Everything Was Better in the Good Old Days: On the End of the LBK and the Emergence of Lengyel Culture Figurines

Abstract

The beginning of the 5^th millennium cal BC saw profound changes, with the disintegration of the Linear Pottery culture (LBK) into smaller post-LBK cultural phenomena. The discussion about what brought about this shift is still ongoing, but it is clear that, although with regional variations, all aspects of society were affected, such as population density, house construction, pottery, flint distribution and other aspects. Violent events resulting in the deaths of numerous individuals also occurred. In this article, we seek to shed light on anthropomorphic figurines at the end of the LBK, which are similarly affected by changes: in the west, their use ceases, whilst in the east, especially in the Lengyel culture, the numbers of finds of these figurines increase dramatically. Lengyel figurines are, however, not just a simple continuation of LBK figurines. They show influences from the neighbouring Vinča culture, but also include traits that are reminiscent of the Starčevo culture several hundred years earlier, such as distorted body proportions and accentuated hips and buttocks, as well as typical and standardized breakage patterns. It seems that, in an attempt to cope, the post-LBK communities adopted different strategies: the west stopped using figurines, whereas the east hoped to manage the circumstances better with more figurines than ever before, thus returning to earlier practices.