Cucuteni-Trypillian refers to an ancient civilization that flourished in the Carpathian mountains in modern day Romania, Moldova and Ukraine. That covers over 35,000 square kilometres, with over 15,000 people that lived there in settlements about 3-4 kilometres apart.
Settlements of the Cucuteni–Trypillian culture
It existed between 5,500 and 2,750 BC and was the largest settlement of the Neolithic period. People of this civilization were extremely advanced. They practiced animal husbandry, agriculture, and fishing in addition to hunting and gathering.
Like in many earlier cultures, women did stay-at-home jobs like weaving, pottery, and more importantly, threshing and milling the grain and baking bread. While, the men made tools and hunted.
Their settlements were built close to water bodies, mostly rivers and streams and some houses were two stories high. Common to other ancient civilizations, part of their houses were buried into the ground, to prevent invaders from easily spotting them and their dwellings.
From the various sculptures and figurines, we know that Cucuteni-Trypillians worshipped goddesses. Because of this, some archeologists believe that the culture was matriarchal.
This means, that women held positions of power and inherited and transferred property instead of men. Like most other ancient civilizations, it is almost impossible to say why Cucuteni-Trypillian culture declined.
It is suggested that the Cucuteni period ended due to natural causes and not wars, since no weapons have been found on the site. Some say the earth’s climate became colder and more arid after the Ice Age, so they probably perished or moved away.
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