Adonis von Zschernitz

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The Adonis von Zschernitz

The clay figure from the Neolithic period found on August 19, 2003 on the outskirts of Zschernitz (district of North Saxony , Saxony ) during excavation work in a settlement pit is called Adonis von Zschernitz . Between 5200 and 5100 BC A small sculpture made in the younger linear ceramics is the oldest male clay figure in Central Europe. Today it is part of the permanent exhibition in the State Museum of Archeology in Chemnitz .

Discovery history

The excavations by the State Office for Archeology of Saxony at the ZNT-08 site near Zschernitz were part of the prospecting work for the construction of a route for a natural gas pipeline for Mitteldeutsche Gasversorgung GmbH ( MITGAS ). The now completed, approximately 70 km long natural gas pipeline runs from Peißen (Saxony-Anhalt) to Wiederitzsch (Saxony). The archaeological field work began in April 2003, and when the excavator began to remove the topsoil, the enormous prehistoric settlement density on a slight hill, which lies roughly between today's communities Doberstau, Klitschmar and Zschernitz, was already apparent. Located less than 2 km from the reference ZNT-08 away which is circular grave system of Kyhna from the time of Stroked Pottery . After several months of local excavation at the site ZNT-08 with settlement remains and graves of the Bandkeramik , the Gatersleben culture , the Salzmünder culture , the Baalberg culture , the cord ceramics and more recent periods of prehistory, a multi-phase settlement emerged in the central part of the settlement stratigraphic superimpositions of older and more recent Neolithic findings. On August 19, 2003 around 8:30 a.m., excavation worker Manfred Berger found the clay torso of a human figure while excavating a flat ceramic settlement pit. A camera team from the MDR , who wanted to report on the ongoing work for the culture magazine artour , was directly present at the site. After consultation with the State Office for Archeology in Saxony, excavation manager Leif Steguweit gave an initial on-site statement on the extraordinary importance of the find. The program, which was broadcast two days later (after the press conference at the State Office for Archeology), brought the find a remarkable media presence. On the occasion of the press conference on August 21, 2003 the name " Adonis von Zschernitz" was also presented.

On August 23, 2003, the Adonis was exhibited to the public for the first time in the Saxon State Ministry for Science and Art . In autumn 2003 it was shown in a special exhibition of the State Museum for Prehistory in the Japanese Palace in Dresden .

Importance of the find

The idol stands out not only because of the so far unique explicit representation of the male sex, but above all because of the anatomical precision that was completely unusual at the time. The approximately 8 cm high, dark brown fragment has been preserved approximately from the navel down to below the buttocks. The figure was originally around 25-30 cm high. The buttocks are decorated in a ceramic band manner with lines carved into the still soft clay, in the form of two rows of hanging triangles. These are each separated by a horizontal line. Two particularly deeply recessed end lines have been attached to the upper body, which should possibly represent a belt. The stylization corresponds to the style of ornamentation on vessels of the middle to younger band ceramics in Central Germany. In view of the recurring motifs, it is very likely that these had a symbolic content in addition to the ornamental meaning. The secure classification of the Adonis in the relatively narrow time frame between 5,200-5,100 BC. There is no doubt because of the undisturbed findings in a settlement pit with a large number of ceramic waste made of identical clay and ornaments from the middle to younger linear ceramics.

So-called idols made of clay appear in the entire area of ​​distribution of ceramic tape . Fully preserved figures are comparatively rare (in contrast to simultaneous cultures in Southeast Europe). Only the so-called “Venus von Zauschwitz ” (district: Leipziger Land) found in 1964 from the culture of stitching ceramics is completely preserved from Saxony . By contrast, fragments of figures (limbs, torsos, heads) are very often found in municipal waste.

Previously known, often quite small figures from the era show a female body with punctiform breasts and an incised pubic triangle or have no gender characteristics. They are often interpreted as symbols of fertility. Figures with male sexual characteristics, on the other hand, are extremely rare and so far never been found in the anatomical detail like with Adonis von Zschernitz: Another male figure from the older band ceramics is known from Brunn am Gebirge , from the context of the stitch band ceramics in Plotiště nad Labem ( Bohemia ) . A phallic representation of the line ceramic was found as a modified bone slab at the Viesenhäuser Hof site ( Stuttgart-Mühlhausen ). A figure from Sabĕnice near Most (Bohemia), which was found in 1897 , cannot be clearly assigned to the band ceramics. In addition to human idol figures, numerous animal figures are also known (e.g. Bad Nauheim or Kmehlen near Meißen ). There are also figures with both human and animal characteristics (e.g. Nerkewitz or Bina / Czech Republic).

Evaluation and reception of the find

In addition to the detailed anatomical representation, the dynamic posture of the Adonis von Zschernitz is also unusual. While other Neolithic figurines were mostly shown upright, the Adonis is slightly bent forward at the hip. Further fragments of figures that were found in the summer and autumn of 2003 during subsequent excavations in the ceramic settlement pit of the Adonis, brought to light another torso, which is interpreted as a human pelvis with legs bent forward. Anatomical details are not formed, just like the figure, despite being the same size as the Adonis, is much coarser. The authors leave it open " ... whether we are dealing with the remains of a group of figures or even with a copulation scene ... ". Speculations of a copulation scene based on supposedly “female pelvic fragments” lack factual evidence. In the context of the entire spectrum of hundreds of figures from the ceramic band as well as the related Vinča culture in Southeastern Europe, an explicitly erotic depiction is considered unlikely, as it is not in line with the assumed function as house spirits or patron saints of the house.

The buttocks of the Adonis show incisions that are interpreted as tattoos or body painting. This assessment is surprising insofar as clear animal figures made of clay (e.g. Kmehlen near Meißen / Saxony) also have incised ornaments, which certainly cannot be assumed to be body painting or tattoos. Other archaeologists interpret the ornaments as the edges of clothing (shirt necklines, belts) or as textile patterns. The association Bandkeramisches Aktionmuseum eV under the direction of Jens Lüning produced linen trousers in 2004, which show the carved ornaments on the buttocks of Adonis as colorful textile applications.

Like the rest of Central Europe, Saxony was established around 5,500 BC. First settled by a peasant culture with the "band ceramics". The highly developed material culture is also evident in the lavishly built wooden fountains made of Bandkeramik , such as the nearby Altscherbitz fountain .

literature

  • Leif Steguweit and Harald Stäuble: man made of clay. A 7,000 year old fertility symbol? In: Archeology in Germany . Volume 6, 2003, p. 7.
  • Adonis from Zschernitz. The first clay man. In: archaeo. Archeology in Saxony . Volume 1, Dresden 2004, ISSN  1614-8142
  • Harald Stäuble: Adonis von Zschernitz. Man or god? In: From Peißen to Wiederitzsch. Archeology on a natural gas route . Gröbers (MITGAS), 2004, pp. 63–67.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ smac.sachsen.de
  2. ↑ Saxon State Office for Archeology: Circular moats of the Neolithic. Retrieved July 24, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Leif Steguweit: Copper jewelry in the stone age grave . In: Archeology in Germany . Volume 6, 2003, pp. 49-50.
  4. ↑ Leif Steguweit and Harald Stäuble: Man made of clay. A 7,000 year old fertility symbol? In: Archeology in Germany . Volume 6, 2003, p. 7.
  5. ↑ "Adonis von Zschernitz" discovered in front of the camera (report in the culture magazine Artour of the MDR, August 21, 2003) ( Memento from January 18, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ Sensational find: Adonis shows off mighty might (Der Spiegel, August 21, 2003)
  7. ↑ Stone Age Adonis excavated in Saxony ( Netzeitung , August 22, 2003) ( Memento of November 20, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ H. Stöckl: Did ribbon ceramic vessel decorations have a symbolic meaning in the field of cult? In: Contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe . 32. Varia Neolithica II, 2002, pp. 63-97.
  9. ^ W. Coblenz: Eine Venus von Zauschwitz, Kr. Borna . In: excavations and finds . Volume 6, 1961.
  10. ↑ D. Kaufmann: Economy and culture of stitch band ceramists in the Saale area . In: Publications of the Museum for Prehistory Halle . Volume 30, Berlin 1976.
  11. ↑ Svend Hansen: Fertility? For the interpretation of Neolithic and Chalcolithic figural sculptures . In: Communications from the Anthropological Society in Vienna . Volume 130/131, 2000/2001, pp. 93-106
  12. ^ Neolithic Sculpture. Some remarks to an old problem . In: F. Bertemes, PF Biehl, H. Meller (eds.): The Archeology of Cult and Religion . Budapest 2001, pp. 39-52.
  13. ↑ Vít Vokolek: Neolitická Plastika such Plotišt nad Labem. In Memoriam Jan Rulf. In: Památky archeologické . Supplement 13th Prague 2000
  14. ↑ Weinzierl. In: Journal of Ethnology . Volume 29, 1897
  15. ↑ Sabine Schade-Linding: Preliminary report on the band ceramic settlement near Bad Nauheim-Nieder-Mörlen "Hempler" (Wetteraukreis / Hessen) . In: Starinar Volume LII, 2002, pp. 117 ff ( online ).
  16. ^ A b Louis D. Nebelsick, Jens Schulze-Forster and Harald Stäuble: The Adonis of Zschernitz. The art of the first farmers. In: Archaeonaut . Volume 4. State Office for Archeology with State Museum for Prehistory, Dresden 2004. ISBN 3-910008-62-3
  17. ↑ Dieter Kaufmann: Linear ceramic cult objects from the Elbe-Saale area . In: Annual publication for Central German prehistory . Volume 60, 1976, pp. 61-96.
  18. ↑ Louis D. Nebelsick, Jens Schulze-Forster and Harald Stäuble: The Adonis of Zschernitz. The art of the first farmers. In: Archaeonaut . Volume 4. State Office for Archeology with State Museum for Prehistory, Dresden 2004. P. 7 and 23
  19. ↑ Louis D. Nebelsick, Jens Schulze-Forster and Harald Stäuble: The Adonis of Zschernitz. The art of the first farmers. In: Archaeonaut . Volume 4. State Office for Archeology with State Museum for Prehistory, Dresden 2004. P. 6
  20. ↑ drive storage in the Neander Valley . In: Der Spiegel . No. 14 , 2005, pp. 148-151 ( online ).
  21. ↑ Jens Lüning: The band ceramics. First stone age farmers in Germany. Pictures from an exhibition at the Hessentag in Heppenheim / Bergstrasse in June 2004 . 2005