Pintadere – review of the object group »clay stamps« based on two findings from Sopron-Krautacker (Western Hungary)

Abstract

Evidence of clay stamps (pintadere) appears as early as in Prehistory in the south-eastern Neolithic. In this period they are distributed from the Near East and Greece via the Balkan region to Hungary, Austria and northern Italy. The variety of motifs already shows great similarity to the examples that emerge later. After this the tradition of clay stamps is not detectable until the Urnfield culture, and then only in southern Germany and Bohemia. The motifs in this period are now slightly altered and more refined, with the shape of the stamp simplified to a circle. In the Vekerzug group of the late Hallstatt period, which is located in the Great Hungarian Plain und south-western part of Slovakia, clay stamps appear in large numbers. The motifs resemble the Neolithic examples, whereas some are reminiscent of the Scythian animal ornament. Their function for stamping colours has been demonstrated by graves in which stamps and traces of paint have been found in association, but due to the lack of specific findings it remains uncertain whether the colour was applied to skin, as reported by ancient authors.