Editing History of Moldova (section)

==Prehistory==
{{Main|Prehistory of Southeastern Europe|Neolithic Revolution|Cucuteni–Trypillian culture}}
[[File:CuTryOutline.svg|left|thumb|[[Cucuteni–Trypillian culture]] boundaries]]
In 2010, [[Oldowan]] flint tools were discovered at Dubasari on the lower [[Dniester]] that are 800,000–1.2 million years old demonstrating that early humans were present in Moldova during the [[Lower Paleolithic|early Paleolithic]].<ref>{{cite journal| doi = 10.1016/j.aeae.2012.05.002 | volume = 40 | issue = 1 | title = Bairaki–a lower paleolithic site on the lower dniester | year = 2012 |journal=[[Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia]] | pages = 2–10 | last1 = Anisyutkin | first1 = N.K. | last2 = Kovalenko | first2 = S.I. | last3 = Burlacu | first3 = V.A. | last4 = Ocherednoi | first4 = A.K. | last5 = Chepalyga | first5 = A.L.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://paleogeo.org/article3.html|title=Articles|website=paleogeo.org|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520090413/http://paleogeo.org/article3.html|archive-date=20 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://docviewer.yandex.ru/?url=http://www.vgosau.kiev.ua/a/Archaeology_2013_04.pdf&name=Archaeology_2013_04.pdf&page=63&c=572fbb42c54a|title=Archaeology_2013_04.pdf|website=docviewer.yandex.ru|access-date=4 May 2018|archive-date=1 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401105743/https://docviewer.yandex.ru/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vgosau.kiev.ua%2Fa%2FArchaeology_2013_04.pdf&name=Archaeology_2013_04.pdf&page=63&c=572fbb42c54a|url-status=live}}</ref> During [[Prehistory|prehistoric]] times there was a succession of cultures that flourished in the land of present-day Moldova from the end of the [[Quaternary glaciation|ice age]] up through the [[Neolithic]] Age, the [[Copper Age]], the [[Bronze Age]], and the beginning of the [[Iron Age]], when [[Recorded history|historical records]] begin to be made about the people who lived in these lands.  These cultures included the [[Linear Pottery culture]] (ca. 5500–4500 BC), the [[Cucuteni–Trypillian culture]] (ca. 5500–2750 BC), and the [[Yamna culture]] (ca. 3600–2300 BC).  During this period of time many innovations and advancements were made, including the practice of [[agriculture]], [[animal husbandry]], [[Pottery#Firing|kiln-fired pottery]], [[weaving]], and the formation of large [[Human settlement|settlements]] and towns.  Indeed, during the Cucuteni–Trypillian Culture, some of the settlements in this area were larger than anywhere on Earth at the time, and they predate even the earliest towns of [[Sumer]] in the [[Mesopotamia]].  The area, stretching from the [[Dnieper River]] in the east to the [[Iron Gate (Danube)|Iron Gate of the Danube]] in the west (which included the land now in Moldova), had a civilization as highly advanced as anywhere else on Earth during the Neolithic period.<ref>Iranica Antiqua, vol. XXXVII 2002 Archeological Transformations:Crossing the Pastoral/Agricultural Bridge by Philip L. Khol</ref>

The question as to why this area did not remain at the forefront of technological and social development lies in the subsequent history of its geographical location.  At the end of the mostly peaceful Neolithic period, this area became a highway for invaders from the east moving into Europe.  By the time the historical written record begins to cover this area, it has already seen a number of invasions sweep over it, leaving social and political upheaval in their wake.  This trend was to continue on a fairly regular basis up until the 20th century.  With so much destruction, it was difficult for the residents of this area to recover from each successive invasion before encountering the next.