Old Europe and its Legacy Harald Haarmann

Spring 2018 Volume 8

Old Europe and its Legacy:

Major Trajectories of Continuity in Subsequent Cultures

Harald Haarmann

sa´ah naagháí bik´eh hózhóón traced in subsequent cultures, well into the era
“The beauty of life created by application of classical Greek civilization.6 The figure of
of teachings that work” (Navajo saying) mighty Athena, one of the most venerated
divinities and patron of the Athenian state, is of
The culture that emerged during the pre-Greek origin and it is not far-fetched to
Neolithic Age in southeastern Europe developed recognize her as being a “grand-daughter” of the
many features that we modern observers, in our Great Goddess of Old Europe. The soundings of
cultural memory, associate with the qualities of Old Europe are discernible even in our modern
an early civilization (in the sense of high societies, and this has to do with the quality of
culture). This civilization was called Old Europe the legacy that has had such a strong impact on
by Marija Gimbutas1 who was the first to the evolution of western civilization. Old
document and survey its cultural institutions, Europe has handed down something precious to
and it has also become known as Danube us: teachings that work. And these teachings
civilization in recent years.2 The people of Old have persisted throughout the ages and have
Europe started with the smelting of copper impressed the minds of ever new generations.
around 5400 BCE, and of gold around 4500 These teachings are the stuff to model an
BCE. At that time, the smiths of Old Europe ideal society.
were the only ones in the world to master The dream of an ideal society is neither
smelting as a specialized technique of metal- old-fashioned nor futile. Rather, this dream is of
working.3 Those who shaped the fabric of the timeless significance because we are all in need
Danube civilization possessed the know-how of of it. In our present-day societies, we have to
wine and olive cultivation, and they used cope with manifold problems: frictions resulting
sophisticated sign systems, one for writing from conflicting interests of social groups, from
numbers and another for conveying messages. the egoistic pursuit of happiness of some at the
Writing started out in Old Europe, some two cost of the welfare of other citizens, from a lack
thousand years earlier than in Egypt or of gender equality, from discrimination of
Mesopotamia.4 social, ethnic or religious minorities, from the
Old Europe was not lost as has been clash of civilizations between indigenous people
claimed.5 The legacy of Old Europe can be and newcomers, producing pitfalls and
quandaries of all kinds.
1
Gimbutas 1982, 1991. Since ancient times human beings have
2
Haarmann 2011a. experimented with different models of society,
3
Pernicka and Anthony 2009: 162 ff.
4
Haarmann 2011b: 139 ff.
5 6
Anthony 2009. Haarmann 2014.

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Old Europe and its Legacy Harald Haarmann

for enhancing social cohesion and for creating was still half a century ago. The same is true for
an atmosphere for conflict-free interaction in the Copper Age, and research on the culture of
social groups. In a dynamic drive toward an the early Neolithic agriculturalists in Europe has
increasing complexity of social systems, human been extensive. During the past two decades
evolution has produced the well-known new information about the ancient cultures has
phenomenon of stratified society, with social been produced by archaeology, anthropology
hierarchy governing the emergence of statehood and other disciplines, and many new insights
and the accumulation of political power in the call for a revision of stereotyping notions and
hands of a few. Against the odds of élite for the construction of new knowledge about
dominance a new form of governance was pre-Greek cultures.
introduced. In the history books, the ancient
Greeks―the Athenians, respectively―are Communitarian spirit, economic
credited with the invention of democratic rule, egalitarianism, peaceful competition
introduced by Cleisthenes in 507 BCE, and
Athens is hailed as the cradle of western The fabric of the Danube civilization has been
democracy. The uniqueness of democracy as an intensely investigated and novel findings about
achievement of Greek ingenuity is a myth the governance of agrarian communities
because social egalitarianism and communal facilitate the reconstruction of continuity of
self-administration existed before these social patterns from ancient times through
principles were adopted, for a reform of the antiquity. The trail of democratic rule in the
governance of the Athenian state. village communities of Greece in the sixth
When searching for the cultural heritage century BCE starts from communal self-
of those who exercised democracy before the administration in the Neolithic settlements. The
Greeks we make the encounter of the ancient spirit of social solidarity in village communities
cultures of the Bronze Age, those that are still of the old days persisted into Greek antiquity.7
older than the Mycenaean-Greek city states.
Actually, in order to reach the stage when The general structure of Neolithic life, which
democratic governance came into being we have was based in small, tightly clustered villages,
to dig still deeper into the layers of pre-Greek with an economy firmly grounded in
history. The search for the origins of democracy agriculture and animal husbandry, was not
unlike rural life in Greece through the
takes us into the Neolithic and Copper Ages of
millennia to the present day. The Neolithic
southeastern Europe which span several period, then, introduced and established a way
millennia, from the seventh to the fourth of life that would support, shape, and
millennia BCE. sometimes constrain all later development.
8
Those who adhere to the canon of western
cultural history may be inclined to view this Those people who constructed the
search for prolonged continuity of a major monuments of the classical period in Greece
western institution as useless, moving back in that have become world-famous (e.g., the major
time beyond Greek civilization. Skeptics may temple dedicated to Athena, the Parthenon on
defy any association of any Greek institution the Acropolis) and those who laid the
with ancient pre-Greek cultures in the region foundation for intellectual life such as science
claiming that the knowledge about Bronze Age and philosophy lived in village communities and
history is too scarce to allow comparisons, not
to speak of cultural continuity from older ages.
In fact, the Bronze Age is no longer dark, as it 7
Haarmann 2013.
8
Runnels and Murray 2001: 62.

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Old Europe and its Legacy Harald Haarmann

in small towns. available capacities and grades of expertise

Continuity of agrarian lifeways from the among group members. This potential of active
Neolithic through classical Greece and beyond knowledge and trust may be put to work for
is the key for understanding how technological promoting common benefits that shape the
development unfolded in an environment of prospects of the community. Those who look for
sustained community life. The Neolithic village the prototype of democratic governance in the
functioned as the focus of social interaction and Greek communities of antiquity will find the
of cultural activities and, as a center for oldest traces of a prolonged continuity in the
handicraft and for the production of tools (i.e., villages of Old Europe.
sickles, spindle-whorls, utensils for fishing and
hunting). The inhabitants lived on agricultural Economic egalitarianism as the corner-stone
goods, on grain, olives, vegetables, figs, wine, of stable community life
etc.
Life in the villages did not unfold in Social relations in Old Europe were not
isolation. On the contrary, the village random but unfolded in an organized manner.
communities were linked in a network of social, What kind of social organization governed daily
cultural and economic interaction. Kinship life in the villages? Is there any evidence
relations shifted with the integration of new available to identify the infrastructure of Old
settlers from neighboring villages and the European society? Perhaps the most crucial
circulation of goods was enhanced by intensive point of this agenda is the question: Were there
trading contacts. There must have been an social classes in Old Europe? In fact, there is
awareness of the binding of social relations, of substantial evidence from the study of burial
cultural and linguistic ties and of shared values customs and grave goods. There is consensus
among the villagers. Their cultural cohesion was among archaeologists that grave goods are
certainly experienced on a level of collective diagnostic markers which illustrate the degree of
identity. social differentiation in prehistoric society.10 If
Cooperation in the small village grave goods are distributed in a way which
communities was mandatory for group suggests that no distinctions existed between
cohesion, and the small groups of village rich and poor or between men and women, the
populations created strong-tie networks. graves are interpreted as belonging to an
egalitarian society without social differentiation
Strong common values, based on the intimate or hierarchy. The presence of a ruling élite in a
knowledge of one another's abilities, society is reflected in the grave goods of
character, and day-to-day behavior are typical members of the upper class. Here, we find a
of strong-tie networks and can help to explain marked difference between graves of the rich
the workings and some of the attractions of
9 and the poor.
traditional face-to-face communities.
Analyses of grave goods across Old
Europe suggest a society with egalitarian
For decision-making in a small structures, with social and economic equality,
community it is essential that everybody knows with all members of the community sharing in
about the qualities, both personal and the profits from the agrarian surplus and trade.
professional, of the other members in the group. With good reason these socioeconomic
Mutual trust is furthered when decisions emerge conditions have been described as the Old
in an atmosphere of shared knowledge about European oecumene (or commonwealth) based
9 10
Ober 2008: 136. Yakar 2011: 27 f.

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on egalitarian principles.11 that most of the sites are located along the
The villages in the Old European waterways that cross the Balkans from west to
oecumene formed a network of socioeconomic east and from north to south. The biggest and
nodes whose inhabitants engaged in plant most proliferated of these waterways is the
cultivation and trade activities, and these village mighty Danube river which, together with its
communities were not governed by any of the numerous tributaries, forms an extended
bigger trading centers with their pivotal role for network of trade routes in all directions. Traffic
the distribution of goods and for the spread of via waterways enhances trade, and both river-
ideas. In fact, the local communities were borne and seaborne trade are known from
independent administrative units that governed earliest times in Old Europe. In the formative
themselves. What made community life stage of the Danube civilization, Vinča (near
sustainable was the local administrative Belgrade) assumed a prominent role as a nodal
infrastructure, and this infrastructure reflected trade center in the central Balkanic region, and
the principles of an egalitarian society. it kept its importance for trade along the Danube
The villages were self-governing which for one and a half thousand years. There were
means they created administrative bodies for other trade centers that had equal importance
their local needs of governance. Since there is further east, Varna for one.
no indication, in the grave goods, pointing to All the commodities that were produced
any distinction of prominent social status or the by craftsmen in the workshops of the Old
existence of social classes, the administrative European economic centers were traded along
body in a village must have corresponded to the eastern trade route: flint blades, artifacts
what we know as a democratic institution on the such as rings and beads made of spondylus,
communal level, a kind of village council or small stone axes, etc. Since the late sixth
committee, with members elected from within millennia BCE, the craft of smelting and
the local population and without interference or working copper spread rapidly across the Old
command from outside. European economic zone, and objects made of
The ancient villages functioned as copper are among the trade goods that passed
sustained economic units and the number of through Varna. There is no evidence that any of
inhabitants tells us something about the ways of the larger settlements dominated the economy of
cooperation in small-size communities. In an surrounding villages. In the context of economic
environment where a few hundred people live egalitarianism, trade contacts evolved as
together, build their homes and interact daily relationships of mutual advantage, making the
there is a great amount of shared knowledge that community a commonwealth.
is available to everyone. In a small community Among the preferred trade goods were
group cohesion is enhanced by an awareness obsidian, shells (spondylus, in particular), salt
that everybody's living-standards depend on the and copper. The trade good that produced the
ways how efficiently members in the group widest network was spondylus (spondylus
interact and give priority to the common good. gaederopus). This shell is found only in the
In the Danube civilization, economic Mediterranean. The mere presence of spondylus
egalitarianism manifested itself in extended in the region of Varna points to long-distance
trade relations, where villages exchanged goods trade with the south. The trade network for
among themselves and with larger settlements. spondylus included all the regional cultures of
When looking at the map of Neolithic Old Europe, and even extended beyond those
settlements in southeastern Europe one notices areas. Spondylus shells, harvested in the coastal
waters of the Aegean Sea, were found as far
11
Haarmann 2011b: 88 ff.

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away as France, Germany and Poland.12 perhaps no coincidence that the fundamental
The Old European heritage was not lost; concept 'peace' was associated with a female
its memory lived on into later periods. The divinity, contrasting with the association of the
inroads through which Old European idea of war with a male god (i.e., Ares).
institutions were transferred into Greek culture
can be identified with accuracy. The ancient Social cohesion, gender equality and
Greek language absorbed many hundreds of partnership
words from the language of those who had lived
In the Old European commonwealth, all
in Greece before the advent of Greek tribes, and
the necessary means for enhancing
the pre-Greek borrowings form extensive layers
sustainability and for safeguarding group
in the Greek lexicon. Among those items of Old
cohesion in the village communities were
European civilization are some key concepts
activated, and those communities prospered
that testify to the appreciation, among the
uninterruptedly over a long duration. Social
Greeks, of their high symbolic value.
cohesion was of vital importance to ensure the
A term of great significance was the Old
intactness of social and economic networks on a
European expression amilla that was adopted by
regional and interregional scale. A major
the Greeks. The meaning of amilla in ancient
medium to ritualize social cohesion among the
Greek is ‘competition; contest’ and it was
villagers were figurines. Apparently, figurines
applied to all kinds of peaceful competition such
were considered valuable goods for exchange.
as musical, poetic or sportive competitions. The
Their symbolic value was instrumentalized in
range of meanings of amilla reflects the
“rituals assisting intra- and inter-settlement
peaceful quality of the concept ‘competition’ in
social cohesion.”13
Old European society. Amilla stands in stark
contrast to the idea that is expressed by the
[F]igurines, model clay furniture, and
Greek expression of Indo-European origin: eris animals could be assembled in one building
meaning ‘rivalry; conflict; military campaign.’ within the community into a dramatic
Eris was personified by the sister and scenario, where they formed an attention-
companion of Ares, the god of war. Eris was focusing device for community religion. …
known as the goddess who incites war. After the ceremony, the set was dispersed
Something that certainly impressed the into separate households, perhaps as a
ancient Greeks was the peaceful atmosphere in related symbolic activity linking families to
14
the communities of the descendants of the Old the community.
European oecumene. The new masters of Hellas
adopted a key term of worldview from the The Greeks did not only adopt many of
language of their predecessors, and this was the technological achievements of the ancient
eirene. The all-encompassing and compre- Danubians but they also continued older
hensive meaning of this key term is ‘peace.’ The customs to stabilize social life in their
afterglow of this major quality of life in Old communities. An item that reflects continuity
Europe must have deeply impressed the Greek and stability in community life is the pre-Greek
mind so that the newcomers to Hellas adopted borrowing of hosia which means ‘customs
the Old European expression for this concept. transferred in the intergenerational chain;
Since all major achievements of Greek customary law.’ The principle of hosia was
civilizations were personified as divinities, highly appreciated by Greek lawmakers and
eirene was also personified—as a goddess. It is
13
Bintliff 2012: 76.
12 14
Séfériadès 2009: 181. Ibid.

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philosophers and it permeated every nook of most debated thinker in the history of
daily life in Greek communities of antiquity. philosophy. It is no exaggeration to state that
The patron of customary law in Greek Plato is among the few philosophers of antiquity
mythology was the Goddess Themis, a figure of whose ideas have remained popular throughout
pre-Greek origin. the ages and whose works have been
In addition to economic egalitarianism, continuously read and interpreted anew
society in Old Europe was also characterized by according to the zeitgeist of the observer.
social egalitarianism. There was no marked Plato decisively shaped the profile and
distinction between the social roles of the sexes canon of western philosophy, although in ways
in community life, something which is typical of very different from his disciple, Aristotle. “It is
a society with social hierarchy. Equality hard to deny that the insights of Plato and
between the sexes implies matrilinearity or Aristotle have involved significant philosophical
matrifocality (with women as prominent figures progress.”16 While the systematic approach of
in lineages). The prominent status of women in the latter has inspired generations of
Old European society has been characterized as philosophers to organize their ideas about the
‘matristic’ by Gimbutas.15 But prominence must world accordingly, it has above all been the
not be confused with dominance. Prominence in criticism of Platonic ideal thought that has kept
the status of women points to the fact that the discussion about the former alive for more
women had a privileged role in certain domains, than two thousand years:
such as in the household, in kinship relations
and, as merchants, in the river trade. The Of the two Plato was the idealist, creating the
prominence of women in Old European society first imaginary utopia, fundamental theories
certainly contributed to social stability and of forms and of immortality, as influential
strengthened the communitarian spirit. cosmogony, a far-ranging critique of
knowledge, and a famous analysis of love. …
In ancient Greek society, the ideal vision
Aristotle, in contrast, was the practitioner of
of peaceful community life persisted, as did 17
inspired common sense, the systematizer.
another ideal of Old European coinage: gender
equality. As an item of rational thinking, the Old
In his political theory, Plato developed the
European tradition of social egalitarianism
model of an ideal society. As a precondition for
found its way into Greek intellectual life of
balancing social relations in his vision of an
antiquity. Gender equality was never achieved
ideal society the philosopher stipulates equality
for Greek society but a distant memory of its
of the sexes. Plato’s instructions for the
existence in pre-Greek times must have left an
functioning of an ideal society are connected
imprint on the minds of the immigrants (the
with the spirit of virtue. The key to such kind of
ancestors of the Greeks) who came to Hellas to
social harmony is the philosopher’s refined
live as neighbors of the indigenous people. The
sense of blindfolded justice when gender issues
trajectory of transmission of the idea of gender
dissolve: men and women are equal before the
equality from Old Europe to Greek antiquity is
law, in whatever respect or domain. “Justice is
still obscure but the basic message reached one
one of the most ubiquitous topics in Plato’s
of the great minds of antiquity, perhaps through
dialogues, second in importance only to
mediation of pre-Socratic philosophers. This
reason.”18
great mind was Plato (ca. 427– ca. 347 BCE).
Plato is one of the most influential
philosophers of all time. Arguably, he is the 16
Chalmers 2015: 354.
17
Davies 1996: 111.
15 18
Gimbutas 1991: 324 ff. Keyt 2009: 341.

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Plato was no feminist in the modern sense for society in Old Europe (in the Danube
but he was no sexist either. Plato was no liberal civilization, respectively). This spirit persisted
thinker and he did not take initiative to make a among the pre-Greek populations in south-
case for women’s liberties. And yet, he eastern Europe.20 As a facet of the
elaborates amply on issues of what is subsumed responsibilities that have to be taken by the
under women’s liberation in our time. “Plato sexes in the partnership, as postulated by Plato,
was no rights feminist, or a rights advocate at is the pursuit of the common good, that is the
all. But he was a revolutionary about gender all strife for the stability and persistence of
the same.”19 What else would we call a community life in the city-state (i.e., the polis)
philosopher who, under the conditions of Greek and for the well-being of its citizens. The
society in the classical age, advocated the common good is perhaps the most egalitarian
participation of women in sportive competitions concept in Plato's political theory.
and approved the access of women to public The significance of Plato’s ideas about
offices, even to political leadership? gender equality have been highlighted only
The most crucial implication for the recently, in an analysis of the most important of
philosopher’s model of an ideal society is the his dialogues on this topic, the Laws.21 This text
condition that the contents of what the law is the longest of Plato's works and makes up
stipulates is binding for all citizens in the about one fifth of the philosopher's total
imagined ideal state (Laws, book VII: 804d-e). production. It is “what Plato clearly intends to
The effect of binding of the law is be his principal intellectual legacy.”22
comprehensive as to also include women. If As an attentive observer of the social
men and women are considered equal before the environment he lived in, Plato recognized the
law, then society cannot raise artificial potential of women's contribution to society that
boundaries to bar women from any domain that could emerge but was hampered by norms and
is, according to the reality of the Athenian state, clichés and, above all, by the idealized fiction of
dominated by men. Equality of the sexes in an the association of women to their homes.23 “We
ideal society, according to Plato's logic, is a should bear in mind Plato’s reproaches against
formal juridical matter. Accordingly, equal Greek society for allowing its women to cling to
chances for the participation of members of both the known oikos, fearful and unwilling to
sexes in all activities ultimately depend on how venture into―and contribute to―the public
the sense of blindfolded justice with which the world.”24 The scheme of Plato’s ideal society
laws are imbued comes to bear in an ideal has been characterized as “at the same time
society. This is an issue that was addressed by ‘utopian’ and ‘real.’”25 The ways in which Plato
Plato as relating to theory. This same issue is elaborates on women’s roles illustrates that, in
vital for any modern discourse on equality of the light of his concept of true justice, gender issues
sexes in our days, when projected onto become detached from the contemporary cliché
conditions of real life. Plato's key concept for of ‘natural law’ by which women's status in
assessing gender roles is koinonia (‘sharing, society is allegedly determined. In Plato’s
partnership’), and this sharing is envisaged for utopia, women’s roles in an ideal society are
the ‘whole of life’ (Laws, 805d3, 806b1).
20
Plato’s ideas about partnership echo the 21
Haarmann 2014: 183 ff.
long tradition of egalitarianism in social Haarmann 2016.
22
Mount 2010: 187 f.
networking and the essence of the 23
See Plato’s Laws 781c.
communitarian spirit that has been reconstructed 24
Demand 1994: 25.
25
Reale 2004: 393 ff.
19
Santas 2010: 117.

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manifold and cover the whole range of private, to preserve peace for the benefit of the
public and religious life. The roles of women representative of the young generation who
are defined by Plato in various passages: needs this peace for building the future of her
country.
(i) Equal rights for women concerns
education and other pursuits (book V of
Plato’s Republic, book VI and VII of
Plato’s Laws)

(ii) Women are entitled to participate in

public banquets (book VI: 781a2-b4 of the
Laws).

(iii) Women are apt for holding public offices

(book VI: 785b2-9 of the Laws).

(iv) The right of girls and women to

participate in sportive competitions (book
VIII: 833c-834d of the Laws).

(v) Women’s right to serve as soldiers in the Figure 1: A female soldier of the Finnish peace-keeping
force in Afghanistan being greeted by a little Afghan girl
army (book VII: 804d-805a of the Laws). (Mazar-i-Sharif, 31 January 2013); (photo: Jussi Nukari;
Photo Agency Lehtikuva).
The role of women as soldiers in the army
was utopian in Plato’s time and it remained a Gender equality worked in the society of
utopia well into modern times. Women were the Danube civilization, and the memory of this
granted access to military service as late as the useful knowledge was not lost but was revived
twentieth century and only in a limited number by Plato in his political model of an ideal
of states, Finland for one. Since the 1950s, society. The insight according to which useful
Finnish soldiers have participated in UN peace- knowledge is valuable and worth being
keeping missions around the world. “The moral transferred from one generation to the next is
and manpower contribution of Finland towards valid in all cultures with prolonged continuity.
UN peace-keeping is far beyond the proportion This is true, not only for cultural development in
that might reasonably be expected from a nation Europe but also in other parts of the world.
of less than five million people. This is a record
and standard of which every Finn is proud.”26 The Neolithic spirit in art and its timeless
The image that peace-keeping missions aesthetic appeal to humanity in general
enjoy in regions of crisis and social unrest may
be even more convincing when the The measure of an ancient civilization is
determination to keep peace finds its not limited to technological domains but it also
manifestation in the presence of female soldiers. includes religious patterns, values of social
(Figure 1) The message conveyed by this photo conduct, worldview and, artistic trends and
is unequivocal: The female soldier is determined fashions. If one wants to specify what makes a
flourishing civilization then the aesthetic appeal
26
Tillotson 1993: 305.
of art comes to mind. In a society with high-
grade harmony and social cohesion, the inno-

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Old Europe and its Legacy Harald Haarmann

vative spirit of artistic creation comes to bear. art, was renewed in a movement that made itself
Figurative art in the Danube civilization felt in the late nineteenth century. Strange as it
offers a great diversity of forms, and all these may seem, art history has so far not succeeded
forms are governed by the principle of a refined in properly identifying the inspirational sources
sense of abstractness. The most widespread of many of the artists whose creations are
form are stylized small-scale sculptures which subsumed under the blanket “modern art.”28
have been found in abundance at archaeological The protagonist of this movement is
sites. (Figure 2) Constantin Brancusi (1876–1957). Brancusi was
not just any sculptor. He was a true pathfinder,
one who crafted a new creative space, not only
by breaking away from the established canon of
Western art but also by setting standards for
other sculptors:

Brancusi played a pivotal role in developing

the shifting and expanded identities that
sculpture assumed in the twentieth century by
shaping a body of work so imaginative, so
multifarious, and so deeply felt that it has
consistently drawn a sizable audience,
particularly from those most critical and
attentive of all viewers of sculpture: other
29
Figure 2: Sculptures from the regional Neolithic culture sculptors.
of Hamangia, Cernavoda, Romania, c. 4800 BCE. a) Male
figurine, “The Thinker”; b) Female figurine, “The Seated It is clear from Brancusi’s biography that
Woman” (after Kruta 1993: 84, 85). the main source of inspiration, during his early
years, came from the prehistoric imagery of his
The aesthetic appeal of the works home country Romania, what was known of it at
produced by the Danubian artists differed the beginning of the twentieth century, and from
significantly from the realism of later periods, traditional pottery in Oltenia and Dobrogea
from the doctrine of Greek art, as it was which continue Neolithic forms. The form and
established by Polykleitos (fifth century BCE) style of Brancusi’s work both find their source
in his book Kanon in which the artist of inspiration in the repertoire of prehistoric
determined the conventions of art styles, the figurines from southeastern Europe and the
'canon', to be followed by many generations to Aegean archipelago (the Cycladic Islands,
come. This exclusive doctrine of western in particular).
aesthetics remained valid beyond antiquity and
well into the nineteenth century. These norms The Thinker of Hamangia and his female
shaped “our own Greek training”27 in art. counterpart and other recent excavations of
Seemingly, the tradition of Neolithic art the Neolithic Age in Romania offer us an
vanished into oblivion. unexpected providential confirmation of the
And yet, a sensational revival of the high degree of authentic inspiration that led
Neolithic spirit in art occurred. The abstract Brancusi to carve Ancient Figure at the
style of sculpture, so typical of Old European beginning of 1907 and Wisdom of the

28
Haarmann 2009: 223 ff.
27 29
Gombrich 1960: 123. Chave 1993: 1.

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Earth in 1907. Timeless contemporaneity cosmic dimensions. In this again, the modern
mysteriously links Brancusi’s work to the artist intuitively sensed the spirit of Neolithic
same source of inspiration as that of the imagery whose many forms bear witness to
Rumanian Neolithic Age thousands of years Brancusi’s timeless endeavor.31
30
ago. The theme of the Great Goddess, the
allegorical personification of the Cosmic
The Neolithic spirit is unmistakably Female Principle, finds its sublime expression in
present in his sculpture ‟Wisdom of the Earthˮ several of Brancusi’s sculptures, as in the
(1907) which reflects a unique distillation ‟Princess X” (bronze, 1916). (Figure 4a)
of Brancusi’s early experiences with ancient
imagery in Romania and it is a manifestation
of how he perceived prehistoric society,
earth-bound and with matrilinear structures.
(Figure 3)

Figure 4a: ‟Princess Xˮ (1916), a bronze sculpture by

Constantin Brancusi (after Varia 1986: 182).

Some attentive biographers have

remarked about Brancusi´s inspirational
sources, Neolithic figurines, and it has been
Figure 3: ‟Wisdom of the Earth” (1907), a sculpture in emphasized that ‟in museums he [Brancusi] had
stone by Constantin Brancusi (after Varia 1986: 61).
seen several versions of the prehistoric fertility
Brancusi’s emphasis on the Earth as the goddess; Princess X was an attempt to make
giver of life in the mindset of the early agrarian something modern out of them.”32 Another
settlers in the region was conclusive and author makes a perceptive allusion to Brancusi’s
reasonably motivated. In as much as ‟The possible motivation, reflecting a certain mindset
Thinkerˮ could be categorized as one of the among Romanian people in the country-side,
works of modern art, ‟Wisdom of the Earthˮ with persisting memories of a remote past.
could range among the pieces of Neolithic art. According to Spear, this particular sculpture
In his own words, Brancusi intended to create a (‟Princess Xˮ) is an expression of “an
female figure ‟beyond personality,” a character instinctive adoration of fertility principles—a
imbued with the mystery of a prototype of possible remainder of paganism persisting in the

31
Kruta 1993.
30 32
Varia 1986: 59 f. Neagoe 1965: 26.

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Old Europe and its Legacy Harald Haarmann

heart of Rumanian peasants through centuries of A distant reflection of that heritage was
Christianity.”33 Brancusi’s ‟Princessˮ definitely manifested in the traditional culture that
recalls a particular type of anthropomorphic continued into Brancusi’s days.
figurine of the Neolithic era. (Figure 4b) Brancusi spent his childhood in a modest
home. Despite the modesty of the living-
standards, he found in that abode all the
essential ingredients of traditional aesthetics, in
artifacts such as dishes or spoons and in the
richly decorated interior.

Brancusi grew up in just such a house of

modest pretensions, fortunately now
preserved with minimal alteration as a
museum. … Inside, the rooms are filled with
coloured textiles and lovingly decorated
furniture and utensils. Every object down to
the humblest cup or spoon is decorated,
incised, carved or painted. The floor,
furniture and walls are covered with carpets,
towels, tablecloths and bedspreads as well as
the ubiquitous icons. This was the
environment that surrounded Brancusi from
the moment of his birth and constituted his
first visual stimuli and (as repeatedly
pointed out in subsequent works) the earliest
source of inspiration for the morphology of
35
his sculptures.
Figure 4b: Figurines of the Cucuteni-Tripillya culture
(Usatovo, Majaki) with a bent neck, fourth millennium
BCE (after Lazarovici 2005: 151).
The impression of Brancusi’s Neolithic
inspirations reached further after 1904, once he
The resemblances of Brancusi’s works had moved to France. The major museums for
with Neolithic imagery do not delimit prehistoric art in Paris, the Musée du Louvre
themselves to form and style. Also certain and the ethnographical collection of the Musée
symbolic motifs of timeless attraction are de l’Homme, offered insights into Neolithic
essential constituents of Brancusi’s creativity, imagery other than from Romania, Cycladic
such as the spiral, the circle and the demi-circle, idols for one.
the lozenge (the rhomboeder) and the oval It is easy to recognize the Cycladic spirit
shape.34 Perhaps the affinity of Brancusi’s flourishing in Brancusi’s art of his early years in
works with Neolithic imagery is not coin- France. ‟Today . . . it is easy for us to observe
cidental. Brancusi grew up in Oltenia, a region that a work by Brancusi resembles a Cycladic
that is known for its preservation of old sculpture. But we may just as easily feel that a
traditions and folklore. It was in that region that Cycladic work looks like a Brancusi.”36
the Old European heritage was best preserved The Neolithic concept of the organic
and continued into the Bronze Age and beyond. whole of nature, encompassing all living things

33 35
Spear 1969: 12. Miller 2010: 14.
34 36
Séfériadès 2005: 396. Renfrew 1991: 174.

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Old Europe and its Legacy Harald Haarmann

(i.e., humans and animals) in the life-cycle lives principles apply to the Neolithic imagery which
on in the artistic spirit of pre-Greek art in the Moore so much admired. In one of his
Cycladic islands, a spirit which relates the comments on the aesthetic values of Cycladic
figurines of that cultural horizon to natural sculpture Moore addresses the issue of
formations, to the stones on the beaches of the sensibilities:
Cycladic Islands that have been moulded by the
But all that is really needed is response to
ocean waves, to the shapes of hollows in the the carvings themselves, which have a
ground, cavities and caves in the slopes of hills, constant life of their own, independent of
to many natural forms in the landscape. whenever and however they came to be
Henry Moore (1898–1986) collected made, and remain as full of sculptural
stones and pieces of wood and stored them in meaning today to those open and sensitive
his studio, as sources of inspiration for his enough to receive it as on the day they were
39
sculpting enterprise. For all the artists whose finished.
creative life achievements have been subsumed
under the blanket term ‟primitivism,” the The symbiotic interaction of the two
contact with and observation of living nature principles (i.e., organic wholeness and spiritual
was an inspirational ingredient, not only of their vitality) that Moore senses in prehistoric
work but also—and more comprehensively—of sculpture recalls the world of early farmers in
their way of living. Old Europe and their veneration of the Female
Moore’s work was infused with the same Principle in Nature, under the auspices of an
kind of spiritual sense of nature as the economically and socially egalitarian society.
anonymous Cycladic artist who shared with It is not surprising that Moore, at least in
him, though separated by space and time, a one of his sculptures, explicitly addresses the
similar creative impetus. As Moore emphasized relationship of woman and landscape. In 1957,
himself, his work was much indebted to the Moore created an outdoor sculpture for the
spirit of Cycladic art. Maison de l’UNESCO in Paris, a visual
In a 1969 letter to Lord Eccles, Chairman metaphor in marble: the Earth Goddess with the
of the Trustees of the British Museum, Henry official title “Reclining Figure.” (Figure 5)
Moore wrote:
When in 1957 he was commissioned for a
I love and admire Cycladic sculpture. It has major piece to go in front of the Maison de
such great elemental simplicity … The l’UNESCO in Paris, he toyed with various
Cycladic marble vases are remarkable thematic approaches, with family groups at
inventions, seen just as sculpture in study or play, before plumping for a
themselves―and the thinness, looked at pockmarked earth-goddess in travertine
from the side, of the ‛standing’ idol figures marble. The marriage of his universalist
37 aesthetic and the humanitarian ideals of the
adds to their incredible sensitivity.
organisation it represented, the matriarchal
In Moore’s own words, his aesthetic authority of a sculpture mediating between the
bold modernist building and its global public,
philosophy is based on the working of two
make this one of his most successful outdoor
major principles in art. These are ‟the organic 40
sculptures in an architectural setting.
whole” and ‟spiritual vitality.”38 In fact, both
37
Moore quoted by James 1992: 166.
38
See Lichtenstern 2008: 254 ff. and 263 ff. for an
39
assessment of these principles in Moore’s works of art Moore quoted by James 1992: 165.
40
and in his writings about art. Cohen 1993: 31.

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Old Europe and its Legacy Harald Haarmann

artistic heritage of Neolithic Europe in general

or as reflecting the Cycladic spirit in
particular—represent a miraculous and, at the
same time, mysterious revival of a trend in art
history that seemed to have vanished thousands
of years ago, or at least had remained invisible
until the thread was picked up again by a
modern artist.

References

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Neagoe, Peter (1965). The Saint of Montparnasse: A in 1970 and gained his Habilitation at Trier University in
Novel based on the Life of Constantin Brancusi. 1979. As a researcher in the fields of language and culture
Philadelphia: Chilton Books. studies, he has authored nearly fifty books in German,
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Moore. Princeton: Princeton University Press. on the languages and cultures of the world. In 1999 he
Ober, Josiah (2008). Democracy and Knowledge. was awarded both the “Prix logos 1999” (France) and
Innovation and Learning in Classical Athens. “Premio Jean Monnet 1999” (Italy). Dr. Haarmann is the
Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press. Vice President of the Institute of Archaeomythology and
Pernicka, Ernst and David W. Anthony (2009). “The is Director of its European branch in Finland.
Invention of Copper Metallurgy and the Copper _______________________________________
Age of Old Europe.” In Anthony 2009: 162-177.
Reale, Giovanni (2004). Storia della filosofia greca e
romana, vol. 3: Platone e l'Accademia antica.
Milan: Bompiani.

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