteni Vessel

Cucuteni Vessel

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Cucuteni Ceramic Cup

Cucuteni Vessel

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 Cucuteni Amphora

Cucuteni Ceramic Lid

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Cucuteni Vessel

Cucuteni Vessel

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Cucuteni Vessel

Cucuteni Vessel

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Cucuteni Amphora with Representations of the Great Goddess – Potnia Theron,
Moldavia, (http://www.imagoromae.com )

Cucuteni Dish with Zoomorphic Representations, Moldavia,

( http://www.imagoromae.com )

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Hamangia Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

Hamangia Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

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Anthropomorphic Menhir, Hamangia Culture,
Dobrudja, Romania

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Hamangia Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

Hamangia Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

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Anthropomorphic Statuette (Vădastra Culture, Romania)

Anthropomorphic Statuette (Vădastra Culture, Romania)

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Ceramic Vessel, Boian Culture, Romania

Ceramic Vessel, Boian Culture, Romania

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Anthropomorphic Statuette, Boian Culture, Romania

Ceramic Vessel, Boian Culture, Romania

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Neolithic Miniature Temple (Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania)

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Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

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Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

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Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

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Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

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Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

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Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

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Anthropomorphic Statuette (Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania)

Anthropomorphic Statuette (Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania)

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Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

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Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

Gumelniţa Culture, Dobrudja, Romania

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 Survival of ritual markings throughout the Bronze age:

Clay vessel, Banat ( http://www.europeanvirtualmuseum.net )

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Vessel support, Banat ( http://www.europeanvirtualmuseum.net )

Stone mold found at Piatra Detunată (Racoş), Transylvania

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 Reminiscences of ritual markings are visible in folk art, a fact showing that to
remain in the background, which is the case for the procedural memory of Old
European practices (procedural memory is also known as tacit or implicit
knowledge), is not synonymous with unimportance.

National Village Museum, Bucharest

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 National Village Museum, Bucharest

The window of a wood church, Maramureş

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National Village Museum, Bucharest

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National Village Museum, Bucharest

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Ceramic plate, Wallachia, Romania, 14th century

Ceramic plate, Wallachia, Romania, 14th century

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 Romanian folk rug, 19th century

Romanian folk rug (Moldavia), 19th century

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Romanian folk rug (Wallachia), 19th century

Romanian folk rug, 19th century

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Romanian folk rug (Wallachia), 19th century

Romanian folk rug, 19th century

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Romanian folk rug, 19th century

Romanian folk rug, 19th century

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Romanian folk rug, 19th century

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Romanian folk rug, 19th century

Romanian folk rug, 19th century

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Romanian folk rug (Moldavia), 19th century

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Romanian folk rug, 19th century

Romanian folk rug, 19th century

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The tree of life theme, Romanian folk rug (Moldavia), 1851

The tree of life theme, Romanian folk rug, 19th century

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 Aromanian bed covering, 19th century

Aromanian bed covering, early 20th century

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Peasant chest, Romanian, 1885

Chest, Romanian, 19th century

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Peasant marriage chest, Romanian, 19th century

Food storage chest, Romanian, early 20th century

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