Considering a ‘Chinese Element’ in Southeast Europe before the 2nd Millennium BC

Summary

Evidence of millet in Europe before 2000 BC has invited questions about its material culture context, possibly related with external regions such as China. This study compares the matrial assemblages of distinctively painted pottery vessels associated with findings of millet in different regions, such as the Cucuteni-Tripolye Culture of Southeast Europe, the Anau Culture of Central Asia,and the Majiayao Culture of China. These painted pottery vessels have been argued to be similar to each other, resonant with the geographical distribution of millet across Eurasia.

My lecture looks at the millet evidence in relation to the technologies and artistic styles of painted pottery traditions, clarifies their chronological relationships, and considers if the geographic spreads of millet and specific painted pottery traditions were indeed correlated. I will discuss to what extent the pottery types are similar or different, homologous or analogous, and chronologically congruent or incompetible. I additionally will present findings of millet impressions on the Cucuteni pottery that contributed significant new informaiton.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• New Insights into Painted Pottery from Northwest China

Keywords

Spatial Coverage