Considerații privind evoluția culturii Coțofeni în lumina noilor date radiocarbon
Considerations Regarding the Evolution of Coțofeni Culture in the Light of New Radiocarbon Dates

Summary/Abstract: The Coțofeni culture is part of an extensive cultural phenomenon that extended across the Carpathian Basin, Transylvania, and surrounded regions during the 4th and early 3rd millennium BC. This cultural phenomenon is marked by distinctive ceramics, metal objects, and agropastoral lifeways. A recent influx of research and radiocarbon dating have made it possible to reconstruct the absolute chronology of the Coțofeni culture in Romania, including its start and end dates and internal development, for the first time. In this study, we present 26 radiocarbon dates, Bayesian models, and a discussion of relevant material culture from 11 sites in Romania: Ariceştii – Rahtivani, Băile Herculane, Dubova, Hăpria, Gligoreşti, Ostrovu Corbului, Peţelca, Poiana Ampoiului, Râmeţ – Gugu, Silvaşu de Jos, and Turdaş - Siteş. Based on the available radiocarbon data, we place the start of the Coțofeni culture during the Late Copper Age (Eneolithic), approximately 3500/3400 BC. The earliest phase (Coțofeni I) lasted approximately from 3500/3400 BC to 3300/3200. With fewer dates and a shorter span, the second phase (Coțofeni II) is more difficult to situate, but available data suggest it is between 3300/3250 to 3200/3150 BC. The third and final phase (Coțofeni III) spanned from approximately 3200/3150 to 2900/2800 BC. The dates demonstrate that there is a significant temporal overlap – up to two centuries in length – between the Coțofeni culture and Yamnaya migrant communities from the Eurasian Steppe in the early 3rd millennium BC. Dates from sites with burial mounds covering Coțofeni settlement, such as at Râmeţ - Gugu (approximately 2900), demonstrate the timing and close connection between Coțofeni communities and the emergence of burial tumuli in Transylvania.

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