Trypillia (Trypillya) Type Site
Трипілля · Tripolye · Trypillya · Trype
Chalcolithic (5500–3500 BCE, Trypillia A–CI)·Cucuteni-Trypillia·🇺🇦 Kyiv Oblast, Obukhiv Raion, Trypillia village on Dnieper, Ukraine
About
About Trypillia (Trypillya) Type Site
Eponymous type site of the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture, excavated 1893 by Vikentiy Khvoika (Chvojka) on the Dnieper near Kyiv. The terrace settlement yielded painted pottery, figurines and tell stratigraphy 5500–3500 BCE that defined Tripolye culture (later Trypillia). Although smaller (10 ha) than mega-sites, its name designates the eastern Chalcolithic cultural horizon stretching 350,000 km² from Carpathians to Dnieper. Stratified cultural layer 3 m thick.
Why it mattersEponymous type site of the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture, excavated 1893 by Vikentiy Khvoika (Chvojka) on the Dnieper near Kyiv. The terrace settlement yielded painted pottery, figurines and tell stratig
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why type-site is not a mega-site despite naming culture
- 02Relationship to Kyiv-area Trypillia western vs eastern variants
Theories
- 01Trypillia as eponym chosen by Khvoika before mega-site discovery in 1960s
- 02Dnieper terrace as trade artery for Trypillia eastward expansion
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 5500 BCE (earliest BI)
- Period
- Chalcolithic (5500–3500 BCE, Trypillia A–CI)
- Culture
- Cucuteni-Trypillia
- Purpose
- Tell settlement and later eponym for culture
- Abandoned
- c. 3500 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 1893 Khvoika
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 5500 BCE (earliest BI)
Initial construction
c. 1394 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
50.1150° N · 30.7750° E · 95 m · 2 mapped features
Khvoika Excavation Trench 1893
trenchOriginal excavation trench where painted pottery defined culture
50.1155° N · 30.7755° ETrypillia Dnieper Terrace
terraceTerrace edge overlooking Dnieper floodplain
50.1145° N · 30.7745° E