| Coţofeni/Kocofeni culture | |
|---|---|
| Period | Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age, c. 3500 and 2500 BC |
The Coţofeni culture (Serbian: Kocofeni) is a Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age culture that existed for over 700 years in the south-eastern part of Central Europe.
The first report of a Coţofeni find was given by Fr. Schuster[1] in 1865 from the Râpa Roşie site in Sebeş (present-day Alba County, Romania). Since then this culture has been researched by various people to different degrees. Some of the larger contributors to the study of this culture were done by C. Gooss, K. Benkő, B. Orbán, G. Téglas, K. Herepey, S. Fenichel, Julius Teutsch, Cezar Bolliac, V. Christescu, Teohari Antonescu and Cristian Popa.
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The Coţofeni cultural area can be seen from two perspectives, as a maximum extent area and as a fluctuation area. The former covers the territories of present day Maramureş, some areas in Sătmar, the mountainous and hilly areas of Crişana, Transylvania,[2][3], Banat[4], Oltenia[5], Muntenia (not including the North-Eastern part), and across the Danube in the present day north-eastern region of Serbia and northwestern region of Bulgaria[6].
Bronze Age in Romania Unfortunately, most of the chronology of the Coţofeni culture is based on just three samples collected in three Coţofeni sites. Based on these radiocarbon dates, the evolution of this culture can be placed roughly between 3500 and 2500 BCE.[7]
Cultural synchronisms have been established based on mutual trade relations (visible as imported items) as well as stratigraphical observations. There is an evident synchronicity between:
Coţofeni I - Cernavoda III - Baden A - Spherical Amphorae;
Coţofeni II - Baden B-C Kostolac;[8][9]
Coţofeni III - Kostolac-Vučedol A-B.
During the evolution of the Coţofeni culture, there were clearly relationships with other neighbouring cultures. The influence between the Coţofeni and their neighbours the Baden, Kostolac,[10] Vučedol, Globular Amphora culture as well as the Ochre Burial populations was reciprocal. The areas bordering these cultures show cultural traits that have mixed aspects, for example Coţofeni-Baden[11][12] and Coţofeni-Kostolac finds. These finds of mixed aspects suggest a cohabitation between related populations.[13] It also supports the idea of well established trade between cultures.
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