#epigravettian

[ancestorsalive]

"The so-called "Venus of Kostenki" was recovered from one of the Paleolithic sites on the Don River in Russia. Several figurines from this area share the same traits and indicate a single goddess who is encountered not just in Russia but throughout prehistoric Europe and the Near East. Her commonalities in so many figurines include the largeness of breasts, belly, thighs, and buttocks; a globe of a head with closely plated hair or more likely a knitted cap; and arms folded under breasts. Of subtler recurrence, least often remarked upon but of signal importance, is how often her head is tipped downward, not skyward, for the afterlife is not in the sky but in her own womb, the womb of the fatted earth. She is additionally faceless, as the Goddess in her wholeness is unknowable. This is the standard appearance of the Kostenki goddess figurines; but how nearly identical she is to prehistoric figurines from France to Israel is what startles. It is now known that a series of prehistoric societies were extremely far-ranging in their influences, amounting to a vast society of roaming hunter-gatherers. The last of these cultures has been named the Gravettian, the mammoth hunters who built sturdy shelters of mammoth bones to stand against even Ice Age storms, or dwelt in caves or semi-underground habitations. They were not a settled culture but did have centers revisited seasonally or periodically, ritual sites or encampments along the trails of migratory animals. Gravettian art dates from 25,000 to 20,000 BCE or older in Europe (and the Kostenki sites in use from about 37,000 BCE). This surprisingly was a unified culture that lasted a minimum of 5,000 years, with lingering elements until 17,500 BCE, and influences on the following Epigravettian era in Spain, Italy, France, the Balkans and Ukraine. Their goddess figurines were small because a nomadic existence required portability. When the Ice Age ended, Gravettian culture begins its slow fade into settled agricultural societies, the first cities, the earliest of which still created heavy-set faceless goddess figurines."

~ Jessica Amanda Salmonson

[historyfiles]

Anetivka Technology: the people of the Epigravettian-led Anetivka flint-knapping technology of the late Palaeolithic were broken up by changes enforced by the Dryas III-Preboreal period in the north-western Black Sea region.

[the-painting-space]

The graffiti of Addaura, carved by ancient humans between 20,000-15,000 BC in the late Epigravettian and early Mesolithic periods. They were found in the Addaura Cave on the northeast side of Mount Pellegrino in Palermo, Sicily.

[historical-nonfiction]

Venus Figurine or Abstract Art?

This 15,000-year-old bone pendant was found in Vlakno Cave, in Croatia. It may be a late type of Venus figurine, such as the famous Venus of Willendorf, which dates to more than 24,000 years ago. Venus figurines might have evolved over those 9,000 years, become more abstract and less realistic.

The geometric pattern on the bone is similar to patterns on other pieces of art from the Epigravettian period, a late Paleolithic culture on the European side of the Mediterranean. And similar examples of Epigravettian female figurines have been found in Dolni Vestovice in the Czech Republic and Mal'ta in Russia.

[gwendolynlerman]

Discovering the world

Serbia 🇷🇸

Basic facts

Official name: Република Србија, Republika Srbija (Republic of Serbia)

Capital city: Belgrade

Population: 6.7 million (2023)

Demonym: Serbian

Type of government: unitary parliamentary republic

Head of state: Aleksandar Vučić (President)

Head of government: Miloš Vučević (Prime Minister)

Gross domestic product (purchasing power parity): $173.07 billion (2023)

Gini coefficient of wealth inequality: 33.3% (medium) (2019)

Human Development Index: 0.805 (very high) (2022)

Currency: Serbian dinar (RSD)

Fun fact: Serbian is the only digraphic language in Europe, as it uses both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets.

Etymology

The country’s name comes from the Serbs (Srbi), but the origin of this term is unclear. It may come from a Proto-Slavic word with the meaning of “family kinship” or from two Iranian words: *sar- (“head”) and *bai- (“to hit”).

Geography

Serbia is located in Southeast Europe and borders Hungary to the north, Romania to the northeast, Bulgaria to the southeast, North Macedonia to the south, Kosovo and Montenegro to the southwest, and Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia to the west.

There are four main climates: hot-summer humid continental in the north and parts of the east, humid subtropical in the north and parts of the south and southwest, subtropical highland in the northwest, and subarctic in parts of the southwest. Temperatures range from −3 °C (26.6 °F) in winter to 30 °C (86 °F) in summer. The average annual temperature is 12.2 °C (53.9 °F).

The country is divided into 29 administrative districts (upravni okrug). The largest cities in Serbia are Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš, Kragujevac, and Subotica.

History

19000-8000 BCE: Epigravettian culture

13000-6000 BCE: Iron Gates Mesolithic

9500-5500 BCE: Lepenski Vir culture

6200-4500 BCE: Starčevo culture

5400-4500 BCE: Vinča culture

106 BCE-330 CE: Roman Empire

82 BCE-106 CE: Dacian Kingdom

330-1453 CE: Byzantine Empire

681-1018: First Bulgarian Empire

780-930: Principality of Serbia

10th century-1186: Kingdom of Duklja

1091-1217: Grand Principality of Serbia

1185-1396: Second Bulgarian Empire

1217-1346: Kingdom of Serbia

1346-1371: Serbian Empire

1371-1402: Principality of Moravian Serbia

1371-1412: District of Branković

1402-1442, 1444-1459: Serbian Despotate

1427-1521: Kingdom of Hungary

1459-1804: Ottoman Empire

1594: Uprising in Banat

1718-1739: Kingdom of Serbia

1686-1699: Habsburg occupation

1804-1813: First Serbian Uprising

1814: Hadži-Prodan’s rebellion

1815-1817: Second Serbian Uprising

1815-1882: Principality of Serbia

1849-1861: Austrian Empire

1882-1918: Kingdom of Serbia

1885: Serbo-Bulgarian War

1903: May Coup

1915-1918: Bulgarian occupation

1916-1918: Austro-Hungarian occupation

1918-1929: Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes

1929-1941: Kingdom of Yugoslavia

1941: Republic of Užice

1941-1944: German occupation

1943-1945: Democratic Federal Yugoslavia

1945-1963: Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia

1963-1992: Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

1988-1989: Anti-bureaucratic Revolution

1992-2003: Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

1995-1998: insurgency in Kosovo

1998-1999: Kosovo War

1999-2001: insurgency in the Preševo Valley

2000: Bulldozer Revolution

2003-2006: Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

2006-present: Republic of Serbia

Economy

Serbia mainly imports from the European Union, China, and Türkiye and exports to the European Union, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. Its top exports are fruit, corn, and insulated electric conductors.

It has coal, copper, and gold deposits. Services represent 52% of the GDP, followed by industry (25.6%) and agriculture (6.5%).

Serbia is a member of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.

Demographics

Serbs represent 84.4% of the population, followed by Hungarians (2.6%) and Bosniaks (2.2%). The main religion is Christianity, practiced by 86.6% of the population, 81.1% of which is Orthodox.

It has a negative net migration rate and a fertility rate of 1.6 children per woman. 57.1% of the population lives in urban areas. Life expectancy is 72.7 years and the median age is 43.1 years. The literacy rate is 98%.

Languages

The official language of the country is Serbian, native to 88% of the population, of which 47% favor the Latin alphabet and 36% the Cyrillic one. Recognized minority languages include Albanian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Macedonian, Romanian, Rusyn, and Slovak.

Culture

Serbs are very blunt and direct, which may come across as rude to foreigners. Each family has one patron saint that they venerate on their feast day.

Men wear a white shirt, a vest (štofani), baggy pants (čakšire), flat leather shoes (opanci), and a V-shaped cap (šajkača). Women wear an embroidered white blouse, a vest (jelek), a wide skirt (suknjerac), an apron, and opanci.

Architecture

Traditional houses in Serbia have stone, whitewashed walls, tile roofs, and porches.

Cuisine

The Serbian diet is based on bread, meat, and vegetables. Typical dishes include karađorđeva šnicla (a breaded rolled steak stuffed with cheese, cream, and ham), mućkalica (a spicy stew of peppers, pork, and tomatoes), pljeskavica (a ground meat patty served with beans, fries, milk cream, and onions), Srpska salata (cucumber, onion, and tomato salad), and vasina torta (a sponge cake with cream made of chocolate, oranges, and walnuts).

Holidays and festivals

Like other Christian countries, Serbia celebrates Orthodox Christmas Day, Good Friday, and Easter Monday. It also commemorates New Year’s Day and Labor Day (two days each).

Specific Serbian holidays include Statehood Day on February 15 and 16 and Armistice Day on November 11.

Statehood Day

Other celebrations include the International Trumpet Festival, the Kupusijada, which revolves around cabbage, and the Lovefest, which involves love and music.

Kupusijada

Landmarks

There are four UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Gamzigrad-Romuliana, Palace of Galerius, Stari Ras and Sopoćani, Stećci Medieval Tombstones Graveyards, and Studenica Monastery.

Studenica Monastery

Other landmarks include the Đerdap National Park, the Gardoš Tower, the Šar Mountains National Park, the Smedervo Fortress, and the Temple of Saint Sava.

Đerdap National Park

Famous people

Aleksandra Radović - singer

Meša Selimović - writer

Miki Manojlović - actor

Milena Pavlović-Barili - painter and poet

Monica Seles - tennis player

Nataša Stanković - actress and model

Nikola Tesla - engineer and inventor

Novak Djokovic - tennis player

Tijana Bošković - volleyball player

Željko Joksimović - singer

Tijana Bošković

You can find out more about life in Serbia in this article and this video.

[spratwurst]

Băile Herculane, Romania

Băile Herculane (Latin: Aqua Herculis) is a town in Romanian Banat, in Caraș-Severin County, situated in the valley of the Cerna River, between the Mehedinţi Mountains to the east and the Cerna Mountains to the west, elevation 168 meters. 

The spa town of Băile Herculane has a long history of human habitation. Numerous archaeological discoveries show that the area has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era. The Peștera Hoților (Cave of the Thieves), contains multiple levels, including one from the Mousterian period, one from the Mesolithic period (late Epigravettian) and several from the later Neolithic periods.

Legend has it that the weary Hercules stopped in the valley to bathe and rest. Unearthed stone carvings show that visiting Roman aristocrats turned the town into a Roman leisure center. Six statues of Hercules from the time have been discovered. A bronze replica of one of them, molded in 1874, stands as a landmark in the town center. Austrian and Ottoman troops clashed here after the Ottoman victory in the battle of Mehadia on 30 August 1788. The Ottomans won the skirmish, took the town on 7 September 1788 and advanced to Caransebeș. It was retaken by the Austrians at the end of September 1789.

In modern times, the spa town has been visited for its supposedly natural healing properties: hot springs with sulfur, chlorine, sodium, calcium, magnesium and other minerals, as well as negatively ionized air.

[historyfiles]

Epigravettian Culture: this culture led the way into the European Mesolithic in its core territory in the Carpathian basin, emerging around three and-a-half millennia after the recognised end of the Gravettian.

[ancestorsalive]

"The so-called "Venus of Kostenki" was recovered from one of the Paleolithic sites on the Don River in Russia. Several figurines from this area share the same traits and indicate a single goddess who is encountered not just in Russia but throughout prehistoric Europe and the Near East.

Her commonalities in so many figurines include the largeness of breasts, belly, thighs, and buttocks; a globe of a head with closely plated hair or more likely a knitted cap; and arms folded under breasts.

Of subtler recurrence, least often remarked upon but of signal importance, is how often her head is tipped downward, not skyward, for the afterlife is not in the sky but in her own womb, the womb of the fatted earth. She is additionally faceless, as the Goddess in her wholeness is unknowable.

This is the standard appearance of the Kostenki goddess figurines; but how nearly identical she is to prehistoric figurines from France to Israel is what startles. It is now known that a series of prehistoric societies were extremely far-ranging in their influences, amounting to a vast society of roaming hunter-gatherers.

The last of these cultures has been named the Gravettian, the mammoth hunters who built sturdy shelters of mammoth bones to stand against even Ice Age storms, or dwelt in caves or semi-underground habitations. They were not a settled culture but did have centers revisited seasonally or periodically, ritual sites or encampments along the trails of migratory animals.

Gravettian art dates from 25,000 to 20,000 BCE or older in Europe (and the Kostenki sites in use from about 37,000 BCE). This surprisingly was a unified culture that lasted a minimum of 5,000 years, with lingering elements until 17,500 BCE, and influences on the following Epigravettian era in Spain, Italy, France, the Balkans and Ukraine.

Their goddess figurines were small because a nomadic existence required portability. When the Ice Age ended, Gravettian culture begins its slow fade into settled agricultural societies, the first cities, the earliest of which still created heavy-set faceless goddess figurines."

~ Jessica Amanda Salmonson