The economic development features of Cucuneti-Trypillia culture

Throughout the 2,750 years of its existence, the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture was
fairly stable and static; however, there were changes that took place. This article
addresses some of these changes that have to do with the economic aspects. These
include the basic economic conditions of the culture, the development of trade,
interaction with other cultures and the apparent use of barter tokens, an early form
of money.
Members of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture shared common features with other
Neolithic societies, including:

 An almost nonexistent social stratification

 Lack of a political elite
 Rudimentary economy, most likely a subsistence or gift economy
 Pastoralists and subsistence farmers
Earlier societies of hunter-gatherer tribes had no social stratification, and later
societies of the Bronze Age had noticeable social stratification, which saw the
creation of occupational specialization, the state and social classes of individuals
who were of the elite ruling or religious classes, full-time warriors and
wealthy merchants, contrasted with those individuals on the other end of
the economic spectrum who were poor, enslaved and hungry. In between these two
economic models (the hunter-gatherer tribes and Bronze Age civilisations) we find
the later Neolithic and Eneolithic societies such as the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture,
where the first indications of social stratification began to be found. However, it
would be a mistake to overemphasise the impact of social stratification in the
Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, since it was still (even in its later phases) very much
an egalitarian society. And of course, social stratification was just one of the many
aspects of what is regarded as a fully established civilised society, which began to
appear in the Bronze Age.[22]
Like other Neolithic societies, the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture had almost
no division of labor. Although this culture's settlements sometimes grew to become
the largest on Earth at the time (up to 15,000 people in the largest)[31], there is no
evidence that has been discovered of labour specialisation. Every household
probably had members of the extended family who would work in the fields to
raise crops, go to the woods to hunt game and bring back firewood, work by the
river to bring back clay or fish and all of the other duties that would be needed to
survive. Contrary to popular belief, the Neolithic people experienced considerable
abundance of food and other resources.[3]
Since every household was almost entirely self-sufficient, there was very little
need for trade. However, there were certain mineral resources that, because of
limitations due to distance and prevalence, did form the rudimentary foundation for
a trade network that towards the end of the culture began to develop into a more
complex system, as is attested to by an increasing number of artifacts from other
cultures that have been dated to the latter period.[4]
Toward the end of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture's existence (from roughly 3000
BC to 2750 BC), copper traded from other societies (notably, from the Balkans)
began to appear throughout the region, and members of the Cucuteni–Trypillia
culture began to acquire skills necessary to use it to create various items. Along
with the raw copper ore, finished copper tools, hunting weapons and other artefacts
were also brought in from other cultures.[3] This marked the transition from the
Neolithic to the Eneolithic, also known as the Chalcolithic or Copper Age. Bronze
artifacts began to show up in archaeological sites toward the very end of the
culture. The primitive trade network of this society, that had been slowly growing
more complex, was supplanted by the more complex trade network of the Proto-
Indo-European culture that eventually replaced the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture.[3]