FAU researchers find new indications for early social organization
Researchers from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have found new indications of how large prehistoric settlements were organized. Their research focused on a special type of building known as a megastructure. Excavations in Romania have now shown that this type of building was also found in smaller settlements. Megastructures give new insights into how communities with thousands of members were able to function without any recognizable hierarchies.
During excavations near Stăuceni in the Botoșani district in northeast Romania, archaeologists from FAU discovered a megastructure built by the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture. Covering approximately 350 square meters, the building is more than three times as big as the surrounding dwellings and gives clues to the social structures in the community.
The find is one of the oldest known examples in the region. Comparable buildings have already been discovered in larger settlements in Ukraine. “Our research shows that this type of building was incorporated into settlements very early on, and is also found in much smaller settlements, where there would not appear to be any need for a special type of organization,” says Prof. Dr. Doris Mischka, Chair of Later Prehistory focusing on Neolithic and Early Metal Ages at FAU. Although the settlement in Stăuceni only consisted of 45 houses and is therefore considerably smaller than the settlements in Ukraine, it also incorporated a megastructure. At the same time, the finds indicate that the megastructure was built at a later date than the rest of the settlement.
Thousands of people without a leader?
Especially in Ukraine, settlements with up to 3,000 houses and an estimated 15,000 to 30,000 inhabitants were built in the 5th and early 4th century BC. The houses in these settlements are not only built in a very similar manner, they are often positioned in geometric patterns, often in a ring with wide empty alleyways between houses or in parallel rows.
There is no indication of a central leader or clearly perceptible centers of power. Palaces or large storage buildings have not yet been found. “When you consider that thousands of people lived here together, that is really quite surprising,” says FAU professor Doris Mischka. “Until now, megastructures have been the only indication we have had of how these communities may have been organized. However, researchers are still discussing what their function may have been.”
Unique construction, function remains unclear
Megastructures are built differently from normal dwellings. Under the floor, formed from split logs with a layer of clay, the researchers in Stăuceni found an encircling foundation trench with massive posts. “That suggests it was constructed in its own special way,” says Mischka.
However, within the building the researchers only found comparatively few artifacts: Pottery shards, lithic remains and a few botanical remnants, including charred grains and a seed from the black henbane plant, a plant known for its psychoactive properties. “The finds scarcely differ at all from those in the common dwellings,” Doris Mischka explains. “We cannot yet say for certain whether the building was used as a meeting place, a site of ritual significance, or possibly both.”
Tracing settlement plants without digging
The investigations are based on geomagnetic measurements and targeted excavations. Magnetometers can be used to make the structure of settlements visible without having to dig up a wider area. Burnt clay and pottery leave traces in the ground that can be made visible using measuring devices. “This allows us to trace the ground plan of the entire site and only dig where special buildings are located,” Mischka explains.
For researchers, the results from Stăuceni are another building block that contributes to a better understanding of early large settlements. They indicate that key elements of life in society were already incorporated into smaller communities. “Further excavations and comparison data are required before we can be sure of the exact function of these buildings,” says FAU archaeologist Doris Mischka. The work in Stăuceni is set to continue. A large part of the structure still remains to be excavated.