The aim of this article is to provide a brief description of the Late Bronze Age settlement of Cs... more The aim of this article is to provide a brief description of the Late Bronze Age settlement of Csanádpalota-Földvár and the results of the first years of excavations at the site. During the rescue excavations from 2011 to 2013, a fortified settlement of enormous proportions with several ramparts and ditches was found. The first rescue excavations were followed by a series of non-destructive investigations, targeted smaller excavations and research into the regional context of the site.
Although there is no textual evidence known from the Bronze Age, written sources describing migra... more Although there is no textual evidence known from the Bronze Age, written sources describing migrations of later (i.e. Early Medieval) periods effecting the Carpathian Basin were interpreted as instances of cultural and population change which could be comparable with processes that took place during the Bronze Age in the Carpathian Basin. In the past two decades, Eurasian archaeological research received a new impetus to investigate the traces of migrations during prehistory, in collaboration with other disciplines such as isotope geochemistry or archaeogenetics. The current project which commenced in 2015, funded by the ‛Momentum Programme’ of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, was set out to investigate the societal changes that had taken place within the boundaries of modern-day Hungary – contemporaneous with the builders of the great pyramids of Egypt and the Greek heroes of the Mycenaean shaft graves – by analysing the settlements, cemeteries and the artefacts recovered from th...
Archaeological research is currently redefining how large-scale changes occurred in prehistoric t... more Archaeological research is currently redefining how large-scale changes occurred in prehistoric times. In addition to the long-standing theoretical dichotomy between 'cultural transmission' and 'demic diffusion', many alternative models borrowed from sociology can be used to explain the spread of innovations. The emergence of urnfields in Middle and Late Bronze Age Europe is certainly one of these large-scale phenomena; its wide distribution has been traditionally emphasized by the use of the general term Urnenfelderkultur/zeit (starting around 1300 BC). Thanks to new evidence, we are now able to draw a more comprehensive picture, which shows a variety of regional responses to the introduction of the new funerary custom. The earliest 'urnfields' can be identified in central Hungary, among the tell communities of the late Nagyrév/Vatya Culture, around 2000 BC. From the nineteenth century BC onwards, the urnfield model is documented among communities in northeastern Serbia, south of the Iron Gates. During the subsequent collapse of the tell system, around 1500 BC, the urnfield model spread into some of the neighbouring regions. The adoption, however, appears more radical in the southern Po plain, as well as in the Sava/Drava/Lower Tisza plains, while in Lower Austria, Transdanubia and in the northern Po plain it seems more gradual and appears to have been subject to processes of syncretism/hybridization with traditional rites. Other areas seem to reject the novelty, at least until the latest phases of the Bronze Age. We argue that a possible explanation for these varied responses relates to the degree of interconnectedness and homophily among communities in the previous phases.
Bár írásos emlékeket nem ismerünk a bronzkor időszakából, a Kárpát-medencét érintő későbbi (pl. k... more Bár írásos emlékeket nem ismerünk a bronzkor időszakából, a Kárpát-medencét érintő későbbi (pl. kora középkori) népvándorlásokra vonatkozó források ismeretében gyakran a bronzkor változásait is új népek betelepüléséhez, kisebb-nagyobb migrációkhoz kötötte a régészeti kutatás. Az utóbbi két évtizedben újra előtérbe került a történelem előtti időkben feltételezhető eurázsiai vándorlások nyomainak azonosítása, a kutatásba immár más tudományágak, többek között az izotóp-geokémia vagy az archeogenetika eredményeit is bevonva. Az MTA Lendület program támogatásával 2015-ben elindult kutatási projekt a mai Magyarországon feltárt települések, temetkezések és az innen előkerült használati tárgyak vizsgálatát tűzte ki céljául. A hazai bronzkor kutatásában eddig nem alkalmazott, 21. századi multidiszciplináris módszerek együttes használatával kerestünk választ a nagy piramisok építői és a mükénéi aknasírokba temetett görög hősök korában térségünkben letelepedett közösségek emlékanyagában megfig...
Vesna Vučković, Vojislav Filipović, Branislav Stojanović, Roberto Risch (eds): Crafting pottery in Bronze Age Europe. The archaeologicl background of the CRAFTER project. Paraćin: Regional Museum of Paraćin. ISBN: 978-86-920553-2-4, 49-69, 2021
Vuckovic, V. et al. (eds.) Crafting Pottery in Bronze Age Europe, 2021
The present paper is a short review of Middle Bronze Age Füzesabony style pottery from the northe... more The present paper is a short review of Middle Bronze Age Füzesabony style pottery from the northeastern part of the Carpathian Basin. We briefl y sketch research history, main cultural features, vessel forms, decorative motifs and manufacturing technology through petrographic analysis. Füzesabony pottery is identifi ed as one of the most flamboyantly decorated and formed ceramic style of the Bronze Age in Europe. Even though vessel shapes and decorations show high skill and elaboration, the raw materials of these vessels do not seem to be standardised. Raw materials show high variability and there is no correlation between vessel types/forms and choices in particular raw materials. In the light of this, there seems to be no centralisation in the organisation of ceramic production and even the most elaborately decorated and burnished vessels were manufactured locally by skilled, most probably specialised potters both for everyday purposes and special occasions.
In: Meller, H.–Friedrich, S.–Küßner, M.–Stäuble, H.–Risch, R. (Hrsg.): Siedlungsarchäologie des Endneolithikums und der frühen Bronzezezeit – Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Settlement Archaeology. 11. Tagungen des Landesmuseums für Vorgeschichte Halle 20, Halle (Saale), 2019
Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verz... more Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://portal.dnb.de abrufbar.
In: Meller, H. et al. (eds.) Rituelle Gewalt – Rituale der Gewalt. 12. Mitteldeutscher Archäologentag vom 10. bis 12. Oktober 2019 in Halle (Saale). (Please contact us for pdf), 2020
During the past two decades, the study of human remains from prehistoric settlements has gained n... more During the past two decades, the study of human remains from prehistoric settlements has gained new momentum in Hungary. The phenomenon of burials within settlements can be observed in many phases but was perhaps most prominent during the Copper and Bronze Ages. Thanks to the large-scale rescue excavations of the last few decades, our database of relevant material has increased considerably, shedding new light on previously excavated assemblages as well. In our paper, we present burials from two Middle Bronze Age settlements in Hungary that yielded a series of skeletons and human remains, some of which showed traces of violence and perimortem trauma. We establish that at both sites the human depositions showed significant variability, indicating diverse cultural practices. A number of characteristics of these »mass graves« support the hypothesis that they may have been associated with some form of sacrifice and ritual violence, rather than warfare or other causes of death. Chronological data indicate a prolonged tradition of series of ritual acts, sacrifices, and possibly the secondary manipulation of human bodies.
Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche - LXX S1 - 2020, 2020
ABSTRACT - The connections between the plains of the Po and the
Danube during the Bronze Age seen... more ABSTRACT - The connections between the plains of the Po and the Danube during the Bronze Age seen through the spread of the ‘urnfield model’ - The adoption of a new funerary ritual denotes an important change in society, although it can be difficult to identify the triggers. In the past, theories such as that of Luigi Pigorini on the origin of the Terramare culture, the concept of mass migration was used as the central explanation. In the 20th century, alternative approaches have emphasized the role of local developments and ideological change in response to ‘global’ macro-trends. The massive introduction of urn cremation, which replaced the inhumation burial that prevailed in previous periods, marks the beginning of the Urnfield Period. Traditionally, this change has been dated to around 1300/1200 BC, the beginning of Bronze Age D/Hallstatt A1 (Bz D/Ha A1), in Central Europe. In the light of recent archaeological research, however, it appears that the ‘urnfield model’, which originally developed within the territory of the tells in modern-day Hungary, was introduced during the 15th century BC (Bz B2/C) - at least one century before the ‘Urnenfelderzeit’- in several areas between the Danube and the Po plains. However, the archaeological record shows a wide spectrum of local attitudes towards the spreading novelty, ranging from radical acceptance, to hybridization and rejection. Our aim is to highlight this variability in Hungary, Lower Austria, western and central Balkans and to connect this evidence with the Terramare area.
Alena Bistáková – Gertrúda Březinová – Peter C. Ramsl (Eds.) Multiple identities in prehistory, early history and presence. Nitra, 2020
During the past few decades, the archaeological analysis of gender has gone through tremendous th... more During the past few decades, the archaeological analysis of gender has gone through tremendous theoretical and methodological development. However, although gender relations are fundamental to the social life of any community, Hungarian archaeology only took its initial steps in the archaeology of gender relatively recently, in keeping with several other east central European research traditions. Bearing in mind the pitfalls of such a study, we will present several case studies based on the analysis of burials between the Neolithic and the end of the Iron Age and of a series of representations from the Late Iron Age and the Early Roman period. We ask what the archaeological record can tell us about the range of femininity and masculinity by analysing the life cycle of men and women, examining data concerning the social position of children, their transition into adulthood, labour division and craft specialisation, the transition into mothers or warriors, etc. Our aim is to highlight the similarities and differences in how femininity and masculinity were created using material culture and other media in these societies.
Címlapsztori Az európai régészettudomány a Kr. e. 3. és 2. évezredet magába foglaló, csaknem 2000... more Címlapsztori Az európai régészettudomány a Kr. e. 3. és 2. évezredet magába foglaló, csaknem 2000 évnyi időszakot nevezi bronzkornak. Ekkor radikálisan megváltozott a kontinens arculata: látványosan nőtt a népesség száma, addig lakatlan térségeket hódítottak meg emberi közösségek, gyökeresen átalakult a mezőgazdasági termelés, ugrásszerűen kibővült a termesztett növények köre, új étkezési és italozási kultúra terjedt el, egyes közösségek addig ismeretlen társadalmi formákkal és ideológiákkal kezdtek kísérletezni, távoli területek között létesültek új kapcsolatok.
The Bronze Age Research group of the Institute of Archaeology of the Research Centre for the Huma... more The Bronze Age Research group of the Institute of Archaeology of the Research Centre for the Humanities at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences has for years been conducting research on the Danube Valley south of Budapest. We have performed non-invasive investigations into several archaeological sites in the Benta Valley to the west of the Danube, followed by excavations with the support of the Wenner-Gren Foundation. Our micro-regional work investigating the settlement relationships that can be dated to the period of the Middle Bronze Age (2000–1500 B.C.) has been given new impetus by a grant received from the National Cultural Fund of Hungary in 2014. We also have research programs supported by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund launched at the beginning of the year, which are investigating Early and Middle Bronze Age burials. Within the framework of the project we are studying an important site at the town of Érd in the Benta Valley, where in several pits partial or complete human skeletons have been discovered, and in four cases multiple burials. Our goal is to perform as comprehensive an examination as possible into the burials and the settlements of varying functions and patterns.
A kötet a hajdúböszörményi Hajdúsági Múzeumban 2017. február 8-án megtartott "Áldozat?! Nyomozás ... more A kötet a hajdúböszörményi Hajdúsági Múzeumban 2017. február 8-án megtartott "Áldozat?! Nyomozás egy újonnan előkerült késő bronzkori bronzedény ügyében" című konferencia előadásaiból készült tanulmányokat tartalmazza. Tartalom A szituláról -About the situla V. Szabó Gábor -Bálint Marianna 9 A második hajdúböszörményi szitula The second situla of Hajdúböszörmény Szabó Géza 45 Hogyan készült és mire használhatták a hajdúböszörményi kincsleletek szituláit? How were the Hajdúböszörmény hoards' situlae made and what could they be used for? A második hajdúböszörményi szitula elemanalitikai vizsgálata Element analytical investigation of the second Hajdúböszörmény situla Borbíró Márta -Dobó Bernadett -Vidovics Teréz 79 A második hajdúböszörményi bronz szitula restaurálása Restoration of the second bronze situla of Hajdúböszörmény A szitulával egykorú hajdúböszörményi lelőhelyekről -About the Hajdúböszörmény sites contemporaneous with the situla Bálint Marianna -Márkus Gábor 89 A Zeleméri földvár régészeti célú geofizikai kutatása The geophysical survey of the Zelemér hillfort for archaeological purposes Tarbay János Gábor 105 Égitestek, bronzkincsek, rituálék… Késő bronzkori fémleletek Hajdúböszörmény határából: Zelemér és Hetven-Laponyag Celestial bodies, bronze hoards, rituals… Late Bronze Age metal finds from the surroundings of Hajdúböszörmény: Zelemér and Hetven-Laponyag A szitula korszakáról -About the age of the situla Dani János 149 "Egyszervolt varázslatos bronzkori tájak…" Bronzkori deponálási zóna Hajdúsámson határában "Once upon a time" magical landscapes in the Bronze Age… Bronze Age "sacrificial zone" in the outskirts of Hajdúsámson Kalli András 175 Egy újabb bronzszitula Pócspetri határából A new bronze situla from the vicinity of Pócspetri Marta, Liviu 193 Hajdúböszörmény típusú depók Szatmár megye (Románia) területéről Hajdúböszörmény-type hoards from the area of Szatmár County (Romania) Czukor Péter -Priskin Anna -Szalontai Csaba -Szeverényi Vajk 211 Késő bronzkori földvárak a Dél-Alföldön Late Bronze Age fortified settlements in the southern Great Pannonian Plain V. Szabó Gábor 231 A Gáva-kerámiastílus kora. Az Alföld a hajdúböszörményi szitulák földbekerülésének időszakában The age of the Gáva pottery style. The Great Hungarian Plain in the time of the burying of the Hajdúböszörmény situlae
The Bronze Age in Hungary witnessed significant social transformations
in the Carpathian Basin an... more The Bronze Age in Hungary witnessed significant social transformations in the Carpathian Basin and more specifically in Hungary. The aim of this paper is to present the visible and invisible traces of social inequalities through several EBA and MBA case studies from Hungary: the investigation of the system of multiple tiered settlement networks, the differentiation of social status manifested in burial rites, and the study of the deposition of metal objects in hoards. Based on the analyses of the above-mentioned factors the authors seek answers to the questions of how inequality emerged, what kind of elites can be envisaged in this period, and what kinds of regional differences can be observed in this respect in Bronze Age Hungary.
The increasing expansion of the use of cremation rituals and the appearance of the “urnfields”, i... more The increasing expansion of the use of cremation rituals and the appearance of the “urnfields”, including hundreds, if not thousands of burials are among the major transformations affecting Europe in the second millennium BC. In Italy, the first large cremation necropolises of this kind date back to a late stage of the Middle Bronze Age (mid 16-15th century BC) the so-called “transitional period” from inhumation to cremation) and are concentrated in the geographic area of the Terramare. South of the Po River, the cremation ritual is the unique burial custom (eg. Casinalbo, Montata, Copezzato, Beneceto, etc.), while to the north we observe the use of biritualism (eg. Olmo di Nogara, Scalvinetto, Franzine Nuove, Bovolone, etc.), a practice that would almost be completely replaced by the use of cremation. In Austria, the cemetery of Pitten, used between the early Middle Bronze Age to the beginning of the Late Bronze Age (mid 16th to mid 13th century BC), details how the transition to cremation unfolds in a small community south of the river Danube. Burial forms show a considerate element of variability and experimentation as the primary mode of burial shifted from inhumation to cremation. At Pitten, cremations were, at first, staged to create similarities to inhumation burials, before urn burial became common. Since the dawn of Italian prehistoric studies, the adoption of a funerary custom so discordant with traditions of inhumation was one of the main arguments in support of migration theories from the Danube-Carpathian basin, which was considered one of the nuclei of the origin of Terramare civilization. However, according to the latest dating, the phenomenon of the urnfields and biritual necropolises in the areas surrounding the middle reaches of the Danube was established centuries ahead of the Po Valley. Early experimentations of cremating human remains are documented at least from the initial phases of the 3rd millennium BC in the Carpathian Basin, as also in Italy, but these are mostly small funerary areas, characterised by isolated graves or groups of a few graves, sometimes associated to inhumations. Cemeteries of the Bell Beaker period (26-22th century BC) contained hundreds of graves, indicating a change to large communal burial places with biritual burial practice. Again, an experimental phase of the introduction of cremation (with in situ cremation in the burial pit) can be observed in several cases during the beginning of the second millennium BC (20-18th century BC). After that cremation became the dominant burial tradition until the end of the Middle Bronze Age (1500/1450 BC) in certain parts of the Carpathian Basin, e.g. applied by communities using Encrusted Pottery, and Vatya and Hatvan style material, however other parts of the region (using Maros and Füzesabony/Otomani style material) are characterized by inhumations. During the early Late Bronze Age (from mid 16th century BC, contemporary with the Pitten cemetery) the use of biritualism can be observed, shifting to the dominance of cremation, similarly to Austrian and Italian regions. Contacts between the region of the Po and Danube are already documented from the Early Bronze Age (see eg. Gáta/Wieselburg material in eastern Austria and western Hungary, as well as Canar and Arano Cellore), but it still does not seem possible to link the appearance of the urnfields in Italy to a change in population, due to mass migration. The phenomenon, especially as regards the large number and the long duration of the use of the necropolises, is rather closely related to the process of the stabilization of the settlements, the reorganization of agricultural production, and the sharp increase in population. In other words, there was a social reorganization and economic development of communities living in the Po Valley, which appear in many ways similar to the economic and social demographics of the Danube. From this perspective, the transformation of social order may not have been separated from the radical changes in religious views expressed by the funerary ritual. This was observed by several authors as the passage from inhumations to cremation where it would be accompanied by the emergence of new beliefs and representations of the afterlife, and linked to the relationship with a divine sphere that was transcendent and immaterial, in which the deceased could rise through the sacrifice of the materiality of the body during cremation. The intent of this paper is to highlight similarities and differences between cremation and bi-ritual necropolises of the Italian Po Valley with the regions that are now Austria and Hungary, using a consistent set of archaeological and anthropological data. The stimulus for this debate stems from recent issues concerning significant funerary contexts, along with the role of patterns seen in funeral practices documented between the Early and Middle Bronze Ages in the Danube-Carpathian basin. Particular attention will be given to the chronology of the cemeteries, their relationship to the settlements, the internal organization of burial space and demography, in addition to ritual practices and social aspects recognizable from the pyre / grave good distribution and other indicators.
The aim of this article is to provide a brief description of the Late Bronze Age settlement of Cs... more The aim of this article is to provide a brief description of the Late Bronze Age settlement of Csanádpalota-Földvár and the results of the first years of excavations at the site. During the rescue excavations from 2011 to 2013, a fortified settlement of enormous proportions with several ramparts and ditches was found. The first rescue excavations were followed by a series of non-destructive investigations, targeted smaller excavations and research into the regional context of the site.
Although there is no textual evidence known from the Bronze Age, written sources describing migra... more Although there is no textual evidence known from the Bronze Age, written sources describing migrations of later (i.e. Early Medieval) periods effecting the Carpathian Basin were interpreted as instances of cultural and population change which could be comparable with processes that took place during the Bronze Age in the Carpathian Basin. In the past two decades, Eurasian archaeological research received a new impetus to investigate the traces of migrations during prehistory, in collaboration with other disciplines such as isotope geochemistry or archaeogenetics. The current project which commenced in 2015, funded by the ‛Momentum Programme’ of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, was set out to investigate the societal changes that had taken place within the boundaries of modern-day Hungary – contemporaneous with the builders of the great pyramids of Egypt and the Greek heroes of the Mycenaean shaft graves – by analysing the settlements, cemeteries and the artefacts recovered from th...
Archaeological research is currently redefining how large-scale changes occurred in prehistoric t... more Archaeological research is currently redefining how large-scale changes occurred in prehistoric times. In addition to the long-standing theoretical dichotomy between 'cultural transmission' and 'demic diffusion', many alternative models borrowed from sociology can be used to explain the spread of innovations. The emergence of urnfields in Middle and Late Bronze Age Europe is certainly one of these large-scale phenomena; its wide distribution has been traditionally emphasized by the use of the general term Urnenfelderkultur/zeit (starting around 1300 BC). Thanks to new evidence, we are now able to draw a more comprehensive picture, which shows a variety of regional responses to the introduction of the new funerary custom. The earliest 'urnfields' can be identified in central Hungary, among the tell communities of the late Nagyrév/Vatya Culture, around 2000 BC. From the nineteenth century BC onwards, the urnfield model is documented among communities in northeastern Serbia, south of the Iron Gates. During the subsequent collapse of the tell system, around 1500 BC, the urnfield model spread into some of the neighbouring regions. The adoption, however, appears more radical in the southern Po plain, as well as in the Sava/Drava/Lower Tisza plains, while in Lower Austria, Transdanubia and in the northern Po plain it seems more gradual and appears to have been subject to processes of syncretism/hybridization with traditional rites. Other areas seem to reject the novelty, at least until the latest phases of the Bronze Age. We argue that a possible explanation for these varied responses relates to the degree of interconnectedness and homophily among communities in the previous phases.
Bár írásos emlékeket nem ismerünk a bronzkor időszakából, a Kárpát-medencét érintő későbbi (pl. k... more Bár írásos emlékeket nem ismerünk a bronzkor időszakából, a Kárpát-medencét érintő későbbi (pl. kora középkori) népvándorlásokra vonatkozó források ismeretében gyakran a bronzkor változásait is új népek betelepüléséhez, kisebb-nagyobb migrációkhoz kötötte a régészeti kutatás. Az utóbbi két évtizedben újra előtérbe került a történelem előtti időkben feltételezhető eurázsiai vándorlások nyomainak azonosítása, a kutatásba immár más tudományágak, többek között az izotóp-geokémia vagy az archeogenetika eredményeit is bevonva. Az MTA Lendület program támogatásával 2015-ben elindult kutatási projekt a mai Magyarországon feltárt települések, temetkezések és az innen előkerült használati tárgyak vizsgálatát tűzte ki céljául. A hazai bronzkor kutatásában eddig nem alkalmazott, 21. századi multidiszciplináris módszerek együttes használatával kerestünk választ a nagy piramisok építői és a mükénéi aknasírokba temetett görög hősök korában térségünkben letelepedett közösségek emlékanyagában megfig...
Vesna Vučković, Vojislav Filipović, Branislav Stojanović, Roberto Risch (eds): Crafting pottery in Bronze Age Europe. The archaeologicl background of the CRAFTER project. Paraćin: Regional Museum of Paraćin. ISBN: 978-86-920553-2-4, 49-69, 2021
Vuckovic, V. et al. (eds.) Crafting Pottery in Bronze Age Europe, 2021
The present paper is a short review of Middle Bronze Age Füzesabony style pottery from the northe... more The present paper is a short review of Middle Bronze Age Füzesabony style pottery from the northeastern part of the Carpathian Basin. We briefl y sketch research history, main cultural features, vessel forms, decorative motifs and manufacturing technology through petrographic analysis. Füzesabony pottery is identifi ed as one of the most flamboyantly decorated and formed ceramic style of the Bronze Age in Europe. Even though vessel shapes and decorations show high skill and elaboration, the raw materials of these vessels do not seem to be standardised. Raw materials show high variability and there is no correlation between vessel types/forms and choices in particular raw materials. In the light of this, there seems to be no centralisation in the organisation of ceramic production and even the most elaborately decorated and burnished vessels were manufactured locally by skilled, most probably specialised potters both for everyday purposes and special occasions.
In: Meller, H.–Friedrich, S.–Küßner, M.–Stäuble, H.–Risch, R. (Hrsg.): Siedlungsarchäologie des Endneolithikums und der frühen Bronzezezeit – Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Settlement Archaeology. 11. Tagungen des Landesmuseums für Vorgeschichte Halle 20, Halle (Saale), 2019
Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verz... more Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://portal.dnb.de abrufbar.
In: Meller, H. et al. (eds.) Rituelle Gewalt – Rituale der Gewalt. 12. Mitteldeutscher Archäologentag vom 10. bis 12. Oktober 2019 in Halle (Saale). (Please contact us for pdf), 2020
During the past two decades, the study of human remains from prehistoric settlements has gained n... more During the past two decades, the study of human remains from prehistoric settlements has gained new momentum in Hungary. The phenomenon of burials within settlements can be observed in many phases but was perhaps most prominent during the Copper and Bronze Ages. Thanks to the large-scale rescue excavations of the last few decades, our database of relevant material has increased considerably, shedding new light on previously excavated assemblages as well. In our paper, we present burials from two Middle Bronze Age settlements in Hungary that yielded a series of skeletons and human remains, some of which showed traces of violence and perimortem trauma. We establish that at both sites the human depositions showed significant variability, indicating diverse cultural practices. A number of characteristics of these »mass graves« support the hypothesis that they may have been associated with some form of sacrifice and ritual violence, rather than warfare or other causes of death. Chronological data indicate a prolonged tradition of series of ritual acts, sacrifices, and possibly the secondary manipulation of human bodies.
Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche - LXX S1 - 2020, 2020
ABSTRACT - The connections between the plains of the Po and the
Danube during the Bronze Age seen... more ABSTRACT - The connections between the plains of the Po and the Danube during the Bronze Age seen through the spread of the ‘urnfield model’ - The adoption of a new funerary ritual denotes an important change in society, although it can be difficult to identify the triggers. In the past, theories such as that of Luigi Pigorini on the origin of the Terramare culture, the concept of mass migration was used as the central explanation. In the 20th century, alternative approaches have emphasized the role of local developments and ideological change in response to ‘global’ macro-trends. The massive introduction of urn cremation, which replaced the inhumation burial that prevailed in previous periods, marks the beginning of the Urnfield Period. Traditionally, this change has been dated to around 1300/1200 BC, the beginning of Bronze Age D/Hallstatt A1 (Bz D/Ha A1), in Central Europe. In the light of recent archaeological research, however, it appears that the ‘urnfield model’, which originally developed within the territory of the tells in modern-day Hungary, was introduced during the 15th century BC (Bz B2/C) - at least one century before the ‘Urnenfelderzeit’- in several areas between the Danube and the Po plains. However, the archaeological record shows a wide spectrum of local attitudes towards the spreading novelty, ranging from radical acceptance, to hybridization and rejection. Our aim is to highlight this variability in Hungary, Lower Austria, western and central Balkans and to connect this evidence with the Terramare area.
Alena Bistáková – Gertrúda Březinová – Peter C. Ramsl (Eds.) Multiple identities in prehistory, early history and presence. Nitra, 2020
During the past few decades, the archaeological analysis of gender has gone through tremendous th... more During the past few decades, the archaeological analysis of gender has gone through tremendous theoretical and methodological development. However, although gender relations are fundamental to the social life of any community, Hungarian archaeology only took its initial steps in the archaeology of gender relatively recently, in keeping with several other east central European research traditions. Bearing in mind the pitfalls of such a study, we will present several case studies based on the analysis of burials between the Neolithic and the end of the Iron Age and of a series of representations from the Late Iron Age and the Early Roman period. We ask what the archaeological record can tell us about the range of femininity and masculinity by analysing the life cycle of men and women, examining data concerning the social position of children, their transition into adulthood, labour division and craft specialisation, the transition into mothers or warriors, etc. Our aim is to highlight the similarities and differences in how femininity and masculinity were created using material culture and other media in these societies.
Címlapsztori Az európai régészettudomány a Kr. e. 3. és 2. évezredet magába foglaló, csaknem 2000... more Címlapsztori Az európai régészettudomány a Kr. e. 3. és 2. évezredet magába foglaló, csaknem 2000 évnyi időszakot nevezi bronzkornak. Ekkor radikálisan megváltozott a kontinens arculata: látványosan nőtt a népesség száma, addig lakatlan térségeket hódítottak meg emberi közösségek, gyökeresen átalakult a mezőgazdasági termelés, ugrásszerűen kibővült a termesztett növények köre, új étkezési és italozási kultúra terjedt el, egyes közösségek addig ismeretlen társadalmi formákkal és ideológiákkal kezdtek kísérletezni, távoli területek között létesültek új kapcsolatok.
The Bronze Age Research group of the Institute of Archaeology of the Research Centre for the Huma... more The Bronze Age Research group of the Institute of Archaeology of the Research Centre for the Humanities at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences has for years been conducting research on the Danube Valley south of Budapest. We have performed non-invasive investigations into several archaeological sites in the Benta Valley to the west of the Danube, followed by excavations with the support of the Wenner-Gren Foundation. Our micro-regional work investigating the settlement relationships that can be dated to the period of the Middle Bronze Age (2000–1500 B.C.) has been given new impetus by a grant received from the National Cultural Fund of Hungary in 2014. We also have research programs supported by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund launched at the beginning of the year, which are investigating Early and Middle Bronze Age burials. Within the framework of the project we are studying an important site at the town of Érd in the Benta Valley, where in several pits partial or complete human skeletons have been discovered, and in four cases multiple burials. Our goal is to perform as comprehensive an examination as possible into the burials and the settlements of varying functions and patterns.
A kötet a hajdúböszörményi Hajdúsági Múzeumban 2017. február 8-án megtartott "Áldozat?! Nyomozás ... more A kötet a hajdúböszörményi Hajdúsági Múzeumban 2017. február 8-án megtartott "Áldozat?! Nyomozás egy újonnan előkerült késő bronzkori bronzedény ügyében" című konferencia előadásaiból készült tanulmányokat tartalmazza. Tartalom A szituláról -About the situla V. Szabó Gábor -Bálint Marianna 9 A második hajdúböszörményi szitula The second situla of Hajdúböszörmény Szabó Géza 45 Hogyan készült és mire használhatták a hajdúböszörményi kincsleletek szituláit? How were the Hajdúböszörmény hoards' situlae made and what could they be used for? A második hajdúböszörményi szitula elemanalitikai vizsgálata Element analytical investigation of the second Hajdúböszörmény situla Borbíró Márta -Dobó Bernadett -Vidovics Teréz 79 A második hajdúböszörményi bronz szitula restaurálása Restoration of the second bronze situla of Hajdúböszörmény A szitulával egykorú hajdúböszörményi lelőhelyekről -About the Hajdúböszörmény sites contemporaneous with the situla Bálint Marianna -Márkus Gábor 89 A Zeleméri földvár régészeti célú geofizikai kutatása The geophysical survey of the Zelemér hillfort for archaeological purposes Tarbay János Gábor 105 Égitestek, bronzkincsek, rituálék… Késő bronzkori fémleletek Hajdúböszörmény határából: Zelemér és Hetven-Laponyag Celestial bodies, bronze hoards, rituals… Late Bronze Age metal finds from the surroundings of Hajdúböszörmény: Zelemér and Hetven-Laponyag A szitula korszakáról -About the age of the situla Dani János 149 "Egyszervolt varázslatos bronzkori tájak…" Bronzkori deponálási zóna Hajdúsámson határában "Once upon a time" magical landscapes in the Bronze Age… Bronze Age "sacrificial zone" in the outskirts of Hajdúsámson Kalli András 175 Egy újabb bronzszitula Pócspetri határából A new bronze situla from the vicinity of Pócspetri Marta, Liviu 193 Hajdúböszörmény típusú depók Szatmár megye (Románia) területéről Hajdúböszörmény-type hoards from the area of Szatmár County (Romania) Czukor Péter -Priskin Anna -Szalontai Csaba -Szeverényi Vajk 211 Késő bronzkori földvárak a Dél-Alföldön Late Bronze Age fortified settlements in the southern Great Pannonian Plain V. Szabó Gábor 231 A Gáva-kerámiastílus kora. Az Alföld a hajdúböszörményi szitulák földbekerülésének időszakában The age of the Gáva pottery style. The Great Hungarian Plain in the time of the burying of the Hajdúböszörmény situlae
The Bronze Age in Hungary witnessed significant social transformations
in the Carpathian Basin an... more The Bronze Age in Hungary witnessed significant social transformations in the Carpathian Basin and more specifically in Hungary. The aim of this paper is to present the visible and invisible traces of social inequalities through several EBA and MBA case studies from Hungary: the investigation of the system of multiple tiered settlement networks, the differentiation of social status manifested in burial rites, and the study of the deposition of metal objects in hoards. Based on the analyses of the above-mentioned factors the authors seek answers to the questions of how inequality emerged, what kind of elites can be envisaged in this period, and what kinds of regional differences can be observed in this respect in Bronze Age Hungary.
The increasing expansion of the use of cremation rituals and the appearance of the “urnfields”, i... more The increasing expansion of the use of cremation rituals and the appearance of the “urnfields”, including hundreds, if not thousands of burials are among the major transformations affecting Europe in the second millennium BC. In Italy, the first large cremation necropolises of this kind date back to a late stage of the Middle Bronze Age (mid 16-15th century BC) the so-called “transitional period” from inhumation to cremation) and are concentrated in the geographic area of the Terramare. South of the Po River, the cremation ritual is the unique burial custom (eg. Casinalbo, Montata, Copezzato, Beneceto, etc.), while to the north we observe the use of biritualism (eg. Olmo di Nogara, Scalvinetto, Franzine Nuove, Bovolone, etc.), a practice that would almost be completely replaced by the use of cremation. In Austria, the cemetery of Pitten, used between the early Middle Bronze Age to the beginning of the Late Bronze Age (mid 16th to mid 13th century BC), details how the transition to cremation unfolds in a small community south of the river Danube. Burial forms show a considerate element of variability and experimentation as the primary mode of burial shifted from inhumation to cremation. At Pitten, cremations were, at first, staged to create similarities to inhumation burials, before urn burial became common. Since the dawn of Italian prehistoric studies, the adoption of a funerary custom so discordant with traditions of inhumation was one of the main arguments in support of migration theories from the Danube-Carpathian basin, which was considered one of the nuclei of the origin of Terramare civilization. However, according to the latest dating, the phenomenon of the urnfields and biritual necropolises in the areas surrounding the middle reaches of the Danube was established centuries ahead of the Po Valley. Early experimentations of cremating human remains are documented at least from the initial phases of the 3rd millennium BC in the Carpathian Basin, as also in Italy, but these are mostly small funerary areas, characterised by isolated graves or groups of a few graves, sometimes associated to inhumations. Cemeteries of the Bell Beaker period (26-22th century BC) contained hundreds of graves, indicating a change to large communal burial places with biritual burial practice. Again, an experimental phase of the introduction of cremation (with in situ cremation in the burial pit) can be observed in several cases during the beginning of the second millennium BC (20-18th century BC). After that cremation became the dominant burial tradition until the end of the Middle Bronze Age (1500/1450 BC) in certain parts of the Carpathian Basin, e.g. applied by communities using Encrusted Pottery, and Vatya and Hatvan style material, however other parts of the region (using Maros and Füzesabony/Otomani style material) are characterized by inhumations. During the early Late Bronze Age (from mid 16th century BC, contemporary with the Pitten cemetery) the use of biritualism can be observed, shifting to the dominance of cremation, similarly to Austrian and Italian regions. Contacts between the region of the Po and Danube are already documented from the Early Bronze Age (see eg. Gáta/Wieselburg material in eastern Austria and western Hungary, as well as Canar and Arano Cellore), but it still does not seem possible to link the appearance of the urnfields in Italy to a change in population, due to mass migration. The phenomenon, especially as regards the large number and the long duration of the use of the necropolises, is rather closely related to the process of the stabilization of the settlements, the reorganization of agricultural production, and the sharp increase in population. In other words, there was a social reorganization and economic development of communities living in the Po Valley, which appear in many ways similar to the economic and social demographics of the Danube. From this perspective, the transformation of social order may not have been separated from the radical changes in religious views expressed by the funerary ritual. This was observed by several authors as the passage from inhumations to cremation where it would be accompanied by the emergence of new beliefs and representations of the afterlife, and linked to the relationship with a divine sphere that was transcendent and immaterial, in which the deceased could rise through the sacrifice of the materiality of the body during cremation. The intent of this paper is to highlight similarities and differences between cremation and bi-ritual necropolises of the Italian Po Valley with the regions that are now Austria and Hungary, using a consistent set of archaeological and anthropological data. The stimulus for this debate stems from recent issues concerning significant funerary contexts, along with the role of patterns seen in funeral practices documented between the Early and Middle Bronze Ages in the Danube-Carpathian basin. Particular attention will be given to the chronology of the cemeteries, their relationship to the settlements, the internal organization of burial space and demography, in addition to ritual practices and social aspects recognizable from the pyre / grave good distribution and other indicators.
The volume comprises 54 papers, while the attached CD contains the full material (84 contribution... more The volume comprises 54 papers, while the attached CD contains the full material (84 contributions) presented at the 2008 CAA conference in Budapest. The studies are grouped around four large topics: Remote Sensing and Arial Photography; Data Acquisition and Management; GIS and Intrasite Analysis and finally Virtual Reconstruction and Visualisation.
This collection, along with the framework in which it was produced, offers an image of the present relationship between archaeology and computer science. After the political transitions of the late 20th century, the main topic of Hungarian and, in general, Eastern European archaeology has been the gigantic task resulting from overdue infrastructural development: organizing large-scale preventive excavations, their implementation, documentation and presentation. The tasks could only be solved by means of recent advances in information technology. The organizers of the Budapest conference believed that this theme would draw attention to other more basic problems of archaeology, not only in Hungary, but in neighbouring and more easterly countries as well.
Crafting pottery in Bronze Age Europe: the archaeological background of the CRAFTER project, 2021
Introduction
The proceedings before us, comprised of seven papers, are inspired by the subjec... more Introduction
The proceedings before us, comprised of seven papers, are inspired by the subject of the almost completed CRAFTER programme Creative Europe project. The full title of the project is Crafting Europe in the Bronze Age and Today, and in brief, the idea was to draw inspiration from Europe’s Bronze Age pottery to help revive modern-day artisanship. The project targets the appreciation of Europe's cultural heritage as a shared resource and the reinforcement of a sense of belonging to a common European space. In particular, it hopes to make cultural heritage a source of inspiration for contemporary creation and innovation and strengthen the interaction between this sector and other cultural and creative sectors. The main framework of the project was the idea that four potters from Spain, Germany, Hungary, and Serbia will draw on their skills to (re)create ceramic vessels representative of some of the most outstanding Bronze Age cultures of Europe: El Argar (southeast Spain), Únětice (Central Europe), Füzesabony (eastern Hungary) and Vatin (Serbia). The papers published within these proceedings are not strictly related to the project itself, but the problems of Bronze Age pottery in Europe in general. The problems discussed in the presented papers and the inspirations are drawn from the CRAFTER project. The original idea was to delve into the content of the pottery and define its composition and quality. These are, in fact, the elements responsible for the final appearance of the ceramic vessel and its function. Considering that out of four editors, two have presented papers within the proceedings, I have been honoured to write this short introduction on their significance and essence. The thread that connects all of the papers, although their concepts do not seem similar at the first glance, since some of the papers are dwelling on interdisciplinarity while others deal with certain chronological and cultural-historical problems, is that the primary analytical material in all of the papers is Bronze Age pottery, from beyond the Pyrenees, across Central Europe, to the Balkans, which is not unexpected considering that a Serbian institution was credited for publishing. The positive aspect is that the pottery is Crafting pottery in Bronze Age Europe: the archaeological background of the CRAFTER project discussed in a manner uncommon for archaeology, while on the other hand pottery studies have been more and more neglected in the past few decades, as such subjects are considered as passé in archaeology. The ever-rising number of specializations and specialists have pushed the pottery and potters into an undeserved corner, even though without such a set of analytic work the past can not be completely and adequately perceived. The pottery is “slow-moving”. It changes, circulates, and exchanges at a slow pace and it enables the perception of the beginning, development, decadence, and the end of a certain society. The pottery has regional character and reflects the primary contacts, the esthetics of a community, and the inspiration of the artist. Certainly, this implies to prehistoric pottery and communities which do not function within centralized social systems, such as the Bronze Age beyond Mediterranean Europe, which is indeed in the focus of these proceedings. With the appearance of the potter’s wheel, the production and distribution of pottery merge with industry and economy, and at that moment a puzzle of a small man from the past loses a piece. A piece without which we are unable to perceive small communities through such an important, fruitful, and data-rich object such as pottery and which we often tend to neglect as a discipline. In order to identify the contacts, exchange, and trade or reconstruct the communication routes in past, we often reach to the so-called luxurious artifacts: metals, amber, glass, and artisan objects… Likewise, pottery could narrate a story of one meal, one house, one potter, one village, or one community in the past, which is, like it or not, a fact that will make the interdisciplinary and diverse analyses of prehistoric pottery one of the primary archaeological methods.
Vojislav Filipović Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade
Human culture, biology, and health were shaped dramatically by the onset of agriculture ~12,000 y... more Human culture, biology, and health were shaped dramatically by the onset of agriculture ~12,000 years before present (BP). Subsistence shifts from hunting and gathering to agriculture are hypothesized to have resulted in increased individual fitness and population growth as evidenced by archaeological and population genomic data alongside a simultaneous decline in physiological health as inferred from paleopathological analyses and stature reconstructions of skeletal remains. A key component of the health decline inference is that relatively shorter statures observed for early farmers may (at least partly) reflect higher childhood disease burdens and poorer nutrition. However, while such stresses can indeed result in growth stunting, height is also highly heritable, and substantial inter-individual variation in the height genetic component within a population is typical. Moreover, extensive migration and gene flow were characteristics of multiple agricultural transitions worldwide. ...
Archaeology is well equipped to study history either as sequences of transformative events, or as... more Archaeology is well equipped to study history either as sequences of transformative events, or as a continuous process of everyday life where time serves as a function of cultural persistence. On a macro-scale, sweeping reconfiguration of human-material relations marked by events and interpreted as cultural change have been at the center of archaeological practice since the first descriptions of 'cultures' as convenient analytical and spatio-temporal units for the analysis of past societies in the early 20 th century. Wars, migrations, far-reaching effects of economic innovations have been considered the primary motors and signatures of change at the center of archaeological narratives, marked by an overwhelming focus on socioeconomic and political systems. Alternatively, the archaeology of everyday life to study the material residues of cumulative and repetitive action became a central topic of archaeological practice in the 1980's. Within narratives of everyday life, emphasis shifted to the mundane, to the multivocality and multidirectionality. Corresponding to the decreasing scale of analysis and interpretive context, the struggle became to present the ways in which people's repetitive day-today practices mattered and figured into great chains of historical events. With no attention paid to their complementary character, these approaches developed to involve different interpretative strategies, necessitate different narrative modes, rely on different properties or analytical assessment of material evidence, require different methodologies, and are linked to different spatio-temporal scales.
Session abstract for EAA 2021 Kiel. Please consider submitting your abstract via the EAA's confer... more Session abstract for EAA 2021 Kiel. Please consider submitting your abstract via the EAA's conference website: https://submissions.e-a-a.org/eaa2021/
Recent decades in archaeological theory and practice witnessed increased attention on the complex... more Recent decades in archaeological theory and practice witnessed increased attention on the complexities of mortuary practice. Breaking from characterizations of burial assemblages as normative and reflexive representations of social and biological facts, more emphasis has been given to idiosyncratic facets of the mortuary domain in an attempt to highlight human agency and the politics of death. In our perspective, idiosyncratic mortuary behaviour can materialize through a wide range of deposits from ‘mass graves’ to the minute, but significant, differences observed between the burial assemblages within a cemetery. However, such variability in mortuary practice often remains viewed through the lens of perceived cultural logic and grammar by merely introducing more nuanced, but still mostly non-negotiable biosocial categories—such as age-at-death, genetic variability, etc.—into the interpretative mix. Although it is undeniable that certain aspects of mortuary practice are governed by strict cultural rules and remain remarkably consistent over time and space, there are truly idiosyncratic, and contingent elements of funerary behaviour that can shed light on contemporary politics. Moving beyond the basic comparative and statistical assessment of mortuary assemblages, understanding idiosyncratic, ‘deviant’ or unorthodox elements and instances of funerary practice require different approaches, such as microarchaeology and archaeothanatology. We invite papers to our session that investigate such ‘non-normative’ mortuary behaviour in any region and period and seek to make sense of such rituals and political acts through their analysis.
Recent decades in archaeological theory and practice witnessed increased attention on the complex... more Recent decades in archaeological theory and practice witnessed increased attention on the complexities of mortuary practice. Breaking from characterizations of burial assemblages as normative and reflexive representations of social and biological facts, more emphasis has been given to idiosyncratic facets of the mortuary domain in an attempt to highlight human agency and the politics of death. In our perspective, idiosyncratic mortuary behaviour can materialize through a wide range of deposits from ‘mass graves’ to the minute, but significant, differences observed between the burial assemblages within a cemetery. However, such variability in mortuary practice often remains viewed through the lens of perceived cultural logic and grammar by merely introducing more nuanced, but still mostly non-negotiable biosocial categories—such as age-at-death, genetic variability, etc.—into the interpretative mix. Although it is undeniable that certain aspects of mortuary practice are governed by strict cultural rules and remain remarkably consistent over time and space, there are truly idiosyncratic, and contingent elements of funerary behaviour that can shed light on contemporary politics. Moving beyond the basic comparative and statistical assessment of mortuary assemblages, understanding idiosyncratic, ‘deviant’ or unorthodox elements and instances of funerary practice require different approaches, such as microarchaeology and archaeothanatology. We invite papers to our session that investigate such ‘non-normative’ mortuary behaviour in any region and period and seek to make sense of such rituals and political acts through their analysis.
Recent decades in archaeological theory and practice witnessed increased attention on the complex... more Recent decades in archaeological theory and practice witnessed increased attention on the complexities of mortuary practice. Breaking from characterizations of burial assemblages as normative and reflexive representations of social and biological facts, more emphasis has been given to idiosyncratic facets of the mortuary domain in an attempt to highlight human agency and the politics of death. In our perspective, idiosyncratic mortuary behaviour can materialize through a wide range of deposits from 'mass graves' to the minute, but significant, differences observed between the burial assemblages within a cemetery. However, such variability in mortuary practice often remains viewed through the lens of perceived cultural logic and grammar by merely introducing more nuanced, but still mostly non-negotiable biosocial categories-such as age-atdeath, genetic variability, etc.-into the interpretative mix. Although it is undeniable that certain aspects of mortuary practice are governed by strict cultural rules and remain remarkably consistent over time and space, there are truly idiosyncratic, and contingent elements of funerary behaviour that can shed light on contemporary politics.
The Bronze Age hallmarks the rise of a globalized metalwork exchange. New technologies involved s... more The Bronze Age hallmarks the rise of a globalized metalwork exchange. New technologies involved such as copying, recycling even suggest that it was sustained by new, more economicrationalistic attitudes towards material. This seems in marked contrast to the deliberate deposition and giving-up of metalwork across Europe. Understanding the rationale behind these practices remains one of the major challenges of European Archaeology. Research by scholars from different countries has shown that this 'giving up' was not arbitrarily done, but shows particular patterns: specific objects seem to have been placed in specific places only. In this session, we aim to chart the general characteristics of this 'selective deposition' of metalwork during the Bronze Age, by inviting scholars from different ends of Europe to present overviews and interpretations of this remarkable practice. Questions to focus on will include: Are there general, widely-shared aspects to this practice across Europe, or is the 'phenomenon' no more than an array of local practices that differ substantially from region to region? Was it a cultural phenomenon that is 'unique' for Europe, and if so, what exactly its distribution? Was deposition of metalwork in metalliferous regions essentially different than in non-metalliferous regions? We invite archaeologists to present the patterns of their region, and aim to cover Europe from the far West (Ireland) to the Far East (Ukraine, Russia). The focus will be on different periods of the Bronze Age, starting from the Early Bronze Age until to the Late Bronze Age with the aim, to recognize variable tendencies of metalwork depositions across time and space.
Archaeology is well equipped to study history either as sequences of transformative events, or as... more Archaeology is well equipped to study history either as sequences of transformative events, or as a continuous process of everyday life where time serves as a function of cultural persistence. On a macro-scale, sweeping reconfiguration of human-material relations marked by events and interpreted as cultural change have been at the center of archaeological practice since the first descriptions of 'cultures' as convenient analytical and spatio-temporal units for the analysis of past societies in the early 20 th century. Wars, migrations, far-reaching effects of economic innovations have been considered the primary motors and signatures of change at the center of archaeological narratives, marked by an overwhelming focus on socioeconomic and political systems. Alternatively, the archaeology of everyday life to study the material residues of cumulative and repetitive action became a central topic of archaeological practice in the 1980's. Within narratives of everyday life, emphasis shifted to the mundane, to the multivocality and multidirectionality. Corresponding to the decreasing scale of analysis and interpretive context, the struggle became to present the ways in which people's repetitive day-today practices mattered and figured into great chains of historical events. With no attention paid to their complementary character, these approaches developed to involve different interpretative strategies, necessitate different narrative modes, rely on different properties or analytical assessment of material evidence, require different methodologies, and are linked to different spatio-temporal scales.
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Papers by Vajk Szeverényi
In our paper, we present burials from two Middle Bronze Age settlements in Hungary that yielded a series of skeletons and human remains, some of which showed traces of violence and perimortem trauma. We establish that at both sites the human depositions showed significant variability, indicating diverse cultural practices. A number of characteristics of these »mass graves« support the hypothesis that they may have been associated with some form of sacrifice and ritual violence, rather than warfare or other causes of death. Chronological data indicate a prolonged tradition of series of ritual acts, sacrifices, and possibly the secondary manipulation of human bodies.
Danube during the Bronze Age seen through the spread of the ‘urnfield
model’ - The adoption of a new funerary ritual denotes an important
change in society, although it can be difficult to identify the triggers. In the past,
theories such as that of Luigi Pigorini on the origin of the Terramare culture, the
concept of mass migration was used as the central explanation. In the 20th century,
alternative approaches have emphasized the role of local developments and
ideological change in response to ‘global’ macro-trends.
The massive introduction of urn cremation, which replaced the inhumation burial
that prevailed in previous periods, marks the beginning of the Urnfield Period.
Traditionally, this change has been dated to around 1300/1200 BC, the beginning
of Bronze Age D/Hallstatt A1 (Bz D/Ha A1), in Central Europe. In the light of recent
archaeological research, however, it appears that the ‘urnfield model’, which
originally developed within the territory of the tells in modern-day Hungary, was
introduced during the 15th century BC (Bz B2/C) - at least one century before the
‘Urnenfelderzeit’- in several areas between the Danube and the Po plains. However,
the archaeological record shows a wide spectrum of local attitudes towards
the spreading novelty, ranging from radical acceptance, to hybridization and rejection.
Our aim is to highlight this variability in Hungary, Lower Austria, western
and central Balkans and to connect this evidence with the Terramare area.
in the Carpathian Basin and more specifically in Hungary. The aim of this paper is to present the visible and invisible traces of social inequalities through several EBA and MBA case studies from Hungary: the investigation of the system of multiple tiered settlement networks, the differentiation of social status manifested in burial rites, and the study of the deposition of metal objects in hoards. Based on the analyses of the above-mentioned factors the authors seek answers to the questions of how inequality emerged, what kind of elites can be envisaged in this period, and what kinds of regional differences can be observed in this respect in Bronze Age Hungary.
In Austria, the cemetery of Pitten, used between the early Middle Bronze Age to the beginning of the Late Bronze Age (mid 16th to mid 13th century BC), details how the transition to cremation unfolds in a small community south of the river Danube. Burial forms show a considerate element of variability and experimentation as the primary mode of burial shifted from inhumation to cremation. At Pitten, cremations were, at first, staged to create similarities to inhumation burials, before urn burial became common.
Since the dawn of Italian prehistoric studies, the adoption of a funerary custom so discordant with traditions of inhumation was one of the main arguments in support of migration theories from the Danube-Carpathian basin, which was considered one of the nuclei of the origin of Terramare civilization. However, according to the latest dating, the phenomenon of the urnfields and biritual necropolises in the areas surrounding the middle reaches of the Danube was established centuries ahead of the Po Valley. Early experimentations of cremating human remains are documented at least from the initial phases of the 3rd millennium BC in the Carpathian Basin, as also in Italy, but these are mostly small funerary areas, characterised by isolated graves or groups of a few graves, sometimes associated to inhumations. Cemeteries of the Bell Beaker
period (26-22th century BC) contained hundreds of graves, indicating a change to large communal burial places with biritual burial practice. Again, an experimental phase of the introduction of cremation (with in situ cremation in the burial pit) can be observed in several cases during the beginning of the second millennium BC (20-18th century BC). After that cremation became the dominant burial tradition until the end of the Middle Bronze Age (1500/1450 BC) in certain parts of the Carpathian Basin, e.g. applied by communities using Encrusted Pottery, and Vatya and Hatvan style material, however other parts of the region (using Maros and Füzesabony/Otomani style material) are characterized by inhumations. During the early Late Bronze Age (from mid 16th century BC, contemporary with the Pitten cemetery) the use of biritualism can be observed, shifting to the dominance of cremation, similarly to Austrian and Italian regions.
Contacts between the region of the Po and Danube are already documented from the Early Bronze Age (see eg. Gáta/Wieselburg material in eastern Austria and western Hungary, as well as Canar and Arano Cellore), but it still does not seem possible to link the appearance of the urnfields in Italy to a change in population, due to mass migration.
The phenomenon, especially as regards the large number and the long duration of the use of the necropolises, is rather closely related to the process of the stabilization of the settlements, the reorganization of agricultural production, and the sharp increase in population. In other words, there was a social reorganization and economic development of communities living in the Po Valley, which appear in many ways similar to the economic and social demographics of the Danube. From this perspective, the transformation of social order may not have been separated from the radical changes in religious views expressed by the funerary ritual. This was observed by several authors as the passage from inhumations to cremation where it would be accompanied by the emergence of new beliefs and representations of the afterlife, and linked to the relationship with a divine sphere that was transcendent and immaterial, in which the deceased could rise through the sacrifice of the materiality of the body during cremation.
The intent of this paper is to highlight similarities and differences between cremation and bi-ritual necropolises of the Italian Po Valley with the regions that are now Austria and Hungary, using a consistent set of archaeological and anthropological data. The stimulus for this debate stems from recent issues concerning significant funerary contexts, along with the role of patterns seen in funeral practices documented between the Early and Middle Bronze Ages in the Danube-Carpathian basin. Particular attention will be given to the chronology of the cemeteries, their relationship to the settlements, the internal organization of burial space and demography, in addition to ritual practices and social aspects recognizable from the pyre / grave good distribution and other indicators.
In our paper, we present burials from two Middle Bronze Age settlements in Hungary that yielded a series of skeletons and human remains, some of which showed traces of violence and perimortem trauma. We establish that at both sites the human depositions showed significant variability, indicating diverse cultural practices. A number of characteristics of these »mass graves« support the hypothesis that they may have been associated with some form of sacrifice and ritual violence, rather than warfare or other causes of death. Chronological data indicate a prolonged tradition of series of ritual acts, sacrifices, and possibly the secondary manipulation of human bodies.
Danube during the Bronze Age seen through the spread of the ‘urnfield
model’ - The adoption of a new funerary ritual denotes an important
change in society, although it can be difficult to identify the triggers. In the past,
theories such as that of Luigi Pigorini on the origin of the Terramare culture, the
concept of mass migration was used as the central explanation. In the 20th century,
alternative approaches have emphasized the role of local developments and
ideological change in response to ‘global’ macro-trends.
The massive introduction of urn cremation, which replaced the inhumation burial
that prevailed in previous periods, marks the beginning of the Urnfield Period.
Traditionally, this change has been dated to around 1300/1200 BC, the beginning
of Bronze Age D/Hallstatt A1 (Bz D/Ha A1), in Central Europe. In the light of recent
archaeological research, however, it appears that the ‘urnfield model’, which
originally developed within the territory of the tells in modern-day Hungary, was
introduced during the 15th century BC (Bz B2/C) - at least one century before the
‘Urnenfelderzeit’- in several areas between the Danube and the Po plains. However,
the archaeological record shows a wide spectrum of local attitudes towards
the spreading novelty, ranging from radical acceptance, to hybridization and rejection.
Our aim is to highlight this variability in Hungary, Lower Austria, western
and central Balkans and to connect this evidence with the Terramare area.
in the Carpathian Basin and more specifically in Hungary. The aim of this paper is to present the visible and invisible traces of social inequalities through several EBA and MBA case studies from Hungary: the investigation of the system of multiple tiered settlement networks, the differentiation of social status manifested in burial rites, and the study of the deposition of metal objects in hoards. Based on the analyses of the above-mentioned factors the authors seek answers to the questions of how inequality emerged, what kind of elites can be envisaged in this period, and what kinds of regional differences can be observed in this respect in Bronze Age Hungary.
In Austria, the cemetery of Pitten, used between the early Middle Bronze Age to the beginning of the Late Bronze Age (mid 16th to mid 13th century BC), details how the transition to cremation unfolds in a small community south of the river Danube. Burial forms show a considerate element of variability and experimentation as the primary mode of burial shifted from inhumation to cremation. At Pitten, cremations were, at first, staged to create similarities to inhumation burials, before urn burial became common.
Since the dawn of Italian prehistoric studies, the adoption of a funerary custom so discordant with traditions of inhumation was one of the main arguments in support of migration theories from the Danube-Carpathian basin, which was considered one of the nuclei of the origin of Terramare civilization. However, according to the latest dating, the phenomenon of the urnfields and biritual necropolises in the areas surrounding the middle reaches of the Danube was established centuries ahead of the Po Valley. Early experimentations of cremating human remains are documented at least from the initial phases of the 3rd millennium BC in the Carpathian Basin, as also in Italy, but these are mostly small funerary areas, characterised by isolated graves or groups of a few graves, sometimes associated to inhumations. Cemeteries of the Bell Beaker
period (26-22th century BC) contained hundreds of graves, indicating a change to large communal burial places with biritual burial practice. Again, an experimental phase of the introduction of cremation (with in situ cremation in the burial pit) can be observed in several cases during the beginning of the second millennium BC (20-18th century BC). After that cremation became the dominant burial tradition until the end of the Middle Bronze Age (1500/1450 BC) in certain parts of the Carpathian Basin, e.g. applied by communities using Encrusted Pottery, and Vatya and Hatvan style material, however other parts of the region (using Maros and Füzesabony/Otomani style material) are characterized by inhumations. During the early Late Bronze Age (from mid 16th century BC, contemporary with the Pitten cemetery) the use of biritualism can be observed, shifting to the dominance of cremation, similarly to Austrian and Italian regions.
Contacts between the region of the Po and Danube are already documented from the Early Bronze Age (see eg. Gáta/Wieselburg material in eastern Austria and western Hungary, as well as Canar and Arano Cellore), but it still does not seem possible to link the appearance of the urnfields in Italy to a change in population, due to mass migration.
The phenomenon, especially as regards the large number and the long duration of the use of the necropolises, is rather closely related to the process of the stabilization of the settlements, the reorganization of agricultural production, and the sharp increase in population. In other words, there was a social reorganization and economic development of communities living in the Po Valley, which appear in many ways similar to the economic and social demographics of the Danube. From this perspective, the transformation of social order may not have been separated from the radical changes in religious views expressed by the funerary ritual. This was observed by several authors as the passage from inhumations to cremation where it would be accompanied by the emergence of new beliefs and representations of the afterlife, and linked to the relationship with a divine sphere that was transcendent and immaterial, in which the deceased could rise through the sacrifice of the materiality of the body during cremation.
The intent of this paper is to highlight similarities and differences between cremation and bi-ritual necropolises of the Italian Po Valley with the regions that are now Austria and Hungary, using a consistent set of archaeological and anthropological data. The stimulus for this debate stems from recent issues concerning significant funerary contexts, along with the role of patterns seen in funeral practices documented between the Early and Middle Bronze Ages in the Danube-Carpathian basin. Particular attention will be given to the chronology of the cemeteries, their relationship to the settlements, the internal organization of burial space and demography, in addition to ritual practices and social aspects recognizable from the pyre / grave good distribution and other indicators.
This collection, along with the framework in which it was produced, offers an image of the present relationship between archaeology and computer science. After the political transitions of the late 20th century, the main topic of Hungarian and, in general, Eastern European archaeology has been the gigantic task resulting from overdue infrastructural development: organizing large-scale preventive excavations, their implementation, documentation and presentation. The tasks could only be solved by means of recent advances in information technology. The organizers of the Budapest conference believed that this theme would draw attention to other more basic problems of archaeology, not only in Hungary, but in neighbouring and more easterly countries as well.
The proceedings before us, comprised of seven papers, are inspired by the subject of the almost completed CRAFTER programme Creative Europe project. The full title of the project is Crafting Europe in the Bronze Age and Today, and in brief, the idea was to draw inspiration from Europe’s Bronze Age pottery to help revive modern-day artisanship. The project targets the appreciation of Europe's cultural heritage as a shared resource and the reinforcement of a sense of belonging to a common European space. In particular, it hopes to make cultural heritage a source of inspiration for contemporary creation and innovation and strengthen the interaction between this sector and other cultural and creative sectors. The main framework of the project was the idea that four potters from Spain, Germany, Hungary, and Serbia will draw on their skills to (re)create ceramic vessels representative of some of the most outstanding Bronze Age cultures of Europe: El Argar (southeast Spain), Únětice (Central Europe), Füzesabony (eastern Hungary) and Vatin (Serbia).
The papers published within these proceedings are not strictly related to the project itself, but the problems of Bronze Age pottery in Europe in general. The problems discussed in the presented papers and the inspirations are drawn from the CRAFTER project. The original idea was to delve into the content of the pottery and define its composition and quality. These are, in fact, the elements responsible for the final appearance of the ceramic vessel and its function. Considering that out of four editors, two have presented papers within the proceedings, I have been honoured to write this short introduction on their significance and essence. The thread that connects all of the papers, although their concepts do not seem similar at the first glance, since some of the papers are dwelling on interdisciplinarity while others deal with certain chronological and cultural-historical problems, is that the primary analytical material in all of the papers is Bronze Age pottery, from beyond the Pyrenees, across Central Europe, to the Balkans, which is not unexpected considering that a Serbian institution was credited for publishing. The positive aspect is that the pottery is Crafting pottery in Bronze Age Europe: the archaeological background of the CRAFTER project discussed in a manner uncommon for archaeology, while on the other hand pottery studies have been more and more neglected in the past few decades, as such subjects are considered as passé in archaeology. The ever-rising number of specializations and specialists have pushed the pottery and potters into an undeserved corner, even though without such a set of analytic work the past can not be completely and adequately perceived.
The pottery is “slow-moving”. It changes, circulates, and exchanges at a slow pace and it enables the perception of the beginning, development, decadence, and the end of a certain society. The pottery has regional character and reflects the primary contacts, the esthetics of a community, and the inspiration of the artist. Certainly, this implies to prehistoric pottery and communities which do not function within centralized social systems, such as the Bronze Age beyond Mediterranean Europe, which is indeed in the focus of these proceedings. With the appearance of the potter’s wheel, the production and distribution of pottery merge with industry and economy, and at that moment a puzzle of a small man from the past loses a piece. A piece without which we are unable to perceive small communities through such an important, fruitful, and data-rich object such as pottery and which we often tend to neglect as a discipline. In order to identify the contacts, exchange, and trade or reconstruct the communication routes in past, we often reach to the so-called luxurious artifacts: metals, amber, glass, and artisan objects… Likewise, pottery could narrate a story of one meal, one house, one potter, one village, or one community in the past, which is, like it or not, a fact that will make the interdisciplinary and diverse analyses of prehistoric pottery one of the primary archaeological methods.
Vojislav Filipović
Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade