Entrepreneurial Perspectives on Some Bootlast Stems from the Collections of the Museum of the Lower Danube – Călăraşi

Abstract

The Lower Danube Museum is an important resource for cultural tourism in the lower Danube area, especially through its archeological collections. Gumelniţa culture is one of the most spectacular Chalcolithic cultures in the Balkans. During their existence on nowadays Romanian territory, these communities made a series of clay pieces that suggest a human foot, a rare form of its anthropomorphic plastic. In this study, we will discuss a type of artefact found in Gumelniţa settlements from Muntenia (Wallachia), preserved in the archaeology collection of the Lower Danube Museum from Călăraşi and its importance in the development of cultural tourism in the area. In the scientific literature, this type of piece is known as ”boot last” stem or clay stem (clay foot). Compared to other categories of clay artefacts, this type of legs discussed in this paper is rather reduced in quantity, and they are found especially in Gumelniţa settlements form the south and the southeast of Muntenia. The pieces that make the subject of our study were discovered in the settlement Măgura Cuneşti, Călăraşi county, only one of them coming from the tell Sultana-Malu Roşu. As for the methodological approach, for a clearer analysis, we will consider the more or less known context of discovery, technical data, and last but not least regards on the technological form in connection with discussing possible interpretations of these objects.