Orlovka-Kartal, Republik Moldau: Der Siedlungskompley Orlovka-Kartal und die frühe Kupferzeit im nordwestlichen Schwarzmeer-Gebiet

Résumé

The joint project conducted by the Eurasia Department and the Institute for Prehistoric Archaeology of FU Berlin together with scholars from the Republic of Moldova and the Ukraine is devoted to the investigation of the early Copper Age culture system in the steppes of the north-western Black Sea, an area that owing to its geo-strategical position was predestined to become a contact zone between two cultural spheres in prehistory: sedentary and mobile cultures. The investigations focus on the interactions between the sedentary Bolgrad-Aldeni culture and the mobile sceptre-bearing groups, interactions that marked the development of the local early Copper Age and at the same time embody the first hitherto known cultural contacts within the above-named geocultural framework. Thanks to the outstanding participative work the above named colleagues, an interdisciplinary research project could be established, which embraces the fields of archaeology, climatology, archaeobotany, archaeozoology and anthropology. The results gained from these undertakings have enabled the research team to largely accomplish the endeavours of investigating the culture historical relevance of the settlement of Orlovka-Kartal, and to address complex of questions concerning the role played by the northwestern Black Sea area in the context of the emergence and development of the European Copper Age.