Complexe eneolitice de cult ale păstorilor timpurii din nordul și nord-vestul Mării Negre
Eneolithic cult features of early shepherds in the north and northwest region of the Black Sea

Summary/Abstract: The accumulation of archaeological information about the early tumular complexes in the north and northwest of the Black Sea in the last six decades has led to a sudden increase in the number of vestiges and their interpretation. It was observed that the architecture of some early mounds included, at the ancient level of walking, wooden constructions interpreted as cult contexts. In the present study, we identified nine discoveries of this type, of which: five in the northwest of the Black Sea, three in the Bug river basin and one discovery in the north of the Azov Sea, in the Molochna river basin. We present the history of the interpretations of these discoveries in chronological order so that the evolution of the proposals of reconstruction of their functionality can be followed. The constructions made of poles, at the base of the mounds, from the beginning were seen as cult arrangements. Later, various authors saw in them reminiscences of some totem cults, the embodiment of the horizontal and vertical model of the world or even astronomical landmarks. Chronologically, these discoveries are placed in the first half of the 4th millennium BC in the northwest of the Black Sea region, being related to the early tradition of building barrows by the Cernavoda I culture (Hadjider type remains) communities. Reconstructing such cult structures and their associated rituals is a difficult endeavor, due to insufficient material traces to discuss certainties. Possibly, the arrangements of poles reflect a replication of some household structures used during life, meant to accompany the deceased to the other world. At the same time, the pole as an element of worship finds many reflections in the Indian Vedas, where it appears as a pillar of sacrifice. Thus, the pillar has a cosmogonic dimension, representing the link that connects the sky with the earth. According to the Vedas, animals slaughtered during religious processions were tied to the pole. The pillar of sacrifice became a kind of Axis Mundi and the sacrificed animal was transformed into a messenger, connecting man and deity.

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