UDC 903°1 »637« (497.113) 23 NIKOLA TASIC, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts HISTORICAL PICTURE OF DEVELOPMENT OF BRONZE AGE CULTURES IN VOJVODINA Ahsrract. Asa »contact zones shes othe influences ofthe Pannonian Plano the north, the Balkans to the south, the Carpatho-Danubian region to the cast andthe supine region tothe wes, Vajvina is excepsionaly important for the study of the Bronze Age of these regions. It witnessed the processes of integration of certain cultures only to se them sisintegrate again. At times almost the entire ettory was dominated bya single culture, while a others completely divergent cultures developed simultaneously in each ofits three constituent regions: the Bat, Seem and Bada nthe later haf ofthe Early Bronze Age an attempt to establish contol over an extensive territory was made by te Vain culture which, in is westward and southward expansion, covered the central and southern Banat, ad most of See, reaching as fr as Sumadia and the Lower Morava Valley. The Vatin population was driven out by the Enersted Pottery people descending from the central and westem Pannoian Pain, They remained tere through sever developmental phases extending into non-western Bulgaria and part of the Romanian Banat AL the end of the Middle and inthe Late Bronze Age, in rem, the Banat and around te confluence ofthe Sava and Danube rivers anew cltre emerged, marked by large necopolises containing cremation burial. I its expansion it covered the teritory previously inhabited by Encrusted Potery peoples. At the same time, sorthern Vojvodina became occupied by the Higeleraber culture peeating down the Tis and Danube vers, In the Final phase ofthe Bronze Age there appeared black burnished porter stbutable to the widespread eastern Gava comple, In western Vojvodina ths comple confronted the ceatral-European,sub- Alpine and west-Pannonian varieties ofthe Umienfeldr culture. This coftontaton, as well as numerous heads ted to Ha AI-A2 C ark the end of the Bronze Ags in thexe regions. Key words, ~ Vatin culture, Encrusted Pottery, black burnished pottery, chronology. he southern areas of Pannonian plain are when. I the Bronze Age cultures are concerned among. the best investigated regions of this part of our continent. For over 120 years these areas had been investigated, the material was collected, there are ‘many reports, articles and of course studies and mono- graphs. By the end of 19th and the beginning of the 20th century some of the leading sites of the Bronze Age including Vatin, Dubovac, Zidovar, Dupljaja, Vrsac-At, VrSac-Crvenka in the south Banat and ‘Mokrin in the north Banat as well as Surtin, Gomolava near Hrtkovei, Sarengrad and Jarak in Srem, Feudvar in Baéka and some others had been already known. In the ensuing years the new sites were discovered and they all made possible first large scientific syntheses like Vojvodina I (Prehistory studied by M. Grbic, 1939) Praistorija na tlu Srbije I, 1 (M. Garasanin 1973), Praistorija Vojvodine (B. Brukner, B (CTAPHHAP LIT-L1V/2003-2004, Jovanovié, N. Tasié 1974) then monographs on cultures or sites all mentioned in the bibliography at the end of this work. In the bibliography are also cited many symposia, colloquia and other meetings of the scholars devoted entirely or just partially to the problems of the Bronze Age. Finally, the basis for establishing the new synthesis on prehistoric cultures in Vojvodina is provided by multilayered sites investi- gated by modern methods of archaeological investiga tion, These are in the professional literature well known sites Gomolava near Hrikovei, Gradina on the Bosut river near Sid, Feudvar near Mosorin, Zidovar in the south Banat but also the necropoles with large number of burials (Stojica gumno in Belegis, Vojlo- vica near Pangevo, Vrsac—At, Oresac, llandza, Velebit near Kanjiza, Mokrin and Ostojiéevo in the north Banat). The list of these sites is also provided at the end of the text (Map 1).I EARLY BRONZE AGE CULTURES The reasons for the emergence of the new period in the prehistoric archaeology ge —lie in the change of the ethnic picture within the large area of the Carpathian basin especially Vojvodina as the »contact, zone« between Pannonian plain and the Balkans. The Bronze cultures, which determined the preceding Eneolithic period or the Copper Age as its synonym, reached their full evolution, The Vuéedol culture with advanced cop- per metallurgy, smelting craftsmanship and richness of material culture was endangered by the emer the new tribes, which penetrated in waves from the south Russian steppes along the Danube valley (via ence of Map 1. Vuéedol and Vinkovei sites in the »prehistorie limes« zone Kapta I. Bywegou u Bunxosu nasasuudna y »tpaucttopujcko} ausece sou 1. Sarvas Alimos Dal Erdut Vinkovei Vukovar Vaéedol Sotin 9. Lovas 10. Sot ilok Nestin Susen Svilos Pecine-Vrdnik Slankamen Belegis Zemun ~Govedi brod Zemun — Gardos Batajnica — tumul Vojka — tumul Gomolava PetrovaradinHISTORICAL PICTURE OF DEVELOPMENT OF BRONZE AGE CULTURES IN VOIVODINA, 25 Dobruja) or across the Carpathian pass (the Tisza springs) endangered the tribes living in the east and south part of the Pannonian plain. The autochthonous population offered strong resistance like a batrier to this penetration towards the Danube. The type of settlements, their position and distribution in the area from the Drava confluence with the Danube down to the Sava confluence with the Danube reveal that native population, which had their long evolution (through, the Baden and Kostolae culture in this area) remained at their prominent positions, The series of Vudedol settlements from Sarvas, via Vudedbol, Sotin, Vinkovei, Belegis, Vrdnik, Golokut near Vizie, Petrovaradin and, many others still uninvestigated but only registered sites, Clearly illustrates one sophisticated system of fortified settlements linked into some kind of prehistoric limes, the border between two worlds and two different popu- lations — autochthonous and invasive (Map 2). This other population is represented exclusively by burial ‘mounds of the nomads from the east, the mobile popu- lation that did not stay long in one place. The large sacred structures, tumuli, are so far the only testimonies, of their presence in the areas of Banat and Baéka. Almost one thousand of the tumuli have been registe- red within one large project of the Serbian Academy of Science and Art and Novi Sad Department in collabo- ration with regional museums and offices for protection of cultural monuments. If we take into account that many of these tumuli had been destroyed in the course of soil cultivation then the impression of their abun- dance is even more convineing. In spite of the differen- ces between the Vuéedol culture and the culture of the steppe the influence of newcomers spread also across the Danube so burials under mounds were encountered (although not often) in the territory of Vugedol culture. ‘The examples of this are two investigated tumuli that in the center had the urn with offerings (Batajnica) or pottery damaged by subsequent medieval burials (Vojka near Pazova), The vessels from Batajnica tumulus have been painted in red, ochre color that is another contfir- mation of the influence of the newly arrived populations in the territory of modern Vojvodina. ‘The similar system of fortifications purposely orga~ nized as defense from aggressive tribes as we know from Gradac in Vucedol was also used for fortifying the settlement at the site Sangine in Belegis. In the course of small-size investigations on the isolated plateau there were also conducted trail excavations, which revealed that settlement was protected by double ditch with central ridge with palisade on top. Such large works to fortify the settlement did not result from the (CTAPHHAP LIII-L1V/ 2003-2004, need to keep away wild animals out and the domestic, ones in but without doubt it was the protection from unwanted visitors, When thus fortified individual settlements are linked into a system then it is clear what the fortifications were intended for. In spite of aspiration to continue peacefully the de- velopment of the Vutedol culture it was not possible. The end of the great and last Eneolithic culture could be sensed in its great potential in production of copper objects and its exceptionally decorated »baroque« pottery. Itis a rule in the development of cultures and civilizations that after reaching the perfection (in this, case in production of pottery and figurines) comes contentment so to say even decadence leading to the emergence of new stylistic traits in decoration, more simple and mote modest. This process also experien- ced the Vué edol culture, which was replaced in the almost same area, by first genuine Bronze Age culture = Vinkovei culture. This culture not only originated in almost the same territory where Vudedol culture existed (Srem and Slavonia) but also inherited certain pottery shapes. The continuity is sometimes confirmed by vertical stratigraphy at some of the sites, Vizié on the northern slopes of Fruska Gora and to somewhat lesser extent the settlements Sangine and Gradac in Belegis or Petrovaradin near Novi Sad. In the other parts of Vojvodina, in the north and south Banat or in north Baéka this process was diffe- rent because in those areas other cultures existed and developed before the penetration of elements from the steppe. It even seems that climatic and hydrological circumstances had not been favorable for establishing. larger settlements. For instance, marshy terrain around, ‘Tisza, Moris, Zlatica in the north Banat or in the south Banat around Tamis or Deliblatska pes€ara did not offer favorable conditions for more complete development of cultures. The loess plateaus above the waters of these rivers, lakes and swamps had been only oases where the life was possible. Hence, itis not by chance that in the period of transition from the Eneolithic to the Early Bronze Age large number of tumuli probably of steppe origin were erected on those plateaus (Perlez, Kind?a, Srpski Krstur, Aradjanska Slatinska humka and others). The isolated specimens of the Maks culture (a variant of late Vucedol culture) or similar finds have been encountered at few sites (Kanjiza (Velebit), Senjak near Zabalj and some sites in the north part of Romanian Banat. So the elements of transition from the Eneolithic to the Bronze Age are not clear enough, as it was the case in the territory of Vuéedol culture. ‘There is no answer on which substratum has been