The Ezero culture, 3300—2700 BC, was a
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
archaeological culture
An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between thes ...
occupying most of present-day
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
. It takes its name from the
Tell-settlement of
Ezero.
Ezero follows the
copper age
The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', " stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...
cultures of the area (
Karanovo VI culture,
Gumelniţa culture, Kodzadjemen culture, and
Varna culture
The Varna culture is a Chalcolithic culture of northeastern Bulgaria, dated ca. 4500 BC, contemporary and closely related with Gumelnița in southern Romania, often considered as local variants.
It is characterized by polychrome pottery and ...
), after a settlement hiatus in Northern Bulgaria. It bears some relationship to the earlier
Cernavodă III culture to the north. Some settlements were fortified.
The Ezero culture is interpreted as part of a larger Balkan-Danubian early Bronze Age complex, a horizon reaching from
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...
Id-IIc into Central Europe, encompassing the
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...
of the Carpathian Basin and the
Coţofeni culture of
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. According to
Hermann Parzinger, there are also typological connections to
Poliochne
Poliochne, often cited under its modern name Poliochni ( el, Πολιόχνη), was an ancient settlement on the east coast of the island of Lemnos. It was settled in the Late Chalcolithic and earliest Aegean Bronze Age and is believed to be one ...
IIa-b and
Sitagroi IV.
Economy
Agriculture is in evidence, along with domestic livestock. There is evidence of grape cultivation. Metallurgy was practiced.
Interpretation
Within the context of the
Kurgan
A kurgan is a type of tumulus constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into much of Central As ...
hypothesis, it would represent a fusion of native "
Old European culture
Old Europe is a term coined by the Lithuanian archaeologist Marija Gimbutas to describe what she perceived as a relatively homogeneous pre-Indo-European Neolithic and Copper Age cultural horizon or civilisation in Southeastern Europe and part ...
" and intrusive "Kurgan culture" elements. It could also represent an Anatolian-influenced culture, either coming from Anatolia (in
Renfrew's hypothesis), or heading to Asia Minor.
Notes
Sources
* G.Il. Georgiev et al. (eds.), Ezero, rannobronzovoto selishte. Sofii︠a︡ : Izd-vo na Bŭlgarskata akademii︠a︡ na naukite, Arkheologicheski institut 1979 (excavation report of Tell Ezero).
*
External links
*https://web.archive.org/web/20050817120446/http://archaeology.ro/so_cernav_eng.htm
{{Bronze Age footer
Archaeological cultures of Southeastern Europe
Archaeological cultures in Bulgaria
Bronze Age cultures of Europe
Indo-European archaeological cultures
4th millennium BC