SYMBOLICS OF THE WARRIOR AND FEMALE DEITY SCULPTURESIN THE ASSEMBLES CONTAINING WEAPONS LEFTBY THE AGRICULTURALISTS OF THE DANUBE REGIONIN THE CHALCOLITHIC AGE
Archaeological sources of the Chalcolithic Age from the Danube Regionof V mill. BC point to appearance of anthropomorphic statues carrying weapons whichdepicted mythological characters. Hand-to-hand weapons began to be actively usedin burial rites in a number of cultures. In the most prestigious funeral assemblagescontaining weapons and tools of the Hamangia and Varna cultures weapons wereaccompanied by schematic female statues and gold jewelry which were partof the symbolism typical for the fertility goddess cult. Such assemblages imply thatthe prestige of the mother goddess was important to emphasize a high-ranking statusof the burials containing weapons. It is likely, that it was a reflection of a mythologicalidea on linkages between the fertility goddess and warfare and the country ’from whichnobody returns’, which means emergence of an image of the goddess of war and deathon the battle-field. Interestingly, in the treasures with hand-to hand weapons (Karbuna,Brad, Treasure I of the Kamenets-Podol’sk district) the same symbolic jewelry linkedto the fertility goddess has been found repeatedly. Apparently, such treasures emphasizeda special, probably, sacral and prestigious status of the set consisting of weapons andsymbols of a female goddess