Cult Objects of the Neolithic Lengyel Culture – Connections and Interpretation

The author presents a catalogue of altarpieces of the Lengyel culture, containing many hitherto unpublished finds. On the basis of a comparison of contemporary and earlier finds from South-East Europe an interpretation on cultic lines is reached supported by a contextual analysis.

"Altarpieces" are artefacts characteristic of the Lengyel and Moravian Painted cultures, extending across central Europe from 4800-4300 BC. Ranging from 4–12 cm high, cubic in shape, with a small depression in the top, these clay objects have puzzled archaeologists. After cataloguing the published finds under a new typological system, the author examines the surroundings of those examples found in closed contexts in order to work her way towards an understanding of their function. She examines their relationship to identical shapes in the Bronze Age of south eastern Europe and their temporal variation in the process.