Rolul sării în procesul de neolitizare din sud-estul Europei
Role of the Salt in the Process of Neolithisation of Southeastern and Central Europe

Summary/Abstract: In order to understand the process of neolithisation of Southeastern and Central Europe, must be underlined the important role played by Transylvania through the numerous springs and salt lakes. The whole Carpathian arch of Transylvania is surrounded by impressive salt sources (Map 1). After a cold period in Europe between 6300-6100 BC, around 6000 BC there is a heating that corresponds to Greece and Anatolia with very hot and dry periods, which causes small pastoral communities to migrate from the Greek-Macedonian areas to the north. These first shepherds’ communities with sheep flocks, defined with a general term, as Early Neolithic, migrate northwards and sit in salt areas. In the Carpatho-Danubian Basin, this civilization is defined by archaeologists with the term Starčevo-Criş culture. The first horizon was defined as Monocrom-Frühkeramik and Starčevo-Criş IA respectively (shortly SC). Very soon, finding out the beneficial conditions (pastures, forests, mountains with alpine pastures, but especially salty springs), other communities with large cattle come, laying the foundations of some important Early Neolithic sites in Transylvania: Cristian, Ocna Sibiului, Miercurea Sibiului, Gura Baciului and those in Apahida – Cojocna zone. Migration after migration and diffusion sought and used salt sources which together with the environmental factor (pastures, forests, and alpine meadows) contributed to the neolithisation process. In SE Transylvania, Moldova, central and north Crişana neolithisation process starts only with the evolved phases of the Starčevo-Criş culture. The most interesting and important discoveries related with the end of Early Neolithic are those of Lunca – Poiana Slatinii (Neamţ County). The salt roll for the neolithisation processes of N Hungary, Slovakia (Hurbanovo and Biňa, Košice-Červeny Rak a.s.o.) and E Austria (Prellenkirche a.s.o.) is related with the evolved phases of SC culture (Zăuan, Tăşnad – Sere). Neolithic sites located in area of salt sources of Someş and Tisa basins prove also ethno-cultural exchanges (obsidian import of NE Hungary, SW Slovakia and maybe other).

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