Archaeology Magazine - January 1970 - 58

Roumania, through the Institute of
Archaeology. The activity of the
Institute covers all epochs from the
Palaeolithic to the eighteenth century of our era.
The results of a whole series of
excavations carried out in different
regions of Roumania have contributed to our knowledge of the prehistoric periods in those areas. In
the course of the past decade great
attention has been devoted to the
cemeteriesof the Late Hallstatt period. Among the tumulus graveyards situated south of the Carpathians, Ferigile is most worthy of
mention.
In the study under review Alexandru Vulpe discusses the results
of his investigationsof eight years.
Between 1956 and 1964, 149 tumuli
of a large cemetery were studied,
and 28 graves of a flat necropolis,
an isolated Hallstatt tumulus and
two tumuli of the transition period
from the Neolithic to the Bronze
Age were explored. The structure
of tjhe tumuli and the burial rites
are describedin the first three chapters. Similar burial customs were
observed in certain areas of Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakiaand
Jugoslavia. The pottery types
(bowls, cups, jugs and jars) and
their decoration are considered.
Turning to the metal objects,Vulpe
gives accounts of the akinakes,
knives with curved backs, axes with
double edges, flat axes with lateral
projections, spearheads, ferrules,
horse bits, arrowheads, fibulae and
bracelets.
The chronologicaldiscussion depends heavily on the so-calledhorizontal stratigraphy. The association
of various characteristic types in
the same grave determines the aspect of the grave. By analyzing the
frequency of associations, and by
comparing the graves which show
the same associationof objects, the
author obtained grave groups with
common aspects, which he considered to be contemporaneous.Each
group representsa phase in the evolution of the cemetery. A comparison of the archaeological material
with that of the cemeteriesof Balta
Verde, Gogo§u,Ravna and Dobrina
has revealed that the necropolis of
Ferigile flourishedbetween 550 and
400 B.c.
By far the most important part
of the book is the chapter in which
the author synchronizedthe phases
of the late Hallstatt period in
58

and intriguing to many readers. The
masks under discussioncame from
an area of Alaska which has been
famous for its ivory carvings.They
are delicate, sensitive and realistic.
This study reveals the boundless
imagination of the artists who represented forms from the spirit
world, seen in the dreams of the
medicine man. Their size ranges
from large, bold pieces to little
finger masks carried by women.The
medicine man may carve these
masks himself or he may supervise.
Shamans used these masks as well
as the men dancing in the religious
festivals when the spirits represented are appealed to for success
in hunting.
The masks for this study are
found principally in museums on
the Pacific Coast. They are beautifully reproduced.The text is based
on Mrs. Ray's field work during
which she showed the pictures of
the masks to many Eskimo informants, and on a most exhaustive
search of the literature. A study of
masks beyond mere descriptioncenters around the followingquestions:
1) What does the mask represent?
2) Where and by whom was it
made? 3) When was it made?
There are few pieces for which
all this information is available, so
it is a challenge to scholarship to
supply as many of the missingfacts
as possible. Museum catalogs often
tell very little becausethe collection
may not have been made by a
scientificexpeditionand private collectors value the object more than
such scholarly information. Interviews with informants about the
iconography of masks often yields
varying accounts. There is great
individuality in these masks, yet
certain stylesappear frequently,and
not always from the same place.
If the mask is relatively recent, the
carver can sometimesbe identified.
Most difficult of all is establishing
the date of a mask. Not even an
approximatedate can be ascertained
unless an informant has seen a
mask used at a specifictime or has
known of it as a family heirloom.
MASKS:
Art and Ceremony,
ESKIMO
by
The author has wrestled
Dorothy Jean Ray. vii, 246 pages, with these problems, andskilfully
while
12 color plates, 70 black and white they cannot be solved, has sugplates. University of Washington gested lines of inquiry that may
Press, Seattle 1967 $12.50
some day lead to better conclusions.
An excellentbook has been added As with many other features of
to the literature on the Eskimo of culture, obviously there has been
western Alaska with a subject of considerableborrowing from village
importance to the anthropologist to village, both in the ceremonies

Southeast Europe. Until recently
very little has been known of the
archaeological chronology of this
area, and his able summary is
therefore a valuable contribution.
Vulpe concludes that the Ferigile
group was formed under the influence of a Translyvanian component
at a time when the first elementsof
the Scythian culture became manifest. Ferigileconstitutesa distinctive
cultural area together with the
Bîrse§ti group in southwest Moldavia, with the Kustanovice group
in Carpatho-Ukraine, with the socalled "Scythian" complexes of
Transylvania and Podolia and with
theVekerzuggroup of Hungary.The
characteristic elements are: short
swords of akinakes type, iron horse
bits, certain arrowheads, bracelets
with cone shaped ends, mirrors and
some components of zoomorphic
art. These types often show eastern
connections. The author calls this
cultural area the Agathyrsian or
Thraco-Agathyrsianregion. In spite
of foreign influencesof Scythian or
Illyrian origin, the burial rites, the
main pottery types and the metal
objects reveal genetic links with
the North Thracian Hallstatt culture.
The second part of the publication is a detailed inventory of the
finds. The author deserves our
thanks for an English summary.
However, the translation of some
technical terms is not adequate: for
example, the flat axe with lateral
projection (the German Ärmchenbeil) is called "winged axe" (the
German Lappenbeil). Ferrules for
spearheads are translated as
"sheaths." This work, which has
good illustrations and a well drawn
distribution map, makes available
a considerablebody of material for
the study of the Late Hallstatt Age
in Southeast Europe. It can be recommendedwith confidenceto every
seriousstudent of archaeology.
Stephen Foltiny
Institute for AdvancedStudy,
Princeton,N. J.

Archaeology Magazine - January 1970

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - January 1970