Bronze Age of the Carpathian Basin

In this paper we analyse the ceramic material belonging to the Wietenberg culture from the site of Bixad-“Vápavára” out of a typological and functional perspective. Furthermore we are placing this site in the broader context of Middle and Late Bronze Age settlements by attempting to reconstruct the archaeological landscape of south-east Transylvania in the above mentioned period.

Kada se uzme u obzir površina Zakarpatja, suočeni smo sa činjenicom kako je to područje zemljopisno gledajući vrlo osebujno –ujedinjuje različite reljefe i klime, kroz ere geografske prošlosti mijenjala se i njegova topografija, a to je uvjetovano i demografskim kretanjima populacija, jer su zbog puke potrebe za opstankom morala prisilno ili svojevoljno svoj dom iznova sačiniti na za tome prikladnoj lokaciji. Stoga suodnos nacionalne kulture s arhaičkim i arheološkim kulturama na prostoru Ukrajine također treba promatrati kao jedan od aspekata koji su doprinijeli razvoju mnogih prapovijesnih etnosa, a među njima važno je istaknuti i Trypil'sku kulturu te kulturu Kurgana, kao što je istaknuto u brojnim znanstvenim istraživanjima koja se tiču etnogeneze ukrajinskog naroda, a između ostalog i tzv. plemena Bijelih Hrvata. Ovaj diplomski rad sastoji se od tri stručna prijevoda te kulturološke analize.
Mentor: prof. dr.sc. Jevgenij Paščenko, Katedra za ukrajinski jezik i književnost Filozofskog fakulteta u Zagrebu
Datum obrane: veljača, 2014. g.

In this paper we analyse the ceramic material belonging to the Wietenberg culture from the site of Bixad-“Vápavára”, from a typological and functional perspective. Furthermore, we place this site in the broader context of Middle and Late Bronze Age settlements through a reconstruction of the archaeological landscape of south-east Transylvania.

Homérosz kilétét, tevékenységét harmadfélezer éve vitatják és csodálják mûveinek olvasói. A tudományos világ – számos szakterületen – ma is kutatja. Elemzi, párhuzamként, magyarázatként használja eposzait, vizsgálja a mû születésének körülményeit, az orális költészet szerepét és mûködését. Az Iliász és az Odüsszeia egy letûnt világot, a mükénéi hagyományokat, történelmet, a görög istenvilág megszületésének korai állapotát, az eszményeket, a hôskultuszt mutatja be, a görög korai vaskorban. A Kr. e. VIII–VI. században a mediterrán „regôsök” (vándor énekmondók, rapszódoszok vagy homéridák) énekei tartották fenn a „régi dicsôség” emlékét, egy elôször hanyatló, majd stagnáló, késôbb lassan fejlôdésnek induló korban, ezzel a görögség számára e nehéz idôszak átvészelését is segítették. A széthulló, majd újraformálódó törzsek, a születô poliszok világában a görögök ekkoriban a két, egymással viaskodó euboiai város, Khalkhisz és Eretria (a meginduló gyarmatosítás két élharcosa) között hosszan elnyúló háborúskodásban vettek részt valamelyikük oldalán, a termékeny és rézben gazdag lélantoszi síkon ennek kincseiért, s közben az elmúlt idôk görög hôseinek Trója falai alatt vívott harcaira és Odüsszeusz bolyongásaira emlékeztek. E korszakban tágult ki a görögök érdeklôdése minden, korábban ismeretlen terület felé, elsôsorban fémet, nyersanyagokat, gabonát kerestek, majd késôbb piacot is a lassan újra fellendülô gazdaságuk számára.

The Bronze Age Maros culture, widespread in the southern parts of the Carpathian basin, is characterised by rich and diverse material culture, recovered from settlements and from necropoles. Some of the burials of the Maros culture contained rich funerary equipment, that encompassed ceramic vessels, bronze weapons, bronze and gold jewellery, as well as ornaments made from osseous raw materials. One of the necropoles that yielded interesting finds of bone ornaments was discovered at the site of Ostojićevo, situated in the Banat region in north-eastern Serbia. This necropolis contained graves belonging to the Early and Middle Bronze Age; out of 285 graves, 77 were attributed to the Maros culture. Osseous ornaments recovered from these graves were made from diverse raw materials, bones, teeth and mollusc shells. The typological repertoire includes pendants, beads, decorative pins, and applications. Their typological and technological traits, as well traces of use will be analysed highlighting their overall importance and symbolic role for the Maros culture communities.

The present paper aims to analyse projectile points of the Late Bronze Age Noua-Sabatinovka-
Coslogeni cultural complex. They are produced mostly of bone and appear in large numbers in settlements,
far  less  in  hoards  or  graves.  Metrical  analysis  points  at  their  improved  efficiency  in  comparison  to
earlier  projectile  points  of flint;  several  groups  with  different  grades  of efficiency  can  be  distinguished.
Their utilisation in warfare in times with altered mobility can be presumed. Even if they are not part of
the depositional process like other weapons of bronze, and are neither deposited in graves, they seem to
constitute an important element in warfare. More mobile battle tactics, which may imply also the invention
of new forms of lighter bows, seem to become visible behind this find group.

Alleged ?Aegean migrations? have long been seen as underlying major transformations in lifeways and identity in the Balkans in the 12th-11th centuries BC. Revisiting the material culture and settlement changes in the north-south ?routeway? of the Velika Morava-Juzna Morava-Vardar/Axios river valleys, this paper evaluates developments within local communities. It is argued that mobility played an important role in social change, including an element of inward migration from the north. We argue that rather than an Aegean end point, these river valleys themselves were the destination of migrants. The prosperity this stimulated within those communities led to increased networks of personal mobility that incorporated elements from communities from the wider Carpathians and the north of Greece over the course of two centuries.

Chronology, distribution and interpretation of Urnfield metal-hilted swords

Subject, regions and period of time covered (chapter 1)

This study was basically concerned with the supra-regional investigation of a sufficiently differentiated group of bronze objects, which will allow for a taxonomic, chronological, chorological and interpretative analysis. In consideration of their advanced state of research, treatment and publication, the metal-hilted swords (‘Vollgriffschwerter’) of the Urnfield period appeared to be an excellent field for further research. First of all, it was an important prerequisite for my study to synchronize the regional chronological systems which have been established for the Urnfield period; the result of this effort is shown in Fig. 1. In order to avoid confusion between the innumerable regional nomenclatures of the relevant archaeological phases, terms such as Reinecke’s ‘Bz D’ or ‘Ha B1’ are used supra-regionally.

Classification systems of swords and their theoretical-methodical background (chapter 2)                                                             

The analysis of the various classification systems used for metal-hilted swords must be preceded by a reconsideration of basic methodical principles of classification.
Every classification – an intrinsically arbitrary construct in itself – can prove its justification by nothing but its heuristic value. In addition to the type-bound study of given combinations of attributes, it appears equally useful and helpful to proceed to a systematic consideration of individual attributes in their localized and chronological perspectives as well.
Within the taxonomic hierarchy which I used for the classification of metal-hilted swords, the highest tier is represented by the so-called ‘basic form’ (‘Grundform’) which is determined by the configuration of the pommel. The next subordinate tier is the ‘species’ (‘Art’) level, which is characterized by the outline of the hilt. This level can again be subdivided into different types, which is done by considering the combination of at least two formal and/or ornamental attributes of the hilt. By additionally taking at least one other formal, ornamental or production-related attribute into consideration, it is possible to break the type level down into different variants of a type, although it is to be noted that the different classes of variants need not contain all representative embodiments of a particular type.

History and state of research of the classification of Urnfield metal-hilted swords (chapter 3)

A critical comparison of the more important classification systems used for metal-hilted swords and an evaluation of their respective methodical validity resulted in the adoption and use of those types and variants of swords that proved to be coherent. On the other hand it was found necessary to also define new taxonomic units. The understanding of representative embodiments of variants to be closely affiliated but not to belong to the class of the corresponding type turned out to be particularly problematic. It was, therefore, a methodological necessity to revise the classification of this kind of ‘variants’.
The result of my analyses is shown in Figs. 5-11, where the diagnostic attributes of all individual taxonomic units are specified in detail. As a consequence, it is to be found that only a sword which possesses all of these attributes can validly be assigned to the respective class of the corresponding taxonomic unit. 

Dating and distribution of Urnfield metal-hilted swords (chapter 4)

The clear distinction of those types of metal-hilted swords which are dated per definitionem and those which yet need to be dated is of great importance. The present study accepts and adopts the type form character of the Riegsee and Ragály types for Bz D, of the Dreiwulstschwert (‘sword with three bulges’) species for Ha A, of the basic form Schalenknaufschwert (‘sword with disc pommel’) for Ha B1 and of the Mörigen, Auvernier and Tachlovice types for Ha B3. On the other hand, H. Müller-Karpe’s (1959, 156f. 172; 197; 1961, 24; 29; 31; 47) distinction between older and later types of Dreiwulstschwerter, which he considered as being type forms of his Ha A1 and A2 phase definitions and which was based on an assumed formal development, had to be questioned. So had the early dating of some antennae swords into Ha B2 and Ha B1, respectively.
According to the formal attributes seen as chronologically relevant for the Dreiwulstschwerter (shape of the pommel knob, outline of the blade), a conical pommel knob can be regarded as an older, and a willow-leaf-shaped blade as a later attribute for southern Germany and neighbouring regions – although this will go with certain reservations only. Representative embodiments of the Schwaig and Erding types, maybe also of the Gundelsheim type, can be accepted as belonging to the older, those of the Aldrans type as belonging to the later Dreiwulstschwerter in this area. In eastern central Europe such a distinction is, however, not possible, since a great number of swords found in this particular area show a combination of both of those attributes which are considered as being chronologically indicative in western central Europe. Moreover, the definition of the eastern central European hoard phases (‘Depotfundstufen’) corresponding to Ha A1 and Ha A2 respectively, as well as their parallelization with southern Germany, was mainly done in line with Müller-Karpe’s classification of the Dreiwulstschwerter. Mutual confirmations of western and eastern central European sword datings are, therefore, of a circular character.
The heterogeneous dating of the antennae swords was already noticed by E. Sprockhoff (1934, 34; 71) and further extended by Müller-Karpe (1961, 53-55; 57f. 65; 88) with the object of confirming his tripartition of Ha B. The seven antennae swords which are either definitely or with all probability to be dated into Ha B1 do not show any attributes which they have in common, which means to say that no such type can be regarded as characteristic for Ha B1. Those final Urnfield metal-hilted swords not deposited until Ha C cannot be typographically differentiated from those swords which are dated into the Ha B3 phase, either. Dating of the antennae swords into Ha B1 or Ha C, respectively, can therefore only be done as a result of a thorough study of the context of any one find. These dating problems show quite clear that it is out of question to segregate type forms for the one or the other phase of the basic form antennae sword.
The clarification of taxonomic and chronological questions is succeeded by the regionally oriented criticism of sources and the epistemological evaluation of the distribution maps to determine their historical validity. Following H.J. Eggers (1950, 55; 1986, esp. 258), I differentiate between the levels of the ‘living’, the ‘dead’ and the ‘re-discovered’ culture. In order to draw conclusions from the ‘re-discovered culture’ about the ‘dead culture’, it was necessary to analyse the state of research, treatment and publication as well as that of the conditions in which the finds were made. These factors proved to be comparable in the setting of this study. By carrying out a large number of cross-checks, it is possible to get an idea of both the dimension and the distribution of sources, in which metal-hilted swords could have passed on at least theoretically. An aspect which was of particular importance was the question to what extent metal-hilted swords and swords with an organic hilt were considered to be functionally equivalent at least in the context of their deposition and in how far they were thus considered as being of a ‘substitutive character’. This study also shows to what extent the currently known area of distribution of certain classes of swords allows for insights concerning their prehistoric spread.

Interpretation of the distribution of Urnfield metal-hilted swords (chapter 5)

To allow for an interpretation of the Urnfield metal-hilted swords’ distribution, it was necessary to define a number of what are called ‘custom circles’ (‘Sittenkreise’), which enable us to validly grasp the behaviour of prehistoric man.
The so-called ‘workshop circle’ covers the sum of stationary workshops inclusive of possible migrant craftsmen in a certain region at a certain period of time. This is complemented by the ‘demand circle’, i.e. the area in which there was a demand for the products of a certain workshop circle, and also by the ‘costume circle’, i.e. the territory within which the respective swords were part of the costume of the particular ‘community of traditions’ (‘Traditionsgemeinschaft’). The question of the localisation of workshop circles was prevailing in my study.
Factors which are indicative of the production of a certain class of swords within a certain region are (1) a comparatively high relative frequency of finds in the specific area and at the same time a comparatively low relative frequency in the neighbouring regions – although it must be understood that neither high nor low frequency may be derived from the state of available sources –, (2) the deposition of these swords in compliance with the usual customs of this area, (3) the existence of forerunners and successors in the region concerned, (4) a possible connecting link between the swords in terms of their production, (5) a stylistic, especially an ornamental relationship to other material groups of the area, in particular bronzes, and possibly also pottery.
In order to get an impression of the geographic distribution of numerous formal and ornamental attributes, which can be another indicator for workshop circles, if a great number of individual attributes was found to be concentrated in a given region, the distribution area of the Bz D and Ha B1 metal-hilted swords was subdivided into a western and an eastern sector, whereas the spread of the ‘...

. The paper selects a comparison of triadic motifs in the central european, nordic and east Mediterranean cultural circles, represented mainly by the Minoan and Mycenaean culture. The subject of the analysis is the anthropomorphic, zoomorphic and ornitomorphic forms, as well as their hybrid forms. The aim of the analysis is to point out the similarities and differences of selected iconographic types, as well as their use in the individual monitored areas, which should prove their cultural belonging and mutual influence or, conversely, their independence as symbolic systems. Triadic compositions occur in all three areas during the Bronze age. Upon closer inspection, one may observe differences that raise the question of whether they may have spread by diffusion from a single centre or, conversely, prove the independence of the three symbolic systems based on a common cultural heritage.

A Kárpát­medence területén a rómaiak megjelenése előtt a Krisztus előtti 14. és 10. század között élt késő bronzkori emberek hagyták hátra a legtöbb és legváltozatosabb emlékanyagot. Ők voltak azok is, akik halom­ sírjaikkal és monumentális földváraikkal addig soha nem látott mértékben formálták át a táj arculatát, fel­ töretlen földeket hódítottak meg és új települések tucatjait alapították az erdővel borított hegységek mélyén. Leglátványosabb tárgyi emlékeik azok a különleges bronz­ és aranytárgyakat tartalmazó kincsek, melyek földbe kerülésének és elrejtésének titokzatos okairól több mint egy évszázada folyik a tudományos vita. Mára bizonyossá vált, hogy az értékes fegyvereket, ékszereket és munka eszközöket tartalmazó együtteseket meghatározott szabályok szerint válogatták össze. A kincsek sokféle emléket őriznek: vannak köztük olyan tárgyak, amelyek távoli földekre tett utazásokról, látványos szertartásokról, pazar lakomákról tudósítanak, mások a mindennapok munkáit vagy éppen véres harcokat idéznek. Elrejtésük szokása kizárólag a Krisztus előtti második évezred bronzkori Európá jában előforduló jelenség, hasonlóra nem ismerünk példát a törté­ nelem folyamán sem kontinensünkön, sem azon kívül. A kötet szerzője egy egyetemi kutatási program ke­ retében fémkereső műszeres csapatával másfél évtizede járja Magyarország bronzkori lelőhelyeit azzal a céllal, hogy minél többet felderítsen és megmentsen a még föld alatt rejtőző bronzkori kincsekből. Ebben a könyv­ ben az így felfedezett leletek segítségével mesél a korról, a tárgyak elrejtőiről és a kincsek földbe kerülésének lehetséges történetéről.

The collection "Art and Religion of Ancient Societies" is a continuation of the series of the scientific publications which is devoted to the problems of study of the spiritual culture in the primitive societies. The previous edition "Art and Ritual of Ice Age", that was published in 2005, covered a circle of questions directly connected with the theory and practice of study of the Paleolithic Art. In this collection we also address to the same problematic. However, taking into account that the understanding of the most ancient culture stages of the human society is connected to a wide circle of questions of the study of the traditional communities, we think it is necessity to expand the edition’s subjects. Therefore we have tried to capture not only questions directly connected with field and basic study of the ancient art, but also practical analysis of the cultural and ethnographic facts. The questions of the aesthetics and theory of development of the early forms of art are considered as separately subjects in works. The published materials enable the reader to familiarize with the questions and methods of their analysis more in details, which are submitted in works of the researchers from Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Germany, Canada, USA, Australia.

The present paper explores the possibility to better understand the function of pits through phytolith and starch analysis. A case study from the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age settle- ment phase of Rotbav in southeastern Transylvania is discussed in detail. It appears that a large sto- rage vessel originally sealed with a bowl was kept in a pit filled with chaff or straw to preserve its contents.

This volume is a revised version of a doctoral dissertation concerning metal production and consumption within Bronze Age tell settlements in the Carpathian Basin, an area roughly encompassing parts of present-day western Romania, Serbia (Vojvodina), southern Slovakia and eastern and central Hungary. The analysis is based on all available archaeological evidence related to metals and metalworking uncovered within tells, presented here for the first time in its entirety. One of the main objectives of this volume is to examine the scale, distribution and context of metal artefact manufacture and use by communities inhabiting these settlements. Moreover, this book offers a reassessment of the role metalworking played within the economy of Bronze Age tell sites in the Carpathian Basin and simultaneously outlines contacts with other metal production regions. The oft-encountered claim that tells functioned as metalworking centres of the Carpathian Basin is also re-examined through a comparative analysis of metal production indicators uncovered within tells and contemporary flat sites within the region. The results provide a much more nuanced picture of the scale, nature and distribution of metalworking as a craft in the Carpathian Basin during the Early and Middle Bronze Ages (c. 2500-1500 BC).

Вікентій В'ячеславович Хвойка та його внесок у вітчизняну археологію (до 150-річчя від дня народження): Тем. зб. наук .пр. / Редкол. Н.Г.Ковтанюк (відп.ред.) та ін. - К.: ТОВ “ІІІ, Лтд”, 2000. - 194 с. - ISBN 966-95669-4-0.

Збірник присвячено видатному вченому археологу В. Хвойці, з ім'ям якого пов'язано відкриття трипільської, зарубинецької та черняхівської культур.
Вміщені наукові дослідження сучасних вчених Інституту археології НАН України та музейників, які займаються вивченням наукової спадщини В.Хвойки, що понад 20 років свого життя присвятив дослідженню старожитностей Придніпров'я, збагатив археологічну науку України, відкривши цілий ряд нових культур.

THE BRONZE AGE IN TRANSYLVANIA: AN OVERVIEW
The study offers the present state of research regarding the Bronze Age in Transylvania, with some corrections towards the previous chronological systems proposed by other Romanian specialists. The beginning of the Early Bronze Age before 3000 BC, as proposed by the Bucharest school, is rejected, while the Late Bronze Age is seen as a longer period, covering both the Tumulus and Urnfield periods, according to Central European chronology. A few new considerations on the Yamnaya arrival in Transylvania are also made, introducing the preliminary results of the excavations performed in the kurgan at Hăpria.
The theory of a strong Mycenaean influence in the Transylvanian Middle Bronze Age, which is still supported by a few scholars, is not supported by evidence, and has to be rather seen as a Late Bronze phenomenon in the Balkans. The diffusion of a weighing system in the same period, as clearly demonstrated in the fragmentation of the gold rings from the Cugir hoard and other similar depots in Transylvania, is a much better proof for trade contacts with the Aegean in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC.
The intensive exploitation of salt resources with a new type of technology, specifically developed in the Eastern Carpathians, as well as the huge size of the bronze depots, probably based on both the salt and copper/gold mining, accompany the rise of a powerful ‘aristocracy of salt’. After the earlier mega-forts from the Banat region, new hillforts were built in Transylvania in the 12th century BC.
The author uses some of the results of new excavation made in the Telec hillfort in the frame of a LOEWE project to support the idea of a pre-Scythian military expedition of a Meszócsát group from the Tisza plain towards central Transylvania. The destruction and burning of the Teleac rampart and house in trench radiocarbon dated in the second half of the 10th century BC might be a direct consequence of this military incursion. The date of the Meszócsát-type burial at Vlaha fits quite well with the one from the post-destruction layer at Teleac. The arrival of the Basarabi groups along the Mureş valley by the end of the 9th century BC marks the end of the Transylvanian Late Bronze Age, the local Gáva-type communities being part of an acculturation process. The period represents the beginning of the Early Iron civilization and is accompanied by the last horizon (DFS VI) of the bimetallic depot, like the ones from Vinţu de Jos and Tărtăria.

The Early and Middle Bronze Age at the Eastern Frontier of the Carpathian Basin (about 2700/2600-1600/1500 BC). I. About the Environment and Research History Abstract. The present article aims to complete the study I published in 2015 under the title The Early and Middle Bronze Age Chronology on the Eastern Frontier of the Carpathian Basin. "The Eastern frontier of the Carpathian Basin" refers to those historical provinces that, after the First World War, were called Banat, Crişana, Sătmar, Maramureş and Transylvania. The study focuses on the geographical features of that region, as well as on its paleoclimate and paleo-environment, during the Early and Middle Bronze Age. The current opinion is that the entire Early and Middle Bronze Age was characterized by a cold and humid climate. The article also includes short presentations of the activity of researchers who dealt with the Bronze Age in western Romania and Transylvania, starting in the second half of the nineteenth century.

In this article, I discuss the manner in which the model proposed by Marija Gimbutas regarding the IndoEuropean migration in Europe was perceived by Romanian specialists. The article is also an extension
of my efforts to understand the relations between prehistoric Transylvania and the North-Pontic steppe.
Approached from this historiographic perspective, the subject illustrates a situation symptomatic of
Romanian archaeology: the lack, with few exceptions, of serious debates on this controversial subject,
the frequent repetition of unverified opinions, statements supported by invalid arguments, etc

This article reconsiders the use and meaning of chariots in the 2 nd millennium BCE during the Bronze Age in the Carpathian lands. Up to now, evidence for the use of chariots with four-spoked wheels in this region, has been dated to the 14 th to 12 th c. BCE, based on pictorial representations and artefacts from hoard finds. A new find from western Ukraine of a double burial of bridled horses dating to the first half of the 2 nd millennium BCE, makes it probable that chariots were used within the Carpathian Basin at an even earlier date since the horse gear in this burial is of Carpathian type. This find also makes it likely that the custom of horse burials as a substitute for chariots was inspired by the Sintashta-Petrovka cultural complex in the Ural region and Kazakhstan. I argue that the use of chariots conveyed a highly symbolic meaning and was not primarily used in warfare. The lack of evidence for the use of chariots in the Bronze-Age in central and western Europe supports this argument. Finally, it is suggested that the custom of horse burials and the presence of two-wheeled vehicles in the eastern Carpathian Basin in the Iron Age may represent an aspect of long durée cultural memory and revival of a probably religiously connoted custom.

This volume is yet another publication
in the Studien zur Archäologie in Ostmitteleuropa/
Studia nad Pradziejami Europy
Środkowej series. It is based on the author’s
doctoral dissertation concerning defensive
settlements in Central Europe. The latter
is one of the major focus areas in the archaeology
of the period around 2000 BCE,
encompassing numerous issues relating to
the key phenomena of the Early Bronze
age, such as social stratification, trade and
exchange, warfare and metal production.
At the same time, the book contributes to
the broader discussion on Bronze Age defensive
settlements presented as part of the
SAO/SPEŚ series, supplementing general
studies (volume 5), aspectual monographs
(volume 9) and the findings from research
conducted at the site in Bruszczewo (volumes
2, 13 and 14). This publication offers
a comparative study of four areas in Central
Europe: the Alpine region, south-western
Wielkopolska, the Middle Danube Basin
and Upper Tisza Basin, outlining a comprehensive
panorama of the phenomenon
and demonstrating regional variations. The
author delivers a well-ordered disquisition
concerning chief aspects of the functioning
of settlements in the aforesaid cultural-
-geographical regions, supported by abundant
data. Given the shortage of monographic
studies on the addressed issue,
this book constitutes a significant building
block in our knowledge about Bronze Age
settlement forms, and compellingly suggests
future directions of research.