Tripolye Culture Research Articles

Сергій Гамченко (1860–1932): документи і матеріали з особового архіву крізь призму новітнього розгляду творчого життєпису вченого

Through the prism of the latest, modern review of the scientific and creative biography of Ukrainian archaeologist, historian, ethnologist, publicist, museologist, vice-president of the All-Ukrainian Archaeological Committee (VUAK) of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences (VUAN) Serhiy Spyrydonovych (Svyrydovych) Hamchenko his personal archive, which are stored in his personal fund (f. № 3) of the Scientific Archive of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NA IA NASU) (Kyiv, fund № 3) are researched, analyzed and rethought. Also information is represented (in a broad framework of timeless polylogue of scientists and epochs) about the activities of a tireless scientist from other official archives, manuscript collections, numerous publications of well-known experts in history, archaeology and source studying. Emphasized that archive fund of S. Hamchenko consists mostly of a collection of scientific manuscripts related mainly to archaeological research of sites located in Ukraine and Russia, which are devoted more to organization and conduct of archaeological excavations. There was also found S. Hamchenko’s epistolary, official and report notes on the organization of museum study in Ukraine, works of the All-Ukrainian Archaeological Committee, notebooks, official documents, photographs and other «visual» materials, collections of books, magazines and newspapers, etc. It is confirmed that the significant share of these source studies «papers» has not been published to date. Also the little-known archival materials of S. Hamchenko, which contained in the Scientific Archive of the St. Petersburg Branch of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IA RAS) were processed. On the base of studying of archival and historiographical sources an attempt is made to truthfully, comprehensively, holistically reproduce the socio-biographical aspects and creative features of the chronicle of the life and scientific activity of the extraordinary scholar. It was paid considerable attention to specific, sometimes controversial issues of scientific and source «biography», primarily important prosopographic nuances of adequate, final clarification of the exact dates and places of S. Hamchenko’s birth and death (as well as the establishment of its medical cause). The problem-thematic range of scientific interests of S. Hamchenko is extended from the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age to the times of Kyivs’ka Rus’. The scholar have discovered 45 sites of Trypillia culture on the Southern Bugh river, conducted various archeological excavations mainly in Eastern and South-Eastern Volhyn’, Podillya, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovs’k, Kharkiv, Odessa, Bessarabia regions and other places of Ukrainian and Russian territory (Gulf of Finland area near Sestrorets’k near St. Petersburg). It is confirmed that documents and archival materials related to the biography of S. Hamchenko is an integral part of the national cultural heritage and serve as an important authentic, factual source for a full, holistic study of the multifaceted history of archeology, ethnography, ethnology and museum studies in Ukraine at the end of the XIX th century – in the first third of the XX th century. Key words: Serhiy Hamchenko, history of archeology, museum studies, ethnography, local history, ethnology, All-Ukrainian Archaeological Committee (VUAK), epistolary, intellectual community.

NEW RESULTS OF DIRECT RADIOCARBON AMS DATING OF THE POTTERY FROM THE BUH-DNISTER SUB-NEOLITHIC СULTURE

Traditional ideas about the origin of the Buh-Dnister Culture (BDC) and its synchronisation with the Neolithic cultures of the Danube-Carpathian region were questioned by series of radiocarbon dates measured on bones at the Kyiv laboratory in the 1998—2004. To start addressing this problem, 11 AMS dates on organic inclusions in the ceramic paste and charred residues on the surface of vessels were obtained at the Tokyo University laboratory. The set of new dates has given a wide scatter of their values within the entire period outlined by the previous BDC dates. Moreover, the two results of the second quarter of the 7th millennium BC for the Hlynske 1 and Bazkiv Ostriv site are beyond it and may potentially be the oldest dates of the culture. However, analysis of the samples in terms of carbon content, their susceptibility to the influence of the freshwater reservoir effect, correspondence to the stratigraphy of the sites and typology of materials detected only six more credible dates. Their order on the timeline coincides with generally accepted ideas about the sequence of existence of the different BDC pottery types. The youngest is the vessel of the Savran type from Shumyliv-Cherniatka has yielded two dates falling into the range of 4723—4491 cal BC, when the Trypillia culture bearers already populat the region. Two vessels of the Samchyntsi type from Bazkiv Ostriv yield three dates within the range of 5288—4847 cal BC, which corresponds to their finding next to fragments of fine «music-note» bowls of the Linear Band Pottery Culture. The Skybyntsi type vessel from Bazkiv Ostriv yield the oldest plausible date of 5621—5514 cal BC, which corresponds to the age of the Criş monuments in Moldova. Unfortunately, the new dates did not shed light on the issues of the time and direction of the first pottery spreading in the region. Thus, this needs further research including reliably direct radiocarbon dating on pottery.

ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHAEOGENETICS OF THE PREHISTORIC POPULATION OF UKRAINE: COORDINATION OF RESULTS

The process of the prehistoric population formation in the territory of Ukraine has become the object of archaeogenetic research in the context of studying the genomic history of Southeast Europe. The work was carried out in the framework of scientific cooperation with the genetic laboratories of Grand Valley State University (USA), Harvard Medical School (USA), Universities of Uppsala (Sweden) and Copenhagen (Denmark). The study of the ancient genome of the Ukrainian population has already yielded results for the Late Mesolithic and Neolithic groups of the Middle and Lower Dnieper, the population of the Trypillia culture of Volhynia (Verteba Cave), as well as for the carriers of Yamna (Pit Grave) Culture and some more late groups of the North Pontic Region (Nikitin, Potekhina et al. 2012; 2017; Potekhina et al. 2013; Krzewińska et al. 2018; Matheison et al. 2018; Potekhina 2016; 2018; 2019; Nikitin 2020). Analysis of mitochondrial DNA from Mariupol-type cemeteries showed the dominance of mitochondrial haplogroup U, which indicates a genetic links with the Mesolithic populations of Scandinavia and the forest belt of Eastern Europe. In some cases, mitochondrial haplogroups H and C have been identified here. The existence of the latter in the Dnieper basin is still difficult to explain, as it is characteristic of eastern Eurasian groups. Genetic studies of the population of the Trypillia culture were carried out on samples dated to 3900—3500 cal BC from the Verteba cave in Volhynia. The majority of its inhabitants were carriers of the Mt haplogroup H, which connects the people of Trypillia with the Anatolian and Balkan early farmers. This haplogroup was also characteristic of farming cultures of the Central European Neolithic, but its frequency in Verteba is twice as high. The Mt haplogroup U found in one resident of Verteba may indicate contacts with hunters of the steppe Dnieper Region. Genetic polymorphism is also analyzed in the bearers of the Yamna (Pit grave) Culture of the North Pontic Region, which opens a perspective in the context of the Indo-European studies. The research has shown that among the Late Neolithic populations of the proto-European anthropological type with the dominant Mt haplogroup U, and in the early Eneolithic populations of the region, carriers of haplogroup H of the Mediterranean anthropological type appear as a result of contacts with Trypillian groups, which gradually moved in the eastern direction. The same genetic lines in different proportions are preserved in the anthropologically heterogeneous North Pontic population of Yamna Culture. Expanding the analysis of genetic markers of ancient craniological complexes will facilitate the interpretation of the results of archaeogenetic research. Given the historical and anthropological context, they are promising for the study of intercultural contacts and migrations in the early history of the population of Ukraine.

THE RESEARCHS IN THE MIDDLE DNIESTER BASIN IN 2009—2019

The paper deals with the course of exploration of the multilayered archaeological sites of the Middle Dniester within the Kamianets-Podilskyi district of Khmelnytskyi region.
 During 2009—2014 P. Boltaniuk (Head of the «Museum of Antiquities» sector of the Kamianets-Podilskyi State Historical Museum-Reserve, hereinafter — K-PSHMR) and I. Starenkyi made a number of explorations on the multilayered site Kamianets-Podilskyi, Tatarysky (Trypillia culture, Chernyakhiv culture, Kievan Rus age) near the Smotrych village.
 In 2012 O. Mohylov (Senior Research Fellow, IA NAS of Ukraine) and P. Boltaniuk have explored the multilayered site Malynivtsi on the left bank of the Dniester (Early and Middle Trypillia, Late Chornolis, Early Scy­thian culture, antiquities of the Middle Ages — Modern age).
 In 2019 the study of this site was continued by the expedition of the K-PSHMR (authors and P. Boltaniuk) which also made further exploration along the left bank of the Dniester River to the Zhvanets village which permits to survey the sites Malynivtsi, Popivskyi Yar (Trypillia, Early Iron Age, Cherniakhiv, Kievan Rus antiquities), Babshyn (Trypillia A, Chernyakhiv culture), Braga (destroyed).
 The authors’ main focus was on the analysis of Middle Trypillia findings from the Kamianets-Podilskyi, Tatarysky and Malynivtsi sites of the BII stage. Firstly the characteristic ornamental features of the pottery were identified. The mapping of the site to the second phase of the Mereshovka local-chronological group was justified.
 Concerning the settlement of Malynivtsi the analysis of the pottery complex made it possible to trace the main features of the first phase of the Shypyntsi group and the influences of the Mereshovka ornamental traditions. As a result we managed to attribute the site to the Shypyntsi-Mereshovka contact area.
 The history of the study of these monuments is described, the materials obtained are analyzed, the attention is paid to the problems and prospects of studying and preserving the monuments.

Geophysical assessment of Verteba Cave Eneolithic site, Ukraine

AbstractThe set of geophysical methods employed above ground and inside Verteba Cave Eneolithic Trypillian Culture Site (Ukraine) includes magnetic survey, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), and ground‐penetrating radar (GPR). The above‐ground geophysical study was aimed at the recognition of lateral and vertical distribution of sulfate karst landforms and archaeological targets. In‐cave measurements were made to prospect archaeological remains in loose infill and unknown voids. The round and oval‐shaped magnetic anomalies with dimensions of 10–25 m and maximum intensity of 15–20 nT are caused by old refilled collapse dolines that were discovered over the cave. The magnetic survey proved the absence of Trypillian culture houses on the surface and the presence of buried archaeological objects in the cave. 2D ERT imaging revealed the vertical structure of karstic collapse dolines, the thickness of the sedimentary layer over gypsum, as well as loamy cave infill. ERT was capable of detecting the void in gypsum by resistivity enhancement up to several thousand ohm‐meters. The underground GPR survey of cave walls provided information about possible vertical air−gypsum and loam−gypsum interfaces within the gypsum layer. The prospective areas for future archaeological excavations and the possible location of undiscovered cavities were outlined on the basis of geophysical results.

Approaching the Unification and Diversity of Pottery Assemblages

This paper questions the cycling nature of the unification and diversity of pottery forms through a case study of ceramics of the Western Tripolye culture in the Southern Bug and Dnieper interfluve in modern Ukraine. We identified the cultural cycle representing the transition from more unified ceramic assemblages to more diverse ones, and then back to more unified assemblages. This cultural cycle is disturbed by the increase in the diversity of pottery sets at three of ten subsequent time periods we have analysed. The obtained results are discussed in frames of deterministic explanations and the dynamic behaviour of complex systems.

Late Bronze Age anthropological materials from the Nepljuevski kurgan cemetery

The body of works on craniological and paleoodontological analyses of the materials from the Bronze Age sites of the Southern Trans-Urals still has not clarified the question of the genesis of the people who lived in this area. This is partly due to fragmentary state of the available materials, so that publication of new data appears highly relevant. This paper deals with the results of craniological and dental analyses of an osteological sample from two kurgans of the Nepljuevski burial ground, excavated between 2015 and 2017 by a Russian-German archaeological expedition. The burial ground is located 300 km south-west of Chelyabinsk city, in Kartalinsky dis-trict in the steppes of the Southern Trans-Urals. The recovered materials are dated to the Late Bronze Age and attributed to the Srubnaya-Alakul Culture variant. Materials and methods. Metric description of 5 male and 6 fe-male crania is given. The dental sample comprised remains of 14 children and adolescents and 12 adults. Stan-dard craniometric and paleoodontological protocols were used. Statistical procedures included principal compo-nent analysis (PCA) for craniometric traits and correspondence analysis for odontological traits. Results. Gener-ally, the crania show morphology characteristic for the European (Caucasian) groups. The male crania are ho-mogenous in such traits as narrow, vividly protruding nose and a pronounced horizontal profiling. The sample is dominated by individuals with a high facial height. Females and males generally show morphological similarities, but females, on average, have a relatively higher braincase, wider and lower orbits, a relatively wider nose, and slightly less pronounced horizontal profiling. The odontological analysis is in line with the cranoimetric data indi-cating European ancestry. One of the distinct characteristics of this sample is the presence of «enamel pearls» — a usually rare trait — in 5 out of 12 individuals, which may indicate an increased percentage of biological relatives in it. Conclusion. Overall, the crania from kurgan 1 find analogies among gracilized high-faced forms widespread in Southern Urals and Kazakhstan during the Bronze Age, often linked to the southern ancestry. The attribution of the Nepljuevski sample to the circle of gracile forms is indicated by the results of odontological analysis, which revealed its proximity to the Tripolye culture sample.

Two Rare Finds from the Maikop-Novosvobodnaya Sites in the Black Sea Region

We describe two unique fi nds from the 2018 excavations at the Maikop-Novosvobodnaya settlements of Pervomayskoye and Chekon in the Krasnodar Territory: a pendant and a clay figurine of a goddess, respectively. The parquet ornament on the pendant is paralleled by that on a cylindrical pendant-seal from Chekon. Such ornamentation is frequent on Near Eastern button-seals, and occurs on Anatolian artifacts symbolizing the fertility goddess and the magic related to her. Therefore, the Pervomayskoye and Chekon pendants, too, may be associated with the fertility cult. The figurine of a goddess from Chekon can be attributed to the Serezlievka type of the Late Tripolye culture. It testifies to ties between Maikop and Tripolye in the late 4th to early 3rd millennia BC. Both finds shed light on the vastly diverse beliefs of the Maikop-Novosvobodnaya tribes at the middle and late stage of that culture.

Статуэтки трипольской культуры из Немирова: новые материалы из старой коллекции

Статуэтки трипольской культуры из Немирова: новые материалы из старой коллекции

Tripolye Culture Chronology in Volhynia. Remarks Based on Materials from Ostrog-Zeman and Mezhyrich-Mistechko

Abstract Authors present results of analysis of the collection of pottery from pit no. 4 in Mezhyrich-Mistechko and pit no. 4 in Ostrog-Zeman. Both sites are located in the middle Horyn basin. The analyzed complexes are important due to the fact the relative chronology of the Malice culture and Lublin-Volhynia culture within western Volhynia and their possible connections with later communities represented by the Funnel Beaker culture and especially the Tripolye culture.

Impact of the Baden Complex Upon the Tripolye and Funnel Beaker Cultures in Western Ukraine

Abstract In scientific literature the discussion over the evident ties between the Baden complex and Tripolye culture dates back to the mid 1990s and is related to Sofievka type complexes. In earlier papers by scholars on TC Stage CII only passing mention was given to Baden influences, the exception being works by Mykhailo Videiko, who paid particular attention to contacts with the Carpathian Basin. He noted their impact upon Troyaniv-Gorodsk type complexes and pointed out the presence of the Baden pottery style in the settlements of the Kasperivtsy-Gordineşti complex. The adoption of Baden traits by communities belonging to the Funnel Beaker and Tripolye cultures in western Volhynia ran along very different lines. The quantity of data on Baden influence upon Funnel Beaker culture communities in the area between the Western Bug, Upper Dniester and Styr rivers remains small.

New Radiocarbon Dates for Stage Cii Tripolye Culture, Northern Moldova

Abstract According to Tamara Movscha, vessels from the Funnel Beaker culture settlement in Zhvanets can be synchronized with the period of existence of the settlements in Zimno, Leżnica and Gródek. Based on the currently available radiocarbon dates, we can say that the long-term settlements in Gródek and Zimno existed from around 3650 BC. The older phase of the settlement in Gródek is dated to 3650-3400 BC, while the younger ones to 3400-3100 BC. The first is characterized by the presence of imports of tableware with the characteristics of the Brînzeni group dated to 3400-3100 BC. In order to verify the current attempts to position the above at a more precise time, several radiocarbon analyses of the samples from the sites of Brînzeni and Gordinești group in northern Moldova were conducted.

Flint processing industry of farmers and cattle-breeders of the North-Western Black Sea region during the Eneolithic

The paper is devoted to the complex study of the flint inventory of the Eneolithic farmers and cattle-breeders of the North-Western Black Sea region. Particular attention is given to the specifics of flint working, the characteristic of a universal blank in the form of a standardized macroblade, and the functional interpretation of its implements. The techno-morphological and use-wear analyses have revealed regional specifics of the tool usage and flint working characteristic of the Kodjadermen–Gumelniţa–Karanovo VI (Bulgaria), Cucuteni (A-B)–Tripolye culture of the BII period (Ukraine, Moldova) and Sredny Stog/Novodanilovka (Ukraine) cultures.Flint macroblades, representing one of the highest achievements of the flint working industry of the Eneolithic period, were widely spread over vast territories of the North-Western Black Sea region. Their fragments, from a technical point of view, were the optimal form of blanks for various tools. The high quality of these artifacts and the fact that their production took place in specialized workshops mean they were manufactured by highly qualified masters. These facts allow us to talk about the emergence of early forms of craft in the economy. The further comprehensive study of their manufacturing technology and functions may shed light on many interesting problems, including the time of origins and the ways of spreading of this unique achievement in flint working industry and the characterization of the structure of the Eneolithic economy.

Textile impressions on Trypillia culture pottery from Ogród and Verteba Cave sites in Bilcze Złote

Due to the limited number of materials associated with textile production from the Neolithic and Eneolithic, especially in regard to Eastern Europe, its indirect remains present an important and valuable source of information. One of the materials that testifies to textile production is pottery with textile impressions. The aim of this article is to present and discuss the results of microscopic analyses of textile impressions, identified on selected sherds of ceramic vessels from the Trypillia culture sites in Bilcze Złote, Ukraine. During the research, three basic categories of textile-related products were identified: pottery with intentional cord imprints, impressions of various types of non-woven textiles, as well as woven fabrics of varying thickness and density. This article also highlights the issue of using textiles in the technological process of pottery manufacturing. Microscopic analysis of textile impressions opens up new research possibilities in the recognition and reconstruction of the weaves and twists of particular types of fibres, and provides a solid foundation for comparative studies.

Pars pro toto—Remote Sensing Data for the Reconstruction of a Rounded Chalcolithic Site from NE Romania: The Case of Ripiceni–Holm Settlement (Cucuteni Culture)

Prehistoric sites in NE Romania are facing major threats more than ever, both from natural and human-induced hazards. One of the main reasons are the climate change determined natural disasters, but human-induced activities should also not be neglected. The situation is critical for Chalcolithic sites, with a very high density in the region and minimal traces at the surface, that are greatly affected by one or more natural hazards and/or anthropic interventions. The case study, Ripiceni–Holm, belonging to Cucuteni culture, is one of the most important Chalcolithic discoveries in the region. It is also the first evidence from Romania of a concentric arrangement of buildings in the proto-urban mega-sites tradition in Cucuteni-Trypillia cultural complex, and a solid piece of evidence in terms of irreversible natural and anthropic destruction. Using archival cartographic material, alongside non-destructive and high-resolution airborne sensing and ground-based geophysical techniques (LiDAR, total field and vertical gradient magnetometry), we managed to detect diachronic erosion processes for 31 years, to identify a complex internal spatial organization of the actual site and to outline a possible layout of the initial extent of the settlement. The erosion was determined with the help of the DSAS tool and highlighted an average erosion rate of 0.96 m/year. The main results argue a high percent of site destruction (approximately 45%) and the presence of an active shoreline affecting the integrity of the cultural layer.

THE EXPLORATION AT THE LATE TRYPILLIA SITE VILKHOVETS

Trypillya culture site near the village of Vilkhovets of Zvenyhorod Region of Cherkasy Oblast is one of the largest sites of the Kosenivka group from the end of CI — beginning of the CII stages of the Trypillia culture. It is occupied the area ca. 180 hectares. Large-scale magnetic survey on part of this territory and archaeological excavation were carried out here in the ninetees of the 20th century. The results of these researches and materials from the storage are published in the paper.
 The remains of burned two-storied dwelling were discovered in 1992. All the finds came from the remains of the house and the pit covered by it. Painted pottery from both objects is typical for the Kosenivka group. The so-called «kitchenware» was non-numerous. The fragments of striped smoothing over the neck of the pots indicate the earlier position within the Kosenivka group. Of particular interest are the remains of «kitchen» pots decorated in the style of Moliukhiv Buhor group which is associated by researchers with the Dereivka culture.
 The previously published C14 dates look like «younger» which may be reasoned by the peculiarities of the geology of this area, rich in natural radioactive substances. The Vilkhovets settlement can be dated before 3500 BC by comparson to the later Kosenivka settlements and sites of Dereivka culture.
 Vilkhovets may be the earliest settlement of Kosenivka group located at its eastern borders. This situation led to contacts with Moliukhiv Buhor group of Dereivka culture which is reflected by the decoration of Vilkhovets «kitchen ware» from one hand and by finds of painted pottery at Molukhiv Bugor (located at 140 km to East) from other hand. Consequently, Vilkhovets is an important site from several points of view: the development of the latest group of the Trypillia proto-cities and contacts of Trypillia people with steppe population in ca. middle 4th Millenium BC.

Analysis of ancient human mitochondrial DNA from Verteba Cave, Ukraine: insights into the Late Neolithic-Chalcolithic Cucuteni–Tripolye culture

Analysis of ancient human mitochondrial DNA from Verteba Cave, Ukraine: insights into the Late Neolithic-Chalcolithic Cucuteni–Tripolye culture

Дослідження та експериментальне відтворення технологій мальованого посуду трипільської культури

Important components of the study of ancient technologies are their experimental reproduction and use of the methods of natural sciences. Information on the composition of raw materials, formulations of paints and angobs of painted pottery of Trypillian Culture of the Dnieper region gave the possibility to search for the evidences concerning its local origin, according to the researchers. An important component of the study is investigating the process of manufacturing the ceramics from local raw materials, as well as its firing in a pottery ciln built for this purpose. The obtained results allow us to consider quite reasonable previous assumptions about the possibility of local production of a wide range of painted hand-drawn utensils by the Trypillia population of the Dnieper region in the second half of the 4 millennium BC.

Кремнеобробна майстерня в с. Межиріч та деякі проблеми пізнього енеоліту Волині

In 2016–2017, a flint workshop dating back to 3700–3600 BC was discovered. The research also provided ceramic artefacts of the Trypillian culture and syncretic relicts, combining the features of this culture and western units. The ceramics from this workshop and similar vessels, including those with the features of the Volhynia-Lublin culture from Horiva-Pidłużzja, belong to the early stage of the Brynzeny group in Western Volhynia. They also indicate that the end of the assemblages with Volhynia-Lublin features can be associated with the period around 3600–3500 BC.

Art as a Message Realized Throught Various Means of Artistic Expression

From the ancient times, art has performed not only aesthetic, but primarily informa­tional and ritual functions, since people have used artistic means to honour the divinities. In Ukraine, the instances of art have been known since the times of Trypillia culture, from the 5th century BC. Hereafter, art has used various means to deliver information. During the years of Kyivan Rus, there were mostly religious mural paintings and mosaic pictures in churches. They were not considered by the contemporaries as artworks, but only as images for worship. However, it should be noted that in St. Sophia’s Cathedral there are also some secular paintings of those times. Religious and secular murals used different art forms and means to convey information. An icon, restricted by the canon, illustrated a particular Christian dogma, whereas a secular pa­inting gave information about everyday human life and performed some political and ideological functions. These two genres are often combined in the so-called folk painting. The Mother of God, the Lord and the saints are depicted against the Ukrainian landscape, and they have Ukrainian traits. The background of folk icons depicts scenes from the everyday life of the Ukrainians, and the icons are decorated with embroidered towels and dried flowers. In the Baro­que era, secular events and real people are included in canonical Christian plots. Today, we see a revival of techniques combining secular and religious painting, when icons depict the sacred participants of contemporary political events. Such icons do not meet certain requirements of the church canon, but constitute the society’s reaction to what is happening in Ukraine now. On the other hand, it is a kind of an attempt to bring Heaven closer to humans, to modernize canonical subjects and, at the same time, to promote educating the people in the spirit of patriotism. Despite the canonicity of the icon and the immutability of information conveyed through the sacred image, the methods of informative communication differed. Thus, although both the Byzantine icon and the icon of the Baroque era reported the same plot, the volume of the mes­sage that they conveyed was different. The Byzantine icon is an ascetic message-symbol, while the baroque icon is more secular and not only gives you purely religious information, but also information about the traditions, life and appearance of the people living in this period, and the political system of the state. In canonical religious art, a pictorial image is the only means of narration, whereas modern secular art often turns into a performance, with the simultaneous involvement of painting, sculp­ture, music and lighting effects, and avant-garde short films.