21 - 1985

PREISTOUIA
ALPI ~A

MlJSEO TRIDENTINO nr 'CIENZE NATlJlIALI . TIIENTO

RIVISTA ANNUALE DELLA SEZIONE IJI I'AI.ETNOI.OGIA
 Preistona Alpina • Mu seo Trid entino di Scienze Naturali
B. BAGOLINI • P. BIAG!
Balkan influences in the Neolithic of Northern Italy •
ABSTRACT
Balkan influences in the Neol ith ic of nort hern Italy
are particu larly active during th e IV millennium be
Squere-Mcuthed Pottery Cult ure in th e form of stamp
seals (epi ntaderasal and figurines as well as pottery
decorations characteristic of the dal matian Cultures.
Venuses are also present in early Neoli thic times being
exclusive of the Pc Plain and A lp ine cultural groups.
Bern ard ino B8gollnl, Dip. di Storia delle Civilta Euro-
pea, Univ er stta. Via S. Croc e 65, 381 00 Trento.
Paol o Biag! , D.AR.F1.CL.ET., sezione archeologia
den'tf niv erstta. Via Balbl 4, 161 26 Geneva .
The end of the M esollthlc
The appear ance of industries with
trapezes and dent icul ated blades coincides
w ith the beginn ing of the Atl antic climatic
phase. Assembl ages of this horizon, wh ich
Kozlow ski (1975) includ es in the Casteln ovian
Culture, are well known in the north Italian
areas of the Tr entino (BROGUO 1971), the
Trieste Karst (CREMONESI et al 1973) and in
the Tuscan and Emilian Apennines (BIAGI et
al 1980).
The most complete sequence for the Mes-
olithic know n to date in northern Italy is that
from the rock shelter of Romagna no III in the
" } Thi s paper w as originally delivered at t he Symposium
_Die Kultur von lepenski Vir und die Probleme der HeraUSbil -
dung des Neo lithikums in Sudos t· und M itt eleuropa_ held in
Colog ne In February 1&.25, 1981.
pagg. 49-57 Trento 1985
Adige Valley wh ere excavations carr ied out
over the last decade have revealed a long
succession of Mesolith ic levels covering the
Pre-Boreal, Boreal and Atlanti c periods. Dur-
ing thi s last climatic stage, in layers AB and
AA , indu stries with trapezes appear , whi ch
are characterised by the scalene, rectangular
and isosceles trapezes them selves, the de-
nticu lated blades, the truncated tool s and
end scrapers of various typ es. w hile the rnl-
croburin techn ique is also very much in evi-
dence. In the earlier lay ers of the same site
we see the evolution of an indu stry w ith tri an-
gles, called by some the Sauveterrian, on ac-
count of its affi nities with the Culture of the
Paris Basin (ROlOY 1978). This, in the Adig e
Valley. presents many types for a period of
almost two thousand years, although in the
Pre-Boraal mlcrolithlc isosceles tr iangl es oc-
cur wh ich are unknown in the foll ow ing cl ima-
tic per iod , Boreal industries are know n not
only on the valley flo ors a Id in the Po Plain ,
in the latter case as isolated f inds, but also at
quite high altitudes as at the Colbricon pass
(BAGOUNI et al 1975) in the Trentino and on
other alpine passes at a height of around
2000 m. The Atlantic assemb lages in the
Alps, on the other hand, occu r less frequentl y
at high alti tudes, alt hough they are occa sio-
nally found . In the Emili an Apennines, indu s-
tri es w ith tr apezes and denticul ated blades
are well know n, even on sites close to the
very high passes (CASTELLETII et al 1976).
49
They also occur on the Po Plain , especially at
the conflu ence of river s (BIAGI 1980), wh ere
exte nsive marshy areas abounding in many
food resources are found (CLARKE 197B).
Industries with trapezes are also found
c lose to the present middle altitude lake bas-
ins as well as on the major pre-alpine lakes
and around the lake basins of the glacial end
moraines. which were subsequently more in-
tensively settled during the Bronze Ag e. This
is a situation which is again observed in
neighbouring Switzerland , wh ere traces of
Mesalithic encampments often cluster ar-
ound existing lakes (SA KELLA RIDIS 1979).
The fir st evidence of the Neolithic in north-
ern Italy appears to relate to the Impressed
War e Culture both along the Adria tic and Lig-
urian coastlines. From a detail ed analysis of
the stone indu stries of the end of the Mesoli·
thic and the beginning of the Neolithic it is
possibl e to observe a technological jump in
the produ cti on of unretou ched tool s (PITIS
1970) and tool s, even though the technology
of retouch remained unchanged dur ing both
per iods .
There is however a differentiation, per-
haps related to the different qualities of the
flint used , in the form s of the tools, as in the
Neolithic new burins, awl s, rhomboid geo·
metrics and denticuiated blad es and brok en
intentionally blad es with abundant tr aces of
wear occur.
The Early Neolithic
The main influences leadi ng to the to rrna-
tion of the first Neolithic in north ern Italy are
today recogni sable in the following geographi·
cal and c ultural grouping s.
1. The Impressed War e. Comprising
group s found in the area of the Liguri an coast
(BERNABO BREA 1946, 1956) and on the op-
posite Adriatic side in Romagna (BAGOLlNI ,
VON ELES 1978).
The Ligur ian Impressed Ware tr adition
made its influence felt in the perialpine re-
gions of western Lombard y. The Impressed
Ware of the Adri ati c and Romagna, docu-
mented in the environs of Riccione, extends
its influence likewi se into the hinterland of
the Po Vall ey as far as in the region of Reggio
50
Emilia. These latter territorie s soon after-
ward s becom e domin ated by the Fiorano Cul-
ture group (MALAVOLTI 1951·52) wh ich in its
«f1oruih extended its influence from the area
of ce ntral Emilia into Romagna where impor-
tant finds have been made near Riolo Term e ,
whil e even further afield it affects the late
Impressed Ware groups of the M arche (LOL·
L1NI 1962).
2. In the Po Plain and the Veneto tradi -
tion s appear during the early Neolithic a·
mong wh ich the Fiorano Culture is the most
hom ogeneous and best docum ented ; this as-
semblage, wid ely spread in the south we st
Veneto , in Emilia and Romagna, also extends
south of the Ap enn ine watershed into north-
ern Tuscany (BAGOLlNI, BIAGI 1977).
The oth er groups, recogni sed to date, are
thos e of Fagnigola in the lower Friuli (BIAGI
1975) and of Vhb on the south Lomb ard plain
(BAGOLlNI , BIAGI 1975).
3. In the Alpine and ce ntre-eastern, perial -
pine regions, are found the Gaban group in
the mounta inou s area of the Adi ge Valley
(BAGOLl NI, BIAGI 19na) and the Isolino
group in the area of the Lombard Lakes
(GUERRESCHI 1976-n). These groups show
distinctive regional traits whi ch distinguish
lh em from the asse mblages on the Plain. The
Gaban group has the c losest link s with the
preceding Mesolithic tradition s.
4. The Trieste Karst , a bord er area be-
tw een the cultural areas of lh ePo Valley and
Veneto and the Bal kans, is characteri sed dur-
ing the early Neolithic by tul ip-shaped pedes-
tailed cu ps w ith restri ct ed mouths, of te n w ith
incised decoration , which have a very Balkan
characte r (BARFIELD 1972) being co mpara-
ble with material both from the Dal matian
coast and the late Adr iatic Impressed War e,
especially that of the Marche. Thi s cultural
group, called vrasca whi ch seems to have a
long life, replaces a local Mesolithic tr adition
with which it see ms to be unconnected.
In thi s context we ca n suggest a proba ble
chronological sequence for the area, starting
w ith Impressed Ware elements of the Dalrna-
tia n Istr ian tradition (BATOVIC 1975) and Iol-
lowed by evidence of co ntac t with the Flora-
no area and afte rwards with that of Danilo
(BARFIELD 1972, 1973).
In Liguria the Ap ennine c hain is low er and
becom es easil y tr aversable by low passes
close to the coast. Communi cations between
Liguria and the Po Plain (BIAGI 1980a) are
much eas ier than those leadin g fr om the nar-
row and ofte n rugged coas tline whi ch links
Liguri a with the Versili a and the Valle y of the
Arno.
To the south the passes of the Tus can-E-
mili an stretc h, although not always impenet ra-
ble, do not provid e easy access w ith ce ntral
Italy . However already during the Mesolithic
they allowed extensive co ntac t between the
popul ati on on eit her side of the wa tershed
(TOZZI 1980).
On the Adriatic side the geog raphica l con-
dit ions are much more favourabl e since the
wa tershed of the Rom agnan Apennin es, be-
ndin g southwa rds , leaves a broad band of
hill s near the coas t w hich permi t easy com-
munication with the M arche and in general
with the w hole Adriatic coa stline.
To the east the coas t provides a natural
line of communication between the Venetia
and the Po basin and the Balkans (BARFIELD
1973).
To the north and wes t the alpine wa-
tershed, wi th its high and difficult passes, pre-
sented a major obstacle to communication
with the weste rn and ce ntral regions of
Europe.
These geog raphical factors affec ted the
form ati on and the developm ent of the early
Neolithic of the Po and Veneti an areas and
determin e an area of U gurian influence in the
western Po Valley and an area of Adriat ic
influence in Rom agna, w hile the ce nt ral Po
Plain is open to multiple influences, among
which are recognisable Ligurian , peninsula,
Adriati c, Balkan and central European tr aits.
Th e rather scant evidence from the we-
ste rn alpine area of the Po Vall ey (BAGOLlNI ,
BIAGI 1972-74) suggests that here the Neoli-
thic transformation originated in Ligurla.
The various cultural groups that charac ter-
ise the earliest Neolithic of the central and
north -eastern alp ine and Po Vall ey regions
show very close similarities in their flint indus-
tries , which have connections with those of
the local Mesolith ic, but they have a marked
indi vidu alit y in ceramic tr aditi ons (BAGOLlNI ,
BIAGI 1977). The eco nomic evidence for
these groups, whi ch is not abundant, gives
an impression of va riety, with herding
(BA RKER 1977) and agriculture (CASTELLET-
T I 1975) as well as significant levels of hun-
tin g and collecti ng, being represented. Parti -
cularly important is the evolution of the locai
Mesolith ic for the Gaban gro up, wh ose eco no-
my, in its initial stages , is essentially the
same as that of the precedin g Mesolith ic.
Such a kaleidoscope of sub cultures w ith-
in the north Itali an Neolith ic, w hich appea r in
neighbouring territories and in similar environ-
ments, raises some interesting questions re-
garding the form ation processes that lead to
their development .
Above all the characteristics of these
gro ups are not ex plicable purely in term s of
the simple accu lturation of local indige nous
groups from the two diff erent coas tal as-
pects, Ligu rian and Adri ati c, of the Im-
pressed Ware CUltu re; even if clear relation-
ships existed w ith these areas, as we ca n
see from reciprocal culture traits in Fiorano
and the Liguri an Ware or betw een the Gaban
and Vhb groups and the Adr iatic Impressed
Ware (BAGOLl NI, VaN ELES 1978).
A greater atte nt ion to the subsistence ca p-
acity availa ble in the diffe rent areas , accom-
panied by a growi ng famili arity w ith the
forest product s and small game, fishing and
birds, may have lead to an increa se in «terr i-
toriality» if not to true settled communities ,
by the fin al Mesolithic inhabitant s of the Po
Plain and the Alp s. Thi s in turn led to an in-
creased potent iai receptivity wi th regard to
the eco nomic and technological innovations
w hic h accom panied the process of Neolithic
transformation. This acculturation must have
taken place by means of multiple, and not
necessarily contemporary, influences.
Th ese influences must have spread princi-
pally fro m the coas tal centres of the Im-
presse d Ware Culture and f rom the co ntine n-
tal Balkan area ac ross the eastern Veneto.
Various cultural e leme nts, above all in pot-
tery and figurines, prin cip ally in the VhO
gro up (BAGOLl NI, BIAGi 1977b) recall protot-
ypes found in the early Balkan Neolithic in
parti cul ar the area of starcevo, Cont acts w ith
the areas of the ea rly «figulina» and painted
potte ry traditions in Peninsular Italy are e-
vident at an early date, both in imports and
imita tions. These are especially clea r in the
51
context of the Fiorano group, whose limits
exte nd south of th e Ap enn in e watershed as
far as the Tyrhennian Sea in northern Tusca-
ny (BARFIELD 1981).
It is more ditficult at pr esent to say how
far cert ain tra its of the earliest Neol ith ic of
the eas tern Po Vall ey . reco gni sable above all
in the contex t of Fiorano, may be related to
the Lin ear Pottery Culture of th e Upper Danu -
be, since we have no clear evidence from the
intervening geographical areas.
In particular the decorative syntax of «mu-
sic note » design present in the Fiorano group
and fou nd. although in a diff erent technique.
in th e Gaban group app ears to suggest a loc-
al re-elaboration of a similar design range
foun d in the easte rn Linear Pottery Culture.
With regard to the eventual direction of
ditfusion of the Lin ear Pottery influences th e
question remains open. It is worth, however,
underlining the fact th at th e easte rn Lin ear
Pott ery. in its full d evelopment c harac te rise d
by «music note » motifs, reaches a final thrust
of expansion towards the southern parts of
eastern Europe. Its expansive pressure also
extends towards southern Pannonia, compel-
lin g the population related to the Kiiriis tradi-
tion to retreat towards eastern Hungary,
wh er e that Culture soon afterward s diest out;
further to the west links are established be-
tw een the Line ar Pott ery Cult ure and the lat e
Starcevo sphere, a question which is still in
th e pro cess of investigation (KALlCZ. MAK·
KAY 1977).
Such an expansion towards the south
may have allowed Linear Pottery influence to
ex tend along the sa va , Drava and to the Pus-
teria Vall ey. Thi s alpine route might co nstitu-
te a hy pothetical line of the ditfusion of suc h
influences toward s north ern Italy (BA GOLIN I.
VON ELES 1978) .
We can, with reference to this question,
reca ll th at the Gaban group of the Tr ent in o.
which has contacts with the Fiorano area, al-
so possesses in its decoration range a spe-
cial elaboration of the «music note» motif on
tho se globular fl ask form s wi th neck s w hich
remind one of the eastern Linear Pottery
tradition.
Very recent ly a se ttleme nt of the early
Neolith ic related to th e Gaban group has in
fact been discovered near Chiusa, at Villan-
52
dro in the Vall ey of the lsarco. a di scovery
that exte nd s the distribution of the sub cultur-
e north toward s the Pusteria Vall ey (DA L RI
1978).
The signific ant par all els between the Gab -
an group and th at of Iso lino ex te nds the a·
bov e-ment ioned influences westwards into
the western Lombard pre-A lps,
Independ ent of the hyp oth eses co ncer-
ning th e direct ion of th e ditfusion of Balkan
influences in northern Italy. whi ch derived ulti-
mately , althoug h th rough intermediaries.
from the developed Starcevo -Kbros and Vin-
ce-Tordos tr aditions, and w hic h perhap s
could be confirmed by new excavations at
the sett leme nt of Fagnig ola in Friu li, ther e re-
main some aspect s of the early Neo lithic
groups in the Po Vall ey wh ich are not ex plic a-
ble in any oth er way .
In th is respect it is particul arly significa nt
th at the Vha di Piad ena, group in the ce ntra l
Po Plain, c harac te rise d by pedesta lled ves-
set-te rms and pots w ith knob s. impressed co r-
don s and groov es. Thi s group. like others of
ce nt ral Po Vall ey. has a lith ic industry related
to the local Mesolithic tradition with ceramic
elements imitating and imported fr om the Fio-
rano area as well as various elements of con-
tact with the Gaban and Isolino groups (BA-
GOLlNI . BIAG I 1980).
Thi s has produced a charac teristic reli-
giou s art style. represent ed by cla y fem ale
figurines with double-headed hemi sph eri cal
heads, and incised geometric decoration.
Such female figurines are essentially foreign
to the Impressed Ware Culture, and in gener-
al in all the western Neolithic . and can only
be co nnected wi th the An atoli an-Balkan ideo-
logical world .
A sp ects of Balkan ideology In th e Early
Neo llthic
Bal kan ideologic al eleme nts are above all
recogni sab le in the pr edominantl y fem ale fig ·
urines found in various Neolithic contexts in
northern Italy.
The anthropomorphic representations
are, in fact, almost absent from the area of
the Impressed Ware Cultur e, bo th in the Ita-
lian peninsula and other areas. These are sub-
stantially for eign to the traditions of «we-
stern» inspiration whi ch are established in
northern Italy, above all in the final phases of
the Neolithic, espec ially the Liguri an Chassey
and Lagozza Cultures.
The cultural contex t of fem ale figurin es,
as far as the northern penin sula is con-
cerned , is thus restricted to some of the early
Neolithic groups and the whol e ensuing devel-
opm ent of the Square-M out hed Pottery Cul-
ture (BAGOLlNI 1978).
In the framew ork of the early Neollthic
the anthropomorphic iconography clearly
runs from those of Balkan inspiration, like
those of the Vhb group, to oth ers in whi ch a
Mesolithic substratum appears to be lrnpor-
tant, as in the Gaban group (GRAZIOSI 1975).
In these two groups in particul ar, whi ch
were in vogue dur ing the last two centuri es
of the V miJlenium be some features are of
great significance for our argume nt. Th e in-
cised phalllc-shaped pebbl e from Gaban and
the formal designs incised on a human fem -
ur, st rongly recall that art of Lepenki Vir
(SREJOVIC 1972) wh ich are attributable to
period whi ch is not very much earlier (LV 11).
Con siderable similarities are met in the re-
markable sculpture found at Capdana k - Le
Hault in Lot in an early Chassey co ntex t.
In the same cultural contex t of Gaban
there is also a schematic female ste reoty pe
on a bone plaque whi ch is comparable to tern-
ale figurin es with a rect angular outline distrib-
uted in var ious 8alkan assemblages.
As far as the doubl e-headed clay figurine
from Vhb di Piadena is concerned, the Balkan
parall el is limited by the ideological signif ican·
ce of this, since it is found in a variety of
different cultural contex ts . Doubl e-beaded
Neolithic f igur es are found from Asia Minor,
at Tell Brak (MALLOWAN 1947) and Catal
Huyuk (MELLAART 1967), to the Balkans
(GIMBUTAS 1974). Over this area we are
clearly dealing with two types of represent a-
tion : one suggesting a symbios is of two per-
sons, male and femal e, and anoth er strict ly
doubl e-headed. It is evident that the symbolic
and ideolog ical mot ivations are very different
in each case, above all in those w hic h re-
pre sent twin s of oppo site sex . If we exc lude
the twin version, the most striking parallels
are found in the cultural co ntex t of Vin ~ a in
the «two-headed godd ess« fr om Rast (DUMI ·
TRESCU 1972) and later in the classic Vinca,
at Vinca itself and Gomolava (GIMBUTAS
1974).
Refl exes fr om the Balkan ideological
wo rld co uld also be recognisable in the pre-
sence of «plnt aderas» (CORNAGGIA CASTI·
GLlONI , CALEGARI 1978), but these are, at
our present state of knowl edge, absent fr om
the Impressed Ware tr aditi on and the earl y
Neolithic of north ern Italy. The first pintader-
as with certa in associations come from the
ensuing Square-M outhed Pottery Culture
where they last throughout its deve lopme nt.
Thi s fact is remark able if one co nsiders
that in the Balkan area such objects are w lde-
Iy di stri buted dur ing the early Neolithic, espe-
cially in the Sta rcsvo-Koros Culture.
The Full Neolithic
The Square-Mouth ed Pottery Cultur e dorn-
inates the scene during the IV millenium bc.
Aft er an initial «Llgurian style» with incised
linear geometri c decoration (BARFIELD
1972), there foll ow , in a later developm ent ,
stylistic influences f rom the Adrtati c-Batkan
area w hich are mainl y der ived from the Dani-
10 (KOROSEC 1958, 1964) and Hvar (NOVAK
1955) Cultures. These new cultural inf luences
are distingui shed by the introducti on, alonqsl-
de surviving indigenous traits, of dynam ic de-
coration, such as meanders, bar meanders,
spirals and spiral meanders exec uted with a
scratch or cut-out techniqu e.
It is worth howe ver pointing out how du r-
ing its whole developm ent the Square-
Mouth ed Pottery Cultu re is profoundly lntlu-
enced by Balkan traditi ons see n principall y in
the presence of figurines and pintade ra s.
These eleme nts point to a close relationship
betw een thi s Culture and tho se of the Bal-
kans in the spiritual sphere. It is not possibl e
to point to any specific similarities outside
the culture area since in northern Italy they
occur in original and independent form s re-
lated to the autonom y that the Square-
M outh ed Pottery Culture itseif maintain s dur-
ing its developm ent.
During the first sty list ic phase of the
Square-Mouth ed Pottery Culture linear geo·
53
metric scratched decoration seems to devel-
op from its ear liest Ligur ian aspect (BAR·
FIELD 1971 ). It does not however appear pos-
sible to support the hypoth esis that there w as
a close correlation betw een the scratched
sty le of the VBO Culture and similar features
fou nd in the Danil o area , even though these
traits appear in Dalmatia at a moment imme-
diately foll ow ing the disappearance of the Irn-
pressed Ware Cult ure and geographica lly are
recognisable in a few elements. as far as the
Trieste Karst (BARFIELD 1973). Also, as re-
gards the scratched decoration in the Danilo
Culture, some Yugoslav authorities do not re-
cognise any influence from the geometric
scratched ware style of M atera Ostuni, on
the eastern shore of the Adriatic, apart from
the fac t that a few later simila r decorative
sty les co me to predominate in the Danilo trad-
ition, exec uted both in scratched and incised
techn ique (BATOVIC 1975).
In the sty listic sub-divisi ons of the Dal rna-
tian Neolithic proposed by one Yugos lav au-
thority (BREGANT 1968) we see that the be-
ginning of Danilo, we ll docum ented at Danilo
and Smil cic is charact eri sed by geometric li·
near decoration done with a variet y of teen-
niqu es, among them scratc hing (Danil o 1·4);
the spiral and spiral meander motifs, now al-
so paint ed, appear at a later stage (Danil o
5-7) which in turn is strat if ied below the first
sty listic phases of Hvar (Hvar 1·3), and th is
shares many motifs besides others that, like
the undul ating festooned band s, are spec ific
to the latter Culture.
With the later Hvar sty listic tra its (Hvar
4·6) these festoon mot ifs, generally painted
but also incised, become well established .
This evo lution of the middd e and late Neo·
lithic, if it co uld be bette r co nfi rmed by strati-
graphical evidence. which at present we do
not have, prese nts a significa nt parallel to
that of the early and the developed phases of
the VBO Cultu re.
These parallels can be summarised as
follo ws :
1. Early VBO (Iinear-geometric scratched rnot-
ifs) - fi rst stages of the Danilo Culture
(Danilo 1-4).
2. Fully developed VBO Culture (dy namic
and spiral meander, scratched, incised
and excised styles) - final stages of Danilo
54
(Danilo 5-7) and fir st phases of Hvar (Hvar
1·3).
The decorative elements with incised fes·
toon ed bands, recogn ised above all at Pesca-
le (M alavolti 1951 ·52), ca n thu s be related to
Hvar , perh aps in its post Danilo stages . Va·
rious features place this Emilian facies in a
more developed stylistic position in relation-
ship to other spiral meand er groups of the
VBO Culture (BAGOLl NI, BIAGI 1977c ).
In general the stylistic elements w ith the
greatest affi nities between the latest spi ral
mea nder aspects of the VBO Culture and the
Hvar Culture appea r to be w ith the continen-
tal variant of this Cult ure, as at Lisicici, rather
than w ith the coasta l aspec t of Smilcic. On
the other hand, if the hypoth esis concerning
the relationship between Lisicici and Danilo
tradition is correct as an episode directly re-
lated to Danilo IV, these facts would better fit
in with a model of organic developm ent. The
evidence for a connection betwee n the co ntl n-
ental area, along the Neretva, and the north
Italian VBO area is arguably extensive, even
dur ing the early stages of Danilo , and parti cu-
larl y well docum ented through the medi ati on
of the Kakanj Culture.
It is thu s quite possibl e that the princip al
direction of contacts whi ch lead to the int rod-
ucti on of Balk an influences in the middl e sta-
ge of the VBO Culture, are not to be sought
prim aril y on the Dalmatian coast, but along
more continental routes centred roughly on
the Neretv a and fr om there along the Bosna
and the Sava.
In summary the direction of influence
co uld be: Danilo Kakanj VBO: early spiral
meander. Follow ed by: Hvar Lisicici Butmir
VBO: late spiral meander (BAGOLlNI et al
1979).
As has been just argued, there are traits
wh ich support the argumen t for a diff usion of
cu ltu ral influence into northern Italy perhaps
already during the early Neollthic which re-
lates, however distantly, the Starcevo sphere
with the cu ltural traditions of the Po Plain.
Balkan Ideological traits in the Square-
Mouthed Pollery Culture
In the context of the Square-Mouthed Pot·
tery Culture Balkan ideologica l tr aits are re-
cognisable above all in the figurines and the
«pintad eras».
As far as the femal e figures are con-
cerned, it is clear that even at the beginning
of the Culture, there are a number of stylist ic
vari ants. Two types, in parti cular, occur with
significant regularity: these are figurines with
a strongly flattened crutch shaped body, gen·
erally seated, with whi ch can prob ably be as-
sociated a type with a stylised cylindrical
head ; and figurines with arm s folded on the
che st and shoulder length hair, of whi ch typ e
howe ver only one example is known (BAGO·
UNI 1978).
Both these main types, characte ristic of
the square-Moutb eo Pottery Culture area, de·
monstrate how within the same culture and
even the same settleme nt, there co-existed
two or more figurine styles each one eviden-
ce of an ideologi cal heritage within whi ch the
femal e figurin e had several different form s.
There indeed would appe ar to have been a
numb er of different formal type s whi ch it is
difficult to interpret in term s of a singl e «tert i-
lity godde ss., the symbol of «mother eart h»,
for whom could be perf orm ed the seasonal
myths and festivals.
This observation agrees with what has
been noted in the Balkan area, wh ere there
exists a proliferation of diff erent femal e rapr e-
sentations as well as other persons and cult
objects.
As regard s the possibility of direct rnor-
phological comparison between the range
found in the VBa Culture and that of the Bal-
kan region these are rather impreci se becau -
se of the already mentioned re-elaboration of
types in different cult ures.
It is worth however notin g that the seated
figures w ith flattened crutchshaped bodies
and lower part of the body with large but -
tacks, flexed knees and tapering low er limbs
w ith no indication of feet, bear a strong sirni-
larity with the typ es found in the fir st phase
of Cucuteni in Molda via (GIMBUTAS 1974).
The parallels for the typ e of figurine with
arm s bent across the chest are too gen era -
lised to be signif icant. Thi s atti tude is in fact
very widel y diffused in various cultural co n-
texts in south eas t Europe above all in Gre e-
ce and Bulgaria.
For the «plntaderas» it is possibl e to say
that the majority of these objec ts found in
Neolithic Italy are associated with the VBa
Culture (CORNAGGIA CASTIGUONI , CALE·
GARI 1978) and therefore in the south of italy
are uncommon . Thi s suggests that our area
is more open to Balkan influences, which are
mainly continental and not maritime .
We ca n further note that «pintade ras » are
not characteristic of the coastal Dalmatian
Neolithi c of either Danilo or Hvar, in spite of
the sty list ic cont ribution made by these Cul-
tures to that of the VBa Culture.
Th e «plntaderas » also present a stylistic
evolut ion whi ch is related to that of the ce ra-
mic decoration. For wh en during the second
phase of the Culture the geom etri c linear styl-
e is gradually repla ced by the motifs of the
spiral meander style, we find on the «pinta-
dera s» also dynamic, spiral meander motif s
(BAGOLlNI 1977).
Conclusions
Balkan influences from various sources
perm eate the early Neolithic of north ern Italy
to the exc lusions of tho se from the lrn-
pressed Ware Cultu re.
The Balkan component appears, in a
greater or lesser degree, as a basic element
in these cultural groups .
This component having undergone man y
local transformations ca nnot be traced to any
specif ic Balkan Cultu re area s, although the
Starcevo-Koros assemblages would appear
to be the principle ones involved.
in the full Neolithic, w hich develop s in the
w hole territory as the VBa Culture, we find
links with the Danilo Culture and to a lesser
extent that of Hvar , above all in the decorati-
ve range of the pottery. Clear links with the
Balkan ideological traditi ons are to be see n in
the var ious types of female figurines and «pin-
tader as»,
In the late Neolithic, characte rised in the
west by the spread of the Chassey and t.aqoz-
za tr aditions and by the penetr ation of groups
related to Diana from the directi on of the A·
dri atic coast (BAGOLlNI, BIAGI1 9771, the tr ad·
itional contacts with the Balkan area, which
had come along coasta l or land routes, seem
to be interrupted. In some areas such as that
55
ce ntred on the Euganean Hill s, Lake Garda
and the Tr ent ino, the VBO Culture survives to
develop local va ria nts perm eated by north Al-
pine traits, even th ou gh a survival of Bal kan
traditions is st ill clearly recogni sabl e in th e
co ntinui ng use of «pint ad eras» and of femal e
f jgurines, w hich are similar to those of earlier
ti mes.
(Translated by L.H. Barfleld)
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SUMMARY
Balkan inf luences f rom vario us sources perm eate
the early Neolithic of Nort her n Italy to the exclusions of
those from the Impre ssed Ware Culture .
The Balkan component appears , in a greater or
lesser degree, as a basic element in the se cult ural
groups.
This component having undergone man y loc al
transformat ions cannot be traced to any spec ific Bal-
kan culture area s, although the Star~e vo·K()r()s assem-
blages wou ld appear to be the principle ones invo lved .
In the fu ll Nectlth!c. whi ch develops in the whole
terr itor y as the VBa Culture , we find links with the Dani-
10 Culture and to a lesser extent that of Hvar, above all
In the decor ati ve range of the potter y. Clea r links w ith
th e Balkan ideological trad it ions ere to be seen in th e
vario us types of female figurines and eptntederas• .
In the late Neohthic. characterised in the west by
the spread of the Chassey and Leqozza traditions and
by the penetration of groups related to Oiana from the
direction of the Ad riat ic coast the traditional contac ts
with the Balkan area , whi ch had come along coas tal or
land rou tes, seem to be Inte rrup ted . In some areas such
as that cen tred on the Euganean Hills, l ake Garda and
th e Tre ntino, the VBa Cult ure survives to develop local
va ria nts per meated by north A lpi ne t raits, eve n though
a surv iva l of Balkan tradit ions is still clea rly recognisa -
ble in t he continuing use of «pm tede rese and of female
f igurines, w hich are simi lar to th ose of earlier times .
RESUME
Des infl uenc es balkaniques de div er ses sources
marquent le premier Neotithique de t'ttene du nor d, 8
l'exclusion de la Cultu re de la Ceremique tmpr es-
slor mee .
la composante bal kaniqu e apparait, de Iacon plu s
ou moins ecce ruuee. comme l'eleme nt ba se de ces
gro upes cu lture ls.
Cette co mposa nte aya nt subi de nom breusea trans-
formations locales ne peut se rete rer 8 une zone c uttur-
elle spec itique des Balkans, bien que lea assemblages
Star~evo-K ()r ()s pui ssant appa raitre comme ceux qui
sont le plu s concernee.
Oans le pteln Neotithfoue. qui se d eveloppe sur tout
le territoire c omme la Culture des vases 8 embouchure
c erree. nous trouvons des liens avec la Cult ure de Danl·
10 et , dans une moindre mesure, evec celle de H ver ,
surtout de ns les bandes dec orativ ea des pot eri es. Des
liens evlde nta eve c res tradit ions ldeoloqiquea des Bal-
kans peuvent se vo ir dans les tlvers types de figurines
Iemlnfnes et eplntade ras• .
Au cou rs du Neolitt uque ta rd if, ca racte rls e it l'ouest
par I'extenslon des traditions Chas sey et l agozza et
par la penet ration de groupes relies 8 Oiana et proven-
ant de la cOte adriatique lea contacts traditionnels avec
la reg ion betkantque, qui s'eteient creea le long des
rout es cOtieres ou internes , semblent s'interrompre.
Oans certaines zones comme c etle qui est ce ntree sur
les Coll ines Euganean, le lac de Gard e et le Trentin. la
Culture VBa aurvit pour developper de s vanentes loc -
ales Intluenceea par des tr aits prove nant du nor d des
Al pes , meme si une survivance des tr aditions bene-
nlques est enco re clalrement reconn aissable dens l'utlfl-
satio n con tinue des «pintaderee» et da ns les fi gurines
temlnfn ee, qu i soot semblables 8 ceues des tem ps
passes.
57