Cucuteni Pottery Culture

Pottery technology was brought almost to perfection by the Cucutenians. Naturally, there are the differences in paste, firing, shaping, and decoration between the different categories of pottery. Storage vessels and the so called kitchen-ware are moulded more less carefully out of less purified clay, with lesser plastic qualities. Their shape is simpler. Even with these vessels, though, out of practical reasons, the interior is thoroughly polished, and the exterior is decorated with organised slips or even bas- and high reliefs. These vessels are fired at lower temperatures, seldom reaching 7000 C. Such vessels were used to store water, cereals, and other food supplies, but also clothing and rarely used objects. Fine pottery, a category in which we are including all painted recipients is shaped from more carefully purified paste, with sand, mica, or powdered splinters as temper. Small-size vessels are masterfully made out of a single lump of clay, while medium to large ones are made by coil-building.

Cucuteni was the last great Chalcolithic culture in Europe dated from 5500-3000.