In this article, we outline the cultural and social context of what are known as “Trypillia megasites” and discuss the contrasting explanations for their origins. For it is in these times in the territory of modern Ukraine and Moldova that you would find examples of the earliest urbanism in the world. It seems like a counterfactual proposition that any collection of papers addressing global prehistoric and historic urbanism would be well-advised to heed the forest steppe zone North of the Black Sea in the fifth and fourth millennia BC. Introduction to Cucuteni-Trypillia (CT) Archaeology Finally, we consider the question of whether Trypillia megasites can be considered as “cities.” In this article, we discuss the two strategies in terms of informal network analysis and suggest reasons why, in some cases, megasites developed in certain site clusters. We can therefore re-focus the issue of origins on why create megasites in site clusters. The trend to increased site clustering can be seen from Phase BI to CI, coeval with the emergence of megasites. There were two settlement responses to buffering:- clustering of sites with enhanced inter-site exchange networks and the creation of megasites. Over half of the sites dated to the Trypillia BI stage-the stage before the first megasites-were larger than 35 ha, suggesting that some form of buffering involving exchange of goods for food was in operation. (2015)'s model of Trypillia arable land-use demonstrates that subsistence stresses begin when site size exceeded 35 ha. However, recent alternative views of megasites posit smaller long-term occupations or seasonal assembly places, creating a settlement rather than military perspective on origins. Most current solutions assume maximum occupation, with all houses occupied at the same time, and target defence against other agglomerations as the cause of their formation. With the largest reaching 320 ha in size, megasites pose a serious question about the origins of such massive agglomerations.
The Trypillia megasites of Ukraine are the largest known settlements in 4th millennium BC Europe and possibly the world.
Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom.
John Chapman *, Bisserka Gaydarska and Marco Nebbia
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