Tărtăria tablets
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The Tărtăria tablets (Romanian pronunciation:
The tablets bear incised symbols associated with the
Based on the account of their discovery which associates the tablets with the
Discovery
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Tartaria2.jpg/220px-Tartaria2.jpg)
In 1961, members of a team led by Nicolae Vlassa (an archaeologist at the National Museum of Transylvanian History, Cluj-Napoca) reportedly unearthed three inscribed but unfired clay tablets, twenty-six clay and stone figurines, a shell bracelet, and the burnt,[dubious – discuss] broken, and disarticulated bones of an adult female sometimes referred to as "Milady Tărtăria".[6]
There is no consensus on the interpretation of the burial, but it has been suggested that the body was likely that of a respected local wise-person,
Disputed authenticity
It is disputed whether the tablets were actually found at the reported site, and Vlassa never discussed the circumstances of the find of the stratigraphy.[8]
The authenticity of the engravings has also been disputed. A recent claim of forgery is based on the similarity between some of the symbols and reproductions of Sumerian symbols in popular Romanian literature available at the time of the discovery.[9]
Description
Two of the tablets are rectangular and the third is round.[10] They are all small, the round one being only 6 cm (2+1⁄2 in) across, and two—the round one and one rectangular tablet—have holes drilled through them. All three have symbols inscribed on only one face.[10] The unpierced rectangular tablet depicts a horned animal, an unclear figure, and a vegetal motif such as a branch or tree. The others consist of a variety of mainly abstract symbols.[7]
Dating
Workers at the conservation department of the
The tablets are generally believed to have belonged to the
Subsequent
It has been controversially claimed that if the symbols are indeed a form of writing, then writing in the
Historical context
Hypothesis of Danubian culture
The term Danubian culture was proposed by V. Gordon Childe to describe the first agrarian society in central and eastern Europe. This hypothesis and the appearance of writing in this space is supported by Marco Merlini,[14] Harald Haarmann, Joan Marler,[15] Gheorghe Lazarovici,[16] and many others.
Proposed links to Sumerian culture
Colin Renfrew argues that the apparent similarities with Sumerian symbols are deceptive:
"To me, the comparison made between the signs on the Tărtăria tablets and those of proto-literate Sumeria carry very little weight. They are all simple pictographs, and a sign for a goat in one culture is bound to look much like the sign for a goat in another. To call these Balkan signs 'writing' is perhaps to imply that they had an independent significance of their own communicable to another person without oral contact. This I doubt."[17]
Artifacts bearing Vinča symbols
The Vinča symbols have been known since the late 19th century excavation by
Other artifacts
This group of artifacts, including the tablets, have some relation with the culture developed in the Black Sea – Aegean Sea area. Similar artefacts have been found in Bulgaria (e.g. the Gradeshnitsa tablets) and northern Greece (the Dispilio Tablet). The material and the style used for the Tartaria artefacts show some similarities to those used in the Cyclades area, as two of the statuettes are made of alabaster.[original research?][citation needed]
Purpose and meaning
The meaning (if any) of the symbols is unknown, and their nature has been the subject of much debate.
Writing system
Scholars who conclude that the inscribed symbols are writing are basing their assessment on a few assumptions that are not universally endorsed:
- The existence of similar signs on other artifacts of the Danube civilization suggest that there was an inventory of standard shapes used by scribes.
- The symbols are highly standardised and have a rectilinear shape comparable to that manifested by archaic writing systems.
- The information communicated by each character was specific, with an unequivocal meaning.
- The inscriptions are sequenced in rows, whether horizontal, vertical, or circular.
If they do comprise a script, it is not known what kind of writing system they represent. Vlassa interpreted one of the Tărtăria tablets as a hunting scene and the other two with signs as a kind of primitive writing similar to the early pictograms of the
Non-linguistic signs
One problem is the lack of independent indications of literacy existing in the Balkans at this period. Sarunas Milisauskas comments that "it is extremely difficult to demonstrate archaeologically whether a corpus of symbols constitutes a writing system" and notes that the first known writing systems were all developed by early states to facilitate record-keeping in complex organised societies in the Middle East and Mediterranean. There is no evidence of organised states in the European Neolithic, thus it is unlikely they would have needed the administrative systems facilitated by writing. David Anthony notes that
An alternative suggestion is that they may have been merely uncomprehending imitations of more advanced cultures, although this explanation is made rather unlikely by the great antiquity of the tablets—there were no known literate cultures at the time from which the symbols could have been adopted.[12]
Others consider the pictograms to be accompanied by random scribbles.[dubious – discuss][12]
See also
- Gradeshnitsa tablets
- Dispilio Tablet
- Sitovo inscription
- Prehistoric Romania
- Prehistory of Transylvania
- Cucuteni–Trypillian culture
References
- ^ Merlini & Lazarovici 2008, p. 111.
- ^ Merlini & Lazarovici 2008, pp. 115–124.
- ^ Merlini & Lazarovici 2008, pp. 111, 131.
- ^ Merlini & Lazarovici 2008, pp. 132–134.
- ^ Merlini & Lazarovici 2008, pp. 125–130.
- ^ Merlini & Lazarovici 2008, pp. 111–117, 166–180.
- ^ Alasdair W. R. Whittle, Europe in the Neolithic: The Creation of New Worlds, p. 101. Cambridge University Press, 1996.
- ^ Merlini & Lazarovici 2008, pp. 111–117.
- ISSN 0002-6646, vol. 58, 4 (2013), p. 307–318
- ^ a b Merlini & Lazarovici 2008, p. 116.
- ^ Merlini & Lazarovici 2008, pp. 118–119.
- ^ a b c d Carl J. Becker, A Modern Theory Of Language Evolution, p. 346 (iUniverse, 2004).
- ^ H. W. F. Saggs, Civilization Before Greece and Rome, p. 75 (Yale University Press, 1998).
- ^ Marco Merlini "La scrittura è natta in Europa", Avverbi, Roma, 2004
- ^ Harald Haarmann, Joan Marler, An introduction to the study of the Danube Script, Journal of Archeomythology, Vol.4, 2008
- ISBN 978-606-543-160-7
- ^ Colin Renfrew, Before civilization: The radiocarbon revolution and prehistoric Europe, p. 186 (Jonathan Cape, 1973)
- ^ Gimbutas 2001, p. 50.
- ^ Sarunas Milisauskas, European Prehistory: A Survey, pp. 236–37 (Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, 2002)
Sources
- Evans, A (1895), Cretan pictographs and prae-Phoenician script. With an account of a sepulchral deposit at Hagios Onuphrios near Phaestos in its relation primitive Cretan and Aegean culture, G.P.Putnams sons, p. 166
- Falkenstein, A. (1965) Zu den Tontafeln aus Târtària, Germania 43 : 269–273.
- ISBN 9780520229150.
- Haarmann, H (1990), "Writing from Old Europe", The Journal of Indo-European Studies
- Jongbloed, Dominique (2011), Civilisations antédiluviennes (in French), Alphée ed
- Kenanidis, I.; Papakitsos, G. (2015) A Comparative Linguistic Study about the Sumerian Influence on the Creation of the Aegean Scripts.
- Klára, Friedrich The Mystery of Tatárlaka (Dobogó-Historical journal, 2004/9.-2005/6.)
- Klára, Friedrich (2005) - Szakács Gábor: Graved in stone, carved in wood...
- Makkay, J (1969), "The Late Neolithic Tordos Group of Signs", Alba Regia, pp. 9–50.
- Makkay, J (1984), Early Stamp Seals in South-East Europe, Budapest
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link). - Mandics, Gy., Záhonyi, A.: The message oh Tartaria and Tordos. Fríg (Pilisvörösvár, Hungary), 2018.
- Merlini, Marco; Lazarovici, Gheorghe (2008). "Settling discovery circumstances, dating and utilization of the Tărtăria tablets" (PDF). Acta Terrae Septemcastrensis. VII. Sibiu, Romania: ISSN 1583-1817.
- Paliga, Sorin (1993). "The tablets of Tărtăria. An enigma? A reconsideration and further perspectives". Dialogues d'histoire ancienne. 19 (1): 9–43. .
- Schmandt-Besserat, Denise (1992) Before Writing, University of Texas Press, Austin. Volume I: From Counting to Cuneiform.
- Vaiman, A. A. (1994) On the Quasi-Sumerian tablets from Tartaria. Археологические вести. Спб, 1994. Вып. 3. Аннотации. — ИИМК РАН
- Winn, Sham MM (1973), The Signs of the Vinca Culture.
- Winn, Sham MM (1981), Pre-writing in Southeast Europe: The Sign System of the Vinca culture, BAR.
External links
- Crișan, Ioana, Signs on Tărtăria Tablets found in the Romanian folkloric art, IT: PreHistory.
- Merlini, Marco, Milady Tărtăria and the discovery of the Tărtăria Tablets, IT: PreHistory.