Trypillia - Ukraine's mysterious primitive civilization

Once a civilization that mysteriously disappeared, the Trypillians were less interested in technological advancement and more interested in spiritual awareness .

The land of Ukraine still contains secrets and mysteries about one of the most mysterious human civilizations that appeared here about 7,000 years ago and existed for nearly three millennia.

Ancient civilization

Trypillia culture ceramic artifacts. (Photo: kyivpost.com).

Scientists identify this as a branch of ancient European civilization that appeared after the Great Flood . Traces of Bronze Age civilization were first found more than 200 years ago near the small town of Trypillia, 40 km south of Kiev, hence the name "Trypilia Civilization".

This civilization flourished from 5,500 to 2,750 BC over a vast area of ​​350,000km ² stretching from the Carpathian Mountains to the Dnipro River. Most of the above area is now Ukraine and the remainder includes Romania and Moldova. During different periods, according to various estimates, the population of this civilization fluctuated between 400,000 and 2 million people.

The first person to discover traces of that ancient civilization was Vincenc Častoslav Chvojka , a Czech agronomist. In 1896, Mr. Chvojka bought a piece of land in Trypillia, then a small village, for farming. During the land reclamation process, decorated earthenware, bronze utensils, gold jewelry, figurines and other objects were discovered by local hired farmers at near depths. 1 meter caused a global stir. In the decades that followed, archaeologists found countless artifacts proving that this was a highly developed ancient civilization.

Houses, churches, human and animal statues, earthenware, carts, sleds, chairs and thrones were all made of clay. Trypillia artisans are people with exceptional craftsmanship. They understood the material and its properties so well, and were able to vary their use so skillfully that modern potters can learn much from them.

Model of the Trypillian settlement. (Photo: kyivpost.com).

The Trypillians built their settlements in concentric circles with the population size of some of these settlements exceeding 15,000 people - a huge number even for the Middle Ages. One of the largest known early Trypillian cities was discovered in the village of Talyanki, Cherkasy region, Central Ukraine, with an area of ​​450 hectares and a population of 30,000 people.

The Trypillia people live in strange two-story houses , the ground floor is for household appliances and livestock and the upper floor is for people. The windows were round, the front sill was high and they never locked the door. They painted house walls (both outside and inside) along with household utensils, farming tools, tableware and figurines. They developed their own unique style of drawing animals and people.

Trypillia women make flour using heavy stone mills, it takes half an hour to make nearly half a pound of flour from rye grains, and the technique has remained unchanged for thousands of years. Their lives are full of different sacred values ​​and rituals, where everything has its own special meaning. Clothes, homes, social activities, and even common objects are sacred. For example, jars were believed to protect everything they contained – from water to the ashes of the dead, whom they cremated rather than buried.

2-storey house of the Trypillia people. (Photo: kyivpost.com).

Traditions and symbols

The signs and symbols painted on Trypillian vases were not just ceremonial paintings. They are the prototypes of icons - a kind of primitive impressionism - and even the 'germs' of written language. These signs were a step forward, later developing into writing and are actually one of the very few sources of information about the Trypillian civilization that has survived many millennia of history. That civilization left behind no pyramids, stone churches or stele, but only painted earthenware.

Trypillian ornaments bear symbols that appeared millennia later in other parts of the world and became decisive symbols in major religions: Yin-Yang, the Cross and the Holy Cross all originated from Trypillia Culture. But the basic symbol is the universal, endless spiral.

And like all women of all times, Trypillia women preferred jewelry that was not only trinkets and bright baubles but also amulets made from clay, shells, copper and gold. They wear dresses embroidered and woven with decorative patterns. Their clothes not only help warm the body but also provide protection against evil spirits and witches.

One of the countless artifacts that archaeologists found during excavations was a statue of a woman sitting on a throne shaped like a bull's head. In that culture, the bull symbolizes male and the cow symbolizes female as the beginning of 'Mother Nature' , life and all things (the cow is a sacred animal and a symbol of fertility). product).

The Trypillians also raised pigs, sheep, and poultry, and most scientists believe they were the first people on Earth to domesticate horses . In addition to the understandable ceramic artifacts, there are others whose purpose and meaning can only be guessed at. For example, one of them is called 'Trypillia Bincular' – a strange object that resembles two vases joined together.

Trypilia Bincular. (Photo: kyivpost.com).

It is unclear what 'Trypillia Bincular' is used for. Perhaps it is a drum, a vase, or a symbol of marital fidelity. Or it can be used to collect rainwater. This type of artifact has not been found in any other civilization, while in Trypillia such objects are abundant.

The Trypillians were very skillful farmers, but they never improved their extensive farming methods. After the fields had been barren for six or seven decades, they burned all their houses and moved elsewhere to build new houses. Fire is very sacred to them. They believed that everything and everyone – land, houses, animals and people – had to undergo purification by fire. That's why they burn down their home cities every generation.

Mysterious cave

In 1828, farmers in the village of Bilche-Zolote in the Ternopil region, Central Western Ukraine, accidentally found a cave that later became a mecca for archaeologists and tourists from all over the world. .

Polish Prince Leon Ludwik Sapieha, then owner of the village, gathered a large collection of thousands of Trypillia artifacts that he found in the cave and restored. He even had to use his large wine cellars to store them. Later, many of these antiquities were transferred to museums in Krakow, Vienna and other European cities.

The locals call the cave Verteba, which in their dialect means 'groove' or 'ravine'. Hidden in the bushes, the entrance is quite difficult to find. What is surprising is that this place remained unknown for thousands of years.

Verteba Cave is essentially a number of giant underground corridors/tunnels supported by hundreds of pillars and connected by maze-like passages. Scientists are still debating what it is used for. Some people think it is some kind of sacred historical monument, like Stonehenge in England.

Others believe it was a refuge for the Trypillians during the last centuries of their existence. When the warlike tribes of the North began to invade the fertile lands of the West along the Dnipro River, the Trypillians hid in underground caves where the temperature never rose above +9° C. This frustrated many people. wonder how generations of those people could have lived in Verteba cave for decades.

Trypillia exhibition in the Verteba cave museum. (Photo: kyivpost.com).

Verteba Cave was not only a refuge for the Trypillians during World War II, Jews hid there to avoid the Nazis and after the war.

There are thousands of artifacts that can be found in the cave. Archaeologists have left some of them as they were, only cleaning up the surrounding space.

Verteba Cave hides many secrets. For example, how can people get light when they don't have lights? Clues may be numerous fireplace marks and smoke patches on the walls. Some archaeologists believe that if the Trypillians lit bonfires about 10 meters apart, they could also have light without any torches or lamps.

Today we often wonder why the Trypillians never paid attention to technological progress but forgot what spiritual heights they had achieved. Before their civilization ceased to exist, they achieved unique and highly sophisticated drawing skills. Perhaps, they saw the meaning of their lives in everlasting eternity, in achieving immortality. Their art, culture and way of life seem to have been millennia ahead of their time – a future that today's human world is striving towards.