Trypillian culture exhibit at The Ukrainian Museum (10/10/93)

Trypillian culture exhibit at The Ukrainian Museum

NEW YORK - An exhibition "Ukraine - Images from 5,000 to 4,000 B.C.: Treasures of the Trypillian Culture" will open at The Ukrainian Museum on Sunday, October 24, and will be on view through Sunday, November 28. The exhibition traveled from Ukraine and is presented under the auspices of the Embassy of Ukraine and the Consulate General of Ukraine in New York City. It will feature more than 160 archeological items of historical and artistic value from the Trypillian culture - one of the most important Eurasian cultures in the ancient agricultural world. A bilingual brochure will accompany the exhibition.

The Trypillian culture received its name from the village of Trypillia on the Dnipro River in Ukraine, where the first discovery of this ancient civilization was made 100 years ago. The excavated treasures, in the forms of artifacts and remains of settlements, date the civilization to the Neolithic era. Archaeologists divide the Trypillian culture chronologically into three periods - early, middle and late. The Trypillian culture traces its origin to regions of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans, from where the earliest forms of agriculture and livestock breeding spread throughout Neolithic Europe. The territory of contemporary Ukraine witnessed the synthesis of various ancient cultures, both sedentary and nomadic, and from this blend emerged the Trypillian culture.

As early as 5,000 B.C. the Trypillians lived in the central region west of the Dnister River, as well as around the southern part of the River Buh. Gradually, these tribes settled the lands of the upper Dnister River, Volhynia, the central region bordering the Dnipro River and some areas of the Left Bank region. More than 2,000 settlements have been found near rivers and other water sources, and they consisted of living areas and burial mounds.

Trypillians built their villages in a circle formation, enclosing a large central area which, during the early period of the culture, served as a herding pen for domesticated livestock. Later periods saw large community buildings built on this common ground, which was also used for cult rituals, dances and games. This circular arrangement, similar to the African "kraal," also provided for a better defense of the settlement. A typical dwelling in such a settlement was a rectangular structure supported by stout wooden posts and covered with clay. It had somewhat elongated proportions, with several living quarters, which housed two to three families. In addition to these houses, archaeologists excavated many pit dwellings as well as some clay models of two-storied houses which may have been either domestic structures, cult temples or cremation platforms. The clay models are finely detailed, showing the construction of the buildings as well as their interiors.

An average community of the Trypillian culture was made up of several hundred people. In the Middle Trypillian period these communities were much larger, utilizing extensive land areas and supporting a populations of over 10,000. Most dwellings, which also contained storage areas and workshops, were two-storied and built against each other to form a fortification wall.

The excavations also unearthed thousands of charred dwellings in the center of which were found pottery, clay statuettes, grain, human and animal bones. Based on current theory, it is believed that the Trypillians adhered to a unique cycle of existence; they would build a settlement to be used for 60-80 years, burn it and leave it as an offering to the dead and then move on to create another settlement. This practice, known also in older civilizations, demanded an extremely well coordinated, centrally organized society.

The main occupations of the Trypillian people were agriculture and cattle breeding. They harvested wheat, barley, millet and flax. Although metal (copper) was already known, their everyday tools were still made of stone.

Trypillian pottery is the culture's most identifiable trademark. The elegance of the forms and the polychrome designs indicate a high level of sophistication in the process of clay preparation, firing and decoration. Pottery was made by hand without the use of a potter's wheel. At first, three colors of paint were used for the designs - white, red and black, while later, at the end of the middle period of the Trypillian culture, black predominated. Variations in the styles of ornamentation can be attributed to specific pottery-making centers.

On some pieces of pottery, the impressions of woven textiles were found. The imprints, sometimes very fine, indicate a very highly developed weaving technology and the availability of linen clothing.

The ancient people's concept and understanding of life and of the universe was governed by mythological beliefs, and this was reflected in everything they created; nothing was inconsequential, random or negligible, everything had a meaning and purpose. The designs they used on their pottery reflected in symbolic patterns and stylized pictures their concept of life, nature, the spiritual world and the universe.

Archeological excavations also yielded thousands of anthropomorphic clay statuettes which, scholars believe, played an important role in various cult rites and rituals, especially those associated with the sun, spring and fertility. Most common are statuettes of the female form. Other, zoomorphic, statuettes, were of wild or domestic animals, among them the bear, bull and ram, which were held in high esteem by the Trypillians.

The Trypillian culture yields the first tangible record of ancient prehistory on the territory of contemporary Ukraine. Overall, the Trypillians played an important role in the development of European civilization, and together with all the other peoples who lived on these lands for thousands of years, contributed greatly to the evolvement of Ukrainian culture.

The exhibition has been organized by the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Society for the Preservation of the Historical and Cultural Heritage and the Center for the Study of Historical Monuments at the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Its main sponsor in the United States is the Christina Czorpita Gallery in Philadelphia, with co-sponsor, the Ukrainian National Credit Union Association of Chicago.

At The Ukrainian Museum the exhibition is sponsored by the Ukrainian National Association.

The Ukrainian Museum is located at 203 Second Ave., (between 12th and 13th streets), and is open to the public Wednesday - Sunday, 1-5 p.m.

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