A House Model from Popudnya, Cucuteni-Tripolye Culture, Ukraine: A New Interpretation

Abstract

In 1911, during the excavation of a Cucuteni-Tripolye settlement near Popudnya, now Cherkasy Region, Ukraine, the Polish archaeologist Marian Himner discovered a unique house model reproducing the interior with two anthropomorphic characters. The model was repeatedly discussed in the archaeological literature. However, the analysis of the fi nd, owned by the National Archaeological Museum in Warsaw, and its parallels, using archival photographs of the early 1900s, kindly provided by Polish colleagues, suggests a different interpretation. The model shows the interior of a typical Tripolye house, similar to the interiors of buildings excavated at settlements of Tripolye BII–CI stage in the Bug-Dnieper watershed. Contrary to a popular view, there is no “idol” inside. Rather, there are two naturalistically rendered characters, male and female. The woman is grinding grain, and the man is sitting in front of the stove, watching her. The closest three-dimensional “narrative” models come from Sushkovka and Chichirkozovka settlements, related to the same “Tomashovka-Sushkovka” local group of sites as Popudnya. This group includes famous Tripolye giant settlements 300–400 ha in area, with an estimated population of 5–8 thousand. The naturalism of the Popudnya model resembles the style of anthropomorphic figurines from settlements of the same group. We suggest that the scene depicted by the model either refers to a specifi c folkloric or mythological motif or visualizes a benevolent formula relating to household foundation.