Salt Works

What may well be the world's oldest saltworks was discovered at the Poiana Slatinei archaeological site next to a salt spring in Lunca, Neamt County, Romania. Archaeological evidence indicates that salt production began there as long ago as 6050 BC., making it perhaps the oldest known saltworks in the world.^[ Evidence based on discoveries in Solca, Cacica, Lunca, Oglinzi, and Cucuieţi, indicates that the people of the Precucuteni Culture were extracting salt from the salt-laden spring-water through the process of Briquetage. First, the brackish water from the spring was boiled in large pottery vessels, producing a dense brine. The brine was then heated in a ceramic briquetage vessel until all moisture was evaporated, with the remaining crystallized salt adhering to the inside walls of the vessel. Then the briquetage vessel was broken open, and the salt was scraped from the shards.

The salt extracted from this operation may have had a direct correlation to the rapid growth of this society's population soon after its initial production began. Salt from this operation probably played a very important role in the Neolithic economy of the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture through its entire duration.

Ceramics

One of the most recognizable aspects of the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture is the incredible pottery that its people produced. Borrowing from the Linear Pottery culture, the Cucuteni-Trypillian potters made improvements, mastering the modeling and temperature control of the manufacturing process, and decorating the clayware with a genuine and well-developed aesthetic sense of artistry.

There have been a seeming countless number of ceramic artifacts discovered in various Cucuteni-Trypillian archaeological sites over the years, which include pottery in many shapes and sizes, statues and figurines of both anthropomorphic and zoomorphic patterns, tools, implements, weights, and even furniture. It would be impossible to imagine this culture without its ceramic objects.

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1191