“TECHNICAL DECORATION” OF THE TRIPOLYE CERAMICS

The article explores the so-called “technical decoration” of Tripolye-Cucuteni ceramics (4th–3rd millennia BC) – designs originating from the decoration or surface of nonceramic receptacles or from constructive details that lost their original function. Various types of technical decoration were used at all stages of the culture. During the early and early middle periods (Tripolye A–BI), the double snake motif coexisted with patterns derived from wooden, wicker, and woven artifacts. Also, throughout the Tripolye period, handles, having lost their function, evolved into decorative patterns. “Technical decoration” was quite common, which contradicts the idea that Tripolye patterns were proto- pictographic signs.