The Mystery of the Danube Civilisation: The discovery of Europe's oldest civilisation

by Harald Haarmann

Over the last few years, archaeologists have been finding more and more evidence for the existence of a civilisation on the Balkan peninsula which, between the 6th and 4th millennia BCE, was using a writing system long before the Mesopotamians. In this book, Harald Haarmann provides the first comprehensive insight into this enigmatic Old European culture which, until recently, was unknown. He describes trade routes and settlements, arts and crafts, the mythology and writing system of the Danube Civilisation; he traces its origins to the Black Sea area and shows which cultural influences it had on Ancient Greece and the Near East.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Archaeology

387 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Harald Haarmann (born 1946) is a German linguist and cultural scientist who lives and works in Finland. Haarmann studied general linguistics, various philological disciplines and prehistory at the universities of Hamburg, Bonn, Coimbra and Bangor.
Haarmann is the author of more than 40 books in German, English, Spanish, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and nearly 200 articles and essays in ten languages.

Reviews

[Patricia Woodruff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be new required reading in school! It shifts our common perception that "civilization" started in Mesopotamia and the Levant and puts it in its rightful place around the Black Sea. New discoveries cannot be interpreted properly if the basic foundation of knowledge is incorrect. (And old discoveries need to be reevaluated in light of this too!) It also changes the possibilities of our future, to realize that our common hierarchical structure isn't the only choice. Everyone should read this!

[Justin Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book on an often misunderstood time in civilization

This is an awesome book on an often misunderstood civilization. It's multifaceted. In often constantly changing information. These are the original ancestors of most Europeans and more pieces in the puzzle revealed. Must have. Get it today.

[Niklas Heer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dieses Buch öffnet einem die Augen für eine europäische Hochkultur, von der ich vorher noch nie gehört hatte: die Donauzivilisation. Haarmann zeigt, dass in Südosteuropa bereits zwischen 6500 und 3500 v. Chr. eine Zivilisation existierte, die in vielen Bereichen älter und fortschrittlicher war als die mesopotamischen oder ägyptischen Kulturen.
Die Fakten sind beeindruckend. Die Alteuropäer entwickelten das älteste Schriftsystem der Welt – rund 2000 Jahre vor den Sumerern. Sie bauten Städte mit bis zu 8000 Einwohnern, größer als alles, was es damals in Mesopotamien gab. Sie erfanden das Töpferrad, die ersten Brennöfen mit Temperaturkontrolle und beherrschten bereits die Kupfer- und Goldverarbeitung. Der Goldschatz von Varna (ca. 4500 v. Chr.) ist der älteste bekannte der Welt.
Was mich besonders fasziniert hat: Viele Errungenschaften, die wir den Griechen zuschreiben – wie die Weinherstellung oder die Olivenölproduktion – wurden in Alteuropa bereits Jahrtausende früher praktiziert. Auch in unserer Sprache leben alteuropäische Wörter weiter: Kirsche, Wein, Olive, Keramik, Metall sind keine indoeuropäischen Erbwörter.
Für mich war teilweise der Schreibstil etwas langatmig. Gerade in den Kapiteln zur Archäologie und Kulturchronologie verliert sich das Buch manchmal in Details, die den Lesefluss hemmen. Auch die vielen Fachbegriffe und Fundortnamen machen es stellenweise anstrengend.
Insgesamt kann ich das Buch jedem empfehlen, der sich für europäische Geschichte und Archäologie interessiert oder wissen möchte, was vor den Griechen war. Es korrigiert den eurozentrischen Blick, der die griechische Antike als Nullpunkt der europäischen Zivilisation sieht.

[MarBle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haarmann delves into the Danube Civilization, detailing the ancient egalitarian culture along the Danube shores. This civilization has been unfairly neglected, despite evidence of its exceptional nature and clear influence on the development of Europe and the world. He emphasizes the civilization's advanced development, which predates Sumer, its ties to Anatolian immigrants, and its connections to later Minoan and Mycenaean cultures.

Lepenski Vir, located on the Danube, is noted as Europe's oldest urban settlement, known for its egalitarian and peaceful culture. In Vinca's Belo Brdo, we see a culture that expanded significantly. The local museum's custodian highlights their prowess in trade, their sophisticated linen clothing evident in figurines, and their advanced use of kiln-baked clay, resembling 'pizza' ovens rather than primitive fireplaces. Their homes were insulated with a mix of sand, chaff, and water, which also added aesthetic value. This mixture was also used on floors, polished for maintenance. The 'owl-shaped' pottery covers are particularly fascinating.

Haarmann, referencing scholars like Marija Gimbutas who significantly contributed to the study of this civilization, alongside Winn, asserts that the Danube civilization developed a writing system that could be the earliest known 'alphabet', predating Sumerian scripts. Would I be surprised if this were true? Not at all...

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows the continual development of humanity through the ages - but the author notes that we should not just look to the Sumerians but 7000 years before that. The author does not refute that humanity clearly had a kind before then but that the Danube civilization was formed before the Bosporus land bridge broke and was formed from people from Anatolia in turkey but 8,000 years BCE. The integration of art, writing, and settlements proves a vital argument as the author links Minoans, Greeks, Cretians, and others into the world enhanced by the Danube peoples.

One critic of this book argues the author references his prior work and so should be negated. Is he saying that past learning is not worthy of integration into a larger whole? Personally l, I felt the author was humble in portraying tangible theories for our evolution and that's no small feat. He also does a great job referencing other work.

[Daydreamer · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only reason I’ll keep the book really is a) awesome inspiration for ceramics for when I’m writing and b) it was my grandpas book and I don’t wanna give it away right now.

Not convinced on that writing part or the religion part. (Seriously, you don’t have any script at all, only figurines, and think you can find out that much about religion?) he seems to have many ideas but rarely tangible evidence of those.

To add: many other scientists don’t seem to follow his theses at all, and it is very very interesting that he often just cited himself (since hes probably been busy writing books about this one thesis I assume) or one other scientist who actually agrees with his ideas somewhat. I think thats questionable, honestly.

[Ngn]

Загадките на дунавската цивилизация: откриването на най-древната високоразвита цивилизация в Европа, 2019

[Kai Kux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very scientific, at times too lost in minute details for my taste.

Recommend reading the book as this was a that culture invented writing and seems to have a lasting impact on European artistic and linguistic current culture.