The Budjak “culture” through the prism of mapping analysis

Despite the huge number of summarizing studies, prehistoric archaeologists still do not have a clear idea neither of the precise definition for the Pit Graves sites situated between the Carpathians and the Dniester, nor, accordingly, of the real position these sites might have occupy within the entire structure of the Pit Graves complex. As a result of the study, a significant series of artifact categories, such as Budjak type vessels, spiral temple rings, tubular beads, etc., were found to be closely related with specific configurations of burial rites, and these sets of evidence were revealed to display special patterns of distribution within the area under study. The groups of graves identified thus far may surely mark sequential chronological phases; they are manifested in the form of relatively stable combinations of qualitative and quantitative signatures reflecting two principal stages of the Pit Graves Culture between the Carpathians and the Dniester. Hence, the burials in question are thought to form an integral part of the complex cultural phenomenon defined as the Pit Graves cultural and historical community. By definition, these burials are conceptualized here as those having status of a regional unit entitled the Carpathian and Dniester regional aspect of the Pit Graves Culture, with more aspects located in the Balkans, by the Tisza River, by the Southern Bug River, and elsewhere. There have been two stages clearly distinguished within the Carpathian and Dniester sequence; these are: the early stage called ‘Dniester’ and the late one called “Budjak”.