Bone and antler artefacts dated from Early Neolithic discovered recently in South-Western Transylvania,Romania

Abstract

The article presents an Early Neolithic assemblage made of 11 artefacts of bone and antler discovered recently in South-Western Transylvania, Hunedoara and Alba Counties. The osseous materials artefacts were discovered at Lunca Târnavei-“ Valley” during a periegesis and at Şoimuş/“ Pe Teleci”/“ Teleghi” where due to the extent of the Deva-Orăştie Motorway, more than 500 m of the site were excavated. The Western part of the site was researched by a team from Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilisation of Deva (Cătălin Rişcuţa, Ioan Alexandru Bărbat and Antoniu Marc) ; the artefacts analysed in this article were discovered in this sector. Even if they are only few (N = 13), the pieces are both ordinary and rare or even unique ones. The typology comprises ordinary pieces like : points made of fragments of long bones or scrapers made of ribs. The rare pieces are : red deer antler sleeve, the blank of bone spoon and the fragment of red deer skull cap. Artefacts discovered at Şoimuş can be dated from Starčevo-Criş IC-IIIB.