Cucuteni

an Aeneolithic settlement located 12 km from the city of lasi in Rumania. It was first investigated in the late 19th century. Deposits containing the cultural remains measure as much as 2 m thick. There are two cultural layers. The lower one (Cucuteni-A) dates from the middle of the fourth millennium B.C., and the upper (Cucuteni-B), from about the end of the fourth or the beginning of the third millennium B.C. The settlement was fortified by a ditch and an earthen bank.

Pottery decorated with tricolored spiral painting predominates in Cucuteni-A. However, other items have also been found, including vessels with grooved ornamentation; rough kitchen ware; implements made of flint, bone, horn, and copper; and clay schematized female statuettes. The Cucuteni-B layer is characterized by pottery with monochrome (black) painting on a yellowish orange surface. Other items found in this layer include rough kitchen ware, pottery with corded ornamentation, clay female statuettes with black painted decoration, figurines of animals, and more copper articles (daggers, axes). The term “Cucuteni” is used to refer to the culture of painted pottery in Rumania analogous to the Tripol’e culture.