Neolitikus kultúrák kapcsolatrendszere kerámia vizsgálaton keresztül = Understanding the relationship between Neolithic communities through ceramic analysis

A pályázat keretében összesen 13 lelőhelyről vizsgáltuk Starčevo, Körös, Vinča, AVK, DVK, Zseliz és Lengyel kultúrák kerámiatechnológiáit. A vizsgálatok során összesen 598 db vékonycsiszolatot készítettünk. A vizsgálatok segítségével megismerhettük a neolitikus kerámiakészítési hagyományokban bekövetkezett változásokat. Az eredmények alapján a Körös, korai DVK, Starčevo, AVK és Vinča kultúrák között alapvető kerámiatechnológiai hasonlatosság van. A lelőhelyeken a legtöbb kerámia alapvetően egységes (nagyon finom) nyersanyagból készült, amelyet szervesanyaggal (pelyvával?) soványítottak. A kerámiatechnológiai hasonlatosságokat összevetve Kárpát-medencei és balkáni kerámiavizsgálati adatokkal kiderül, hogy a kerámiatechnológiai hagyomány az említett területeken alapvetően egységes, amely leginkább a szervesanyag soványításban nyilvánul meg. A középső, illetve késő neolitikumra (DVK, Lengyel) jelentős technológiai változatosság figyelhető meg. A technológiai eljárások változatossága több fazekas, illetve fazekas csoport jelenlétére utalhat egy-egy lelőhelyen belül, illetve kerámiakészítési hagyományok kialakulására egy-egy közösségen belül. A neolitikum fiatalabb időszakára a pelyva mennyisége csökken, a késő neolitikumra pedig szinte teljesen eltűnik. A késő neolitikumban szintén megfigyelhető a középső neolitikumban említett változatosság, azonban megjelenik a kerámiakészítés standardizációja és specializációja. | In the project Neolithic ceramic technologies were examined from 13 sites of the Starčevo, Körös, Vinča, AVK, DVK, Zseliz and Lengyel cultures. Altogether 598 ceramic thin sections were analysed. By the means of ceramic petrographic analysis we gained knowledge in the changes of Neolithic ceramic traditions. The results show that the Körös, Early TLP, Starčevo, ALP and Vinča cultures show fundamental ceramic technological similarities. In these sites the majority of ceramics were made from fundamentally similar (very fine grained) raw materials, which were tempered with organic matter (chaff?). The ceramic technological similarities are compared to ceramic technological data from the Carpathian Basin and the Balkans and show that ceramic technological tradition was similar in a wide geographical area. The similarity is most striking in the use of organic tempering. Towards the Middle and Late Neolithic (TLP, Lengyel culture) considerable technological variability is observed. Variability in technological practices may indicate the former presence of several potters or potters groups, and resulted in the formation of intrasite technological traditions. Towards the younger Neolithic the amount of organic tempering decreases and by the Late Neolithic it almost completely disappeared. In the Late Neolithic the ceramic technological variability, which is observed in the Middle Neolithic is also present but standardisation and specialisation appears

Scythian Age settlement near Nagytarcsa

This paper deals with the archaeological material of a Scythian Age settlement excavated near Nagytarcsa in 2007. Located on the higher terrace of a stream, the site represents a characteristic lowland, hamlet-like settlement of the Vekerzug culture, where animal husbandry played an important role in subsistence. Based on diagnostic ceramic finds and radiocarbon dating the settlement can be assigned to the Ha D2 period. The archaeological description, as well as the evaluation of settlement features and finds, is supplemented with a detailed petrographic analysis with an emphasis on wheel-thrown and Hallstatt type ceramics. The petrographic and geochemical analysis of the sherds and sediments collected on the site aim to confirm archaeological interpretations in order to determine the provenance of the ceramics and to assess whether their technological characteristics suggest specialization in production

Looking into houses: analysis of LBK ceramic technological change on a household level

International audienceExcavations on the Neolithic site of Balatonszárszó-Kis-erdei-dűlő, located in western Hungary in central Transdanubia, on the southern shore of Lake Balaton, revealed several thousand features. On the basis of material culture and architectural features, the settlement can be assigned to the Central European Linearbandkeramik culture (LBK; ca. 5,350–5,000/4,900 cal. BC). Apart from pits, traces of 48 houses were discovered. At least 14 other sets of features could also be interpreted as houses, mainly through the presence of characteristic elongated pits.In the first model of the site’s development, five pottery style groups were distinguished on the basis of stylistic elements such as shape and decoration. These style groups show a spatial pattern within the settlement. Their major characteristics are easy to correlate with traditional typochronological units of the LBK in the western Carpathian Basin. Although chronological relevance can be attributed to the groups, certain typological and stylistic attributes had a long duration and appear in different style groups.For the purposes of this study, eight houses and their associated features were selected. The ceramics from these features are characte- ristic of each style group. The aim was to examine the technology of ceramics, in particular choices in raw materials and intentionally added tempers, as well as building techniques.During a previous analysis of ceramics from the settlement, 461 sherds were chosen for macroscopic analysis, from which 131 samples were selected for further petrographic thin section analysis. Of these samples, 99 come from the eight houses and pits examined in this study. These features produced a total of 9,161 sherds. As part of the analysis of vessel building techniques, all the available material from the examined houses was assessed, out of which 109 vessels could be attributed to a forming method.Ceramic petrographic results show that there is a clear change in ceramic technology at household level. The earliest houses of the site show little variability in choices of raw materials and tempers, while houses of Style groups 2–5 show increased choice in raw materials and purposefully added tempers. As far as vessel fashioning is concerned, an opposite trend can be observed. Style group 1 ceramics show considerable variety in technical practices, with at least three forming methods, while ceramics in Style groups 2–3 and 5 are characterized by only one or two forming methods. Thus it seems that variability in building methods slightly decreased towards the end of the settlement.Ceramic technological changes could be identified on a household level, providing an insight into settlement dynamics. These patterns in the use of raw materials/tempers and building methods may be related to the fact that producers came from different learning net- works and had different conceptions of how to build a culturally appropriate vessel. The strength of analysing ceramic technologies on a household level is that we are able to model where ceramic technological changes first appeared within a given settlement and we can assess the nature of these changes. In turn, these patterns can be correlated with typochronology and the analysis of other types of material culture from the part of the site where the changes appeared. In this way we can improve our understanding of settlement dynamics and social changes

A Unique Megalithic find from the Great Hungarian Plain : Preliminary Report on the Research of a Stone Stele from Kevermes

Large, complex megalithic monuments erected in great numbers on the Atlantic coast and in northern Europe during the 4th‒2nd millennia BC have never been found in Hungary, and the architectural forms and decorative arts of passage and chamber tombs, dolmens, stone circles, and menhirs have not been linked to the archaeological heritage of the Carpathian Basin. This is what renders a stone stele, with engravings evoking some megaliths in western Europe, found near Kevermes in the southeastern Great Hungarian Plain so extraordinary. In this article, we report the results of our research related to this unique object to clarify the circumstances of its discovery, to examine the possibility of forgery, to specify the raw material and provenance of the stele, and to explore the original context. In our next paper, we will present detailed descriptions of the analytical results and discuss the interactions and networks that may have led to the appearance of the motifs on the Kevermes stele on the Great Hungarian Plain

Transforming Traditions of Material Culture : Spatial and temporal patterns in pottery style, production and use during the second half of the 6th millennium cal BC in south-eastern Transdanubia and beyond

International audienceOne of the most salient traits of a major milestone in European history, the shift to a Neolithic life-style in Central Europe and the associated social changes, was the emergence of pottery production. The main goal of the research project described here is the study of Neolithic pottery production from a complex perspec- tive and the addressing of the associated distinctive social activity types and potential range of meanings during the period from the late Starčevo to the appearance of the Lengyel culture (5500–4900 cal BC). The springboard for our project was the series of intensely investigated sites in southern Transdanubia, a region that acted as a contact zone between the Neolithic communities of Central Europe and the northern Balkans, and thus played a key role in the neolithisation of Central Europe. The research findings from this region are complemented and compared with the data from various sites along the Danube. Aside from our academic colleagues, our research results can be of interest to the broader public too, and our reconstruc- tions of various artefacts and the documentation of our archaeological experiments can be later used as illustrations to museum exhibits. The expected results can be fitted into the broad picture outlined by other research conducted on these sites and offer an exceptionally detailed picture of how the region’s settlements developed during the second half of the 6th millennium BC